News Roundup 24 September 2024
Sep 24, 2024 • 5 min Read
Lawmakers to VP Sara: Step down if you can’t fulfill your duty | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — House lawmakers on Tuesday, September 24, said that Vice President Sara Duterte should resign if she has no intention of fulfilling her duties as the official holding the second highest position in government.
“Kung hindi na po siya interesado sa kanyang pong duties and functions as the vice president, we can ask the vice president to step down,” Rep. Jil Bongalon (Ako Bicol Party) said at a press conference.
(If she is no longer interested in her duties and functions as vice president, we can ask her to step down.)
This is the response of lawmakers to Duterte’s refusal to attend the proceedings for the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) proposed 2025 budget. No authorized representative was also present at the OVP’s scheduled plenary debate on Monday.
Asked about their reaction to Duterte’s alleged vacation at a beach in Camarines Norte over the weekend, Bongalon said there is no problem with that.
However, the lawmaker said that if Duterte is serious about her duties as vice president, she should have returned to Manila by Sunday or coordinated with Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong (Lanao del Sur, 1st District). He added that this would have allowed Adiong to prepare for questions during the plenary.
“In other words, this means she really has no intention to attend the plenary hearing to sponsor and defend the OVP’s budget,” Bongalon said in Filipino.
Shared sentiment. Rep. Jay-Jay Suarez (Quezon, 2nd District) also said the sentiments expressed by lawmakers at the press conference on Monday are also shared by other House members because it is a government official’s job to show up.
Full Story at: Lawmakers to VP Sara: Step down if you can’t fulfill your duty | Philstar.com
Michael Yang’s brother admits faking Filipino identity for business | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The brother of Michael Yang, Yang Jianxin, on Tuesday, September 24, admitted being born in China and assuming a Filipino identity to operate businesses in the Philippines.
Despite being in the Philippines for around 26 years, Jianxin spoke little to no English and Filipino, needing an interpreter for the Senate hearing.
Jianxin said he was born in Fujian, China, and it was his maternal grandfather who arranged his move to the Philippines.
“The initial intention of my grandfather is for me to start a business here, that’s why I use English names so that I can also apply for business permits for other documentations that will be needed for the business,” Jianxin said in Chinese, translated into English by interpreter Carolyn Batay.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros presented Jianxin’s Philippine birth certificate. Like in the case of former Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, Jianxin’s birth was registered late at the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Despite being born in 1970, Jianxin’s birth certificate was only issued in 2004. He would have been 34 years old by the time he got a Philippine birth certificate.
The name on Jianxin’s birth certificate is Antonio Lim, and his place of birth was listed in Misamis Oriental.
Documents from Hontiveros’ office, however, showed that the place of birth listed in Jianxin’s other IDs are different.
The birthplace listed on Jianxin’s TIN is Cagayan de Oro.
“You have profited from changing your name and nationality here,” Hontiveros said.
Full Story at: Michael Yang’s brother admits faking Filipino identity for business | Philstar.com
Ex-PNP Chief Acorda’s photos with Pogo figures bared in Senate probe | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday presented during a Senate hearing several photos showing former Philippine National Police Chief Benjamin Acorda Jr. with some personalities being linked to illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos).
At the resumption of the Senate committee on women’s hearing, Hontiveros confronted Yang Jian Xin also known as Tony Yang with a photo of him and three others, including Acorda.
Yang is the elder brother of businessman Michael Yang, who served as the economic adviser of then President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Pwede nyo bang ipaliwanag ang litratong ito. Meeting po ba yan? Sino ang mga kasama at ano ang pinag usapan nyo?” Hontiveros asked.
(Can you explain this photo? Is it a meeting? Who else is there, and what did you discuss?)
But Yang, through an interpreter, explained that it was not a meeting as they just visited the police chief of Cagayan during that time.
Asked about the name of the police chief he was referring to, Yang said: “My English is not very fluent but I call him Acola or Acoda.”
“Acorda,” Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada could be heard correcting Yang.
Full Story at: Ex-PNP Chief Acorda’s photos with Pogo figures bared in Senate (inquirer.net)
Disbarment of Harry Roque sought | INQUIRERE.NET – MANILA, Philippines — A disbarment complaint was filed against former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque over a malicious Facebook post linking President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the viral “polvoron” video.
But Roque dismissed it as a mere “desperate act of attention” and something that should not be made public.
It was former acting Cabinet secretary Melvin Matibag who filed the disbarment complaint against Roque before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, September 24.
“We must understand that the posting of the video on social media is protected by free speech under the privileged doctrine. It involves a serious disease of a President that deserves an admission or denial. PBBM has not done either,” Roque said in a statement.
“Also, the polvoronic video is a national security matter affecting the lives and future of millions of Filipinos. The authenticity and the content of the video deserve widespread discussion,” he added.
Full Story at: Disbarment of Harry Roque sought (inquirer.net)
