News Roundup 05 November 2022
Nov 05, 2022 • 5 min Read
UN rights experts concerned over ‘pervasive’ corruption in Philippines | PHILSTAR.COM – In its recent periodic review, the United Nations Human Rights Committee raised alarm over reports that graft and corruption in the Philippines worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. In an advanced version of the report, the committee, composed of independent experts, acknowledged some strides made in recent years, but it pointed to areas that are lacking. The UN body found the measures insufficient, citing reports of allegations against public officials while the country dealt with the health crisis. “The Committee remains concerned by reports that corruption remains pervasive and has intensified in the context of the State response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” it said in the 13-page report. In 2021, a series of testimonies bared the involvement of foreign-owned and undercapitalized Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. in questionable health supplies contracts with the government amounting to P42 billion. Two of the company’s executives who allegedly benefited from the sizeable pandemic deals were released from detention in June. While it did not refer to the Pharmally scandal specifically, the UN panel urged the Philippines to “ensure that all allegations of corruption, including those related to public procurement, are promptly, independently and thoroughly investigated.” The government should also see that “those responsible are duly tried and adequately punished, and that victims receive full reparation,” it said. In March this year, the Philippine government reported to the UN body that the Office of the Ombudsman had disposed of 617 cases in 2019 out of its 3,947-case docket, leading to convictions in more than half of the processed cases, Officials failed, however, to detail the accomplishments of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission as the UN panel requested in 2020. Citing unspecified reports, the UN committee argued that the Office of the Ombudsman lacks “financial and technical resources to investigate” allegations of corruption. “The State party should intensify its efforts to prevent and eradicate corruption and impunity at all levels,” it said. “To this end, it should immediately provide sufficient human, technical and financial resources to its anti-corruption bodies, including the Ombudsman’s Office, with a view to enabling it to effectively and independently discharge its mandates.” Besides its comments on the problem of corruption in the Philippines, the UN committee also laid down other recommendations on the human rights situation. It called for the repeal of some provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act, the release of Sen. Leila de Lima from detention, cooperation with the International Criminal Court investigation into extrajudicial killings and the passage of measures on abortion, anti-discrimination and divorce, among other proposals.
Fear led ex-BuCor chief to tag Leila de Lima | INQUIRER.NET – At the risk of being charged with perjury, former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Rafael Ragos testified on Friday that he implicated former Sen. Leila de Lima to the drug trade in 2016 because he feared for his safety and that of his family at a time when the police were killing thousands of people. Ragos, one of the key witnesses against De Lima, took the witness stand at the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) to affirm, under cross examination, his recantation that De Lima took bribes from drug lords imprisoned at New Bilibid Prison when she was justice secretary. Journalists were not allowed in the courtroom of Branch 204 by Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara. Ragos’ lawyer Michael de Castro stressed that his client was only forced to execute the depositions because he “was afraid for his life, his career and his family.” De Castro said the former BuCor chief did not immediately recant his testimonies because he was afraid of fighting the government as “so many people were being killed in 2016 under ‘(Oplan) Tokhang.’” He was referring to the national police operation that resulted in the acknowledged killing of more than 6,000 drug suspects without charges even being filed in court. Prosecutors, however, maintained that the court should disallow Ragos’ recantation and argued that his initial affidavits were not coerced. “At the time the information was put into writing was being done, there was, on the part of the witness, a freedom of decision. He was not coerced. He was fully aware of what he was saying. There was no compulsion from any party to disclose any information,” said Deputy City Prosecutor Darwin Cañete. The case, Criminal Case No. 17-165, was one of three related but separate cases filed against De Lima. Another, CCN 17-167, is still pending in another RTC branch while CCN 17-166 has already been dismissed for lack of evidence. In his 2016 affidavit, Ragos testified that he delivered drug money worth P5 million to De Lima’s Parañaque residence, but he recanted that testimony in May this year. In the recantation, Ragos said he was “forced to deliver court testimonies against [Sen.] De Lima and Ronnie Dayan due to threats of being detained myself for the crime of engaging in the illegal drug trade that I did not commit.” Ragos was one of De Lima’s coaccused in CCN 17-165, until he was made a state witness by government lawyers under then Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II during the Duterte administration. Ragos also alleged in his recantation that Aguirre and some lawyers from the Public Attorney’s Office told him to corroborate the drug allegations against De Lima.
AMLC report cites P550K deposit to account of alleged Lapid slay case gunman –DOJ chief | INQUIRER.NET – The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has confirmed that P550,000 was deposited to the account of Joel Escorial, the alleged gunman in the Percy Lapid slay case, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Saturday. “Dumating ang report ng AMLC, at nilabas din nila yung sinabi ng gunman, ni Escorial (and it stated what the gunman said) very accurate. Andun talaga yung P550,000 na deposit (It included the P550,000 deposit) within a certain amount of days na kanyang sinabi,” Remulla said in a radio dzBB interview. Remulla said the total amount was deposited within a two-week period. Lapid was ambushed in front of a subdivision in Las Piñas last month. His death sparked widespread condemnation and a high-profile investigation. Escorial surrendered and was presented to the media on October 18, but the alleged middleman, Cristito Villamor Palaña was found dead inside the national penitentiary hours after Escorial’s surrender.
