News Roundup 09 November 2022
Nov 09, 2022 • 6 min Read
Bantag anger at Lapid’s house visit bolsters murder rap — Remulla | PHILSTAR.COM – Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Wednesday that investigators learned that Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag, tagged as the mastermind in the killing of radio broadcaster Percy Lapid, was furious when the latter took photos of his house and cars in September. Remulla called this a new “lead,” and said it painted a “clear narrative” on Bantag’s supposed involvement in the killing of the hard-hitting broadcaster. The DOJ chief said they learned on Tuesday that Bantag did not attend a graduation ceremony of Persons Deprived of Liberty at the New Bilibid Prison last September 9. “It’s a significant lead that he was absent on that day because on that day Percy Lapid went to his house to examine, to take pictures of his house and his vehicles,” Remulla said at an ambush interview at the sidelines of the National Bureau of Investigation anniversary at the Diamond Hotel. “And the narrations…given to me are very clear about this matter.” After Lapid’s supposed visit to Bantag’s house, the radio commentator released his “Cinderella man” report that allegedly referred to the suspended prisons chief. “That was the basis. That day itself, when Bantag found out that Percy Lapid is in Laguna, he got angry. He disappeared, he didn’t anymore go back to Bilibid. He went back to Laguna and then he did not attend the graduation,” the DOJ chief added partly in Filipino Remulla stressed that the graduation was an important occasion since the board of trustees of the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta was present during the ceremonies. “That he did not return [to Bilibid] is a sign that he was very mad. He was very, very livid about it that Lapid went to his house in Laguna,” the DOJ secretary added. The BuCor also posted photos of the event on their Facebook page on September 9. Bantag was not among the attendees of the ceremonies, according to the post. A Lapid Fire commentary on the unnamed “Cinderella man” was posted on September 6. The video Lapid showed was also dated September 5. In it, he claimed that Remulla should conduct a lifestyle check on a DOJ employee who suddenly became rich, and who now lives in a pricey subdivision in Laguna and has 11 vehicles. Remulla continued that since the release of the “Cinderella man” video in September, plans to kill Lapid started on September 17. “Everything came into fruition. So you can see, that there is, there’s a string that ties everything together,” he continued. Bantag, his deputy security officer Ricardo Zulueta and gang leaders at the Bilibid are named as respondents in the murder complaints that law enforcement filed before the DOJ, over the separate killings of Lapid and inmate Jun Villamor, the alleged middleman in the hit on Lapid. Remulla appealed to them to answer the allegations against them by filing a counter-affidavit. “Don’t answer through the media. [File your] counter-affidavit. That’s the process of our law. They should respect our law,” he added. The DOJ chief also said he believes Bantag and Zulueta, who has since gone AWOL, are still in the Philippines since, as government officials, they would need a travel authority before they can fly out. But Remulla said the DOJ is currently processing the request for precautionary hold departure order, which courts for complaints that are still under preliminary investigation.
Hataman wants ceasefire, answers on MILF-Army encounter in Basilan | INQUIRER.NET – Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman on Wednesday called for the immediate cessation of hostilities between government troops and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Ungkaya Pukan town. This while he sought for answers as to why the armed confrontation happened despite an existing peace agreement. “Nananawagan tayo ng isang agarang ceasefire sa pagitan ng mga nagtutunggaling puwersa sa aming lalawigan ngayon, para sa kaligtasan ng mga mamamayan na maaring madamay sa palitan ng putukan at para hindi na lumala pa ang sitwasyon. Kawawa ang ating mga kababayan,” Hataman said. (We are calling for an immediate ceasefire between the forces fighting in our province today, for the safety of the people who may be affected by the crossfire and so that the situation would not escalate. Our people suffer the most from this.) “Ngayon, ang tanong sa ating isipan, bakit nangyayari pa ang mga ganitong engkwentro? Buong akala natin ay wala nang giyera sa pagitan ng AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) at MILF dahil may kasunduan na para sa kapayapaan at nariyan na ang [BARMM] na pinamumunuan ng MILF. Pero bakit nagkakaroon pa ng karahasan sa pagitan ng puwersa ng pamahalaan at MILF?” Hataman also asked. (Now, the question on our minds is why do encounters like this still happening? We all thought that there is no more war between AFP and MILF because there exists an agreement and the BARMM being led by MILF. But why did violence erupt between the government and MILF forces?) “Nais nating ilatag ang ating hamon para sa gobyerno at MILF na ipaliwanag kung bakit nagkaroon ng ganitong klaseng engkwentro lalo na’t may mekanismo tayo ng koordinasyon sa pagitan nila sa ilalim ng Ad Hoc Joint Action Group o AHJAG,” he added. (We now lay our challenge to the government and the MILF to explain why an incident or an encounter happened when there is a mechanism regarding coordination under the AHJAG.) Both sides, Hataman said, should be able to explain to the people, especially those affected by the encounter, why it even started in the first place.
Dark side of PH jobs numbers: More Filipinos in outright informal work | INQUIRER.NET – The ease in joblessness last September, as stressed by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), is one of the gains of the resumption of economic activities following nearly two years of COVID lockdowns. This, as the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed on Tuesday (Nov. 8) that the unemployment rate dipped to 5 percent (2.50 million) from 5.3 percent (2.68 million) in August and 8.9 percent (4.25 million) in September 2021. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said “the government will leverage on this momentum by strengthening policy interventions and investing in innovation and technology systems.” As he stressed in a statement, these interventions and investments are “geared toward generating higher-quality employment that provides adequate income for Filipino workers and their families.” With the 5 percent jobless rate in September, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the Philippines is now closer to the pre-COVID full-year average employment rate of 5.1 percent, considering that joblessness had eased for a third month in a row. But economist Sonny Africa said the only reason unemployment eased was because “millions of discouraged jobless Filipinos are not being counted and millions in pseudo-work are called ‘employed’.”
