News Roundup 10 June 2024
Jun 10, 2024 • 4 min Read
Teves released from detention in Timor-Leste, says his lawyer | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Former lawmaker Arnolfo Teves Jr. has been released from Becora Prison in Dili, Timor-Leste, his lawyer, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, said in a message to reporters.
“The request for extradition by the Philippine Government was made out of time and in a manner that is not sanctioned by practice and customary international law,” Topacio said.
“In other words, our government ‘screwed up.’ Thus, his imprisonment was declared illegal,” he noted.
Topacio said he was informed by his Timor-Leste counterparts that Teves will have to undergo further proceedings “relating to his continued stay in Timor-Leste which will start tomorrow (Tuesday,) and he will be present therein, together with witnesses in his favor, including former Human Rights Commissioner Wilhelm Soriano, who will be presented as an expert in human rights.”
“The road to justice for Mr. Teves will be long and hard, bloody and painful, but we will never surrender, to paraphrase Winston Churchill,” he added.
Full Story at: Teves released from detention in Timor-Leste, says his lawyer (inquirer.net)
Nancy Binay hits gossip, fake news about new Senate building | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Senator Nancy Binay took a swipe at Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Monday for supposedly getting his information about the New Senate Building (NSB) project from gossipmongers.
Binay previously headed the Senate committee on accounts, which is in charge of the Senate’s budget, expenses, audit, and other fiscal activities.
“Naghihintay po lamang ako na ako’y ipatawag (I’m just waiting to be called). If there are questions and some clarifications, or things that need to be verified or validated, or to check if some information are indeed factual or simply intended to sow misinformation and spread falsehoods — I am just a call or text away,” she said in a statement.
“Kung sana ay nakapag-usap kami ni SP (Senate president), mas malinaw at factual info ang maibibigay ko, kaysa umasa s’ya sa mga marites at mga bubuyog na bumubulong-bulong,” she added.
(If only SP and I had talked, I could have provided clearer and more factual information, instead of him relying on “marites” and those who spread rumors.)
Marites is a Filipino slang for gossipmongers.
Her remarks were in response to Escudero’s decision to stop the construction of the new Senate home in Taguig City, pending a review by the committee on accounts now headed by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.
His decision was made after receiving a detailed report from Cayetano which supposedly showed a “dramatic increase” in the project’s budget from an initial P8.9 billion to a projected P23.3 billion.
Full Story at: Nancy Binay hits gossip, fake news about new Senate building (inquirer.net)
Soldiers seize NPAs’ assault rifles in Bukidnon | PHILSTAR.COM – COTABATO CITY — Personnel of the Army’s 1003rd Infantry Brigade on Saturday seized 14 assault rifles in an operation in Barangay Lumintao, Quezon town in Bukidnon, first found by farmers in a hut, covered by empty rice sacks and dried banana leaves.
Major Gen. Allan Hambala, commander of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, announced on Monday that the weapons cache, consisting of eight M16 rifles, an M653 rifle, two M14 rifles, and three AK-47 rifles, is now under the custody of the 1003rd Infantry Brigade.
Hambala said that the operation that led to the confiscation of the 14 firearms was carried out with the help of vigilant farmers in Barangay Lumintao, who reported to the office of Brig. Gen. Marion Angcao, commander of the 1003rd Infantry Brigade, what they discovered while they were collecting firewood in the area.
Barangay officials in Quezon told reporters that a group of New People’s Army forcibly collecting monthly “revolutionary tax” from hapless farmers in hinterlands in their municipality owned the 14 assault rifles.
The group reportedly left their firearms in a makeshift shelter in a secluded area in Barangay Lumintao before proceeding to the town proper of Quezon early Saturday to buy food and other supplies that they needed.
Story at: Soldiers seize NPAs’ assault rifles in Bukidnon | Philstar.com
Philippines won’t seek China approval to access Ayungin – Año | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — There is no need for the Philippines to get China’s approval to conduct any activity in Ayungin Shoal, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said over the weekend.
The official’s statement came after China announced it would no longer block deliveries of food and other provisions to the BRP Sierra Madre if Manila gives advance notice.
“The recent statement by China’s Foreign Ministry suggesting that the Philippines must first notify China for access to Ayungin Shoal is absurd, nonsense and unacceptable. We do not and will never need China’s approval for any of our activities therein,” Año said in a statement on Saturday night.
The Philippines reaffirmed its commitment to uphold its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over Ayungin Shoal, which is well within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as recognized by the international law and the 2016 Arbitral Award.
Full Story at: Philippines won’t seek China approval to access Ayungin – Año | Philstar.com
