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Ateneo president joins calls to junk quo warranto bid

By Dane Angelo M. Enerio
THE PRESIDENT of Ateneo de Manila University (Ateneo) has joined the call by such organizations as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) and the Makati Business Club (MBC) for the dismissal of the quo warranto petition seeking to void Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno’s appointment.
“The Constitution categorically provides that the Chief Justice, the head of the Judiciary, a co-equal branch of government, can only be removed through impeachment,” university president Jose Ramon T. Villarin said in a statement on Saturday.
Regarding Solicitor-General Jose C. Calida’s petition, Mr. Villarin said, “resorting to such a petition to remove the Chief Justice circumvents the clear dictates of the Constitution.”
“We thus categorically call on the Supreme Court to dismiss the Quo Warranto petition filed against the Chief Justice,” he added.
Mr. Villarin said further that “it should alarm us when several justices who will decide on whether the Chief Justice has sufficiently complied with the requirement are among those who have accused her of wrongdoing in that regard, during hearings conducted by Congress, thus effectively prejudging the matter… how will justice and fairness now prevail?”
“We ask the justices of the Supreme Court to pause and discern carefully the damage their actions have inflicted on themselves and on the whole of our democratic society… we ask them to let the right process take us to the truth,” Mr. Villarin said.
In oral arguments last Tuesday, April 10, Mr. Calida implored the high court to void Ms. Sereno’s appointment saying she failed to completely submit to the Judicial and Bar Council her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs).
Both Mr. Calida and Ms. Sereno have since been directed by Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio to submit their respective memoranda and documents on April 20 at the latest before her case is submitted for resolution.

Tugade to MRT: File charges against unruly passengers

By Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo, Reporter
DEPARTMENT of Transportation (DoTr) Secretary Arthur P. Tugade has ordered the Metro Rail (MRT)-3 management to file cases against passengers who “disrupt train operations” by leaning on or forcibly opening train doors.
The DoTr said in a statement that Mr. Tugade, in a speech before business groups and investors at the Philippine Economic Briefing in Clark, Pampanga, on Apr. 13, instructed the MRT-3 management to file charges and collect damages against passengers who “cause public inconvenience.” Mr. Tugade also directed the management to identify the passenger that caused an unloading incident by leaning on or forcibly opening the train door.
“From now on, lahat ng mahuhuling sumasandal o nagpipilit magbukas ng pinto ng tren kahit sarado na, kasuhan! I told MRT to file cases and collect damages from them. Maraming naaabala dahil sa kawalan ng disiplina,” Mr. Tugade said during the event in Pampanga.
Approximately 1,000 passengers were unloaded at around 8:00 a.m. at Santolan-Annapolis Station last Friday, Apr. 13, due to door failure. DoTr said this was the first unloading incident recorded at the MRT-3 since Apr. 2.
“For the last 11 days, there was no unloading, it was smooth. Today, we have the first unloading. Do you know the cause? There was someone who put pressure on the door. Pinilit na pumasok habang sarado na. It’s not about parts, it’s about this passenger. My instruction, identify this person,” Mr. Tugade said.
MRT media relations officer Aly Narvaez cited Director for Operations Michael Capati as saying that more closed-circuit television cameras will be set up at the stations “to augment visibility and identify issues and violators.”
This order by Mr. Tugade has prompted criticism on social media.
The DoTr deployed 15 trains on April 2, the first additional deployment since Jan. 5. Around 11-16 trains have since been deployed this month.
The department said it aims for a 20-car configuration, although this will depend on the outcome of the audit on the trains purchased from Dalian Locomotive.
The DoTr said last month that the audit by TÜV Rheinland is “substantially completed, but not yet concluded.” The firm was awarded the DoTr the contract to audit the system.
The government last year took over the train system’s maintenance after it terminated in November last year its contract with Busan Universal Rail Inc., claiming Busan’s failure to ensure efficient and available trains and procure proper spare parts.
BURI said in a statement that since the contract was terminated, the DoTr inherited a total of 21 running trains ready for revenue service.

Anti-corruption body gets ball rolling on complaints

By Arjay L. Balinbin
IN ITS first month in office, President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s anti-corruption body has received at least 700 cases, including “inherited” corruption cases on the watch of former president Benigno S.C. Aquino III, Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Commissioner and spokesperson Greco Antonious Beda B. Belgica said.
“The PACC officially received, as of today, around 700 [corruption] cases, including yung mga minanang (those inherited) cases from the previous administration,” Mr. Belgica said in a phone interview with BusinessWorld last Friday, April 13.
Mr. Duterte inducted the PACC commissioners on March 6. The Commission’s mandate is to assist the Office of the President in investigating corrupt and erring public officials in the performance of their duties.
Mr. Belgica also said that through his personal Facebook page alone, he has received at least “15,000” complaints from various individuals.
Asked how the Commission is handling the increasing number of complaints, Mr. Belgica said: “We are in the process of organizing the structure of the Commission. It includes the staffing, because there should be investigators, fact-finders, and lawyers who will weigh out and build up cases based on the complaints and evidence provided by the complainants.”
Also on his Facebook page, Mr. Belgica posted on April 5 a copy of the “Sumbungan” form or the Public Anti-Corruption Report and Action (PARA) report form, which people can use to have their complaints processed by the PACC.
“We will also accept [social media] messages, video messages, and photos. We can start from there. We have lawyers and investigators who will look into those reports. Of course, there are reports which do not have sufficient evidence. Those reports will all be put in the fact-finding department for them to build up a case,” he explained.
The PACC’s rules and regulations on processing complaints will be published on May 8, Mr. Belgica added.
The Commission, he also disclosed, recently passed a resolution that allows it to conduct lifestyle checks on “all government officials nationwide.”
The PACC has also an existing deputation resolution, “where we will deputize both public officials and private persons who would like to participate in our anti-corruption efforts. They can do it ‘anonymously’ by texting, by sending us a message on Facebook, by coming to our office, or by submitting a complaint letter,” Mr. Belgica said.
There is also an “informer’s reward” system as approved by the President. “All individuals who will give us information about corrupt government officials shall receive up to 25% of the total amount that will be recovered by the government,” Mr. Belgica said.

Former AFP retirement fund head, lawyer convicted of graft, falsification

By Minde Nyl R. Dela Cruz
THE Sandiganbayan has found a former retirement fund official and a lawyer guilty of graft and falsification over the 1997 sale of 12 lot parcels in General Santos City, Cotabato.
In a 55-page decision promulgated last Friday, April 13, the graft court’s 7th Division sentenced retired brigadier-general Jose S. Ramiscal Jr., then president of the now-defunct Armed Forces of the Philippines-Retirement and Separation Benefits System (AFP-RSBS), and lawyer Nilo J. Flaviano, who acted as attorney-in-fact for the land sellers, to imprisonment of six to 10 years for violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Likewise, the two were sentenced to imprisonment of four to eight years for falsifying public documents and ordered to pay a fine of P5,000 for each of the twelve cases lodged against them.
The Sandiganbayan dismissed Mr. Flaviano’s demurrer to evidence, wherein he argued that the prosecution failed to prove conspiracy between him and the AFP-RSBS, for lack of evidence.
The court also dismissed charges against another accused, Wilfredo Pabalan, then project director of AFP-RSBS, who had since died.
The case stemmed from the execution of falsified deeds of absolute sale which stated a lower than agreed price per square meter (sq. m.).
The falsified deeds of absolute sale indicated a price of P3,000 per sq. m. of the 999 sq. m. of property for a total of P2,997,000 when the property was actually sold at P10,500 per sq. m. or a total of P10,489,000.
This led to the payment of capital gains tax amounting to P299,700 and documentary stamp taxes worth P89,910 instead of P524,475 and P157,342.50, respectively.
The Sandiganbayan ruled that the transaction occurred only between AFP-RSBS and Mr. Flaviano and cleared the individual sellers “for failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.”
The decision was penned by Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta and concurred by Associate Justices Zaldy V. Trespeses and Bayani H. Jacinto.

Expect traffic disruptions today along EDSA, Ortigas area with ADB meet convoy dry run


THE METROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has advised motorists to expect traffic disruptions on Monday, April 16, from 7 a.m. to 12 noon, with the convoy dry run for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) 51st Annual Meeting in May. The main affected area would be the Ortigas Central Business District, where the ADB headquarters is located. Other affected routes are:
• From EDSA Shangri-La to ADB via Bank Drive at 8:30 a.m.;
• EDSA Shangri-La to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 (via St. Francis Street, Shaw Boulevard, EDSA, South Luzon Expressway, Skyway, NAIA Expressway, Imelda Avenue) starting 9:15 a.m.; and
• NAIA to Joy-Nostalg Hotel (via NAIA Road, NAIA Expressway, Skyway, SLEx, EDSA, Guadix, ABD Avenue) starting at 10:30 a.m.
The expected choke points are: Magallanes Interchange, Ayala Underpass, Guadalupe MRT Northbound, Shaw Blvd. corner EDSA, Shaw Blvd. Service Road Northbound, Shaw Underpass, Guadix Drive, ADB Avenue, ADB HQ, Bank Drive corner Julia Vargas, and St. Francis corner Julia Vargas.
The ADB meet will be held from May 3 to 6.

Iloilo provincial gov’t implements ‘No audit report, no additional budget’ policy


THE 42 municipalities and one city under the Iloilo provincial government would no longer be able to avail of new funds if they fail to submit an audit report for previous projects, Gov. Arthur D. Defensor Sr. announced last week. Mr. Defensor said this ‘no audit report, no additional budget’ policy is in line with the Commission on Audit’s (CoA) new regulations. “Like if I give a mayor P10 million for the concreting of barangay roads and then he will ask another budget for the construction of a Day Care Center, he cannot avail of the fund unless and until he has liquidated the previous budget,” he said. The new CoA rules also require the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MoA) between the provincial government and the town before funding can be approved. Aside from the MoA, the municipality must also submit a resolution of request from the council. The governor said these new regulations are good for ensuring “transparency and accountability.” — Louine Hope U. Conserva

EMB-7 to test seawater quality in entire Central Visayas after Mactan result

THE ENVIRONMENTAL Management Bureau (EMB) Region 7 office is not only focusing on the waters surrounding Mactan Island in its seawater testing and analysis, but will carry out the checks in the entire Central Visayas. “We are getting all samples in all beaches in the region. We wanted to keep an updated data on their respective water quality,” EMB-7 Director Engr. William P. Cuñado told The Freeman. Mr. Cuñado said he has ordered his personnel to collect samples in water bodies used for swimming activities. He, however, said these testings would take time due to their limited number of personnel. The seawaters of Mactan Island was earlier highlighted when EMB-7’s water quality testing indicated that the samples show high level of contaminants, particularly fecal coliform, a type of bacteria commonly found in human and animal feces. — The Freeman
>See full story on https://goo.gl/1Ktxzt

5-year tax moratorium in Marawi, Lanao del Sur proposed

A HOUSE resolution seeks to impose a five-year income tax moratorium on the salaries of government workers in Marawi City and Lanao del Sur province, as well as the suspension of loan payments, including interest for five years. Rep. Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines told BusinessWorld in a text message that the resolution, filed on March 20, plans to provide “economic relief” for the government workers who were “at the front line during the battle of Marawi.” The resolution is currently pending at the committee on ways and means, which will convene when Congress resumes session in May. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

DTI-9 urges entrepreneurs to grow their businesses for more jobs

THE ZAMBOANGANA Peninsula regional office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-9) has urged entrepreneurs, as well as potential entrepreneurs, to maximize the use of the Negosyo Centers to grow their businesses and be able to help open more job opportunities. “The more of us are engaged in business, the better not just for you but for the economy. If there are businesses, then there are employment which provides income to people, income that will, in turn, lead to vibrant economic activities in our area”, said Sitti Amina M. Jain, DTI regional director, during late last week’s inauguration of the two new Negosyo Centers in the municipalities of Sergio Osmeña and Jose Dalman, both in Zamboanga del Norte. The “Negosyo Centers, she said, “is for all of you and use it to the fullest.” There are currently 42 centers in the region. — Albert F. Arcilla

Davao water supply project still awaiting DAR conversion permit

THE BULK water supply project of Aboitiz-led Apo Agua Infrastructura, Inc. (AAII) continues to be delayed by the conversion permit that remains pending at the office of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). “The permit is still with DAR and the challenge now is on the DAR secretary because they keep on changing the secretaries,” Arturo M. Milan, adviser for Mindanao of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV), told media last week. The previous DAR secretary was rejected by the Commission on Appointments while the current one has yet to get approval. We’re hoping that by June the latest, ma-settle na ito (the permit would be settled),” he said. AAII has an exclusive contract with the Davao City Water District (DCWD) for the P10-billion project that aims to supply 300-million liters of water per day for 30 years. AAII was initially targeting operations to start by 2019. — Maya M. Padillo

Nationwide-Roundup

Angara pushes for 20% student discount on all transport modes

WITH THE onset of the summer school break, Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara has stressed the urgency for the approval of his bill expanding the 20% discount for students to air, water, and rail transport. “Students do not need to wait for promo fares. They should be given regular discounts to airplane and ship tickets so they could save money as they return to their provinces and spend their vacation,” he said in a statement Sunday. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

Hontiveros says Duterte has no power to issue arrest order for ICC rep

SENATOR RISA N. Hontiveros-Baraquel on Sunday said President Rodrigo R. Duterte has no authority to give arrest orders under the 1987 Constitution following his statements against International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. “President Duterte cannot order anyone arrested. Our Constitution reserves that power for our judges. The President has no power to issue ‘Executive warrants’,” she said in a statement. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

Outgoing military chief Guerrero gets honors

THE PHILIPPINE Military Academy (PMA) honored outgoing Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief-of-Staff Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero with a testimonial parade in Baguio City on Sunday. Mr. Guerrero, a member of PMA “Maharlika” Class of 1984, will be replaced by Lt. Gen. Carlito G. Galvez Jr. on April 18. Another testimonial parade will be held by the Philippine Army on Monday before the change of command and retirement ceremony on April 17. — Minde Nyl R. dela Cruz

Fresh funds injected into normalization process under peace deal

OPAPP

PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER on the Peace Process Jesus G. Dureza said the new $3.2-million budget from the Mindanao Trust Fund (MTF) will help the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) continue their normalization work as part of the peace process. In a press statement released last week, Mr. Dureza said the MTF “will help improve the quality of life of people in conflict-affected areas through community participation and the pursuit of sustainable livelihood within a peaceful and deliberate society.” A separate statement from the World Bank (WB) announced that the Bangsamoro Development Agency, the development arm of the MILF, and the Community and Family Services International, a humanitarian group, are collaborating in the implementation of the $3.2 million grant from the MTF for Reconstruction and Development. WB said the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation is also providing another €1-million funding “to support similar activities.” The MTF, established in 2016, is a WB-administered fund being supported by the European Union and the governments of Australia, Canada, Sweden, New Zealand, and the United States. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

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