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Philippines told to learn from how peers manage tensions with China

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

By John Victor D. Ordoñez and Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporters

THE GOVERNMENT of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. should learn from its regional peers that managed to reclaim land from disputed features in the South China despite tensions with China, according to security analysts.

“Other ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) claimants are able to manage their differences with China in choppy waters better and it may be helpful for Manila to consider their experience and practice,” Lucio B. Pitlo III, a research fellow at the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“Vietnam, for instance, is doing major reclamation works with little reported disruption from Beijing, and Malaysia is on track to open a new gas field this year,” he pointed out.

He added that these countries have kept strong economic ties with China by “insulating economics from disputes.”

Mr. Marcos told foreign journalists in April that his government is looking at exploring gas reserves in nonconflict areas within the country’s exclusive economic zone in the waterway, amid the looming depletion of the Malampaya gas field’s reserves.

The gas field, which supplies a fifth of the country’s power requirements, is expected to run dry by 2027.

The President said Manila is likely to pursue these ventures with corporations since the country does not have the technology to do large-scale heavy engineering in exploring these areas.

Senate President Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero has said Manila should hold more dialogues with ASEAN on its sea dispute with China, noting that diplomacy is still its best option to ease tensions.

But political analysts at the weekend said the Philippines should temper its expectations for ASEAN under the leadership of Malaysia to support its case in its sea dispute with China.

Philippine officials who push security measures focused on ASEAN’s ways should consider the bloc’s “long track record of failing to respond to maritime security issues,” said Raymond M. Powell, a fellow at the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University.

Tensions between the Philippines and China have worsened in the past year as Beijing continues to block resupply missions to Second Thomas Shoal, where Manila grounded a World War II-era ship in 1999 to assert its sovereignty.

‘RESENTFUL’
China claims almost all of the vital waterway, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. A United Nations-backed tribunal based in the Hague in 2016 voided China claims for being illegal.

“What the Senate President is saying is nothing new,” Aaron Jed Rabena, who specializes in geopolitics and foreign policy at the University of the Philippines Asian Center, said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “In fact, in most ASEAN-led regional security mechanisms, we raised the issue of the South China Sea and the Code of Conduct.”

He said Philippine trade with China is expected to flourish despite the tensions.

“Yes, Filipinos are very resentful of what China is doing in the West Philippine Sea,” he said “At the same time, we see [the tensions] not yet spilling over in the business realm. I don’t think Filipinos have developed a conscious attempt to boycott Chinese products and services. We can see that Filipinos can compartmentalize.”

Data from Tradeline Philippines showed that trade between the Philippines and China reached $40.3 billion last year, up 2.9% from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, political analysts said political elites who were on board the pivot to China under the previous government threaten Philippine efforts to shift to external defense from internal security.

“The rapacious appetite of public officials to steal from the public coffers is the biggest threat to strengthening our defense capabilities,” said Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco, a fellow at the Ateneo de Manila University Policy Center.

“The effort to boost our external defense capabilities will be scuttled if we allow rapacious public officials to steal money dedicated for this purpose.”

As part of a military modernization program that began in 2012, Mr. Marcos in May approved a wish-list of military procurement worth about $35 billion that will be spent in the next 10 years.

As the Philippines celebrated Independence Day on Wednesday, he cited the “tenacity of our soldiers as they protect every inch of our territory” and said “Filipinos do not, and shall never, succumb to oppression.”

“We are already seeing the shift to external defense, especially when the navy was given the lion’s share of the recent defense budget,” Don Mclain Gill, who teaches international relations at De La Salle University, said via Messenger chat.   

“More needs to be done to sustain a whole-of-government approach to address emerging maritime security issues,” he said, adding that the country should continue to work with partners “to enhance interoperability and preparedness to exercise its sovereignty and sovereign rights more effectively.”

Hansley A. Juliano, who teaches political science at the Ateneo de Manila University, said the government should allot a bigger budget for its navy, air force and coast guard.   

“These offices are the least tied to internal security and are the ones most likely to be roped in external tussles,” he said via Messenger chat.

“Military and service careers must have competitive salaries — it would not be enough to simply invoke patriotism, more so that it’s been exploited for decades now,” he added.

Anthony Borja, a political science professor at De La Salle, said the country’s shift to external defense has been “a matter of political elites figuring out where the Philippines is located in the greater regional and global spheres, and what our role is.”

“On one hand, there are those who would like to keep their heads in the sand by downplaying our role in global politics and giving primacy to a sense of security through appeasement and nonconfrontation,” he said via Messenger chat.

On the other hand, there are groups aligned with the Marcos government that promote a united front against Chinese aggression, he added.

“In the end, we must ask ordinary citizens which sources of threat they actually consider as more serious — domestic or foreign?”

Senate open to third-party review of chamber’s building

A SENATOR on Wednesday said media and other experts should scrutinize the accounts related to the construction of a new Philippine Senate building in Taguig City after it was ordered halted due to rising costs.

“There are many questions, so have a parallel review and dig into not only footage, not only statements but also the history and documents,” Senator Alan Peter S. Cayetano, who heads the committee on accounts, said in mixed English and Filipino via Facebook Live on Wednesday.

The lawmaker, who earlier recommended the project halt in a report to Senate President Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero, said the accounts are public documents.

Mr. Escudero on Monday ordered the suspension of construction work for the new Senate building due to “escalating costs,” citing the need to review expenses and management practices.

He said the Senate would not be transferring to the Taguig building by September or anytime next year after the project cost rose to P23 billion from P8.9 billion.

Mr. Cayetano said the review of the building construction should be factual “It can’t be based on suspicion, speculation and assumption.”

He told the Senate chief about the rising expenses for the building in a report on June 7.

Procurement delays by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and changes to the project had led to additional expenses worth P833 million.

Mr. Escudero agreed with Mr. Cayetano’s recommendations, including identifying “underlying problems in the project and compelling the DPWH to question, evaluate and rectify issues that can still be corrected,” he said in a statement on Monday.

The Senate has been renting its Pasay City building, which is owned by the Government Service Insurance System, since 1997.

In 2017, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian filed a resolution that created an ad hoc committee to study the construction of the new Senate building, which is being built in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.

“Let’s not speculate, let’s not make accusations (about building costs), let’s make sure that our information is complete and accurate,” Mr. Cayetano said.

“The goal is to have the best functional, iconic Senate Building that will be a symbol of our democratic process, of the will of the Filipino people.

“It is only prudent to scrutinize projects involving public funds,” Party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo L. Gutierrez said in a statement. “We owe it to our constituents to ensure that every peso is spent wisely and effectively.”

“This project is a prime example of why stringent checks and balances are essential. The significant cost overrun calls for a reassessment to protect our nation’s fiscal health,” he added.

Party-list Rep. Raul Angelo “Jil” D. Bongalon in the same statement cited the need for transparency, adding that “every centavo must be accounted for to prevent misuse of funds.”

Zambales Rep. Jefferson F. Khonghun said delaying the project pending review is a “responsible decision.” “We must address any concerns and ensure the project aligns with the best interests of the Filipino people.” — John Victor D. Ordoñez and Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Senators, congressmen to discuss legislative agenda, says Speaker

House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez — PHILIPPINE STAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES

By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

KEY SENATORS and congressmen will meet on Thursday to align their legislative agenda after a change in leadership at the Senate, according to Speaker and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.

“We will have a meeting to discuss priority legislative agenda,” he said in a statement in Filipino on Wednesday. “There has been a change in the leadership [at the Senate], and there might be new priorities that could be recommended.”

Senator Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero in May replaced Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri as Senate president, which also led to changes in the leadership of Senate committees, including economic affairs, finance and energy.

Mr. Romualdez said the House of Representatives has approved all 19 Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) priority bills before the June deadline. The Senate has passed eight measures.

The Senate should continue the legislative agenda set by the LEDAC, Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco, a senior research fellow at the Ateneo de Manila University Policy Center, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“If he wants to make his own mark, it’s best to do this after President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s state of the nation address, when he may be open to his inputs,” he added.

“The expectation is he’ll support the legislative agenda of the President. So there is no viable reason for him to deviate from the agenda already set by the LEDAC.”

Mr. Zubiri was probably replaced to make the Senate “more on board the executive agenda,” Hansley A. Juliano, a political science lecturer at the Ateneo, said via Messenger chat.

The Senate could assert its own priorities in the second half of Mr. Marcos’ six-year term if Mr. Escudero does not want to become a rubber stamp, Arjan P. Aguirre, another Ateneo political science professor, said in a Messenger chat.

There might be changes in priority bills, which “usually happens after every leadership change in the upper or lower chamber of any Legislature,” he said.

The backlog in Senate approvals might be due to its focus on politically sensitive issues such as the “allegations of celebrities and political figures using drugs,” Mr. Juliano said.

Congress is on recess and will resume sessions on July 22, before the president’s address before Congress.

Landfill closure may spur illegal dumping

PNA.GOV.PH

By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter

THE CLOSURE of a landfill in Tarlac may result in increased illegal dumping, an environmental group said on Wednesday.

“The possible result of this is that it would just encourage more open dump sites or illegal dump sites in the areas where these wastes come from. So that’s the first real risk,” Froilan Grate, regional coordinator for Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Asia Pacific, told BusinessWorld.

Metro Clark Waste Management Corp.’s (MCWMC) 25-year contract for the Kalangitan sanitary landfill is set to expire by October.

Environmental groups and local government units (LGU) have warned that a potential waste crisis appears to be the imminent consequence.

An estimated 4,000 metric tons (MT) of waste is dumped into the Kalangitan facility per day.

Mr. Grate said that the closure could also disrupt existing zero-waste programs or waste collection programs implemented by LGUs.

“Because a city generates more trash knowing it has somewhere to go… The result will be more mosquitoes, disease, and flooding. So, it will have an impact on our community,” he said in Filipino.

Earlier, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) had touted three potential sites which could offset the potential loss from the closure of the Kalangitan landfill.

The BCDA said the three sites are run by Eco Protect Management Corp., whose landfill has a capacity of 2,500 MT per day; Floridablanca Enviro Park Project Corp. with a 3,500 MT per day landfill; and Prime Integrated Waste Solutions, Inc., which operates a 5,000-MT materials recovery facility.

While BCDA Chairman Delfin N. Lorenzana has rejected speculations of an impending garbage crisis in Central Luzon due to the Kalangitan facility’s closure, Mr. Grate underscored that most LGUs had already been used to sending their garbage to the Tarlac landfill.

He added that the MCWMC has several partnerships with LGUs to take in residual wastes from their areas, which had prolonged the landfills’ life.

The agency had said that a sanitary landfill is no longer consistent with the government’s vision of transforming New Clark City into a premier investment and tourism destination.

DoJ releases 126 prisoners

PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

THE DEPARTMENT of Justice (DoJ) and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) marked the nation’s 126th celebration of Independence Day by releasing 126 convicts from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.

This brings the number of prisoners released in President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s administration to 14,324 through a government program aimed at reintegrating convicts into society.

With the help of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) and the Ateneo Legal Services Center, the DoJ has also been providing free legal services to prisoners at the national penitentiary and various prisons and penal farms in the country.

This free legal representation and advice or consultation program has already visited the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm (PPF), Iwahig PPF, Sablayan PPF, Davao PPF, Leyte Regional Prison Farm, and the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City. — Chloe Mari A Hufana

Ex-DepEd official guilty of graft

WESLEY TINGEY-UNSPLASH

A FORMER Department of Education (DepEd) regional director was found guilty of graft and malversation of public funds amounting to P6.1 million by the Philippines’ anti-graft court.

In a 53-page decision promulgated on June 11, the Sandiganbayan First Division convicted the former DepEd official posted in Zamboanga and ordered him to return the P6,164,424.43 he transferred from the agency’s payroll fund to a private bank account in 2007.

Imprisonment of up to 27 years and perpetual disqualification from public office was meted out by the court on the convicted official.

“The fact that he affixed his signature on the authorization to transfer the funds and on the check to facilitate the withdrawal of the amount shows that he permitted the taking of the money from the government,” read the decision penned by Associate Justice Geraldine Faith A. Econg.

The DepEd accountant in the province, a co-accused in the case, was acquitted of the charges as the prosecution failed to establish her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Associate Justices Efren N. De la Cruz and Juliet A. Manalo-San Gaspar concurred with the order. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Health staff allowances released

MEDICALERT-UK-UNSPLASH

COTABATO CITY — The long-stalled allowances of barangay health workers (BHW) in the Bangsamoro region are now being released, midwives and nurses under the regional Ministry of Health (MoH) said on Wednesday.

Radio stations here reported that the ministry, now headed by Bangsamoro Regional Parliament Member Kadil M. Sinolinding, Jr., has started releasing the unpaid Health Emergency Allowance (HEA) of field employees that were stalled for so long due to past management issues.

Released by his office were three months of the delayed P4,000 special monthly incentives totaling P12,000 cash for each of the BHWs employed, beginning with the municipality of Sapa-Sapa, a remote island town in Tawi-Tawi.

The release of these allowances was among the promises of Mr. Sinolinding, an ophthalmologist, upon his appointment by Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim as head of the MoH last May 6. — John Felix M. Unson

Divorce bill transmitted to Senate

FREEPIK

THE HOUSE-approved Divorce Bill has finally been transmitted to the Senate after being put on hold since last month for corrections on the tally of votes at the plenary.

House Secretary General Reginald S. Velasco initially deferred the transmission of House Bill (HB) No. 9349 after being approved on final reading on May 22 with an initial result of 126 affirmative votes, 109 negative votes, and 20 abstentions.

Mr. Velasco issued a correction of votes a day after the Lower Chamber’s approval, increasing the number of affirmative votes to 131 with no changes to the “no” votes and abstentions.

“This means that the transmittal to the Senate will not wait for the plenary action of the House when the sessions start on July 22, 2024, as previously announced by Velasco,” Albay Rep. Edcel C. Lagman said in a statement, noting that the corrected tally did not change the outcome of the bill’s approval. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

DA-Cordillera preparing for La Niña impact

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Bruno from Pixabay

BAGUIO CITY — The Department of Agriculture in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-Cordillera) has reactivated its disaster operations center and launched an information campaign to prepare for La Niña’s impact, which is expected to bring above normal rainfall in the coming months.

DA-Cordillera Regional Technical Director for Operations Danilo Daguio said their Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Operations Center is expecting a 69% chance of La Niña as forecasted by the state weather bureau.

Earlier, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said that La Niña would likely affect the region from July to September.

The center will monitor standing crops, particularly in low-lying, flood-prone areas, river dams, creeks, and landslide-prone zones. “What we will be focusing on this La Niña are the areas in the low-lying production areas that are prone to flooding or those normally located in river dams and creeks, aside from those areas prone to landslides,” Mr. Daguio said.

The DRRM is focusing on production areas in Benguet, Mountain Province, and parts of Ifugao, updating crop status bi-weekly to estimate potential damage, he said.

Information-education campaign materials for farmers are being prepared and will be disseminated through multimedia platforms. Visits to vulnerable areas are scheduled to inform farmers and local government partners about necessary actions.

Coordination with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation is already ongoing to explore insurance mechanisms for affected crops, said Mr. Daguio.

Seed reserves of rice, corn, and vegetables are being readied, along with farm inputs like fertilizers and bio-fertilizers. “Farm inputs like fertilizers, bio-fertilizers, and post-harvest facilities wherein those established by DA in the past are being monitored to make sure that these facilities are operational such as greenhouses and dryers,” Mr. Daguio added. — Artemio A. Dumlao

P630,000 worth of imported cigarettes seized

SHAUN MEINTJES-UNSPLASH

COTABATO CITY — Police seized P630,000 worth of cigarettes from Indonesia in separate operations in Maguindanao del Norte province in the past two days.

Brig. Gen. Prexy D. Tanggawohn, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said on Wednesday that policemen foiled last Monday an attempt by seafarers to deliver a haul of the imported cigarettes to Barangay Simuay Seashore in Sultan Mastura town.

The said the P450,000 worth of Indonesia-brand cigarettes were shipped to the area from either Tawi-Tawi or Sulu.

“Obviously it was to be delivered to buyers in the municipality and nearby areas,” Mr. Tanggawohn said.

The night before, police in nearby Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte intercepted P180,000 worth of cigarettes of the same brands from Indonesia in Barangay Ungap.

Members of the Sultan Kudarat police who seized the contraband spotted three of the men watching over the illegal shipment, but they eluded arrest.

Mr. Tanggawohn said he has directed the municipal police chiefs in Sultan Mastura and Sultan Kudarat to turn over the confiscated cigarettes to the office of the Bureau of Customs in Cotabato City for proper disposition. — John Felix M. Unson

UN inquiry finds Israel, Hamas both committed war crimes

Toy soldiers, Hamas and Israel flags are seen in this illustration taken, Oct. 15, 2023. — REUTERS

GENEVA — Both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes in the early stages of the Gaza war, a UN inquiry found on Wednesday, saying that Israel’s actions also constituted crimes against humanity because of the immense civilian losses.

The findings were from two parallel reports, one focusing on the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and another on Israel’s military response, published by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI), which has an unusually broad mandate to collect evidence and identify perpetrators of international crimes committed in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israel does not cooperate with the commission, which it says has an anti-Israel bias. The COI says Israel obstructs its work and prevented investigators from accessing both Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israel’s diplomatic mission to the UN in Geneva rejected the findings. “The COI has once again proven that its actions are all in the service of a narrow-led political agenda against Israel,” said Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva.

Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

By Israel’s count more than 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage in the Oct. 7 cross-border attacks that sparked a military retaliation in Gaza that has since killed over 37,000 people, by Palestinian tallies.

The reports, which cover the conflict through to end-December, found that both sides committed war crimes including torture; murder or willful killing; outrages upon personal dignity; and inhuman or cruel treatment.

Israel also committed additional war crimes including starvation as a method of warfare, it said, saying Israel not only failed to provide essential supplies like food, water, shelter and medicine to Gazans but “acted to prevent the supply of those necessities by anyone else”.

Some of the war crimes such as murder also constituted crimes against humanity by Israel, the COI statement said, using a term reserved for the most serious international crimes knowingly committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilians.

“The immense numbers of civilian casualties in Gaza and widespread destruction of civilian objects and infrastructure were the inevitable result of a strategy undertaken with intent to cause maximum damage, disregarding the principles of distinction, proportionality and adequate precautions,” the COI statement said.

Sometimes, the evidence gathered by such UN-mandated bodies has formed the basis for war crimes prosecutions and could be drawn on by the International Criminal Court.

MASS KILLINGS, SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND HUMILIATION
The COI’s findings are based on interviews with victims and witnesses, hundreds of submissions, satellite imagery, medical reports and verified open-source information.

Among the findings in the 59-page report on the Oct. 7 attacks, the commission verified four incidents of mass killings in public shelters which it said suggests militants had “standing operational instructions.” It also identified “a pattern of sexual violence” by Palestinian armed groups but could not independently verify reports of rape.

The longer 126-page Gaza report said Israel’s use of weapons such as MK84 guided bombs with a large destructive capacity in urban areas were incompatible with international humanitarian law “as they cannot adequately or accurately discriminate between the intended military targets and civilian objects.”

It also said Palestinian men and boys were subject to the crime against humanity of gender persecution, citing cases where victims were forced to strip naked in public in moves “intended to inflict severe humiliation.”

The findings will be discussed by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva next week.

The COI composed of three independent experts including its chair South African former UN human rights chief Navi Pillay was set up in 2021 by the Geneva council. Unusually, it has an open-ended mandate — a fact criticized by both Israel and some of its allies. — Reuters

President’s son Hunter Biden convicted of lying about drug use to buy gun

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

WILMINGTON, Delaware — President Joseph R. Biden’s son Hunter Biden was convicted by a jury on Tuesday of lying about his illegal drug use to buy a gun, making him the first child of a sitting US president to be convicted of a crime.

A 12-member jury in Wilmington, Delaware — the Bidens’ hometown — found the defendant guilty on all three counts against him.

Hunter Biden, 54, lightly nodded his head after the verdict was read but otherwise showed little reaction. He then patted his lawyer Abbe Lowell on the back and hugged another member of his legal team.

First lady Jill Biden and Hunter’s wife Melissa held his hands as they left the courtroom.

Mr. Lowell said in a statement they would “vigorously pursue all the legal challenges available to Hunter.” Mr. Biden still faces a separate tax case in California.

Hunter Biden, seen at a Wilmington food hall after the verdict, referred Reuters reporters to his statement when asked for further comment but said, “all is good.”

“How could it not be?” he added, motioning to a child on his lap he did not identify.

The trial took place against the background of a Nov. 5 election pitting Democrat Joseph R. Biden against his Republican predecessor Donald Trump, who was himself found guilty at a landmark New York state trial last month.

At trial, prosecutors offered an intimate view of Hunter Biden’s years of struggle with alcohol and crack cocaine abuse, which they said legally precluded him from buying a gun.

After about three hours of deliberation, the jurors found Hunter Biden falsely claimed to be free of illegal drugs when he filled out a government screening document for a Colt Cobra revolver in 2018 and then illegally possessed the weapon.

In a statement Hunter Biden said he was more grateful for the love and support he had received than he was disappointed by the guilty verdict. He said he was “blessed” to experience the gift of recovery “one day at a time.”

US District Judge Maryellen Noreika set no date for sentencing, but added it would usually be within 120 days. That would place it no later than about a month before the Nov. 5 US presidential election.

Joseph R. Biden issued a statement saying he accepted the outcome of the case and would respect the judicial process as his son considers an appeal.

Hours after the verdict, Hunter and his wife and son met the president’s helicopter when it landed at a Delaware Air National Guard Base in New Castle. The president embraced his son and hugged and kissed his daughter-in-law and grandchild.

Sentencing guidelines for the gun charges are 15 to 21 months, but legal experts say defendants in similar cases often get shorter sentences and are less likely to be incarcerated if they abide by the terms of their pretrial release.

In an audio interview with CNN, a juror identified only as No. 10, said: “In deliberating, we were not thinking of the sentencing and I really don’t think that Hunter belongs in jail.”

The juror said: “No politics came into play and politics was not even spoken about. The first family was not even spoken about. It was all about Hunter.”

FOCUS ON TIGHT WHITE HOUSE RACE
The trial followed the May 30 criminal conviction of Donald Trump, the first US president to be found guilty of a felony.

Mr. Trump, convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal, has claimed without evidence that the multiple criminal prosecutions he faces have been orchestrated by Joseph R.  Biden in a bid to block his reelection.

On Tuesday, Mr. Trump’s campaign showed no signs of changing its tack.

“This trial has been nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family,” Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

Congressional Democrats had pointed to the Hunter Biden trial, as well as ongoing federal prosecutions of two Democratic members of Congress, as evidence that President Biden was not using the legal system for partisan ends.

The president himself said last week he would not pardon his son if convicted.

The Delaware trial included prosecution testimony by Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, former girlfriend and sister-in-law, who gave firsthand accounts of his spiraling addiction in the weeks before and after he bought the gun.

Prosecutors also showed text messages, photos and bank records that they said showed Hunter Biden was deep in the throes of addiction when he bought the gun and knowingly broke the law by answering “no” to being a drug user on a government screening form.

Mr. Biden’s lawyers sought to show he was not using drugs when he bought the gun and did not intend to deceive because he didn’t consider himself a drug user when he filled out the form.

The defense called Hunter Biden’s daughter, Naomi Biden, who testified that her father seemed to be doing well when she saw him shortly before and after he bought the gun.

The Hunter Biden case was brought by US Department of Justice Special Counsel David Weiss, a Trump appointee.

At a press conference afterwards, Weiss said the case was not just about addiction but also about the illegal choices Hunter Biden made while in the throes of addiction.

“His choice to lie on a government form when he bought a gun, and the choice to then possess that gun. It was these choices, and the combination of guns and drugs, that made his conduct dangerous,” Mr. Weiss said.

Mr. Weiss has also charged Hunter Biden with three felony and six misdemeanor tax offenses in California, alleging he failed to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019 while spending millions on drugs, escorts, exotic cars and other high-ticket items.

Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to those charges. A trial is scheduled for Sept. 5 in Los Angeles. — Reuters