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House prosecutors ready for VP Sara’s impeachment trial

VICE-PRESIDENT SARA DUTERTE-CARPIO — FACEBOOK.COM/MAYORINDAYSARADUTERTEOFFICIAL

THE CONGRESSMEN who will serve as prosecutors in the trial of Vice-President (VP) Sara Duterte-Carpio are prepared to make their case when the Senate convenes as an impeachment court, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said on Wednesday.

The Senate should ensure that there would be no “unnecessary delays” during the trial, which he said is important to keep Philippine institutions credible and accountable.

“The report I received from the House of Representatives prosecutors is that they are ready to present the case any time the impeachment court is convened,” he said in a statement in Filipino.

“We trust that the Senate will carry out its constitutional duty and proceed with the trial without unnecessary delays, in accordance with the rule of law,” he added.

The House impeached the Vice-President on Feb. 5, alleging secret fund misuse, unexplained wealth, acts of destabilization and plotting the assassination of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and his family.

Ms. Duterte has denied any wrongdoing.

The impeachment complaint was filed and signed by more than 200 congressmen, more than the one-third legal requirement before it could be sent to the Senate.

The Senate plans to present the articles of impeachment and approve the revised impeachment rules once it reconvenes for a two-week session in June.

“I trust that the Senate will exercise its role as the impeachment court with the utmost fairness and independence,” Mr. Romualdez said. “The House has done its part in impeaching the Vice-President, and now it is up to the Senate to conduct a fair trial based on facts and evidence.”

Also on Wednesday, House Deputy Majority Leader and La Union Rep. Francisco Paolo P. Ortega V said the Senate should start Ms. Duterte’s impeachment trial.

“If the Senate can convene during recess to discuss other matters, then it should also be ready to deliberate on the impeachment case against the Vice-President,” he said in a separate statement.

The Philippine Congress has been on a four-month break since February for the midterm election campaign. Filipinos will pick a new set of congressmen, 12 of the 24-member Senate and other local government officials on May 12.

“If there’s time for other issues even during recess, why not focus on a matter that deeply impacts our nation?” Mr. Ortega asked.

The Senate in March held hearings into the collapse of a multi-billion-peso bridge in Isabela province and a dismissed mayor implicated in the operations of illegal online casinos. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

DBM approves release of P16.89-B subsistence allowance for soldiers

PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved the release of P16.89 billion to increase the subsistence allowance of officers and personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

“This is a big help for the family of our military,” Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said in a statement on Wednesday, noting that a decade has passed since soldiers got an allowance increase.

The fund release is mandated by Executive Order No. 84, which President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed on March 14.

The executive order deemed the subsistence allowance of military personnel to be no longer adequate.

The allowance increase to P350 per day from P150 aims to “protect and promote their welfare and recognize their sacrifices and perseverance in defending and upholding the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Budget department said.

Under the order that took effect on Jan. 1, officers and enlisted personnel of the AFP, including trainees and probationary second lieutenants and ensigns undergoing military training will be covered by the increase.

Citizen military training cadets on summer camp training and reserve officers and enlisted reservists undergoing training and assembly and mobilization tests and Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit members will also get an increase.

“The total requirement for the purpose shall be charged against the available personnel service appropriation of concerned agencies under the AFP, such as the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Navy, naval Forces, Philippine Marine Corps and general headquarters,” the agency said.

The AFP said the increased allowance is part of their efforts to ensure the welfare of soldiers and strengthen the well-being of their troops, especially those who serve on the frontlines.

“The adjustment in our military personnel’s allowance has been studied for a long time,” Ms. Pangandaman said. “We are happy that this was passed in the 2025 General Appropriations Act.” — Aaron Michael C. Sy

Malaysian gov’t refusing to cooperate in probe of ex-Bamban Mayor’s escape, Remulla says

DISMISSED Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo. — PHILIPPINE STAR/JESSE BUSTOS

THE MALAYSIAN government is withholding information about the travel history of a former Bamban mayor, who escaped from Philippine authorities in July amid investigations into alleged illegal activities linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), the Philippine justice secretary said on Wednesday.

“The case of Alice Guo is a very peculiar case because Malaysia refused to cooperate with us,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla told reporters in a briefing.

“Malaysia is supposed to give us the information. They know what flight entered, what aircraft entered, and where she was riding, but they refused to give it to us,” he added.

The Malaysian Embassy is currently obtaining the necessary information in relation to Mr. Remulla’s claims, Malaysian Ambassador Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino Anthony said in a WhatsApp message.

Ms. Guo is accused of having ties to Chinese criminal syndicates and money laundering linked to POGOs.

She and her cohorts escaped in July but was deported after her arrest in Jakarta on Sept. 4, 2024. Her travel records showed she fled to Malaysia and Singapore, before arriving in Indonesia, using her Philippine passport.

Mr. Remulla noted the Department of Justice and the Department of Foreign Affairs had already “done everything” to negotiate with Kuala Lumpur, but they had “faced a stone wall.”

Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado, in a Senate hearing on Tuesday, alleged Ms. Guo used Tawi-Tawi as a backdoor exit as she left no records of her leaving the Philippines.

National Intelligence Coordinating Agency Director Ferlu J. Silvio had likewise said that she and her companions might have fled the country through Tawi-Tawi since it was much nearer to countries like Malaysia.

The Justice chief said one of the reasons for their refusal to cooperate may be due to an arbitration ruling in favor of Malaysia, which the Philippine government has not implemented.

This ruling is in connection with a Sabah dispute between the heirs of a former sultan of Sulu and the Malaysian government.

France’s highest civil court last Nov. 6, 2024, rejected the appeal of the heirs of a former sultan who sought almost $15 billion from Malaysia over an 1878 land deal, according to a Nov. 7 report by Reuters.

The heirs initially won the arbitration case in 2022 but were denied enforcement by a Paris court.

“As a matter of policy, we don’t interfere in the case. It is the heirs of the sultan of Sulu who are in that case, but they want us to implement the case, which we’re not doing,” Mr. Remulla said. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

Duterte arrest not a diversion — PCO

CLARISSA A. CASTRO — PCO.GOV.PH

THE PALACE on Wednesday bucked accusations of Davao City Mayor Sebastian Z. Duterte that the government is using his father’s arrest and trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) to make the public forget about supposed anomalies in this year’s national budget and the mismanagement of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

“This is not a diversionary tactic,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Clarissa A. Castro told a news briefing on Wednesday, in response to claims made on Mr. Duterte’s Facebook page.

“He (Sebastian Z. Duterte) wants to show the public that his family members are victims and are being singled out.”

The incumbent Davao City Mayor had also asked the Supreme Court to declare the arrest of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte as illegal.

The tough-talking leader, who was President from 2016 to 2022, was arrested last week in Manila, marking the biggest step yet in the ICC’s probe of his alleged crimes against humanity during an anti-illegal drug crackdown that killed thousands and drew condemnation around the world.

The Hague-based tribunal has been investigating him for crimes he allegedly committed when he was Davao City mayor and during the first three years of his government, when the Philippines was still a party to ICC.

The deliberations for this year’s national budget had been criticized after lawmakers approved a zero subsidy for PhilHealth amid alleged mismanagement and failure to boost members’ benefits. This year’s spending plan also came under fire over supposed blank items consisting of more or less 13 pages.

“We had planned to talk directly with PhilHealth representatives,” Ms. Castro said. “We already have the information, but we are not releasing it now because the current issue is about the ICC, and people might not understand if we discuss a different topic.”

Ms. Castro also reiterated the need to look into the use of the so-called confidential funds used by the office of Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

DoJ did not OK SolGen’s recusal

JESUS CRISPIN C. REMULLA — PHILIPPINE STAR/JOHN RYAN BALDEMOR

THE Justice secretary on Wednesday said the Solicitor-General (SolGen) did not have his permission to withdraw from representing the government in a consolidated lawsuit involving former President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

Justice Chief Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said without his permission, Solicitor-General Menardo I. Guevarra on Monday recused from representing the government in a consolidated lawsuit filed by Mr. Duterte’s children—Sebastian, Paolo, and Veronica—regarding their father’s arrest on March 11.

“His (Guevarra) refusal was not on my clearance. He does not clear things with me, but of course, I consider it a personal reason, and if he did not want to use the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), that’s his own reason,” Mr. Remulla said in a news briefing.

The OSG is an attached agency of the Department of Justice (DoJ).

On Monday, he recused himself from representing the government, saying his office stands firm in its position that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no jurisdiction in the country after it withdrew in 2018. Mr. Guevarra was Mr. Duterte’s Justice Secretary from 2018 to 2022. 

The OSG is tasked with representing the government in lawsuits, but with its recusal, the DoJ will now take its place in the lawsuit questioning Mr. Duterte’s arrest filed before the Supreme Court.

“We have to put our best legal minds to work, but the DoJ will be more than sufficient to defend the position of the Republic in this matter. I think that it’s time to assert our identity as the lawyer of the people in this case,” Mr. Remulla added, noting the DoJ will “pick up the slack.” — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

PHL, France hold political talks

DFA FB PAGE

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippines and France held their fourth Political Consultations, tackling potential collaboration in trade and investment, energy, health, climate change, science and technology, defense, and people-to-people exchanges.

In a statement on Wednesday, the DFA said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro met with France’s Director for Asia and Oceania Benoît Guidée, during the consultation.

“The Undersecretary and the Director discussed practical steps to foster closer collaboration on issues of mutual interest and benefit. In particular, France reaffirmed its support for the early conclusion of negotiations towards a comprehensive, balanced, and modern PH-EU (European Union) Free Trade Agreement,” it said.

The agency added that both countries also committed to strengthen development cooperation on infrastructure, maritime affairs, and environment.

The two envoys also discussed views on the latest developments in the South China Sea, Southeast Asian region, Ukraine, and the Middle East.

“They also emphasized the importance of a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific as well as the crucial role of freedom of navigation in the region for global security, including economic security,” the DFA said. — Adrian H. Halili

Japan to open new visa centers in April

GENERAL VIEW of cherry blossom trees with Mount Fuji in the background at Lake Kawaguchiko, Fujikawaguchiko, Japan, April 14, 2024. — REUTERS

JAPAN will open new visa application centers in the Philippines in April to streamline the visa process and enhance convenience for applicants, the Japanese Embassy said on Wednesday.

The Japan Visa Application Centre (JVAC), operated by VFS Service Philippines, Inc., will begin accepting applications on April 7, with branches located in Parañaque City, Makati City, Quezon City, Cebu City, and Davao City.

“Applications will no longer be accepted at the accredited agencies on April 6, 2025. Please note that from April 7, 2025, applications will be accepted at the Japan Visa Application Center,” it said in a statement.

However, it noted that if applicants coursed through an accredited agency before April 6, 2025, the release of their passport will also be at the agency where they applied.

Applicants with diplomatic or official passports or those requiring urgent humanitarian assistance are advised to contact the Embassy of Japan in Manila or the nearest consulates in Cebu and Davao for guidance.

In a separate briefing, the Embassy said the new visa center would not hasten the visa application process.

It advised applicants to apply “well in advance” and “take advantage of the reservation system” that was launched on March 19.

Japan welcomed a record-high 800,000 Filipino tourists in 2024. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

Masungi Georeserve asks Marcos to intervene in DENR eviction order

DENR.GOV.PH

THE Masungi Georeserve Foundation on Wednesday asked President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to intervene in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) cancelation of a 2002 agreement that was instrumental in the development of the georeserve.

The Foundation made the statement after the Blue Star Construction Development Corporation, its conservation partner, officially received a 15-day notice from DENR ordering its eviction from the lot where the georeserve stands.

“This eviction order weakens the very safeguards designed to protect Masungi’s lands. Any precipitous action to enforce the same, and even just the threat of it, can only embolden entities who have boldly asserted illegal claims in Lot 10 that Blue Star has assiduously resisted through the years to ensure the land is not lost,” the Foundation said.

It urged the government to “pause and review” the DENR’s eviction order to allow for “a fair and thorough review” and engage in open dialogue with all stakeholders to find “a just and sustainable path forward.”

In announcing the cancellation of the contract, the DENR last month cited the company’s “failure to go through a bidding process.”

“The DENR canceled the 2002 supplemental agreement also for lack of the required Presidential Proclamation that should declare Lot 10 as open for disposition to develop housing units within the area. The said area was registered under the Republic of the Philippines in Original Certificate of Title (OCT) 3556 and later on transferred to Bureau of Corrections and DENR Region IV-A (Calabarzon),” the agency said in a statement in early March.

The Foundation said the order threatens not only years of forest restoration, wildlife protection, and geotourism but also the livelihoods of up to 100 hardworking rangers and their families.

In a separate statement, Blue Star said it has referred the eviction document to its legal counsel for appropriate legal steps.

“We will respond in due course through the proper channels.”

“We urge all stakeholders to engage with fairness and responsibility—ensuring that discussions remain rooted in verified facts, a shared commitment to environmental stewardship, and the integrity of public-private partnerships.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

SSS, CFO to launch KaSSSangga Collect Program

BW FILE PHOTO

THE Social Security System (SSS) has partnered with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) to implement the KaSSSangga Collect Program, giving its workers social security protection.

“CFO will act as an authorized Coverage and Collection Partner of SSS, enabling the agency to collect and remit the monthly SSS contributions of its JO (Job Order) and COS (Contract of Service) workers through a salary-deduction scheme,” SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Joseph M. de Claro said in a statement on Wednesday.

The SSS and CFO signed a Memorandum of Agreement on March 7 to formalize the partnership.

Under the agreement, JO and COS workers will be registered as self-employed SSS members through the KaSSSangga Collect Program. The SSS, however, noted they do not fall under the coverage of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) due to their employment status.

This will give them access to social security benefits, including sickness, maternity, disability, retirement, funeral, and death benefits.

They will also be able to apply for SSS loan programs, such as salary and calamity loans.

“Furthermore, they will receive additional coverage from the Employees’ Compensation Program (ECP) for work-related sickness, disability, or death,” Mr. de Claro added.

Regular CFO employees can also continue paying their SSS contributions as voluntary members under the program. — Aaron Michael C. Sy

17 terrorists nabbed in Maguindanao del Sur

COTABATO CITY — Seventeen local terrorists were arrested in an anti-terror operation in Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur on Monday.

The operation also led to the seizure of powerful improvised explosive devices and six assault rifles, Major Gen. Donald M. Gumiran, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said, citing a report from the Army’s 90th Infantry Battalion (IB).

Soldiers and policemen were dispatched to Barangay Kapinpilan after Moro villagers reported the presence of the 17 men in the area, three of whom were spotted assembling powerful improvised explosive devices using ammonium nitrate as main blasting powder.

Moro leaders in Ampatuan confirmed to reporters that the 17 men are combined members of the Dawlah Islamiya and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

The 17 local terrorists yielded peacefully when they sensed that soldiers and policemen had surrounded their hideout, ready to neutralize them if they resisted arrest.

They are now in the joint custody of the 90th IB and the police, undergoing tactical interrogation, according to municipal officials. — John Felix M. Unson

Choco Mucho and Akari eye semis slot against PLDT, Galeries Tower

CHOCO MUCHO FLYING TITANS — FACEBOOK.COM/PREMIERVOLLEYBALLLEAGUE

Games on Thursday
(PhilSports Arena)
4 p.m. – Choco Mucho vs PLDT
6:30 p.m. – Akari vs Galeries Tower

CHOCO MUCHO and Akari shoot for the first two semifinal seats as they battle PLDT and Galeries Tower, respectively, on Thursday in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the PhilSports Arena.

The Flying Titans took the opener of their best-of-three quarterfinal duel with the High Speed Hitters, 20-25, 19-25, 25-15, 25-20, 18-16, while the Chargers likewise prevailed in a 21-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-16, 15-11, both last Saturday and will advance to the round-robin semis with a Game Two triumph.

A decider, if necessary, is either next Tuesday at the same Pasig venue or next week at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

The Flying Titans may just use the same combination that helped them mount and complete a comeback from two sets down centered on setter Mars Alba, who checked in the third set and dished out 16 excellent sets while chipping in three hits.

“We knew we needed to be strong to have a chance to win,” said Ms. Alba.

Sisi Rondina will again be the player to watch after dropping 31 points last game.

Ivy Lacsina, for her part, is expected to ride the crest of her 28-point masterpiece last outing as the Chargers target their second semifinal appearance since making it that far in last year’s Reinforced Conference where they ended up as runners-up.

“We just need to keep on working,” she said. — Joey Villar

Alyssa Solomon remains eligible in UAAP Season 87 after KVF draft withdrawal

ALYSSA SOLOMON — UAAP

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY (NU) spiker Alyssa Solomon will remain eligible in the ongoing UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball.

The UAAP Board of Managing Directors (BMD) cleared Ms. Solomon of any conflict in the aftermath of her Korean Volleyball Federation (KVF) draft application withdrawal, according to the league’s statement on Tuesday night.

“The University Athletic Association of the Philippines Board of Managing Directors, after due deliberation, confirmed that National University student-athlete Alyssa Solomon remains eligible to compete in the UAAP,” the league stated.

“While the BMD noted that Ms. Solomon did apply and was included in the draft list of the 2025 Korean Volleyball Federation Asian Quota Draft, her subsequent action in immediately withdrawing her application allowed her to continue competing in the ongoing UAAP Season”

Ms. Solomon enlisted for the Korean league earlier this month, featuring 43 players under the 2025 Asian Quota Draft set this April.

The move, however, led to questions about her due to the existing UAAP rules that prohibit players during the season to apply for any pro league in order to retain amateur status and focus on their respective team’s campaign.

The rule, stemming from the precedent of student-athletes jumping to the pro basketball league like the PBA 10 years ago, is implemented from there on across all UAAP sports.

To dodge any repercussions though in the middle of NU’s title retention bid, Ms. Solomon this week withdrew her application with no games affected as the Korean league draft is still an initial list.

Ms. Solomon, last season’s Finals MVP, is coming off a stellar week after being named the Collegiate Press Corps’ UAAP Player of the Week with an average of 23 points as NU completed a 7-0 sweep of the first round.

“The UAAP remains committed to ensuring the integrity of its competitions and the welfare of its student-athletes,” the UAAP concluded. — John Bryan Ulanday

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