Anti-corruption commission says DoT-Tulfo case not assigned to them
MALACAÑANG DID not assign the investigation on the P60-million advertising contract of the Department of Tourism (DoT) with the Tulfo brothers’ show on PTV 4 to the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), according to PACC Commissioner and spokesperson Greco Antonious Beda B. Belgica. “It was not given to us. We don’t know who is doing it,” Mr. Belgica told BusinessWorld in a text message on Sunday, May 6. He added, however, that the agency can do a “motu proprio” [investigation]. The PACC was created by President Rodrigo R. Duterte last year to probe graft and corruption against all his appointees in the Executive Branch. The Commission on Audit (CoA), in a report released last week, flagged DoT’s placement of P60 million worth of advertisements in the show, produced by Ben T. Tulfo’s Bitag Media Unlimited, Inc. The DoT is headed by the Tulfo brothers’ sister, Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo. In his press briefing at the Presidential Guest House in Davao City on Saturday, April 5, Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. said the matter is being investigated already. Asked whether the President still trusts the officials involved, Mr. Roque said: “Well, I think the President, unless he fires a Secretary, has trust and confidence in them. But I think you know when there are controversies, he will investigate and he will make decisions in full as they may be. I think he already has a track record — I think the people can trust the President that he will do the right thing.” — Arjay L. Balinbin
Sereno accuses OSG of forum shopping with quo warranto case
CHIEF JUSTICE Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno has accused the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) of “willful and deliberate forum-shopping” in a 24-page supplemental memorandum submitted to the Supreme Court on Friday, May 4, and released to media on Sunday. “Those behind the impeachment before Congress and the Petition before this Honorable Court are one and the same,” it read, referring to the impeachment complaint against Ms. Sereno for allegedly not disclosing her complete wealth and the separate quo warranto petition seeking to void her appointment as Chief Justice for failing to submit all her Statements of Assets and Liabilities as a requirement for the post. “Forum shopping is a party’s action looking for a court or judge that is deemed likely to render a favorable result. It is a prohibited malpractice and condemned as trifling with the courts and their processes,” Ms. Sereno’s spokespersons explained in a press statement. “It is clear that the parties involved in this case ‘represent the same interests,’ if not substantially the same interest, as those involved in the impeachment proceeding initiated and pending before Congress,” the petition pointed out. The OSG did not respond when reached for comment. — Dane Angelo M. Enerio
3 in military firearms graft case cleared
ANTI-GRAFT COURT Sandiganbayan has cleared two military officers of graft charges over the 1997 purchase of defective firearms after the prosecution’s failure “to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.” In a decision dated April 27, the court’s second division cleared Major Jose L. Barao Jr. and Captain Henry G. Valeroso, along with private respondent Victorino R. Floro, then president of Floro International Corporation (FIC), which sold 75 units of cal. 9mm MK9 sub-machine guns worth P1.5 million to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Another respondent, Colonel Artemio C. Cacal, was earlier cleared after he passed away. Sandiganbayan ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the “undue injury” caused by the selling of the firearms and giving Mr. Floro “unwarranted benefits,” which are the grounds for violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. — Minde Nyl R. dela Cruz
DoJ to appeal dismissal of charges in P6.4-billion shabu shipment
THE DEPARTMENT of Justice (DoJ) will file a motion for reconsideration on the Valenzuela City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 284’s decision to clear nine suspects allegedly involved in the shipment of shabu (methampethamine) from China worth P6.4 billion, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra told reporters on Sunday. RTC Presiding Judge Arthur B. Melicor, in an order dated April 23, dismissed the case against the eight accused, citing that state prosecutors conducted “forum shopping” when they filed separate charges for importation of illegal drugs in a Manila court and another Valenzuelan court, with the latter being dismissed for lack of jurisdiction as the alleged crime was committed in Manila. Mr. Guevarra, however, claimed, “there (was) no forum shopping involved because transporting of illegal drugs is a distinct act from importation.” He explained, ”The act of importation ends at the customs area. Transporting of drugs to Valenzuela is a separate act punishable under a different provision of the dangerous drugs law.” Mr. Guevarra also pointed out that “the case for illegal importation of dangerous drugs against the same accused is very much alive in RTC Manila.” The eight accused are Mark G. Taguba II, Teejay A. Marcellana, Chen Ju Long, Li Guang Feng, Dong Yi Shen, Eirene A. Tatad, Chen I-Min, Jhu Ming Jyun, and Chen Rong Huan. — Dane Angelo M. Enerio
