PNP ready to arrest those who want to impeach Duterte
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL Police (PNP) chief Gen. Oscar D. Albayalde said they are ready to arrest people who want to impeach the President if found that they have violated the law. “Well, of course kung talagang ipag-utos ng Presidente at may nakita naman tayong (if it will be ordered by the President and when we see a) violation of the law, why not?,” he said at a press briefing at Camp Crame on Monday. Last week, President Rodrigo R. Duterte “warned” that those who want him to be impeached will be arrested. Mr. Albayalde, however, clarified that there should be an investigation first before they could arrest anyone. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras
Moot and academic: SC junks petition on election source code
THE SUPREME Court (SC) has dismissed the 2013 petition of Senator Richard J. Gordon and Bagumbayan-VPN Movement, Inc. asking the court to compel the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to release for review the source code for the automated election. In a press release, the SC said the dismissal is based on the petition being moot and academic. The high court cited that the Comelec promulgated Resolution No. 10423 in September 2018, which modified the qualifications for source code review of interested parties. “As this Resolution No. 10423 governs the conduct of the [2019] elections and any automated election from here on unless it, itself, is superseded by another, the cause of action of the petitioners has ceased to exist,” the court ruled in a decision dated April 10. The petitioners claimed in their May 3, 2013 petition, 10 days before the 2013 elections, that Comelec failed to comply with Section 14 of Republic Act No. 8436 (Election Modernization Act), which requires the commission to allow political parties and candidates, or citizen’s arm to conduct a review of source codes. The SC also dismissed for “utter lack of merit” the indirect contempt charge filed by Mr. Gordon against former Comelec chairman Sixto S. Brillantes, Jr. for allegedly failing to comply with his commitments to the court during the oral arguments held May 8, 2013 to make the source code available for review and to grant more time to parties to comply with the requirements. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
