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Palace says ICC prosecution request based on ‘hearsay’ By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM
& Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
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DMINISTRATION Sen. Francis Tolentino aired “some doubts” over the credibility of a retired International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor pressing for a full investigation into President Duterte’s deadly war on drugs amid mounting body counts. “I still have some doubts as to the official credibility of the former prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s ICC recommendations announced hours before she retired from the ICC last Tuesday [June 15],” Tolentino said. Malacañang, meanwhile, said President Duterte is now confident that the ICC will junk the request seeking for an investigation against him. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said this was the reaction of the President after reviewing the 52-page opinion of ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, which relies heavily on media reports that are widely considered as “hearsay evidence.” “You know, he [President Duterte] shrugged [it]off. The opinion, after checking the sources, [which are] media sources,” Roque said. “Lawyers know that you cannot start any proceedings on the basis of hearsay evidence,” he added. Roque said he shared the assessment of the President on the opinion and apologized for his uncalled for “emotional outburst” last Tuesday, where he slammed Bensouda for pursuing her investigation on the government’s alleged killing of drug suspects. He said the opinion would not likely get pass the “confirmation of charges” stage before the ICC.
Instead of focusing on Bensouda’s case, he said, the government through the Department of Justice (DOJ) will not just focus on investigating the alleged killings perpetrated by police in the government’s campaign against illegal drugs. In a Viber message, Tolentino suggested “we should note that previously Madame Bensouda was included in the Specifically Designated National [SDN] list of the US government under President Trump.” Moreover, Tolentino reminded that “Bensouda, as a designated terrorist, was considered as a threat to US national security and foreign and economic policies and, though a former bank manager, her financial transactions and those dealing with her were blocked by the US Treasury.” “How can she, during her tenure, objectively conduct an investigation when some members of the international community considered her as persona non grata for terrorist links?” Tolentino asked. He added: “A lot of questions will have to be answered first whether a retired prosecutor can still recommend the prosecution of a head of state of a non-Treaty of Rome signatory.” Roque added: “We will file charges and punish those who are guilty of murder. And the President has also repeated he will support the police if what they did is legal. But if it is illegal, they will not get his support.” In a related development, Roque confirmed he was nominated to become a member of the International Law Commission with the approval of Duterte. He noted that even if he accepted in the commission, it does not bar him from possibly running in the 2022 national and local elections.
Doctors appeal for tighter curbs in Bicol, but DILG says IATF may consider only Legazpi for MECQ By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga
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S doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals in all six provinces in the Bicol region appeal for stricter quarantine rules, an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said given the numbers, only Legazpi City would be qualified for modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ). An average of 183 cases daily have been logged in the region with Camarines Sur, Albay, and Sorsogon being the top 3 provinces with the most number of cases. Health-care workers’ capacity is also affected by the high rate of Covid infection that compound the situation wherein most hospitals are understaffed, undermanned even before the pandemic. They warned that if the situation is not addressed, what is happening in India “is not far behind.” Sought for reaction, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, concurrent spokesperson of Interior Secretary Eduardo Año via text message said the appeal from Bicol health professionals through a letter to the DILG chief is now being considered by the IATF. “I personally don’t have a copy [of the letter]. I was just told of the contents. It’s now being considered by the IATF but given the numbers, only Legaspi would be qualified for MECQ,” he said. In their letter dated June 14, 2021, the presidents of 5 medical associations, namely, Carlsen B. Antonio of Albay Medical Society, Susana Baesa of Camarines Sur Medical Society, Eloisa E. Pornillos of the Philippine College of Physicians-Bicol Rufo T. Llorin and Ricardo Isip, Governor-Elect and
Interim Governor, respectively of the Philippine Medical Association-Bicol, expressed alarm over the high rate of infection in all six provinces of Bicol and enumerated the possible causes. The Bicol doctors said what is apparent is that there is localized transmission sweeping in most areas of the provinces in Bicol and attributed these to the laxity in the implementation of the minimum health standards in a number of major business establishments, inadvertent lenient application of minimum health standards in LGUs, disregarded IATF regulations set by the DILG by some local officials; the slow inaccessible, and inadequate testing and much slower and poor contact tracing efforts being conducted at the local level; unconducive and congested isolation and quarantine facilities of LGUs, and lack of personal protective equipment of health workers security, and monitoring staff. They suggested that private companies and national or local agencies be allowed to provide their own isolation and quarantine facilities for their own personnel. They suggested that all positive cases, especially mild and asymptomatic ones, must be isolated in a dedicated Covid recovery and recuperation facility, augmentation of healthcare workers not just in public and government hospitals, but in private hospitals as well to expand their capacity to admit more Covid patients. Also, they said that the possibility of reverse isolation wherein members of the family who is negative for Covid are separated from the other family members who are positive of the virus and are instead isolated in a designated accommodation must be explored.
Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, June 18, 2021 A3
Cops kill ex-Maguindanao mayor linked to ’16 Davao blast, say he tried to escape By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM
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FORMER town mayor of Talitay, Maguindanao, facing drug charges and previously tagged as a supplier of weapons to an outlawed Moro group was shot and killed on Thursday by operatives of the Philippine National PoliceCriminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG). Ex-mayor Montasser Sabal died at the San Juan Medical Center after he was shot by his escorts who were bringing him to the CIDG headquarters at Camp Crame following his arrest in Batangas. In his report to PNP Chief General Guillermo Eleazar, CIDG chief Major General Albert Ignatius Ferro said that Sabal grabbed the service firearm of his police escort, who was seated beside him, while they were on their way to Camp Crame at around 5:20 a.m. The incident occurred in San Juan City. “The suspect grabbed his police escort’s firearm while on board the vehicle which resulted in a scuffle wherein he was able to shoot the police officer beside him. Posing dan-
ger, the accompanying police officers [had] to use reasonable force that resulted in wounding the arrested person through the use of his firearm,” said Ferro. Sabal had been tagged as among the suppliers of firearms and explosives to the breakaway group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), which the government said was among the groups allied with the international terrorist group Islamic State. The former mayor was also tagged as among the planners of the bombing in Davao City in 2016. Eleazar said Sabal was arrested at around 7 p.m. on Wednesday aboard the Reyna de Luna 4 at the Batangas Port in Batangas City after CIDG operatives learned of his arrival from Mindanao. The policemen were armed with an arrest warrant for the former mayor’s two pending criminal cases. Seized inside his vehicle, a white Toyota Innova with conduction sticker SOU 770, were firearms and assorted magazines that included a Colt AR 15, a Glock 9mm, fragmentation grenade, two folded knives, two vehicle
plates, P48,000 in different denominations, five mobile phones, more than 28 grams of shabu and assorted identification cards. The CIDG operatives also arrested Norayda Nandang, 43, house helper; Muhaliden Mukaram, 36, driver; and, Aika de Asis, 34, house helper, who were with Sabal. Ferro said that CIDG operatives carried out pursuit operations against another vehicle, which was at the parking lot of the Batangas City port and was believed owned by Sabal that resulted in the arrest of Ailyn Compania, 45, house helper; Zuharto Monico, 28, driver; and Wilson Santos, 41, driver. Confiscated from the vehicle, a white Nissan Navarra with conduction sticker F1R917, were a 50 caliber crew served weapon; a Colt AR 15 with serial no. ML 63501; a magazine for Colt AR 15; a Garand rifle with built in magazine; a Glock 9mm; a rifle grenade; mortar accessories and various types of magazines and ammunition. The operatives also seized shabu with an estimated street value of P2.5 million and P582,000 in different denominations.
Eleazar, who was showed with the haul, said Sabal was a former policeman assigned to the Special Action Force from 1998 to 2008 and served as mayor of Talitay from 2010 to 2013 and vice mayor of the same town from 2013 to 2016. “Accordingly, Sabal was former member of PNP SAF from 1998 to 2008 and with specialized trainings on Intelligence, Urban Counter Revolutionary Warfare Course, Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Sniper’s Course,” Eleazar said. He said Sabal was also listed under the National Watchlist on Illegal Drugs (NWID). During his term as a local official, he was charged by the Office of the Ombudsman and eventually suspended for failure to disclose his properties and business interests in his Statement of Liabilities and Net Worth from 2011 to 2015. The CIDG said that intelligence reports showed that Sabal was among those involved in the Davao City bombing that happened in September 2016 and was a full time supporter and served as among the supplier of armaments and explosives to the BIFF.
1.5-M doses of Sinovac vaccine arrive at Naia By Recto Mercene @rectomercene
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HE Ninoy Aquino International Airport Customs district cleared and released within an hour some 1.5 million doses of Sinovac vaccines that arrived from Beijing aboard a Cebu Pacific flight early Thursday morning. Health Secretar y Francisco Duque III, National Task Force Against Covid-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. and members of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. welcomed the 1.5 million doses of Sinovac at the premier airport. The 1 million doses of the latest shipment was consigned to the Department of Health (DOH), while the rest of the 500,000 doses ordered by the Filipino-Chinese community is for the inoculations of their employees. The 1.5 million doses were transported to PharmaServ Express cold storage in Marikina City. The DOH said the 1 million doses have been earmarked to cities and
provinces experiencing a surge of the coronavirus. Galvez said the arrival of more doses of Covid-19 vaccines will address the high-risk areas in Mindanao, even as he assured members of Congress that they will not neglect the southern regions. Galvez added that 6 million more doses of Covid-19 vaccines will arrive before the end of this month. He said 4.3 million doses have been delivered in the past two weeks. “The bulk of our vaccine shipments started to arrive only in May. The vaccine deployment was based on the government’s risk assessment as well as our prioritization categories for the most vulnerable populations,” Galvez said. Galvez said some 250,000 doses of Moderna vaccines will arrive in the country on June 25. He said he is also expecting to receive around 2.5 million additional doses of Sinovac this month. “Some 55,000 of the 250,000 doses of Moderna vaccines will arrive on June 25 will proceed to the
HEALTH Secretary Francisco Duque III, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and Federation of FilipinoChinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc.representative Francis Chua lead a group welcoming the arrival of 1.5 million doses of Sinovac vaccines from Beijing Thursday morning at the Naia. PHOTO COURTESY OF MANILA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY MEDIA AFFAIRS DIVISION
private sector and another batch of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX facility will arrive in the third or fourth week of June,” Galvez added. The Philippines is expected to receive as much as 11.6 million doses of Covid-19 shots next month as wealthy nations vowed to donate surplus vaccine doses to developing and poor countries.
Galvez said rich countries have reached an “ inf lection point” wherein vaccine supplies are higher than the demand. He noted that the G7—a bloc composed of industrialized nations like the US, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan—have pledged to donate 1 billion doses of Covid-19 jabs to developing countries, including the Philippines.
SC junks petition vs MMDA’s coding scheme on PUBs By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573
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HE Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the validity of the orders issued by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) imposing the number coding scheme on publicutility buses (PUB) to ease the traffic congestion in Metro Manila. In a 28-page decision penned by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the Court junked the petition filed by bus drivers Samson Pantaleon, Eduardo Tacoyo Jr., Jesus Bautista and Monico Agustin seeking to enjoin the MMDA from implementing its Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program, otherwise known as the number coding scheme, as embodied in Metro Manila Development Authority Resolution l0-16 and Metro Manila Development Authority Memorandum Circular 08, Series of 2010 (challenged issuances) and to declare the nullity of said issuances. It can be recalled that on October 15, 2010, the Metro Manila Council adopted MMDA Resolu-
tion 10-16, Series of 2010 re-implementing the number coding scheme for all PUBs, both provincial and city, on experimental basis due to the recurring heavy traffic along major thoroughfares in Metro Manila, partly due to rampant traffic violations committed by their drivers. On October 27, 2010, MMDA issued Circular 08, removing all PUBs from the list of vehicles exempted from the number coding scheme. This prompted the petitioners to seek redress from the SC through a petition for injunction seeking to declare null and void the said issuances. In their petition, the petitioners argued that MMDA Resolution 1016 and Memorandum Circular 08, Series of 2010 contravene Republic Act 7924, as well as decisions of this Court, which held that the MMDA and MMC have no legislative and police power, as all its functions are administrative in nature. The petitioners said the administrative issuances constitute an exercise of rule-making authority that is beyond the powers of the
heads of the Metropolitan Manila Commission and MMDA. They added that a legislative enactment from the respective local government units is necessary to uphold the implementation of the challenged issuances. Furthermore, even if the issuances were supported by the appropriate local ordinances, petitioners posited that they would still be invalid and ineffective because they unduly encroached upon the powers and prerogatives of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB). Petitioners argued that under Section 16 of Commonwealth Act 146, it is the LTFRB which has the exclusive jurisdiction “ to grant, amend, modify or revoke franchises issued to public utility operators.” However, the SC declared that the assailed MMDA issuances “were validly issued” pursuant to the agency’s power to regulate traffic under Republic Act 7924, the law that created MMDA. It added that its discretion to reimpose the number coding scheme on PUBs was a reasonably appropri-
ate response to the serious traffic problem pervading Manila. “The arbitrariness, oppressiveness and unreasonableness of the implementation of the issuances have not been sufficiently shown. The buses driven by petitioners have not been totally banned or prohibited from plying the Metro Manila roads. However, as in private vehicles, the operation of public-utility buses in Metro Manila was merely regulated with a view to curb traffic congestion,” the Court ruled. While it recognizes the possible adverse effect of the inclusion of PUBs in the number coding scheme on the petitioners’ livelihood, the SC said the general welfare of the public is of paramount importance. “Hence, petitioners’ individual interests must be subordinated to the benefit of the greater number,” the Court stressed. The Court stressed that “there is no outright deprivation of property but merely a restriction in the operation of PUBs along the major roads of Metro Manila through the number coding scheme.”
