SITUATIONER

Justice Sector 01-05 July 2013

RODOLFO D. ENALPE, JR.

JBC resets voting on next Sandigan presiding justice

MANILA, Philippines - The selection process for the next presiding justice of the Sandiganbayan has been stalled because of the final Supreme Court (SC) ruling re-moving one of two members of Congress from the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).

The JBC deferred yesterday the deliberation on nine candidates for the top Sandi-ganbayan post in place of Presiding Justice Francisco Villaruz Jr., who retired from the judiciary last June 8.

Lawyer Jose Mejia, member of the JBC from academe, said they decided to reset voting to July 29 upon request of the House of Representatives in line with the midterm elections last May 13.

“Congress is currently in recess, so we have to wait for them to convene and send a representative to join in the voting for the shortlist,” he explained.

Mejia said the postponement of the voting, which was originally set yesterday, was sought by re-elected Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. in a letter sent last June 28.

Tupas has been the representative of the House in the JBC. The Senate used to also have its separate voting member in the council with re-elected Sen. Francis Escudero as representative.

The JBC previously had eight members, including Tupas and Escudero.

But in a ruling in July last year, the SC ruled that Congress – both House and Sen-ate – should only have one representative in the JBC.

The high court affirmed this ruling and junked the appeal of Tupas and Escudero in summer session last April.

The SC declared unconstitutional the previous setup in JBC where respective rep-resentatives of the Senate and the House are given separate seats and votes for judicial posts, which has been practiced since 2001.

Voting 9-3, the high court ordered the JBC “to reconstitute itself so that only one member of Congress will sit as representative in its proceedings, in accordance with Section 8(1), Article VIII of the Constitution.”

Congress has yet to decide who will be sent to the JBC for deliberations on the top Sandiganbayan post. Both House and Senate are currently in recess and will resume session on July 22.

No representative from either the Senate or House attended the public interviews of the candidates last month.

Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno chairs the JBC with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima as ex-officio vice chair. Apart from Mejia, the other regular members are Mi-lagros Fernan-Cayosa from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, retired SC Justice Regino Hermosisima from the retired justices’ sector and retired Court of Appeals Justice Aurora Lagman from the private sector.

It was learned that Hermosisima’s four-year term in the council would end on July 9.

It is not yet clear whether President Aquino would reappoint him to the post.

The nine nominees for the top Sandiganbayan post are: Sandiganbayan Associate Justices Teresita Diaz-Baldos, Gregory Ong, Alex Quiros, Amparo Tang, and Efren de la Cruz, Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Apolinario Bruselas, Justice Un-dersecretary Leah Armamento, Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rafael Santos and Abra Provincial Prosecutor Nestor Tolentino.

Unlike in posts in the SC, the 90-day period for appointment for vacancy in the anti-graft court starts from day of submission of the shortlist to the President.

SOURCE: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/07/02/960610/jbc-resets-voting-next-sandigan-presiding-justiceBy Edu Punay (The Philippine Star) | Updated July 2, 2013 - 12:00am

Bello urges DOJ to provide protection for sex-for-flight victims

MANILA, Philippines—Akbayan Representative Walden Bello asked Justice Secretary Leila De Lima to provide protection for Filipino women who came out and exposed the sexual exploitation of overseas Filipino workers in the Middle East by Philippine officials.“He said they are asking for protection…some of them were hesitant for fear of reprisals,” De Lima told reporters Tuesday.De Lima met with Bello on Monday and sought the Department of Justice’s help in the investigation of the scandal.De Lima said Bello expressed worry that the abused OFWs were not only victims of exploitation but also of human trafficking.She said both the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Labor and Employment are conducting separate investigations.

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“Depending on the result of the fact finding of the two agencies (DOLE and DFA), then there is a possibility that appropriate criminal charges will be filed and therefore that is with us (DOJ), especially those that have been proven to have been committed either in Philippine territory and syempre sa extensions of Philip-pine territory such as embassy, consulate,” De Lima said.The Justice chief added that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is also con-ducting an investigation on similar cases. On the first case, De Lima said the NBI has finished its inquiry and submitted the report to Bello’s committee. On the sec-ond case, she said the NBI finished its inquiry but a report has yet to be submitted while the third case involved the alleged suicide of an OFW last April who died in-side a Philippine consulate.Bello earlier bared allegations that Philippine labor overseas officials had forced distressed OFWs into prostitution to earn money to fly back home.

SOURCE: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/79421/bello-urges-doj-to-provide-protection-for-sex-for-flight-victimsBy Tetch Torres-TupasINQUIRER.net1:27 pm | Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013

Kidnap suspect nabbed at DoJ headquarters

MANILA, Philippines—A kidnapping suspect was arrested Friday at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) headquarters in Manila while attending a prelimi-nary investigation of another case where he is a witness, said Justice Secretary Leila De Lima.Anthony Aquipel was arrested by NBI agents based on an arrest warrant issued by Calamba Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 35 Presiding Judge Gregorio Velasquez, said De Lima.Aquipel, a resident of Bgy Tabon 1, Kawit, Cavite, allegedly abducted a minor last February in Laguna.He will be temporarily detained at the NBI headquarters along Taft Ave, Manila until the Calamba trial court issues an order specifying where he should be de-tained during his trial.Kidnapping for ransom is a non-bailable offense that carries a penalty of life im-prisonment.

SOURCE: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/438917/kidnap-suspect-nabbed-at-doj-headquartersBy Tetch Torres-TupasINQUIRER.net12:22 pm | Friday, July 5th, 2013

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Akbayan lawmaker asks DOJ to probe sex ‘trafficking’ of OFWs

MANILA, Philippines — Akbayan Representative Walden Bello has asked the De-partment of Justice to take a look at the allegations of sexual exploitation of over-seas Filipino workers in the Middle East by Philippine officials, to ensure that the victims would get the justice they have been seeking.Bello, in a statement, said he met with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Monday and she expressed concern that the experiences of OFWs might not only be a case of sexual exploitation but one of trafficking too.The justice secretary, he said, would wait for the results of the investigations of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Labor and Employment. Based on the results, the DOJ would come up with recommendations to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, he said.“And if it is indeed a case of trafficking, they will investigate not only our em-bassies, but will coordinate with the national government agencies in the coun-tries mentioned to investigate the bigger half of the problem which happens out-side the premises of our embassies,” he said.He said the ordeal of the OFWs in the Middle East, allegedly at the hands of predatory Philippine officials, was “riddled with layers of injustice.”He earlier bared allegations that Philippine labor overseas officials had been pros-tituting distressed OFWs in the Middle East, or had been telling them to exchange in the sex trade to earn money for their flight home.“Abused and distressed migrant workers appealing for help, sold by the people whose mandate is to protect them, to the highest bidder. This is not a simple case of dereliction of duty that will be solved by administrative sanctions,” he said.“More and more women are coming out with their stories, and they are asking for justice. And this is why we brought the issue to the DOJ,” he added.Bello further said the DOJ could help resolve the root causes of the issue.“The DOJ is best equipped to get to the root of the problem and bring the perpe-trators of abuse to account. Only then will we be able to say that we have en-sured the dignity and welfare of Filipinos who leave the country in search of a better life for their families,” he said.

SOURCE: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/79323/akbayan-lawmaker-asks-doj-to-probe-sex-trafficking-of-ofwsBy Leila B. SalaverriaPhilippine Daily Inquirer7:04 pm | Monday, July 1st, 2013

De Lima expresses reservations on using back hoe operator as witness

MANILA, Philippines -Justice Secretary Leila De Lima has expressed reservations on using Bong Andal, the backhoe operator, as one of the government’s state witness in the Maguindanao massacre case.De Lima clarified that Andal was never accepted to the government’s witness pro-tection program.

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She said Andal has been covered by the WPP only on provisional and partial basis, meaning he was not given the full benefits of a WPP witness like financial benefits and allowances.“There is a reason why he (Andal) is not fully covered by WPP, but I cannot dis-cuss the details because of a confidentiality rule in the program,” she told re-porters.Andal applied for WPP coverage and wanted to turn to state witness. However, he went into hiding for fear of his life. He was arrested only last year.The DOJ chief said whether he will be accepted to the WPP or not will depend on the evaluation and recommendation of the prosecutors.“Not all witnesses are entitled to exactly the same terms and conditions. Not all witnesses are entitled to exactly the same benefits from the WPP,” she explained.“In the case of (Andal), his status was a result of the evaluation based on his testi-mony,” she said.De Lima said for a witness to be “essential” his testimony must not be only cor-roborative of testimonies of other witnesses.On Monday, Andal, in a television interview, detailed his participation in the mas-sacre. He said he acted upon orders of Andal Ampatuan Sr.He recalled he dug a big hole near where the victims were shot allegedly by the Ampatuans, then pushed the bodies as well as their cars into the pit.Andal said he closed his eyes as he operated the backhoe to crush every vehicle, with passengers inside, and pile them into the mass grave on a remote hilltop in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao.

SOURCE: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/437739/de-lima-expresses-reservations-on-using-back-hoe-operator-as-witnessBy Tetch Torres-TupasINQUIRER.net5:23 pm | Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013

Diaspora makes Filipino drug mules attractive to smuggling syndicates – De Lima

MANILA—Narcotics syndicates prefer Filipinos to transport illegal drugs for them because many of them go abroad to work, Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said Thursday.“We have so many overseas Filipino workers,” De Lima said, announcing that she has directed the National Bureau of Investigation to hunt down the recruiter of the 35-year-old Filipina drug mule who was executed on Wednesday in China.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima: Confirmation. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO“We are a sending country,” De Lima said, noting there are currently about 10 mil-lion Filipinos overseas.De Lima told reporters that the “big implication” of the case was that a drug syn-dicate was involved here.The woman was arrested with her male cousin in 2011 at the Hangzhou interna-tional airport, each of them carrying more than six kilos of heroin.

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“They could have not done it on their own if the amount of the cocaine or drugs alleged to have been trafficked is such. So they were just used by these syndi-cates,” the justice secretary said.That was why, she said, after the NBI identifies the woman’s recruiter, reportedly a Nigerian, the agency will also look for other members of the syndicate “with the end view of filing charges against him or her and other members of the syndi-cate.”She expressed hope though that the woman’s family would go to the NBI and co-ordinate with them “because they might have information or leads that can be used.”The execution of the woman brought to five the number of Filipinos put to death by Chinese authorities for drug trafficking.Three Filipinos — Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, Ramon Credo and Elizabeth Batain —were executed on March 30, 2011 for attempting to smuggle heroin into China. A fourth Filipino was executed in December 2011.The male cousin of the woman executed on Wednesday was also sentenced to death but was given a two-year retrieve to give him a chance to reform so his sen-tence could be commuted to life imprisonment.De Lima said she pointed out the predicament of OFWs when she spoke at the 5th World Congress Against Death Penalty in Madrid, Spain last month.She said the Philippines signified its interest in joining the global advocacy against the death penalty “because some of our countrymen are put in that kind of situation and happen to be in countries where the death penalty is imposed.”

SOURCE: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/79745/diaspora-makes-filipino-drug-mules-attractive-to-smuggling-syndicates-de-limaBy Christine O. AvendañoPhilippine Daily Inquirer8:53 pm | Thursday, July 4th, 2013

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