Related story: Arroyo names herself drug czar Watch video of interview with Maj. Marcelino: http://www.verafiles.org/index.php/vera-video/165-marcelin-denies-snubbing-nbi
Making life worth living.
Month: January 2009
Related stories:
Supreme Court watchdog keeps eye on move to oust Puno
Matagal nang umu-ugong na gusto ng Malacañang tanggalin si Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno dahil hindi sila sigurado na kakampi sa kanilang mga pinaplano,
Akala natin tsismis lang ito. Ngunit mukhang totoo. Lumabas ang balitang nakakasa na ang impeachment complaint laban kay Puno dahil sa isang kasong pagdisqualify kay Negros Oriental Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong.
Ang beneficiary sa pagdisqualify kay Limkaichong (citizenship ang isyu laban sa kanya) ay si Olivia Paras, asawa ng dating kongresman na si Jacinto Paras, na kilala sa Congress sa galing pumuwesto kung saan may pagkakitaan. Si Paras ay miyembro ngayon ng Kampi, ang partido ni Gloria Arroyo.
To deflect the public’s outrage over the reported bribery in the justice department and involvement of justice officials involvement officials in illegal drugs, Gloria Arroyo ordered that prosecutors involved in the dismissal of cases against the “Alabang Boys” be investigated.
But, she in effect, cleared Gonzalez.
Related news:
Prosecutors go on leave
Gonzalez asked to resign
DOJ chief enjoys Arroyo ‘trust’–Palace
By Joel Guinto
Inquirer.net
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez continues to enjoy the “trust and confidence” of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo despite the bribery scandal his office is facing, the President’s spokesman said on Monday.
“Secretary Gonzalez enjoys the trust and confidence of the President,” deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said, as the Palace rejected calls from the political opposition for the justice chief to resign.
“Some critics of the administration will always ask [for] the head of the leaders in the Cabinet. They are just waiting for an issue or mistake [from government officials] to pursue their agenda,” he said.
Philip Kimpo, son of State Prosecutor Philip I. Kimpo, sent me his letter to Philippine Star. It’s important that we listen to both sides so,…
Several names have come up as the connections that the parents of Richard Brodett, one of the suspects in the September 2008 Ayala Alabang drug buy bust, tapped to free him and his two friends, Jorge Joseph and Joseph Tecson.
Officials of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said the lobbying came loaded with multi-million peso offers.
It did not matter if one was in or out of the government as long as he was willing to say the word like former Navotas Rep. Ricky Sandoval.
Golf, supposedly a game of honorable men, provided an important link in this despicable affair that that further ravaged the people’s faith in the justice system. PDEA director general Dionisio Santiago said Sandoval, aside from being a townmate, is a golfing buddy. Sandoval, on the other hand, said that it was through golf that he met Butch Brodett, the father of Richard.
Natakatawa itong mga prosecutors sa Department of Justice. Nananakot na mag-resign daw sila at low morale na raw.
Sinisisi nila ang Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, lalo na si Marine Major Ferdinand Marcelino na siyang nag-expose na may lagayan sa Department of Justice para ma-dismis ang kaso laban kina Richard Brodett, Jorge Joseph, at Joseph Tecson na nahulihan ng marijuana at cocaine noong Septyembe 2008.
Sinong tinatakot nila? Hindi naman siguro ang taumbayan na pesteng-peste sa kanila. Hindi naman siguro ang PDEA.
by Jocelyn Uy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Retired generals and flag officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are backing the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and its chief Dionisio Santiago for enforcing drug laws “without fear of favor.”
Mired in a bribery scandal involving a drug case against the so-called “Alabang Boys,” the PDEA must be supported by “patriotic and decent” people for continuing to perform its mandated duties well, said the Association of General and Flag Officers, Inc. (AGFO) in a resolution.
“Through the years, the PDEA has been conscientious in the performance of its duties [and] in doing its mandated tasks, it has been subjected to a lot of innuendoes and brickbats, so as to discredit its good name its personnel,” said the resolution.
These prosecutors are hopeless. They see nothing wrong in an undersecretary following up the release of a drug pusher. They see nothing wrong in a defense lawyer preparing a release order, which should be their job. Ang yayabang pa.
by Evangeline de Vera
Malaya
State prosecutors at the Department of Justice yesterday threw their support behind the resolution of the anti-narcotics task force that dismissed the drug charges against the so-called Alabang Boys.
The 100-strong State Prosecutors Association, led by its president State Prosecutor Crisaldo Rioflorido, faced the media following an emergency meeting among its members to denounce the criticisms hurled at the DOJ fiscals triggered by allegations by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency of a payoff in exchange for the release of the three suspects.
by Joel Guinto
Inquirer.net
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff General Alexander Yano called to his office a Marine officer who exposed the alleged bribery in the so-called “Alabang Boys” case, advising him to stay “on the side of the truth,” the military’s spokesman said.
During a 15-minute meeting in Camp Aguinaldo, Yano also warned Major Ferdinand Marcelino, who is detailed to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), against groups with “vested interest” that might take advantage of him, Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres Jr., AFP public affairs office chief, said.
“The advice of the chief of staff [to Marcelino] is to always be on the side of the truth and preserve his moral courage…and lastly, to be wary of some groups with vested interest who may take advantage of the situation,” Torres said.
Update: Zuño asks for relief of his illegal drugs task force saying they cannot anymore work under a cloud of doubt.
The public should watch out for Malacañang’s attempts to smother the expose on the involvement of justice officials in illegal drugs.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez tried to do that during last Wednesday hearing at the House Committee on dangerous drugs when he attempted to turn the table on Marine Major Ferdinand Marcelino, head of the Special Enforcement Service of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency blaming him for not arresting on the spot the the one who offered PDEA bribe in exchange for dropping the case against Richard Brodett, Jorge Joseph, and Joseph Tecson, in their early ’20s and from well-to-do families.
It is in this context that we are wary about the statement of Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro to review the assignment of military personnel in civilian agencies in connection with the important role that Marcelino played in the expose of the rot in the Department of Justice.