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Giving ammo to drug syndicates

Related stories :
NBI eyes obstruction of justice against Marcelino

CA orders PDEA to present “Alabang Boys”

Drilon: Gonzalez wrong about Marcelino secondment

Marcelino appointment covered by AFP regulation: AFP

Blame Arroyo for Marcelino appointment

Only in the Philippines.

Imagine a justice secretary giving drug syndicates ammunition to use against law enforcers. The drug lords must be rejoicing.

In his anger towards Maj. Ferdinand Marcelino, who dared talk back to him at a hearing in the House of Representatives, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the Marine officer’s secondment at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is unconstitutional. Thus, all the operations conducted by Marcelino could be rendered invalid.

RaulGon: No room for soldiers in PDEA

Sees all Marcelino-led anti-drug operations as illegal

by Evangeline de Vera

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez yesterday cast doubt on anti-drug operations conducted by Maj. Ferdinand Marcelino, head of the
Special Enforcement Services of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, saying the Marines officer is not authorized to hold any civilian position, being still in active military duty.

Gonzalez said a constitutional provision could in effect invalidate the operations conducted by Marcelino, considering that his appointment to the PDEA is unconstitutional.

Gaza should concern us

gaza
I plead “guilty” to not having paid attention to atrocities in the Gaza strip in the Middle East.

I know that our own problems here should not be an excuse to be oblivious to the inhumanities being perpetrated on other people in other parts of the world.. We should join hands in condemning lawlessness and injustice, wherever they are committed. They have no place in a civilized world.

Harry Roque, professor of Public International Law at the UP College of Law and at the Philippine Judicial Academy and chairman of the Center for International Law, enlightens us with the following commentary:

Anak ng droga

Ang pagtatalaga ni Gloria Arroyo sa sarili bilang anti-drugs czar, o pangkalahatang hepe sa laban sa ilegal na droga ay nagpapakita ng pagka-inutil ng kanyang administrasyon.

Halata namang gimik lang para maniobra nila at mawala ang isyu sa media at sa isipan ng mga tao. Wala sa priority ni Gloria na masugpo ang ilegal na droga na sumisira ng buhay ng maraming Filipino, karamihan ay mga kabataan. Ang priority ni Arroyo ngayon ay hindi malaglag sa kanyang nakaw na trono.

Ano ang kanyang utos bilang anti-drug czar? Tumigil sa pagsasalita sa media ang mga opisyal ng Department of Justice sa pangunguna ni Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez at ang mga taga Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency sa pangunguna ni Director General Dionisio Santiago at Maj. Ferdinand Marcelino, hepe ng Special Enforcement Service ng PDEA.

Operasyon laban kay Puno at Yano

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.

Arroyo protects Gonzalez; Classmates of Marcelino among those detained in Tanay support him

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.

The right connections

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.

Takipan at takutan

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.