Update: DOJ welcomes pardon for the 9
Halatang-halata naman itong mga opisyal ng military na puring-puri sa siyam na dating opisyal ng Magdalo sa kanilang pag-amin na guilty sila sa ginawa nila sa Oakwoong noong July 2003 nang nanindigan laban sa pamahalaan ni Gloria Arroyo.
Halatang-halata naman na may deal. Huwag na tayo magtaka kung sa susunod na linggo,
ipa-pardon ni Gloria Arroyo itong siyam.
No worry. Esperon has promised them pardon very soon.
The Makati Regional Trial Court on Tuesday handed down a sentence of imprisonment ranging from six years up to 40 years on nine members of the Magdalo group who pleaded guilty to charges of coup d’etat for the July 2003 Oakwood mutiny.
Makati RTC Branch 148 Judge Oscar Pimentel sentenced Captains Gerardo Gambala and Milo Maestrocampo – who are among the Magdalo’s core leaders – to reclusion perpetua or 20 to 40 years of imprisonment.
By Jessica Hermosa And Johanna Sisante
Vera Files
(Last of two parts)
Perhaps no other lawmaker is as enthusiastic about biofuels as Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Zubiri was still congressman for the Third District of Bukidnon when he became principal author of the House bill that eventually became Republic Act 9367 or the Biofuels Act. He campaigned hard to get other lawmakers to support the measure that he earned himself the nickname “Mr. Biofuel.” His official page in the Senate website describes him as the “father of the Biofuels Act of 2006.”
By Jessica Hermosa and Johanna Sisante
Vera Files
(First of two parts)
While ordinary Filipinos face the threat of food shortages caused by dwindling agricultural land, sugar barons in Congress are preoccupied turning their vast haciendas and other lands into plantations to produce and process biofuels.
One of those engaged in this move is presidential brother-in-law Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo who hurdled last month most of the government requirements needed to convert his family’s 157-hectare Hacienda Bacan in Isabela, Negros Occidental into agro-industrial uses, mainly for the production of ethanol.
Tinitingnan ko ang mga litrato ni dating Cory Aquino mula nang ibinalita na siya ay may kanser sa kolon at laki nga ang kanyang ipinayat.
Sa pahayag ng kanyang pamilya na binasa ni Kris, noon pang Enero nagsimula ang kanyang check-up. Ibig sabihin noon may alam na sila noong mga nakaraang buwan na kanser ang kanyang sakit.
I took off last Thursday for a much-needed vacation so I missed the court martial hearing of the 28 officers accused of mutiny and conduct unbecoming of an officer and gentleman for allegedly planning to withdraw support from Gloria Arroyo in February 2006 after her thwarting the will of the people was exposed by the Hello Garci tapes.
But thanks to a friend who was in the hearing. She wrote me the following narrative of what happened last Thursday. I’m sharing this with you to better understand the latest development on the case of these patriot-officers who continue to hold on to their principles despite emotional, economic and physical hardships.
Diretso ng idinawit ni Sen. Panfilo Lacson si Gloria Arroyo sa nawawalang P1.4 bilyon na nakalaan para sa programa ng pagbababoy.
Dapat naman. Lahat na pangungurakot dito sa bansa ay nangyayari dahil kurakot ang pinuno. At hindi naman ito mangyayari kung hindi niya inaprubahan.
From Malaya:
by Victor Reyes
The prosecution on Thursday agreed to review the charges against 28 Marine and Army officers who are facing trial for the alleged attempt to grab power in February 2006 based on the “special plea” of former Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, alleged plot leader.
At Miranda’s arraignment yesterday, military defense counsel Lt. Col. Basilio Pooten moved for the withdrawal of the charges (noli proseque), citing lack of evidence against the accused, after Miranda was asked for his special plea.
In the past weeks, Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda and his fellow detainees at the ISAFP compound in Camp Aguinaldo have been visited by officers with a message from someone “at the top”.
A source said there were two proposals. The first was for the officers to plead guilty to conduct unbecoming of an officer in exchange for the dismissal of the charge of mutiny. Punishment for conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman (Articles of War 96) is dismissal from service while mutiny is life imprisonment.
by Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV
Last August 2007, this author filed Senate Bill No. 1467 entitled “An Act Defining the Archipelagic Baselines of the Philippine Archipelago, Amending for the Purpose Republic Act No. 3046, as Amended by Republic Act No. 5446.” or otherwise known as the “Archipelagic Baselines Law of the Philippines.” The bill was the result of a series of consultations primarily with former Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani, who first pushed for the Baselines bill way back in 1993. It basically defines the archipelagic baselines to include the Scarborough Shoal and designates the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) as a “regime of islands.” To further facilitate the passing of the bill, the technical details provided by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) as enumerated in House Bill No. 1202 filed by Congressman Antonio V. Cuenco as well as its other provisions were adopted in toto. Congress, however, filed HB 3216 that substituted for HB 1202.