(Eagle News) – “We have made history here in defining the impeachment process in the House of Representatives.” This was how House committee on justice chair Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali described how the house panel had so far handled deliberations on the impeachment complaint, as well as the crafting of the articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno which 33 lawmakers had voted to approve. The 56-page articles of […]
National
House approves bill postponing barangay, SK elections on final reading
(Eagle News) — The House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill postponing the May 2018 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections. The House, voting 211-29-0, approved House Bill 7378, which sets the date of the conduct of the May 14, 2018 elections to Oct. 8, 2018 instead. The approval came even as several senators already said the postponement was not likely. Senate President Koko Pimentel has said he sees no reason to defer […]
Palace says it will leave Napoles’ fate to the DOJ
MANILA, Philippines (Eagle News) — Malacañang said that it would leave up to the Department of Justice (DOJ) the re-evaluation of the extent of involvement of so-called pork barrel queen Janet Lim Napoles in the controversial pork barrel scam. In a radio interview, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that it was the discretion of the DOJ whether to place Napoles under the government’s Witness Protection Program or not. He said President Rodrigo Duterte would not […]
Duterte, Saudi prince vow to intensify efforts in fight vs terrorism
(Eagle News)– President Rodrigo Duterte and Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif, Saudi Arabia’s interior minister, vowed to intensify efforts to fight terrorism. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the two government officials made the pronouncements during “very warm and cordial talks” in Malacanang on Monday. Roque said the prince expressed Saudi’s “readiness” to combat violent extremism, and “reaffirmed the importance of the Philippines to Saudi Arabia.” He said “the prince” also “conveyed the deep respect of […]
Senate approves national ID system on final reading
(Eagle News)– The Senate has approved on third and final reading a bill that would put in place a national ID system. Seventeen senators voted for Senate Bill No. 1738 known as “An Act Establishing the Philippine Identification System,” while only two–Senators Francis Pangilinan and Risa Hontiveros–dissented. Under the measure, the national ID, which would contain the PhilSys Number and other relevant information of the individual “shall serve as the official government-issued identification document of […]
Umali: House plenary to “overwhelmingly approve” committee report, Articles of Impeachment vs Sereno
(Eagle News) — House Justice committee chair Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali on Monday expressed confidence there would be sufficient votes for the draft articles of impeachment and the committee report against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno at the plenary. “The writing is already on the wall. It will not be difficult to obtain the one-third vote,” Umali said. A vote of one-third of House members is needed to send the impeachment complaint to the Senate, […]
Akbayan calls on Aguirre to resign
(Eagle News) — Resign now. Members of Akbayan trooped to the Department of Justice on Monday to demand for the resignation of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre. This was following news Janet Lim Napoles was provisionally admitted to the Witness Protection Program after she executed another affidavit supposedly providing additional details about the pork barrel scam. Earlier, drug cases filed against Kerwin Espinosa, Peter Lim and others were junked by a DOJ panel of prosecutors. […]
Sereno camp: House justice panel approval of Articles of Impeachment, committee report already expected
(Eagle News) — The camp of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Monday said they were not surprised the House justice panel approved the committee report and the Articles of Impeachment against her. “Hindi naman ikinagulat ng aming kampo kung ano yung narinig nating ulat sa committee on justice dahil yan naman ay batay na rin sa mga nagdaang pagdinig sa komite at nabasa narin namin batay dun sa naging botohan on the finding of probable […]
Senate arrest order issued vs Bautista may be lifted soon
Bautista’s lawyer promises to submit his client’s affidavit on March 26 By Meanne Corvera Eagle News Service The arrest order issued against former Commission on Elections Chair Andres Bautista may be lifted next month. This was after Bautista’s lawyer, Anacleto Diaz, promised to submit his client’s affidavit to the Senate committee on banks on March 26, 2018. The panel led by Senator Francis Escudero is looking into the allegations of undeclared wealth against Bautista, who was again a […]
Dela Rosa: Duterte to exercise his power to review dismissed cases vs drug lords
By Mar Gabriel Eagle News Service President Rodrigo Duterte will exercise his power to review dismissed cases against drug lords. According to Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa, this was Duterte’s assurance himself after Philippine Military Academy graduation rites on Sunday. Duterte made the statement after a first panel of prosecutors junked the drug cases against self-confessed drug distributor Kerwin Espinosa and others, citing a “dearth of evidence.” Dela Rosa noted he also received […]
UPDATED: House justice panel approves committee report, articles of impeachment vs Sereno
(Eagle News)–The House justice panel on Monday approved the committee report and the articles of impeachment against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. The panel voted 33-1 for the six articles containing 24 allegations, with only Rep.Kit Belmonte opposing the motion. The original impeachment complaint filed against Sereno contained 27 allegations. Included in the approved 24 allegations–which the panel said constituted a commission of high crimes, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust and a culpable […]
Napoles’ lawyer: She could not have masterminded pork barrel scam
(Eagle News)–The lawyer of Janet Lim Napoles reiterated on Sunday that she could not have masterminded the P10-billion pork barrel scam. In an interview over dzbb, Stephen David noted that Napoles was a high school graduate and a “private person.” “Paano naging mastermind ang isang private person na hindi nga nakatungtong ng college, para paikutin mo yung buong Senado o buong Kongreso? Parang hindi naman kapani-paniwala yun,” he said. He said the previous administration only […]





