Supreme Court of the Philippines (SCOTP) Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
Supreme Court of the Philippines (SCOTP)) Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Monday said President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s announcement of an informal investigation on the alleged involvement of seven judges in the illegal drugs trade “was premature”.
”The SC would consider it important to know the source and basis of any allegation that specific judges are involved in the illegal drugs trade,” Sereno said in her four-page letter to President Duterte.
She expressed alarm over the announcement of the narco-judges, saying that judges are vulnerable to extra-judicial killings and this would have an impact on the performance of the judges’ “adjudicative role”.
Sereno emphasized the importance of the good reputation and credibility of judges.
She said they are expecting this to have an effect on the schedule of trials and conferences of the judges.
Admitting that the President’s announcement sprang a surprise on them, the Chief Justice said it would have been better if the High Court was given the opportunity to conduct preventive measures before the announcement was made.
Sereno also disclosed that the SC is investigating a judge who may be involved in the trade of illegal drugs but is not in the list of President Duterte.
President Duterte has earlier named Judge Lorinda Toledo-Mupas of Dasmarinas, Cavite; Judge Reyes of Baguio City; Judge Savilo of Iloilo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 13; Judge Casipli of Kalibo, Aklan Municipal Trial Court (MTC); Judge Rene Gonzales of Iloilo City Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC); Calbayog City, Samar RTC Judge Navidad; and Dapa, Siargao MTC Judge Ezekiel Dagala.
Of the seven judges, Mupas was dismissed in 2007, Navidad was shot to death in 2008, and Gonzales retired in January 2016.
Judge Roberto Navidad of Regional Trial Court 32 in Calbayog City of Samar province, identified by President Duterte as narco judge was killed by an assasin on January 15, 2008 while inside his car in Calbayog.
The Navidad murder is still a police cold case file as the killer remains unidentified and at large.
The relatives of the slain judge were shocked upon learning of President Duterte’s announcement.
Elias Navidad Acosta, the slain judge’s nephew now employed as court sheriff at the RTC-Branch 7 in Calbayog expressed exasperation and disbelief.
“He was my uncle. I know him from head to foot. He was not a drug protector. He was a drug eliminator or a drug buster. That is why he was shot dead by these syndicates,” Acosta said, as quoted by the report.
The slain judge was formerly at the helm of RTC-7 in Tacloban for 10 years, then RTC-32 in Calbayog for over five years prior to his assasination. He was the mayor of MacArthur town from 1972 to 1979.
The younger Navidad claimed his uncle was shot to death because the judge fought the drug lords in Calbayog.
The judge’s family have relocated to the US since.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Monday confirmed that four military personnel included in President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s “narco list”, are no longer connected with the AFP.
Reports coming from different units indicate that Cpl. Alfrenz Gurias Abedin, Pfc. Dalimama Ipad, Pfc. Philip Miro and CAFGU (militiaman) Casimiro Castro have been discharged from the service for sometime now, AFP public affairs office chief, Col. Edgard Arevalo, said, noting that the exact date of their discharge still has to be ascertained.
The fourth, retired Brig. Gen. Leoncio Daniega, had already died on May 8, 2010.
Records from the AFP Pensions and Gratuity Management Center showed that Daniega retired from service in December 1994 and his last known address was in Caloocan City.
“On the other hand, we are still in the process of determining the whereabouts of SSg Vic Dela Cruz and Cpl. Cusinan Lopez. The AFP is checking with other units that may have SSg Dela Cruz and Lopez in their roster,” Arevalo said. (With reports from PNA)
Tell us your thoughts on this article. If logged in with any of your Wordpress.com, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or registered on this site before, then you can simply write your comment below. Thanks and appreciate your feedback. Cancel reply
Her story resembles that of a script lifted direct from a tele-novela. This video is another installment in our continuing coverage of ordinary people sharing their experience during their married life. The resource speaker on this video supports the passage of the divorce bill in the Philippine congress. The speaker […]
Did regret came too late? A girl who transitioned to becoming a boy during teenage year speaks of great regret for having done so. Charlie Evans “became” male for close to ten years before making a turn-around from a decision made. Evans detransitioned in 2018. But will it recoup the […]
This is only a passing question for residents living around the City of Naga and also of towns nearby, and maybe of Camarines Sur province, too. Have you visited the Jesse Robredo museum yet? If not, then come on, let’s join Vice-President Leni Robredo show us around. The VPOP is […]
Canadians react with disdain on government officials, which include PM Justin Trudeau and Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, due to garbage dumping in the Philippines. Watch how independent conservative YouTube channel shares reaction and more below: [At 1:40, notice the government official sitting right of President Duterte make face, reacting to […]
Sharing here the attendance of Vice President Leni Robredo during the 121st Independence Day rites this morning at Rizal Park in Manila. And below is the commemorative message of the vice president for the occasion: Sa araw na ito, bilang nagkakaisang lahi, ipinagdiriwang natin ang ika-isangdaan at dalawampu’t isang taon […]
A short clip derived from a PBS (US tv channel) documentary highlights a woman acquiring a “sense of peace” after aborting her two (twin) babies. The woman was shown getting clear instruction from the doctor on the dosage and timing of taking “medical” abortion pills. The doctor was so blatant […]
The most important and relevant documentary movie drops today. Will it be truth bites the plight of mass migration hurting Europe? We are referring to the much awaited “Borderless” movie by independent Canadian activist-journalist Lauren Southern and her team. After months enduring the rigors (and danger) of (clandestine) location filming, […]
Some world leaders, and even the mainstream media, didn’t get it. But at least, Pope Francis on Easter Sunday speaking after the special Easter ‘Urbi et Orbi’ message and blessing, expressed his “heartfelt closeness to the Christian community [of Sri Lanka] wounded as it was gathered in prayer, and to […]
Daring independent journalist Lauren Southern is on the hot trail of the illegal immigration happening now in most of Europe. On this her latest reportage the daring Canadian exposes the alleged human smugglers and traffickers operating in Greece as NGO’s like the Emergency Response Center International. ERCI is a self-described […]
This should be the first walking tour for inmotion channel, I mean, a walking exploration. So here I was at the churchyard of the main Catholic church in my hometown which is the Parish church of Our Lady of La Porteria. Welcome to inMotion. And many thanks and appreciate for […]
Yes, totally true. The epic fails in Ilocos Norte. One of which was the “cable cart” ride which amused the passengers at first. Then afterwards lost the interest for the operator obviously had difficulty maneuvering the cart up its destination and back. But hey, it was a good try. The […]
Culled from the online news portal itself, Rappler reports agents from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested Rappler CEO and executive editor Maria Ressa early Wednesday evening, February 13. The arrest was done in connection with a cyber libel case filed by the justice department. NBI officers in civilian […]
This Philippine province of almost two million people, or 1.9 (1,952,544) million warm bodies according to the official census count of 2015 is the biggest in the Bicol region in terms of population and land area. While it is rich in natural resources and beautiful scenic places, majority of its […]
I am back, yet again, after a long hibernation of sorts. I fixed some personal issues, settled what should have been done before and still in the process of accepting and facing some other health circumstances that is part of life. And then I completely pushed aside into the backburner […]
After posting the article covering the much vaunted Pantao regional port located in Libon town of Albay province we dig a foot deeper and decided to go ahead with an update and rejoinder about the project. Envisioned to boost a “robust economic corridor in southern Luzon, specifically for Daet, Naga […]
Time magazine’s 2018 acknowledged person(s) of the year (POY) received mixed reaction from netizens. Before the end of year, the US-based news magazine picks a POY of their choice who has done the most to influence the events of the year. This 2018, it came out with not one, but […]
As many expected, former Philippine senator Bong Revilla on Friday was acquitted by the Sandiganbayan of the plunder case in relation to the misuse of P224 million pork barrel funds. Pork barrel funds were coated as Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of previous administrations. His co-accused, bussinesswoman Janet Lim Napoles […]
We get it. Bicolanos and travelers to and from the region will have to get used to flying and landing on four dated airports, one each in Legazpi, Pili (for Naga), Virac and Masbate. The one and only, but much vaunted, Bicol International Airport, or the Southern Luzon International Airport, […]
The domestic airport in Pili serving metropolitan Naga and the provinces of Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte will soon be capable of catering to evening flight take-off and landing operations. The Naga airport, which is operated by the Air transportation Office (ATO) of the Department of Transportation and Communications, has […]
To get a good grasp of the illegal immigrant crisis in the United States (America), and in Europe (European Union), we are sharing below two video coverage, one for each. These are different takes on the massive migrant caravan that began marching from Central America, mostly coming from Honduras, with […]
The town of Daraga in Albay province, has total assets of P1.029 billion making it to the top of the list among the richest municipal local government units (LGU) for 2017, besting 106 others in Bicol region, according to the Commission on Audit (COA). Daraga, aside from topping the list, […]
Ownership of the University of Nueva Caceres change hands. Kind of. For decades, the Hernandez family of Naga city and Libmanan town used to own and manage the first and largest university in Bicol. But not anymore as the education arm of the Ayala Corporation, the AC Education, Inc., (AEI) […]
Naga City, Bicol’s financial, business, educational and religious capital now has a total net worth of over P4.675 billion, making it the richest local government unit (LGU) in the region, according to the Commission on Audit (COA). The City of Ligao, in Albay province, followed far second, with a total […]
Why Fuentebella’s Partido Development Administration got the axe. The administration is cleaning up the mess of the past. Or, so it seems. Recently, Malacañang abolished a Bicol-based Government Owned or Controlled Corporation (GOCC) created during the administration of former president Fidel V. Ramos. The Partido Development Administration (PDA) was snapped […]
While I am not required to explain why I am using English as the medium or language of this channel, I am too happy to explain why. Also, I think it is time to share our reason. Hello friends, Thank you for dropping by and watching this post. At the […]
Today, I temporarily place under my drawer the primary concern of growing more subs. Because today we go Chinese. I mean, I will talk in passing about the Chinese Zodiac as very soon the Chinese New Year will come with a bang on Feb 16, 2018 and end on Feb […]
The Malacanang palace on Saturday made known an official denial it has got no hand in the subpoenas issued by the National Bureau of Investigation to online xocial news network publisher Rappler chief executive officer (CEO) Maria Ressa and two others over cybercrime raps, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on […]
President Rodrigo Duterte has designated Undersecretary Rosalina Bistoyong as Officer-In-Charge of the Department of Agrarian Reform. She will occupy the vacated post of Rafael Mariano whose nomination was rejected by the powerful joint congressional Commission on Appointments last September 6. Bistoyong is a career executive service professional in the government […]
The residence of Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog of Iloilo city on Thursday afternoon was the subject of initial inspection from a team of the National Bureau of Investigation.. Witness to the arrival of the inspection team include Ariel Castañeda, the head of the Local Economic Enterprise Office (LEEO) of the […]
My English classes in Grade Six will be the first set of pupils under the K-12 curriculum moving up to Grade 7 come March this school year. At this point, even while it is too early, I try to foresee the probable challenges and impact on their learning curve due […]
President Rodrigo Duterte’s blogger-supporter and now amply rewarded as Assistant Secretary in the office of Presidential Communication Operations Office has courted, again, the ire of netizens, specifically Twitter users. This time, tweets criss cross the internet calling for the ouster or removal of the former sexy dancer from her Malacanang […]
Thanks to the long known advocacy of the Greeenpeace group, the 4th Annual sky lantern flying activity in Legazpi city was eventually canceled by its organizers. The organizers of the 4th Annual sky lantern flying activity have decided today to cancel the event after it was met with strong opposition […]
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas wants you to know that it would be very difficult to produce a counterfeit of the new generation Philippine bank notes now in circulation. With the very stringent process, the bank note paper used made up of cotton with Philippine abaca, and all other security features […]
In its disclosure with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Monday, the Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. (BDO) registered a P13.3-billion net income in the first half of 2017, much higher than the PHP11.7 billion in the same period in 2016. The leading unibank of the country traced the improvement of […]
This should confirm the long suspected plunge of the peso vis-à-vis the US dollar. Now the peso is seen to weaken further beyond the range of 48-50 until the end of year 2017. If it does, which is srongly possible, President Rodrigo Duterte’s economc managers are missing something. Yet, it […]
The volume of recorded crimes committed in the province of CamSur rose to 256 per cent or 294 cases in the first six months of the past year against 1,047 for the same half-year period, this year. Meanwhile, Naga city’s crime index seemed to follow the provincial trend.
Robredo, Escudero, top political advertisers on ABS-CBN. Independent Partido Galing at Puso vice-presidential candidate Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Daang Matuwid Coalition Liberal Party vice-presidential candidate Ma. Leonor Robredo topped the list among candidates for national position who have spent more for television advertising with ABS-CBN alone. According to the Philippine […]
The big, influential businesses accumulate profits and get the government’s favorable attention much of the time. On the other side are hapless workers literally wrapped in the palms of big business, choking. Already, they howl and scream on the city streets yet get the caressing water guns of the government. Hence, workers are warped into a time very much comparable when there exist no justice for all but for the people wtih deep pockets and capital.
President Aquino is a skipper, really! Now we can say it again. President Benigno S. Aquino, III is a skipper, really! The latest event the Philippine head of state snubbed and skipped was the second year commemoration of the super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ anniversary of survivors, more particularly in Tacloban City. […]
This is a short post about PhilRice at 29, its rice production thrust and GMO. The country’s premier government agency on research and improvement of rice varieties had its 29th year anniversary recently. The Philippine Rice Research Institute commonly known as PhilRice for short is an attached agency of the […]
Thanks to the long known advocacy of the Greeenpeace group, the 4th Annual sky lantern flying activity in Legazpi city was eventually canceled by its organizers. The organizers of the 4th Annual sky lantern flying activity have decided today to cancel the event after it was met with strong opposition […]
The most important and relevant documentary movie drops today. Will it be truth bites the plight of mass migration hurting Europe? We are referring to the much awaited “Borderless” movie by independent Canadian activist-journalist Lauren Southern and her team. After months enduring the rigors (and danger) of (clandestine) location filming, […]
Posting and sharing photos on one’s Facebook page is so OK. But be careful in adding a description or comment, more specially when it can offend other people. Take this case when an immigrant worker Michael McFeat from Abernethy, Perthshire, Scotland (Great Britain) posted on December 31st a New Year […]
The Philippine Commission on Elections OK’s candidacy of Duterte. This after the Comelec First Division unanimously denied the four disqualification cases filed against presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte for lack of merit. Dismissed petitions include one filed by Ruben H. Castor. The Petition to Deny Due Course and/or […]
What is important, an abandoned old city hall or a new mall in its place? [flexiblemap address=”Old City Hall building, Iriga City, Camarines Sur, Bicol” region=”Bicol” directions=”true” width=”100%” height=”250px” zoom=”18″ ] This is the bone of contention and friction point between four barangay captains of Iriga city against its mayor […]
Netizens accuse Liberal Party illegaly using government vehicle, resources, personnel in campaign for Daang Matuwid team Malacanang on Friday said the Philippine Commission on Elections should investigate complaints that the Aquino administarion-supported Liberal Party was using government vehicles in the campaign sorties of Manuel Roxas II. Persistent and sensitive users […]
The newest McDonald’s restaurant outlet opening in March 8 will offer its client, possibly, a horse meat burger. The world famous food chain is opening its newest branch in Kazakhstan, the 120th country in its network, in the capital of Astana. The store will have a seating capacity good for […]
DAVAO CITY — Presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte will release all political prisoners if leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines – National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF) say “yes” to come home and sit down with government for talk peace. Duterte said coming home for the negotiations will be his only […]
Watch here another edition of the continuing live stream coverage on the Philippine Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the alleged $81 million money laundering scam which was coursed through the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation Jupiter-Makati branch, PhilRem Service Corporation and other financial institutions. Livestream: Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing […]
Manila — The official palace spokesperson is giving an advance information on what news developments everybody can look up to this week. One that interest all and sundry is the landmark decision from the United Nations Arbitration decision on the West Philippine Sea which is up for release on Tuesday, […]
Easily, then, Bicol river is both the queen and mother of all rivers in southern Luzon due to its size and influence. It holds sway and impact on the fertile and floodplains of the provinces, dictating the state of economic well-being and status affecting thousands of lives of people- including farmers, fisherfolks, travellers, etc., around its sphere of natural terrain.
Even as I have discussed and recalled memories, stories and current events about Siruma, I kept missing one more place much nearer our residence and of my father’s hometown. In a way, it is my third hometown, though. I am referring to Bolaobalite, which immediately stirred a chord in my […]
The Philippine Coconut Authority is recommending the inter-cropping strategy to coconut farmers after the devastation brought by killer typhoon “Yolanda” in Samar and Leyte provinces. PCA Albay official Ed Bailon said inter-cropping should be introduced as an alternative income of the affected coco farmers while waiting for the total recovery […]
QUEZON CITY, Nov. 10 — The Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board (HRVCB) has clarified all possible claimants application has until 12:00 midnight of November 10, 2014 to file their paperworks in its main office at ISSI, UP Diliman, and including all regional desks. The assurance of Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez […]
Ex-President Fidel Ramos chides P-Noy on Mamasapano incident Former President Fivel V. Ramos sounded off a somewhat spicy message for President Aquino. “You must balance your actions with hot pursuit, this is law enforcement with peacemaking,” former President Fidel V. Ramos said in a speech during ceremonies in Intramuros marking […]
The Department of Labor and Employment said that about 13.90 per cent of Bicol employers do not comply with the current minimum wage rate as specified in Wage Order No. RBV-16 which stipulates P260.00 per day for establishments with more than 10 workers and P236.00 per day for those with […]
Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Occidental was gripped in fear when a man commandeered a passenger van in the airport compound and breached the main gate on Monday. Police identified the suspect as Victor Samban of Malaybalay City, Bukidnon. Junal Andaya, the driver of the commandeered passenger van, said that the […]
Live Stream: Poe-Llamanzares Vs. Comelec 4rth Oral Arguments at SCOTP This is the fourth live stream coverage of the Poe-Llamanzares Vs. Comelec 4rth Oral Arguments G.R. No. 221697 from the Supreme Court of the Philippines (SCOTP). Follow the update on the disqualification case for the presidential run of Senator Grace […]
If casinos were under AMLA law, money laundering could have not happened- Guingona. The US81-million money laundering controversy could not have happened if the casino were covered by the Anti-Money Launder Law (AMLA), Senate blue ribbon chairman Sen. Teofisto ‘TG’ Guingona III said on Tuesday. ”(And) what is clear, this […]