By Junex Doronio

MANILA — Despite former Senator Leila de Lima’s acquittal from charges brought by the Duterte administration, Liberal Party president and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman persists in urging the filing of charges against former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in Philippine courts.

Lagman asserts that this action is crucial to demonstrate the functioning of the justice system in the Philippines.

Human rights organizations claim that more than 20,000 deaths occurred since Duterte’s 2016 inauguration, linked to his “war on illegal drugs.”

“As long as former President Rodrigo Duterte, the main proponent of drug-related extrajudicial killings, remains unindicted in Philippine courts, our justice system fails to deliver justice to both perpetrators and victims,” Lagman emphasized.

Meanwhile, Arturo Lascañas, a self-proclaimed former member of the infamous Davao Death Squad (DDS), alleged Vice President Sara Duterte’s involvement in the “bloody drug war.”

According to a January 29, 2024 report by Vera Files, Lascañas stated in his affidavit submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) that Vice President Sara Duterte was aware of and endorsed the killings ordered by her father during her tenure as Davao City mayor.

“I was never implicated in this issue during my tenure as Vice Mayor and Mayor of Davao City,” the Vice President rebutted in a statement on February 1.

Lagman, however, argues that De Lima’s acquittal does not signify a functioning justice system for all involved in drug-related offenses and their victims under the Duterte administration.

“The Philippines cannot invoke the complementarity principle to exempt itself from the ICC’s jurisdiction in the case of alleged crimes against humanity committed by Duterte and his top allies,” the opposition lawmaker maintained.

(el Amigo/mnm)

By Liezelle Soriano

MANILA — Albay First District Rep. Edcel Lagman announced that the House-approved divorce bill has been transmitted to the Senate.

“The absolute divorce bill under House Bill No. 9349, entitled ‘An Act Reinstituting Absolute Divorce as an Alternative Mode for the Dissolution of Marriage,’ which was approved on third and final reading on May 22, 2024, by the House of Representatives, was finally transmitted to the Senate in a letter dated June 10, 2024, from House Secretary General Reginald S. Velasco to Senate President Francis ‘Chiz’ G. Escudero,” said Lagman, the bill’s author.

“This means that the transmittal to the Senate will not wait for the House plenary action when sessions resume on July 22, 2024, as previously announced by Velasco,” Lagman added.

Previously, Velasco mentioned that the number of votes for the bill needed correction. He stated that the correct tally was 131-109.

The House Secretary General indicated that the corrected vote count would be announced during the plenary session.

(ia/mnm)

By Junex Doronio

MANILA — Claiming without presenting evidence, Liberal Party (LP) president and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman on Sunday bared that a campaign for charter change (Cha-Cha) had begun with mayors supposedly asked to give P100 to every constituent who would sign a petition to change the 1987 Constitution via people’s initiative.

Lagman said mayors from his Albay province were summoned to a meeting on January 5 and were given sheets of paper that they were to have their constituents sign.

However, he stopped short of identifying who was behind the alleged campaign.

“During the meeting, they were informed that people’s initiative will be used as a mode of amending the Constitution and they were given mobilization funds and the forms to be signed by at least three percent of the registered voters of the legislative district to which their municipalities belong,” the opposition lawmaker said in a statement.

Lagman further claimed that the campaign “is nationwide as congressmen belonging to various political parties have been sent the necessary forms.”

“Voters who would sign the petition for people’s initiative will be given P100 each, 50 percent of which has already been advanced to the municipal mayors and respective coordinators,” he revealed.

The document being circulated showed that the ” people’s initiative” (PI) intends to make the Senate and the House vote jointly, instead of separately, when deciding on any amendment to or revision of the 1987 Constitution.

Political observers told Maharlika NuMedia that if the House and the Senate vote together on constitutional amendments, the 24 senators would easily be outnumbered by the congressmen.

For her part, House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro of the ACT Teachers Party-list strongly opposed Cha-Cha via PI, saying the country has to attend to more pressing issues.

“Hindi Cha-cha ang pangunahing pinoproblema ng mamamayan kundi ang taas ng presyo ng mga bilihin, lalo na ng bigas,” the national democrat lawmaker said in a statement.

(el Amigo/MNM)

By Junex Doronio

MANILA — With the widening rift between the camps of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte, opposition Liberal Party (LP) president and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman has expressed hope that eventually the President will allow the investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the “bloody” war on drugs of the previous administration of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

Conflicting reports said government data shows that at least 6,252 people were killed in police anti-drug operations from July 1, 2016, to May 31, 2022 while human rights groups estimate to be between 27,000 and 30,000.

“Palagay ko naman ang ating Pangulo ay titignan yung sentiment ng Kongreso, ng House of Representatives at sa mundo naman wala namang na-close, pwede ma-open. Yung mga Executive agencies ay pwedeng magpalit ng isip kung talagang nakikita nila na tama talaga na mag-cooperate ang ating bansa sa imbestigasyon ng ICC,” Lagman told reporters on Wednesday, November 22.

In July 17, 2023 report of the Vera Files, aside from FPRRD, Vice President Sara Duterte and Senators Bong Go and Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa were named in documents submitted to the ICC.

On Tuesday, November 21, the Albay solon filed the third resolution at the House of Representatives urging relevant agencies to work with the ICC Prosecutor on the probe.

Noticeably, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has softened his stance on the ICC when way back in July he said the international body “is not welcome here and has no business to be in the country.”

“[It] needs a serious study on our part, at the DOJ, considering we are no longer members,” Remulla declared.

With this development, Lagman expressed his belief that there has been a shift in the perspective of the majority bloc in the House.

“Kami naman e talagang matagal na naming hinihiling yun na mag-cooperate na. Palagay ko may mga pagpapalit sa mga pananaw ng majority na talagang kailangan na sundin natin ang rule of law at yung world order, kailangan mag-cooperate fully ang ating bansa sa imbestigasyon ng prosecutors ng ICC. Uulitin ko, we shouldn’t be a renegade in the international order,” he said.

Some political observers told Maharlika NuMedia that the entry of ICC early next year is possible with the obvious cracks in the UniTeam.

On Monday evening, November 20, VP Duterte was caught in video “snubbing” Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez who arrived at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City with the Philippine delegation of the President from the US.

(ai/mnm)

By Liezelle Soriano

THE country can live without confidential intelligence funds, Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman said, amid the concerns raised by the opposition and concerned citizens, but agencies that truly need intelligence gathering funds must be spared.

According to the Special Provision General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2022, confidential funds are lump sum amounts for expenses related to “surveillance activities in civilian government agencies” to support their mandate or operations.

“Definitely, the country can go ahead without confidential funds. Pero itong intelligence funds, kailangan ito sa mga ahensya na engaged talaga in gathering intelligence,” the lawmaker said in a radio interview.

The legislator pointed out that the finances for confidential and intelligence operations at the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Office of the Solicitor-General (OSG) were not justified.

“Kung kailangan nila (OSG) ng surveillance, bakit hindi i-avail ‘yung services ng NBI. Kapares din ng DICT. Kung kailangan nila mag-avail ng services for surveillance purposes, andiyan ang PNP, andiyan ang military, at andiyan ang NBI,” he said.

“They should avail of these services without getting ang pondo on confidential funds,” the senior lawmaker from Albay said. (ai/mnm)