MANILA — The families of Loraine Badoy and Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz, with legal representation from former Presidential spokesperson Attorney Harry Roque, formally lodged a plea on Monday (11 Dec 2023) before the Supreme Court. The petition seeks the release of two program hosts from SMNI.

Walter Partosa, standing in for Badoy, and Rogilda Canilao Celiz, representing Celiz, appealed to the court to grant a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction. The request stipulates the release of the two hosts on or before December 15, 2023. This appeal, presented in a comprehensive 57-page petition, seeks both certiorari and a writ of habeas corpus.

Lorraine Badoy and Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz found themselves in detention following a contempt citation by the House of Representatives last week.

(Benjamin Cuaresma/ai/mnm)

By Junex Doronio

MANILA — The attempt to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte will only succeed if it gains the approval of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., so said former president Rodrigo Duterte’s apologist.

Drawing parallels, FPRRD’s spokesperson and human rights lawyer Harry Roque revealed on Sunday that the outspoken former Chief Executive rejected the plan to impeach his arch-critic, then Vice President Leni Robredo. Duterte believed that she did not pose a threat to his administration.

“Without the approval of the sitting president, any impeachment process not involving the chief executive is bound to fail,” stressed Roque.

Earlier, ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro, who sued Duterte for an alleged death threat, confirmed that there were discussions among congressmen to impeach VP Sara.

To recall, the House of Representatives felt insulted when Duterte called the lower chamber ‘the most rotten institution,’ even though he was once a member representing Davao City’s 1st District from June 30, 1998, to June 30, 2001.

The elder Duterte was furious that the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, stripped the P650-million confidential and Intelligence funds (CIF) for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) that VP Sara heads as the concurrent Secretary for 2024.

Instead, the congressmen decided to realign the CIF to the agencies tasked with safeguarding the country’s security and sovereignty.

In his November 18 column for The Philippine Star, Roque reminisced that there were “several” politicians allied with the then Digong administration who wanted to impeach Robredo.

“I recall the politicians presenting the impeachment case against Robredo to then-President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte gave the thumbs down right away. His response was: ‘What for? She does not pose a threat to the government. Most of our people would not believe her anyway,’” Roque revealed.

At that time, however, the Duterte administration was at the height of its popularity, in contrast to the present situation where VP Sara’s trust and performance ratings in recent surveys were noticeably declining, while Romualdez’s were steadily climbing.

VP Sara and Romualdez are seen as the main protagonists in the 2028 presidential race, five years from now.

(ai/mnm)

By Liezelle Soriano

MANILA — Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Tuesday that ex-president Rodrigo Duterte does not need to react on the court’s decision, allowing the Leila De Lima to post bail.

Roque, presidential spokesperson of Duterte before, said that the former president was not involved about drug case De Lima.

“Hindi pa po kasi sa mula’t mula, wala naman pong pakialam dito si Presidente Duterte, hindi po nagsampa ng kaso si Presidente Duterte, hindi po siya nag-utos na sampahan ng kaso si Leila de Lima. Sa totoo lang po, ang unang-unang lumabas na testigo ay sariling tao ni Leila de Lima na si dating deputy director ng NBI Ragos,” he said.

“Hindi naman na po kinakailangang magsalita ang dating Presidente Duterte dahil wala naman talaga siyang pakialam at wala po siyang kahit anong ginawa para umusad itong mga kaso ni Leila de Lima,” Roque furthered.

After completing the bail processes and undergoing a physical examination, the ex-senator  was released from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City on Monday night.

De Lima said that she will be restoring her normal life “very soon” after the court granted her bail and walked out of six-year detention.

(ai/mnm)

By Junex Doronio

FOR BLATANTLY DEFYING the marching order of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to stop the reclamation activities in Manila Bay, former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque has revealed that they are still ongoing.

Maharlika NuMedia gathered that included in the 12 ongoing reclamation projects is the P34.3-billion reclamation project of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian’s father, William Gatchalian.

Roque — who served as the presidential mouthpiece during the term of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte — posted a video on Facebook showing large ships conducting reclamation activities in Manila Bay.

Roque’s caption on his Oct. 9 post read: “Tuloy pa rin ang reclamation sa Manila Bay. Akala ko tinigil?”

During the recent hearing of the Senate committee on natural resources and climate change on Manila Bay reclamation projects, some port operators expressed their strong opposition against the P34.3-billion reclamation project of William Gatchalian, saying “it will change the route of ships at Manila Bay.”

Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Director William Cuñado told the senators that it was former EMB Director Metodio Torbilla who issued the Environmental Compliance Certificates (ECCs) to the Waterfront Manila Premier Development Inc. (MWPDI) of William Gatchalian and two other similar initiatives in the cities of Manila and Pasay.

Last August, the United States Embassy in Manila also “expressed concerns” over the reclamation projects in Manila Bay, citing their impact on the environment. (ai/mnm)

“We are also concerned that the projects have ties to the China Communications Construction Co., which has been added to the US Department of Commerce’s Entity List for its role in helping the Chinese military construct and militarize artificial islands in the South China Sea. The company has also been cited by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for engaging in fraudulent business practices,” US Embassy spokesperson Kanishka Gangopadhyay said in a statement released to reporters on Tuesday, August 1, and again on Wednesday, August 2.

The US Embassy is located at the Manila Bay on Roxas Boulevard.

(ai/mnm)