DE LIMA'S WOES PILE UP, FACED W/ OUSTER CALLS / NOY HIT W/ CRIMINAL NEGLECT
MANILA, SEPTEMBER 13, 2011 (TRIBUNE) By Benjamin B. Pulta - A group, calling itself as "De Lima Resign Movement," yesterday staged a protest-rally in front of the Department of Justice (DoJ) in an effort to get her removed from office.
Some 100 demonstrators marched to the DoJ around 9 a.m. to express their dis-appointment over De Lima's perfomance more than a year after she assumed the position, particularly her failure to resolve cases involving former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo, her allies and other officials of the past administration.
The protesters carried with them placards reading "De Lima, tuta ng mga Arroyo (puppet of the Arroyos)" while chanting repeatedly, "De Lima resign."
"De Lima should step down from her post for her failure to file charges against those who have plundered the country during the Arroyo administration," said the group's spokesman and dwIZ program anchor Percy Lapid.
"She has been in office for more than a year but not a single person from the past administration had been charged nor have their cases had been resolved and filed before the courts," he added.
Lapid accused De Lima of allegedly protecting the interest of the Arroyos instead of upholding public's interest.
"We will be submitting a manifesto to President Aquino demanding the resignation of De Lima. We will start a signature campaign for this endeavor," he stressed.
This was not the first time that someone called for the resignation of De Lima.
Last month, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV called for the resignation of the Justice chief for her alleged failure to do her job after 14 months in office.
Trillanes said De Lima should just be appointed instead as a Malacañang spokesman, noting her talent in public speaking.
"I hope that she (De Lima) would resign. Because we gave her enough time to do her job but she has not really done anything," he said.
Aside from Trillanes, several DoJ prosecutors are now alarmed at the moves of De Lima, who was branded as "most talkative Cabinet secretary of President Aquino," for making erroneous statements to the humiliation and detriment of the DoJ.
"To a layman, she appears to be good at talking but for us lawyers we know that she is making erroneous statements," a prosecutor said.
Sought for her comment, De Lima once again shrugged off calls for her to step down from her post as she pointed out that part of her job is not to please everybody.
De Lima said it would be better to let the public judge her performance as DoJ secretary.
"Let the public judge. If it will be self-serving on my part to broadcast my accomplishments in public. On my part, I'm just going to do my job," she said.
De Lima also said it would also be better to ask the senior officials of the DoJ about her performance.
She also denied the accusation of the group that she was just sitting on the pending cases filed Mrs. Arroyo.
De Lima said the other cases filed against the Pampanga representative hav been already submitted for resolution or that a decision was about to be made on the matter.
Arroyo is facing plunder charges before the DoJ, including the plunder complaint filed by former Solicitor General Francisco Chavez involving the alleged illegal disbursement of P553-million Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) funds, the P728-million fertilizer fund scam and the plunder complaint filed by Danilo Lihay-Lihay in connection with the sale of the old Iloilo Airport.
FROM MANILA STANDARD
Aquino hit for 'criminal neglect' of govt hospitals by Maricel Cruz
BAYAN Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño, protesting the big cut in the Health Department's budget, on Friday accused the Aquino administration of "criminal neglect" for cutting the appropriations for public hospitals, saying they were close to becoming health hazards because of their lack of facilities and financing.
Casiño made the statement as he disclosed Health Secretary Enrique Ona's admission that the P42 billion for his department was only half of the P80-billion budget it had requested.
He said the government's subsidy to public hospitals suffered one of the biggest budget cuts.
"Has PNoy [President Benigno Aquino III] or Budget secretary Butch Abad visited our hospitals recently?" Casiño said.
"They have become dirty, decrepit and deadly due to years of underfunding and government neglect.
"At the [Philippine General Hospital], a relative of mine was sent home recently by her doctors for fear that she would suffer an infection in the hospital itself."
Casiño said the cut in the Health Department's budget was defeating the administration's policy of giving priority to health and social services. As in the past years, he said, Health again did not make it to the top 10 sectors receiving the biggest share of government financing.
"Is this how we invest in our people?" Casiño said.
Meanwhile, the House leadership has promised to approve without delay the P1.816-trillion national budget for 2012 on second reading next week.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. said he was certain that every House member "is cognizant of the benefits of the early passage of the national budget."
"We have seen that this year, our action on the budget buoyed the markets and generated economic confidence," Belmonte said.
"To squander these gains in the middle of our term will be a grievous mistake."
House Majority Leader and Mandaluyong City Rep. Neptali Gonzales II said he was optimistic mustering a quorum to pass the budget would not be a problem this week.
"We are determined to meet our deadline on Friday," Gonzales said.
"The House will approve it on second reading as scheduled."
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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