TULFO: SACKING OF GATDULA ADMIRABLE
MANILA, FBERUARY 2, 2012 (INQUIRER) JUSTICE Secretary Leila de Lima
confirmed that National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Magtanggol
Gatdula has been relieved from his post for his involvement in the kidnapping
and extortion of a Japanese national.
Malacañang upheld the findings of the fact-finding team of the Department of
Justice (DOJ) recommending the filing of charges against Gatdula and other NBI
officials.
Presidential deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte said President Benigno Aquino
posed no objections to the DOJ report on Gatdula.
"He did not pose any objections to the recommendations of the panel…
contained in the report," Valte said.
"The president has already received the report and has reviewed the contents
and has made a corresponding action," she said.
In a press conference, De Lima read the report of the DOJ fact-finding team
that supposedly established the involvement of Gatdula in the alleged kidnapping
and extortion of an undocumented Japanese woman last year.
De Lima said the probe body had recommended the filing of kidnapping for
ransom and serious illegal detention charges against Gatdula and other officials
of the NBI implicated in the alleged extortion of Noriyo Ohara.
On the other hand, Gatdula sent a text message to The STAR saying he could
not reply to the allegations without a copy of the report.
ON TARGET
By Ramon Tulfo - Secretary Leila de Lima admitted to this columnist
Wednesday she didn't "relish" the "painful truth" that came out of the
investigation into the kidnapping of a Japanese woman by some agents of the
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
In a text message, De Lima said: "Like you, I don't relish what came out from
the fact-finding panel. It's perhaps the painful truth."
She was obviously referring to my column on Saturday where, in reaction to a
heckler, I said that I was not in the habit of gloating over somebody else's
misfortune, in reference to the sacking of NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula over
the incident.
This columnist exposed the detention of Noriyo Ohara, an undocumented alien,
by some NBI agents who reportedly demanded P15 million for her release.
When I complimented De Lima on the splendid work of the fact-finding panel,
the justice secretary replied: "Thanks for appreciating their work which,
needless to say, was quite difficult and even painful for them."
There is a time in a person's life when he faces very painful truths, like
losing friends or loved ones.
But such is life, and one must move on despite the pain.
* * *
Malacañang has probably heard the public clamor for a civilian, instead of a
retired military or police officer, to replace Gatdula as NBI chief.
The justice secretary has designated Region I Prosecutor Nonnatus Caesar
Rojas as NBI officer in charge. The position is temporary and he can be replaced
anytime.
However, should it become permanent, NBI officials and the rank and file
welcome Rojas' designation.
"As a professional, I wholeheartedly support whoever the President and the
Secretary of Justice decide to place as NBI director," said NBI Deputy Director
Rey Esmeralda.
"The bureau will continue to efficiently do its job of enforcing the law
whoever is at the helm," he added.
Esmeralda was one of those reportedly on the shortlist of replacements.
After he was teased that he had apparently missed the boat again, Esmeralda
just shrugged it off and said: "I can wait. I have still a long way to go in the
bureau."
* * *
Relatives of an agriculture official are allegedly cornering contracts to
build farm-to-market roads and irrigation projects worth in the hundreds of
millions.
This information came from my mole at the Department of Agriculture.
Here's how they do it: The official's brother or nephew approaches local
officials to ask if they need funding for a farm-to-market road or irrigation
project. If the answer is yes, the relatives then ask for a 20 percent
commission.
What happened to President Noy's "daang matuwid (straight and narrow path)
slogan?
* * *
A Cabinet member is back to his old habit of getting drunk and making a
spectacle of himself in public.
He was seen recently in a disco bar having had one too many and smooching a
beautiful woman.
Months ago, he was seen at the lobby of a five-star hotel lying on the lap of
an actress-singer on a sofa—obviously drunk.
Admittedly, the Cabinet member wasn't doing something criminal or even
immoral.
It's just that as a high official he should behave in public. It's no longer
about him, it's about his office.
ON TARGET
Aquino's sacking of Gatdula admirable By Ramon
Tulfo Philippine Daily Inquirer 12:31 am | Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 2share33
28
The sacking of Magtanggol Gatdula as director of the National Bureau
of Investigation (NBI) has triggered a war between Malacañang and the
influential Iglesia ni Cristo (INC).
A story being circulated in text messages says the influential
Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) didn't give in to the request of Malacañang to have
retired Supreme Court Justice Serafin Cuevas quit as lead defense counsel of
impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Cuevas himself confirmed the story when he said he had been approached by a
Palace emissary to withdraw from the impeachment trial in exchange for the
dropping of kidnapping charges to be filed against Gatdula.
Cuevas, who's become popular because of his deft handling of Corona's
defense, and Gatdula are members of the INC.
Not only was Gatdula removed as NBI chief, he will also be charged with
kidnapping and extortion in connection with the monthlong detention of a
Japanese woman, Noriyo Ohara, an undocumented alien, at the NBI.
The President acted upon the recommendation of a Department of Justice
fact-finding panel that probed Ohara's arrest and detention by NBI agents.
While the President's decision on the sacking of Gatdula is
admirable—following his slogan that government people should tread the straight
and narrow path—his pressure on Cuevas, if true, shows the character of a Mafia
don. (Cuevas on Monday denied that he was being pressured by
Malacañang to quit as lead defense counsel—Ed).
He's no better than former President Gloria and her husband, Mike Arroyo, who
used the awesome power of government against their enemies; that is, if Cuevas
is telling the truth.
On the other hand, the 83-year-old Cuevas has a tendency to exaggerate his
point to attract sympathy for his client.
While the President's vindictiveness in pursuing the impeachment case against
Corona is repulsive, Cuevas' playing to the gallery is disgusting if he's
telling a falsehood. For example, why didn't Cuevas name the Palace emissary if
he really exists?
* * *
On the other hand, there's another side to the Gatdula sacking story: That it
was P-Noy who didn't give in to the request of the influential religious sect
not to remove Gatdula.
If that is true, then we should all support the President in his campaign to
rid the government of undesirable elements no matter who gets hurt.
But a fly in the ointment is a customs official who's very, very corrupt but
could not be sacked from his post because he's an INC member.
Other flies in the ointment are Interior Undersecretary Rico E. Puno and Land
Transportation Office chief Virginia Torres, who were both linked to certain
irregularities.
* * *
Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo should be made to
explain why he disqualified the winning bidder, Kolonwel Trading, in the
P234-million contract to supply fire-fighting equipment to the Bureau of Fire
Protection (BFP).
No less than President Noy should ask Robredo to explain.
Robredo declared a failure of bidding upon the recommendation of newly
designated BFP officer in charge Samuel Perez.
Robredo's decision and Perez's recommendation are suspicious since Kolonwel's
winning the public bidding was reviewed twice by two bids and awards committees
that Robredo himself had formed.
In other words, after the first bids and awards committee awarded the
contract to Kolonwel, two other committees reviewed it one after the other.
The two other committees found nothing wrong with the first public bidding.
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
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