Ochoa: Let De Lima do the talking
Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. yesterday advised government officials to let Justice Secretary Leila De Lima “do the talking” surrounding the details of the investigation into the August 23 hostage-taking at the Luneta Grandstand so as not to preempt the probe and avoid the release of unofficial statements.
Last week President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III tasked De Lima to lead the Joint Incident Investigation and Review Committee (JIIRC) to look into the incident and draw up recommendations that will include the imposition of civil, administrative and criminal liabilities.
“May I remind our civilian and police authorities that Secretary De Lima has been mandated by President Aquino to lead the probe, and as head of the investigation committee she is in the best position to release information or issue statements related to the hostage drama while the investigation is ongoing,” Ochoa said.
Ochoa added that having one voice on the issue would prevent the kind of speculation that has not helped Filipinos or Chinese nationals gain a better understanding of what transpired during the hostage-taking incident last week.
“Considering the sensitivity of the matter, we encourage those who may be possibly called by the investigating committee to let the Justice Secretary speak on behalf of the government because we do not want pronouncements from other personalities to preempt the committee’s findings,” the Executive Secretary said.
De Lima was designated the spokesperson of the investigating committee after the JIIRC was convened. This was followed by a similar pronouncement by Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda who said that “the Justice Secretary will be issuing the briefings and all the details of the investigation process.”
“Let’s help the joint committee carry out its presidential mandate unhampered as we search for the truth and try to put closure to this incident,” Ochoa added. (PCOO)
DFA closely monitoring cases of Pinoy drug convicts in China
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will seek every available diplomatic channel to ensure a fair and just treatment for five Filipino nationals facing execution in China for drug-related offenses.
In a media briefing, Presidential Communications Group Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma said the DFA is closely monitoring the situation of the five accused, four of them women, who were allegedly used as couriers by international drug syndicates.
The five were recently sentenced to death without reprieve, with two of the five cases already brought before the higher court of Beijing.
Coloma said the DFA is taking charge of the situation and will make the appropriate recommendations if additional measures are needed.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs is closely monitoring the situation and would avail of every available diplomatic channel to ensure a fair and just treatment of our Filipino nationals,” he said.
“As it is, we have to respect the laws in China the same way we want other citizens to respect our own judicial processes,” he added.
There are 205 Filipinos facing drug-related cases in China, according to the DFA.
Aside from the five accused, 70 other Filipinos face the death penalty with a two-year reprieve; 35 with life imprisonment sentences; 68 with fixed-term imprisonment; and 27 others with pending drug-related cases.
The DFA noted that most of the Filipinos caught were women who were lured to act as drug couriers by international drug syndicates. (PCOO)
Malacanang asks gov’t agencies to fortify websites
Malacañang advised all government agencies to fortify their websites and shield them from cyber crimes.
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma, in a press briefing at Malacañang on Thursday, said the government will have to invest sufficient funds to avail itself of a more resilient and resistant software that will guarantee the security of government websites.
Coloma said the websites of the different government agencies are vital channels of communication, thus the need to strengthen and secure them.
“When one channel or one link is down, then the entire chain is weakened…we simply would like to see all the sites up so that the chain is complete… and we want the chain to be connected all the time,” Coloma said.
This communication chain is essential in line with the President’s advocacy of transparency since the various government agencies are contributing information to the President’s website.
Last week, the website of the Philippine Information Agency was reportedly hacked. However, the hacking, according to Coloma, was not sufficient to breach the firewall and it simply resulted to a temporary shutting down of the website.
“But even with that initial finding, we still believe that there is room for improving the security of our websites,” he said. (PCOO)
Palace vows fair probe of hostage incident
Malacañang today vowed for a fair and thorough investigation on the tragic hostage-taking incident at the Quirino Grandstand last week which left eight Chinese nationals dead.
In a media briefing Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Hermino “Sonny” Coloma said the objective of the investigation is to seek the truth and put closure on the unfortunate incident that will enable the country to move on.
Coloma said that that the parties and individuals responsible for the incident and the subsequent botched rescue will be held accountable.
“Our ultimate objective is to bring about a comprehensive report that will answer all of the questions pertaining to the hostage incident last week” he said.
Coloma pointed out that a fair investigation on the part of the Philippine government will pave the way towards rebuilding the relationship between the Chinese and the Filipinos which was strained because of the bloody incident.
He assured that the members of the panel tasked to investigate the hostage incident are well respected individuals who have the credentials and qualifications to do the job.
Earlier President Benigno Aquino III vowed that justice will be served to those who will be found accountable.
President Aquino last week tasked justice secretary Lela de Lima to chair the Incident Review Committee (IRC) body.
Meanwhile Coloma said that the Palace is studying the possibility of giving “assistance” or solidarity fund to the injured and the families left behind by the victims on last week’s hostage incident. (PCOO)
No need to make CICT a department, Coloma says
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Sonny Coloma today said there is no need to convert the Commission on Information and Communication Technology into a department.
Asked if the Aquino administration, which is active in the use of the Internet, is thinking of pushing for a bill creating a department of ICT since the CICT was created only by Executive Order 269 on January 12, 2004, Coloma said this is not a priority as this would escalate the administrative cost.
“Once our revenues reach a point where we can afford a department, then that is when we will do so. But for now, we are focusing on the need for CICT to operate as an office under the Office of the President to perform its mandate,” Coloma said in a news briefing Thursday.
Coloma stressed that government is not in a position to bear the higher level of administrative cost of creating a separate department.
Coloma said the PCOO has been filtering only profanity and the use of expletives in the website of President Aquino III, which is part of the Internet protocol.
“We have time and again emphasized that we have no desire and have not done an actual censorship or removal of negative comments because that would defeat the very purpose for which the website has been established, which is to build a credible feedback mechanism that allows people to express their sentiments” he said.
“How do we know how people feel if we stop their free expression. If we censor then people will not be encouraged to use that channel anymore and it will be a self-defeating proposition,” he added.
As to the hacking of the Philippine Information Agency website recently, Coloma said “there is room for improving the security of our websites. And that is what we are doing right now.” (PCOO)
