Aquino appoints new officials in government
agencies and judiciary
President Benigno S. Aquino III has appointed
new officials in the government agencies and judiciary, a Palace official said.
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte
announced the appointments during the regular press briefing in Malacanang on
Friday.
The Chief Executive signed the appointment
letter of Jose Z. Grageda as Acting Undersecretary of the Department of
Agrarian Reform, replacing Narciso B. Nieto.
President Aquino, likewise, appointed Janice F.
Santos as Assistant Secretary of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary.
The President named Jose Mari M. Oquiñena as
Acting Director-General of the Philippine Information Agency, which is under
the Presidential Communications Operations Office, replacing Jose A. Fabia and
Allan B. Gepty as Deputy Director General of the Intellectual Property Office
of the Department of Trade and Industry.
The other presidential appointees are as
follows:
- Judge Leah de los Reyes Baguyo as presiding
judge of the Puerto Princesa, Palawan Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 48,
- Judge Ambrosio B. de Luna as presiding judge
of the Puerto Princesa, Palawan RTC Branch 51,
- Judge Beatrice Alvarez Medina as presiding
judge of the San Mateo, Rizal RTC Branch 75,
- Judge Luvina Padolina Roque as presiding judge
of the San Pablo City, Laguna RTC Branch 29,
- Judge Napoleon Matienzo as presiding judge of
the Gumaca, Quezon RTC Branch 62,
- Judge Maria Christine Isabel Z.
Falguera-Guerrero as presiding judge of the San Pablo City, Laguna Municipal
Trial Court in Cities Branch 2,
- Judge Rean G. Arizala-Joaquin as presiding
judge of the San Pablo City, Laguna Municipal Trial Court in Cities Branch 3,
- Judge Mederlyn P. Mangalindan as presiding
judge of the Cavite City Municipal Trial Court in Cities Branch 1,
- Judge Melinda B. Mantilla as presiding judge
of Claver-Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte, 4th Municipal Circuit Trial Court,
- Judge Ronilo A. Beronio as presiding judge of
the Roxas-Cagayancillo, Palawan Municipal Circuit Trial Court,
- Judge Eric S. Fortaleza as presiding judge of
the Sta. Cruz, Laguna Municipal Trial Court,
-Judge Crisostomo J. Dañguilan as presiding
judge of the Cabuyao, Laguna Municipal Trial Court,
- Judge Katherine C. Jambaro-Altubar as
presiding judge of the Angono, Rizal Municipal Trial Court, and
- Edward M. Togonon as Prosecutor V, Office of
the City Prosecutor- Manila, National Prosecution Service under the Department
of Justice. PND (js)
PAOCC official appears at NBI probe
An official of the Presidential Anti-Organized
Crime Commission (PAOCC) on Friday appeared before the National Bureau of
Investigation to give a statement about the Atimonan shooting incident.
Chief Supt. Reginald Villasanta, PAOCC executive
director, told the NBI investigating team that the Commission did not approve
the plan for police operation that led to the death of 13 people, including a
known jueteng operator.
“We at PAOCC, through a board resolution, did
not approve Case Operation Plan Armado (COPLAN Armado) submitted by Police
Superintendent Hansel Marantan, Police Superintendent Glenn Dumlao and Chief
Supt. James Melad,” Villasanta said in a statement.
Villasanta said he went to the NBI to fulfill
PAOCC’s commitment to cooperate with the bureau “in the interest of shedding
light into the events that led to the Atimonan incident.”
“I met with NBI officials and provided them with
information we hope will help them arrive at the truth regarding the incident
in Quezon,” he said.
According to Villasanta, the PAOCC board did not
reach the point of approving the COPLAN because its proponents had yet to
comply with certain requirements.
At the time when the proposal was given to the
PAOCC, there were other cases pending with the Commission which were considered
a priority.
Villasanta cited a portion in the resolution
issued last November stating that “the Board put the approval of COPLAN Armado
in abeyance pending compliance with aforementioned requirements.”
“It is clear from the Resolution that the COPLAN
was never approved by any official at the Executive Director’s level or
higher,” Villasanta pointed out.
He added: “The COPLAN was not approved because
it lacked the documentation required for us to properly assess the viability
and feasibility of the operation, such as a memo directive or endorsement from
the mother unit, timetable, and information we needed regarding the agents
involved and the subjects of the investigation.”
Villasanta said that among the directives of the
resolution was the release of P100,000 to Marantan’s group to help them in
building an airtight case against their targets.
“Bilang paglilinaw po, ang ibinigay na pondo ay
para lamang gamitin nila sa pagkalap ng impormasyon upang mapagtibay ang
kanilang inihaing COPLAN,” he explained.
The PAOCC official also clarified that the
amount released to the COPLAN proponents was “only for intelligence purposes;
it was not intended for operations.”
Villasanta also explained to the investigating
team the nature of PAOCC’s work, which is “to provide support to different law
enforcement agencies in terms of technical, legal and financial assistance to
sustain the government's efforts to go after and neutralize organized armed
groups.”
“The Commission makes decisions at the policy
level, and is not designed to be involved in actual operations," he added.
Palace says govt ready to assist Filipinos
involved in Algerian hostage crisis
Malacanang said on Friday that it is ready to
extend full assistance to Filipinos involved in the kidnapping incident in
Algeria adding the priority of the government is to secure Filipinos in that
country.
In a press conference in Malacanang, Deputy
Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said they received information that
there casualties in the ongoing military operations in Algeria following this
week’s kidnapping incident. Some of those killed were Filipinos, the reports
said.
The Palace official however said the Philippine
post in Tripoli, Libya, with jurisdiction over Algeria, is still verifying the
report.
“After we are able to confirm if indeed some of
the casualties were Filipino nationals, the post in Tripoli will be working to
get their immediate details to determine their status in that particular
country so we can extend all the assistance that is necessary to them and to
their loved ones,” Valte said.
“That involves notification or assistance for
repatriation if their employers are not on hand to do it. We are ready to
extend the full assistance,” she added.
It was reported that two Filipinos died in the
Algerian hostage incident. Valte said the Palace is waiting for reports from
the Department of Foreign Affairs who has tasked its post in Tripoli to verify
the incident.
As some governments have expressed their
concerns over how Algerian government handled the situation, reporters asked
Valte if the Philippines will join other countries push an inquiry to know how
the operations were done.
Valte said that at present, the primary concern
of the government is to verify the status of the Filipino nationals who were
part of the hostage-taking incident.
Asked if the Philippine government advised
Filipinos in Algeria to stay indoors to remain safe, Valte said such precaution
would be part of the assessment that will be made by the DFA.
“We will leave it up to the post and to the DFA
to come up with a recommendation whether they will ask the Filipinos there to
avoid unnecessary travel at the moment,” she said.
This week, Islamist militants abducted an
undetermined number of hostages including Westerners at a gas plant in a remote
section of Algeria.
The Cable News Network (CNN) reported that
Algerian forces launched military operations upon noticing that the kidnappers
have started to move their hostages toward a neighboring country.
Numerous casualties were reported following
Thursday’s military operation by the Algerian forces. Reports said the
offensive is continuing on Friday to free the remaining hostages. PND (as)
Pres. Aquino declares Jan. 23 as ‘Araw ng
Republikang Filipino, 1899’
President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared
January 23 of every year as “Araw ng Republikang Filipino, 1899” to commemorate
the inauguration of the First Philippine Republic, Executive Secretary Paquito
N. Ochoa Jr. announced on Friday.
Ochoa said Proclamation No. 533, which the
President signed on January 9, aims to promote awareness, especially among the
youth, on the significance of this chapter in Philippine history that marked
the culmination of the Philippine revolution against Spanish rule.
“The Malolos Constitution was promulgated on
January 21, 1899 and two days later, on January 23, 1899, the First Philippine
Republic, also known as the Malolos Republic, was inaugurated at Barasoain
Church in Malolos, Bulacan. This made the Philippines the first independent
republic in Asia—a significant milestone we should all take pride in,” Ochoa
said.
Malacanang had earlier issued a related
issuance, Proclamation No. 523, declaring January 23 this year a special
non-working holiday in Bulacan.
The National Historical Commission of the
Philippines endorsed the issuance of this directive on the request of Malolos
Mayor Christian Natividad.
