Confronted publicly for the first time by two of his fiercest critics, former senators Leila de Lima and Antonio Trillanes IV, former president Rodrigo Duterte gestured as if to hit them in separate occasions on Wednesday at the 11th hearing of the House of Representatives’ quad committee. It was Trillanes who appeared to enrage Duterte...
Tag: House of Representatives
Still alive: ‘Victims’ of ‘Davao Mafia’ reunite in House hearing
A former customs intelligence officer told the House of Representatives’ quad committee on Thursday that he wept on seeing ex-colonel Eduardo Acierto because of “anger and joy” that they are both still alive after losing their men to the “Davao Mafia” that prospered during then President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration. Jimmy Guban, who is serving a...
Floods, foreign funds and fiascos
At the House of Representatives’ deliberations on the proposed budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) last Aug. 30, legislators questioned Secretary Manuel Bonoan on why record flooding continues to be a problem despite P1.2 trillion having been spent by the department on flood control projects since 2009. Pinpointed were the Pasig...
Quad committee’s upcoming hearings will be a ‘blockbuster’
More witnesses want to testify and some quarters have tried to stop others from appearing at the joint public inquiry into the possible links among illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), illegal drugs, and extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during then President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. These are among the challenges facing the powerful quad committee...
Edcel Lagman sees smooth sailing of divorce bill in 19th Congress
The prime mover of the divorce bill in Congress is making a bold prediction: The predominantly Catholic Philippines will soon and finally join the rest of the world in making divorce possible for troubled married couples. “I’m confident that as the sun rises tomorrow this bill will be enacted into law,” said Albay Rep. Edcel...
Proponents urge ‘a little compassion’ in legalizing medical cannabis
When her daughter Joy’s doctor told Gay matter-of-factly that she could lose her anytime to epilepsy, she was stunned and realized she had to look for other medicines to stop the seizures which started when her child was a baby. After years of trying up to 11 different medicines to quell Joy’s seizures, Gay was...