By Ade S. Fajardo In August 2018, Overall Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang was ordered dismissed from the service. It was the Office of the President that issued the dismissal order despite prevailing jurisprudence at the time that the president has no power to dismiss a deputy ombudsman. The ombudsman, and by extension his or her …
Come To Think Of It
Is Madriaga credible?
By Ade S. Fajardo Ramil Madriaga’s testimony at the House of Representatives committee on justice last week may be synthesized as follows: He helped establish ISIP, a non-profit organization intended to propel Sara Duterte to the presidency in 2022. ISIP stands for Inday Sara Is My President movement. *** When Duterte slid to the vice …
Fireworks in Congress
By Ade S. Fajardo Vice President Sara Duterte faces evidence to be presented by complainants on the impeachment raps she was able to dodge last year. She had secured a favorable decision from the Supreme Court after the Senate dilly-dallied on holding a trial last year. The House of Representatives committee on justice is set …
Asserting RP sovereignty
By Ade S. Fajardo Sometime ago, the committee on national defense of the Commission on Appointments discussed the ad interim appointments and nominations of generals and other senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Among those appointees was Colonel Jacquelyn Cloma. Her husband is a great-grandson of Cloma fishing magnate Tomas Cloma, who …
Mini-trial at the House?
By Ade S. Fajardo Former Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno was targeted for impeachment in August 2017, or a little more than one year after Rodrigo Roa Duterte ascended to the presidency. The impeachment complaint against Sereno was anchored on her supposed failure to file certain statements of net worth (SALN) when she was a …
Bank deposits will steer impeachment
By Ade S. Fajardo Reception of evidence on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte will commence tomorrow. It is all systems go for House of Representatives Committee on Justice chair and Batangas Representative Gerville Luistro, after her panel declared the two petitions lodged against Duterte “sufficient in grounds.” There will be three more …
Kalayaan issue in the Senate
By Ade S. Fajardo Last February 4, the Commission on Appointments (CA) had a hearing on the ad-interim appointment of 35 senior officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. In that hearing, Senator Rodante Marcoleta proposed to give up the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) because its features are outside the Philippine exclusive economic zone. …
Bad example?
By Ade S. Fajardo Thinking of harming someone without actually doing it does not amount to a crime. Representative Bong Suntay has advanced this defense of Vice President Sara Duterte when she made threats against the life of the President, the First Lady and the former Speaker of the House of Representatives. Suntay said, …
Doxxing potential witnesses
By Ade S. Fajardo Was that a grudge list? The joint affidavit of an assortment of 18 people, mostly dishonorably discharged personnel of the Philippine Marines, identified some personalities as potential witnesses in the anticipated trial of former President Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court. Digital copies were circulated online after a press conference …
Belated ICC withdrawal
By Ade S. Fajardo The International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber began the four-day confirmation of charges hearing for former President Rodrigo Duterte. The world knows that Duterte is set to face trial in the crimes against humanity charges linked to his government’s anti-drug campaign. This is alleged to be a national amplification of the …