3 Liberal Party members and an ally are stripped of their committee chairmanships in the Senate

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday, February 27, lashed out against the Duterte administration for being "obsessed with monopolizing power and intent on marginalizing those who have opposing views."

This was after senators belonging to or affiliated with the Liberal Party (LP) were stripped of their committee chairmanships. (READ: Liberal Party senators see Palace hand in ouster)

On Monday afternoon, senators Franklin Drilon, Francis Pangilinan, Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, and Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros were removed from key posts in the Senate following a motion by key administration ally, neophyte Senator Manny Pacquiao.

The 4 were once part of the PDP-Laban-led majority bloc. They have since moved to the minority bloc. Akbayan is an ally of the once-ruling LP.

"When we were given the mandate by the people, we were determined to work with this administration to put national interest before politics. But despite our sincere efforts, it is now clear that the Duterte administration is incapable of tolerating dissent, no matter how constructive," said Robredo in a statement released to the media.

"What happened in the Senate today is characteristic of an administration obsessed with monopolizing power and intent on marginalizing those who have opposing views," added Robredo, who was once a member of the Duterte Cabinet.

She resigned as housing chief last December after she was told to stop attending all Cabinet meetings.

The Vice President, a staunch critic of authoritarian rule and of Ferdinand Marcos' dictatorship, noted that the Philippines has seen moves to monopolize power in the past.

"This has happened before. In the past, this paved the way for a one-man rule. We will not be silenced. Our nation deserves no less," said Robredo, who defeated Marcos' only son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, for the vice presidency during the 2016 elections.

As the LP's highest elected official, Robredo is also the party's chairperson.

"Democracy demands dissent," added Robredo. (READ: Robredo to Duterte: 'Mr President, we call you to task')

The shift among the Senate blocs came days after Senator Leila de Lima, an LP member and among President Rodrigo Duterte's staunchest critics, was arrested for alleged ties to illegal drugs on February 24.

On February 25, all 4 senators attended the 31st anniversary celebration of the EDSA People Power Revolution. They were all clad in black.

On the same day, Duterte supporters staged a rally in support of the President at the Luneta.

Last week, the Senate was also divided over a vote to reopen a probe into the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS), a vigilante group that was supposedly founded and utilized by Duterte when he was Davao City mayor.

The LP bloc voted to allow Arturo "Arthur" Lascañas, a self-confessed DDS hitman, to testify before the Senate.

When we were given the mandate by the people, we were determined to work with this administration to put national interest before politics.

But despite our sincere efforts, it is now clear that the Duterte administration is incapable of tolerating dissent, no matter how constructive.

What happened in the Senate today is characteristic of an administration obsessed with monopolizing power and intent on marginalizing those who have opposing views.

This has happened before. In the past, this paved the way for a one-man rule.

We will not be silenced. Our nation deserves no less. </s> FRIDAY’S arrest of Sen. Leila de Lima is based on flimsy charges and a product of political harassment, Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo declared Friday, as Catholic bishops called on the Duterte government

 to give the embattled lawmaker a fair shake.

Robredo, titular head of the Liberal Party that fielded de Lima in the May 2016 senatorial race, issued the statement moments after the former Justice secretary surrendered to authorities as a result of the warrant of arrest issued against her by the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court over drug trafficking chargers.

“The arrest of Senator Leila de Lima is the latest move in a persistent campaign of political harassment being waged against a duly elected member of Congress. These efforts to smear Senator de Lima are a strong indication that the charges against her arise from a political agenda and are not the result of an independent, unbiased legal process,” Robredo said in a statement.

Robredo recalled that efforts to harass de Lima began when the senator, as chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice, launched an investigation into extrajudicial killings under the Duterte administration.

“With contradicting testimonies from criminals as basis of the case, they circumvented due process to fast-track the issuance of the arrest warrant. Our history as a nation is marred by instances where government officials use the processes of criminal justice to cow, silence, and eliminate critics. We cannot, and we must not, stand by and let this happen again,” Robredo said.

“We exhort the people to follow and scrutinize this case religiously,” Robredo added.

 Malacañang denied claims de Lima was being subjected to political persecution.

In a chance interview, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea insisted de Lima’s arrest was not politically motivated as a criminal case had been filed against her.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo likewise said de Lima is not a political prisoner because there was basis for her arrest.

“She is not a political prisoner. She will become a detainee pursuant to a warrant of arrest arising from a criminal charge against her,” Panelo said.

De Lima’s situation, he pointed out, was not a culmination of a political vendetta, unlike what happened to former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who was detained by the Aquino government in 2011.

“What they did to Arroyo, that was political vendetta because no case was filed against her. That is the real political vendetta,” he said.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Friday appealed to the Duterte government to give de Lima due process.

“Let all who have been charged be accorded their fair day in the court of laws,” said CBCP President and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas in a pastoral letter.

“As we deplore what is wrong, let us always allow the reign of charity to prevail in imitation of Christ in whose heart was a special love for those whom all else rejected. Mercy without justice is weakness. Justice without love is tyranny,” Villegas added.

“It is unchristian to find secret pleasure in the sufferings of others. May we recognize in ourselves the awful power of sin and our need for God’s help! We need the Lord even more now!” Villegas said. “I pray for the healing of our land and for the reign of harmony.”

De Lima was among the thousands who showed up at a prayer rally called by the Church at Rizal Park last February 18 to protests summary killings and the death penalty bill.

Some of de Lima’s Senate colleagues branded as baseless and illegal the lawmaker’s arrest, saying it was the beginning of the slow death of democracy and the rule of law in the country.

“It is condemnable that the administration railroads rules and processes for political vendetta. At the very least, the administration must show good faith and guarantee Senator de Lima’s safety and security,” said Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino 4th.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said that the arrest of de Lima could set a dangerous precedent. “By stopping at nothing to persecute Senator Leila, the state sends a chilling message to all—political dissent under this administration will not be tolerated. All those who will oppose will be destroyed,” she said.

Senator Antonio Trillanes 4th defended de Lima against what he described was “plunderer and murderer” President.

“The primary objective of the illegal arrest of Sen. De Lima is to send a chilling message to the political opposition and critics,” said Trillanes. </s> LENI Robredo is making a scene. She is accusing the President and Bongbong Marcos of plotting to steal the vice presidency from her.

She is saying this after she was constructively dismissed from the Cabinet. She resigned after being told

 through text, upon instructions of the President, to desist from attending Cabinet meetings.

There are several angles being floated around on the real reason of her departure from the Cabinet.

There are those who say she was dismissed for being a non-performer. Others point out the irreconcilable differences that she had with the President and her very vocal opposition to his stand on many issues, including the burial of Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, the war on drugs, the President’s attack on Senator Leila de Lima, and the planned restoration of the death penalty.

Yet, there are also those who floated the intrigue that she was leaking confidential information discussed during Cabinet meetings, and that she refused to cooperate in the investigation of the Yolanda housing anomalies.

 But the most eyebrow-raising is her allegation that there are attempts to steal the vice presidency from her.

She is presenting herself as being the object of political harassment, a target of a sinister plot to oust her as Vice President and replace her with Bongbong Marcos. Her supporters and partymates at the Liberal Party are quick to deploy as a battle cry the hashtag #ProtectLeni and #DefendDemocracy, even as they once again paint the return of the Marcoses to power as the convenient bogeyman.

But it is perhaps important for us to ask Leni Robredo this question: How exactly do you steal the vice presidency?

To allege stealing a position presupposes that it will be through extra-constitutional means.

However, it could never be by a coup, since such usually targets the head of state or government, and not his spare tire. In fact, it is even more plausible for a Vice President from the opposition ranks like Mrs. Robredo, to be the one to plot and steal the presidency, and not the other way around.

The only way Mrs. Robredo can lose her seat is through constitutional means.

She can be unseated through impeachment. However, as of now, there is no ground to impeach her considering that a less than stellar performance at the HUDCC is not an impeachable offense. Her political difference with the President, as long as only expressed but not used to undermine him, does not constitute betrayal of public trust or treason.

She could however lose her seat through an electoral protest.

Bongbong Marcos has filed an electoral protest against her, and the case is now with the Supreme Court, acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, or PET. Marcos has alleged massive electoral fraud during the May 2016 elections, where he claimed to have been a victim of a combination of electronic and conventional forms of cheating.

Marcos alleges that the existence of the illegal fourth server, which was admitted even by Smartmatic, together with traditional methods of pre-shading of ballots that allegedly happened in many areas in the ARMM, may have enabled Mrs. Robredo to steal his votes from him.

Evidence suggests statistically improbable zero-votes for all other candidates except for the Liberal Party tandem of Roxas and Robredo in many areas in the country, particularly in the ARMM. There was also a suspiciously high level of under-votes for vice president, leading one to suspect a more sinister electronic tampering of results.

But all of these are allegations that still need to be proven in a proper proceeding. The camp of Bongbong Marcos has already submitted thousands of pages of evidence to back his allegations, and these have yet to be appreciated by the PET. A recount has not yet been ordered, and when commenced, would take a long time in a proceeding which will be open to all parties, and where Mrs. Robredo’s lawyers would be present.

Thus, it is totally irresponsible for Mrs. Robredo to accuse President Duterte, or his allies, working with Bongbong Marcos, to steal the vice presidency. Raising this amounts to a frontal attack on the PET, as it would impugn the integrity of its members, and the whole process.

The camp of Mrs. Robredo has already floated irresponsible allegations in social media. Several days ago, Robredo partisans already made accusations that Governor Imee Marcos had a meeting with two unidentified Supreme Court justices abroad.

Mrs. Robredo has to be reminded that being unseated through an electoral protest is not stealing. On the contrary, it makes her the thief of a post that is not supposed to be hers.

She has to realize that the best way to defend democracy is to stop undermining it by casting aspersions on democratic institutions and processes, and for her to support the recount. Only a recount would tell us if the vice presidency is rightfully hers, or was indeed stolen, not by Bongbong Marcos, but by her. </s> In this Feb. 13, 2017 photo, Philippine Sen. Leila de Lima takes her seat during a session in the Philippine Senate in suburban Pasay city, south of Manila, Philippines. Philippine justice secretary said Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, criminal charges have been filed against the opposition senator allegedly receiving money from detained drug lords in a move that can lead to the arrest of one of the president's most vocal critics.

Start the conversation, or Read more at SFGate. </s> Manila: Senator Leila De Lima was detained in a jail at the headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Metro Manila’s suburban Quezon City after her arrest from the Senate for three drug-related cases.

The legislator is being accused of protecting convicted international and local drug lords from 2010 to 2016, when she was justice secretary, to raise millions of pesos for her senatorial bid with the Liberal Party in the May 2016 polls.

“A motion to quash the case against de Lima and question jurisdiction of a lower court in suburban Muntinlupa on her case, were filed, resolutions of which would take days,” said her lawyer Bonifacio Tacardon, adding they will raise the same issue in the Supreme Court.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre alleged the government had “thwarted plans” of pro-De Lima factions to offer P100 million (Dh8.3 million) to eight convicted international and local drug lords to officially recant their testimonies against De Lima — on February 25 — before the 31st anniversary of the people-backed military mutiny that ousted former president Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.”

“The retraction of testimonies would be used by people supporting De Lima to join another people-power to oust President Rodrigo Duterte. If the revolution wins, all high profile inmates who recanted their testimonies will be released from prison: that was promised to them,” said Aguirre in a TV interview. Their earlier testimonies at the senate nailed de Lima’s alleged involvement in illegal narcotics trade.

After emerging from the Senate where she was arrested at eight Friday morning, De Lima said, “I have the honour to be imprisoned for something I’m fighting for [questioning alleged human rights violation of President Duterte]. I am innocent. There is no truth to the lies I am charged with — that I benefited from illegal drug trade. The truth will come out at the right time.”

Senator Francis Pangilinan, president of the Liberal Party that was once led by former President Aquino, said, “The LP is not involved in any bribe-giving of witnesses. This is ridiculous.”

“Sen. De Lima has accepted her current situation. She has realised that this is a process that she has to go through. She’s OK, she’s holding up and well, she’s a very courageous woman and very strong-willed. We’re here to lend our moral support for her,” said Pangilinan.

Government’s chief legal counsel, Salvador Panelo also said, “She is now given the opportunity to refute any and all allegations and/or evidence to be presented by the prosecution against her.”

But former whistle blower Sandra Cam called De Lima a coward and held a protest rally in front of the Senate when De Lima went there to hide and evade arrest late Thursday.

While in hiding at the Senate, De Lima confessed, “I feel less safe if arrested in the evening. I will stay here in the Senate and wait for the sun to rise.” Arresting officers arrived at the office of the Senate Sargeant- at-Arms at 11 Thursday evening,

At the time, Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Interior Secretary Ismael “Mike” Sueno agreed that De Lima should be arrested at eight Friday morning.

De Lima was the highest official ever indicted for alleged involvement in illegal drug trade, Duterte said, adding that lawmakers, local government officials, and top ranking policemen are protecting international and local drug lords.

De Lima has led local and international rights groups in criticising Duterte’s campaign against illegal drug trade which has killed more than 7,700 since July. Because of irregularities, Duterte barred the police from the campaign. The police admitted responsibility for 2,500 deaths, and blamed drug syndicates for the rest of the fatalities.

Illegal drug trade has reached $4.8 billion a year in the Philippines in 2013, authorities said. </s> VICE PRESIDENT Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo and her Liberal party mates on Tuesday denied a plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte, with Robredo calling the accusation that came from the President himself “misinformation.”

Duterte on Monday said the “yellows” were out to discredit and impeach him, claiming they were behind the international media play-up of his expletive-laden outburst against the United States and US President Barack Obama amid last week’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations summits in Laos.

Yellow is the color associated with the Liberal Party (LP) of former President Benigno Aquino 3rd.

Robredo, the LP’s highest-ranking elected official who was given the Social Welfare and Development portfolio by Duterte, said in a statement: “There are no moves from the Liberal Party to unseat the President.”

“In fact, the leadership of the party has been consistently demonstrating its support to this administration. Members of the party coalesced with the majority in the House and the Senate,” she added.

Robredo was referring to the LP lawmakers who belong to the “Super Majority” bloc led by Duterte’s allies from PDP-Laban, the Nationalist People’s Coalition, Nacionalista Party, National Unity Party and Lakas-CMD in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Rep. Romero Quimbo of Marikina, a Liberal, is one of the 12 deputy speakers of the House.

Robredo said she would “clarify” the “misinformation” on the supposed impeachment plot with the President and assure him of the party’s commitment to his reform measures, particularly on poverty and the fight against illegal drugs.

“We’ve offered the anti-poverty programs and policies that I’ve been pushing for to complement the government’s priorities on poverty alleviation. We’ve been coordinating with the relevant government agencies so that our office can help in the rehabilitation effort that needs to accompany the campaign against illegal drugs,” she added.

Liberal congressmen Feliciano Belmonte Jr. of Quezon City, Edcel Lagman of Albay, Raul Daza of Northern Samar and Edgar Erice of Caloocan City echoed Robredo.

Belmonte said it would be hard to impeach Duterte, who controls Congress.

“He (Duterte) is overwhelmingly popular which amounts to a public approval of his programs. Secondly, he has overwhelming majority in the House where impeachment starts,” Belmonte said.

Daza agreed that impeachment was definitely off the table.

“As you already know, 28 of the 33 LP members are with the Super Majority [bloc]. We [in the LP]have not even talked about impeachment. Impeachment, under the Constitution, begins in the House and I am sure there has not been any talk about that,” Daza said.

‘Impeaching himself’

 For Lagman, a Liberal stalwart who chose to be part of the House minority, the President had no one to blame but himself for what happened last week.

“It is the President who is … impeaching himself with ill-conceived statements that are unmindful of adverse effects and compromising consequences,” Lagman told reporters, referring to the President’s tirades against the US, expletives against world leaders, and controversial statements against political opponents.

At least five LP members belong to the House opposition bloc that has called itself the “Legitimate 8” following the installation of Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez as minority leader.

Lagman’s group, which claims the Suarez-led minority is friendly to the Super Majority, includes Daza, Erice, Teodoro Baguilat of Ifugao and Emmanuel Billones of Capiz.

Erice clarified that being in the opposition did not mean support for Duterte’s ouster.

“We don’t talk about impeachment because it is bad for our country and for our economy. We do not wish impeachment for the President,” Erice said.

“We want President Duterte to succeed, and our role [in the opposition]is to provide check and balance. The President should also try to appreciate that what we are doing here [as opposition lawmakers]is also good for the country,” Erice added. </s> Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday assured Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo that there was no plot to steal the vice presidency from her.

In an interview following the groundbreaking ceremony for the planned Bicol International Airport in Legazpi City, the President said Robredo, who is from Bicol, would keep her post.

“I will assure Leni and the rest of the Bicol region that you will have her until the very end of her term,” Duterte told reporters. “There is no such thing as removing of a vice president,” he added.

The President issued the statement when asked about Robredo’s claim that there was a plot to steal her position following her resignation as housing chief last Monday.

The former Camarines Sur representative is facing an electoral protest lodged by former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., whom she defeated in the May elections with a margin of 263,473 votes.

Robredo claimed her resignation from the Cabinet was due to the Executive branch’s apparent lack of support for housing initiatives and the President’s order that she stop attending Cabinet meetings.

Robredo as well as the Palace officials also noted that she and Duterte have opposing views on several issues, including the hero’s burial for Marcos’ father, the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

Duterte made the statement a day after accusing the “Yellows,” or allies of the previous Aquino administration led by the Liberal Party, of plotting to oust him.

The Liberal Party on Thursday denied it was planning to oust President Duterte.

“It’s not true. There’s no such plot and you know, I don’t know where the President gets his information, but we deny that we are plotting,” said Senate President Pro-Tempore Franklin Drilon, a party leader.

Drilon said the party was just stating its positions on various issues, some of which were opposed to the President’s positions, like the burial of former president Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

“So these are views that we expressed as a party and they have nothing to do with any plan allegedly to oust the president. We deny that categorically,” Drilon said.

Senator Francis Pangilinan, acting Liberal Party president, also dismissed the allegation, noting that many party members have jumped ship to parties allied with Malacañang.

“Being critical of the burial of Marcos in the Libingan or being critical of the spate of extrajudicial killings does not mean we want Duterte ousted,” Pangilinan said.

Still, Liberal senators have no plans of leaving the majority bloc in the chamber, led by the Senate President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipno-Lakas ng Bayan. </s> Opposition Senator Leila de Lima is escorted by Senate security to address the media after a warrant for her arrest was issued by a regional trial court Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017, in suburban Pasay city, south of Manila, Philippines. The Philippine court has issued an arrest warrant on drug charges for the senator and former top human rights official who is one of the most vocal critics of President Rodrigo Duterte and his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs. De Lima has vehemently denied the charges, which she says are part of Duterte's attempt to intimidate critics of his crackdown, which has left more than 7,000 drug suspects dead.

Manila: A Philippine court on Thursday issued an arrest order for combative Senator Leila de Lima, in connection with allegations that she received drug money from an influential prison syndicate.

Judge Juanita Guerero, of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204, ordered the arrest of De Lima, who on Thursday afternoon remained holed up in her locked office at the Senate building in Pasay City.

Aside from the De Lima, also ordered arrested were Rafael Ragos and Ronnie Dayan who are respectively a close aide and personal driver of the senator.

“After a careful evaluation of the herein information and all the evidence presented during the preliminary investigation conducted in this case by the Department of Justice, Manila, the court finds sufficient probable cause for the issuance of warrants of arrest against Leila M. de Lima, Rafael Marcos Z. Ragos and Ronnie Palisoc Dayan,” the court order states.

De Lima and her aides are being accused of violating the law against drugs, particularly Section 5 of the Dangerous Drugs Act.

This particular law deems as illegal the “sale, trading, administration, dispensation, delivery, distribution and transportation of illegal drugs,” and prescribes a punishment of imprisonment from a minimum of 12 years to life imprisonment and payment of fine from 500,000 pesos to 10 million pesos (Dh36,502 to Dh730,043).

The arrest order was issued after the Department of Justice last week charged De Lima, who was justice secretary until last year, with accepting money from high-profile drug syndicates in exchange for allowing the jailed felons to conduct their business even while in prison.

De Lima is known to be close to former President Benigno Aquino III and is an active member of his political organisation, the Liberal Party (LP).

Meanwhile, incumbent Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre alleged that a former senator and an incumbent member of the House of Representatives, who is with the LP, had tried to bribe high profile inmates who have direct knowledge on De Lima’s acceptance of protection money during the time she was justice secretary.

Aguirre said the information held by national penitentiary New Bilibid Prisons inmates Vicenty Sy, JoJo Baligad Herbert Colanggo, Engelberto Aceñas Dureno, and Wu Tuan Yuan or Peter Co could pin down De Lima on allegations that she was providing protection to the six high profile inmates who were allegedly involved in running a drug distribution ring under the noses of jail authorities.

“We have information that the first offer to the inmates was made on Wednesday afternoon. It was made by a former senator and an incumbent Congressman of the Liberal Party in the Province of Laguna. The inmates were told that they have to recant before February 25, 2017,” according to Aguirre. </s> On her first night in detention in Camp Crame, Senator Leila de Lima was visited by PNP chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to assure her of her safety inside the police headquarters.

Fresh from his trip to Kalinga to visit relatives of policemen killed in an operation, Dela Rosa dropped by De Lima’s cell at the PNP Custodial Center on Friday night.

“She welcomed me and I talked to her. I told her, if security is your problem, you’re very secure here. You have nothing to worry about. You’re very safe here,” Dela Rosa told a press conference in Camp Crame Monday morning.

Dela Rosa said the senator, with whom he once had a clash during a Senate inquiry on rampant drug killings, was “very relaxed.”

“Tinanong ko pa nga kung OK lang sa kanya ‘yung bagong pintura na wall kasi may asthma siya. Sabi niya, “Kayang-kaya naman. Walang problema,” he said.

It was not clear if De Lima and Dela Rosa discussed why the police tried to arrest her on Thursday night despite her a public statement that she would surrender on Friday morning.

De Lima slammed Dela Rosa’s order to serve the warrant on the day the court issued it despite the agreement between Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Interior Secretary Ismael “Mike” Sueño to allow De Lima to spend the night at the Senate.

De Lima said she did not want to be arrested at night for security concerns.

She was brought to the detention facility on Friday afternoon following her arrest at the Senate over illegal drug charges.

Friends of De Lima expressed concern over her security while she was put under police custody, citing the October killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo by rogue cops inside Crame.

De Lima’s fellow Liberal Party member Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan questioned the capability of the PNP to secure detainees when it allowed Jee’s killing to happen inside the heavily-guarded camp.

But Dela Rosa said it’s normal for them to worry about the senator’s safety.

“But as far as the PNP is concerned, we make sure na safe na safe si Senator De Lima sa aming custodial center,” he said.

Aside from Dela Rosa, Vice President Leni Robredo also visited her partymate at the PNP Custodial Center, according to PNP’s Headquarters Support Service director Chief Supt. Philip Phillipps.

Phillipps said Robredo visited at about 7 p.m. Friday. It lasted for less than an hour. CBB/rga
The Liberal Party of the Philippines, the party of vice president Leni Robredo and detained senator Leila de Lima, formally becomes the opposition after its members and its ally from the Akbayan party are ousted from key positions in the Senate.