Senator Antonio Trillanes IV accuses Senator Richard Gordon of ‘lawyering’ for Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte and presidential son-in-law Manases Carpio. Gordon threatens to file an ethics complaint against his fellow senator.

MANILA, Philippines – Administration ally Senator Richard Gordon and opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV got into a heated argument during the 6th Senate hearing on the P6.4-billion shabu shipment smuggled from China.

FIGHT. Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Richard Gordon bicker over the need to invite Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte and Manases Carpio, son and son-in-law of President Rodrigo Duterte respectively. Photo by Camille Elemia/Rappler

The two senators traded barbs on Thursday, August 31, after Trillanes motioned that the Senate blue ribbon committee invite presidential son, Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, and presidential son-in-law Manases “Mans” Carpio to the investigation. (LIVE: Senate hearing on the P6.4B worth of shabu shipment from China)

Duterte and Carpio were implicated in smuggling after Customs broker and “fixer” Mark Ruben Taguba read text messages mentioning the two names as part of the supposed Davao Group, which has strong ties inside the Bureau of Customs (BOC). (READ: Here’s what else was in Taguba’s text messages on Customs)

It was also revealed in a previous hearing that Carpio was spotted visiting the office of former BOC Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon, which the lawyer earlier said was not related to smuggling. (READ: Trillanes tags presidential son-in-law in smuggling)

“We have enough information that would warrant the invitaton for both Mans and Paolo Duterte to this committee hearing. Hindi ito (This is not) – I heard the Majoriry Floor Leader say, hearsay – this is not a court; this is an investigation. We’re just establishing the truth, ferret out the truth. ‘Wag muna tayong mag-abogado sa kanila (Let’s not lawyer for them first),” Trillanes said.

“Itong mga resource persons na ito, invited quietly…. Bakit suddenly masyadong jittery or binabadger na ‘yung nagsasabi (These resource persons were invited quietly. Why are you suddenly jittery or badgering the witness?” the senator added.

Gordon, chair of the Senate panel, asked if Trillanes was referring to him or to Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III.

Trillanes answered, “Well, if you feel alluded to that’s not my problem.”

At this point, Gordon and Trillanes tried to outtalk each other.

Gordon said: “You know, you’re so fond of making names here. If you’re making general statements, you better prove it. This is not a cockpit of tsismis (gossip). ‘Wag ka nagdadadaldal (Don’t blabber).”

Trillanes was still speaking when Gordon said: “You’re out of order. Session suspended.”

While session was suspended – though still aired – Trillanes went on to say that the committee was being used to clear President Rodrigo Duterte and his family of charges.

“Nagiging committee de absuwelto ang blue ribbon committee (The blue ribbon committee is turning into a committee of acquittal),” he said.

Gordon then warned Trillanes of being cited in contempt but the latter objected.

Gordon resumed the session, ignoring Trillanes’ remark, but the latter raised it again. “I made the objection,” he said.

“No, no no,” Gordon said in response.

Trillanes then slammed Gordon for acting unilaterally and reminded him he is not a “one-man committee.” He then reiterated his claim that the committee was being used to absolve the President and his family of allegations

Gordon reminded Trillanes that his statement was on record but the latter said the session was suspended.

“This gentleman has been accusing everyone in the Senate with everything,” Gordon said.

But Trillanes interjected, “Only you.”

Protecting the President?

Gordon said he would file an ethics complaint against Trillanes and told Trillanes to behave accordingly.

“I am asking the Senate Majority Leader to convoke the ethics committee. I will file an ethics complaint against the gentleman from Bicol. I will ask the gentleman from Bicol to…behave himself; otherwise I will put sergeant-at-arms before him,” Gordon warned.

Trillanes tried to speak but Gordon said he had already ruled and declared Trillanes out of order.

Trillanes again tried to speak but this time, Sotto turned off the opposition senator’s microphone – the same thing Trillanes did to former senator Alan Peter Cayetano during the hearing on extrajudicial killings.

Trillanes then got the chance to use the mic again and lamented the “irrational ruling” and “behavior” of Gordon as blue ribbon committee chair.

But Gordon refuted this and said he “always acted rationally.”

“I will not answer you. You’re out of order. I will not dignify your one-man statements. The trouble with this gentlemen, if he doesn’t like it he will conduct a coup, then he will be forgiven. Then he will again conduct a coup, then forgiven again,” Gordon said.

Trillanes retorted that Gordon was all the more “pathetic” because he barricaded Subic in Olongapo just to cling to power, referring to the time Gordon refused to vacate the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority during the Estrada administration.

“Ikaw nag-barricade ka sa Subic (You barricaded Subic), just to hold on to your position. That’s more pathetic,” Trillanes said.

At this point, Sotto tried to control the two bickering senators. He placed himself between the two and asked them to stop.

Sotto was heard saying while the microphones were off: “Napaka-unparliamentary ng nangyayari…Tigilan ‘nyo na ‘yan. Committee niya ito. Gumawa ka ng iba mong committee na lang (This is so unparliamentary….Stop it. This is his committee. Just create your own committee.)”

Trillanes, in an interview after the spat, said Gordon was clearly trying to protect Duterte and Carpio. He earlier called to replace Gordon as chair of the blue ribbon panel.

“Well, nakita ‘nyo naman nag-motion ako para ipa-invite itong si Mans Carpio and Paolo Duterte ay eto na, nakita ‘nyo na, nag-abogado na siya. Di ganyan ang demeanor ng chairman ng isang blue ribbon committee,” Trillanes said.

(You saw that I made a motion to invite Mans Carpio and Paolo Duterte and then here he comes, he started lawyering (for them). That is not the demeanor of the chairman of the blue ribbon committee.)

He said it was plain to see “who was being irrational; who suddenly had a change in demeanor.”

Trillaned maintained there was enough information that “warrants” the invitation of Duterte and Carpio. (READ: Customs broker: Paolo Duterte’s ‘friend, handler’ got bribe money)

“That’s very obvious. Maliwanag ‘yung mga prinesenta kong information that warrants maimbitahan sila. Wala namang ano ‘yun e….They can easily clear their names kung di sila involved,” Trillanes said.

(That’s very obvious. The information I presented clearly warrants their invitation. There’s nothing to it….They can easily clear their names if they’re not involved.)

He said he was ready to face the ethics complaint should Gordon file it.

Gordon, for his part, later apologized for the incident. “I’d like to apologize for what happened earlier. It’s not usual….We try to make sure that the dignity of the Senate is upheld,” he said.

Source: rappler.com

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SUBIC BAY FREEPORT: A P3.6-billion golf course, hotel and leisure complex will soon rise here as the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) on Tuesday approved a proposal by a Korean-led company.

SBMA Administrator and CEO Wilma Eisma and DMLeisure Corp. President Suyong Kim signed a 20-page lease and development agreement covering the project.

To be built in a 200-hectare portion of the Tipo area, the hotel and leisure complex is expected to boost eco-tourism and increase livelihood opportunities in Subic.

“We expect it to be another grand tourist destination in the region, another magnet for more down-line businesses and employment, as well as another distinctive landmark for the evolving Subic Freeport Zone,” Eisma said after the signing ceremony.

Located near the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), the site is about a two-hour drive from Manila via North Luzon Expressway, and about 45 minutes from the Clark Freeport via the SCTEx.

DMLeisure Corp. will infuse a minimum of P3.6 billion. The project is scheduled to be completed in three phases within eight years or by 2025.

DMLeisure’s commitment will generate a significant number of jobs for local residents, Eisma noted. The company will need up to 1,000 workers during the construction phase and at least another 1,000 employees once the complex is fully operational, she said.

“DMLeisure is among the positive results of our intensified marketing and promotion campaign to convince investors and business communities from our neighbor countries to invest in Subic,” Eisma said.

She said the SBMA would be working with local government units to start developing light industrial parks and tourism and commercial areas as the demand for wider spaces would rise with the influx of new investments.

The SBMA official said new investment areas in nearby communities would become an extension of Subic Bay Freeport as stipulated under Executive Order 675, which took effect in November 2007.

LGUs, with the approval of the local council, will be able to declare any part of their jurisdiction as additional secured area of the Subic Bay Freeport and Special Economic Zone which will be organized, administered, managed and operated by the SBMA.

Source: manilatimes.net

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Senator Richard Gordon maintained that he does not owe President Duterte anything for him to protect the latter’s son Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte and son-in-law Mans Carpio from being investigated over their alleged involvement in corrupt activities within the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

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SUBIC, Zambales—Local officials of Barangay Cawag in this town have asked the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the speedy review and approval of the power-supply agreement (PSA) for the long-delayed coal-fired thermal power project proposed for construction in their village by the Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. (RP Energy).

In Photo: Earth-moving equipment undertake slope protection and drainage works at the RP Energy project site in Sitio Naglatore, Cawag, Subic, Zambales.

In a letter they hand-carried to the ERC office in Pasig City on Tuesday, members of the Cawag Barangay Council, led by chairman Arthur P. Garcia, expressed their support to project proponent RP Energy, and pressed for the early resolution of the firm’s pending case before the regulatory body.

The letter was signed by Garcia and council members Marvin M. Martinez, Alexander E. Bonilla, Roseanne S. Orayan, Zenaida D. Lozano, Abner F. Bais, Policara L. Continedo and Aida G. Turing.

“We wrote to inform you of our support to Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc., which is building a power plant at Sitio Naglatore in Barangay Cawag, Subic, Zambales,” the council said in the August 14 letter addressed to Commissioner Alfredo J. Non, officer in charge of the ERC.

“We are saddened by the fact that until now, the Energy Regulatory Commission has not yet approved [RP Energy’s] power-supply agreement, which has delayed the construction of the plant,” the council added.

“We pray for the speedy resolution by the Commission of the case so that we may fully attain the benefits intended for our barangay under the project and other programs of RP Energy,” they said.

The officials also noted in their letter that since the coal-power plant project started in 2011, the proponent had introduced progress in the barangay through its corporate social responsibility program by building a health center, school rooms and a multipurpose gym, as well as donating computers, books and medicine.

The council also said that RP Energy has provided employment to Cawag residents, as well as those from nearby communities.

“We know that the success of RP Energy in its business endeavor would also boost the progress of our barangay,” the officials said.

RP Energy, a consortium composed of AboitizPower, Meralco PowerGen Corp., and Taiwan Cogeneration Corp., has committed to build a $1.2-billion 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant in the area.

However, the project, which had initially met some opposition from residents and local officials in Subic, Olongapo and Zambales, has been long delayed.

While the Supreme Court lifted the writ of kalikasan against the project in 2015, the review of its PSA has been pending with the ERC since April 2016.

The PSA, which is a bilateral agreement between a generation company and a distribution utility for the purchase and supply of power, must pass ERC review because the retail rates charged by distribution utilities for the supply of electricity in their captive market is subject to regulation by the ERC.

As of now, RP Energy has remained in the site development stage, doing slope protection and drainage works in particular, said Jason Gavina, the firm’s community relations officer.

“We are just awaiting the approval of the PSA by the ERC in order to go into full-blown project construction,” Gavina added.

Aside from the Cawag village council, other stakeholders have reportedly given their support to the project, Gavina said.

He said the Cawag Tribal Association, which is composed of over 100 members of Ayta tribesmen in the area, has also urged the ERC to act on the PSA for the RP Energy project.

First Published: businessmirror.com.ph

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PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has appointed lawyer Randy B. Escolango as Deputy Commissioner of the Insurance Commission, Department of Finance. Duterte signed Escolango’s appointment on August 23 but released the information, along with other presidential appointees, only on Tuesday, August 29.

Atty. Randy B. Escolango, PhD

“I am overwhelmed by the trust and confidence of President Duterte,” said Escolango, former officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), “something I can only reciprocate with sincere, honest to goodness service that will benefit our country.”

The Insurance Commission is an important government body under the Department of Finance, mandated to regulate and supervise the insurance, pre-need, and HMO industries in accordance with the provisions of the Insurance Code, as amended, and Pre-Need Code of the Philippines, among others.

A Deputy Administrator (DA) for Legal Affairs of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Escolango was drawn into the limelight in late 2016 when Malacañang made him Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Administrator of SBMA, which runs the Subic Bay Freeport.

Banking on his more than seven (7) years experience as DA for Legal Affairs that equipped him with excellent knowledge, expertise and grasp in running the day-to-day affairs of SBMA, Escolango earned the respect of both business and labor in the Freeport during his short stint as OIC Administrator.

According to his website www.randyescolango.com, he passed the Philippine Bar Examinations in 2002, after which he began his private practice under his own Escolango Law Office, specializing as a Corporate and Litigation lawyer.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts, Major in Political Science Degree from the New Era University and Bachelor of Laws at Far Eastern University.

In 2010, Escolango completed his Masters in Public Management and in 2014, was conferred the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Public Administration.

His first stint as a public servant was as clerk at Branch 4 of the Manila Trial Court while taking up law. His love of education also led him to teach law subjects at Gordon College in Olongapo City when he was already a lawyer.

Escolango is expected to officially assume his new post soon, but he has already been in coordination with Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez recently.

Colleagues at SBMA are delighted by Escolango’s appointment.

“President Duterte made a good choice in Atty. Escolango,” said Panfilo S. Jurilla, president of the SBMA Employees Association (SEA), “his track record speaks for itself.”

First Published: subicbaynews.net

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