Leaders of the “Young Guns” in the House of Representatives on Sunday slammed Vice President Sara Duterte for diverting attention from Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s legal issues by apologizing to Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) members for urging them to vote for President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in 2022.
“This is a clear attempt to deflect from the real issue at hand, which is Quiboloy’s refusal to submit to the law. Instead of apologizing for
Leader and Zambales 1st District Rep. Jay Khonghun.
For his part, Assistant Majority Leader and La Union 1st District
political choices, the Vice President should be focusing on ensuring that her ally faces justice,” said Assistant Majority
Rep. Paolo Ortega V said, “It’s disheartening to see Vice President Duterte try to shift the narrative by invoking her role in the last election. The reality is that this situation is about holding a fugitive accountable for his
actions, not about who voted for whom in 2022.”
Khonghun and Ortega also expressed dismay at the Vice President’s statement condemning what she called an “abuse of police power” during the
Philippine National Police’s (PNP) operation to serve arrest warrants on Quiboloy and his co-accused for child abuse and human trafficking at the KOJC compound in Davao City.
Deputy Majority Leader Jude Acidre and Assistant Majority Leader Jil Bongalon both said former President Duterte should not be criticizing law enforcement agencies enforcing a legal warrant of arrest against a fugitive of the law, and instead should be supporting any action in upholding the law.
“We support Sen. De Lima’s pronouncement that ex-President Duterte should be helping authorities enforce the warrant of arrest against his ally, Apollo Quiboloy. As a former president, he should be all for upholding the law at all times, no exceptions,” Acidre said.
Surigao del Sur 2nd District Rep. Johnny Ty Pimentel has exposed what he called a “grand conspiracy” involving the systematic killing of Chinese nationals detained for drug-related offenses during former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s administration.
TWO members of the “Young Guns” of the House of Representatives on Sunday expressed support for former Sen. Leila de Lima’s reaction to the statement of ex-President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for him to just help authorities enforce the warrant of arrest against Apollo Quiboloy and refrain from making unnecessary criticisms.
Pimentel made the allegations during last Thursday’s hearing of the House quad-committee, pointing to the involvement of government and police officials "from top to bottom" in the extrajudicial killings associated with the previous administration’s brutal war on drugs.
“I believe that this is a great conspiracy, it’s a grand conspiracy coming from the top to the bottom officials,” Pimentel said while propounding questions to Leopoldo “Tata”...READ MORE
De Lima recently made a statement in reaction to Duterte’s response to the raid of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ by authorities enforcing the warrant of arrest against Quiboloy. The former president said rights had been trampled upon during the raid.
“What is illegal about enforcing valid arrest warrants? At sayo pa talaga nanggaling ito? Kapal ng mukha! Bakit hindi ka na lang tumulong sa mga awtoridad?!” exclaimed De Lima.
Acidre agreed with De Lima, saying the operation stemmed from the enforcement of a valid warrant of arrest.
“We hope the former president refrains from issuing statements that tend to sow confusion and divide the Filipino nation based on a very faulty line of reasoning.
How can one argue against a legitimate operation of law enforcement agencies?” Acidre said.
Bongalon agreed with Acidre and said that ex-President Duterte should be the last to react adversely to the operation against Quiboloy.
“Bilang dating presidente, siya po ang unang-una na dapat na mag-uphold ng rule of law. Why would he say such a thing?” Bongalon said.
“Alam nating lahat na kaibigang matalik ng dating pangulo ang object ng arrest warrant na ito. Hindi ba dapat pairalin na lamang ang delikadeza at ‘wag na siyang magsalita tungkol dito?” he asked.
THE House quad-committee has escalated its investigation into illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) by issuing a subpoena to Alberto Rodulfo “AR” Dela Serna, former executive assistant to ex-presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, after he failed to appear in a crucial hearing.
A total of 9,000 beneficiaries from Batangas all received rice and cash aid from three programs that target the vulnerable sectors of Philippine society that do not receive financial assistance from any established social amelioration program of the government.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez spearheaded the distribution ceremonies for the Cash Assistance and Rice Distribution (CARD) program, the Integrated Scholarship and Incentives for Program (ISIP) for the Youth and the Start-Up, Investments, Business Opportunities and Livelihood (SIBOL) program in Batangas Saturday.
All of these programs upon instruction of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. are the initiative of Speaker Romualdez, who together with the House of Representatives is always finding ways to help those who belong to the vulnerable sectors such as indigent senior...READ MORE
Dela Serna, who was invited by the committee to its Aug. 22 hearing, submitted an excuse letter through his lawyer, Kevin San Agustin, instead of attending in person.
The validity of this excuse was questioned by Abang Lingkod Partylist Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, co-chair of the quad-committee, who moved for a subpoena to compel Dela Serna’s testimony.
“The excuse letter that was signed by Atty. Agustin is not valid,” Paduano declared, pointing out that the lawyer provided no proof of his legal authority to represent Dela Serna.
The motion was promptly seconded and approved by the committee.
On Aug. 16, Dela Serna was issued a show cause order by the quad-committee as part of its ongoing investigation into the links between POGOs, the illegal drug
trade, unlawful land acquisitions by Chinese nationals, and extrajudicial killings tied to the Duterte administration’s “war on drugs.”
His failure to attend the Aug. 22 hearing led the committee to escalate its actions by issuing a subpoena ad testificandum.
When Roque’s name became entangled in the government’s crackdown on POGO hubs operated by Chinese high-rollers, Dela Serna—a former male pageant contestant who represented the Philippines in the 2016 Mister Supranational competition in Poland—also came under intense public scrutiny.
Dela Serna’s connection to Roque was revealed during a raid by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) on the Lucky South 99 compound in Porac, a known POGO hub.
THE country’s finance chief gave Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez with high marks, hailing him as the “secret weapon” of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. during the launch of the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) in Lipa City, Batangas, on Saturday.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto credited Speaker Romualdez—who is also the President’s first cousin—as a key driving force behind the administration’s success.
“Nandito ang liderato ng Kongreso, partner ng Pangulo, first cousin ng Pangulo, at taga-isip ng programang tulad nito. Siya ang dahilan kung bakit tayo may [BPSF],” Recto, a Batangas native and former senator and congressman told the crowd as he introduced Speaker Romualdez.
“Kailan ba kayo nakakita ng Speaker na bumisita sa lalawigan ng Batangas?...READ MORE
