Okay, so Bato dela Rosa will still be a Philippine Senator for a few more years, having landed in the 3rd spot for the Senate race.
This is quite an impressive showing considering all he ever did was rant, cry, and complain about his boss’s treatment of him, who was solely responsible for making him famous.
The question is, where will he be serving his legislative duties, given his expected arrest by Interpol? If so, he will be flown to the Netherlands to join his two-month-old inmate from another cell. If he’s going to function as Senator, that will be “work from Hague.”
Only the ICC judges will determine how long. One can almost predict his behavior during the imminent impeachment proceedings in the Senate, where he will once again act like a clown.
Bato is famous not only for his childish, silly behavior in the Senate but also for leading a deadly anti-drug campaign with his fellow Davaoeño, Rodrigo Duterte. Bato was a former police chief under Duterte, a post he held for two years from 2016 to 2018.
He came under fire for multiple human rights violations under a so-called “war on drugs.” While many believed it was a fake war to favor Duterte’s alleged involvement with the drug trade, thousands of lives were lost and hundreds more were sent to prison.
A member of the Sinagtala Class of 1986 of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), dela Rosa pushes for the revival of the death penalty for those manufacturing and importing illegal drugs.
I don’t know about you, but many others already want him imported to the Netherlands under the hands of Interpol. He is the same guy who says many people in Davao carry the surname “Piattos.”
I guess 20 million voters still want to see him make a clown of himself as a Senator. He says those votes are a form of ‘protest’ for Duterte’s ICC arrest.
He can always join him there as proof of his canine loyalty.
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Will Leila de Lima return to prison?
The Court of Appeals (CA) 8th Division has overturned a 2023 RTC Branch 204 acquittal of former Senator Leila de Lima, right after an announcement that she will be joining the prosecution team for the Sara Duterte impeachment.
Talk about the influence (still) of the Dutertes in the courts!
Nevertheless, this will again cause a wider divide between political camps in the country. No less than the former justice secretary has said that her acquittal in 2024 was “final and unappealable,” citing the principle of double jeopardy.
However, she also said such a matter is “appealable to the Supreme Court.”
But this is a stinky time, considering that she is a direct threat to the embattled Vice President, who will be facing possible disqualification from holding any public office should the Senate impeachment court find her guilty of the charges.
Further, de Lima said that she only wanted to clarify that the CA did not say that her acquittal was reversed. Instead, she wanted it made clear that the decision’s contents were no longer necessary because the RTC decision was clear.
Recently elected to the Lower House, she said this will not prevent her from seeking judicial reforms in Congress. Her seven-year detention has not snuffed out her desire to pursue such reforms, especially since she will also be joining the prosecution team against VP Duterte.
Many say it is simply time for revenge on her part.
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Is Harry Roque coming back in handcuffs?
Still, another RTC, this time in Angeles City, Pampanga, has just issued a May 8 WOA or Warrant of Arrest against Atty. Harry Roque, Whirlwind Corporation incorporator Cassandra Ong, Dennis Cunanan, and Chinese boss Duanren Wu.
The warrant by RTC Branch 118 originates from a reported violation of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 in connection with alleged unlawful activities in Lucky South 99, a POGO firm raided by the police on June 5, 2024.
Roque, Ong, Cunanan, and Wu are 46 other individuals facing arrest—alleged officers, representatives, directors, employees, and incorporators of the (not-so) Lucky South 99. Prosecutors say that the respondents are accused of “maintaining, harboring, transporting, or receiving the private complainants and other vulnerable victims for forced labor as customer service representatives in an online gaming casino operated by Whirlwind Corporation and Lucky South 99.”
These include accusations of kidnapping individuals unable to pay their online gambling loans. The charges are non-bailable.
This means that in prison, Roque may continue his “vangag-vangag, ngiwi-ngiwi” choreography.
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Congratulations to my nephew, Jorge Daniel Bocobo, aka ‘Jordan,’ who emerged victorious in the congressional race for the lone district of the City of Taguig. ‘Jorge is quite a common name in the family.
My older brother is Jorge ‘Jory’ Bocobo III, a cousin is Dean ‘Deanie’ Jorge Bocobo, and another cousin is Jorge (Israel) Bocobo.
These names are all derived from my grandfather, SC Justice Jorge Cleofas Bocobo, the principal author of the Civil Code of the Philippines and an educator and writer from the past.
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Random Memorandum: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked Lucky South 99 Corporation’s corporate registration for illegally operating a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) facility in Pampanga.
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Factoid: Interpol, or the International Criminal Police Organization, is a global police organization tasked with facilitating international cooperation between national law enforcement agencies and promoting mutual assistance among its member countries against international crime. It provides operational support, including forensics, analysis, and assistance locating fugitives.
(Leslie Bocobo is a former Special Assistant to the Secretary at the Office of the Press Secretary, Malacañang, and a former Public Affairs Director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources)
Email: sleeplessinmyshuttle@yahoo.com
