In her almost nine months since being appointed Justice chief, Secretary Leila de Lima has consistently been creating panels and task forces to look into the most pressing legal issues confronting the nation. This comes as no wonder after President Benigno Aquino III, in his inaugural address on June 30, 2010, gave his incoming Justice secretary the marching orders to “begin the process of providing true and complete justice for all." Two days later, De Lima took over reins of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and vowed to heed her boss’ directive. In her first speech as Justice secretary, the former Commission on Human Rights chair said her goal was to erase the perception that the wheels of justice in the Philippines were not moving fast enough. There are at least three types of panels De Lima has formed:
- Those she is mandated to create under the Rules on Criminal Procedure. The rules state that when a complaint is filed with the DOJ, the Justice secretary designates a panel of prosecutors to conduct a preliminary investigation (PI). The PI seeks to determine whether there is probable cause to file a case against the respondents. Once probable cause is determined, the prosecutors handling the case file the proper information (a written legal pleading) before the appropriate court.
- Those that conduct a fact-finding investigation. In the absence of a complaint that will set in motion a preliminary probe, De Lima — on her own initiative —forms a team that will conduct a fact-finding inquiry instead.
- Those that involve representatives from other agencies like the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), among others.
GMA News Online has tracked the progress of the panels and task forces De Lima created to investigate high-profile complaints and controversies.
1) Torture raps vs Manila cop Binayug In August 2010, a news report aired a video footage showing a naked man, a theft suspect detained in a Tondo police station, being tortured by someone seated next to him. The alleged torturer was identified as Senior Inspector Joselito Binayug, who was later relieved from his duties. The torture victim’s family has filed with the DOJ a complaint against Binayug for his alleged violation of the Anti-Torture Act of 2009. De Lima assigned Senior State Prosecutor Phillip Kimpo to handle the preliminary probe.
Status: The complaint is up for resolution.
2) Syndicated estafa complaint against Globe Asiatique owner Delfin Lee The Globe Asiatique owner and real estate developer is accused of defrauding the government of billions of pesos through alleged anomalies in his housing projects in Pampanga. From October 2010 to April 2011, the Pag-IBIG Fund (Home Development Mutual Fund), the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), and the National Bureau of Investigation have filed four syndicated estafa complaints against Lee, Globe Asiatique employees, and their alleged cohorts in Pag-IBIG.
Status: Senior State Prosecutor Ma. Emilia Luena-Victorio, lead prosecutor conducting the probe, said the first two complaints are up for resolution while the other two are still subject to clarificatory questions in May.
3) September 2010 Bar exams blast Last year, the traditional revelries during the last day of the Bar exams was marred by a grenade-throwing incident that injured almost 50 people. Law student Raissa Laurel of the San Sebastian College lost both her legs in that incident. The suspect was later identified as Anthony Leal Nepomuceno, a member of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity. Nepomuceno had repeatedly maintained his innocence. The NBI has filed multiple frustrated murder, and multiple attempted murder charges against Nepomuceno. In Jan. 2011, Nepomuceno attended a DOJ hearing and submitted his counter-affidavit to deny the charges lodged against him.
Status: Prosecution Attorney Gerard Gaerlan said the NBI’s complaint is up for resolution.
4) ’Massacre King’ Carlo J. Caparas faces P540-M tax evasion raps In October 2010, the Bureau of Internal revenue filed a tax evasion complaint against film and television director Carlo J. Caparas, called “Massacre King" for his commercially successful blood-and-gore revenge films. The BIR said Caparas did not declare nor had paid the proper amount of taxes for the P850 million that the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office paid him for the direction and production of TV programs. The BIR said Caparas should pay P540 million in unpaid taxes, surcharges, and penalties for the four taxable years. Caparas submitted his counter-affidavit in January 2011 to deny all the charges.
Status: Senior State Prosecutor Rosanne Balauag said the complaint is up for resolution.
5) Task Force Vizconde Following the Supreme Court’s acquittal of the seven suspects in the Vizconde massacre, the DOJ has teamed up with the DILG in “bringing closure" to the deaths of Estrellita Vizconde and her daughters, Carmela and Jennifer, in June 1991. On Dec. 14, 2010, the SC reversed the convictions of Hubert Webb and six other men on the basis that their guilt was not proven beyond reasonable doubt. De Lima, however, said that it doesn’t mean that Webb and his group are innocent. The DOJ-DILG task force will also trace the other groups of suspects implicated in the massacre case. The task force has only until June 30 this year to file charges against new suspects. This is because under the Revised Penal Code, cases punishable by life imprisonment are given a prescriptive period of 20 years. Thus, the investigation into the massacre, which occurred on June 30, 1991, will have to end on June 30, 2011.
Status: De Lima is tight-lipped on the status of the probe, so as not to alert the suspects on the task force’s progress. She only hinted at having a “breakthrough" in the investigation.
6) Leonard Co’s death Renowned botanist Leonard Co and his two companions were killed while conducting research at the Energy Development Corp. compound in Kananga, Leyte. Co’s family said the botanist was slain by members of the Philippine Army’s 19th Infantry Battalion, who thought that Co and his companions were communist rebels. The soldiers, however, said that the three victims were caught in the crossfire. On her own initiative, De Lima formed a fact-finding panel which cleared the military of any liability. Co’s family later questioned the panel’s findings. Last January, Co’s family formally filed a murder complaint against 38 members of the Army’s 19th IB.
Status:The panel has conducted clarificatory questioning on the parties involved in the complaint. The head of the team, Senior State Prosecutor George Yarte, said the panel will still determine whether there is a need for an ocular inspection of the site where Co was killed.
7) Audit of car theft cases The killing of car dealers Emerson Lozano — son of Marcos lawyer Oliver Lozano — and Venson Evangelista in January 2011 prompted De Lima to create an all-female panel, led by Senior State Prosecutor Lilian Alejo, that will review cases dismissed either in the DOJ or by the courts. The panel will check whether law enforcers have connived with suspected car thieves. A separate DOJ panel led by Senior State Prosecutor Eden Wakay Valdez is looking into the murder complaint filed by the Lozanos against the brothers Raymond and Roger Dominguez, alleged leaders of a carjack group.
Status: No resolution yet by the Alejo and Valdez panels.
8) Gerry Ortega murder case Hard-hitting Palawan broadcaster Gerry Ortega was gunned down in Puerto Princesa City in January this year. Ortega’s anti-mining stance supposedly irked former Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes, key suspect in Ortega’s killing. Ortega’s family is calling for a continued vigilance on the investigation on the radioman’s death, saying that it might be the first time that a mastermind behind an attack against a journalist is sent behind bars. Senior State Prosecutor Edwin Dayog handles the murder complaint against Reyes and his allies.
Status: Reyes submitted his counter-affidavit last March to ask for the dismissal of the complaint against him. Clarificatory hearings have yet to resume.
9) Ex-generals accused of tax evasion Last March, the BIR filed separate tax evasion complaints against former military comptrollers Carlos F. Garcia and Jacinto Ligot, as well as their spouses and a relative who allegedly served as a dummy to cover up for misuse of public funds. The BIR said Carlos and Clarita Garcia have P235 million in tax liabilities; Jacinto and Erlinda Ligot owe P428 million, and Edgardo Yambao owes P285 million. Yambao, Erlinda’s brother, was Ligot’s supposed dummy in the corruption mess. The BIR’s investigation stemmed from a Senate blue ribbon committee hearing that looked into alleged corruption in the military.
Status: The Ligots recently submitted their counter-affidavits, while Garcia has asked for more time to submit his. Yambao is yet to submit his counter-affidavit.
10) Task force vs spate of oil price hikes Acting on her own, De Lima recently announced she will create a DOJ panel that will check the regularity of the 12 successive oil price increases implemented by oil firms since January 2011. De Lima said the new panel will be separate from the joint DOJ-Department of Energy Task Force created by former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez. She said the new panel will likely be called the DOJ Office for Competition.
Status: De Lima is yet to issue her department order designating members of the new panel.
– MRT/VS, GMA News 
GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
