WEEKLY ISSUE 70 CITIES IN 11 STATES ONLINE Vol. IX Issue 403 1028 Mission Street, 2/F, San Francisco, CA 94103 Tel. (415) 593-5955 or (650) 278-0692 [email protected] Dec. 29, 2016 - Jan. 4, 2017 PNP resolves killings Acquitted Raiders dominate Hollywood mourns Manigong Bagong Taon PH NEWS | A2 PH NEWS | A3 SPORTS NEWS | A5 ENTERTAINMENT | B7 ENTERTAINMENT | B8 New law sets caregivers’ Duterte wants easier declaration of rights, benefits & salaries By William Casis | Martial Law, bypassing Congress & SC FilAm Star Correspondent By Macon Araneta | FilAm Star Correspondent President Rodrigo Duterte said said. he wants the Constitution amended to Saying she is prepared to fight Mar- make it less difficult for any president to tial Law, Robredo noted that Filipinos declare Martial Law but Vice-president have demonstrated their courage to Leni Robredo said she is ready to fight stand up and make their voices be heard against its return. for the sake of protecting our freedom According to Duterte, he wants the and fighting for the truth. declaration of Martial Law to be the sole Robredo, who recently quit her prerogative of the president. He said this Cabinet post over differences with Du- would bypass the “inefficiency” of hav- terte and emerged as opposition leader, ing Congress and the Supreme Court to said the President’s reference to specific Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman agree to the declaration. provisions in the 1987 Constitution (photo: www.filam.net) “If I declare Martial Law amid an providing controls on martial law as a The House committee on labor invasion or war, I cannot proceed on “reckless reaction” to the Marcos regime and employment approved House and on, especially if there is unrest. I was an insult to the Filipino experience Bill 269 or the proposed “Caregivers would need to go to Congress and to the of the dictatorship. Welfare Act,” which seeks to institute Supreme Court?” “Moreover, for President Duterte to policies for the protection of the rights “Well, what happens if the Supreme challenge the democratic safeguards of of caregivers and the promotion of Court says one thing and Congress says the very constitution he swore to uphold their welfare. another—one says yes and the other says on June 30 is appalling,” she said. Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman no? Where would you put me? That’s President Rodrigo Duterte (left) and Vice-President Leni Robredo (right) “Let us remain vigilant against the said the proposed legislative measure why I really need to change it,” Duterte (photos: www.newsflash.org) TO PAGE A7 TO PAGE A7 Conviction of Pinay OFW Technology taking ARMM Duterte calls UN commissioner who joined IS may upset to a whole new direction on human rights an ‘idiot’ after By Lara Climaco | job prospects in Kuwait FilAm Star Correspondent murder accusation By Daniel Llanto | FilAm Star Correspondent Innovation is taking the Autono- By Macon Araneta | FilAm Star Correspondent A Kuwaiti court sentenced a Fil- mous Region in Muslim Mindanao President Rodrigo Duterte flared “I think there is one United Na- lipino woman to 10 years in jail for (ARMM) out of the shadows. The poor- up and called United Nations High tions official, human rights. He said joining the Islamic State (IS) jihadist est region in the country, ARMM is Commissioner on Human Rights Zeid Duterte is a murderer, should group. more often associated with terrorism. Consequently, the overseas place- But this year, it earned the spotlight as ment sector in the Philippines quickly the most improved region in peace and aired concern that this could dampen order and financial administration. the job placement of overseas Filipino Technology lies at the heart of this workers in Kuwait even as prospects TO PAGE A7 sees to be looking up. The Kuwait interior ministry said on Monday the unnamed Pinay had confessed to being a member of the Ako-OFW party-list Founding Chairman Islamic State group and was plotting Dr. Chie Umandap terrorist attacks in the emirate. The (photos: www.phildigest.jp) TO PAGE A7 PNP task force looks into suspicious slaying of publisher & mayoral loser By William Casis | FilAm Star Correspondent Malacañang ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to “leave no stone unturned” in solving the murder of community newspaper publisher Larry UN High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein Sy Que as Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II vowed justice for his family. Engr. Abdelnur Campong, chief I.T. officer Ra’ad Al Hussein an “idiot” over the (photos: www.blog.unwatch.org) Que is the first media worker killed since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed at the Information and Communications latter’s comment that he should be Technology Office of ARMM TO PAGE A7 TO PAGE A7 held accountable for murder. A2 FilAm Star Dec. 29, 2016 - Jan. 4, 2017 ph news Casino tycoon, 3 others accused of corporate Police resolves 800 suspicious layering to gain Filipino ownership rights killings in Duterte’s drug war By Daniel Llanto | FilAm Star Correspondent By Macon Araneta | FilAm Star Correspondent An anti-crime watchdog filed a complaint a foreign citizen or non-qualified person to enjoy Of some 4,000 killings tied to President against Chinese gaming tycoon Jack Lam and four rights, privileges, property or business, the exercise Duterte’s bloody anti-drug campaign, the Phil- others for violating the Anti-Dummy Law. of which is limited to Filipino citizens,” the complaint ippine National Police (PNP) claimed to have The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption said. resolved 800 cases. (VACC), through its President Dante Jimenez and Citing records from the Securities and Exchange The investigation was prompted by rising legal counsel Ferdinand Topacio said Lam and four Commission, the VACC noted that the stocks of Fort human rights concerns that Duterte’s drug war others broke the law to get around the prohibition on Ilocandia Holdings are shared by Ilocandia Holdings was getting out of hand. What the media calls foreign ownership of real estate. Corp., which holds 59 percent of the Filipino shares; extra-judicial killings (EJKs), the police calls Lam’s co-respondents were Rosanno Nisce, Intellectual Group Ltd. (IGL) which owns 39 percent unexplained killings or death under inquiry former president of Fort Ilocandia Holdings; Siu Wah of the foreign shares; and less than 1 percent to Lam. (DUI) believed to be mostly drug-related. Chung, a British national and former chairman of the However, the VACC learned that Lam seems to PNP Chief Director General Ronald dela board; Edgar Lim, former treasurer and director of also have a hold on IGL when it signed a May 6, 2000 Rosa said, “We are gaining some headway to- wards solving cases of DUI. There were about 4,000 (killings) and out of that only 100-plus were drug-related cases, meaning we have almost 3,000 that were not drug related,” Dela Rosa said. He continued: “We have concluded the investigation of around 800 (cases), which we resolved, nalaman kung sino ang suspects, PNP Chief Bato Dela Rosa filed charges of about 300 and arrested and (Photo: www.leytesamardailynews.com) jailed around 500 suspects.” With 800 cases resolved out of the 3,000 The PNP, however, has yet to release official most suspicious DUIs, Dela Rosa said this means crime statistics under the Duterte administra- that the police are not sleeping on the job. He in- tion. But the Department of the Interior and Local dicated that this also means the police address the Government (DILG) said overall crime volume public’s human rights concerns and that the state decreased 13.4 percent in the first 10 months of does not sanction the drug-related killings. 2016 compared to the figure in the same period From July 1 to December 26 this year, PNP’s last year. (L-R) Jack Lam, VACC Pres. Dante Jimenez, and VACC legal counsel Ferdinand Topacio project Double Barrel Alpha resulted in the killing The DILG said there were 490,700 crime (Photo: www.media.philstar.com / www.alchetron.com / www.foreign.movies.com.pk) of 2,155 drug pushers and users – most of them incidents from January to October 2016 compared while putting up a fight during police anti-illegal to 566,597 reported in the same period in 2015. Fort Ilocandia Holdings; and Jose Roberto Mumu- memorandum on behalf of IGL over a PHP 150-mil- drug operations or what police term “nanlaban.” In a statement, DILG Secretary Ismael Sueno ric, former secretary and director of Fort Ilocandia lion loan given to WPI. The PNP said 2,928 others were killed from said index crimes dipped by 30.81 percent or Holdings. The VACC also noted that Ilocandia Holdings July 1 to December 15 but their deaths remain 118,183 crimes compared to last year’s figure of In an eighth-page complaint, Topacio said the has 39 percent foreign ownership through Corps- under investigation. 170,818, while non-index crimes also dropped by company used “layering” to show that Filipino owner- mart Ltd. and 59 percent Filipino ownership through 5.88 percent or from 395,779 in the same period of ship came to 60 percent, contrary to the truth that Sevenseas Holdings. A total of 42,497 drug offenders have been arrested in 39,987 anti-drug operations in almost 2015 to 372,517 in 2016. Fort Ilocandia’s is owned mostly by Lam. “The corporate structure of the above corpora- Sueno said 2016 was an unprecedented year Through corporate layering, the VACC said, tions, despite being seemingly compliant with Philip- six months of the Duterte administration. All anti- for the DILG as it achieved significant and record- Fort Ilocandia through its dummy companies, and its pine laws, warrants a deeper investigation as to their drug operations across the country have left 21 high gains in the government’s campaign against directors and officers are able to exercise, enjoy, use real foreign equities and those of their subsidiaries..