Antonio Trillanes IV | Prepys' Homepage

Lozada’s conviction stresses urgency of whistleblowers law

August 29, 2016August 29, 2016 Ellen

Jun Lozada in a Palm Sunday mass. File photo

At this time of his life, it’s his faith in God that keeps Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr. going.

The government has failed him. The country’s justice system turned against him. Many “friends” have abandoned him after they have used him for their agenda.

After his conviction to six to ten years in prison by the Sandiganbayan last week in the case involving the lease of idle lands when he was president of the Philippine Foreign Corporation, a teary-eyed Lozada said the decision was difficult to take but he is holding on to faith in God: “I once said before, eight years ago, one of the lessons I learned is that the opposite of fear is courage. In reality, the opposite of fear is faith. So I’m holding on to faith in God.”

Sister Mary John Mananzan, one of those who have consistently helped Lozada and his family all throughout Jun’s eight- year ordeal deal, said the case would not have materialized if he did not testify in the aborted corruption-tainted $329.5 million national broadband project with the Chinese firm, ZTE Corp.

“I’m sure of it. All the cases against him came out after he became witness. If it was really his crime, why wasn’t he charged when he was with PFC?” she asked.

It should be recalled that Lozada was the star witness in the NBN-ZTE scandal involving Gloria Arroyo and her husband Mike Arroyo.
Arroyo’s officials tried to talk him out of testifying, even treating him to a junket in Hongkong. But when he decided to come back and testify, he was abducted and was only released because of the vigilance of civil society and religious groups.

But Arroyo did not take it sitting down. Lozada was charged with graft and corruption for making his brother Jose Orlando Lozada a beneficiary of PFC’s Lupang Hinirang Program which allows the lease of idle public lands. Orlando was also charged and convicted.

Former President Benigno Aquino III, whose mother, former President Cory Aquino, led masses and joined marches in support of Lozada, took a hands-off attitude towards the cased filed against Lozada.

It was later found out that Aquino, who was then a senator, probably desiring to score points during the senate hearings on the NBN/ZTE, had offered to meet Lozada at the airport from Hongkong. Lozada at that time was still weighing the pros and cons of going against the Arroyo government and declined Aquino’s offer.

Aquino reminded Lozada of that incident when he (Lozada) ,Sister Mary John and some supporters met with him in Malacanang to seek for his assistance to stop what they feel are harassment by Arroyo.

In a dismissive tone, Aquino told Lozada that he would just pardon him if he gets convicted.

Alas, that promise had been overtaken by events because Aquino is no longer in a position to grant him pardon.

Lozada’s conviction cuts very deep because all those charged in the NBN-ZTE had been gone scot free.

With what happened to Lozada, Sister Mary John said, “who would want to be a whistle-blower?”

She said “Whistle-blowers are needed in the fight against corruption. If not for them, who would be witnesses? “

Related to the role of whistleblowers in the anti-graft campaign, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV filed a bill (Senate Bill No. 290) seeking additional protection, security and other benefits for whistleblowers. At the House of Representatives, Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque has also filed a bill strengthening government and corporate accountability by supporting and protecting the right of employees to speak out about wrongdoing on the job.

In his first State of the Nation Address, President Duterte asked Congress to enact a Whistleblower Protection Law and strengthen the Witness Protection Program “to eradicate the prevalent cultures of fear and silence that have hounded our justice system.”

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV

Trillanes said, “Several laws have been created to encourage whistleblowing; however, the existing legal framework barely meets the need for whistleblowers’ protection and support, and fails to provide them attractive incentives, considering the risks whistleblowers face when they surface.”

SB 290 which is in support of the government’s campaign against graft and corruption seeks to further uplift the welfare and protection of whistleblowers by giving them allowance sufficient for their daily basic financial requirements, housing and personal security. They are also given adequate protection by imposing penalties to employers, firms, companies or corporations that reject qualified applicants, on the ground that they are qualified whistleblowers or when a retaliatory act is committed against them in the workplace.

The bill further seeks to encourage witnesses to divulge the erring practices of public officials and employees by providing them additional monetary reward equivalent to at least ten percent of the amount which may be recovered as a result of their disclosure or the amount of One Million Pesos, whichever is lower.

“Many potential whistleblowers are discouraged from surfacing due to the risks it involves, including the security threat it entails, which sometimes completely destroy their future and prevent them from having a normal life. It is my hope that through this measure we can address the needs and promote the welfare of our whistleblowers, in exchange of the information relevant to our campaign in promoting good governance in the country,” Trillanes said.

PNoy, Del Rosario responsible for PH losing control of Scarborough shoal

May 20, 2016May 20, 2016 Ellen

Photo by Dana Batnag

Presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte said early this week he wants to know why the Philippines lost Scarborough Shoal.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

When he said this, he was apparently under the impression that Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who exposed his BPI bank deposits amounting to no less than P200 million despite before the May 9 elections, was responsible for the Philippines losing control over the coral reef formation 124 nautical miles off Zambales.

By all means, Duterte should order a probe.

The term “lost Scarborough shoal” is debatable. Security officials deny that. Foreign affairs officials will not say that because that would be detrimental to the claim of the Philippines on the shoal which is included in the case filed by the Philippines against China before the United National Arbitral Court.

The reality, however, is that Filipino fishermen are denied access to the area around the shoal by three Chinese ships stationed there since June 2012.

How that situation came to be started on April 10, 2012 when BRP Gregorio del Pilar arrested eight Chinese boats with sizable quantities of endangered marine species, corals, live sharks and giant clams.

Chinese fishermen caught in Philippine waters is not an unusual happening – be it in Scarborough shoal or in the Spratlys, in the northwestern part of the country. When that happens, the fishermen are charged in court and the Chinese Embassy works for their release. The case is usually handled in the provincial and regional level.

The use of BRP Gregorio del Pilar, a warship, to arrest Chinese fishing vessels changed the atmosphere in the maritime row.

The rules of engagement in a sea conflict is “white to white, gray to gray.” “White to white” means civilian ships are to deal only with civilian vessels. “Gray to gray” means navy to navy.

BRP Gregorio del Pilar

ASEAN diplomats say it was a mistake for the Philippines to have sent a warship to confront Chinese fishing vessels. When Aquino was made aware of the mistake, he ordered the withdrawal of BRP Gregorio del Pilar with a face-saving, “As a sign of our goodwill, we replaced our navy cutter with a civilian boat as soon as we could.”

The Chinese did not send a warship against BRP Gregorio del Pilar. Instead they sent at first three Chinese Marine Surveillance (CMS). Then more CMS, fishing boats and dinghies came.

A month after the interception of the fishing vessels, there were 90 Chinese vessels in the Scarborough area – 10 CMS, 30 fishing boats and 50 dinghies – as against the Philippines’ three, yes, a grand total of THREE vessels- two Philippine Coast guard ships and one by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario aggravated the situation when, instead of quiet negotiations, he went to media. He announced he was summoning the Chinese ambassador to file a diplomatic protest. Then he held a press conference with Philippine Navy Chief Alexander Pama and Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Vice Admiral Edmund C. Tan by his side.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and Navy Chief Alexander Pama in a press conference.

Diplomatic observers noted that the sight of a foreign secretary with the Navy Chief talking about the arrest of a Chinese fishermen sent a hostile message to the People’s Liberation Army, a potent force in China’s power hierarchy. It was an unnecessary aggravation, something that could have been handled on the department spokesmen level.

Talks in the diplomatic level deteriorated with Del Rosario calling the Chinese ambassador “duplicitous.” Del Rosario ran to Uncle Sam. Beijing, on the other hand, looked for a direct line to Aquino and this was when Trillanes entered the picture using contacts in Beijing which he made during his Nov. 2011 visit.

While Aquino was preparing for a June 8 meeting with President Obama at the White House, the Department of Foreign Affairs was informed that Washington does not want the issue of standoff with China included in the agenda. Malacañang became frantic for the standoff to end.

Both Trillanes and Del Rosario were working for a “simultaneous withdrawal” of vessels in Scarborough shoal but they were not talking with each other. They were both reporting to the President.

It was bizarre kind of negotiation. Del Rosario was talking with Kurt Campbell, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, who was talking with Fu Ying ,vice minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of “Asia, boundary and ocean affairs and translation and interpretation” and fourth in the hierarchy in China’s foreign ministry. She was China’s ambassador to the Philippines from 1998 to 2000.

Trillanes also was talking to Fu Ying and relayed the messages to Aquino back and forth.

The negotiations would require a longer narration of events. But this is a portion of Trillanes report on the back channelling that ended the two-month standoff in Scarborough Shoal:

“For the next 2 weeks (May 2012), confidence building measures were exchanged largely focused on toning down the rhetoric on both sides and arrangements for the withdrawal of ships and the lifting of the travel sanctions on the Chinese tourists…

“The President then directed me to work on the sequential withdrawal of government ships inside the shoal. However, on the morning of 04 June, PNoy called me to inform me that our BFAR vessel has already left the shoal but China has reneged on the agreement of simultaneous withdrawal of ships so 2 CMS vessels are still inside. I asked him, who agreed with what, since I was just hammering out the details of the sequential withdrawal because the mouth of the shoal was too narrow for a simultaneous withdrawal. He told me that Sec. Del Rosario told him about the agreement reached in Washington. This time I asked him, if the agreement was simultaneous withdrawal, why did we leave first? PNoy responded, “kaya nga sinabihan ko si Albert kung bakit nya pinalabas yung BFAR na hindi ko nalalaman.”

“Anyway, PNoy said the situation is grave because he won’t be able to leave for Washington while the 2 CMS vessels are still inside the shoal. I contacted the Beijing negotiators and told them that their ships need to leave the shoal as soon as possible or else PNoy would cancel his trip and we would close the backchannel.

“ Beijing immediately responded and said that 1 CMS vessel would leave at 1700H that same day while the other CMS ship would leave after 48 hrs. They said they needed to do this to project to the Chinese public that they were not pressured into leaving the shoal. I reported this to the President and he had me on speaker phone during an emergency cabinet meeting and (I )advised him to proceed with his scheduled trip at 1300H and if the Chinese reneged on their word, he would be informed while on flight and he can then order his plane to turn around. PNoy agreed with the arrangement and told me that ES Ochoa would be the OIC in relation to the Scarborough Standoff while he is away.

“At 1706H of 04 June, I was informed by Beijing that the CMS vessel has left the shoal. I then informed ES about this and the same was relayed to PNoy. He then told me that he gave explicit instructions to the PCG not to follow any order from Secretary Del Rosario.

“On 06 June, as agreed upon, the other CMS vessel left the shoal.

“Around 10 June, PNoy informed me that the BFAR vessel was ordered to proceed to Subic to undergo repairs and directed me to ask Beijing to reciprocate. I then informed the Beijing negotiators about this and they immediately responded by sending back 2 CMS vessels and 14 fishing boats to China.

“On 15 June, PNoy informed me again that he has ordered the pull-out of the 2 remaining PCG ships from the shoal citing the incoming typhoon as the reason and directed me to ask Beijing to reciprocate. I immediately informed the Beijing negotiators about this development and again, they immediately responded by sending back all the remaining fishing boats and dinghies to China. Only 8 CMS vessels remain at this time.

“Around 02 July, I was able to negotiate for the reduction of the remaining CMS vessels to only 3. At that time, PNoy told me that he would need to decide during the 05 July cabinet meeting whether to proceed with the bilateral/backchannel talks or to internationalize it during the ASEAN Regional Forum on 09 Jul.”

In that July 5 cabinet meeting, Trillanes said,

Del Rosario and Assistant Secretary Henry Bensurto presented the multilateral/internationalize option. … I presented that, contrary to Sec. Del Rosario’s experience, our backchannel negotiations held and proof of it was the drastic reduction of the Chinese vessels from almost a hundred to only 3 with the commitment that they would pull-out the 3 remaining CMS vessels if we won’t raise the dispute during the ARF. Plus, Beijing gave the assurance that they will not put up any structure in or around the shoal. With this, I recommended to PNoy to not internationalize it during the ARF and see if they would live up to their commitment of pulling out completely. If not, I told him, that we could always raise it during the ASEAN Summit in September.”

Del Rosario’s suggestion to internationalize the issue won.

Trillanes further said in his report:

“On 14 July, Sec. Butch Abad asked me if the backchannel is still open. Apparently, we were snubbed by the ASEAN and we’re now stuck with the 3 CMS ships still at the vicinity of the shoal. I asked him if Sec. Del Rosario has a plan B, he said none. I then told him that the precondition for the withdrawal of the 3 ships was that the dispute won’t be raised at the ARF. I then politely declined from continuing with my role as backchannel negotiator since PNoy had already decided his policy action.”

One of the three Chinese Coastguard Maritime Surveillance ships in Scarborough shoal in April 2012

A lot has happened since then. The Philippines went to the Arbitral Court of the United Nations International Tribunal on Law of the Sea in The Hague and asked, among others, that China’s all-all encompassing nine-dash line map be declared illegal. Decision is expected in July.

China’s three ships are still there in Scarborough shoal.

Duterte’s tactics show truth is not on his side in conflict with Trillanes

May 2, 2016May 2, 2016 Ellen

If you have to resort to lies in a conflict, it only indicates that you are not on the side of truth.

Vice presidential candidate Antonio Trillanes IV

It’s becoming obvious that the expose of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV of Davao City Mayor Duterte’s bank transactions that can go up to as much as P2.4 billion has hit hard the frontrunner in the May 9 presidential elections, more than his infamous rape comment.

Although I seriously doubt if this latest controversy would bring him down from number one in the race, the issue would hound him even if he wins the presidency.

Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte

So far, his actions are that of a person twisting and digging himself in a quicksand.

When Trillanes IV first made his expose alleging that Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is not the poor and honest public servant that he presents himself to the public because he had more than P200 million in his BPI Julia Vargas branch account in 2014 which he did not include in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN), Duterte called the senator a “liar” and dismissed the bank account as a “fabrication.”

“You can check with the bank. You go there,” Duterte said in a forum with the Makati Business Club April 27, the day the first expose came out in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

My friend took up Duterte’s challenge and went to BPI Alabang Town Center the next day, April 28, and deposited in the bank account number published by the Inquirer. It was accepted by the bank and she was given the receipt showing that the account is a joint account of Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Sara Duterte.

My friend sent me a photo copy of the deposit slip and I posted it in Facebook a little past 1:30 p.m. It immediately went viral shared by more than three thousand people in one hour.

Less than two hours after, Inquirer posted a breaking story, “Duterte admits existence of BPI accounts.”

Duterte said his account contained just a few thousands contrary to the more than P200 million that Trillanes exposed complete with the amounts and dates of the deposits. Eight of the ten deposits in 2014 totalling P197 million were made on the mayor’s birthday, March 28.

Trillanes dared Duterte to open his account so the public would know who is telling the truth.

Duterte accepted the challenge of Trillanes while revising the amount of his bank assets. It’s less than P200 million, he said. Now, he is talking of millions of pesos in the bank.

Duterte’s propaganda team released a bank balance of P17,000. But Trillanes said he will insist on the transaction history of the account.

Duterte then set a condition that he will only agree to the opening of his bank account records if Trillanes would reveal in an affidavit how he obtained the bank documents. That’s as good as not allowing the opening of his bank accounts.

Trillanes will be at the BPI Julia Vargas branch today, May 2 at 11 a.m. Duterte will not be there. He said he will in Davao but he will be represented by his lawyer, Salvador Panelo.

Meanwhile, Duterte’s cyber trolls are on a rampage. My FP post linking my article on the evolution of Duterte’s BPI account was removed by Facebook.

Facebook removes post if they receive several complaints about it. Who would complain about an article on Duterte’s bank account?

I have been a subject of cyberbullying. The memes are actually hilarious in their stupidity which is something to be sad about because they are symptoms of a deeper problem in our society.

The other day, I got this text:

“Mga DDS nais nyo ba maka txt message ang balasubas na super epal na senador antonio trillanes mayroon po ako personal cp no ng senator na epal na yan.kaya mga dds dumugin po natin sya at eh post ko sa lahat ng duterte pages ang personal nya cp no.”

It was followed the next day with another text, similar message.

DDS stands for Davao Death Squad.

The evolution of Duterte’s BPI account

April 29, 2016April 29, 2016 Ellen

March 14, 2016 – Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte and his running mate Alan Peter Cayetano signed a manifesto waiving their rights under the Bank Secrecy law.

Manifesto, not a legal bank secrecy waiver

In the manifesto, printed on a large piece of cardboard, they pledged “to open all our bank accounts in local and foreign currencies both here and abroad in the interest of transparency and accountability.”

April 27, Wednesday- The Philippine Daily Inquirer carried the expose of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who is running for vice president as an independent candidate and is carrying Grace Poe as his vice president, that Duterte, who is now the frontrunner in the presidential race, has at least P211 million in the bank in 2014 which he did not declare when he filed his Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Networth (SALN) in 2014.

The Trillanes document shared with media showed account number 002433-0695-39 at BPI Julia Vargas branch in Pasig City under the name of Rodrigo Roa Duterte jointly with his daughter Sarah Z. Duterte.

Please click to view full image

There were ten deposits. Eight of the ten deposits totalling P197 million were made on March 28, 2014, the 69th birthday of Duterte. The two other deposits totalling P33,705,615 were made on Dec. 9, 2014.

The deposits were not included in Duterte’s 2014 SALN, which only recorded a net worth of P21,971,732.62—assets worth P22,971,732.62 and a liability of P1 million, a personal loan from a certain Samuel Uy.

Under Republic Act 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) all government employees are required to file their SALN.

Cash on hand or in bank are considered assets that must be declared.

The Inquirer article carried a strong denial from Duterte saying:”The account is not true and is just a fabrication of Trillanes, who is a money for hire.”

Speaking at the Makati Business Club lunch time, Duterte dismissed Trillanes’ expose as “garbage.”

He told the businessmen: “Believe me. That’s garbage. You can check with the bank. You go there.”
“I told you, he is a liar. He fabricated this,” he added.

Duterte also said in an ambush interview after his MBC speech he is taking back the bank waiver (which was not really a waiver but a manifesto) he signed last March. “Not anymore. I’ll make it difficult for Trillanes. It’s just a piece of paper. You prove it. Why will I give it to him? I’ll take the waiver and I will tell him, ‘Prove it. I will not make it easy for you. I will not play into your hands. You prove it,’”

Yesterday morning, April 28, at ANC, Duterte’s spokesman Peter Laviña, told Karen Davila, “”This is a non-existent account. As a lawyer, he would not issue any waiver pointing to a non-existent account….Why will Duterte do banking in Ortigas when he is based in Davao?”

At about 1 pm, a friend of mine, who wanted to find out who was really telling the truth between Trillanes and Duterte, went to BPI Alabang Town Center branch and deposited P500 in the Duterte account published in the Inquirer.

She said the bank teller asked her whose account and she said , “Sara Duterte.” Then she added, “From Emilio Aguinaldo” referring to Duterte’s statement during the last presidential debate that his funder is Emilio Aguinaldo living in a mountain in Davao.

The teller processed the account and gave her the deposit slip which showed it was credited to the account of Rodrigo Roa Duterte or Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Sara Duterte.

She sent me the photographed copy and I posted it in Facebook.

Deposit of P500 confirms existence of Duterte BPI account at Julia Vargas branch.

At about 2 pm, Liberal Party Presidential candidate Mar Roxas sent his assistant to also deposit P500 in a BPI account that Duterte said is non-existent. The bank accepted the deposit.

Inquirer also deposited P100 in the same account. Another one posted in Facebook a deposit of P5 in the same account.

At 3:09 Inquirer posted a story, “Duterte admits existence of BPI accounts.”

The Junjun Binay libel case vs Trillanes

February 3, 2016February 3, 2016 Ellen

Former Makati Mayor Junjun Binay: “Allegations besmirched my good name.”

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV. He said he will continue exposing the truth about the Binays.

Telling the truth does not make one immune from libel suits.

Last Monday, Judge Dina Pestano Teves of the Makati Regional Trial Court 142, released the warrant of arrest for Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV after finding probable cause in the suit filed by former Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr.

Trillanes, who is running for vice president as an independent candidate in the coming May election, is in Washington D.C. for the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event hosted by members of the United States Congress and organized by a Christian Fellowship Foundation attended by some 3,500 guests from all over the world. The U.S. president usually attends the event held every first Thursday of February.

But the senator sent his reaction to the news about the warrant of arrest for him. “If the Binay family believes that I can be intimidated and threatened from exposing them, they are badly mistaken. I will do everything I can to make sure that plunderers will not rule this country again”, he said.

His lawyer, Rey Robles, said they have not yet received the official copy of the investigating prosecutor’s Resolution. But he assured the public that the moment the senator arrives “he will voluntarily submit himself to the jurisdiction of the Honorable Court, if so required.”

Robles added: “This is without prejudice to the Senator’s right to file a motion for reconsideration or even appeal said resolution to the Department of Justice, if warranted by the circumstances.”

Having survived seven years of detention for standing up to the most powerful person of the land, a libel suit is not something that would make the crusading senator cower in fear.

The libel suit stemmed from media interviews after he filed a Senate resolution in April last year to investigate the alleged “Justice for sale” practice in the Court of Appeals and other branches of the judiciary following the March 16, 2015 temporary restraining order issued by the C.A. on the suspension by the Ombudsman of Junjun Binay in connection with the investigation of the alleged overpriced construction of the Makati Parking Building.

Trillanes, citing “reliable sources privy to the matter”, said, “a lawyer by the name of Pancho Villaraza facilitated the transaction and talked to Associate Justices Reyes and Acosta and each of them received twenty million pesos for the TRO they issued. When the Ombudsman, DILG, and DOJ did not recognize the TRO, a second transaction was allegedly consummated with Associate Justices Reyes and Acosta allegedly receiving an additional five million pesos each upon the issuance of a writ of permanent injunction. This was purportedly the reason why the concerned CA division issued the writ of preliminary injunction with undue and inordinate haste long before its TRO is supposed to elapse.”
The CA associate justices Trillanes referred to were Jose Reyes Jr. and Francisco Acosta. Pancho Villaraza is the well known lawyer Arthur Villaraza, who is reportedly supporting the presidential bid of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

In filing the libel suit against Trillanes, Junjun Binay said “The damaging and ruinous claims spewed out by respondent Trillanes are mere concoctions and fabrications with no other purpose than to malign, discredit, ruin my reputation, and besmirch my good name as well as that of my family.”

Trillanes is also facing a contempt case before the CA.

Trillanes invoked parliamentary immunity and freedom of speech as the case of the TRO was connected with the investigation of the overpriced Makati Parking Building which had led to other alleged irregularities in Makati and exposed the wealth of the Binays including the sprawling Hacienda in Batangas.

TROs for sale is an open secret in the legal community. It’s something that everybody seems helpless about and has come to accept. But truthfulness is not a defense in libel.

The elements of libel are publication, sharing with others; identifiability; imputation of vice, defect or crime; malice (ill-motive). It carries a minimum punishment of six months and maximum punishment is six years and a fine.

Actually the issuance of that TRO was a brief victory for Junjun Binay because last October, in an administrative case, the Ombudsman ordered his dismissal and perpetual disqualification from holding a public office.

The Binays have also included Trillanes in a P200 million damage suit they filed against their detractors including Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr., the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

Things are still unfolding.