It wasn’t Reynaldo’s body—PNP By Francisco Tuyay and Rey E. Requejo
VOL. XXXI • NO. 210 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net
CITING DNA evidence, the Philippine National Police said Monday the body found floating in a creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija did not belong to 14-yearold Reynaldo de Guzman, even though his parents positively identified him. “Based on the results obtained, the source of the DNA profile obtained from the male cadaver cannot be the biological offspring of Eduardo Gabriel and Lina de Guzman,” said Deputy Director General Fernando Mendez of the PNP operations branch during a press briefing. “He is not Reynaldo de Guzman,” Mendez said. Reynaldo went missing Aug. 17 apparently in the company of 19-year-old Carl Angelo Arnaiz, who was gunned down by Caloocan City police in the early hours of Aug. 18. Reynaldo’s father, who arrived at the morgue shortly after the body was found, positively identified Reynaldo’s
corpse through a wart on his left knee and a mark on the boy’s neck. His mother Lina, who lifted the white cover on the cadaver’s face, also confirmed that the body belonged to her son Reynaldo. But the PNP-Crime Laboratory defended the accuracy of its findings. Chief Insp. Lorna Santos, chief of the Crime Lab DNA Division, said the DNA findings are 99.9 percent accurate. “What we have conducted is a paternity test. So that is the result of our exam,” she added. Mendez said the parents of Reynaldo might have committed mistake in identifying the body of Reynaldo since the cadaver was already bloated and the physical appearance had changed. The cadaver was still firm when it was taken to the funeral home, indicating the victim had been killed just hours before his body was dumped in the creek. Reynaldo’s father asked for new tests to be conducted, while Public Next page
Marcos kin mark centenary at LNB ANTI-Marcos rallyists on Monday locked horns with loyalists of former President Ferdinand Marcos outside the gates of the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City, where a private celebration of the former leader’s 100th birthday was being held. The minor mayhem began when Marcos loyalist, identified as Henry Baluso, approached the protesters and attempted to snatch one of their banners away—seen on GMA’s Balitanghali. Policemen stepped in and stopped the fight just as the tug-of-war escalated to shoving and pushing. According to the report, personnel from the Philippine Army and Southern Police District tasked to secure the area, outnumbered the actual participants from both groups combined.
B-DAY ANNIVERSARY.
Supporters of former President Ferdinand Marcos sing Monday ‘Happy Birthday’ outside the Libingan ng mga Bayani to mark the 100th birthday anniversary of the man who ruled his country for 20 years from 1965 to 1986 while some 100 Moro, lumad and tribes from the Cordilleras join Sandugo group (right) in a protest rally at Marcos’ private celebration. AFP/Manny Palmero
The anti-Marcos groups left the area as of noontime. While the private celebration was going on, including a province-wide anniversary in Marcos’ home province of Ilocos Norte where the national government declared a non-working holiday, the opposition Liberal Party said the nation “must never forget how much the country has suffered while he [Marcos] catered to the interests of the few.” It accused the former strongman—elected in 1965 and deposed from power in 1986— of leaving what it called a lasting legacy of tyranny, oppression, and corruption. It added: “We must also remember that our People Power Uprising inspired nations in many parts of the world, such as Next page
Trillanes faces censure Ethics panel finds Gordon complaint ‘sufficient’ By Macon Ramos-Araneta
T
HE Senate ethics committee on Monday declared as “sufficient in form and substance” the ethics complaint by Blue Ribbon committee chairman Senator Richard Gordon against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, also chairman of the Senate ethics and privileges committee, said they will ask Trillanes to submit a counter-affidavit on Gordon’s complaint. The complaint stated that
Priest gets five days to debunk charges By Rey E. Requejo THE Department of Justice on Monday gave Msgr. Arnel Lagarejos, arrested by the Marikina City police last July for allegedly “booking” a 13-year-old girl from a pimp, more time to answer the complaint against him for qualified human trafficking. During the preliminary investigation of the case at the DoJ, Assistant State Prosecutor Karla Cabel gave Lagarejos, who was not present during the hearing, five days to submit his counter-affidavit. His co-accused—Shaira Pedragoza, Ace Lasaca, a minor and several John Does—were also given the same period to file their respective answers to the complaint. They were accused of allegedly acting as pimps. Cabel set the next hearing of the case for violation of Section 6 (qualified human trafficking) under the Next page
Trillanes’ allegedly committed unparliamentary acts and language damaged the integrity of the Blue Ribbon committee and the Senate as an institution. “A quick glance at the complaint and the attach-
ment submitted to this committee would easily show that it conforms to the required form as prescribed by the Rules of the Committee,” Sotto said. Sotto said parliamentary immunity must not be allowed to be used as mode to ridicule, demean and destroy the reputation of the Senate and its members, nor as avenue for personal wrath and disgust. “Parliamentary immunity is not an individual privilege accorded to the individual members of Congress for their own personal benefit, but rather a privilege for the benefit of the people and the institution,” he
added. “What constitutes unparliamentary language is generally left to the discretion of the body,” he said. The ethics complaint stemmed from a word war between Gordon and Trillanes when the latter insisted on inviting presidential son, Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, to attend the Blue Ribbon hearing into the P6.4billion shabu shipment that slipped past the Bureau of Customs in May. Trillanes had earlier insinuated that Gordon was lawyering for Duterte when he Next page
Faeldon yields to Senate, opts to face court By Macon R. Araneta FORMER Customs commissioner Nicanor Faeldon was detained at the Senate Monday for refusing to participate in hearings of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee on the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of shabu while he was still in charge of the bureau. The committee chairman, Senator Richard Gordon,
had issued an arrest warrant for Faeldon, who was found in contempt for refusing to attend hearings on two occasions despite the issuance of a subpoena. Asked how long Faeldon would be held, Gordon said: “Until he decides to come over, until the Senate says ‘You may go.’” Donning a white shirt printed with the message “truth is justice,” Faeldon
turned himself in at the Office of the Senate Sergeant-atArms before noon Monday. He insisted he would not attend the ongoing Senate investigation into corruption at the bureau. Faeldon had earlier said he was willing to spend years in jail but he would no longer face any congressional inquiries as the senators maligned him and destroyed his Next page
SUBMITTED WAIVERS. Senator Antonio Trillanes IV submits Monday bank secrecy waiv-
ers to the Anti-Money Laundering Council and the Office of the Ombudsman to disprove President Rodrigo Duterte’s allegations then challenges the latter anew to sign bank secrecy waivers, too. All documents, shown to newsmen, were notarized and received by the AMLC. Ey Acasio
Senator threatens to sue over ‘fake news’
“Within the next few days, chase you down every time.” By Macon R. Araneta Tesiorna is said to be beand John Paolo Bencito I will file a case against ErSENATOR Antonio Trillanes IV said Monday he will file libel cases against Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson, journalist Erwin Tulfo, and the person behind the Davao Breaking News Facebook page, declaring that the “era of fake news is over.”
win Tulfo, Mocha Uson and Ben Tesiorna,” Trillanes said in Filipino during a press briefing. “I will sue them for libel. Fake news will no longer be tolerated. The era of fake news is over. This Duterte administration, you won the election on fake news, but now, you can’t do that. I will
hind the Davao Breaking News Facebook page, which published Trillanes’ alleged offshore bank accounts. Tulfo and Uson shared these on their pages, Trillanes said. Trillanes said he found that not only were the bank accounts bogus, but so were the banks. Next page
Barangay-SK polls reset to May State news By Maricel V. Cruz
THE CUPS BESIDE THEM. Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairman Richard Gordon visits
Monday former Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon at his holding room at the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms, shortly after the latter was detained for disregarding summons to testify in the investigations into the alleged corruption in the Bureau of Customs and continues to refuse to testify in the ongoing investigation into the P6.4 billion worth of shabu shipment from China.
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THE House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading a consolidated bill seeking to reset the scheduled Oct. 23, 2017 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to May 14, 2018. Voting 213-10, the Lower House approved House Bill 6308 with a holdover provision for incumbent officials. Those who opposed the measure were six members
of the Makabayan Bloc, two opposition—Reps. Gary Alejano of Magdalo party-list and Tom Villarin of Akbayan—and two administration—Reps. Raul del Mar of Cebu and Ramon Rocamora—lawmakers. Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez welcomed the measure’s passage, saying “We support the President in his desire to postpone the barangay elections this October. The main reason for the postponement Next page
agency site attacked
By John Paolo Bencito C O M M U N I C AT I O N S Secretary Martin Andanar on Monday cried “sabotage” after the state-run Philippine News Agency allegedly encountered a “cyberattack” after the screen shots of several stories with Next page
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