Correction: We apologize for writing that the subject of the article, Ray Abad is a supporter of Vice President Leni Robredo.

During our checking, we found that Abad is not a ‘well-known supporter’ of the Vice President but only a critic of the current administration.

We apologize for the wrong information we wrote, and we already corrected the article. Thank you for the hardworking fact-checkers for pointing out the mistakes.

Senator Koko Pimentel will file a case against a critic of the current administration after he was linked by the latter on the spreading hoax about President Rodrigo Duterte who’s gone in public for almost three days.

On February 1, President Duterte skipped an event in Palo, Leyte after he felt unwell and gone missing in the public eye since the said event.

The disappearance of Duterte gave another speculation among the critics of the President and their supporter including netizen Ray Abad who claimed that the chief executive already passed away.

Abad even suggested increasing the security personnel of Vice President Leni Robredo as preparation for transferring the presidential power to her.

According to Abad, he got the information from the camp of Sen. Pimentel.

“Security is a must for VP Leni, ayon sa bulung bulungan na nakalabas sa kampo ni Koko (Pimentel) Patay na raw si Digong.” Abad said in his post.

The post, which already deleted by Abad gained many reactions and it even reached Senator Pimentel itself.

In an official statement, Pimentel said that they’re planning to file charges against Abad for linking him in the fake news that he’s spreading.

“I disown this fake news posted by a certain impostor on facebook. Cyber-libel is a serious crime and will be reported to the proper authorities. We shall not tolerate such name dragging and it shall be punished to the full extent of the law.” Pimentel said.

Yesterday, the rumors about Duterte’s condition were debunked after Honeylet Avacena, the partner of the chief executive posted a live video of the President addressing the critics of the government who’s wishing for his passing.

“My reaction to my passing away. I will ask God first if I…if he’s available for interview kasi pupunta na ako dun (because I’m going there),” Duterte said in the video uploaded past 4 p.m.

“Ano mga mensahe ninyo? Dadalhin ko. Pari, obispo, lahat. And yung last wish ng mga durugista, ilista ninyo. Ako na ang magdala doon sa langit o sa impiyerno. Depende lang,” he added.

“For those who believe in the news that I passed away, then I request of you, please pray for the eternal repose of my soul. Thank you,” Duterte said.

Despite the popular support of Manila Bay rehabilitation among the netizens, Makabayan Bloc still wanted to stop the said project of the government because of their concerns.

According to the resolution signed by the said party-list representatives, they suspected that the cleaning of the said tourist spot is only part of the preparation for the controversial reclamation projects allegedly going to be implemented along Manila Bay.

“The rehabilitation program could be a prelude to 43 reclamation projects covering more than 32,000 hectares in the bay under the Build, Build, Build program,” the resolution stated.

They also suspected that Dennis Uy is being helped by the government to make his project ‘Pearl Harbor City’ hasten by cleaning up the Manila Bay.

Makabayan Bloc together with Sen. Grace Poe and Chiz Escudero

They’re also worried about the situation of the 250,000 informal settlers that would be possibly affected by the project.

“We ask the DENR to postpone or suspend the execution of the Manila Bay rehabilitation until a comprehensive and holistic study on the socio-economic impact on the affected marginalized sectors has been diligently carried out,” the petitioners said.

“There is a need to draft a genuine and democratic program that will sincerely rehabilitate Manila Bay without infringing on the basic rights to livelihood and an adequate standard of living of marginalized sectors,” they added.

This is the list of the lawmakers who signed the resolution against Manila Bay rehabilitation:

• ACT Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio
• ACT Teachers Representative France Castro
• Gabriela Representative Emmi de Jesus
• Gabriela Representative Arlene Brosas
• Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate
• Anakpawis Representative Ariel Casilao
• Kabataan Representative Sarah Elago

However, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) already told the petitioners that it’s already not possible to postpone the rehabilitation of Manila Bay.

“Actually, the bay is in ICU (intensive care unit). We cannot afford an additional day of delay. Giving in to Makabayan will only make matters much worse,” DILG secretary Jonathan Malaya said.

He added: “Instead of asking for a postponement, the Makabayan bloc should instead do their part in helping the government fight the ‘Battle of Manila Bay.’ The administration has exercised the political will to do what is right. Now it’s our turn to do our part.”

Several days after they released a resolution, Makabayan Bloc clarified that they’re not against the Manila Bay rehabilitation.

“No, we do not call for the suspension or stoppage of any effort, community-based effort in cleaning up Manila Bay. We support the rehabilitation, but we wanted that the government to be transparent and lay down all the cards,” Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao said.

A doctor slammed Human Rights advocate Francis Baraan IV for criticizing the efforts of the Duterte administration in cleaning Boracay Island and Manila Bay.

Baraan’s post on social media raised the eyebrows of the netizens after he said that the President is fit to become a Janitor than being the chief executive of the Philippines because of his priorities.

According to the HR advocate, Duterte only used Boracay and Manila Bay rehabilitation to cover his failures in addressing the other issues being faced by the country.

“It’s easy to clean up Boracay & Manila Bay. W/c is why Duterte made them one of his Top Priorities – to distract us from his failure to clean up the corruption in his own admin, his failure to clean up the dr*g prob in PH, & his failure as a President.” Baraan said in his tweet.

“Janitor na lang sana siya.” he added.

The tweet of Baraan didn’t receive positively by the netizens, including Dr. Keesh Potgieter who express her support on the recent project of the Duterte administration to clean one of the most important tourist spots in the Philippines.

According to Potgieter, Baraan should also think about the failures of the past administration who’s openly supported by the latter.

In her lengthy comment, the doctor listed the failures of the Aquino administration.

She also suggested that Baraan should shut his mouth until his biases against the government is still there.

You can read her whole comment below:

“Funny you brought that up now but turned a blind eye on failure to prepare and respond to only the strongest typhoon ever recorded in history as it devastated fellow Filipino an area in the Visayas, failure to rehabilitate those areas after millions and millions of donations in dollars and pounds were given out from the international community, failure to stop the influx of dr*gs in our very own government-run prisons, failure in fixing the railway system in EDSA to provide better transport for the Filipino working force, failure to remedy the “laglag bala” modus that victimized a lot of innocent people, failure in coordinating one of the biggest health investments of the department of health whose dud brought about fear in the Filipino masses to get vaccinated, consequently causing the current rise in measles cases bringing about mortality to a lot of our Filipino Children.

I’d love to hear you talk about those. Until you’ve learned to shallow your biases against this government, I think it’s best that you keep your harebrained mouth sealed. if counting failures in governance are your aim, then your biases and ignorance have afforded you at fat loss.”

The viral comment was shared by netizen Maria Bratikova, a supporter of the President.

As of writing, the comment of Potgieter received thousands of shares and cheers from the netizens who also supported the President.

Francis Baraan IV is the son of  Former Department of Justice (DOJ) undersecretary Francisco Baraan III who’s allegedly involved in the proliferation of shabu in New Bilibid Prison (NBP).

Several weeks ago, President Rodrigo Duterte started the project to rehabilite Manila Bay after the successful cleaning of Boracay Island.

He also announced that the government is ready to close all the establishment contributing on the pollution on the said tourist spot.

A netizen who’s joining the efforts to rehabilitate Manila Bay wrote a lengthy explanation on why President Rodrigo Duterte should be given a credit in the recent success of the said project.

The rehabilitation of Manila Bay became a viral topic last month, however, several critics are not convinced that the President should be given a credit, pointing out that the past administration already made an effort to clean the said tourist spot.

In his post, netizen Noel Landero Sarifa explained why people should be thanking the President for what currently happening in Manila Bay.

He pointed out that unlike the previous efforts to clean Manila Bay, only Duterte administration allocated a big budget to end the pollution that made the tourist spot look bad for many years.

Sarifa also said that Duterte is serious in rehabilitating the tourist spot and he’s ready to close all establishments contributing to the pollution of the bay.

The said rehabilitation project also made the people unite, and many volunteers from different provinces joined the effort to clean it.

He also slammed the critics of the President who asked not to politicize the project, saying that only Duterte’s political will could clean the tourist spot.

You can read his whole post below:

“Isa nanamang pangsupalpal ang gagawin ko sa mga nagsasabing matagal ng may clean up drive sa Manila Bay kaya wag i-hype ang nangyaring clean up drive ngaun, na ang Manila bay ay di lang Roxas Blvd at wag din daw i-Credit kay Pres. Duterte i-credit daw sa mga Volunteers! Pesteng Yawa mo oy! Yong mga ka-bitteran nyo sa katawan bawas-bawasan. Lawakan din ang isip, magbasa ng current events at magresearch! Lunukin nyo at tanggapin nyo na si President Duterte ang dahilan ng lahat ng pagbabago ngayon sa Manila Bay! Eto ang mga rason bakit dapat i-hype at kailangan i-credit sa presidente!

– Unang-una si Sec Cimatu na Cabinet Sec. ni Duterte ang nagsuggest na i-rehabilitate ang Manila Bay ( take note! REHABILITATE! Hindi One day Clean up drive!)

-Ang Duterte Administration lang ang nag-allocate ng 47BILLION Pesos para sa rehabilitation project that will last for 7 Years!

-Pres. Duterte threatens closure of establishments polluting Manila Bay( at may nasampulan na 15 Factories sa Bulacan, 3 Resto, Manila Zoo, etc)

– Budget for the Manila Bay rehabilitation program is approved by President Duterte.

– Kakaiba ang Clean-up drive na nangyari noong January 27,2019 kesa sa mga naunang clean-up drive, aside sa 5000 Volunteers sa Manila Bay along Roxas Boulevard, Nagsagawa din ng Clean-up Drive sa Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga at Bataan! Kaya kailangan talagang i-hype kasi Historical! Ngaun lang nangyari yan!Hindi Kami Bobo para sabihing ang Manila Bay ay hindi lang sa Roxas Boulevard, malamang Manila BAY nga di ba? Tinawag ba itong Roxas Boulevard Rehabilitation? Sinong tanga?

– DENR ordered establishments around the bay to put up their own sewage treatment plants. Only now that DENR conduct thorough inspections with establishments near MANILA BAY.(Take note MANILA BAY hindi ROXAS BOULEVARD!)

– The plan for Manila Bay’s rehabilitation was initially ordered by the Supreme Court in 2008 but it was never materialized until now! So ano ginawa ng previous admin sa order na yun pinatulog ng sampung taon?

– there are 178 LGUs and 5,714 barangays inside the Manila Bay Watershed Area through DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2019-09 released on January 24, 2019 were odered to “fulfill their roles and responsibilities pursuant to environmental laws that contribute to the rehabilitation of Manila Bay.” and conduct weekly clean-up drives. ( Hindi Concentrated sa ROXAS Boulevard hindi sila magkakasya dun!)

– The rehabilitation has 3 Phases: cleanup and water quality improvement; rehabilitation and resettlement; and education and sustainment. Start pa lang ng Phase 1 kaya wag atat! Sa tatlong Phase na yan walang binanggit na reclamation! (Parang Boracay – Casino issue part 2???)

Kaya sa mga nagsasabing wag ipoliticized? Ngekngek nyo! Political will ni Duterte ang dahilan kaya nagawa eto, di pa ba sapat ang nangyari sa Boracay para lunukin nyo mga pride nyo? Madami pa akong hindi na mention but I guess I stated my point. Give Credits to whom it is due, yong ibang epal dyan tirahin nyo! At sana bago kayo magreklamo, mamulot din kayo ng basura sa MANILA BAY!”

Mar Roxas criticized the recent moves of the Congress to lower the age of criminal liability in the Philippines, saying that the government should prioritize other things first than targeting children.

In his tweet, Roxas said that lowering the age of criminal liability would not assure to solve the problem of the country on handling minor lawbreakers.

According to him, most of the children who broke the law were used by syndicates as a pawn so they should not be labeled as ‘criminals’.

He questioned the basis of the Congress in detaining children compared to the age required for the Filipinos to work or to get married

Roxas pointed out that 9-12 years old were still not in the right mind to know what’s right or wrong.

He urged the authorities should hunt down the syndicates that using children to do illegal activities instead of making the minors responsible for the bad acts that they did.

“Ang batang nagagamit ng sindikato ay biktima, hindi kriminal. Sa lipunan natin, kailangan maging 18 years old muna para makapagtrabaho, magpakasal, uminom, bumoto.” Roxas said.

“Nakabatay ito sa paniniwala natin na ang mga menor de edad ay hinuhubog pa ang mga kilos at pagpapasya, at bukas pa sa iba’t ibang impluwensiya.” he added.

“Hindi ang mga bata ang dapat panagutin sa mga bagay na hindi nila kasalanan,”

Ang batang nagagamit ng sindikato ay biktima, hindi kriminal. Sa lipunan natin, kailangan maging 18 years old muna para makapagtrabaho, magpakasal, uminom, bumoto.

— Mar Roxas (@MARoxas) January 22, 2019

Nakabatay ito sa paniniwala natin na ang mga menor de edad ay hinuhubog pa ang mga kilos at pagpapasya, at bukas pa sa iba't ibang impluwensiya.

— Mar Roxas (@MARoxas) January 22, 2019

Hindi ang mga bata ang dapat panagutin sa mga bagay na hindi nila kasalanan.

— Mar Roxas (@MARoxas) January 22, 2019

In another tweet, Roxas also urged the government to prioritize getting rid the source of the increasing cases of illegal activities committed by minors.

He said that instead of the children, it’s better to punish the neglectful parents, syndicates and also the government which according to him, is not doing their job to help the people.

“Unahin natin ang mga nagpapabaya at nagsasamantala, mula sa mga magulang, mga sindikato, hanggang sa gobyernong nagkukulang sa tungkulin nitong pangalagaan at bigyan ng kakayahan ang kanyang mga mamamayan.” he said.

Unahin natin ang mga nagpapabaya at nagsasamantala, mula sa mga magulang, mga sindikato, hanggang sa gobyernong nagkukulang sa tungkulin nitong pangalagaan at bigyan ng kakayahan ang kanyang mga mamamayan.

— Mar Roxas (@MARoxas) January 22, 2019

The series of tweets received mix reactions among netizens.

In the proposed bill, a minor who committed a crime will not be labeled as ‘criminals’ but ‘children in conflict with the law’.

The Palace stressed that children in conflict with the law are not criminals but victims who should be supported and accorded appropriate intervention and rehabilitation.

“The proposed law will deter criminals from using children as their accomplices or in treating them as pawns in committing crimes,” the Palace said.

A lawyer who publicly supported the move of the government to lower the age of lawbreaking liability explained why he’s looking forward in this controversial plan which criticized by human rights groups.

In his post, Atty. Carlo Ybanez explained his experience about a case involving three minors who r*ped their 14-year-old classmate.

According to him, the present law making 15 years old below to be exempted in liabilities affected the rule of the case, saying that the three suspects didn’t get punished for what they did because they’re 14 years old.

He also witnessed how the lawyers of the victim told their client that they cannot do anything to punish the suspects because they’re protected by the law.

Ybanez also saw the suspects being joyful after they escaped the liabilities and they even seem mocking the victim.

During that time, he realized that the current law didn’t help the minors to change, because they didn’t feel any regrets for what they’re doing as long as they’re not getting punished.

You can read his whole post below:

“One of the reasons I am totally for the lowering of the age of criminal liability is becuase I’ve seen the flaws of the old law in my legal practice. I’ve handled a lot of cases where kids over 9 and below 15 have escaped liability. Pero, there is one case that we handled that’s above it all.

I didn’t want to narrate this case because I feared that I may be violating lawyer-client priviledge. And I might get a violent reaction from the parents. Pero, I will not name names and I will be as vague as possible.

“Eto po ang kwento. Totoong kaso na hinawakan ko.

Matagal na itong kasong ito. Bagong bago pa lang ang batas na nagtataas ng criminal liability age to 15. So, nung nangyari ito. Totally exempt na from criminal liability ang below 15 years old.

Rape case ito. At hindi lang r*pe. Gang r*pe. Tatlong batang lalaki (14 years old), nirape ang classmate nila (14 years old din).

Sa madaling salita. Abswelto sa kriminal liability ang mga batang lalaki.

Isipin ninyo ano ang nararamdaman nuong batang babae. Gano kahirap kaya bago niya naikwento sa magulang niya ang dinanas niya? Iniisip niya na matutulungan siya ng magulang niya at ng batas.

Pero noong pumunta ang mga magulang sa mga abugado, ano ang sanabi sa kanila ng abugado, “sorry po. Wala kaming magagawa”.

Bilang magulang. Ano ang sasabihin mo sa anak mo kung nangyari ito. “Sorry anak, wala tayong magagawa”.

Tapos titingin siya sa kabila, makikita niya yung tatlong batang lalaki na nakangiti at iniisip na, “ni-rape ka namin at wala kang magagawa”.

Ano na kaya ang naramdaman ng batang na-rape at walang makuhang hustisya?

Tignan natin ang side ng mga batang lalaki. Dahil hindi sila criminally liable, tingin nyo ba pinagsisisihan nila ginawa nila? Tingin niyo ba magbabago sila?

Or hindi kaya, lumala pa ang pagka kriminal nila at madala nila ito hanggat katandaan?

Nasan na kaya sila ngayon?

Actual na kaso ito. Isang patunay na hindi lahat ng bata inosente. Ang sinsasabi ko ay simple. Protektahan natin ang mga batang inosente. Pero biyan ng criminal liability ang mga batang kriminal.”

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