Tag: NBI

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Lacson Warns: Chinese Sleeper Agents, PLA Members Already in PH

Chinese “sleeper agents” and even operatives from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are already embedded in the Philippines to engage in espionage, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Wednesday.

Lacson pressed the concerned government agencies to conduct continuous follow-up operations against those arrested in earlier anti-espionage operations.

“The whole network of espionage operations must be dismantled or at least decimated to a large degree kasi agents come and go. Inaresto mo, may papalit diyan. And I have on good information na maraming sleeper agents, even regular members of PLA na nandito. Widespread eh (The whole network of espionage operations must be dismantled or at least decimated to a large degree because agents come and go. You arrest one, another takes his/her place. And I have it on good information that there are sleeper agents and even regular members of the PLA who are here, they are widespread),” he said at the hearing of the Senate defense committee, which tackled anti-espionage bills, including Lacson’s Senate Bill 33, an act penalizing espionage and other similar offenses against national security.

In Filipino: Babala ni Lacson: Chinese Sleeper Agents, Miyembro ng PLA, Nasa Pilipinas na

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Ping Lacson Bill Updates, Expands Anti-Wiretapping Act to Cover Coups, Drugs, Money Laundering

Philippine authorities will get the much-needed added teeth to go against crimes including coup d’etat, robbery in band, highway robbery, drug-related offenses and money laundering, once a bill filed by Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson is passed into law.

Lacson said that while wiretapping has been an effective tool against such “exceptional” crimes that pose a grave threat to our nation’s security, these are not covered under the present law.

“Unfortunately, there are still certain crimes that are not covered under the said exceptional cases, which put not only the lives and property of our people in paramount danger, but also pose a grave threat to our nation’s security. The peace and order situation in the country gives testament to this fact, and thus, it is imperative to revisit RA 4200 to further enhance its effectiveness,” he said in his bill titled “An Act Expanding the Scope and Coverage of Republic Act No. 4200 Otherwise Known as an Act to Prohibit and Penalize Wiretapping and Other Related Violations of the Privacy and Communication, and for Other Purposes.”

In Filipino: Panukala ni Ping Lacson, Palalakasin at Palalawakin ang Anti-Wiretapping Act Para Sakupin ang Kudeta, Droga, Money Laundering

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On the NBI’s Filing of Charges vs PhilHealth Officials

This is one good reason why the Senate must keep going in performing our oversight function as our collective responsibility to the People of the Philippines.

Modesty aside, most of the pieces of evidence used by the National Bureau of Investigation were culled from the materials that we submitted to the Department of Justice.

We can only hope that this case reaches its logical conclusion to make all those who, without a shred of conscience in their bones, took advantage of a deadly virus to fleece government of funds intended to respond to an unprecedented health crisis that we continue to grapple with.

That said, there is more reason that we should trust DOJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra and his people at the DOJ and NBI.

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On PhilHealth’s New President and His First Marching Order

Removing all the regional vice presidents of PhilHealth may be easier ordered than implemented, considering that a number of them are protected by the civil service law. This is not to mention that it is unjust and unfair to those who are not involved in shenanigans in PhilHealth.

That said, I’ve known Dante Gierran enough to say that he is a good man. I hope and I mean it – that PhilHealth will not be Dante’s Inferno as he faces the challenges of his new mission.

As a former chief of the National Bureau of Investigation, he should have no trouble coordinating with the powerhouse task force led by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, his former boss, to implement much-needed reforms in PhilHealth.

I hope he will not fall victim to manipulation by parties inside and outside of the agency who have caused the state insurer to lose billions of pesos to corruption – not just for his sake, but for all Filipinos covered by PhilHealth.

*****

QUOTES from TELERADYO INTERVIEW…
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Decisiveness, Not Divisiveness: On the Need to Temper Emotions

While I can easily relate to Philippine Army Commanding General Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay and understand how he feels about the Army officers slain in Sulu, emotions running high at this point is the last thing they need.

For all they know, their common enemies such as the terrorists and armed insurgents are already celebrating the Sulu incident – and even making plans to exploit it.

These enemies of the State and our people, through their legal fronts, are very capable of fanning the flames of animosity between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police by creating intrigues to further divide the country’s two major security forces.

Such fronts have demonstrated their capabilities in sowing disinformation about the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 and the National ID system, among other measures designed to improve the lives of the people.

Ultimately, decisiveness, not divisiveness, is needed in dealing with the enemies of the State and the Filipino people.

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