Sunday, October 30, 2011
Lacson Suggests 'Solomonic' Solution on Arroyo Foreign Trip
Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson on Sunday suggested to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima a “Solomonic” solution in addressing former President Gloria Arroyo’s request to seek medical treatment abroad.
Lacson said that while Mrs. Arroyo should be allowed to seek the best medical treatment for her spine and neck problems, she should also do her part to make sure the proceedings in the charges against her are not delayed by her absence.
“My unsolicited advice to Sec. de Lima is to do a King Solomon: Allow ex-President Arroyo to leave for treatment abroad but only after she has submitted her counter-affidavit on the electoral sabotage and plunder case that she is being accused of, so as not to derail the preliminary investigations being conducted by the DOJ prosecutors,” he said.
“This way, her absence cannot delay the filing of information in court and the subsequent issuance of warrants of arrest against her by the court in case probable cause is established,” he added.
Presently, the DOJ is still studying a request by Mrs. Arroyo to seek medical treatment abroad. Mrs. Arroyo faces possible charges, including electoral fraud in the 2007 elections.
Earlier reports indicated Mrs. Arroyo had appealed that she be allowed to seek medical treatment abroad on the promise that she would return.
Mrs. Arroyo had obtained permission from the House of Reprsentatives to travel to Singapore, Spain, Germany, Italy and the United States from October 22 to December.
She plans to seek treatment for “hypoparathyroidism,” a condition caused by lack of calcium production in the body, which has aggravated her neck and spine problems.
But on Friday, de Lima said Mrs. Arroyo will have to spend All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days in the Philippines as the Justice Department is not likely to decide on her request until this coming week.
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Saturday, October 22, 2011
Vicious Cycle Calls for All-Out War vs MILF
Citing the vicious cycle of “rogues” committing abuses and hiding in Moro Islamic Liberation Front “territories,” Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson on Sunday maintained his stance of scrapping a deceit-laced peace process with the secessionist group.
Lacson lamented an “annoying common experience” that had cost the lives of many soldiers who could not distinguish between “real” and “rogue” MILF fighters in the past several years.
“It has become a vicious cycle: the ‘rogues’ conduct atrocities, kidnap civilians, or attack and ambush our troops then seek refuge within the confines of the MILF encampments or ‘territories,’“ he said.
“Even when I was still the Philippine National Police chief, I was being told the same story by my own police forces in Mindanao. This is the main reason why our soldiers are losing many battles against the MILF,” he added.
He said that in the case of the recent clashes in Mindanao, one can only imagine the frustration of the Army’s Special Forces in not being able to rescue and save the lives of their six captured men only because they were not supposed to encroach into an off-limits zone.
Even law enforcement agents can conduct hot pursuit rescue operations without a court-issued search warrant, he noted.
Soldiers should at least be allowed to do the same to save the lives of their own people, he said.
“Everybody wanting peace in Mindanao is a no-brainer. Pray tell me, how can we have real and lasting peace when we allow an organized group to bear arms and worse, unofficially allow their belligerence status?” he said.
Lacson also advised the government’s peace negotiators to “wake up” to the reality that renewed peace negotiations have become an arena for posturing by the MILF, because it is a basic negotiation technique to always deal from a position of strength.
“Our peace negotiators should now wake up to that reality. Review history and you will easily see the pattern and timing of escalation of the MILF ‘rogues’ atrocities,” he said.
***
Lacson lamented an “annoying common experience” that had cost the lives of many soldiers who could not distinguish between “real” and “rogue” MILF fighters in the past several years.
“It has become a vicious cycle: the ‘rogues’ conduct atrocities, kidnap civilians, or attack and ambush our troops then seek refuge within the confines of the MILF encampments or ‘territories,’“ he said.
“Even when I was still the Philippine National Police chief, I was being told the same story by my own police forces in Mindanao. This is the main reason why our soldiers are losing many battles against the MILF,” he added.
He said that in the case of the recent clashes in Mindanao, one can only imagine the frustration of the Army’s Special Forces in not being able to rescue and save the lives of their six captured men only because they were not supposed to encroach into an off-limits zone.
Even law enforcement agents can conduct hot pursuit rescue operations without a court-issued search warrant, he noted.
Soldiers should at least be allowed to do the same to save the lives of their own people, he said.
“Everybody wanting peace in Mindanao is a no-brainer. Pray tell me, how can we have real and lasting peace when we allow an organized group to bear arms and worse, unofficially allow their belligerence status?” he said.
Lacson also advised the government’s peace negotiators to “wake up” to the reality that renewed peace negotiations have become an arena for posturing by the MILF, because it is a basic negotiation technique to always deal from a position of strength.
“Our peace negotiators should now wake up to that reality. Review history and you will easily see the pattern and timing of escalation of the MILF ‘rogues’ atrocities,” he said.
***
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