Social News Philippines

Mocha Uson releases statement on Bilibid concert

Singer and dancer Mocha Uson has released a statement following news that she and her dance group, the Mocha Girls, performed inside the New Bilibid Prison, as highlighted in a Congressional hearing on Tuesday.

"Totoo po na noong late 2012 or early 2013 kami po ay nag-perform sa Bilibid," admitted Uson, who also claimed that her group did nothing wrong in her statement released through Facebook. She clarified that her group's performance was for a charity event. 
 
(It is true that we performed inside the National Bilibid Prison late 2012 or early 2013.) 
 
"Ito po ay pormal na concert na dumaan po sa tamang proseso. Marami pong mga artista na nagsho-show dun at nagbibigay pag-asa sa mga bilanggo. Sa tingin ko naman po walang masama kung ito ay PORMAL na nanggaling sa opisyal ng [Bureau of Corrections]. 
 
Ang Mocha Girls ay involved po sa iba't ibang charity shows kahit noon pa man," she added.  
 
(It was a formally organized show that went through the legal process. There were many artists involved in that show, which gave hope to the prisoners. I think there is nothing wrong with performing there since it was a show organized by officials of the Bureau of Corrections. The Mocha Girls are involved in many types of charity.) 
 
In Tuesday's house probe into the alleged proliferation of drugs at the New Bilibid Prison during the stint of Senator Leila de Lima as Justice Secretary, one of the six witnesses bared names of celebrities, which included Uson, who performed for drug lords and inmates. 
 
The witness claimed that these drug lords and inmates at the national penitentiary enjoyed various perks and privileges supposedly due to lax supervision from De Lima and the Bureau of Corrections. 
 
Reacting to reports about her "concert" inside the maximum security, Uson, a staunch supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, insisted that her critics have been using the witness's testimony to malign her.  
 
"Binibigyan lamang ito ng kulay ng ibang anti-Duterte dahil kami ay suporter ng ating Pangulo. Itong mga dilaw na ito ay hindi na maipagtanggol si De Lima kaya kung anu-anong issue ang gustong ungkatin," she continued.  
 
(The issue is being misrepresented by Duterte critics because we are staunch supporters of the President. These yellow-affiliated people want to defend De Lima that’s why they are spreading rumors.) 
 
Here is the rest of Uson’s statement. 
 
 
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Tulad ng nabanggit ng witness, maraming mga artists ang nakapagperform na doon kasama na si Sharon Cuneta at Freddie Aguilar. Ang nakakapagtaka lang ay bakit kami lang ang idinidiin at binibigyan ng kulay." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Una sa lahat, hindi ko po kinahihiya iyon bakit? Tulad nga ng aking sinabi, walang masama kung ito ay dumaan sa tamang paraan. And for argument's sake, kung bawal pala iyon hindi dapat ang mga artista o entertainer ang sisihin dapat ang pamunuan ng BuCor at dating Sec. De Lima dahil sila ang nag issue ng kaukulang permit upang makapag concert sa loob." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Ngunit uulitin ko hindi ko ikinahihiya ito dahil ako at ang aking grupo ay nagbigay ng malinis na kasiyahan at pag-asa sa mga taong nagkamali sa lipunan. Ngayon po ako ay abala sa pagsisimula ng isang foundation na magtatayo ng mga rehab centers sa iba't ibang bahagi ng Pilipinas.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Natural na ako po ay magpe-perform ng walang bayad kasama ang buong Mocha Girls upang magbigay ng pag-asa sa mga, uulitin ko, nagkamali sa lipunan. Dahil ako ay naniniwala na habang may buhay ang tao ito ay may pag-asang maayos at maging kapanipakinabang sa lipunan.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"At hindi ko ikinahihiya ito. Ang tamang tanong dito ay - sa dinami dami ng mga nag concert sa Bilibid na mga artista bakit ang kailangan idiin at gawan ng issue ay kami? Simple, politka! Dahil kami ay masugid na suporter ni Pangulong Duterte. At magandang i-sensationalize ng media at blog/FB page ang issue na ito. Sa mga utak dilaw, ibalik natin ang issue- De Lima, totoo ba na ikaw ay tumatanggap ng payola sa mga inmate? Kung hindi sagutin mo isa-isa ang akusasyon sayo.”</blockquote>
 
Via ABS-CBN

Singer and dancer Mocha Uson has released a statement following news that she and her dance group, the Mocha Girls, performed inside the New...

Duterte to De Lima: Prove I was behind deaths in Davao

1:57:00 PM

President Rodrigo Duterte said Senator Leila De Lima has yet to prove he is behind the extrajudicial killings in Davao City, one of the accusations of witness Edgar Matobato during a Senate investigation De Lima helmed.

"Maraming namatay dito, totoo 'yan, but prove na ako ang pumatay at kung sino," said Duterte on Tuesday, September 20, during an event in Davao City. 
 
Though he did not name De Lima explicitly, he spoke of a "Delilah," a nickname he has used before to refer to her. 
 
"Si Delilah, 1,000. Sabihin ko sa kanya (I'll tell her), name the 10th victim. Isang question ko lang (I just have one question): so there have been about 500, who was the guy, the 500th who was killed and on what day and how it was done?" said Duterte. 
 
The President even invited witnesses to go to Davao City so he can cross-examine them. 
 
"Pumunta sila dito, ako ang mag cross-examine sa kanila (They go here so I can cross-examine them). Who was the first victim? Who was the second? What was the name? Where did it happen?" he said. 
 
Fault of 'enemies' 
 
Duterte claimed his "enemies" in Davao City are responsible for portraying him as behind the extrajudicial killings. 
 
"Meron dito, mga kalaban ko for whatever reason – kung sino pumatay, it does not really matter – kukunan ng picture and then it was made into a folder with so many folders there, victims of crimes against persons, nasali lahat doon," he said. 
 
(Here I have enemies who, for whatever reason – it does not really matter who killed them – they will take a picture of the body and then it was made into a folder, victims of crimes against persons, all were included there.) 
 
Duterte said he chose to respond to these past accusations with sarcasm. 
 
"'Napaka gago naman ninyo. Eh kung talagang killer ako, I've been mayor here 23 years, 'yan lang ipakita ninyo sa akin? Karami kong tinapon diyan sa Samal Island na Davao Gulf 'yan lang nakita mo?' I raised it to the level of sarcasm," he said. 
 
('You are insane. If I were really a killer, I've been mayor here for 23 years, that's all you can show? I've dumped so many bodies in Samal Island, Davao Gulf.' I raised it to the level of sarcasm.) 
 
But Duterte admitted he has ordered the deaths of certain criminals. Previously, he had already admitted to ordering that criminals be shot if they posed a threat to law enforcers. 
 
"Sinabi ko, umalis kayo dito if you're into drugs, murder for hire. Umalis kayo kasi 'pag hindi, papatayin ko kayo and in the process marami akong pinatay upon my direction, walang problema 'yan," he said. 
 
(I said, get out if you're into drugs, murder for hire. Get out because if you don't, I'll kill you and in the process I had many killed, no problem there.) 
 
Just threats? 
 
Duterte also cautioned people from equating his colorful threats against criminals to actual acts of extrajudicial executions. 
 
Specifically, he criticized members of the European Parliament for using his threats as proof that he is behind the recent spate of extrajudicial killings. 
 
"Putang ina ka, istorya mo lang 'yan. Kung ginawa ko, ibang storya 'yan," he said. (Son of a whore, that's just your story. If I really did it, that's another story.) 
 
Simply threatening criminals is not a crime, Duterte added. 
 
"Look at these idiots, they’re using a phrase, a narrative of my speeches before threatening criminals. Now let me ask you stupid lawyers of the other countries, is there a law in the Philippines that would make it illegal for a mayor, president, or governor to threaten criminals?" he said. 
 
Duterte chose to issue his challenge to De Lima the day after she was ousted as chair of the Senate committee on justice. As such, she will not be presiding over future hearings on extrajudicial killings. 
 
Senators who voted to oust her said she was too "anti-administration", thus supposedly compromising the impartiality of the investigation. 
 
Senator Richard Gordon, the new justice committee chairperson, has promised an objective investigation. 
 
Duterte's challenge also comes on the first day of a House probe into De Lima's alleged involvement in the Bilibid prison drug trade. De Lima claimed the probe, launched by Duterte's allies in the House, is meant to discredit her. 
 
 
Via Rappler

Davao City Davao Death Squad De Lima Duterte Local News Senate Hearing Duterte to De Lima: Prove I was behind deaths in Davao

President Rodrigo Duterte said Senator Leila De Lima has yet to prove he is behind the extrajudicial killings in Davao City, one of the accu...

De Lima visited Sebastian several times according to the witness

1:20:00 PM

A Bilibid inmate on Wednesday claimed that Justice Secretary Leila de Lima had visited Jaybee Sebastian at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City several times since January 2013.

During the second day of the House inquiry on the proliferation of drugs at the NBP, witness Noel Martinez said fellow inmate Sebastian, whom he described as Sigue-Sigue  
Commando commander and chair of the Presidyo Side at the NBP maximum security compound, asked for his help in February 2013 to gather funds for De Lima's senatorial bid. 
 
A month before that, Martinez claimed De Lima had visited Sebastian in his office. 
"Noong Enero 2013, isang umaga, tinawagan ako ni Jaybee at sinabi na darating si Sec. Leila de Lima sa kaniyang opisina bandang hapon," said Martinez, reading out his sworn affidavit before the House justice committee. 
 
"Nang pumunta ako kinahapunan ay naroon nga si Sec. De Lima. Naroon din ang mga pinuno ng iba't ibang pangkat at ipinakilala ang bawat isa sa amin kay Sec. De Lima," he added. 
 
The House Justice committee is conducting an inquiry on the alleged proliferation of the illegal drug trade inside the national penitentiary during the term of De Lima as Justice secretary. 
 
Four new witnesses have been scheduled to testify on Wednesday. 
 
'Centralized drug trade' 
 
In his meeting with Martinez in February 2013, Sebastian reportedly said that in order to gather enough funds for De Lima, the drug trade inside the penitentiary should be "centralized," by tapping the various inmate groups within the NBP. 
 
In exchange for their help, Martinez said Sebastian promised to give his group "protection and special treatment." 
 
Martinez, commander or "bosyo" of the Genuine Ilocano Group, maintained that his group does not engage in the illegal drug trade. Instead of helping sell drugs, Martinez said he just offered to recommend to Sebastian people who could peddle drugs outside the NBP. 
 
Martinez said that during "the last months of 2013," Sebastian told him De Lima would once again be visiting him at th NBP. "At totoo nga na dumarating ito sa kaniyang opisina," said Martinez. 
 
"Sa lahat ng pagkakataon ng pagpunta ni Sec. De Lima sa kubol ni Jaybee, silang dalawa ay iniiwan namin pagkatapos ng kainan. Sa ibang pagkakataon naman ay ang driver ni Secretary De Lima na si Junel Sanchez ang nagpupunta kay Jaybee at kumokolekta ng  
pera," said Martinez. 
 
Martinez said Sebastian eventually told him that De Lima and Sanchez were no longer in good terms. "Si alyas Makoy na ang pumupunta sa Bilibid para kumuha ng pera," the witness said, but did not specify any date when the visits happened. 
 
In his affidavit, Martinez also claimed that former Bureau of Corrections director Franklin Jesus Bucayu had demanded P500,000 from him, through a certain "Col. Elly." 
 
Martinez said he did not have such amount, but ended up asking for P300,000 from a Chinese fellow inmate to give it to Col. Elly, who eventually demanded money from Martinez every week. 
 
"Kaya kapag pinapunta ako ni Col. Elly sa opisina niya, alam ko na na kailangan kong magbigay ng pera," said Martinez. 
 
Martinez also said Sebastian once approached him to tell him that one of his [Sebastian's] men outside the NBP had been apprehended by authorities. Martinez said a certain Jad de Vera came over to work out the "areglo" for the release of Sebastian's men who had been arrested. 
 
Martinez also said in his affidavit that he is one of the so-called Bilibid 19 who were transferred from the NBP to the National Bureau of Investigation following a raid at the penitentiary in December 2014. 
 
De Lima: Testsimonies were fabricated 
 
In a privilege speech on Tuesday, de Lima said she received credible evidence that inmates and gang leaders were taken by the Special Action Force (SAF) deployed at the NBP for “overnight interrogation sessions in an effort to fabricate testimony." 
 
"Prisoners are being selected and isolated just to be intimated into implicating me and to fit the President's narrative that I am a drug lord coddler, aside from being the most evil woman in the planet," she said. 
 
The senator warned her critics supposedly fabricating evidence against her that their “day will come.” 
 
Via GMA News

Case De Lima Drug-Link Local News NBP De Lima visited Sebastian several times according to the witness

A Bilibid inmate on Wednesday claimed that Justice Secretary Leila de Lima had visited Jaybee Sebastian at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinl...