Tag: #porkbarrel

Criminal law, News, Rules of Court

Ben Hur Luy’s P150 million

         News organizations reported today that about One Hundred Fifty Million Pesos was found in the bank accounts of plunder state witness Ben Hur Luy — to which the DOJ state prosecutor said this had not been proven and in any case Ben Hur is immune from prosecution under the Witness Protection Program.
          Not so fast, and not too cavalierly – it’s One Hundred Fifty Million Pesos apparently from pork barrel, too.
          The Rules of Court on the discharge of a state witness provide for immunity from prosecution for the crime for which the state witness is charged then discharged. In this case, Ben Hur Luy was discharged for the plunder cases filed against Enrile, Jinggoy, Bong Revilla, et al. He has immunity only for criminal prosecution for the criminal acts that he is testifying on. Nothing more.

         It is not a blanket immunity for all kinds of criminal or civil actions for all kinds of acts he may have committed – but only immunity for the criminal acts upon which he is testifying  (under the Rules of Court provision on immunity of a state witness). 

        HOWEVER, the Witness Protection Program may provide for immunity from forfeiture proceedings for ill-gotten wealth arising from criminal transactions that he is testifying on – immoral, maybe, legal, yes (it is condoned and allowed if it is the only way of convicting the masterminds and the state witness does not appear to be the most guilty)

       The terms of his WPP contract should be examined and strictly construed, in favor of the public interest.
            Whether or not Ben Hur Luy has immunity from prosecution or forfeiture of the one hundred fifty million pesos of unexplained wealth depends on:

        1.the terms of his WPP contract;

      2. the nature of those funds and

      3.the source of those funds.

       Were those funds sourced from the transactions on which he testified (the Enrile, Jinggoy, Bong Revilla, et al cases)? ….. Or did those funds come from other pork barrel transactions? Look at the paper trail.
            Am I splitting hairs? It’s one hundred fifty million pesos in unexplained wealth, at best. The terms of his discharge as state witness, his WPP contract, and the paper trail of the one hundred fifty million pesos should be examined.

constitutional law, Criminal law, News, Rules of Court

Sen. Drilon appears, Blue Ribbon, hearing, Iloilo Convention Center (podcast, legal aspect)

Senate President Drilon appears at the Senate blue ribbon Committee hearing on the iloilo Convention Center today. This is a podcast on the legal aspect of the appearance, to balance the previous podcast (which was  on the legal aspect of VP Binay’s decision not to push thru with the debate).
    To be fair, those who could be indicted or criminally charged should it be shown that the Iloilo Convention Center was overpriced, showed up at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing today.
     Anything they say in this proceeding can and will be used against them in any other investigation. yet they showed up and fielded questions…
This podcast plays automatically and is in two languages. ang podcast na ito ay nasa dalawang wika. See how that comes out. adula amin (ilokano) sige nga…
 several seconds of music from “kapalaran” (“Fate”) performed by rico J. Puno, photo rightclicked from a government site, all used here non-commercially for academic purposes…
messages

Weekly Writing Challenge: Oh, the Irony

From WordPress for the Weekly Writing Challenge: Oh, the Irony: “In everyday language, we now use “irony” as a synonym for snark or sarcasm (or, sometimes, for unusually bad luck). xxx In this week’s challenge, I’d like to invite you to write a post built around an ironic moment. You could recount a scene in which what you said was the opposite of what you meant. You could tell a story in which one of the people involved is entirely unaware of the motivations of everyone else. Or address your post to another person, letting us — your readers — infer the real, very different message between the lines.xxx” at:

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_writing_challenge/oh-the-irony/

my post on “irony”. ironically, the irony is always lost on those think their reign is iron-clad

           The Wonder of Plunder

 

One day you have the Palace and the Senate

 

Next day you have a prison and  a  sentence

 

One day you’re hosting a ball —

 

Next day you’re posting your bail.

 

One day you’re flying and jetsetting

 

Next day you want to be jettisoned

 

One day you’re creme de la creme —

Next day you’re cream of your crime.

 

Such is life, really?, what a wonder

 

Life is bittersweet, seriously?, your time means plunder

;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@

this is a reworked version of an earlier post

thanks, WordPress, for being my host.