56-year-old OFW bent on clearing her name after ‘laglag bala’ episode

The overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who was recently arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for allegedly carrying a bullet inside her hand-carry bag is banking on CCTV footage to clear her name.
In an interview on GMA News TV’s QRT on Monday, lawyer Spocky Farolan maintained that his client, Gloria Ortinez, 56, was innocent, and that they are in the process of determining who planted the bullet in her bag before she was supposed to leave for Hong Kong last October 25.
Farolan said they will formally ask the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) this week to show the footage of Ortinez's movements from the time she was at the Laoag airport to her arrival at the NAIA in a bid to clear her name.
“Ang sabi namin, klaro na hindi sa kanya ang bala na ‘yun. Klaro na ‘yun ay itinanim, klaro na may discrepancy. Kung sino ang may kasalanan niyan, kailangan pa namin ng ebidensya at kailangan naming alamin, kaya namin hinihingi since last week— siguro bukas pormal namin hihingin sa kinauukulan— na ibigay sa amin ang CCTV footage di lang dito [sa NAIA] kundi mula Laoag,” he said.
Farolan said airport authorities have yet to reach out to them about the possibility of showing the CCTV footage of Ortinez’s arrival at NAIA following the incident.
“Kung talagang may kusa at gustong malaman ang katotohanan, dapat tawagin lahat ng partido at sabihing, ‘Ito ang nangyari,’” he said.
Although the Pasay City Prosecutors Office has ordered Ortinez’s release due to the weak evidence against her, Farolan said she now faces the danger of losing her job in Hong Kong after the incident.
The lawyer said not only is Ortinez’s employer still undecided about her employment, she is also unsure whether or not she would be allowed back in Hong Kong because of her pending case in the Philippines.
“Dalawang levels yan eh, kung tatanggapin pa siya (Ortinez) ng employer niya, at kung tatanggapin pa siya ng Hong Kong. Ang issue na ito ay kumakalat na sa ibang bansa… at napapanood ito lalo na ng mga immigration officers. Alam nila na may kaso itong taong ito. Sinong makapagsasabi kung baka blacklisted na siya sa Hong Kong o yung working visa niya apektado na rin?” Farolan said.
In addition to uncertainty over keeping her job, Farolan said a clinical psychologist has found that Ortinez was “clearly traumatized” by the incident.
“Klaro na lumabas [sa check-up] na siya ay traumatized sa mga pangyayari,” he said. —Xianne Arcangel/KBK, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POPCOM, gagamit ng ‘digital platforms’ para pagtibayin ang mga ugnayang pampamilya

Mas pinalalawig ng Komisyon sa Populasyon at Pagpapaunlad (POPCOM) ang adhikain nitong pagpapalaganap at pagpapabuti ng pakikipag-ugnayan ng mga nakakatandang Pilipino sa kanilang mga anak na nagdadalaga at nagbibinata. Nitong Setyembre 21, ang POPCOM ay nagsagawa ng isang “parent-teen talk webinar” gamit ang Zoom, kung saan ang isang “interactive program” ang nagbigay ng naaayon na kaalaman at kasanayan sa mga magulang, habang tumulong ito sa mga anak na teenager na maabot ang kanilang buong potensyal. Hinikayat din nito ang mga nanay at tatay na sumali sa malayang usapan, lalo na sa mga usapin ukol sa sex at sekswalidad, na nakikitang makakatulong upang bumaba ang mga bilang ng mga pagbubuntis sa hanay ng mga kabataan. Maaaring mapanood ang webinar sa https://youtu.be/lZ9jrJCjYas. Ayon kay Ikalawang Kalihim (Undersecretary) Juan Antonio A. Perez III, MD, MPH, “ang webinar ay naging isang tagapag-simula at ‘padaluyan’ ng pag-uu
Read more

Biden said set to make push for demilitarized Palestinian state as part of new doctrine ---By LAZAR BERMAN

New York Times’ Thomas Friedman, who’s close to the US administration, says emerging doctrine would include Saudi-Israeli normalization, 2-state solution, and campaign against Iran US President Joe Biden’s administration is homing in on a new doctrine involving an unprecedented push to immediately advance the creation of a demilitarized but viable Palestinian state, The New York Times’ Thomas Friedman reported on Thursday. The plan, Friedman wrote, “would involve some form of US recognition of a demilitarized Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that would come into being only once Palestinians had developed a set of defined, credible institutions and security capabilities to ensure that this state was viable and that it could never threaten Israel.” White House officials “have been consulting experts inside and outside the US government about different forms this recognition of Palestinian statehood might take,” revealed Friedman. What he termed the new “Biden Doctrin
Read more

In Cairo, senior Hamas officials discuss hostage deal with Egyptian intelligence chief ---By TOI STAFF, AGENCIES and LAZAR BERMAN

Delegation said led by terror group’s Qatar-based political leader Ismail Haniyeh; Wall Street Journal reports Hamas demanding 150 security prisoners for each female soldier A delegation of senior Hamas officials arrived in Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials on a possible deal that would see the release of hostages held by terrorists in Gaza. The delegation was led by Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar, and included senior members Mousa Abu Marzook and Khalil al-Hayya, the Qatar-based Al-Araby news outlet reported, citing an unnamed Egyptian source. The Hamas officials met with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel, to discuss the details of a hostage deal proposal that was presented to the Gaza terror group earlier this week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. The outline of the deal was drawn up during a meeting in Paris last week in the presence of Israeli and US officials, as well as Qatari and Egyptian negotiators, a
Read more