Remulla wants stiffer penalties vs. lawyers involved in 'demanda me' racket --- By HANA BORDEY, GMA Integrated News

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Monday proposed to the Senate the crafting of a law that will impose stiffer penalties against lawyers who assist foreigners in filing cases against themselves to avoid deportation. Remulla said that this "demanda me" raket has been a source of income for some lawyers. “Mas mahalaga siguro ay malaki ang penalties sa mga lawyers na maga-assist ng 'demanda me' raket na ginagawa po ng mga foreigners… Pangkabuhayan po talaga. May ‘Demanda me’ package po na ginagawa ang mga lawyers minsan para hindi ho mapa-deport 'yung mga tao,” Remulla said during the Senate finance committee hearing on Department of Justice and its attached agencies’ proposed P34.486-billion budget for 2024. (It is important to increase the penalties against lawyers who assist in the 'demanda me racket' by foreigners… This has become a livelihood for our lawyers. There is a so-called 'demanda me' package where lawyers are involved so the foreigners will not be deported from the Philippines.) He also raised the need for a law that will "immediately" waive these alleged trumped-up charges filed by the foreigners against themselves. "'Yung batas ho kasi hindi natin puwede i-deport habang may kaso sila dito… kung meron ho tayong batas na hindi ho na lalo na immediately puwede ho natin i-waive yung cases, makabubuti po sana 'yan," he said. (Under our law, we cannot deport foreigners if there have pending cases… If we will have a law that will immediately waive these trumped-up charges then that would be good.) The DOJ chief mentioned the case of a woman who filed a case against his Japanese boyfriend for alleged violation of the Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) Act. "Nakita namin isang kaso sa Japanese noon, 'yung girlfriend po na nag-file ng VAWC, lagi hong bisita at lagi nagbebeso-beso at bumibisita pero may VAWC case siya laban sa boyfriend niya," he said. (One of the examples is a case where the girlfriend of a Japanese national filed VAWC charges against him but she’s visiting him frequently and kissing him on the cheeks.) Remulla also noted the cases of Japanese nationals who supposedly filed cases against themselves. In February, the DOJ said it will address the issue of the suspected filing of contrived cases with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI). —KBK, GMA Integrated News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more