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GMA Network
6 hours ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
SolGen hopes Congress will pass legislation on divorce
Solicitor General Darlene Berberabe on Tuesday said it may be an opportune time to revisit the Family Code as she expressed hope that Congress will pass on a legislation on divorce during the oral arguments on foreign divorce. 'I hope also that our Congress would be on the way to pass a legislation on divorce. As we have heard a while ago, it is only the Vatican and our country which do not have divorce,' Berberabe said. 'And if we follow legal realism as a philosophy, we should be acknowledging that the times have changed. And perhaps the time is now opportune to revisit the premises of the Family Code and the intent that is expressed by the Committee on Civil Code and the Family Code,' she added. During the interpellation of Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan, Berderabe said she believes that this is the responsibility of Congress. Gaerlan questioned Berberabe if it is problematic that only one sector or religious group has a statutory enactment relative to divorce, referring to the Shari'ah Law. Following this, Gaerlan asked the solicitor general about the reason behind the prohibition regarding absolute divorce in the country. Berberabe said that there is no express statutory prohibition but that laws do not provide a mechanism to avail of absolute divorce. 'But policies can be changed within the changing of times,' Gaerlan said. This was affirmed by Berberabe. 'As I mentioned on the legal realism, society evolves. There have been so many changes in the last decade and the laws should also evolve,' she said. 'And that is why we believe that it is high time for Congress to really open the debate and the discourse on this topic in order to adapt or to adopt laws that will reflect the changes,' Berberabe added. Guam Meanwhile, Amicus Curiae Atty. Ma Carolina Legarda raised that some Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) have sought divorce from their spouses in Guam as there is only a seven-day residence requirement before one can file. 'Seven days. So many Filipinos who are our OFWs who are there [are] doing that, your honor. And they come back to this country having obtained a divorce in Guam,' she said. 'The only requirement there is that the Filipino spouse here has to sign an agreement that they are not objecting to the separation of property and the custody and support of the children,' she added. Legarda said the Guam court may then issue a divorce within two months. According to Legarda, this is happening due to the lack of a law on divorce in the Philippines. 'I think perhaps it is time for the court to interpret Article 26, Paragraph 2 as including a mechanism in which to protect the Filipino here and abroad,' she said. Atty. Maria Liza Lopez-Rosario, another Amicus Curiae, meanwhile called on Congress to look into Dual Citizenship, saying that some rights in the Philippines may be different from those abroad. 'I think it's proper that legislators should also take a look, a second look, on this Dual Citizenship Act because they might be abused by some Filipinos,' she said. The SC set the next oral arguments on October 21, 2025. According to the SC, the case involves a Filipino national with a dual citizenship who obtained a foreign divorce. While abroad, she acquired foreign citizenship through naturalization, and thereafter reacquired Philippine citizenship. — RF, GMA Integrated News
West Australian
07-05-2025
- West Australian
‘Lots of blood': Radio communication during Bondi attack revealed in inquest
Radio calls warning 'lots of blood you need to hurry', have been aired in court as new details of a fatal stabbing attack at Bondi Junction Westfield emerge. Six people were killed and 10 others were injured in the attack at Westfield Bondi Junction on April 13, 2024. Dawn Singleton, Yixuan Cheng, Faraz Ahmed Tahir, Ashlee Good, Jade Young and Pikria Darchia died in the incident. Cauchi, 40, had gone on a rampage through the palatial shopping centre with a WWII knife purchased at a camping store before being gunned down by NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott. A five-week coronial inquest into the deadly stabbing began last Monday, with the first week revealing never-before-heard details about the incident. Scentre Group operate a string of Westfields across Australia including Bondi Junction. The nature, timing, and adequacy of the response by Scentre Group and its subcontractors Glad Group and Falkon Security will also be examined in the inquest. Scentre Group retail manager Joseph Gaerlan gave evidence in court on Tuesday, where it was revealed he had heard a radio broadcast while he was in the bathroom in the centre management office. 'Code black, code black alpha, there's lots of blood — you need to hurry,' was broadcast over the radio, though he said no location was given. He told the court a code black indicates a threat, while alpha is to escalate that. In the days after the attack he'd recalled hearing there was a man with a knife over the radio and a possible fatality, however he has since amended this statement upon reviewing CCTV of his actions on the day. 'This recollection was taken three days after the incident had taken place …(it was) such a blur for myself,' Mr Gaerlan told the court. 'I was highly emotional and highly stressed at the time and maybe my mind thought that happened.' If he had heard there was a man with a knife and a possible fatality, he said it would've been 'almost certain it was an active armed offender (AAO) situation' and there would have been a 'very different reaction'. The court was shown CCTV footage of Mr Gaerlan rushing out of the bathroom where he saw other staffing heading down to the centre. He went back to his desk to grab his blazer before going to the lifts and then walking towards the mall to see what was going on. CCTV played in court showed him walking through the mall where a number of customers gather around him asking what was happening, as retailers were also closing their shutters. The customers all appeared calm: no announcements had been made at that stage. While walking towards the level five air bridge he heard a security controller say 'code black, there's an active armed offender, contact blue lights immediately, we need urgent backup' over the radio. This was the first time he had heard there was an active armed offender. He 'turned on his heel' after hearing this and ran the other way, broadcasting to the control room asking to confirm police had been contacted and to make PA announcements for an AAO situation. The court was told he then returned to the centre management office to review CCTV, but upon realising it would take too long to find his logins, he again left the office to head to the CCTV control room. Customers were seen rushing into the lift Mr Gaerlan had taken. He was on the phone to the regional manager when he entered the control room about 3.40pm — about seven minutes after the attack began — and then had an exchange with one of the operators in the control room. 'I still did not have eyes on the situation, I recall being frustrated,' he told the court, saying he had asked if they knew the location, how many offenders and what weapons were involved. 'I was not provided with an answer at this time,' he said. Another controller was able to flick through footage and determine there was only one offender. 'When the male confirmed … there was one offender, he showed me on the CCTV that a male in a green jersey was on the ground,' he said. However it was unclear whether information of there being a single offender was relayed to police at the time. No staff in CCTV control room when attack began The court was earlier told there were two staff members in the CCTV control room on level 4 on the afternoon of the attack, however, one had left about 3pm with his supervisor to undertake training on level 13. The other left the room at about 3.32pm to go to the bathroom just metres outside the control room, meaning there was 'no active CCTV monitoring in place' for the minute and forty seconds she was outside the room. 'It just so happened that exactly 40 seconds after …(she) left for the bathroom … Mr Cauchi attacked Ms Singleton,' counsel assisting the coroner Peggy Dwyer SC last week told the court. 'And over the next 30 seconds, Cauchi attacked a further six individuals.' When she re-entered the control room at about 3.33pm Cauchi had attacked eight people by then, three of whom later died. The second security employee re-entered the CCTV control room by 3.36pm, however, all 16 people had been stabbed by then. Ms Dwyer said it appeared the CCTV room being vacant at that time impeded Scentre Group's response. 'Security staff were effectively behind the 8-ball – that is, they were then playing catch-up, catch up to understand what was unfolding,' Ms Dwyer said. Ms Dwyer said available evidence suggested initial contact and information exchanged between the control room and emergency services took place about 10 minutes after Cauchi was shot, and that an alert wasn't activated until about 3.39pm. An evacuation alert was appeared to be used rather than one that warned of an active armed offender (AAO). Later attempts to correct this were unsuccessful because of the evacuation alert in place, Ms Dwyer said. She said it also appeared appropriately warning customers and staff 'did not occur promptly' on the day of the attack, and 'did not occur in the way it should've done'. The first public announcement of an evacuation, rather than an AAO, was also not made until 3.52pm from the fire control room, which was located externally to the CCTV control room. Ms Dwyer said the control operator tasked with making the announcement was 'distressed and distraught', leading people to be unsure whether she had been taken hostage or was making the announcement 'under duress'. The PA told bystanders to evacuate now, while shop attendants told bystanders they should not evacuate. Police also appeared to be under advice that people should remain in place. Ms Dwyer said the operator read 'verbatim' from a script in a 'distressed voice … in a way that may have led to confusion'. 'Firstly Mr Cauchi had been shot about 15 minutes prior, so it's not suggested that level of confusion at that stage … made a difference to who could've survived,' Ms Dwyer said. 'Secondly, clearly these are individuals who've never been through something like this before, so its natural that stress … is overwhelming, or might be. 'But it is important, in our respectful submission, to learn from the mistakes that have been made here.' Many customers and first responders reported the alarms set off were extremely loud and had impaired communications. Ms Dwyer said communications from the CCTV control room to both security staff and first responders might appear 'ineffective', but it was 'in part exacerbated by issues' faced by NSW Police and NSW Ambulance first responders. She said if Inspector Scott had not been on the scene so quickly there was a 'real possibility' Cauchi's attack could have continued on. 'I expect Your Honor will hear that there have been proactive steps already taken to remedy some of the issues outlined,' Ms Dwyer said. She noted the involved parties were also open to hearing other suggestions.
