Latest news with #deLima
GMA Network
14-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
De Lima files bill to disclose confi, intel fund outlays flagged by COA
A bill lifting the secrecy on the disbursement details of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) and limiting the CIF allocation to 10% of the agency's budget, among others, has been proposed in the House of Representatives. Former Justice secretary and current ML party-list Representative Leila de Lima on Monday made the proposal under her House Bill 1845, or the CIF Utilization and Accountability Act. IN the bill, all CIF information and documents will remain confidential, but will automatically lose confidentiality and will thereafter be disclosed to the public once the Commission on Audit (COA) issues a Notice of Disallowance (ND) on a CIF disbursement. State auditors issue NDs if when the expenditure is found to be 'either irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant, or unconscionable.' The ND, however, can be appealed by the concerned agency. 'The CIF, including all the information and documents related thereto, will then be subject to inquiries and investigations, with documents and related information to be made public, without need of compulsory processes,' the bill read. In addition, de Lima's proposal states that CIF allocations for any single agency, considering the population serviced, should not exceed 10% of the total annual budget of the agency, unless otherwise explicitly authorized by law. Further, the bill limits the allocation of CIF to agencies as indicated under the General Appropriations Act and to all other agencies, departments, and units 'with mandates related to national security, peace and order, and intelligence gathering.' 'While the initial guidelines in 2015 may have been appropriate and sufficient at that time, recent developments have exposed the vulnerability of the existing design, implementation, and auditing process of confidential and intelligence funds. Particularly significant among these recent developments is the reported misuse and malversation of confidential funds amounting to P612.5 million appropriated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) Sara Duterte and the Department of Education (DepEd) of which Duterte served as Secretary,' de Lima said in her explanatory note on the measure, referring to the subject of the impeachment complaint against Vice President Duterte. She then cited the findings of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability panel on its inquiry on such funds which include: confidential funds were appropriated to civilian government agencies whose mandates do not include surveillance, nor involve national security and peace and order confidential expenses were unrelated to national security and peace and order, or confidential funds appropriated for non-confidential activities and expenses liquidation reports submitted had either unreadable, incomplete, unstated, repeating,or made-up or fictitious names of payees; or liquidation reports had forgeries or no signatures at all Special Disbursement Offices (SDOs) hired were clueless on how the confidential funds were spent after turning the funds over to another unauthorized individual upon instruction from Vice President Duterte and absence of reports on accomplishments of the use of confidential funds. 'The obvious misuse and malversation of millions in taxpayer money as a result of exploiting the weak and insufficient guidelines on confidential and intelligence funds, poses a serious threat to the preservation of public trust in the government and the legitimacy of its institutions,' de Lima said. 'As such, legislative intervention is deemed necessary to ensure that CIF are strictly appropriated to justifiable activities and agencies with mandates to maintain national security and peace and order, and are properly audited with as much transparency as permitted without compromising confidential and intelligence operations,' she added. — BM, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
10-07-2025
- Health
- GMA Network
De Lima seeks probe into PhilHealth's unpaid hospital claims
A congressional investigation into the unpaid Philippine Health Insurance (PhilHealth) claims in several private hospitals has been proposed in the House of Representatives. Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Representative Leila de Lima made the call under her House Resolution 46 amid the decision of some private hospitals to refuse honoring guarantee letters funded under the Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) program. The Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPI) earlier reported that 43 hospitals in Batangas have been awaiting payment for claims amounting to over P530 million, including one with receivables as high as P94 million. 'This has been a perennial issue that should urgently be addressed once and for all. It burdens patients and their families with additional fear if they could get assistance from the government in medical expenses,' de Lima said. 'Nangangamba na sila sa sakit, nangangamba pa sila sa mataas na gastusin sa ospital. Filipinos' right to access urgent medical care should not be denied just because they cannot afford to pay hospital bills, or because of the lack of trust of private hospitals that the government will pay them,' she added. (The patients and their families are already fearing the high cost of medical bills.) De Lima then urged the government to provide and implement clear mechanisms, including speedy and inexpensive remedies, to promptly settle unpaid claims in hospitals that affect their ability to render quality and efficient healthcare services to prevent closures and instances of hospitals stopping to accept guarantee letters from indigent patients. The inquiry, de Lima said, will cover the existing government policies regarding payment of unsettled hospital bills and identify any gaps that cause delay in payment to expeditiously address them. 'These unpaid debts affect hospitals' financial stability and operating expenses, including salaries for healthcare professionals and staff. Nakakabahala ito dahil apektado nito ang kanilang operasyon at serbisyo. Paano natin matutupad ang layunin ng Universal Health Care Law kung paulit-ulit na lang ang ganitong problema?' De Lima said. (This situation is already alarming because how can we implement the Universal HealthCare law if this problem is yet to be addressed.) 'We need to get to the bottom of this to protect the rights of patients and their families, and ensure that the government fulfill its duty to pay its obligation to hospitals and clinics over unsettled bills,' she added. The 2025 P6.352 trillion national budget allocated zero allocation for government subsidy for PhilHealth due to the state-run insurance's inability to use its huge amounts of existing budget. MAIFIP, on the other hand, is a program under the Department of Health (DOH) which provides financial assistance to indigent Filipinos on healthcare expenses. The 2025 national budget earmarked P41.15 billion has been allocated for the program. — BM, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
08-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Lawmakers: Draft reso seeking Duterte's return has no weight with ICC
Senator Robin Padilla's draft Senate resolution calling for detained former president Rodrigo Duterte to be released from The Hague and returned to the Philippines has no weight, House members who are lawyers said Tuesday. Duterte was arrested on March 11 after arriving in Manila from a vacation in Hong Kong, pursuant to the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC)-issued arrest warrant over alleged crimes against humanity due to drug war killings during his presidency. He has been detained in Scheveningen prison in the Netherlands since March 14. Party-list Representatives Leila de Lima and Terry Ridon of ML and Bicol Saro, respectively, made the comments in light of the subject Resolution being pushed for by at least three Duterte's allies in the Senate: Padilla, Ronald 'Bato' dela Rosa and Bong Go. 'Political posturing na lang 'yan kasi wala na ho sa kapangyarihan ng gobyerno natin na pabalikin siya [That is just political posturing because the Philippine government has no authority to bring him back here]. Kasi isang [Because an] international tribunal, which is the ICC, with competent jurisdiction over the alleged crimes, the crimes against humanity, at nakuha na nga siya kasi na-arresto nga siya legally, validly, ay nandun na sa kanila [which arrested him legally, validly, and is now in their custody],' de Lima, a former Justice Secretary and an ex-senator, told reporters. 'Hindi na nila [ICC] 'yan pakikinggan, kung ano man yung mga sasabihin na mga domestic authorities nila. They cannot grant [the goal of the Resolution]. Hindi nila pwedeng pagbigyan yung mga ganyang mga usapin na pabalikin nyo na. May proseso. Di ba? Meron silang pending application for interim release,' de Lima added. (The ICC won't hear their plea because they cannot act on a mere resolution from local authorities. There is a process and in fact, Duterte's camp is already seeking an interim release.) De Lima then said that the resolution could also mislead Duterte's supporters into thinking that the former President remains under the jurisdiction of the Philippine government. 'Parang pinapalakas lang ang loob ng mga supporters na huwag kayo mag-alala, baka pwede pa natin maiuwi iyong dating Pangulo. But in my opinion, it won't fly because ICC has rules,' de Lima added. (They are just pandering to their supporters that there is still hope to bring the former President home, so they should not worry.) Ridon, who served as the chairperson of the Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor during the first year of the Duterte administration from 2016 to 2017, agreed with de Lima that the case of Duterte is something that is out of the Philippine government's hands. 'We have to be very frank na there's nothing that the Philippine government can do today to bring the former president back home. Kasi ho talagang ICC na po yung magpapasya kung makakauwi ba o hindi ang dating pangulo and to be very clear meron hong batayan bakit ho nasa ICC si dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte. He is being made to answer for extrajudicial killings under the Duterte Drug war,' Ridon said in a separate interview. (It is the ICC's call now if he can go home or otherwise. And to be very clear, there is a reason why the former president is facing the ICC.) 'Mabigat po ang nga paratang yun [These allegations are grave]. Of course, they can be free to do a Senate Resolution. But we have to be very frank. It is not within the power of the Philippine government to send the former President back home,' Ridon, also a lawyer like de Lima, added. — BM, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
14-06-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
De Lima slams Senate's return of VP Sara's impeachment case to House
Representative-elect Leila de Lima of ML Party-list denounced the move of the Senate sitting as an impeachment court to return to the House of Representatives the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte. 'Harap-harapan na tayong niloloko. Sila ang nagtanong, sila rin ang sumagot. Walang due process. Walang hiya,' de Lima said in a statement. (We are being duped right in front of us. They asked, but they are also the ones who answered. No due process. No shame.) With 18 affirmative, five negative votes, and zero abstentions, the Senate, on Tuesday, voted to return to the lower chamber the Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President without dismissing or terminating them. 'Ano ito—korte o kulto? (What is this — a court or a cult?)' the former senator and incoming party-list said de Lima, who last month accepted invitations to join the prosecution panel of the House of Representatives in the impeachment trial of Duterte. During a plenary session, Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa made a motion seeking that the verified impeachment complaint against the Vice President be dismissed "in view of its constitutional infirmities and questions on the jurisdiction and authority of the 20th Congress." Senate President Francis ''Chiz'' Escudero then ruled that the impeachment court should be convened first before acting on any motion to dismiss the impeachment complaint. When the impeachment court was convened, senators debated on Dela Rosa's motion for hours. Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano then moved to amend Dela Rosa's motion that the Articles of Impeachment be returned to the House of Representatives instead, without dismissing or terminating the case. 'There is no rule that allows this. No justice in shutting the door before the people can speak. No truth in a court that silences both sides,' de Lima said. GMA News Online asked Escudero for comment but has yet to receive a reply as of posting time. Escudero on Wednesday however said the House of Representatives has no option but to accept the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte, following the decision of the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, to return the case back to the lower chamber. The House of Representatives on Wednesday night certified that the impeachment of Duterte complied with the 1987 Constitution. Escudero on Thursday however said the Senate has yet to receive any pleading from the House of Representatives regarding the impeachment of Duterte. The ML Party-list representative-elect further said that the impeachment complaint should have been filed in a 'palengke' or a public market, saying 'pareho lang din—walang nangyaring hustisya… at least doon, may nagtitinda ng totoo (It's the same. There is no justice... At least [in the market], there are vendors who truthfully sell).' 'This is how impunity thrives: pakonti-konti, paisa-isang hakbang, hanggang sa mabaon sa kalokohan ang katotohanan (slowly, one step at a time, until the truth is buried under falsehood),' she said. The incoming lawmaker then praised the senators who voted against remanding the Articles of Impeachment to the House. 'To Senators Risa Hontiveros, Koko Pimentel, Nancy Binay, Win Gatchalian, and Grace Poe: thank you for standing your ground,' de Lima said. 'This is not just a setback. It is a stain—on the Senate, on the law, on the very idea that accountability is still possible in this country,' she said. 'You had one job: to let the truth be heard. Instead, you chose silence dressed as procedure. Delay disguised as order. Cowardice in the costume of rules. "Pero tandaan niyo ito: hindi kami tatahimik. At hindi lahat ng dinadaan sa teknikalidad ay nakakalimutan (But remember this: we will not be quiet. And not all that are processed via technicality will be forgotten),' she added. De Lima further said the 'fight for truth continues—outside your halls, beyond your rules, and with the people who still believe that justice must prevail.' The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on February 5, with over 200 lawmakers endorsing the complaint. Duterte was accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes. The vice president earlier said the impeachment process is rooted in political retaliation, and referred to the impeachment trial as a "crucifixion." —KG, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
22-05-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Lawmakers react to Cabinet shakeup: ‘Necessary reset if done right'
President Bongbong Marcos speaks during Presentation of Newly Enacted Laws to Stakeholders in Malacañang on Thursday, May 22, 2025, during which he joked about his Cabinet being "in flux." President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. must show that he is sincere and decisive in his bid to "realign" his administration, ML party-list Representative-elect Leila de Lima said Thursday, in the aftermath of Marcos' asking his Cabinet members to tender courtesy resignations after the midterm elections. 'I take note of the President's decision to reorganize his Cabinet following the administration's performance in the midterm elections. It reflects an awareness that the public expects more—more coherence, more competence, and more decisive leadership from this government,' de Lima said in a statement, one of several congresspeople who reacted to the news of the shakeup on Thursday. 'A Cabinet revamp, if done right, can serve as a necessary reset in the remaining half of his term. Pero, kailangan munang ipakita ni PBBM [But Marcos must show]: first, his sincerity, and second, his decisiveness and firmness in his governance. Otherwise, magpapatuloy ang nagiging perception ng marami na isa na siyang lame duck na pangulo [the perception that he is a lame duck will linger],' de Lima added. House Quad Committee chairperson and Surigao del Norte Representative Ace Barbers, for his part, said the President's move will enable him to replace underperforming top government officials, including those who do not defend him during times when he and his government are under attack from critics or from the opposition. 'I believe he should appoint to the Cabinet people who have unquestionable integrity and loyalty to him and his administration…people who as his alter ego can deliver their respective mandates to the people that we serve and will not think twice in condemning Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea and defend him on other national issues thrown against him and his administration,' Barbers said in a separate statement. 'The President is on the right track. And he must act promptly and decisively in order to preserve the gains of his administration,' he added. House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan of 4Ps party-list, on the other hand, said the Cabinet reshuffle shows the President's commitment to responsive and effective governance. 'The reorganization presents an opportunity to reinforce institutional coherence, improve policy implementation, and deepen public engagement,' he said. 'Change, when led by a clear vision and strong leadership, can infuse new energy and sharpen focus in tackling the pressing challenges of our time. We fully support the President's efforts to advance a dynamic and inclusive national agenda,' he added. Policy change, not personnel change But for Kabataan party-list representative elect Renee Co, a Cabinet reshuffle should always be done in the name of performance, not loyalty, to effect policy changes. 'Pagbabantayan ito ng kabataan. Ayaw na nating ma-scam ulit. Sa totoo lang, trying hard masyado na magmukhang in charge si Marcos Jr., pero hindi tayo convinced. This is part of their political war preparations for 2028 against the Dutertes,' Co said. (The youth will remain vigilant about this. We do not want to get scammed again. In truth, they're trying hard to make it look like Marcos Jr. is in charge, but we are not convinced.) Co said as it is, several big issues—including the jeepney modernization program; the K to 12 program that added two more years to high school; contractualization; red-tagging; and low wages—are still burdening the public. 'The people have been presenting him solutions, but the President is not even agreeable to a wage hike. Ang bara ay nasa mga mismong polisiya at programa, hindi sa mga tao lang na nagpapatupad,' Co said. (The bottleneck in government programs is with the policies, not with the people who implement them.) 'Kung legitimate effort ito, hindi lang tao-tao dapat ang magbago, pero ang pamumuno at programa ng gobyerno na bola ni Marcos Jr. mismo,' Co added. (If this is a genuine push for reform, changes should go beyond top officials.) — BM, GMA Integrated News
