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| ==[[Mindoro Oriental News]]== | | ==[[Mindoro Oriental News]]== |
| '''I did not violate Bank Secrecy Law - Umali ''' | | '''Oriental Mindoro to attempt 'tourism coup' on Friday''' |
| *Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=63&articleId=780619 | | *Source: Manila, Philippines – The Gabriela partylist has demanded that six soldiers alleged to have raped a woman in Masbate must be tried in spite of the victim’s desistance. In a statement, Gabriela said it is apparent that the 21-year-old victim |
| *February 24, 2012 12:00 AM | | *February 28, 2012 10:11 AM |
| :by Jess Diaz | | :by Juancho R. Mahusay |
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| MANILA, Philippines - Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali said yesterday he did not violate the Bank Secrecy Law by receiving photocopies of impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona’s bank records from a “small lady.”
| | CALAPAN CITY, Philippines – Puerto Galera, the foremost tourism town of Oriental Mindoro, is attempting a major “tourism coup” of sort as it conducts a three-day cultural music and arts festival and concert in a remote and mountainous village starting Friday (March 2). |
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| In a television interview, Umali said the law does not punish a person for receiving or possessing bank documents.
| | Organizers of the Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival, an annual festivities highlighted by ethnic-inspired concert in Puerto Galera to welcome the summer season, are expecting some 2,000 to 3,000 local and foreign tourists from different countries to flock to Sitio Malasimbo to witness the event. |
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| “If you look at it, there is nothing where mere possession is a violation. There is no provision in the law that says possession of a bank document makes us liable for such act. It was handed to me. As a prosecutor, it was my duty to share it with my team and that is precisely what I did,” he said.
| | The festival, which is slowly getting popular because of its uniqueness, will be held at the three to five hectares of land owned by Hubert D’ Aboville, a French national and principal organizer of the international event. This is also part of the provincial government tourism office’s goal of tapping private sector to boost tourism in Oriental Mindoro. |
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| Another congressman, Jorge Banal of Quezon City who is part of the prosecution’s secretariat, received another set of Corona bank records similar to those handed to Umali by an unnamed source.
| | As described by the head of the provincial tourism office, supervising tourism operations officer Orlando Tizon, the venue of the said big event was specially designed as a “natural amphitheater” for some 300 local and international performers which include known and popular artists, singers and dancers in the country as well as abroad. |
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| Umali said he and Banal are ready to face an investigation by the House ethics committee if congressmen-allies of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo make good their threat to file a complaint against them.
| | According to Mr. D’Aboville, among those who signed up to perform are Joe Bataan, a half-Spanish and half-Filipino recording artist who is popularly known as the “King of Latin Soul.” |
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| He said the threat made by the minority group, to which Arroyo, now representative of Pampanga’s second district belongs, is “unfortunate.”
| | The festival will also showcase art products made from wood and cement, especially-designed by artists. Some of the features artists are Mangyans, the indigenous people of Mindoro Island. |
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| He said minority members are glossing over the fact that the documents volunteered to the prosecution have exposed Corona’s peso and dollar deposits with the Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) Katipunan Avenue branch in Quezon City.
| | Aside from experiencing the cool and breezy winds of the mountainous resort of Malasimbo and the whole of Puerto Galera, attendees at the event will also get to know the unique culture of the tribal Mangyans. |
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| He pointed out that based on the testimonies of bank officials, the Chief Justice had at least P31 million in PSBank Katipunan branch as of Dec. 31, 2010, which Corona did not declare in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth for that year.
| | Proceeds from the event will be spent on environmental projects which will be implemented by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). |
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| Bank officials have told the Senate impeachment court that the photocopies in the prosecution’s possession and the original documents filed with te Katipunan branch had some differences and some similarities.
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| But by and large, they are “similar documents,” bank president Pascual Garcia III said. He also said the information contained in the photocopies is “mostly accurate.”
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| Sen. Jinggoy Estrada has expressed belief that the prosecution’s photocopies were based on the originals, though some of his Senate colleagues believe the photocopies were manufactured.
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| ‘Unequivocal support’
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| At the House of Representatives, Umali and Banal have been assured “full and unequivocal support” by their colleagues who signed the impeachment complaint against Corona.
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| Members of Movement 188 – referring to the 188 congressmen who signed the Articles of Impeachment – expressed their support in a resolution.
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| “Be it resolved as it is hereby resolved to express its full and unequivocal support for Representatives Reynaldo Umali and Jorge ‘Bolet’ Banal, in their search for truth in connection with the impeachment trial of Corona,” the group said in its resolution.
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| “The issue of authenticity is no longer relevant to the trial, given the confirmation of the Chief Justice’s huge peso deposits by the officers of the concerned banks, and is thus better left for further examination by the National Bureau of Investigation or any other appropriate government agency,” it said. – With Paolo Romero
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| ==Misamis Oriental Zip Codes== | | ==Misamis Oriental Zip Codes== |