A4 HEADLINE PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY September 16 - 30 , 2016
New Bilibid Prison ( NBP ) Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge P / Supt . Rolando Asuncion said that at least one convict died in a riot that erupted in the prison last Wednesday morning . Convicted drug lord Tony Co was killed , and three others wounded in the fight at Building 14 of the maximum security compound where high-profile convicts are held , according to Justice Undersecretary Erickson Balmes .
Jaybee Sebastian , another imprisoned drug-lord , and other inmates Peter Co and Vicente Sy were injured in the riot and were brought to Medical Center Muntinlupa for treatment . Co and Sebastian had to undergo surgery . The hospital administrator explained the puncture wounds of the four inmates were
Former Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago , 71 , succumbed to cancer on Thursday morning . According to her husband Atty . Jun Santiago , she died peacefully in her sleep at 8:15 a . m . Her official Twitter feed announced her passing .
The former senator was battling stage 4 lung cancer and was continuing her treatment before her passing . She was in hospital at St . Luke ’ s Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City , and continued to fight her battle until the end . She was diagnosed with the cancer in July 2014 , and last year announced that she getting better because of a new anti-cancer drug administered on her . Santiago was brought to the hospital in early September this year . Her husband said that she became unconscious for several days in the hospital . She had enrolled in
A Norwegian man freed after almost a year in captivity by the Abu Sayyaf terror group in the Philippines says the experience was “ devastating ”.
Kjartan Sekkingstad said that he and his fellow captives , two of whom were Canadians who were subsequently beheaded , were treated like slaves .
Sekkingstad was freed on September 17 . He was
Co dies , Sebastian wounded in NBP riot
Miriam Defensor Santiago dies at 71
various clinical trials for treatment of lung cancer for two years , but to no avail .
Born in Iloilo City on June 15 , 1945 , the former senator ran for president in the May 2016 elections but lost to Rodrigo Duterte . She also sought the presidency in 1992 , won by Fidel Ramos , and 1998 won by Joseph Estrada .
Santiago has been dubbed as the “ Iron Lady of Asia ” for her no-nonsense drive against graft and corruption when she served all the three branches of the government , as well as her directness in naming corrupt officials and practices in the government , the legislative assembly and the justice system .
Her Senate biography reads , “ In a nation where many public officials are charged with , or suspected , of plunder , her honesty shines
one of four captives seized by the extremist gang at a resort he ran on Samal Island in September 2015 .
Sekkingstad said that he was regularly threatened with execution .
Two of his fellow captives , Canadians John Ridsel and Robert Hall , were beheaded earlier this year . A Philippine woman , Marites Flor , was freed in June .
“ I am very happy
mostly in the chest area .
Asuncion said seven to eight inmates were involved in the “ rumble ,” where an ice pick was recovered from the scene of the fight . He , however , denied that the incident was staged to kill Sebastian , who was about to appear in court to testify against Sen . Leila De Lima . He is said to be a government asset to the NBP drug ring .
According to Asuncion , it was a plain riot , a usual occurrence in prisons . The Bureau of Corrections is investigating the incident , including reviewing the CCTV footage .
House Speaker Bebot Alvarez believes the timing of the incident is questionable and doubts it is a “ simple prison riot .” He says that there are forces in the government who do not wish for Sebastian to make his testimony . Sebastian was initially slated to appear in the House probe , but Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said that they do not need his testimony in the investigation . The House Committee on Justice is conducting a probe on the illegal drug trade inside Bilibid .
In their testimonies , Sebastian and the other inmates at the NBP claimed they paid then Justice Secretary Leila De Lima millions of pesos so they could bring in illegal drugs and other banned items into the prison . They identified Sebastian as the top drug lord who raise millions to the campaign funds
to be alive and free ,” Mr . Sekkingstad told reporters following a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte and Norwegian Embassy officials in Davao City , the president ’ s hometown . “ It ’ s a wonderful feeling .”
When he arrived in Davao City , the Norwegian was heavily bearded and wearing a camouflage jacket and carrying a backpack that he said had stopped a bullet and
WWW . PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY . COM
of De Lima for Senator .
The other high-profile inmates , Tony and Peter Co , and Sy are part of the so-called “ Bilibid 19 ,” drug lords who were found to be continuing their illegal trade inside the NBP . After a raid in December 2014 , they were transferred like a light in the darkness .”
Miriam , a former judge at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court , started her career in public service in 1988 as Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation where she was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service , Asia ’ s equivalent of the Nobel Prize , for effectively battling corruption in the bureau .
Several solons offered their condolences to the Santiago family . Buhay Rep . Lito Atienza recalled Santiago ’ s presidential bid in 1992 as the standard bearer of the People ’ s Reform Party against the winning president Fidel Ramos . He said that the Philippines lost a fearless fighter , full of ideals and ideas . He said she was an ideal public servant and a very dear friend .
“ We will always cherish our struggles in her presidential candidacy in 1992 as the standard bearer of the People ’ s Reform Party ( PRP ),” Atienza said in a statement .
“ We remember Sen . Miriam as a feisty senator who valiantly went against the tide and strongly defended the sovereignty of the Philippines in her many moves to call for the abrogation of lopsided deals with the United States , including the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation
Norwegian freed by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines describes ordeal with dead Canadian hostages
saved his life during a clash between troops and militants . He was clean-shaven and wearing fresh clothes when he met the president .
Sekkingstad told reporters upon arriving in Davao City that the Abu Sayyaf militants had forced him and the other captives to act as porters .
He said that after the beheadings began he was told constantly that he would be to Building 14 .
Despite measures to ban cellphones and other devices in prison , NBP cannot claim to be contraband-free but Aguirre says that drug transactions have decreased by 90 % since troopers started manning the prison .
Agreement ,” said Kabataan Rep . Sarah Jane Elago , who admired the senator for her stand against the US Visiting Forces Agreement and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement .
Atty . Jun Santiago said that the Senator ’ s remains will be transferred to a basilica in Cubao , Quezon City , for a wake . He said the family had no plans to cremate her .
executed , and survived several clashes between the militants and Philippine troops .
“ We were treated like slaves ,’’ he said , describing the captivity as “ devastating .”
The two Canadians were killed after Canada ’ s government refused to pay millions of dollars in ransom to the militants , who have sworn allegiance to Islamic State and have earlier links to al Qaeda and have carried
CONT NEXT PAGE