1)

To make it easy for the law to investigate and prosecute erring government officials and employees, Senator
Panfilo M. Lacson filed a measure seeking to exclude them from the Bank Secrecy Law or Republic Act 1405,
ahead of the 17th Congress which opens on July 25.
Senate Bill 47 removes from all public servants the protection under RA 1405, which prohibits the disclosure
or inquiry into bank deposits, Lacson said Wednesday.
"Uncovering ill-gotten wealth of government officials may soon get easier. Law enforcement authorities will
be equipped with the tools needed to go after crooks in government, Lacson said.
The avowed purpose of the law is meritorious in preserving the confidentiality of bank transactions," the
senator noted.
"Unfortunately, this provision of the law prohibiting the disclosure of or inquiry into bank deposits had been
exploited time and again to hamper and stall investigations of government officials and employees
suspected of enriching themselves while in public office, he emphasized.
Lacson noted his bill will amend Section 2 of RA 1405, to exclude from the protection of the Bank Secrecy
Law all depositors who are elected or appointed officials or employees of the government, from the President
to the lowest-ranking employee.
The bill covers members of the uniformed services as well as government-owned and controlled
corporations.
RA 1405 or "An Act Prohibiting Disclosure of or Inquiry Into, Deposits With Any Banking Institution and
Providing Penalty Therefore," which was passed on September 9, 1955, covers:
"All deposits of whatever nature with banks or banking institutions in the Philippines including investments in
bonds issued by the government, its political subdivisions and its instrumentalities, are hereby considered as
of an absolutely confidential nature and may not be examined, inquired or looked into by any person,
government official, bureau or office."
Exemptions to the provision include a written permission of the depositor, cases of impeachment, or upon
order of a competent court in cases of bribery or dereliction of duty of public officials, or in cases where the
money deposited or invested is the subject matter of a litigation

2
Under Senate Bill 11 or the proposed Transportation Crisis Act of 2016, the President will be authorized to
adopt alternative methods of procurement for the construction repair, rehabilitation, improvement or
maintenance of transportation projects aimed at the reduction of traffic congestion in Metro Manila and other
urban areas.
These include limited source bidding or selective bidding, direct contracting or single source procurement,
repeat order, shopping, and negotiated procurement.
In all instances, the President shall ensure that the most advantageous price for the government is obtained
and that the procedure is undertaken in a transparent manner, the bill states.
No TROs
It added that no court, except the Supreme Court, shall issue any temporary restraining order, preliminary
injunction or preliminary mandatory injunction against the government or any of its officials or any person or
entity acting under the government direction to restrain, prohibit, or compel in the acquisition, clearance,
and development of the right of way; and bidding or awarding of any transportation project identified by the

President, among others.

It also states that the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and Department of Transportation (DOT)
shall be the urban traffic management authority in the National Capital Region and other urban areas. The
two agencies will also absorb some functions currently being performed by the Land Transportation
Franchising and Regulatory Board, Land Transportation Office and Local Government Units.
The bill will likewise allow the President to reorganize the DOT and its attached agencies, LTFRB and LTO, and
the MMDA.
The bill, which will be valid for two years after its effectivity, sought to get the necessary funds from the
proceeds from the Motor Vehicle Users Charge Fund, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation and
current budget of the agencies involved

3
WHILE he called for an intensified campaign against narcotics, President Rodrigo Duterte has decried the
extrajudicial killings of drug suspects.
In his speech at the oath-taking of officers of league of cities and provinces, the President called himself a whipping
boy in the summary execution of suspected drug dependents performed by vigilante group.
I was the whipping boy [in] all [problems], even in the extrajudicial killing. Who wants to kill a person? We cannot
build a nation over the dead bodies of our own citizens, Duterte said on Wednesday evening.
Duterte made the statement following the rising number of killed individuals suspected of dealing in drugs.
Police reports showed that 194 drug suspects were killed from July 1 to 19 or 10 deaths every day, on a national
scale.
The President lamented that drug sale continues to flourish because drug suspects have protectors in the country,
as well as high, refined digital map to locate the areas where they will import drugs.
Earlier, Duterte named five top police officials who are allegedly coddling drug syndicates but all of them have denied
the accusation.
Duterte said that with a very cruel game to earn a living at the expense of your fellow men," he has to control their
flow of movement.
He also called out the state forces to do its job to hunt down the big-time drug lords.
The essence of fear to violate a law has gone because they can bribe. With the short, corrosive effect of money, they
can bribe even those on top, Duterte said.
We just have to control their flow of movement So how do you do it? Destroy the apparatus, he added