Envoys meet Speaker, DOJ chief

MANILA, Philippines — United States Ambassador MaryKay Carlson paid a courtesy call on Speaker Martin Romualdez last Friday to discuss stronger Philippine-US bilateral relations under the Marcos administration.

Carlson also congratulated Romualdez for being elected to the top post at the House of Representatives.

Also present during the call were Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez, House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe and US embassy political officer Kenneth Gardner.

On her Twitter page, Carlson said she had “a great meeting” with Romualdez.

Carlson added that they discussed “legislative priorities of the new Congress and explore ways to build on the great Philippines-US Friendship Caucus launched last year.”

The website of the US embassy showed that the Friendship Caucus is “a cross-party group of members from the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, seeking to strengthen bilateral relations between the US and the Philippines.”

It was launched in October last year.

Rights issues

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Friday met United Kingdom Ambassador Laure Beaufils to discuss four important issues, including efforts of the Philippines to continue the United Nations Joint Program for Human Rights in the country, incoming DOJ assistant secretary and spokesman Mico Clavano said yesterday.

In a Viber message, Clavano told reporters that Remulla and Beaufils discussed the UN Joint Program for Human Rights in the Philippines, where DOJ heads the Technical Working Groups on Accountability and the Human Right-based Approach on Counterterrorism.

He said the two officials also discussed enhancing the witness protection program of the DOJ to ensure production of witnesses in courts in a bid to secure more convictions and continuing the prosecution of erring law enforcement agents in former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs campaign.

Clavano revealed that the officials also discussed decongestion and digitalization of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) in a joint effort with the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Remulla recently conducted an ocular inspection of the Mega Drug Abuse Treatment Rehabilitation Center at Fort Magsaysay in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija along with some BuCor officials as part of their plans to move BuCor facilities to the province. – Sheila Crisostomo