Official Statement of Akbayan Party's Executive Committee
Last week, Akbayan Party started the process of looking into the DVD issue involving Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Secretary Ronald Llamas.
Concerning the said incident, Akbayan, the political party of Secretary Llamas has not been remiss in its desire to maintain party discipline and remain accountable to the principles of good governance. We have conducted our own processes on the matter.
Based on this process, the party arrived at several conclusions.
First, Akbayan understands that Secretary Llamas did not violate any law as stated by the Legal Division of the Optical Media Board (OMB), which said that individuals who procured allegedly pirated DVDs for their personal use do not face any legal liability. The DVD incident affirms what we know of Sec. Llamas. He is no different from millions of Filipinos. It speaks of the fact that he continues to live within the small salary afforded to those who work for government.
Nonetheless, the said incident raised issues of propriety and prudence on the part of the Presidential Adviser. We are also aware that this is the second incident involving Secretary Llamas. We have duly taken steps and strongly reprimanded him for both incidents. As a government official who came from the broad progressive community, Sec. Llamas must abide by higher standards of public service.
Sec. Llamas is aware of these processes and is ready to accept any further party decisions on the matter. It is the same accountability he presents to the President, Akbayan and the people. We trust that the Filipino public understands the difference between leaders who make mistakes that can be corrected and leaders who are criminal and corrupt. We shall never be the latter. ###
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