News Roundup 15 July 2022
Jul 15, 2022 • 5 min Read
OSG supports DFA position to use as anchor the Hague ruling vs China | INQUIRER.NET – The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) “strongly supports” the decision of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to use the country’s win over China in the arbitration case over the hotly contested West Philippine Sea. This was the affirmation made by new Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra on Friday, saying that they back DFA’s position on the said issue — that both the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in 2016 and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) states that the Philippines is the rightful owner of the West Philippine Sea (WPS). On Tuesday — during the sixth anniversary of the PCA’s decision that favored the Philippines — new Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said that the arbitral win or the so-called Hague ruling would be one of the “twin anchors” of the country’s policy and actions in the WPS. “The Office of the Solicitor General strongly supports the position of the Department of Foreign Affairs that the UNCLOS and the 2016 arbitral award of the permanent court of arbitration in favor of the Philippines shall be the anchor of all Philippine policies and actions in relation to all maritime right issues in the [WPS],” Guevarra said in a statement sent to reporters. The announcement from the two officials under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is a different tune from what was heard from the past administration, which veered away from using the PCA decision. In a late-night briefing last May 2021, former president Rodrigo Duterte called the PCA decision a mere piece of paper that can be thrown in the trash bin.
Devices that scream self-entitlement: War on illegal sirens, blinkers escalates | INQUIRER.NET – “Walang lamangan, walang wang-wang (No privilege, no sirens).” This was one of the most famous pronouncements of the late Benigno Aquino III on his first day as the Philippines’ 15th president. It was both symbolic and literal. Suddenly, the illegal use of sirens and blinkers by both civilians and government functionaries nearly disappeared. It was also meant as a serious crackdown on abuse of power or self-entitlement. When Aquino died on June 24 last year, the mobility website Visor PH said he was the leader “who called attention to the abuse of power and the sense of entitlement prevalent among both government officials and private VIPs even in full view of the public”. Last July 5, Sen. JV Ejercito called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to revive Aquino’s campaign against the unauthorized use of sirens and blinkers, saying that “it’s a matter of implementation”. “That’s why I said I hope PBBM (Marcos) will revive it because it was done during PNoy’s (Aquino) time. If the president speaks about it, that is already policy and all will follow,” Ejercito told radio station dzBB. “I observed a lot has been using it including local officials and others I am not sure but maybe, Cabinet secretaries,” Ejercito said. Then he took to Twitter to express his exasperation: “I see many businessmen, private citizens with escorts. That angers me. We are all equal. What gives them the privilege? That’s not acceptable.” The Philippine National Police (PNP), in response, said it will intensify its crackdown on wang-wang, stressing that the law does not allow private vehicles to use sirens and blinkers. Maj. General Valeriano De Leon told ABS-CBN that some officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the PNP are also not allowed to have motorcycle escorts. The PNP-Highway Patrol Group (HPG) said there are laws governing the use of sirens and blinkers—the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, which was signed into law in 1964, and Presidential Decree 96 (PD 96) which was issued in 1973. The law provides that “all authorized emergency vehicles, such as ambulance and police cars and fire wagons used for emergency calls shall be equipped with a bell, siren, or exhaust whistle.” It was clear that “no such device shall be installed or used in any other vehicle. But from July 1 to July 12 this year, 165 blinkers and 14 sirens had already been confiscated from private vehicles.
US House agrees to block aid to PNP until PH meets basic human rights standards | PHILSTAR.COM – The House of Representatives of the United States has agreed on an amendment to a defense spending measure blocking aid, including equipment and training, to the Philippine National Police until the Philippines is deemed to have met basic human rights standards. The amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2023, introduced by Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pennsylvania) and adopted by the US House through a voice vote, provides that no funding will be made available to the State Department for assistance to the PNP until the Secretary of State certifies that the Philippines has: – Investigated and successfully prosecuted police who violated human rights, ensured that they cooperated with judicial authorities in such cases, and affirmed that such violations have ceased; – Established that the Philippine National Police effectively protects the rights of trade unionists, journalists, human rights defenders, government critics, religious leaders and other civil society activists to operate without interference; – Taken effective steps to guarantee a judicial system that is capable of investigating, prosecuting and bringing to justice members of the police and military who have committed human rights abuses; – Fully complied with domestic and US audits and investigations regarding the improper use of prior security assistance. “The time is long overdue to begin putting some basic human rights guardrails in place in the United States-Philippines relationship,” Wild said in her remarks on the House floor. She said that those who oppose her proposal would raise the US’ national security interests against China, but she countered that there is a need to maintain credibility on human rights issues. “The need to counter the Chinese regime’s authoritarianism on the international stage is precisely why it’s so important that we maintain our credibility on human rights. It is why it is so vital that we do not undermine our own case for democracy and open ourselves up to charges of hypocrisy by supporting brutal regimes out of short term expediency,” she said.
