News Roundup 24 July 2022
Jul 24, 2022 • 4 min Read
2 dead, 2 hurt in Ateneo shooting; gunman now in custody, says PNP | INQUIRER.NET – A shooting incident during the graduation ceremony of the Ateneo Law School at the Areté complex inside the Ateneo de Manila University campus in Quezon City left 2 dead and 2 others hurt, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said. QCPD director PBGen Remus Medina said another person was rushed to a hospital whose status remains unclear. “Ang maico-confirm natin, dalawa po ang confirmed na patay — yung guwardya po saka isang unidentified na lalaki na nandoon sa Ateneo, tapos may dalawang wounded, kinukuha na natin ang mga identity nila, plus yung sinugod sa hospital, hindi pa natin alam kung ano ang status niya,” Medina said in a CNN Philippines interview. Philippine National Police (PNP) Public Information Office chief Brig. Gen. Roderick Augustus Alba said the suspect is now in custody. “Suspect is already under custody,” Alba told reporters. “We are still getting more facts. Investigation is still ongoing,” he added. “Shooting incident at C5 Katipunan ave. Ateneo gate 3 NB as of 2:55 PM. PNP on site,” the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said in an earlier Twitter post. Supreme Court spokesperson Brian Hosaka said Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo was supposed to be the guest speaker in the Ateneo Law School Graduation ceremony on Sunday. “He was still in transit when the shooting happened and was advised to turn back,” Hosaka told reporters. “The Chief Justice is safe.” Meanwhile the Ateneo de Manila University said the the Ateneo Law School graduation rites have been cancelled.
SONA fashion police: Ban on ‘political messages’ bucked | INQUIRER.NET – On Monday, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, more guests and media personnel will be allowed at the venue of the State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. But a number of lawmakers, particularly from the Makabayan bloc in the House, are finding the security arrangements for the president’s first SONA to be too restrictive, as they include not only a COVID-19 test requirement but also a dress code prohibiting any attire that will convey political messages, something that protocol officers didn’t mind in the past. On Tuesday, House Secretary General Mark Llandro Mendoza issued a memo saying guests attending the Sona, whether in-person or via Zoom, should be in business attire, barong or Filipiniana dress. “Wearing of clothes with political messages shall not be allowed,” Mendoza added. In a message to the Inquirer on Saturday, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro of the Makabayan bloc said she had written Mendoza urging him to withdraw that restriction. Quoting her letter, she said there was no provision in the past rules governing joint sessions of the House and Senate that had been “violated by the wearing of clothes with political messages.” “Neither do we see any violation of parliamentary practice, protocol and social norms in the wearing of political statements,” Castro added. “To reiterate, no such rule has ever been imposed in either [chamber] in recent history, given its intrusion into the personal freedom of dress … and, more importantly, the violation of the civil and political rights of the people on whose behalf the House member sits [in] the joint session,” the lawmaker said, citing constitutional provisions on freedom of expression.
CHR urges openness, maximum tolerance at SONA rallies | PHILSTAR.COM – The Commission on Human Rights said they will dispatch investigators and lawyers from their offices to monitor rallies that will be held during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address on Monday. The commission likewise underscored the importance of freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly. The government will be deploying over 20,000 state security forces and force multipliers will be on duty to “secure” the president’s first SONA and were ordered to observe “maximum tolerance.” CHR Executive Director Jacqueline Ann de Guia on Sunday said groups and individuals take the opportunity “to express their views, stances, and grievances on pressing issues concerning national affairs” on important national events. “We continue to urge the current administration to cultivate an environment conducive to peaceful assembly to be able to listen and understand the sentiments and the needs of the people,” de Guia said. “This will enable a responsive governance that seeks to uphold social good toward elevating the plight of all, particularly the disadvantaged sectors.”
