News Roundup 30 January 2023
Jan 30, 2023 • 3 min Read
Next move for victims’ kin: Ask ICC to summon Duterte | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Should the government refuse to cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor, the next recourse of the families of extrajudicial killing (EJK) victims is to appeal to the Hague-based tribunal to summon former President Rodrigo Duterte to answer for his alleged crimes.
In an interview with the Inquirer, National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) adviser Neri Colmenares said his group had urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to work with the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) in examining evidence against the previous administration’s bloody war on drugs “but he has shown that they do not want to cooperate.”
“I’m again urging President Marcos to chart his own presidential destiny rather than continue being subservient to President Duterte,” he said.
In a Jan. 26 order, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) cleared the way for a full-blown investigation by its OTP.
The chamber acknowledged the efforts made by the government but said it was “not satisfied that the Philippines is undertaking relevant investigations, or is making a real or genuine effort to carry out such investigations and any subsequent criminal prosecutions….”
Full Story at: Next move for victims’ kin: Ask ICC to summon Duterte | Inquirer News
Alarm raised over 3-year, continuing decline in harvests, fish catch | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines—The all-year-round decline in fisheries production in 2022 and three straight years of agri-fisheries losses should alarm the current administration, according to a progressive fisherfolk group.
Fisherfolk organization Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), showed that agri-fisheries production went down by 1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 and overall contracted by 0.1 percent that year.
The decline in agri-fisheries output last year marked the third straight year of contraction, following the -1.7 percent and -1.2 percent in 2021 and 2020.
“This is an indication that the government has neglected the agriculture and fisheries sector in the country,” said Pamalakaya National Spokesperson Ronnel Arambulo in a statement.
Full Story at: Alarm raised over 3-year, continuing decline in harvests, fish catch | Inquirer News
Anti-Terrorism Council designates red-tagged community doctor a terrorist | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Anti-Terrorism Council has designated red-tagged community doctor Natividad “Naty” Castro a terrorist under the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, passage of which raised fears across sectors over the potential of abuse.
ATC Resolution No. 35 said the panel, chaired by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, found probable cause to designate Castro as a “terrorist individual” for alleged violations of Sections 6 (Planning, Training, Preparing, and Facilitating), 10 (Recruit, Membership) and 12 (Providing Material Support) of the anti-terror law.
The power of the ATC to designate — heavily contested at the Supreme Court oral arguments but upheld mostly intact at the end — effectively triggers the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s authority to freeze Castro’s assets.
Full Story at: Anti-Terrorism Council designates red-tagged community doctor a terrorist | Philstar.com
PNP working to take down e-sabong websites, platforms | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police has reached out to the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the National Telecommunications Commission to take down websites engaged in e-sabong, or the remote betting on cockfights, that the government suspended in May 2022.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, Police Gen. Rodolfo Azurin said the PNP is targeting five “active websites that continue to host e-sabong games.”
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order No. 9 last December directing the continued suspension of e-sabong operations in the Philippines. The NTC has, in the past, issued orders to Internet Service Providers to block websites although freedom of expression advocates have raised that this should be done through court orders.Full Story at: PNP working to take down e-sabong websites, platforms | Philstar.com
