News Roundup 01 June 2023
Jun 01, 2023 • 4 min Read
Kuwait, where OFW abuse is routine, targets Filipino visas as PH gov’t flip flops on deployment ban | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines— “One death is too many,” the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said when Jullebee Ranara, a 35-year-old overseas Filipino worker (OFW), was killed in Kuwait this year.
The CHR, which decried the killing of Ranara, had stated that there is an increasing number of distressed OFWs seeking help in shelters and are waiting for repatriation in the oil-rich country.
According to the Human Rights Watch, several embassies in Kuwait, including the Philippines, received over 10,000 complaints from domestic workers in 2009 regarding these:
- Physical, sexual and psychological abuse
- Nonpayment of wages
- Excessively long working hours without rest
“Many more abuses likely remain unreported,” it said, pointing out that domestic workers have few avenues for redress—the reason that as years passed, abuses persisted, and thousands of OFWs have been victims.
Kabayan Rep. Ron Salo had stated this year that, there have been 6,000 complaints from OFWs in 2017 regarding physical abuse, sexual harassment, and even rape in Kuwait.
Then based on data from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, which Sen. Raffy Tulfo cited when he filed Senate Resolution No. 448, 196 OFWs have died in Kuwait since 2016, with almost 80 percent caused by physical abuse.
Full Story at: Kuwait, where OFW abuse is routine, targets Filipino visas as PH gov’t flip flops on deployment ban | Inquirer News
Binay explains why she abstained from crucial Maharlika bill voting | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Senator Nancy Binay chose silence and avoided taking a definitive stand when Senate was holding a decisive vote on the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill.
Binay on Thursday explained why she decided to abstain from voting on the contentious proposal when the chamber decided on it early Wednesday.
“Sinuri po natin at tinimbang—ngunit sadyang kulang. (We studied it and weighed it, but it simply fell short.),” she said in a statement.
The lawmaker recalled months-long deliberations and revisions done on the MIF bill just left her with more questions than answers.
“I do understand the need to come up with something different to jolt and jumpstart our economy, and I, likewise, see the need to create fresh income sources to generate long-term economic growth and create jobs for our people. I just cannot turn a blind eye on development and say no,” she said.
But Binay observed there was still a lack of balance on the content of the MIF bill.
“I found no compelling reason either to say, ‘Yes, the MIF is a better medicine for the country.’ Or deny the fact that the risks are far greater than its claimed benefits,” she said.
Binay said the proposal failed to prove itself as a measure that would promote the interests of the Filipino people and safeguard the funds that need protecting.
Full Story at: Binay explains why she abstained from crucial Maharlika bill voting | Inquirer News
Teves legal team may go to court over new 60-day House suspension order | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The legal team of suspended Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. (Negros Oriental) may challenge before the courts the new 60-day suspension imposed upon the lawmaker.
In an interview with ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo on Thursday, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said they are “not foreclosing our judicial recourses with respect to the actions of the House Committee on Ethics.”
The House of Representatives issued a new 60-day suspension against Teves on Wednesday evening over his continued absence from the chamber. The lawmaker from Negros Oriental has also been stripped off his committee memberships due to his “misconduct” and his reported attempt — asked about it, Teves said he would neither confirm nor deny doing so — to seek asylum in Timor Leste.
Teves is vice chair of the games and amusements committee and a member of the nuclear energy and legislative franchises committees.
Topacio said while they recognize that the House Committee on Ethics and the House, as a body, has the authority to impose sanctions on members, he insisted that his client’s rights were violated, specifically Teves’ right to due process and equal protection.
Full Story at: Teves legal team may go to court over new 60-day House suspension order | Philstar.com
US, Japan coast guard ships arrive for trilateral maritime exercises off Bataan | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Ships of the US and Japanese coast guards sailed into Manila on Thursday for joint exercises with their Filipino counterparts on maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, and environmental protection.
The Philippine Coast Guard said in a statement that Akitsushima (PLH-32) and USCGC Stratton (WMSL-752) arrived at the Port of Manila on Thursday morning for the week-long Kaagapay Trilateral Exercise, which will be held in waters off Bataan. The ships were welcomed to Manila by coast guard personnel waving flags of the US and of Japan.
The PCG will be deploying BRP Melchora Aquino (MRRV-9702), BRP Gabriela Silang (OPV-8301), BRP Boracay (FPB-2401), and one 44-meter multi-role response vessel (MRRV) to the exercises, which are meant to train the three coast guards to work together in operations.
Full Story at: US, Japan coast guard ships arrive for trilateral maritime exercises off Bataan | Philstar.com
