News Roundup 07 June 2023
Jun 07, 2023 • 6 min Read
Court’s denial of Leila de Lima’s bail plea dismays solons | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc have expressed dismay over the denial of former Senator Leila de Lima’s petition for bail.
In separate statements on Wednesday, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas and Alliance of Concerned Teachers Rep. France Castro lamented the decision of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court 256 to reject de Lima’s bid for temporary freedom.
De Lima, a fierce critic of the bloody drug war during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, only has one pending drug case left before the court since two other drug cases lodged against her have been dismissed.
Castro said she was shocked and disappointed by the rejection of de Lima’s bail plea.
“Denying bail to Senator de Lima, despite her poor health condition and the lack of evidence against her, is a clear indication that justice in this country is influenced by powerful interests,” she said.
The lawmaker also pointed out that de Lima is not the first critic of the government to face political persecution. She said this was “a blatant disregard for human rights and the rule of law.”
Castro further sounded the call for the government to put an end to the culture of impunity and uphold the rights of Filipinos regardless of their varying political beliefs.
“We call on the authorities to immediately release Senator de Lima and drop all charges against her. We will not stop in our fight for justice and human rights,” she pressed.
Brosas echoed Castro’s sentiments as she again asserted that the cases filed against de Lima had always been smeared with political agenda.
Full Story at: Court’s denial of Leila de Lima’s bail plea dismays solons | Inquirer News
‘Our territory is our territory’: Teodoro pivots DND’s focus to external defense | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Heeding President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s pronouncements, Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro on Wednesday said his agency would shift its focus from internal defense to external defense.
“National defense should transition — without sacrificing the gains in internal security — to external defense,” Teodoro said in his first press briefing at the Department of National Defense (DND) headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo.
In March, Marcos urged military strategy adjustment for an uncertain external security environment as the fight against communism nears its end. Teodoro pledged to support the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), the “constitution of the seas.”
“Our territory is our territory, and Unclos cannot be changed by the passage of time, nor changes in administration,” he pointed out.
The Philippines, under the administration of then President Benigno Aquino III in 2013, challenged before the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Beijing’s claim that it owned more than 80 percent of the entire South China Sea through its nine-dash line concept, which overlaps with the Philippines 200-nautical mile EEZ mandated by Unclos.
Full Story at: ‘Our territory is our territory’: Teodoro pivots DND’s focus to external defense | Inquirer News
UP econ profs: ‘Defective’ Maharlika bill has unclear purpose, risky structure | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — In a strongly-worded paper that outright calls the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund “defective” and violative of economic principles, faculty members of the University of the Philippines School of Economics have expressed their reservations with the Marcos administration’s pet measure.
The UPSE faculty members — in their “autonomous personal capacities” — levied criticisms against the MIF’s “unclear purpose” and “unnecessary risks” in a 28-page discussion paper titled, “Maharlika Investment Fund: Still Beyond Repair.”
The paper also discusses the “red flags” in the MIF’s governance structure and how preoccupation with the MIF has diverted crucial attention from more urgent national issues, such as the need to reform the retirement and pension system for military and uniformed personnel.
“We find that the MIF violates fundamental principles of economics and finance and poses serious risks to the economy and the public sector — notwithstanding its proponents’ good intentions,” the discussion paper read.
This is the second discussion paper released by the UPSE in 2023. UPSE faculty, graduate students and alumni occasionally release discussion papers on various economic issues that are publicly accessible through the UPSE archive.
The last UPSE discussion paper written by five or more authors who are also faculty members was released in 2020 and dealt with the Philippines’ economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unclear raison d’être
Comparing the MIF to other similar investment funds in other countries, the authors of the paper said the Philippines’ version lacks a “clear focus” at the outset, which has led to confusion even among the measure’s proponents and supporters.
The authors wrote that “while the MIF will invest in financial instruments in a bid to earn commercial returns,” it will also pump funding into local development projects – a “double-bottom line objective.”
The text of the measure should explicitly lay out whether it is a sovereign wealth fund, sovereign development fund or a strategic investment fund, the paper read. “Clear goals serve to delimit an SWF’s allowable investments and activities, and lay down reasonable expectations and metrics of success.”
Due to its “confused goals,” the paper read, “the MIF bill does not adequately articulate and take account of several implications of the fund’s dual-bottom line objective.”
Full Story at: UP econ profs: ‘Defective’ Maharlika bill has unclear purpose, risky structure | Philstar.com
Visa-free entry to Canada for some Filipinos: Who are eligible? | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Canadian Embassy in the Philippines announced Wednesday that some Filipinos can now enter their country by air without a visa.
For Philippine citizens to be eligible for visa-free entry, they must have either held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years or currently hold a valid US non-immigrant visa.
Instead of applying for a visa, these eligible Filipinos will just apply for an electronic travel authorization (eTA), a digital travel document that most visa-exempt travelers need to travel to or transit through Canada by air.
Canadian officials use the eTA to conduct light-touch, pre-travel screening of air travelers.
It costs CAN$7 (around P293) to apply for an eTA and the Canadian Embassy says most applications are automatically approved within minutes.
Applying for an eTA requires only a valid passport, a credit card, an email address and access to the internet, the Canadian Embassy said.
Once approved, Filipino visitors can stay in Canada for up to six months for either business or leisure.
Visa-free entry to Canada for eligible Filipinos is only applicable for air travel, so those traveling by land or sea must still secure a visitor visa.
Full Story at: Visa-free entry to Canada for some Filipinos: Who are eligible? | Philstar.com
