News Roundup 06 September 2023
Sep 06, 2023 • 4 min Read
Hontiveros to DepEd: Keep children out of state surveillance operations | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education’s conduct of surveillance activities in school should not inadvertently subject children to state “spying” and its possible abuses, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said.
The chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality stressed that DepEd should comply with international and local laws that entitle students to an “environment of freedom and dignity.”
“I support the DepEd’s goal of making our places of learning safe. However, government efforts should not trample on the rights of our innocent and vulnerable students, teachers, parents and school personnel,” Hontiveros said in a press release.
This comes after Vice President Sara Duterte told a Senate panel during the DepEd’s budget briefing on Monday that the target of surveillance operations are “learners, and our teaching and non-teaching DepEd personnel.”
DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa said during the department’s budget deliberations for 2024 that several public high schools in Metro Manila are involved in the recruitment of New People’s Army members, but he did not identify these schools or explain how the department verified the information.
Full Story at: Hontiveros to DepEd: Keep children out of state surveillance operations | Philstar.com
‘Diskaril na ba?’: Makati subway project to be affected by court ruling on Taguig | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Makati City subway system is currently in peril after the Supreme Court recently ruled that some areas previously within the said city’s jurisdiction now lies within Taguig.
Phillipine Infradev Holdings, who is behind the railway’s development, said that the ruling will hit the depot and some of the stations. The project is a joint venture between Infradev and Makati.
“Also, the alignment of the subway will no longer be feasible,” Infradev added this Wednesday in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
“We will advise the [PSE] and the Securities & Exchange Commission for any further material developments on the matter.”
A letter was already sent to the local government of Makati to discuss the changes and how to best proceed with the project.
Full Story at: ‘Diskaril na ba?’: Makati subway project to be affected by court ruling on Taguig | Philstar.com
Pargas: Palace approved Philhealth top execs’ tripling of pay during pandemic | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Top executives of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) tripled their salaries in accordance with an executive order (EO) issued by Malacañang in 2021.
Philhealth spokesperson Israel Francis Pargas said on Wednesday.
During the House Committee on Appropriations hearing for the budget of the Department of Health, Pargas made the clarification after Anakalusugan Party-list Representative Ray Reyes asked about the Commission on Audit (COA) report stating the salary increase.
According to COA’s annual report released last month, PhilHealth’s key management personnel received P71.45 million in 2022, around triple compared to just P26.2 million in 2021.
“What is the basis of the increase of your salary? You tripled it, eh,” Reyes questioned Philhealth officials.
Pargas answered on behalf of the officials of the government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC).
“Our salary was increased based on an executive order,” Pargas said.
He was referring to EO Number 150 Series of 2021 issued during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Full Story at: Pargas: Palace approved Philhealth top execs’ tripling of pay during pandemic | Inquirer News
Lala Sotto’s resignation sought after MTRCB’s suspension of ‘It’s Showtime’ | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Broadcast Communication of the University of the Philippines is calling for the resignation of Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) chairperson Diorella “Lala” Sotto-Antonio amid the agency’s sanctions on “It’s Showtime.”
In a statement posted on its Facebook page Tuesday, the UP department expressed dismay at Sotto, saying she “evidently compromised her position and objectivity as a public official” when her agency meted a 12- airing day suspension on “It’s Showtime” — a decision that, it said, “lacked wisdom and discernment.”
“While our stand is not about a specific program, MTRCB’s recent imposition of a 12-day airing suspension on ABS-CBN’s noontime show ‘It’s Showtime’ is a clear demonstration of the point about the agency’s lack of wisdom and discernment. We assert that this sanction is nothing but severe,” the statement read.
“We also call for the resignation of MTRCB Chair Diorella Maria ‘Lala’ Sotto, whose pronouncements on national TV evidently compromised her position and objectivity as a public official,” it further stated.
Full Story at: Lala Sotto’s resignation sought after MTRCB’s suspension of ‘It’s Showtime’ | Inquirer Entertainment
