News Roundup 05 December 2023
Dec 05, 2023 • 4 min Read
De Lima appointed Liberal Party spokesperson | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Liberal Party has designated former Sen. Leila de Lima as its new spokesperson, LP President and lawmaker Edcel Lagman announced on Tuesday.
Lagman said in a statement that De Lima was selected as the party’s official spokesperson during its management committee meeting on Monday.
“De Lima, who has been a long-standing member of the Liberal Party, committed to resume her active role in advocating and enhancing the Party’s advocacy on good governance, social justice and liberalism,” said the Albay lawmaker.
De Lima’s new role in the LP is one of her first political moves publicly announced since she was released on bail in November on her third and last case.
However, De Lima has not revealed her future political plans “pending thorough consultation with allies and kin,” Lagman said.
In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), De Lima said she is “honored and grateful” for the designation.
“I hope to convey our Party’s message of reforms and advocacy on good governance, social justice and civil liberties,” De Lima said.
Experts to help set up Marawi City anti-terror emergency network | PHILSTAR.COM – COTABATO CITY — A regional telecommunications ministry offered to help the Mindanao State University establish a viable emergency reaction network for mobile phone users in its campus in Marawi City.
Technical personnel of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Cotabato City told reporters on Tuesday that they can set up such networks with the help of private telecommunications companies whose operation covers Lanao del Sur and its capital, Marawi City.
Bangsamoro Regional Transportation and Communications Minister Paisalin Tago was among the first who condemned the bombing of a worship rite at MSU’s Dimaporo gymnasium on Sunday that left four Christian worshipers dead and hurt more than 30 others.
Tago, a Maranao who hails from Lanao del Sur, told reporters at about noon Sunday, just a few hours after the bombing, that the bombing was a “diabolic act” and that its perpetrators must be arrested and prosecuted for the offense.
Communications experts in the MoTC-BARMM said on Tuesday that they are ready to help the MSU administration design a digital mobile phone emergency contact and reply systems with the help of private telecommunications giants.
Full Story at: Experts to help set up Marawi City anti-terror emergency network | Philstar.com
Islamic State admits hand in Marawi blast | INQUIRER.NET – MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Philippines — The local affiliate of the terrorist network Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the bombing of a Sunday Mass at the Mindanao State University (MSU) campus here, but the Armed Forces of the Philippines has expressed doubt, saying it is validating that claim.
The Jihad Terrorism Threat Monitor of the Middle East Media and Research Institute (Memri) tracked that pronouncement on Sunday by the Islamic State of East Asia Province (ISEAP), hours after the attack that left four dead and at least 50 wounded.
Based on the ISEAP pronouncements documented by Memri, Sunday’s attack was the second this year that mainly targeted Christians — the first being in September when local affiliates killed two farmers in a hinterland village in Kauswagan town, Lanao del Norte.
The MSU gym bombing, timed on the first Sunday of Advent, a major event in the Christian calendar, followed four years after a suicide bombing in January 2019 at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Jolo, Sulu, that killed 23 people.
Full Story at: Islamic State admits hand in Marawi blast | Inquirer News
Badoy cited for contempt during House hearing | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Former Presidential Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy, another Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) host, has been cited for contempt and ordered detained by a House of Representatives panel.
At the hearing of the House committee on legislative franchises on Tuesday, Manila 6th District Bienvenido Abante Jr. — who has been the subject of several attacks from Badoy, like claims that the lawmaker was conniving with communists — moved to cite the SMNI host for contempt.
Abante clarified that Badoy was cited for contempt for giving confusing statements regarding Laban Kasama ng Bayan, as she initially stated she was a block-timer, and then later admitting that she was a co-producer of the program — and therefore, an SMNI employee.
The order against Badoy was issued hours after another SMNI host, Jeffrey Celiz, was also ordered detained by the same panel after he failed to reveal who gave him the wrong information about the House Speaker’s travel expenses.
Full story at: Badoy cited for contempt during House hearing | Inquirer News
