News Roundup 13 February 2024
Feb 13, 2024 • 5 min Read
Cha-cha: No for framers, yes for foreign chambers | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Three members of the body that crafted the 1987 Constitution on Monday opposed the plan to amend the Charter, but foreign companies operating in the country — the expected beneficiaries of the proposal — supported government efforts to ease the restrictions on foreign ownership in economic sectors still protected by the Charter from non-Filipino investors.
These opposing views on Charter change (Cha-cha) were aired during the resumption of the hearings by the Senate subcommittee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes on Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 6, which seeks to amend specific economic provisions of the Constitution.
Economist Bernardo Villegas, who headed the Committee on National Economy and Patrimony of the 1986 Constitutional Commission, said this was not the opportune time as the government has to tackle two pressing economic conditions.
First, he said, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his economic team should address the country’s “scandalous” poverty incidence of 21 percent, currently the worst in the Southeast Asian region.
Secondly, he added, the government needed to secure at least $15 billion in foreign direct investments annually until the end of the President’s term in 2028.
However, Villegas agreed that the Charter needed to be modified to make the economy more attractive to foreign capital.
“I’m the first one to say that sooner or later we have to amend this very imperfect Constitution of 1987,” Villegas said at the hearing presided by Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara.
“The question right now is timing,” he stressed. “I do not think that we need Cha-cha today.”
Full Story at: Cha-cha: No for framers, yes for foreign chambers (inquirer.net)
Catholic bishops urge Quiboloy to yield to authorities | INQUIRER.NET – For the first time, Catholic Church leaders have called on religious televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, founder of the Davao City-based Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) sect, to submit himself to an investigation in Congress to answer “deeply troubling” allegations against him, including sexual abuse and trafficking.
Caritas Philippines, the humanitarian, development and advocacy arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, also urged the Senate and the House of Representatives to assert their authority to ensure justice for the alleged victims.
“The allegations against Mr. Quiboloy and the KOJC are deeply troubling,” Caritas Philippines president Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo said in a statement on Monday.
“Human trafficking, sexual abuse, and other criminal activities, if proven true, represent a grave violation of human rights and fundamental dignity, especially impacting women, children, and other vulnerable individuals,” he added.
Justice for victims
Bagaforo, also the bishop of the Diocese of Kidapawan in Mindanao, said Quiboloy needed to submit himself to Congress and other legal authorities “not just for the sake of transparency, but for the victims who deserve justice.”
Full Story at: Catholic bishops urge Quiboloy to yield to authorities (inquirer.net)
FDA chief open to medical marijuana as doctors warn of harm | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The chief of the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday that he is “very open” to the medical use of cannabis or marijuana, but doctors warned that the legalization of the substance could expose Filipinos to “unnecessary harm.”
Last week, a joint panel of the House of Representatives approved a consolidated bill that seeks to make legal the medical use of marijuana, but without removing it from the country’s list of dangerous drugs.
In a briefing Tuesday, FDA Director General Samuel Zacate expressed openness to the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
“Filipinos must have a wide range of therapeutic indications or drugs of choice. So ako for the record […] is very much open for marijuana as long as it has been streamlined and does not pose harm to the public,” Zacate said.
Although open to considering medical marijuana, Zacate said the issue is still “subject to the wisdom of the legislative [branch].”
Under current regulations, the FDA has the authority to grant hospitals compassionate special permits for using unregistered medical products, including processed medical cannabis.
According to the United States National Institute on Drug Abuse, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in marijuana “has proven medical benefits in particular formulations.”
These medications are prescribed to patients undergoing chemotherapy, suffering from wasting syndrome due to AIDS, or experiencing neuropathic pain associated with multiple sclerosis.
Full Story at: FDA chief open to medical marijuana as doctors warn of harm | Philstar.com
Senator seeks probe into warrantless arrest of film director Jade Castro | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — A senator has called for a probe into the warrantless arrest of film director Jade Castro and his three companions, saying that the police’s decision to disregard CCTV evidence in pursuing their arson charges against them is “alarming.”
Sen. Risa Hontiveros filed Senate Resolution 928 on Tuesday, which calls on the Senate panel on public order and dangerous drugs to investigate the police operation that led to the arrest of Castro and his group on February 1.
“Kahit kailan, sa anumang panahon, mali ang ‘aresto now, paliwanag later,’ tulad ng sinapit ni Direk Jade Castro at ng tatlo niyang kasamahan sa bayan ng Catanauan, Quezon,” Hontiveros said.
(At any time, it is wrong to “arrest now, explain later,” which was what happened to Director Jade Castro and his three companions in the town of Catanauan, Quezon.)
Castro and his companions are accused of setting aflame a modernized jeepney in Barangay Dahican, Catanuan, Quezon on January 31. They have denied these charges and said that they were in the town of Mulanay when the burning incident happened — a claim supported by a local official who attested to speaking to the group when the alleged arson happened.
Full Story at: Senator seeks probe into warrantless arrest of film director Jade Castro | Philstar.com
