News Roundup 29 April 2024
Apr 29, 2024 • 5 min Read
House to summon Duterte admin execs over ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with China | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said committees will invite past administration officials to shed light on the supposed gentleman’s agreement entered by then President Rodrigo Duterte with China, amid contradicting statements.
Romualdez, in a briefing on Monday, was asked if the House will find time to hold the hearings on the gentleman’s agreement — supposedly meant to maintain the status quo on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) — before Congress goes on a sine-die adjournment by May 24.
Romualdez said the House leadership, including the committees that will tackle the issue, have already discussed this, adding that they will try to “ferret out the truth” during the incoming hearings.
“Yes, we have already discussed this amongst the House leadership and with the committee chairmen involved, so we’ll try to ferret out the truth with what really happened, because our President (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) said he was horrified, so are we because it is disappointing that they had a gentleman’s agreement — although some say it’s true, some say it does not exist. So we should know what the truth is because that is what China is invoking,” he said.
“Past officials […] we’ll start with the past officials, because they are responsible for executing agreements […] maybe their Foreign Affairs officials, the executive secretary, to ask if there was an executive order. And those who said that there was a gentleman’s agreement — because there is a former press secretary who said it exists, and another said it does not,” Romualdez added.
Full Story at: House to summon Duterte admin execs over agreement’ with China (inquirer.net)
Misamis broadcaster’s murder ‘good as completely solved’ – task force | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The murder of Misamis Occidental radio broadcaster Juan Jumalon is “as good as completely solved,” according to the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS).
“This case is as good as completely solved,” PToMS Director Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez said in a statement on Monday following the arrest of the last suspect in the case.
“Finally, the quest for justice for the family of Jumalon will be served with the arrest of (Jolieto Dumaog) Mangumpit. All three suspects directly involved in the killing of Jumalon are now in the hands of the law. We are optimistic that given the weight of evidence against them, they would be convicted by the court,” he added.
“While the suspects continue to feign innocence, we are confident that in the course of the trial, the mystery behind the motive as to why Jumalon was killed would be finally revealed,” Gutierrez said.
Earlier Monday, PTFoMS announced that Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga Del Norte authorities arrested Mangumpit, alias “Ricky,” around 3 a.m. in Dipolog City.
Full Story at: Misamis broadcaster’s murder ‘good as completely solved’ (inquirer.net)
PISTON knocks on SC: Halt PUV consolidation deadline | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — In a last effort to attempt save their livelihoods, jeepney drivers led by transport group PISTON asked the Supreme Court (SC) to postpone the implementation of the public utility vehicle (PUV) consolidation a day before its deadline.
In a 17-page petition filed by the transport group on Monday, it “reiterated” their request to the SC to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the memorandum circulars issued by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) concerning the consolidation deadline.
In the group’s petition, it assailed the department order (D.O.) issued by the government on Dec. 29, 2023, a day before the original December 31 consolidation deadline.
“Ibig sabihin hindi talaga handa ang gobyernong ‘to sa pagpapatupad, kasi at that time, December 31 ang deadline, December 29 naglabas pa sila ng bagong D.O. pero nag-reiterate kami ng motion na i-grant ang TRO,” Neri Colmenares, one of the lawyers of PISTON, said in an interview with reporters.
(This means that this government was really not prepared for the implementation because at that time, the deadline was December 31, they issued a new D.O. on December 29, but we reiterated the motion to grant the TRO.)
“Napaka-simple lang ng hinihingi ng mga tsuper at operators dito,…pwede bang i-TRO muna habang hindi pa nagdesisyon ang Korte Suprema? Kasi kapag na-cancel na ang prangkisa simula bukas, kahit manalo kami sa petisyon maibabalik pa ba ‘yan?” he asked.
(The request of the drivers and operators here is very simple… Can we temporarily stop the implementation while the Supreme Court has not yet made a decision? Because if the franchise is canceled starting tomorrow, even if we win the petition, can it still be reinstated?)
Full Story at: PISTON knocks on SC: Halt PUV consolidation deadline | Philstar.com
Filipino farmers struggle as drought and heatwave hits | PHILSTAR.COM – SAN ANTONIO, Philippines — Filipino farmer Daniel Velasco pumps water from a well in a desperate attempt to save his wilting vegetables, as a scorching heatwave and the worst drought in years hits crops.
It has hardly rained on Velasco’s plot of gourds and tomatoes since November, as the El Nino weather phenomenon brings drier conditions and baking temperatures.
“I’m losing a lot of money,” Velasco, 57, told AFP, standing barefoot on the cracked ground in the northern province of Nueva Ecija.
His gourds “died before I could even sell them”, pushing him deeper into debt.
El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern typically associated with increased heat worldwide, leading to drought in some parts of the world and heavy rains elsewhere.
Unusually hot weather has blasted South and Southeast Asia for the past week, forcing schools to send children home and the authorities to issue health warnings.
Global temperatures hit record highs last year, and the United Nations’ weather and climate agency said last week that Asia was warming at a particularly rapid pace.
More than half of the Philippines’ provinces, including Nueva Ecija, are in drought as El Nino exacerbates hot and dry conditions typical for March, April and May.
Full Story at: Filipino farmers struggle as drought and heatwave hits | Philstar.com
