News Roundup 02 September 2023
Sep 02, 2023 • 4 min Read
NPA launches offensive vs gov’t in ‘insurgency free’ Quezon province | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The New People’s Army confirmed a tactical offensive against the 85th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army in the province of Quezon — a move that they say would “bring justice to all victims of the 85th IBPA.”
The military earlier confirmed that five members of the Citizens Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) were killed in an encounter with NPA rebels in Sitio Pagasa, Barangay Mapulot, Tagkawayan on Friday.
This comes less than two months after Quezon Gov. Angelina Tan and officials of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, Southern Luzon Command and Philippine National Police declared the province to be “rebel free.”
“The ambush carried out by the New People’s Army signals and opens up the more popular tactical offensives in the whole province,” said Ka Cleo del Mundo, spokesperson of NPA-Quezon, in a statement in Filipino released on Friday.
“This gives justice to all the victims of the 85IBPA. This is for the masses that we love who experienced torture, harassment and murder at the hands of ruthless soldiers under the US-Duterte and current US-Marcos II regime.”
Full Story at: NPA launches offensive vs gov’t in ‘insurgency free’ Quezon province | Philstar.com
Senate resolutions call for suspension of new travel requirements | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Senate adopted separate resolutions effectively blocking the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT)’s new travel guidelines on departure formalities for international-bound Filipino passengers.
One of these allows Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri to file, on behalf of the Senate, a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) to issue a temporary restraining order if necessary to lift the travel restraint deemed unconstitutional.
“It is the right of every Filipino to travel. And truth be told, we want more Filipinos to travel, domestically and internationally,” said Zubiri, who noted that the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has offloaded 32,404 Filipinos.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III introduced a resolution seeking to suspend implementation of the 2023 revised IACAT guidelines on departure formalities for Filipino passengers on flights abroad.
Pimentel said the resolution would grant the Senate President the authority to file the necessary petition before the SC to put a stop to the regulation if circumstances warrant such action.
“It’s, on its face, unconstitutional. Imagine a Filipino cannot travel in the absence of a consularized affidavit of support from a relative,” Pimentel said, referring to the revised guidelines set to take effect on Sept. 3. The chamber adopted the resolution.
Full Story at: Senate resolutions call for suspension of new travel requirements | Philstar.com
Rice retailers groaning under new price caps | INQUIRER.NET – Small rice merchants said they expected significant losses that could even force them out of business from the sudden imposition of the price ceilings on the staple ordered by President Marcos on Friday.
Rice retailers in Bulacan, Oriental Mindoro, Leyte and Cebu interviewed by the Inquirer said that the government should have given them more time to sell their existing stocks which they had bought at prices higher than the ceilings mandated by the President.
“If we just follow the order, we would lose money and we might have to close down,” said Imelda Dy, who has been a rice retailer at the public market in Tacloban City for 40 years.
Her lowest-priced rice was selling for P50 per kilogram, including a P5 markup. She got it from her supplier at P2,250 per 50-kilo sack.
Economic strain
Dy said she would lose P500 per sack if she sold it at P45 per kilo, one of the caps mandated by the President.
Full Story at: Rice retailers groaning under new price caps | Inquirer News
Comelec reminds bets: Premature campaigning may lead to disqualification | INQUIRER.NET – COTABATO CITY – Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Garcia on Thursday reminded aspirants in the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) about early campaigning that candidates may knowingly or unknowingly perform before the official period.
Speaking during the 1st Regional Coordinating Conference here with officials and representatives from the Bangsamoro Region, Armed Forces and police, election officials, and other stakeholders, Garcia said the moment candidates filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs), their actions may be construed as “early campaigning.”
“When an aspirant has already filed his/her candidacy and yet their campaign posters are already displayed, that is already premature campaigning, even if it’s in a private place,” Garcia told attendees of the summit.
“If she/he has not displayed posters, he/she did not roam around shaking hands of people, but they are doing it now after filing, that is premature campaigning,” he said.
Full Story at: Comelec reminds bets: Premature campaigning may lead to disqualification | Inquirer News
