News Roundup 04 August 2022
Aug 04, 2022 • 5 min Read
LOOK: Past, present gov’t officials pay last respects to Fidel Ramos | INQUIRER.NET – Past and present officials of the Philippine government have visited the wake of former president Fidel V. Ramos to pay their last respects to the the former Chief Executive who passed away on Sunday. Photos sent in by House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez’s office show the official praying before the urn bearing the cremated remains of Ramos during the public viewing on Thursday. Romualdez also wrote a message on the guestbook, saying, “We mourn the loss of a great leader of our nation who we will be forever indebted for his public service.” Aside from Romualdez, other personalities who visited the ex-president’s wake included former vice president Leni Robredo, who got the support of Ramos for her 2022 presidential bid. Officers from Robredo’s Angat Buhay foundation confirmed that the former vice president also paid her respects to the late former president, who is being credited for reviving the economy of the country during the late 1990s. Ramos’ demise was announced by state television PTV-4 and was subsequently confirmed by his family last July 31, sending the country into a mourning period. The former president was a celebrated military official, politician, and a key figure in the 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled the regime of his cousin, former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Marcos Sr. is the father of the incumbent Chief Executive, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. The current president appeared to have sent in wreaths honoring the late leader. During the bloodless revolution, Ramos, along with former Defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile turned away from Marcos’ rule, establishing a band of rebels in Camp Aguinaldo which was protected by seas of people marching into the area. Aside from resuscitating the economy, a highlight of Ramos’ presidency was the peace negotiations between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which resulted in a peace agreement in 1997. Ramos, the 12th Philippine president, will receive a state funeral with full military honors on August 9. His remains will be laid to rest at the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani.
COA flags DepEd over P2.4B purchase of pricey laptops with old processors | INQUIRER.NET – The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Department of Education’s (DepEd) purchase of pricey laptops with low-end processors in 2021, transacted through the controversial Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM). In auditing DepEd’s financial transactions in 2021, COA noted that P2.4 billion was approved for purchasing laptops for online teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. COA said “the economy and efficiency in the procurement of laptop computers” were not guaranteed after DepEd settled with PS-DBM’s price and specification recommendations, which rose from P35,046.50 on its Agency Procurement Request (APR) to P58,300 on its Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC). The laptops also have Intel Celeron processors, which are usually found in entry-level personal computers. “The adjustments made thereof resulted in pricey computer laptops with low-end processors which adversely decreased the number of intended beneficiaries from 68,500 to 39,583 public school teachers,” COA said in the audit report of DepEd, which was under former secretary Leonor Briones when the transaction was made. COA’s auditing team also said they could not ascertain the basis of PS-DBM for adopting a higher price per unit for the entry-level laptops. “Per available documents, the Audit Team could not ascertain the DBM-PS’s basis for adopting the unit price of P58,300.00 in its recommended ABC,” COA added. “Apparently, the supposed number of laptops to be procured of 68,500 units was significantly reduced to 39,583 units which were mainly due to the huge increase of estimated cost from P35,046.50, based on DepEd’s submitted and approved APR, to P58,300.00 anchored on the DBM-PS’s recommendation, which was duly accepted by the DepEd,” it explained. COA noted that an estimated 28,917 teachers “were deprived of the possible benefits from the supposed provision of these laptops.” A quick scan of the online store of well-known computer shops in the country showed that an excellent entry-level laptop with a respectable Intel I5 10th generation processor, like United States brand Dell, would sell for P35,990. Most technology websites say that Intel Celeron processors, which are generally less expensive than Intel’s I5, have slower graphics processing unit (GPU) clocking speeds.
Rights group: Refusal to re-join ICC ‘further victimizes’ drug war victims, kin | PHILSTAR.COM – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s refusal to rejoin the International Criminal Court “further victimizes” those executed in the Duterte administration’s wars on drugs, on dissent, and on the Moro people, a global rights network said Thursday. In a statement sent to reporters Thursday evening, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines called the president’s statement an “ominous sign for human rights,” saying the only rationale for not being under its jurisdiction is “to shelter perpetrators from prosecution and the intention to continue committing such crimes.” “The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines [ICHRP] is extremely disappointed but not surprised by the new Marcos administration’s decision to keep the Philippines outside the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court [ICC],” said ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy Thursday. “This is part of the continued and ongoing state cover-up of crimes against humanity.” ICHRP in its statement urged the ICC to “vigorously pursue” the investigation and not be stalled by continued false claims that the Philippine judicial system is functioning and can address any concerns about alleged violations of human rights. It said that regardless of the country’s membership situation, there are still grounds for the continued investigation of the Duterte administration’s alleged crimes against humanity should it be green-lit later on.
