News Roundup 05 October 2022
Oct 05, 2022 • 7 min Read
September inflation revs up to 6.9% | INQUIRER.NET – Inflation in the Philippines heated up to 6.9 percent in September from 6.3 percent in August, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. This brought the year-to-date [January-September] average to 5.1 percent. National Statistician Dennis Mapa said in a press briefing the latest readout was mainly driven by faster rate of increases in prices of some food items like eggplant, tilapia and refined sugar as well as electricity and housing. Inflation for food alone was pegged at 7.7 percent, faster than 6.5 percent in August. The pace of rising prices in most basic items could not be offset by slower increases in the prices of meat and fruits. September’s results brought inflation back up to the same level last seen in October 2018.
Lack of PH human rights resolution ‘reflects poorly’ on UN states, HRW says | PHILSTAR.COM – The United Nations Human Rights Council dealt victims of rights violations in the Philippines “a serious blow” by failing to pass a resolution that would ensure continued scrutiny of the country’s human rights situation, an international rights watchdog said Wednesday. In a statement sent to reporters, the New York-based Human Rights Watch pointed out that the council is set to end its 51st Session in Geneva on October 7, without action on the Philippines. This is despite expressions of concern from the UN human rights office, civil society organizations, and families of victims of abuses. A September report by the high commissioner’s office highlighted prevailing rights violations and recommended continued monitoring and reporting to the council. Council member states and donor countries that supported the 2020 resolution and the Philippine-UN Joint Program however did not press for a 2022 resolution this time around. “The UN Human Rights Council’s failure to act on the Philippines is devastating for both the victims of human rights abuses and civil society groups that seek to uphold basic rights,” said Lucy McKernan, Geneva director at Human Rights Watch. “The end to council scrutiny of the Philippines reflects especially poorly on the European and other concerned governments, led by Iceland, that had banded together in 2020 to support a resolution and the UN Joint Program that sought real improvements on the ground.” To recall, the 2020 Human Rights Council resolution on the Philippines required the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to monitor and report on the Philippines’ rights situation through 2022. The UN Joint Program was designed to institutionalize human rights reforms in the Philippines in the face of catastrophic rights abuses during the “war on drugs” started by then-President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016. HRW said in its statement that instead of creating a commission of inquiry to investigate the thousands of extrajudicial killings, the Human Rights Council in 2020 settled on providing the Philippines “technical cooperation” and “capacity building” that, while valuable, did not advance accountability for grave crimes. “The three-year program has not gotten beyond its preliminary phase, facing unnecessary obstacles from the Philippine government, including attempts to undermine civil society participation,” Human Rights Watch said. “Without a commitment to the program from the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and the political backing offered by a Human Rights Council resolution, the UN Joint Program is unlikely to make much progress.” Since Marcos took office on June 30, there has been no letup in “drug war” killings or other human rights violations. The Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines has reported 90 drug-related deaths during the new administration, including 41 since Marcos’ press secretary said on August 11 that the “drug war” would continue. Harassment and attacks against activists, human rights defenders, and journalists have continued. The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, which is under the Office of the President, continued to engage in “red-tagging,” baselessly accusing people of supporting the communist insurgency, putting them at grave risk. “Families of victims had high hopes that the Human Rights Council would continue its scrutiny of rights abuses in the Philippines, but the council let them down,” said McKernan. “The human rights situation in the Philippines remains dire, but as the council drops the Philippines from its agenda, justice and accountability remain as elusive as ever.”
Confidential, intel funds in the national budget: What you need to know | PHILSTAR.COM – Confidential funds — particularly those of the offices of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte — are once again raising eyebrows as opposition lawmakers flag the large sums in the proposed 2023 budget. For the Office of the President, Marcos is asking for P4.5 billion in confidential and intelligence funds — much like his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who also asked for the same amount in his last budget. Meanwhile, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) under the younger Duterte is asking for P500 million in confidential funds. Her predecessor Leni Robredo did not ask for any. Copies of National Expenditure Programs since 2006 available on the website of the Department of Budget and Management show that the president and vice president’s offices under previous administrations typically got confidential funds but at more modest amounts. For example, in the last budget submitted under the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, her office asked for P600 million in confidential and intelligence funds, which amounts to around P930 million when adjusted for inflation. Even more modest were the confidential and intelligence funds requested by Benigno Aquino III, who in his last budget asked for only P500 million in total, amounting to just a little under P600 million in today’s money. Likewise, confidential funds for the OVP under previous administrations were miniscule or even non-existent compared to what Vice President Duterte is asking for in the 2023 budget. A 2015 joint circular between the Commission on Audit (COA), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of the Interior and Local Government, Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG) and the Department of National Defense laid down guidelines on confidential and intelligence funds. Confidential and intelligence funds are lump sum allocations set aside in the national budget for expenses that involve surveillance and intelligence information gathering activities. As its name suggests, confidential funds are for confidential expenses related to surveillance activities in civilian government agencies that are intended to support their mandate or operations. Similarly, intelligence funds are for intelligence expenses related to information gathering activities of uniformed and military personnel and intelligence practitioners that have direct impact on national security. According to the 2015 joint resolution, confidential funds can only be used for the following expenses: *Purchase of information necessary for the formulation and implementation of program, activities and projects relevant to national security and peace and order *Rental of transport vehicle related to confidential activities *Rentals and the incidental expenses related to the maintenance of safehouses *Purchase or rental of supplies, materials and equipment for confidential operations that cannot be done through regular procedures without compromising the information gathering activity concerned *Payment of rewards to informers *[Uncovering and preventing] illegal activities that pose a clear and present danger to agency personnel or property, or other facilities and resources under the agency protection, done in coordination with appropriate law enforcement agencies – Intelligence funds, meanwhile, can only be used for the following expenses: *Intelligence and counterintelligence activities that have direct impact on national security *Special projects and case operation plans as approved by the head of agency involving covert or semi-covert psychological, internal security operation, and peace and order activities, as well as programs, projects and campaigns against lawlessness and lawless elements involving intelligence activitie – Confidential and intelligence funds cannot be used for: *Salaries, wages, overtime, additional compensation, allowance or other fringe benefits of officials and employees who are employed by the government in whatever capacity or elected officials, except when authorized by law *Representation, consultancy fees or entertainment expenses *Construction or acquisition of buildings or housing structures
