News Roundup 07 September 2024
Sep 07, 2024 • 6 min Read
Teachers’ group hits DepEd’s poor implementation of feeding program | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education’s (DepEd) failure to effectively implement the P5.6 billion school feeding program is a “disservice” to the students from marginalized communities and a “waste of public funds,” the Alliance for Concerned Teachers (ACT) said on Saturday.
According to the observation of the Commission on Audit (COA) on the department’s P5.6 billion funds for the School Based Feeding Program, some school division offices (SDOs) reported encountering unpleasant experiences under the program.
“It is evident how the previous DepEd administration, under VP Sara’s leadership, mismanaged and underutilized billions of funds appropriated to the agency to implement its programs including the school-based feeding programs,” said ACT Chairperson Vladimer Quetua.
“This is clearly a disservice to our learners from impoverished and marginalized communities who are already deprived of quality food and good nutrition due to their families’ economic status. This is also a betrayal of service and waste of public funds,” Quetea added.
Based on the COA report, 21 SDOs reported delays and non-delivery of food products under the feeding program.
Meanwhile, SDOs in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Northern Mindanao, and Aurora received unsanitary packaging, questionable expiry dates, and pests and molds on breads.
“COA’s audit reveals a stench of negligence, with expired, moldy, and insect-infested food items being delivered to schools at a time when malnutrition is gnawing at our most vulnerable learners, directly affecting their performance in schools,” Quetua said.
Quetua added that the former education secretary “prioritized perpetrating state attacks and serving as mouthpiece of NTF-ELCAC instead of giving due attention to education as agency head.”
Full Story at: Teachers’ group hits poor implementation of feeding program (inquirer.net)
Police confirm, defend digging of tunnel in hunt for Quiboloy | INQUIRER.NET – DAVAO CITY—Failing to find the entrance to the underground bunker where they supposedly detected heartbeats and other signs of life, police dug an underground tunnel in the basement of Jose Maria College (JMC), one of the structures inside the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) compound in Buhangin District here.
Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, Davao regional police chief, admitted to have ordered the “supervised digging” beginning on Aug. 29, on the fifth day of the operation to arrest fugitive televangelist and KJC leader Apollo Quiboloy and four other KJC members who are his coaccused in child abuse and human trafficking charges.
Senators Ronald dela Rosa and Christopher “Bong” Go, accompanied by KJC members and journalists, found an area that was freshly paved with concrete in the basement of the JMC building when they were allowed by the police to enter the area around 10 a.m. on Friday. The inspection was part of a Senate investigation into alleged abuses in the ongoing arrest operation.
On the 14th day of the police operation to arrest Quiboloy on Friday, the work inside the KJC compound was halted as the Senate committees on justice and human rights and on public order and dangerous drugs held a joint hearing at the session hall of the Davao City council following the “ocular inspection.”
Telltale signs
The discovery at the JMC building confirmed an earlier suspicion by KJC lawyers that the police had been digging underground.
KJC legal counsel Israelito Torreon detailed the telltale signs that there was digging in the JMC building in the past days, including the sound of drilling in the basement, the sighting of civilians believed to be miners that the police brought inside the compound, tunneling equipment being smuggled inside and finally, the discovery of cement being brought inside the compound on Thursday night.
Torre told the Senate committee hearing they were digging a tunnel to the basement to find the underground facility where Quiboloy was believed to be hiding.
Policemen, who have been in the 30-hectare compound for two weeks, or since Aug. 24, had a hard time finding the entrance to the underground facility.
Torre invoked Section 10 of Rule 113 in the Rules of Court that allowed officers of the law to ask the help of civilians in effecting an arrest of a wanted criminal. He also cited Section 11 that authorized the police to break into buildings or facilities if there were strong reasons to believe that the subject of the warrant of arrest was hiding there.
Full Story at: Police confirm, defend digging of tunnel in hunt for Quiboloy (inquirer.net)
Alice Guo could become state witness if POGO leader is exposed — DOJ | PHILSTAR.COM –MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Saturday, September 7, that dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo could be considered a state witness if investigations into the illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) activities in her town lead to identifying a higher figure behind the scheme.
DOJ Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Mico Clavano explained that Guo’s current status as the “most guilty” party in the case could change depending on the progress of the investigation.
The DOJ official said that Guo is disqualified from becoming a state witness at present due to her significant involvement.
“Currently, with the evidence we have, she remains the most guilty, preventing her from becoming a state witness,” Clavano said in Filipino during a news forum on Saturday.
“But if we identify a more prominent figure who orchestrates these illegal POGO activities, she may no longer be the most guilty and could be considered as a state witness,” he added in Filipino.
The former mayor previously expressed fear for her life, asking for help from Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos after allegedly receiving a death threat.
Full Story at: Alice Guo could become state witness if POGO leader is exposed — DOJ | Philstar.com
Quezon City logs two more mpox cases, urges caution | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City government confirmed its second and third cases of mpox, following the initial case reported last week.
The Quezon City Epidemiology and Surveillance Division (QCESD) identified the second case as a 29-year-old male and the third as a 36-year-old male.
Both are currently under home isolation and receiving medical treatment, the Quezon City government said on Saturday, September 7.
The second case started showing symptoms, including a mouth lesion, on August 21 and was tested on August 28. His test came back positive on August 30.
The third case experienced a fever on August 26 and developed a rash the following day. His test result from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) confirmed mpox on September 5.
“Hindi biro ang mpox. Malala ang epekto nito, lalo na sa mga taong mahina ang immune system kaya napakahalaga na tayo mismo ay mag-ingat para hindi makakuha ng virus, at hindi tayo makahawa pa,” Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a statement.
(Mpox is no joke. Its effects can be severe, especially for those with weakened immune systems. It’s important for all of us to take precautions to avoid catching the virus and prevent its spread.)
Full Story at: Quezon City logs two more mpox cases, urges caution | Philstar.com
