News Roundup 09 February 2023
Feb 09, 2023 • 4 min Read
Marcos must step down as DA chief now – fishers’ group | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines – A fisherfolk group said Thursday that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should now step down as chief of the Department of Agriculture (DA), accusing his administration of “incompetence” in addressing the country’s ballooning inflation.
Ronnel Arambulo, national spokesperson of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), said Marcos should be held accountable for the soaring prices of agriculture and fisheries products.
“Kailangan na ng mga mangingisda at magsasaka ng isang bagong kalihim na bukod sa maglalaan ng buong panahon sa kagawaran, ay magsusumikap na tugunan ang kinakaharap ng sektor ng agrikultura,” he said in a statement.
(Our fishermen and farmers need a Secretary that will not only devote all of their time to the department but also work hard to address the challenges faced by the agriculture sector.)
Arambulo said the worsening economic crisis, especially in the agricultural and fisheries sector, is a “manifestation of the Marcos’ administration’s incompetence and negligence.”
Full Story at: Marcos must step down as DA chief now – fishers group | Inquirer News
How a band of Ukraine civilians helped seal Russia’s biggest defeat | INQUIRER.NET – KHERSON, Ukraine — Ukrainian intelligence wanted confirmation last autumn that officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) overseeing the occupation of Kherson were staying in a small hotel on a back street of the southern port city.
The task was assigned to Dollar: the code name for a civilian who had been secretly providing targeting coordinates and information on enemy operations in Kherson and the surrounding region, the operative said.
Reuters held extensive interviews with Dollar and two other members of the underground partisan network in Kherson after the city was captured in early November.
Their separate accounts provide a rare window into how information and sabotage operations were coordinated with Ukrainian intelligence services behind enemy lines, operations that are still ongoing elsewhere in Ukraine.
While Reuters could not corroborate the specific events they described, two U.S. officials said that such operations by an underground of intelligence operatives, ex-soldiers and amateurs helped hasten Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson – one of the biggest setbacks for the Kremlin in a war that marks its first anniversary on Feb. 24.
Full Story at: How a band of Ukraine civilians helped seal Russia’s biggest defeat | Inquirer News
Walk the talk on tax payments, Marcos urged | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro yesterday urged President Marcos to “walk the talk” on payment of taxes.
Reacting to his call for the public to pay the correct taxes on time, Castro said Marcos is right in his call “but he should walk the talk.”
She noted that the Supreme Court has long issued a ruling that the Marcos family should pay their unpaid real estate taxes and by doing otherwise, the President has lost the “moral ascendancy to make the call.”
The unpaid estate taxes of the Marcoses reportedly amounted originally to P203 billion.
“In truth, it is difficult for ordinary people to pay taxes from goods, utilities, income and others, and they need relief from these taxes now,” Castro said.
Full Story at: Walk the talk on tax payments, Marcos urged | Philstar.com
Government appeals ICC ruling on drug probe | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to suspend the preliminary investigation into the alleged crimes against humanity committed in relation to the Davao death squad and the Duterte administration’s deadly campaign against illegal drugs.
The Philippines, through the office of Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, has filed a notice of appeal on the Jan. 26 decision of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I that authorized ICC prosecutor Karim Khan to proceed with the preliminary investigation.
The five-page notice of appeal, dated Feb. 3, was filed before the ICC Appeals Chamber. It was signed by Guevarra and five other assistant solicitors general.
Without providing specific arguments, the government said it “disagrees with, and hereby rejects” the conclusions made by the pre-trial chamber in its earlier ruling.
It sought the reversal of the decision and the denial of Khan’s request to resume its investigation.
The Philippines also asked the ICC Appeals Chamber to suspend implementation of the assailed decision pending resolution of the appeal.Full Story at: Government appeals ICC ruling on drug probe | Philstar.com
