News Roundup 09 March 2022
Mar 09, 2022 • 5 min Read
1Sambayan condemns red-tagging of Leni-Kiko campaign, supporters | PHILSTAR.COM – Opposition coalition 1Sambayan condemned Wednesday the baseless red-tagging of the campaign and supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan. In a statement, 1Sambayan said the red-tagging — accusing them of links to the communist armed struggle — of the Robredo-Pangilinan campaign and their supporters puts them “in the crosshairs of the Duterte administration’s indiscriminate and bloody counterinsurgency program.” “Red-tagging is a tool that is used by the Duterte administration to suppress free expression and undermine due process. It has been used extensively by the Duterte administration as a weapon to harass, intimidate, and silence its critics along with the political opposition,” it said. It noted how President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial anti-communist task force has branded many individuals and institutions as “communist terrorists” or “communist fronts,” often without basis or proof. The list has included activists, rights workers, journalists and members of religious orders. “They have been subjected to vilification in mass media and social media by government entities; many have been arrested and imprisoned on trumped-up charges, and some have been victims of extrajudicial killings,” 1Sambayan said. The coalition has activist and leftist groups as members but neither activism or being a leftist are crimes in the Philippines. Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla (Cavite) and presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson both hinted over the weekend that Robredo and Pangilinan have ties to communists after a massive rally in the vote-rich Cavite province. 1Sambayan said the accusations of Remulla — whose family has backed Robredo’s archrival, the son and namesake of the late dictator, former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos. Jr., for president — “are clearly intended to diminish the impact of the massive outpouring of support for the Robredo-Pangilinan campaign in his home province.” “He should apologize for disrespecting and slandering the tens of thousands of Caviteños who freely and voluntarily participated in Friday’s grand rally,” 1Sambayan said.
Supreme Court issues TRO vs Comelec’s ‘Oplan Baklas’ | INQUIRER.NET – The Supreme Court has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the Commission on Elections (Comelec), directing the poll body to desist from further removing campaign materials put up by private citizens in their properties, while the high court is hearing the case against the Comelec’s actions under its “Oplan Baklas” operation. The full court issued the TRO on Tuesday, a week after supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo, a presidential candidate, petitioned the court on March 1 to stop that operation. The petitioners were led by St. Anthony College of Roxas City and volunteer groups Isabela for Leni and Zamboangeños for Leni. On Feb. 16, a week into the official campaign period for national candidates, the Comelec began a virtual crackdown on what it deemed to be prohibited campaign posters due to their sizes. But this policy drew flak for targeting not only election materials in private properties but also, as it has been observed, posters, billboards, and other visual representations of Robredo and her running mate, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.
Drilon: Next administration faces a ‘perfect economic storm’ | Manila Bulletin – Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Wednesday said the next administration is bound to face a “perfect economic storm” with the ongoing record-high budget deficit and high prices of fuel products caused by the crisis between Russia and Ukraine as well as a ballooning debt. “This is a perfect economic storm that we could face in the second half of this year. The next President must have the credibility, political will and competence to address the economic situations that we are confronted with. It is a very difficult situation,” Drilon said in an interview with CNN Philippines. “Talagang mahirap ang kakaharapin natin (We will really face hardships) in the next six months insofar as the economy is concerned,” the veteran lawmaker said. On top of a P12-trillion debt, the government has a budget deficit of P1.67-trillion in 2021. Aside from this, the next administration will have to deal with increases in petroleum price that will result in the increase in the prices of basic commodities. The country’s outstanding debt, he noted, has already breached the ideal 60-percent debt-to-GDP ratio; the budget deficit in 2021 has reached 8.6 percent of the country’s GDP as tax collections suffered due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Whoever will take over the reins of leadership come June 30 should brace for the heavy impact of the oil crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, high budget deficit, and ballooning debt,” Drilon said. The Senate minority chief said he believe these situations are the reasons why state economic managers are rejecting proposals to suspend the excise taxes on fuel products. He also noticed that the suspension is not among the solutions presented by the economic managers. He said state economic managers should “take the bull by the horns” even if it means a further setback on tax collections, warning of more adverse effects if the war between Russia and Ukraine will deteriorate. “This is unusual. Nobody predicted this crisis. But we must face and confront this. There will be more adverse effects that will need solutions if the war escalates,” Drilon said. “We should seriously consider suspension of the excise taxes on fuel products. The law clearly recognizes that if the price of oil per barrel exceeds 80USD, the government has the power to intervene to cushion its impact on the economy and the consumers,” he stressed.
