News Roundup 11 October 2022
Oct 11, 2022 • 5 min Read
PNP chief admits lapses in handling detainees after Leila De Lima hostage | INQUIRER.NET – Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin admitted Tuesday that there may have been some lapses in the police’s handling of detainees after former Senator Leila de Lima was held hostage inside the Custodial Center in Camp Crame. Azurin made the pronouncement following questions on how the three alleged Abu Sayyaf members were able to obtain a sharp object that was used to stab a police officer and take de Lima hostage. “There must really be a lapse on the part of our PNP, guarding po y’ung mga detainees po natin (in guarding our detainees),” he said over ABS-CBN News Channel. Azurin added that the investigator is still determining how the suspects got hold of the deadly weapon. “Definitely nga po, ito po ay naipasok po, inaalam nga po natin kung paano naipasok ang metal objects po na mga ‘yan dahil talagang hindi naman po allowed ‘yan na ipasok. That’s part of the investigation,” he also said. (Definitely, the object was sneaked and we are determining how they managed to bring in those metal objects since it’s really not allowed. That’s part of the investigation.) The PNP chief said he had ordered tighter security to ensure that no detainees would have access to such objects. Early Sunday’s hostage-taking incident resulted in the death of the three alleged Abu Sayyaf members who were shot dead by responding police officers. De Lima survived without an injury. Police Cpl. Roger Agustin was bringing breakfast to the detainees at around 6 a.m. on Sunday when one of them stabbed him repeatedly with a fork. Agustin, who suffered multiple stab wounds, has been critically wounded. That inmate then opened the cell of two others as they tried to escape, not knowing there was a sniper above. Two of the inmates, Arnel Cabintoy and Idang Susukan, were shot when they refused to yield while the third prisoner, Feliciano Sulayao Jr., ran to De Lima’s cell and held her hostage. De Lima had been detained at the PNP Custodial Center since February 24, 2017, for drug-related charges which her she repeatedly denied and described as “trumped up.”
Slide in PH foreign investments continued in July, down 64% | INQUIRER.NET – The net inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI) into the Philippines decreased for the third straight month to $460 million in July, a 64-percent drop from $1.3 billion in the same month last year. Net inflows have been receding month after month since recording at $989 million in April. The July readout brought the seven-month or January to July figure to a net inflow of $5.1 billion, down 12 percent from $5.8 billion in the same period last year. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) show that the decrease of net inflows for the first seven months of this year was also a reversal from the 48.9-percent surge in the same period of 2021. “All major FDI components yielded lower net inflows in January-July 2022 as foreign investors remained cautious amid continued adverse global conditions,” the BSP said in a statement. The BSP data records capital that actually moved, instead of avowed commitments or planned investments, which may or may not be realized fully. From January to July, nonresidents’ net investments in debt instruments fell by 12.6 percent to $3.56 billion this year from $4.07 billion last year. Also, net equity placements other than reinvestment of earnings decreased by 13.7 percent to $876 million from $1.02 billion. Further, reinvestment of earnings settled at $670 million, easing by 5.7 percent from $710 million in the same period last year. In July alone, FDI net inflows decreased due largely to the lower nonresidents’ net investments in debt instruments of their local affiliates. This was recorded at $213 million, an 80.6-percent drop from $1.09 billion. “This decrease more than offset the growth in their (foreigners’) net investments in equity capital,” the BSP said. Most of the equity capital placements in July came from Singapore, Japan and the United States. These were invested mainly in the industries of construction, manufacturing and real estate.
For Filipinos, fake news is a problem they blame on social media influencers | PHILSTAR.COM – Nearly nine out of 10 Filipinos believe that fake news is a problem in the country which a small majority of them blame on social media influencers, bloggers and vloggers. A new survey by private pollster Pulse Asia released Tuesday revealed that 86% of Filipino adults say that false news or fake news is a problem, while only 14% say otherwise. According to the poll, 58% of Filipinos see social media influencers, bloggers and vloggers as peddlers of fake news about government and politics, followed by journalists at 40%, national politicians at 37% and local politicians at 30%. Filipinos said the top sources of fake news about the government and politics come from the internet or television which is statistically tied at 68% and 67%, respectively. Radio comes in far third with 32% viewing it as a source of misinformation. Filipinos are split as to whether they are sure that the political news they consume is real, with 44% saying they are certain that what they read is not fake, while another 44% say they are unsure. Still, 55% said they are confident of Filipinos’ ability to discern whether the political news they encounter is truthful and only 7% say otherwise. The survey was conducted from September 17 to 21, using face-to-face interviews. It was based on a sample of 1,200 representative adults 18 years old and above. Fake news has long been seen as a scourge in the largely online Philippines, so much so that lawmakers have tried to legislate penalties for spreading false information. The latest attempt to punish the spreading of fake news came from Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who filed Senate Bill No. 1296 which seeks to make the creation and dissemination of disinformation a content-related offense under the anti-cybercrime law. But for digital rights group Democracy.net.PH, the only constitutional means to fight fake news is the spreading of more facts. “The only constitutionally-acceptable means of fighting fake news and disinformation is the more aggressive dissemination of factual news and information,” Democracy.net. PH’s Tess Termulo told Philstar.com in an online exchange.
