News Roundup 12 January 2023
Jan 12, 2023 • 3 min Read
‘Nothing’s changed’: Watchdog says ‘drug war’ killings continue under Marcos | PHILSTAR.COM –MANILA, Philippines — The killings of alleged drug dealers and users continued even after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. promised a more compassionate approach in the fight against illegal narcotics, watchdog Human Rights Watch said in its latest report.
Marcos has said he would continue the ‘war against drugs initiated by his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, but his administration would shift the focus to rehabilitating drug users.
HRW, however, said there was no letup in ‘drug war’ killings and the needed reforms have not been made to existing drug rehabilitation programs.
“The actual order which initiated the ‘war on drugs’ is still in operation in the Philippines. The reality is nothing has changed,” Phil Robertson, HRW deputy Asia director, said in a briefing in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Full Story at: ‘Nothing’s changed’: Watchdog says ‘drug war’ killings continue under Marcos | Philstar.com
HRW: State forces ‘actively use social media’ for red-tagging | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The military, police and other national security forces “actively used social media” to red-tag or baselessly accuse individuals of being members of the armed communist insurgency, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday.
Membership in an activist group is not the same as membership in or even support for the Communist Party of the Philippines or the New People’s Army but activism has often been conflated in the Philippines with terrorism and of being an enemy of the state.
The New York-based watchdog said red-tagging puts those accused “at heightened risk of attack by the security forces or unidentified gunmen” and in some cases has actually resulted in their killing by unknown gunmen. Police and military officials have repeatedly claimed that their labeling is actually “truth tagging”.
Full Story at: HRW: State forces ‘actively use social media’ for red-tagging | Philstar.com
Next food concern: DA sets price watch on eggs | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Another important food commodity is adding to price woes that the Marcos administration must now grapple with: eggs, which are a key source of protein for many Filipinos.
Based on the price monitoring report of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the selling price for a single, medium-sized egg in markets in Metro Manila ranges from as low as P6.90 to as high as P8.70 as of Wednesday, higher than the price range of P5 to P6.50 apiece recorded during the same period last year.
To address the situation, the DA has reconvened the Price and Volume Watch Committee and Advisory Groups for Livestock and Poultry to closely monitor the prices of eggs across the country.
Gregorio San Diego, chair of the United Broilers Raisers Association (Ubra), said egg farmers had been grappling with high costs of production.
The cost of feed inputs alone, he said, accounts for almost P5 of each egg’s selling price.
Full Story at: Next food concern: DA sets price watch on eggs | Inquirer News
Resignation call divides PNP | INQUIRER.NET –MANILA, Philippines — Some top Philippine National Police officials are having second thoughts about heeding Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos’ appeal to voluntarily step down to pave the way for the government’s campaign to rid the organization of policemen with links to illegal drugs.
In a phone interview with reporters on Wednesday, PNP spokesperson Police Col. Jean Fajardo said that out of the 956 police generals and colonels who were expected to submit courtesy resignations, around 70 percent or more than 600 had already complied as of Tuesday evening. According to Fajardo, they were hoping that the rest would follow suit by the end of the month.
“We cannot deny that there are some senior officers who have reservations [about] submitting their courtesy resignation,” she said, adding that some had questioned the need for it when those with possible links to the illegal drug trade had already been identified.
Full Story at: Resignation call divides PNP | Inquirer News
