News Roundup 15 August 2022
Aug 15, 2022 • 5 min Read
PH poverty incidence rises to 18.1% in 2021; 19.99 million Filipinos considered poor | INQUIRER.NET – Poverty incidence in the Philippines rose to 18.1 percent in 2021, equivalent to 19.99 million poor Filipinos, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Monday. In its report 2021 Full Year Official Poverty Statistics of the Philippines, national statistician Dennis Mapa said the poverty incidence among the population in 2021 rose to 18.1 percent compared to the 16.7 percent recorded in 2018. Mapa noted that the 18.1 percent poverty incidence in 2021 equates to 19.99 million poor Filipinos, higher than the 17.67 poor Filipinos in 2018. The poverty incidence among the population is defined as the proportion of the Filipinos whose per capita income cannot sufficiently meet their individual basic food and non-food needs, according to the PSA. “This translates to around 19.99 million Filipinos who lived below the poverty threshold of about P12,030 per month for a family of five,” the PSA said in a statement. Mapa said the National Capital Region recorded the lowest poverty incidence among the population at 3.5 percent, while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao recorded the highest at 37.2 percent. In general, ten regions recorded higher poverty incidence among the population in 2021 when compared to data recorded in 2018, said Mapa. Meanwhile, the poverty incidence among families also increased from 12.1 percent in 2018 to 13.2 percent in 2021, said Mapa. Mapa said the 2021 data is equivalent to 3.5 million poor families, higher than the 3 million poor families in 2018. Further, Mapa reported that food poor families in the country reached 1.04 million in 2021, which is also higher than the 840,000 recorded in 2018. In terms of population, Mapa said 6.55 million Filipinos are deemed food-poor. This is likewise higher than the 5.54 million food-poor Filipinos recorded in 2018. Moreover, the subsistence incidence, which is defined as the proportion of Filipinos whose income is not enough to meet even just the basic food needs, slightly increased to 5.9 percent in 2021. In 2018, the subsistence incidence was at 5.2 percent, according to Mapa.
‘Thought control’: Books in Filipino fall victims to terror law’s folly | INQUIRER.NET – When the Anti-Terrosim Act (ATA) was still a bill, the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) said there’s a danger with how the government can construe legitimate dissent within the “overbroad” definition of terrorism. The NUPL had said: “The bill contains imprecise and poorly worded provisions on the definition of ‘terrorist act’ as it seeks to criminalize threats to commit, planning to commit, conspiring and prosing […] the vague concept of ‘terrorist acts.’” “The danger therein lies with how the government can construe legitimate acts of dissent or opposition within these definitions—it gives the government almost free rein in determining who are suspected terrorists,” it said. But despite the strong opposition, the bill, which was considered a setback for human rights, was still signed in July 2020 by then President Rodrigo Duterte, with Malacañang saying that the law reflects a serious commitment to fight terrorism, a global problem. While petitions were filed to challenge its constitutionality, the Supreme Court (SC) decided to uphold most of the law, saying that the motions for reconsideration were denied with finality last April. The SC decision meant that Filipinos will have to live with the controversial law, which was criticized by human rights groups for its provisions that could be used to silence legitimate dissent. The government had said that the law passed through intense deliberations to make certain that it will not infringe on people’s rights, but rather defend their rights to life, liberty and property as well as the freedom from fear. But last Aug. 9, a memorandum was issued by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) to call on its personnel to stop the publication and distribution of five books that it deemed “subversive” for promoting “anti-government ideologies.” The memorandum, which was signed by commissioners Carmelita Abdurahman and Benjamin Mendillo, cited Section 9 of the ATA—“inciting to commit terrorism”—as basis to cease the publication and distribution of the books. NUPL president Edre Olalia told INQUIRER.net that the KWF’s move cemented the concerns expressed against the ATA—that the law is “overbroad” and could be used to silence dissent. He said “we had well-grounded and reasonable fear[s] then and we have growing examples all around us now that this is going to be so.”
Alan Peter Cayetano joins call for Senate hearings on DepEd laptop deal | PHILSTAR.COM – Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday urged the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to probe into laptops for public school teachers that the Commission on Audit has flagged for being too expensive, saying the panel would be the best place to find the truth about the deal. State auditors have flagged the P2.4-billion deal for laptops that the Department of Education bought through the Department of Budget and Management Procurement Service. Auditors said the laptops were too expensive and were outdated. Speaking at a press briefing with reporters at the Senate on Monday, Cayetano said he had filed a resolution for hearings and that he was expecting the DepEd to be receptive to the calls for a probe. He also expressed “full faith” that former President Rodrigo Duterte had nothing to do with the possible anomalies. “Is this the modus of the secretaries? I think we should look at how an award-winning agency can be so problematic simply by changing the head… At least in one or two hearings they can establish if there were anomalies. There are more questions than answers every time the DBM is mentioned,” he said. Sen. Francis Tolentino, chair of the Blue Ribbon Committee, said in June when he was being considered to head the high-profile panel, that senators should have time to determine if full-blown hearings are needed. “We should be wary of the resources of the government. We should be wary of the time of the persons being invited, as well as the resources of the Senate as well as the public interest,” he said then. Cayetano on Monda warned that “if we don’t hold a hearing, then others will be emboldened because it’s so simple to get away with it.” He added DepEd and DBM officials will have the chance to provide an explanation for the flagged procurement. The Commission on Audit, in its annual audit report, said that the DepEd central office’s purchase of 39,583 laptops for public school teachers were “pricey” for entry-level laptops with older Intel Celeron processors.
