News Roundup 16 July 2022
Jul 16, 2022 • 5 min Read
US security aid law sets conditions to protect human rights in PH | INQUIRER.NET – The US House of Representatives has approved amendments to a law authorizing American aid to the Philippine National Police that would block the security assistance unless certain measures were taken to investigate human rights abuses by the police and punish those responsible. In a July 14 post on Twitter, Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania said five of her amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2023 were approved, including one that would “expose human rights violations” committed by the Philippine military, police and paramilitary forces, and another that would “condition assistance to the Philippine National Police on respect for fundamental human rights.” Under the amendments, there should be no funds authorized “to be appropriated or otherwise made available” as aid to the PNP until Secretary of State Antony Blinken certifies to the US Congress that the Philippine government has made significant improvements in addressing human rights issues against its national police force. In her remarks on the US House floor on Thursday (Manila time), Wild cited figures from human rights groups of around 30,000 extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, a reference mostly to the casualties of the brutal war on drugs by President Marcos’ predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. The Duterte administration acknowledges that only a little more 6,000 were killed in the antinarcotics drive during his six-year term. The Democratic lawmaker also bewailed the different forms of harassment such as Red-tagging and arrests of labor organizers and opposition figures. She said a US citizen and activist, Brandon Lee, was shot outside his home in Ifugao province in 2019 after he was branded as an “enemy of the state.” Lee was paralyzed from the chest down, according to Wild. “Brandon deserves to know that his government stands with him not with his attackers,” she said. “Our constituents’ tax dollars should not be used to supply weapons, training, or any other assistance to state security forces that violently target political opponents,” Wild said. “If we in the United States are going to say that we stand for human rights around the world, then we need to stand for human rights around the world, not just when it’s politically convenient and not just when it’s easy,” she said.
Solon expects economic recovery roadmap, peace spelled out in Bongbong Marcos’ 1st Sona | INQUIRER.NET – Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman said he expects to hear during the first State of the Nation (Sona) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. a more elaborate articulation of a roadmap to economic recovery, dealing with the pandemic, and sustaining the gains of peace, especially in Mindanao. Marcos will deliver his Sona before a joint session of Congress on July 25. Hataman noted that these three issues are the same ones that Marcos had committed to giving priority attention to during the political campaign. “These were the issues he verbalized several times in his political sorties, and definitely, the Filipino people are expecting these commitments to be his priority policy statements during his first Sona,” Hataman said. While still a candidate, Marcos said his administration will aspire for a P20-per-kilo price of rice although a strategy on how to achieve this is not yet disclosed. But among his commitments, Hataman said what is pressing is the peace process. Hataman noted that what has come out clearly, so far, is the pronouncement of national security adviser Clarita Carlos that ending the communist insurgency will be a key agenda of the Marcos presidency. But Hataman said there is none spelled out with respect to the Bangsamoro peace process such as the fate of the current set of Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) members. Congress has extended the BTA’s institutional life up to mid-2025, but its membership may be revamped by the president. Should Marcos decide to appoint new BTA members, Hataman urged him to compose a screening panel so that those recommended for appointment are chosen based on merit, and not based on political accommodation.
Farmers’ group to BSP: Stop issuing polymer bills | PHILSTAR.COM – Fearing the loss of market and income, a farmers’ group urged the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to stop issuing new polymer P1,000 bills and continue using abaca fiber to produce the banknote. In a statement yesterday, Federation of Free Farmers president Dioscoro Granada said the BSP decision to discontinue the use of abaca in making P1,000 bills has reduced the market for the product and incomes of 200,000 abaca farming families in 56 provinces. Granada added that BSP disregarded the concerns of the Department of Agriculture and abaca industry stakeholders by using polymer in producing the notes. He claimed that the Philippines earns about $100 million yearly from the manufacture and export of abaca-based products. Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III earlier cited agriculture department data that showed the country supplies 87.5 percent of the world’s abaca fiber requirements, while Ecuador and Costa Rica supplied the remaining 12.5 percent as of 2016. He had warned that the shift would hurt local producers. On Thursday night, he told “The Chiefs” on One News channel that the BSP should work on containing inflation instead of spending government funds to print polymer banknotes that are not only impractical but also a waste of taxpayers’ money. “The redesign of our currency is not a gut issue, so my appeal to them (BSP) is to address the problem of rising inflation… (The BSP is) spending too much time on the materials and the design of our bank notes – use your time and expertise to fight inflation. What are the measures have you thought of to fight inflation?” Pimentel said. Amid mounting complaints over the new bill, he claimed that polymer banknotes are impractical since they are more sensitive and less flexible than the current bill, as most Filipinos store their bills in their pockets, purses, money clips or even small wallets. Most peso notes are based mainly on durable special paper made from abaca fiber tissue and cotton.
