News Roundup 19 April 2022
Apr 19, 2022 • 4 min Read
De Guzman calls on other presidential bets to support and defend IP rights | PHILSTAR.COM – Labor leader Leody de Guzman, Partido Lakas ng Masa presidential bet, on Tuesday called on other presidential candidates to stand with indigenous peoples and help them assert their rights. De Guzman and other PLM candidates were in Quezon, Bukidnon to check on alleged land grabbing and the ancestral domain of the Manobo-Pulangiyon community when they were shot at by unknown assailants. “Tulungan natin, ilagay natin sa konkretong mga aksyon ang ating mga pagkilala at pagrespeto sa karapatan ng ating mga katutubo,” De Guzman said in a briefing. (Let’s help and let’s put into concrete actions how we recognize and respect the rights of our indigenous peoples.) “Simula siguro ay manawagan kayo na dapat ay panagutin ‘yung mga kapulisan na namaril kanina at the same time kundinahin ‘yung karahasan na ‘yun,” De Guzman said. (Maybe you can begin by holding accountable the cops who fired shots earlier and at the same time condemn the violent incident.) He also said other candidates can call on other government agencies to properly implement the law and to give the IPs the ancestral land that should have been theirs in the first place.
Ex-Aksyon Demokratiko members ‘disappointed’ in Isko Moreno after press conference | PHILSTAR.COM – Former members of the political party of presidential bet Isko Moreno castigated the presidential bet on Tuesday morning for holding a press conference to call on fellow candidate Vice President Leni Robredo to withdraw. In a statement sent to reporters, the former officials of Moreno’s party said that the Aksyon Demokratiko standard-bearer “has already fallen far from what he thought he was” while his remarks were “uncalled for and even detrimental to their goal of uniting our people towards a clean and fair election.” “It was clear that Moreno saw the press conference as an opportunity to retaliate against initial calls by Robredo’s supporters for him to withdraw… but the good mayor [should] be reminded that Robredo herself never made that appeal,” the statement reads. “Moreno’s actions have gravely damaged the integrity of Aksyon Demokratiko as a political party [and] reinforce our position that among the different camps, Leni Robredo is the only candidate with the integrity, composure, and expertise to effectively handle the most difficult job in government.” This comes after Moreno and other male presidential candidates lagging behind in the surveys held a joint press conference to urge Leni Robredo, the only female candidate standing at second place, to withdraw. In a particularly impassioned rant, it was Moreno who first urged the vice president — whom the former Aksyon members said has “the best chance of defeating the Marcoses and their elite cohorts” — to “make the ultimate sacrifice” and withdraw from the presidential race. Other candidates present at the press conference have since distanced from this call, saying the initial point of the joint conference was to express their unity in finishing the race. “Moreno is actually turning a blind eye not only to the current realities in our electoral arena but also the strategic importance of Robredo’s presidential bid in our efforts to prevent the country’s most notorious elites from returning to power,” the statement issued Tuesday also reads. “With his recent remarks, Moreno has made himself an accessory to the return of the kind of politics that he has been claiming to fight against. It seems that Moreno is unaware of his real enemy in this race.”
IP tribes raise Robredo, Pangilinan’s hands | INQUIRER.NET – Aetas from Central Luzon on Tuesday raised the hands of Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan in full endorsement of their respective bids for the country’s top two posts, in a symbolic gesture that’s now becoming a fixture in their campaigns. In endorsing them, the Aetas of Botolan, Zambales province vouched for the tandem’s track record in upholding indigenous peoples’ rights and expressed hope that they would defend and promote their rights. Fe Domulot, the tribe’s chieftain, also vouched for the “depth and breadth of their experience in public service, in defending the vulnerable and paying back debts of gratitude (to the people who put them in power).” She also expressed her sincere trust that the two “would never sell them out because they have their own principles.” “Our history as indigenous peoples have always been marred by violence and oppression, lack of education, and human rights violations,” Domulot lamented. “We feel in our hearts that they are the only candidates who truly understand our rights (and) feelings.” This is not the first time that indigenous groups have committed to supporting the tandem, especially Robredo, erstwhile a pro bono lawyer for the indigenous, peasant folk, and rural poor before becoming a politician. Earlier, the 1Sambubungan coalition of 18 tribes also signed a covenant supporting the Robredo-Pangilinan ticket in hopes that they would uphold the indigenous agenda. After raising their hands, the tribe gifted Robredo mangoes – Zambales’ main crop – and a wood nameplate carving bearing her name. “To our brothers and sisters here, let our decisions be firm. Let us fight and stand for them,” Domulot said.
