News Roundup 20 June 2024
Jun 20, 2024 • 5 min Read
VP Sara as new opposition leader? LP’s De Lima doesn’t think so | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte as the new opposition leader? Not so fast, said former senator and Liberal Party (LP) spokesperson Leila de Lima on Thursday.
Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque heralded Duterte as the new opposition leader after she resigned as education secretary on Wednesday.
De Lima, speaking for the LP, objected to Roque’s statements.
“Ang tunay na oposisyon, may pundasyon ng accountability, transparency, at pagmamalasakit sa mamamayan–mga bagay na hindi makikita sa track record ni Vice President Sara,” De Lima said in an X post.
(The real opposition has a foundation of accountability, transparency, and concern for the citizens, which cannot be seen in Vice President Sara’s track record.)
With Duterte’s resignation, no accountability or change of morals took place, according to De Lima.
De Lima said that Duterte’s resignation only confirmed what people knew: that the Uniteam was a mere facade to win in the 2022 elections.
“Taumbayan ang inuuna ng oposisyon. Hindi ang pagpapalawak at pagpapanatili sa kapangyarihan. Hindi ang pagtatanggol sa wanted na religious leader o pagpatay sa libu-libong Pilipino. Lalo namang hindi ang pagbubulag-bulagan sa pang-aapi sa ating mga mangingisda at pang-aagaw sa ating teritoryo ng mga dayuhan,” said De Lima.
(The opposition puts the people first, not increasing and maintaining power. Not defending wanted religious leaders or slaying thousands of Filipinos. Especially not playing blind to the bullying of fisherfolk and foreigners stealing our territories.)
De Lima did not name names, but the only religious leader that Duterte has consistently defended is the fugitive televangelist Apollo Quiboloy.
Full Story at: VP Sara as new opposition leader? De Lima doesn’t think so (inquirer.net)
West Philippine Sea: Navy says PH won’t fire first bullet against CCG | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Despite acting like a “band of barbarians” in the West Philippine Sea, the country’s navy said it will not fire the first bullet against China Coast Guard (CCG).
Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, made the pronouncement on Thursday after the June 17 confrontation with the CCG, during which Chinese personnel boarded Filipino boats, looted firearms, and caused serious injuries to one of the sailors.
“We have told our troops, use of force for mission accomplishment is not authorized unless in self defense,” Trinidad told reporters in a phone interview when asked if the incident in Ayungin Shoal is meant for the navy to fire the first shot.
Pressed about what would happen if the country fired the first shot against the CCG, Trinidad said: “I don’t want to speculate, but it is precisely why [we] tell our troops, ‘let us not get there’; we are putting a lot of effort into that.”
Full Story at: West Philippine Sea: Navy says PH won’t fire first bullet against CCG | INQUIRER.net
Why teachers want the next DepEd secretary to stay above politics | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Teachers have rallied behind the call for the next Department of Education secretary to be capable of rising above the political fray to make education reforms work — which one political science professor said has been difficult under the “divisive” term of outgoing education secretary Sara Duterte.
After nearly two years of wrestling with years-long problems in the basic education sector with the resources of the government’s biggest bureaucracy, Duterte on Wednesday announced that she is stepping down as DepEd secretary, a job given to her by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2022 despite her reported request for the defense portfolio.
Duterte refused to provide clear reasons for her exit from Marcos’ Cabinet, but she said in a press conference that her resignation was not “out of weakness” but “compassion for teachers and students.”
The vice president has openly and repeatedly admitted to not having an educational background, which required her to tap her DepEd undersecretaries and education experts to review the newly launched Matatag curriculum in 2023.
Next DepEd chief should have ‘heart of a teacher’
Teachers group Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) said in a statement on Thursday that DepEd must be led by a non-politician or an individual not actively involved in partisan politics so the department can be “spared from political bickering” and “divisive political fighting.”
Full Story at: Why teachers want the next DepEd secretary to stay above politics | Philstar.com
Robredo eyes run for Naga City mayor — Lagman | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Former Vice President Leni Robredo may be eyeing to run for the mayoral post of Naga City in the 2025 elections, according to Liberal Party President Edcel Lagman.
The Albay 1st District representative said in an interview with reporters on Thursday that Robredo will support the senatorial slate that will be fielded by the LP and those aligned with the party.
“Ang last namin na pag-uusap, siya ay tatakbong mayor ng Naga City upang ipagpatuloy ang programa ng kanyang late husband (The last time we talked, she was planning to run for mayor of Naga City to continue the programs of her late husband),” Lagman said, referring to the late DILG Secretary Jessie Robredo.
Lagman also said it is up to Robredo whether to accept the education portfolio if it is offered to her by the president — which he believes is unlikely. “Yan ang call ni Leni. Wala kaming control dyan. (That’s Leni’s call. We don’t have control over that),” he said,.
The lawmaker’s answer was in response to questions related to social media users’ call for President Marcos Jr. to appoint his former election rival to lead the Department of Education following Vice President Sara Duterte’s resignation from the position.
Full Story at: Robredo eyes run for Naga City mayor — Lagman | Philstar.com
