News Roundup 21 April 2023
Apr 21, 2023 • 4 min Read
Galvez: New Edca sites can be OFW ‘evacuation points’ if regional tensions rise | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Defense Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. on Friday said that additional sites under the Enhance Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) can serve as “evacuation points” for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) if regional tensions will require their repatriation.
“As part of our efforts to prepare to respond to contingencies, the four additional Edca sites are expected to serve as points for the evacuation of overseas Filipino workers in the event of a flare-up in the region’s flashpoints,” the officer-in-charge of the Department of National Defense (DND) said.
Galvez also said the Defense attachés have been working and coordinating with their host countries “on possible repatriation operations, which can be undertaken with our US allies, should the need arise.”
His remarks came a week after Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian “advised” the Philippines to just “unequivocally oppose” Taiwan’s independence “rather than stoking the fire” by offering the US access to Philippine military bases near the Taiwan Strait “if you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs.”
Full Story at: Galvez: New Edca sites can be OFW ‘evacuation points’ if regional tensions rise | Inquirer News
DND chief says 21 of 29 mayors in Cagayan back Edca | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — In Cagayan province, 21 of its 29 mayors support establishing two Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) sites, the Department of National Defense (DND) said, contradicting Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba, who asserted that the United States should not use the Philippines as it is only after its interest in Taiwan.
According to DND officer-in-charge Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr., one municipality in the province even mentioned donating a tract of land for the use of the Philippine military under Edca, a pact signed in 2014 that intends to bolster the alliance of Manila and Washington.
Edca allows US troops access to Philippine bases and to build and operate facilities in Philippine camps for both American and Filipino soldiers.
“As of now, 21 mayors have expressed their support, and we expect this number to increase, with one municipality even intimating the possibility of donating a tract of land for the use of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP),” Galvez said in a statement Friday.
Full Story at: DND chief says 21 of 29 mayors in Cagayan back Edca | Inquirer News
De Lima says she’ll gain freedom based on merits of her case, not for humanitarian reasons | PHILSTTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Former senator Leila De Lima on Friday asserted that she would gain her freedom on the merits of her cases alone, waving off remarks by Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla that the Department of Justice would only grant her bail due to humanitarian reasons.
In a dispatch from Camp Crame, De Lima said: “I will gain my freedom on the merits, because the DOJ has no case against me from the very beginning.”
De Lima’s statement comes after Remulla said on Thursday he is amenable to granting her bail “but not if her camp will base it on the merits of the drug cases filed against her.”
De Lima added that while she thanks Remulla for his concern, she cannot thank him “as the head of the agency primarily responsible for the fabrication of charges against me during the time of Duterte, and maintained, to date.”
State prosecutors filed an urgent omnibus motion for reconsideration to reopen De Lima’s trial at the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court Branch 204 on Monday.
This comes after De Lima’s lawyer said on Monday that the Muntinlupa court has wrapped up its hearings on the second drug charges against De Lima and will promulgate its ruling on May 12.
De Lima has already been acquitted in one case. The former senator now has two pending charges, with one now up for decision and another before Muntinlupa RTC Branch 256 with a pending petition for bail.
Full Story at: De Lima says she’ll gain freedom based on merits of her case, not for humanitarian reasons | Philstar.com
VP Duterte’s ‘red-tagging’ of teacher group reported to ILO | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Alliance of Concerned Teachers has lodged a complaint before the International Labor Organization reporting the fresh wave of red-tagging remarks that it has received from Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte.
ACT Secretary-General Raymond Basilio said on Thursday that they included in their letter to the ILO statements made by the Department of Education (DepEd) in March, alleging they had ties to communist insurgency groups – remarks they say have violated their right to free association.
“Red-tagging our legal and legitimate unions is a violation of the freedom of association and poses grave dangers to the life of our organization and leaders,” Basilio said.
Received by ILO regional director Chihoko Asada Miyakawa, ACT’s complaint also included DepEd’s joint press conference with the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) on April 4, which was “solely dedicated to incriminate ACT and its leaders to armed revolution,” Basilio said.
Duterte’s statements are also proof that the government is not adhering to the recommendations forwarded by the ILO’s high-level tripartite mission to the Philippine government to address violations against freedom of association, Basilio said.
Full Story at: VP Duterte’s ‘red-tagging’ of teacher group reported to ILO | Philstar.com
