News Roundup 26 September 2022
Sep 26, 2022 • 5 min Read
Integrated Bar, PJA: Don’t tolerate personal attacks and threats vs judges | PHILSTAR.COM – The national organization of lawyers and the Supreme-Court recognized association of judges have condemned the outright red-tagging of and veiled threats against a Manila judge who junked the Philippine government’s petition to judicially declare communist rebels as terrorists by former Palace official Lorraine Badoy-Partosa. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the national organization of lawyers, called the statements of “abuse, harassment and outright red-tagging” of Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar as “capricious and dishonest” and said these “foment vitriol and hate against our judges.” “Stating rational observations on the decisions of the judiciary is normal. Attacking its members and threatening them with bodily harm is not,” the IBP said. The Philippine Judges Association meanwhile said that an unfounded assault on a judge is an “assault on democracy.” “We remind everyone that individuals, including judges, have protected constitutional rights, and personal attacks and threats against them and the judiciary should never be tolerated,” it added. Although the groups did not mention names, the statement was issued after recent posts by Badoy-Partosa — a former spokesperson of the government’s anti-communist task force — accusing Magdoza-Malagar of being a “friend and defender” of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army. Badoy-Partosa also posted a hypothetical scenario where she said: “If I kill this judge and I do so out of my political belief that all allies of the CPP NPA NDF must be killed because there is no difference in my mind between a member of the CPP NPA NDF and their friends, then please be lenient with me.” Despite screenshots of the posts, Badoy denies having made the now-deleted online rants. The IBP stressed that threatening members of the judiciary is sowing fear “at a ‘critical element’ of the legal system.” “Broadcasts and posts showcasing those who verbally assault judges encourages the public to do the same. If judges can be treated disdainfully without consequence, the Rule of Law becomes a hollow promise,” they added. The PJA also went on to call on the government to “declare that in no time under its watch, will democracy be imperiled by an irresponsible and unfounded assault on a trial judge.” Judges group Hukom and the Movement Against Disinformation also called out Badoy-Partosa over the weekend.
Philippines, world leaders urged to ramp up climate action after ‘Karding’ onslaught | PHILSTAR.COM – The onslaught of Super Typhoon Karding (Noru) is a reminder that the Philippine government and the world leaders need to act fast to fight climate change and mitigate its impacts, groups said Monday. Karding, the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the country this year, ravaged the agricultural region of Central Luzon as it toppled trees and power lines and flooded low-lying communities. The Philippines, one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change, is affected by an average of 20 cyclones a year. Scientists warn that storms are becoming more intense as the planet continues to heat up because of human-induced climate change. “Super Typhoon Karding is another grim reminder that the climate crisis is here and now, and that national and world leaders need to step up in terms of proactive action to mitigate and prepare for its impacts,” said Jon Bonifacio, national coordinator of Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment. He also stressed the need to rehabilitate and conserve natural barriers such as the Sierra Madre mountain range. Sierra Madre, the longest mountain range in the Philippines and the site of nearly half of the country’s surviving old-growth forest, historically serves as a buffer against storms that develop in the Pacific Ocean. Sierra Madre remains under heavy threat of illegal logging, mining activities, and development projects. “In this light, destructive projects such as the Kaliwa-Kanan Dam and attacks on conservation areas like Masungi Georeserve are direct threats to the lives of millions of Filipinos, and the Marcos administration, if it is sincere in its promise of climate action, should put a stop to this,” Bonifacio said. Aksyon Klima Pilipinas, a civil society network for climate action, called on the national and local governments to declare a climate emergency, and mobilize more resources and support to scale up adaptation and mitigation programs nationwide. The climate emergency declaration, according to the group, should reduce the country’s reliance on planet-warming fossil fuels, uphold climate justice, and ramp up actions to avoid and minimize loss and damage. Loss and damage refers to the costs that nations are already facing because of a warming world. According to the Department of Finance, climate-related hazards have caused P506.1 billion in losses and damage to the country from 2010 to 2020.
Karding batters 600,000 people living below poverty line | INQUIRER.NET – Typhoon Karding (international name: Noru) pummeled Luzon on Sunday (Sept. 25), where a little over 600,000 people, based on estimates made by a United Nations (UN) agency), live below the poverty line. Hours after Karding morphed into a super typhoon, it made landfall in Burdeos, Quezon province at 5:30 PM. Around 9 PM, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Karding weakened into a typhoon as it made its second landfall in the vicinity of Dingalan, Aurora. According to UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA), which monitored the impact of Karding on poor communities in the Philippines, at least 689,000 people living below the poverty line were expected to be further hammered by the strong typhoon. In its Joint Analysis of Disaster Exposure (JADE) report, UN-OCHA detailed that out of the total vulnerable population on Karding’s path, 223,236 were children below age 15, 432,692 were adults aged 15-65 years old, and 33,072 were elderly or those above the age of 65. The vulnerable population, according to UN-OCHA, was estimated based on pre-existing socio-economic conditions. The UN agency also reported that 6.8 million people were living in areas worst-hit by Karding, while 12.7 million reside in areas on the typhoon’s path. Areas hit included those that experienced moderate wind damage or worse. Worst-hit areas were those that saw widespread damage or worse. The UN-OCHA report underscored the number of people living in areas worst-hit and hit by Karding—including those living in utter poverty before the typhoon struck—and cities expected to experience widespread and catastrophic damage.
