News Roundup 27 February 2024
Feb 27, 2024 • 4 min Read
VP Duterte explains withdrawal of Edsa anniversary message | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday said her EDSA anniversary message was deleted to maintain consistency with the absence of such statements from her office since she was elected in 2022.
“I did not intend to issue a statement this year as I did not the previous year,” Duterte said in a statement.
“Because of this, I removed the Edsa anniversary post from my social media page. I hope this will put the matter to rest,” she added.
According to Duterte, however, her message on the Edsa anniversary remains the same as her position in 2017.
Duterte did not exactly specify what she was referring to in 2017.
Still, it can be recalled that she defended her father, then-President Rodrigo Duterte, who was accused by critics of “defacing” the memory of the Edsa People Power revolution, which forced then-president Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. out of power.
The Vice President recalled then how her father took their entire family to where the people celebrated the end of Marcos regime in 1986 and claimed that her father “perfectly understood the spirit of Edsa.”
Full Story at: VP Duterte explains withdrawal of Edsa anniversary message (inquirer.net)
SC cites PAO chief for indirect contempt over remarks on CPRA | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has imposed a P180,000 fine on Public Attorneys Office (PAO) Chief Persida Rueda-Acosta for her social media statements against the “Conflict of Interest” provision of the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA).
The SC cited the PAO chief for indirect contempt of court for her actions in expressing her opposition over the conflict of interest provision of the CPRA.
Aside from Acosta, also found guilty of indirect contempt was Atty. Erwin P. Erfe who also wrote a Facebook post accusing the SC of judicial tyranny over the conflict of interest provision.
The CPRA, launched last April, replaced the 34-year-old Code of Professional Responsibility that governs lawyers.
Section 22 of the CPRA provides that conflict of interest is only limited to any of the PAO lawyers and the lawyer’s direct supervisor, making it possible that PAO lawyers would represent opposing parties.
PAO is against the said provision and pushed for its removal from the new lawyers’ code. However, the SC denied the request and reminded PAO of its mandate to provide free legal services to marginalized parties.
Full Story at: SC cites PAO chief for indirect contempt over remarks on CPRA (inquirer.net)
House sticks to target approval for Cha-cha before Holy Week | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives will stick to its timeline expediting the Charter change process even as President Marcos Jr. reportedly wants the plebiscite to be held during the 2025 elections.
Lawmakers said on Tuesday that the lower chamber is eyeing the final approval of Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) 7, which proposes economic amendments to 1987 Constitution, before at least the Holy Week break in March.
This is a timeframe much shorter than the plan of the Senate to approve its own Charter change proposal (RBH 6) before it adjourns for its sine die break in May — a timeline that Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri was based on Marcos’s instructions to synchronize the Charter change plebiscite with the 2025 elections.
The House is set to wrap up committee deliberations on RBH 7 by March 6, after which they may hold the second reading of the measure from March 11 to 13, Rep. Neptali Gonzales (Mandaluyong) said during the second meeting of the Committee of the Whole.
“Then hopefully … in compliance with our rules … after three days from distribution of copy.. it can be scheduled for third reading,” Gonzales said.
Full Story at: House sticks to target approval for Cha-cha before Holy Week | Philstar.com
Senate OKs bill defining Philippines maritime zones | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Senate has passed on final reading a bill that defines the maritime zones under Philippine jurisdiction in a bid to eventually fend off entities that seek to challenge the 2016 arbitral ruling on the West Philippine Sea.
Senate Bill No. 2492, which was approved on Monday, draws the exact meters and bounds of the Philippines’ maritime entitlements under UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and other international laws. This includes the internal waters and exclusive economic zones (EEZ) over which the Philippines exercises sovereignty and jurisdiction.
In a press conference on Monday, Sen. Francis Tolentino, sponsor of the measure, said that the bill also considers the artificial islands and installations within the country’s EEZ as part of its jurisdiction.
Even if the Philippines did not build the artificial island, it is considered “owned” by the country under the measure, Tolentino said.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration under the United Nations ruled in 2016 that China’s nine-dash line claim and other activities in Philippine were unlawful.
Since then, the arbitral ruling has been repeatedly invoked by the Philippines and other nations with overlapping claims in response to Chinese maritime aggression.
Full Story at: Senate OKs bill defining Philippines maritime zones | Philstar.com
