News Roundup 29 September 2022
Sep 29, 2022 • 5 min Read
New CHR chair’s lack of experience in human rights work raises doubts | PHILSTAR.COM – The designation of a lawyer with a doubtful background in human rights issues to the Commission on Human Rights is a setback for the agency and for victims of abuses, a former CHR chair said Thursday. In a statement, Etta Rosales, CHR chair from September 2010 to May 2015, said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s choice of lawyer Richard Palpal-latoc, who used to work at the Office of the President, would “struggle with the basics of both senior leadership and human rights practice” as he takes the helm of the commission. Rosales, a victim of rights abuse during Martial Law, said she is “gravely concerned” that Palpal-Latoc has “no demonstrated track record or training in human rights issues.” The new CHR chair previously worked at the Office of the Quezon City Prosecutor, the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Office of the Ombudsman. The commission, which had been vacant since May, said it welcomed the appointment and that Palpal-latoc “assured further strengthening CHR, particularly its mandates on human rights protection, promotion, policy, and prevention, to create a lasting legacy and meaningful impact in the lives of each and every Filipino.” “How do we ensure that the CHR’s funding will be properly defended in Congress? Or that the commission will not simply fold its hands and give way any time potential transgressions are committed by the police, or the armed forces?” Rosales said. “A responsibility of this magnitude does not only require knowledge and skill, but the strength of character to speak truth to power on behalf of the oppressed,” she added as she called on Palpal-latoc to work with the commission staff and with the human rights community. In a separate statement on Wednesday, rights alliance Karapatan called on Palpal-latoc and CHR Commissioner Beda Epres —a former ombudsman investigator — to hold perpetrators of human rights violations in the government accountable and to ensure that government policies from which the violations emanate are addressed. It said it will “continue to engage with the incoming new members of the commission especially in pursuing justice and accountability of the previous Duterte administration and in the continuing defense of people’s rights, welfare and dignity.” New York-based Human Rights Watch also noted Palpal-latoc’s background and said he “will have a steep hill to climb to demonstrate that he deserves to sit in that chair, and that he knows up from down about the Philippines’ international commitments on human rights.”
Death toll from ‘Karding’ rises to 11 — NDRRMC | PHILSTAR.COM – The death toll from Typhoon Karding (Noru) has increased to 11, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported Thursday. The additional fatality was from Antipolo, Rizal who died of drowning, NDRRMC said. The agency also previously reported 10 deaths in Central Luzon and Calabarzon. Eight of those, including the rescuers in Bulacan province, have been verified. NDRRMC also said that five fishermen from Camarines Norte and one person from Rizal were missing. In its latest report, NDRRMC said 176,337 families or 640,963 individuals have been affected by Karding in Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Bicol region. A total of 6,435 families remained inside evacuation centers, while 3,482 households stayed in the homes of their relatives and friends. Karding, the strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year, unleashed heavy rains and strong winds that triggered flooding and landslides, and damaged crops. The disaster agency also reported that 5,439 farmers and fisherfolk from Ilocos region, CAR, Calabarzon, and Bicol region were affected by the storm. Some 8,081.21 hectares of agricultural lands were also affected. The agricultural damage from Karding has reached P152.2 million, with the volume of production loss pegged at 6,921.68 metric tons.
Gabriela condemns House’s quick OK of P5.268 trillion nat’l budget for 2023 | INQUIRER.NET – The Gabriela Women’s Party on Thursday slammed the swift passage of the P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023 by the House of Representatives, negatively rating the budget due to its perceived inability to meet public needs. Gabriela lamented the allocation of considerable funds for foreign debt payments, military spending, infrastructure, pork barrels, and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac). It also lambasted the large secret and intelligence budgets of the President’s and Vice President’s offices, which total P4.5 billion and P500 million, respectively. “Imbes na pagwawaldas ng kaban ng bayan sa korupsyon, pasismo, at iba pang [mga] ‘di kapaki-pakinabang na paghuhulugan ng pera, nararapat ilaan ang pondo ng mamamayan para sa ayuda, trabaho, pabahay, at pampublikong serbisyo,” it said in a statement. (Instead of squandering the public’s money on corruption, fascism, and other non-useful means of money, the people’s funds should be allocated for aid, jobs, housing, and public services.) “Wakasan ang NTF-Elcac, wakasan ang paninindak at pagpapatahimik sa taumbayan. Ilaan ang pondo ng mamamayan para sa mamamayan!” Gabriela added. (End the NTF-Elcac, end the terror and pacification of the people. Allocate the funds of the people for the people!) According to Gabriela, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s unprogrammed funds totaling P588 billion will be a major source of pork in the 2023 national budget. The group likewise claimed additional pork barrel programs in the Local Government Support Fund, Growth Equity Fund, Barangay Development Program, Support for Infrastructure Projects, and Social Program. It also decried the budget cuts in services intended for women, such as the Department of Health’s Family Health, Immunization, Nutrition, and Responsible Parenting, the Department of Social Welfare and Development supplementary feeding program, and Early Childhood Care and Development, among others.
