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Queen gives top award to UK’s health service workers, including Filipina nurse

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Queen gives top award to UK’s health service workers, including Filipina nurse

Agence France-Presse /July 13, 2022

LONDON — Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday awarded the George Cross to the state-run National Health Service (NHS) for its work over the past 74 years and praised its COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

The George Cross is the highest non-military award for gallantry bestowed by the British government.

The queen presented the medal to health leaders from across the UK. They were joined at the ceremony by frontline workers, who nursed the country through the pandemic.

The latter included May Parsons, the Filipina nurse who delivered the first shot of the world’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

The nurse told the queen: “We’re terribly, terribly proud of the vaccination roll-out.”

“Yes, it was amazing,” she replied.

Britain was the first country in the world to deploy an approved COVID-19 vaccine.

The 96-year-old head of state was joined by her son and heir Prince Charles at the ceremony in Windsor Castle, the queen’s residence west of London.

She has stepped back from public duties since a bout of ill health last year left her with mobility issues but she appeared well on Tuesday, albeit in need of a walking stick.

Michael Vernon, the royal official responsible for organizing ceremonial events, praised the NHS for the work it has done since it was founded in 1948.

“Over more than seven decades, and especially in recent times, you have supported the people of our country with courage, compassion and dedication, demonstrating the highest standards of public service.”

“You have our enduring thanks and heartfelt appreciation,” he told the ceremony.

‘Indisputable’: Philippines commemorates 6th anniversary of Hague ruling

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‘Indisputable’: Philippines commemorates 6th anniversary of Hague ruling

Kaycee Valmonte – Philstar.com, July 12, 2022

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines commemorates the 6th anniversary of the historic 2016 Hague ruling that “upheld the Philippines’ sovereign rights and jurisdiction” over the West Philippine Sea.

The Hague-based international tribunal invalidated China’s so-called nine-dash claims over the disputed waters and ruled that it is under the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

“These findings are no longer within the reach of denial and rebuttal, and are conclusive as they are indisputable,” Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We firmly reject attempts to undermine it; nay, even erase it from law, history and our collective memories.”

Manalo also said that the Philippines welcomes the support of more countries backing Manila in asserting its rights over the waters.

While China has repeatedly ignored the ruling, the Philippines has filed over 200 diplomatic protests against Beijing since 2016 over its illegal activities within Philippine waters.

Manalo maintained that the tribunal award together with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea allow the Philippines to assert its rights over the West Philippine Sea.

“Compliance with UNCLOS, which represents a delicate balance of the rights and obligations of all State Parties, in its entirety is key to ensuring global and regional peace and the fair and sustainable use of the oceans,” Manalo said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. previously said that the country’s sovereignty will not be compromised under his leadership. “We will not allow a single square, and maybe make it even more smaller, single square millimeter of our maritime coastal nd up to 200 kilometers rights to be trampled upon,” Marcos Jr. said on May 26.

However, the president’s recent remarks on the issue hint that his stance is similar to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s. 

Just last week, Marcos Jr. said he would be focusing on looking for “ways to resolve the conflicts” by increasing the scope of the Philippines’ relationship with China aside from the dispute.

In ‘challenge’ for Congress, Makabayan lawmakers refile ABS-CBN franchise bill

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In ‘challenge’ for Congress, Makabayan lawmakers refile ABS-CBN franchise bill

Xave Gregorio – Philstar.com, July 6, 2022

MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers part of the progressive Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives have refiled a bill seeking to grant ABS-CBN Corp. a new 25-year broadcasting franchise, in what they called a “challenge” for Congress.

“This is a challenge for Congress to defy the rising tyranny, to stand for freedom and democracy,” ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Danniel Manuel said in the explanatory note of House Bill No. 1218.

ABS-CBN was ordered by the National Telecommunications Commission to shut down its free TV and radio operations in May 2020 after its franchise expired as the House, then dominated by allies of then President Rodrigo Duterte, deliberated on its application for a fresh broadcasting license.

Officers of the media giant were subjected to grueling hours-long hearings by the House legislative franchises panel, which tried to prove that ABS-CBN had, among others, existing tax liabilities and a bias against the government. 

While several government agencies cleared the company of any wrongdoing, the House panel still proceeded to vote against the granting of a new franchise for ABS-CBN that ultimately sealed the fate of the company, leaving thousands of workers unemployed and turning several areas in the country into news and information deserts.

ABS-CBN’s iconic Channel 2 frequencies have since been given to Advanced Media Broadcasting System, Inc., owned by billionaire Manny Villar who has close links to Duterte.

Meanwhile, the NTC gave Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s Sonshine Media Network International the authority to operate Channel 43,  which used to be owned by Amcara Broadcasting Corp. The Lopez-led network used Channel 43 for its TVPlus channels under a blocktime deal with Amcara, whose legislative franchise expired in 2020.

Broadcast spectrum is a limited public resource. That said, an analyst believes it would be hard for ABS-CBN to regain the frequencies it lost during its painful shutdown.

“There may still be frequencies available but they (ABS-CBN) will have to go to the back of the line, as there may be other TV operators first in line for these frequencies… ABS-CBN will have to work with the Villar family’s  Advanced Media Broadcasting System, Inc. if they want to broadcast their content in their old channels,” Terry Ridon, convenor of Infrawatch PH, an infrastructure-oriented think tank, said.

“A good development on the other hand, is the content partnership of ABS-CBN with TV5 and Cignal, as the former can provide content to the latter platforms. The core strength of ABS-CBN has always been its content, whether news or entertainment, and it should have no problem providing the same high-level of content to its new platform partners,” Ridon added.

‘Shrinking’ democratic spaces

Duterte himself admitted in his last days in office that he used “presidential powers” to tell Congress, then dominated by his allies, to deny ABS-CBN’s application for a new franchise, even as Malacañang long held that the then president was neutral on the issue.

“That the president is personally piqued is certainly a miniscule — and inappropriate — reason in the face of the thousands that will be out of jobs if the network will be out of the airwaves and its dire implications on press freedom, particularly on those critical of the present administration,” the Makabayan lawmakers said.

ABS-CBN has managed to return some of its shows, including its flagship newscast TV Patrol, on free TV through a blocktime agreement with Zoe Broadcasting Corp. owned by Christian preacher and CIBAC Rep. Eddie Villanueva.

But even this is facing a hurdle as the NTC is moving to restrict blocktime arrangements to just 50% of total programming.

“If the environment is such that media outfits are chuttered rather than allowed to be robust and independent, where truth is muted and turned off rather than broadcast then our democratic spaces are shrinking indeed,” Makabayan lawmakers said. — with Ramon Royandoyan

#NeverAgain tops Twitter trends anew as Marcos gets installed at Malacañang

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#NeverAgain tops Twitter trends anew as Marcos gets installed at Malacañang

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Jeline Malasig, June 30, 2022, Interaksyon.philstar.com

The hashtag “#NeverForget” entered Twitter Philippines’ trending list as Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gets inducted into the Office of the President for a six-year term beginning June 30.

Marcos Jr. was inaugurated at the National Museum of Fine Arts where he took his oath before Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo.

The occasion completed his clan’s comeback to political power and the presidential palace 36 years after the 1986 People Power Revolution ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Marcos Jr. in his oath-taking was accompanied by his wife, lawyer Liza Araneta-Marcos and their sons Sandro, Simon and Vincent.

In his inaugural speech, the president’s campaign message of “unity” was stressed, where he acknowledged Filipinos’ dream for a better nation.

Marcos Jr. also praised his father whose two-decade rule was marked by various human rights abuses and corruption.

“I once knew a man who saw what little had been achieved since independence in a land of people with greatest potential for achievement, and yet they were poor. But he got it done, sometimes with the needed support, sometimes without,” he said.

“So will it be with his son. You will get no excuses from me,” Marcos Jr. added.

While the inauguration rites were ongoing, so were the protests from several Filipinos—in and out of the country.

Progressive groups flooded the historic Plaza Miranda, while Martial Law victims and survivors gathered at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani and took an oath to guard against the trampling of people’s rights.

Outside the homeland, some Filipinos marched in the colorful streets of New York’s Times Square to voice their rejection of the inauguration.

The protests also filled digital spaces as the hashtag “#NeverForget” landed on local Twitter’s trending list where others reminded their fellow Pinoys about the 21-year Marcos regime.

“Today is a good time to repost this—70,000+ detained, 34,000 tortured, 3240 persons killed during Martial Law. And the entire Marcos family is complicit—Imelda, Imee, Bongbong, Irene. #NeverAgain #NeverForget,” a Twitter user said, sharing a reporter’s post. 

Another Twitter user shared a picture of a supporter in a “Kakampink” rally with the placard: “Thesis ang rine-revise, hindi history.”

“Daily reminder under a Marcos-Duterte regime:#NeverAgain #NeverForget,” the user captioned.

“Kakampink” refers to the supporters of former vice president Leni Robredo‘s presidential campaign in the 2022 elections.

The message is a reference to historical revisionism against the memories of Martial Law and the abuses during Marcos Sr’s regime.

Another Twitter user reposted a clip from the movie “Alone/Together” which featured Liza Soberano‘s character giving a lecture about history as a National Museum tour guide.

“And again and again and again… #NeverForget,” the user wrote. 

ALSO READ: ‘Never forget’ speech from ‘Alone/Together’ film goes viral on Martial Law anniversary

Remembrance of the past 

Marcos Jr’s father ruled the country for two decades and a year, far more than what was constitutionally allowed.

Nine years of this were under Martial Law imposed to supposedly quell the communist insurgency and restore order.

Critics, however, believe it was his way to extend his term.

Martial rule saw all of the powers transferred to the president. He also imposed a curfew and had assemblies forbidden.

The period was rife with curtailment of civil liberties, extrajudicial killings and unsolved disappearances, media suppression and economic recession, among others.

It was a period of impunity where activists, human rights defenders and civilians were arrested and detained following the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, a legal remedy protecting citizens from unlawful arrests and indefinite detentions.

London-based human rights organization Amnesty International said that “some 70,000 people were imprisoned and 34,000 were tortured; over 3,200 people were killed” during Martial Law.

Bongbong Marcos qualified to be elected to office – SC

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Bongbong Marcos qualified to be elected to office – SC

By: Krixia Subingsubing, Marlon Ramos – @inquirerdotnet, Philippine Daily Inquirer /June 29, 2022

MANILA, Philippines — The “gods of Padre Faura” have cleared the way for Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s inauguration as the 17th president of the Philippines.

Voting 13-0 with two abstentions, the Supreme Court threw out the legal challenges to Marcos Jr.’s presidential candidacy, delivering a blow to the victims of rights violations during the regime of his father, the late deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The high court issued the decision during its weekly en banc session on Tuesday, or two days before Marcos Jr. is sworn in. Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo has accepted the invitation to administer the president-elect’s oath of office in a ceremony at the National Museum.

The justices upheld the resolution of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) dismissing two petitions separately filed by martial law survivors and rights activists seeking Marcos Jr.’s disqualification on the basis of his tax evasion conviction in 1995.

Reacting to the tribunal’s vote, playwright-activist Bonifacio Ilagan said resistance to what he called the erosion of law in the country would continue.

Ilagan, who heads the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law, one of the petitioners, said he and his colleagues were not “surprised that the high court has opted to swim with the tide of acquiescence to a Marcos rehabilitation, notwithstanding all the historical distortions and false narratives that made the dictator’s son delude the people.”

Still, Ilagan said, it was “difficult to comprehend that the tribunal decided on merit that Marcos Jr. did not disobey the law by wilfully not paying taxes, did not commit moral turpitude, and could go scot-free, being now above the law.”

House Assistant Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro told the Inquirer that despite the “not surprising” decision, “we still hope that the Supreme Court would uphold its independence and initiative, especially on issues and cases involving human rights, welfare of consumers, and our country’s sovereignty.”

In a statement released by its Public Information Office (PIO), the Supreme Court said “the exercise of its power to decide the present controversy led [it] to no other conclusion but that respondent Marcos Jr. is qualified to run for and be elected to public office.”

“Likewise, his COC (certificate of candidacy), being valid and in accord with the pertinent law, was rightfully upheld by the Comelec,” it said.

The high court did not provide a copy of the decision written by Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda.

The PIO said it would post a full copy of the decision on the tribunal’s official website upon receipt of the document from the Office of the Clerk of Court En Banc.

It said Associate Justices Antonio Kho and Henri Jean Paul Inting, both appointees of President Rodrigo Duterte, did not take part in the deliberations.

Kho served as elections commissioner prior to his appointment to the high court. Inting is the brother of Comelec Commissioner Socorro Inting, who voted to junk the disqualification petition against Marcos Jr.

George Briones, general counsel of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, Marcos Jr.’s party, praised Justice Zalameda for the “learned decision that gained the unanimous vote” of the high court.

“The decision vindicates the position of the party that [candidate] Marcos was under no disqualification to run for president and therefore he did not lie in his [COC],” Briones said in a statement.

Petitioners

On May 17, rights advocates and martial law victims petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene in the Comelec’s supposed error in allowing Marcos Jr. to run for president.

The petitioners, led by Fr. Christian Buenafe of the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines and Fides Lim of Kapatid-Families and Friends of Political Prisoners, argued that the guilty verdict handed down on Marcos Jr. by a Quezon City court perpetually barred him from holding public office.

Marcos Jr.’s conviction of failure to pay taxes and file income tax returns from 1982 to 1985 when he was vice governor and later governor of Ilocos Norte was upheld by the Court of Appeals in 1997.

The petitioners said his “putative election victory cannot subsequently cure his ineligibility.”

“Elections are more than just a numbers game such that an election victory cannot bypass election eligibility requirements,” they said. “The balance must always tilt in favor of upholding the rule of law.”

Another suit was filed at the high court on May 18 by another group of martial law survivors including former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and former Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza, saying that Vice President Leni Robredo, who lost to Marcos Jr. by nearly 16 million votes, was the rightful successor of President Duterte.

‘Shades of martial law’

According to the petitioners, Marcos Jr. was “already disqualified” even before he filed his COC. “Simply put, he should not have been allowed to run for public office to begin with,” they said, adding:

“Considering that the votes cast in favor of a disqualified candidate are invalid, the winner, therefore, is the candidate who received the greatest number of valid votes.”

Reaction to the high court’s ruling was generally muted as preparations for the presidential inauguration continued in full swing.

But already, according to Renato Reyes, secretary general of the activist group Bayan, there were “shades of Marcosian martial law” in the preparations, with the Philippine National Police “moving heaven and earth to deny the people their constitutional right to protest” on Thursday.

Reyes said Bayan would continue to resist efforts toward the full restoration of the Marcoses, who were ousted in a bloodless revolt in February 1986 after 14 years of one-man rule.

“The next few years will see an intensified struggle against the Marcoses’ historical denialism as the regime works to use official platforms to erase the crimes of the dictatorship and extinguish their criminal liability,” he warned.

Specifically, Reyes said, Bayan would continue to hold Marcos Jr. to account for the abuses and crimes of the dictatorship, “including the recovery of [the family’s] ill-gotten wealth, the payment of their outstanding estate taxes, and the prosecution of their pending cases.”

“The fight for nationalism and democracy will not die with another Marcos in Malacañang,” Reyes said. “It will burn ever brighter as the people continue to resist, organize and mobilize.”

—WITH REPORTS FROM JEANETTE I. ANDRADE, JULIE M. AURELIO, AND INQUIRER RESEARCH

Election monitors: Disenfranchisement, glitches undermined May polls

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Election monitors: Disenfranchisement, glitches undermined May polls

IOM Full Report below

Philstar.com, June 28, 2022

MANILA, Philippines — A global panel of international election observers called the May elections “a classic ‘guns, goons, and gold’ contest” that it said was “not free, honest, or fair by international standards”.

They cited on-ground monitoring of the May 9 polls. To date, there have been no electoral protests filed over national elective positions and the major candidates have conceded defeat with the exception of labor leader Leody De Guzman.

At a press conference Tuesday afternoon organized by the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, members of the Philippine Election 2022 International Observers Mission said it saw the elections “[rob] voters of access to reliable information, access to voting places without intimidation, and a credible vote-counting system.”

“The main conclusion of the IOM is that the recent Philippine national elections were a failure of the democratic process. The elections took place in the most repressive context seen since the time of dictator Ferdinand Marcos,” the ICHRP said in a press release.

“Throughout the election campaign, the Duterte government continued its orchestrated campaign of state terror.”

The IOM had over 60 observers from 11 countries on the ground since April 1, who documented the campaign period, election day, and aftermath in areas including Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog, Southern Luzon, Central Visayas, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, and Mindanao.

The group said that observers themselves were subjected to harassment and red-tagging by the police and military.

“There is lack of transparency in the automated election system, [and] of course, the domination of the rich and powerful is quite apparent,” Kontra Daya chair Danilo Arao said at the press conference. 

Former Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon, who was among those who penned the final report, pointed out that voter disenfranchisement was rampant on election day. 

What can be done to address this moving forward? Rhiannon called for reform within the Comelec and stronger anti-dynasty provisions in the country’s laws.

Arao also urged removing family dynasties from politics, reviewing the efficacy of the AES and renewing the party-list system to give marginalized and dispossessed sectors more representation in Congress.

“The partylist system should be returned to its original constitutional intention,” Rhiannon said.

To recall, corrupted SD cards and malfunctions to vote-counting machines were widespread on election day, which caused bottlenecks that eventually forced voters to stand in line for hours just to cast their votes. Accounts on social media said that some voters waited as much as 12 hours. 

The Commission on Human Rights said that it noted long-standing, recurring human rights violations attributed to the elections such as the disenfranchisement of voters that day. 

Groups lobbied the Comelec for an extension of the voting period because of the delay but this was rejected.

Comelec commissioner and election lawyer George Garcia said that “nothing would justify” such an extension.

Rhiannon called this a “higher level of failure of the electronic voting system than ever before” in the Philippines. 

“A large number of voters did not get to cast their vote, and many had to trust that election officials would later put their marked ballot paper through a Vote Counting Machine, thus undermining the secrecy of the vote,” she said. 

Speaking from Belgium, Mieke Van den Broeck, a member of the observer mission narrated how her group went to the Visayas islands, particularly in Samar, to meet with barangay and local government officials. 

READ: Not even halfway through voting day, nearly 1,900 vote counting machines marred with ‘common issues’

“What we found was that the elections and the political system in the Philippines is not very fair…At the beginning, you would think that it’s a democracy because there are a lot of candidates, but you realize that they’re actually all the same names…actually, the country is really run by these very rich families,” she said. 

According to Van den Broeck, the most glaring issue that observers saw was the rampant vote-buying that took place even during election day itself. 

“We actually went to people’s houses and saw people coming with money. They gave the money to the people and went to the next house. The candidates and the people helping them actually had lists of all the voters in the barangays and went from house to house to give them money and lists of the candidates,” she said. 

“Looking forward, there needs to be an intensified international focus on the new Marcos-Duterte government and their ongoing human rights record. The international community needs to strengthen the capacity of internal and external human rights organizations to monitor and report on the situation in the Philippines,” said Peter Murphy, chairperson of the ICHRP Global Council.

— Franco Luna 

2022-06-28-IOM-Final-ReportDownload

Media, rights groups stand behind Rappler after SEC’s latest closure move

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Media, rights groups stand behind Rappler after SEC’s latest closure move

Jun 29, 2022, Jairo Bolledo

Human Rights Watch official Phil Robertson says the move is meant to silence Nobel laureate Maria Ressa and shut down Rappler by hook or by crook

MANILA, Philippines – Two days before outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte steps down from office, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reaffirmed its decision to revoke the certificates of incorporation of Rappler. Various media and rights groups saw this as an attack against press freedom and expressed their support for the news organization led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa.

Rappler’s press conference on the SEC’s latest decision.

Media, rights groups stand behind Rappler after SEC’s latest closure move

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, a lateral guild promoting press freedom in the country, said the outgoing administration weaponizes the law and other regulatory processes to attack the press. 

“Throughout the six years of the Duterte administration, we have seen lawsuits and regulatory processes used as tools to muzzle the press and this, as much as the touted infrastructure projects, form part of the Duterte legacy.” 

NUJP ABS-CBN chapter also expressed support for their fellow media workers and said the SEC’s decision is a move to silence Rappler: “There is no other way to interpret this latest move of the Securities and Exchange Commission other than to characterize it as a brazen bid to silence one of the constant critical voices against the administration.”

ABS-CBN, a media giant, lost its franchise under Duterte’s watch. The network was forced to let go thousands of its employees after it was shutdown by the outgoing Philippine president.

In a Twitter post, International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), a nonprofit organization that helps media workers, urged the government to reverse its decision.

“We strongly urge the Philippine government to reverse the decision to shut down @rapplerdotcom, a pioneering digital news outlet that has become one of the only sources of independent news amid a crackdown on #pressfreedom.”

The ICFJ also cited their research, which showed that the attacks on Rappler enable online violence: “This legal harassment not only costs Rappler time, money and energy. It enables relentless and prolific online violence designed to chill independent reporting.”

“Just like the National Telecommunications Commission’s order for the internet service providers to restrict access to the websites of Bulatlat and Pinoy Weekly, the SEC order against Rappler is yet another form of censorship,” the news outlet said. “The recent incidents create a chilling effect and are part of the deliberate efforts to discredit and stifle the press.”

Alternative news network, Altermidya, said the SEC’s move is part of Duterte’s legacy of attacking the press.

“This is part of the Duterte administration’s parting gift before it steps down on June 30: a reiteration of its legacy of unrelenting attacks and hostility towards truth and truth-tellers. Along with this latest attack, President Duterte himself admitted that he ‘used presidential powers’ to shut down ABS-CBN,” it said.

Altermidya added that the attacks against journalists also affect the public’s access to information: “These attacks by the state do not only deliver critical blows to press freedom but also directly attack the people’s right to know by controlling the information that reaches the public – all with the aim to perpetuate itself in power.”

College Editor’s Guild of the Philippines also condemned the SEC’s move.

“Not only does this is a similar move against the recent blocking of websites of alternative media outfits and civic society groups, but also a clear attempt to further muzzle the critical voices, especially against the lies and deceptions of Duterte and the upcoming regime.”

University of the Philippines Diliman journalism professor Danilo Arao noted that the Duterte administration’s latest move is part of the continuous crackdown against the press.

“The attacks against Rappler are part of the intensifying attacks against media which we expect to continue under the administration of the dictator’s son. This is the time not just to hold the line but also to sharpen the line. We push back by fighting back,” Arao said.

‘By hook or by crook’

Human Rights Watch (HRW) deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said that Rappler is facing “retaliation” from the government for its critical reportage of Duterte.

“Rappler is facing government retaliation for its fearless reporting about rights abuses in the ‘drug war’, Duterte and Marcos’ use of disinformation on social media, and a wide variety of rights abusing actions over the past six years. This is an effort to shut up Nobel laureate Maria Ressa, and shut down Rappler, by hook or by crook,” Robertson said.

Robertson added that it’s “predictable” that the government would “bend over backwards” to interpret regulations differently.

“So it’s entirely predictable that the SEC would bend over backwards to interpret rules in a way that would enable them to take Rappler down while spuriously claiming that this is a normal regulatory action. Anyone who has been paying attention knows that’s not the case,” the HRW official said.

Lisa Ito, secretary general of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines, called the latest move against Rappler as an attack on the freedom of expression: “The SEC’s move to revoke Rappler’s paper is censorship by closure, happening on the cusp of a Duterte-Marcos term. It is an attack not only on the institution but to freedom of the press and expression.”

Groups K4 Kilos na para sa Kalusugan, Kabuhayan at Karapatan and Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP) also expressed support for Rappler. According to YACAP, effective climate action relies on critical media.

“Effective climate action relies on critical journalism that documents and exposes destructive projects, problematic policies, and other issues related to the climate crisis, even if publishing these stories supposedly goes against the politically powerful,” YACAP said. – Rappler.com

Anti-terror law and Red-tagging

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Anti-terror law and Red-tagging

Philippine Daily Inquirer /June 28, 2022

Have all those fears about the anti-terrorism law being used to go after government critics and stifle legitimate dissent finally come to pass? It would appear so, following the outgoing administration’s last-ditch move to block internet access to groups it had accused of being communist fronts or terrorist groups.

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) last week ordered the country’s internet service providers to block the websites of 25 organizations on the request of National Security Adviser (NSA) Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who described the groups as being “affiliated to and are supporting terrorists and terrorist organizations.”

In his request, Esperon claimed that the groups “have established a pervasive online presence through their websites that they continually use to publish propaganda and misinformation campaigns to malign the Philippine government, recruit new members, and solicit funds from local and international sources.”

The chair of the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC), which oversees the implementation of the controversial law enacted in 2020, said the ATC had earlier designated the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), New People’s Army (NPA), and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) as terrorist organizations.

But CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena said only seven of the 25 websites that Esperon had ordered blocked were directly linked to the CPP-NPA-NDFP, including the website of CPP founder Jose Maria “Joma’’ Sison.

So why has Esperon included independent media organizations Bulatlat and Pinoy Weekly, and legal progressive groups like Save Our Schools Network, the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, Pamalakaya Pilipinas, and Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women, among others, in his list?

Were outspoken groups and critical media specifically being targeted?

Media organizations have rightfully denounced the inclusion of Bulatlat and Pinoy Weekly in the list as the action could have “a chilling effect” on how news about government action and misdeeds is reported. The two alternative news sites, which report on issues about marginalized sectors, were previously subjected to similar cyberattacks traced to the Department of Science and Technology and the Philippine Army.

Bulatlat expressed alarm “that such arbitrary action [could] set a dangerous precedent for independent journalism in the Philippines,” while Pinoy Weekly considered Esperon’s order as “an affront to the people’s right to information.’’

Indeed, Esperon has offered no proof of the supposed links of these news sites and legal organizations to the CPP-NPA-NDFP, nor of their acts of terrorism in publishing reports relevant to their readers. Since when has journalism become terrorism?

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines said as much, citing the NTC’s lack of authority to order the blocking of the news websites and said that “[s]uch a drastic move can’t be anchored on statements that in court would be treated as hearsay.” Neither did Esperon give the blocked sites due process as required by law.

The order also smacks of double-standard and hypocrisy since Esperon had accused the websites of spreading disinformation about the government, while supporting Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy, spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, who had notoriously been spreading disinformation against those deemed critical of the government.

Last week, another group of doctors asked the Professional Regulation Commission to suspend Badoy’s medical license for Red-tagging fellow doctors and health care workers who have lived up to their sworn duty to provide medical attention to those who need it, regardless of their political beliefs. Badoy faces at least four separate complaints before the Ombudsman, one of which was for linking outgoing Vice President Leni Robredo to the CPP-NPA-NDFP during the recent election campaign. The Office of the Vice President had provided telemedicine or free eConsulta services to supplement the government’s woefully inadequate pandemic response.

The unfairly Red-tagged and blocked organizations should take Malacañang’s advice to seek “legal remedies” and challenge the arbitrary move of the outgoing NSA that runs counter to the law. They should also dare the NTC to block access as well to the many administration-linked websites that continue to propagate fake news and false information as proof of its consistent policy. Finally, they should take up incoming NSA Clarita Carlos on her promise to put an end to Red-tagging that, she says, “is not productive” at all. Considering that Red-tagging has abetted and resulted in countless arbitrary arrests, detention, and the suspicious deaths of activists, lawyers, and rights defenders, Carlos’ intended policy shift is a welcome prospect.

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