Human rights group Karapatan questioned the Philippine government’s planned acquisition of billions of pesos worth of war materiel and armaments from the United States amid calls for increased public funding for public health services and financial aid for poor families in light of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Netizens stan Angelica Panganiban, other actors for rallying behind ABS-CBN
“Ang issue, Free Mass Testing. Ang issue, ayuda para sa mga nangangailangan. Pagiging handa ng health care system, kawalan ng trabaho ng milyong milyong pilipino, kung san kukuha ng pagkain ang bawat pamilya. Hindi ABS-CBN ang kalaban. Hindi artista ang kalaban. Ang kalaban natin, VIRUS.” – Angelica Panganiban
By REIN TARINAY
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Actress Angelica Panganiban’s 43-second #LabanKapamilya speech has gained traction on social media.
On May 12, Panganiban reminded the Philippine government that the enemy is the COVID-19 virus, not ABS-CBN.
Her statement, originally posted on Facebook, trended on Twitter with over 23,000 tweets.
On May 9, Panganiban posted on Twitter her sentiments on the shutdown of media giant ABS-CBN, saying that public attention is being diverted from the health crisis.
Other actors have also voiced out their support for ABS-CBN, which was forced to go off air following a shutdown order.
“The law is supposed to serve justice and on May 5 justice was not served for 11,000 Kapamilyas. You took our right to seek out justice. We do not end our argument with the law is the law,” said actress Bela Padilla on Friday.
On May 5, the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease and desist order against ABS-CBN, after the Congress failed to deliberate on the pending franchise renewal bills.
Fellow ABS-CBN actors such as Coco Martin, joined the #LabanKapamilya online protest.
Coco Martin, lead star of popular telenovela Ang Probinsyano, assailed how the Chinese offshore gaming industry is being prioritized instead of companies providing jobs to thousands of Filipinos.
“These POGOs are better off nowadays. Meanwhile, companies who help others are being shut down,” said Martin in Filipino, adding that he does not understand why there are people rejoice at the fact that 11,000 workers stand to lose their jobs.
“I am very angry,” Martin said, “I do not understand why they would prioritize shutting down ABS-CBN in the middle of this pandemic.”
He added that ABS-CBN is one of the top taxpayers in the country.
May 12, 2020 https://t.co/bX45ORL69a
— Angel Locsin (@143redangel) May 12, 2020
View this post on Instagram
Di ko po naiintindihan bakit may natutuwa pa po sa nangyayari. Ano po nakakatuwa?? Na may libo-libong tao na mawawalan ng trabaho?? Since kelan pa naging nakakatuwa yun? ?
— ? Andrea Brillantes ? (@iamandrea_b) May 5, 2020
Do not forget this day.
Never forget this day. #StandWithABSCBN#DefendMediaFreedom #MalayangPamamahayag— Agot Isidro (@agot_isidro) May 5, 2020
Puwedeng magsugal ang mga Tsino pero bawal magbalita ang mga Filipino.
— Juan Miguel Severo ???? (@TheRainBro) May 5, 2020
why is a network that has done so much for filipinos, providing 11k+ jobs, info (esp in this pandemic), and entertainment being shut down.. but POGO disregards our country’s laws AND YET is still allowed to run free & continue operations? #NoToABSCBNShutDown
— Janina Vela (@janinavela) May 5, 2020
Didn’t Congress already allow operations to continue while the renewal was being reviewed….? And didn’t Senate look into the case via a hearing and found everything in order..? https://t.co/vUyBcYSK3g
— Bianca Gonzalez (@iamsuperbianca) May 5, 2020
There is a time for everything. We’re facing a pandemic. Tens of thousands of Filipinos will lose their jobs.
Millions of Filipinos will lose an important source of news and entertainment at a time when they are needed the most.How inhumane.#NoToABSCBNShutdown #ABSCBNFranchise https://t.co/geDvm7tmKk
— Ai dela Cruz (@aidelacruz) May 5, 2020
Masaya na kayo???? Ha???? Masaya na kayo????????? tandaan nyo ang kaligayahan na nakuha mo na maaaring marami kang natapakan ay mas mdoble ang sakit at iluluha mo!! Hindi natutulog si God ???? #NoToABSCBNShutDown
— marietta subong (@pokwang27) May 5, 2020
The post Netizens stan Angelica Panganiban, other actors for rallying behind ABS-CBN appeared first on Bulatlat.
Overseas Filipinos worldwide slam mandatory Philhealth, call it ‘legalized robbery’
“Filipino migrants are tired of being treated as milking cows by the Philippine government. We will continue to protest the unjust provisions of the law until it is totally scrapped.”
By JUSTIN UMALI
Bulatlat.com
SANTA ROSA, Laguna – Migrant workers from all over the globe took to the internet to voice their condemnation to the mandatory Philhealth imposed upon them, May 12.
Migrante International and members from chapters in the United States, Canada, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia staged an online protest as part of an “online global protest” to oppose what they considered “unjust” and “extortionate” exactions imposed by the Duterte government.
On April 22, Philhealth released Circular 2020-0014, classifying OFWs as direct contributors under Republic Act 11223, the Universal Health Care Law, and as such must fall under the tiered premium hike stipulated by the agency. Outrage from migrant Filipinos worldwide led to Duterte ordering a suspension of the collection, May 4.
But suspensions are not enough, said Migrante International, asserting that the Duterte administration is merely “dousing cold water to the Philhealth issue.” The group is demanding a total scrap of the relevant provisions in the Universal Health Care Law.
Also read: Suspension not enough, scrap mandatory Philhealth for OFWs – group
According to the group, most migrant workers do not stand to benefit from the Philhealth insurance because of existing insurance programs in their respective countries.
“My companions are riling up in protest,” said Mel Baltazar of Migrante Australia, who confided that most of the migrant workers there have lived there for years or even decades. Baltazar noted that the proposed increase would only hurt the migrant workers and enrich Philhealth, which stands to earn “as much as P3 trillion annually from this scheme.”
“Philhealth is milking OFW’s dry,” she stated. Australian labor laws stipulate that migrant workers must be given health compensation by their employers, which she said makes the
Philhealth insurance “redundant and useless.”
Migrant workers from other nations shared the same sentiment. Erie Maestro from Migrante British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, called the Philhealth hike an “unnecessary burden” on the workers and dual citizens in Canada since labor laws in the country also guaranteed healthcare.
Mikee Santos of Migrante Aotearoa (New Zealand) went so far as to call the scheme “legalized robbery.”
Australia and Canada are home to the third and fourth largest migrant Filipino communities in
the world, respectively.
Aside from existing insurance programs, Migrante asserted that OFWs were not consulted before the law was enacted. “Had they taken the time to talk to us,” said Dolores Balladares Pelaez of Migrante Hong Kong, “they would have realized just how unfair this law is to OFWs.”
Migrant workers also questioned the Duterte administration’s right in extracting more premiums from OFWs given their present conditions.
Maria Sol Pajadura of Migrante Europe stated that most migrant workers in France live “from paycheck to paycheck”, and conditions have only worsened due to the global pandemic.
Worse, Pajadura added that the aid provided by the Philippine government through the Department of Labor and Employment’s AKAP OFW program only amounted to “a bag of groceries,” with no other aid provided by the embassy or the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Marlon Lacsamana, also of Migrante Europe, countered the Duterte administration shouldn’t “pass on the responsibility of providing for healthcare to OFWs.”
“If Duterte can find the money to fund militarization campaigns in the countryside, he can take that money back and give it to the people,” Lacsamana said.
Migrante International stated that the online protest was only the latest in a series.
“Filipino migrants are tired of being treated as milking cows by the Philippine government. We will continue to protest the unjust provisions of the law until it is totally scrapped,” said Joanna Concepcion, chairperson of Migrante International.
The group is supporting amendments filed by the progressive Makabyan bloc through House Bill 6698, May 7, which aims to make Philhealth membership voluntary for OFWs.
The group aims to conduct a weekly ‘Kalampagan’ protest amid the global pandemic, which is expected to result in job losses of over 420,000 OFWs globally.
The post Overseas Filipinos worldwide slam mandatory Philhealth, call it ‘legalized robbery’ appeared first on Bulatlat.
No bill of good health: NCR lockdown to exceed Wuhan
The National Capital Region (NCR) of the Philippines, thought to be the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines, is set to exceed the length of the lockdown in Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus and coronavirus disease were discovered towards the end of December 2019. The lockdown in NCR was announced today to be […]
The post No bill of good health: NCR lockdown to exceed Wuhan appeared first on Manila Today.
‘Para sa lahat ng nurse’
“Ang Filipino Nurses United (FNU) ay buong pusong nagpupugay sa lahat ng nurse sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo ngayong International Nurses’ Day. Saludo kami sa inyong matapang at masigasig na paglilingkod sa mga mamamayang biktima ng COVID-19. Naniniwala ang FNU na responsibilad ng pamahalaan na tiyakin ang inyong kaligtasan bilang mga frontline health workers. Ang laban ng mga nurse para sa kanilang karapatang mabuhay ay laban ng sambayanang Pilipino.”
The post ‘Para sa lahat ng nurse’ appeared first on Kodao Productions.
COVID-19 patient sneaks out of Davao facility
A female Covid-19 patient has escaped from a quarantine facility as the city government has announced a search for this patient.
‘Buong pusong nagpupugay sa lahat ng nurses’
“Ang Filipino Nurses United (FNU) ay buong pusong nagpupugay sa lahat ng nurses sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo ngayong International Nurses’ Day. Saludo kami sa inyong matapang at masigasig na paglilingkod sa mga mamamayang biktima ng COVID-19. Naniniwala ang FNU na responsibilad ng pamahalaan na tiyakin ang inyong kaligtasan bilang mga frontline health workers. Ang laban ng mga nurse para sa kanilang karapatang mabuhay ay laban ng sambayanang Pilipino.”
The post ‘Buong pusong nagpupugay sa lahat ng nurses’ appeared first on Kodao Productions.
Public, youth group say MECQ useless without mass testing
By 12 noon, in the press briefing of Presidential Spokesperson Atty. Harry Roque, the public finally learned of the fate of whether their areas of residence will still be part of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or the general community quarantine (GCQ) or “new normal”, a more relaxed version of the lockdown. A new term […]
The post Public, youth group say MECQ useless without mass testing appeared first on Manila Today.