Former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief and now senatorial aspirant Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa pulled a campaign stunt on Tuesday but it has raised the eye brows of women rights advocates, saying the stunt was crass, sexist and misogynist.
Groups condemn arrest of Rappler’s Maria Ressa
MANILA — The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) denounced the arrest of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, branding it as “a shameless act of persecution by a bully government.”
Ressa was arrested by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents around 5 p.m. today on cyber libel charges over a 2012 article published four months before the Cybercrime Prevention Act was enacted.
In a statement signed by its National Directorate, the NUJP maintained that the Department of Justice “perverted the law by charging Maria for an offense allegedly committed before it actually became an offense under the law.”
“This government, led by a man who has proven averse to criticism and dissent, now proves it will go to ridiculous lengths to forcibly silence a critical media and stifle free expression and thought,” the NUJP said.
Arts and media alliance Let’s Organize for Democracy and Integrity (LODI) said that the charges are politically motivated.
“Nobody believes for a single moment the concocted charges of tax evasion and foreign ownership. The truth is, the onion-skinned tyrant Duterte simply wants to shut down and punish both Maria and Rappler,” LODI said.
In a separate statement, Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) said the arrest of Ressa “over questionable charges that have been excavated are essentially undisguised attacks on press freedom and speech.”
In its statement, Rappler said, “This is a dangerous precedent that puts anyone – not just the media – who publishes anything online perennially in danger of being charged with libel. It can be an effective tool of harassment and intimidation to silence critical reporting on the part of the media. No one is safe.”
Rappler vowed to continue doing its job. “We will continue to tell the truth and report what we see and hear. We are first and foremost journalists, we are truthtellers, and we will not be intimidated.”
The NUJP called on all colleagues to resist “this blatant assault on our rights and liberties.”
For its part, LODI called on all freedom-loving Filipinos to stand with the independent Philippine press in defense of the rights not only of media but of the people. “For in suppressing the press it is the people’s right to know that is trampled on,” LODI said.
Olalia pointed out that the attacks on the Philippine media form part of Duterte’s repression. “Let there be no doubt about it: whether you are a senator, nun, lawyer, activist, human rights defender, or peace advocate, you will be in the crosshairs of government’s whole coercive apparatus if you dissent or criticize so good that they will make you look so bad,” he said.
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COA: No irregularity in CDO’s 596-classroom project
These classrooms were found to be in compliance with government regulations, COA-10 noted in its reports.
#LaborVote2019 | Labor groups to push for labor agenda in the coming polls
Labor groups led by Defend Job Philippines (DJP) kicked-off their campaign #LaborVote2019 to put workers’ issues on the elections agenda of the people and the candidates.
Coinciding with the start of campaign period for national candidates, DJP said the campaign aims to push for workers advocacy and labor agenda to aspiring candidates in both national and local levels.
“Over the past elections, issues of workers were consistently used in campaign slogans and publicity stunts of all candidates and political parties. Overused rhetoric of addressing and resolving labor issues were all been used by political aspirants, both in the national and local posts, to acquire the support and votes of their respective target constituents,” said DJP spokesperson Christian Lloyd Magsoy.
He added, “Elections have passed and yet promises for welfare and protection for workers, and better working conditions remained as promises. Our expectant working people and their families remained poor and were living on more miserable lives due to the loads of anti-labor and anti-people policies enacted by the same politicians they elected.”
Education drive and mock elections
To mark the start of the #LaborVote2019 campaign, DJP held an opening program in front of the head office of the Commission on Elections in Manila, where they launched the Labor Vote Bus that will tour around factory belts, workers communities, institutions of labor rights advocates and major thoroughfares of Metro Manila and neighboring provinces.
Magsoy said that their bus will serve as venue for their voters’ education drive, pushing to educate and advance their long-drawn demands for regular jobs, higher wages, safe workplaces, lower prices and advancement of labor rights in the country. The bus will cater free rides to workers in Metro Manila.
“In the upcoming May 2019 senatorial and local elections, Filipino workers will be as empowered and more intelligent voters as ever. The solid and huge Philippine labor vote is set to use the electoral platform to raise their issues, send their messages across and pick genuine pro-labor candidates who can truly address and resolve their long-drawn democratic and legitimate aspirations for jobs, wages and labor rights,” said Magsoy.
He also invited candidates to hop-in and join their ride to directly address their concrete platforms, plans of actions and legislative agenda for the Filipino workers once elected in power.
Town hall meetings
Aside from the voters’ education on-wheels, DJP will also conduct series of town hall meetings during the entire #LaborVote2019 campaign period.
During town hall meetings, Magsoy said that these activities will be attended by mass memberships of local labor unions, workers associations and their advocates that will be open for candidates to attend in order for them to discuss their agenda and for workers to express their local struggles and issues to all interested political aspirants.
The group said that series of mock elections will also be held both in the Labor Vote bus and during town hall meetings. Results of the mock elections will be announced before the elections.
Also, DJP said that they are set to release the result of their study on March on the track record and stance on 10 key labor issues including endo, wage increase, occupational health and safety, right to self-organization, trade union repression, child labor, migration, tax and high prices, and poverty alleviation.
Magsoy announced they will release a list of “Pro-Labor Candidates” in a press conference, and initiate a Labor Agenda covenant signing and Unity Walk that will be held on April 30, a day before the International Labor Day, in Manila.
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Amendments to Davao’s bike ordinance pushed
A proposal to amend the Bicycle Ordinance of Davao City is being eyed to ensure bikers rights in the city.
#Election2019 | Former police chief called out over ‘unacceptable’ remarks vs. women
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – A group of youth leaders, artists, and members of the academe called out former police chief and now senatorial aspirant Ronald Dela Rosa over his “joke” that one needs to kiss a Kapampangan to learn the language as he addressed the vote-rich province of Pampanga today, the first day of electoral campaign.
In his speech, Dela Rosa shared that a Kapampangan, which refers both to language and people who hailed from Pampanga province, turned him down during his days as a student of the Philippine Military Academy. This, he said, resulted to him not knowing how to speak the language.
“Passing this off as a joke and laughing matter further normalizes sexual harassment against women! Filipinos dont need an electoral candidate that has a foul mouth and disrepects women,” Kontra Bastos sa Eleksyon said in a Facebook post today, Feb. 12.
This, however, is not new these days. No less than President Rodrigo Duterte, himself, has been repeatedly assailed for his speeches, which his critics found misogynistic.
Dela Rosa is part of the 13-slate senatorial candidates of Hugpong ng Pagbabago, which was initiated by Duterte’s daughter and Davao city mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
He also served as the chief implementor of President Duterte’s war against illegal drugs, which killed about 20,000 suspected poor users and peddlers. A charge in relation to the drug-related killing is currently pending before the prosecutor’s office of the International Criminal Court.
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