“Nagaganap ang political persecution kapag iyong mga nasa kapangyarihan tulad ni Duterte at mga kasapakat niya ay gustong patigilin at supilin ang mga nagsasabi ng katotohanan.”–Prof. Jose Maria Sison, International League of Peoples’ Struggles chairperson.
Australian law professor denied entry to the Philippines
Prof. Gill Boehringer, 84 years old, with dual citizenship in the US and Australia, law professor in Australia, and a long-time human rights advocate in the Philippines, is being held by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 since 12 midnight of August 8, 2018, upon his arrival from Sydney. The professor is set to be deported after being told that he was among those blacklisted, allegedly for joining protest actions and fact finding missions in the Philippines.
(Photo of Prof. Gill Boehringer)
Sari-sari
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Poor Filipino families worst hit by rising July 2018 inflation
Research group IBON said that faster inflation largely due to rising food prices hits poor households the worst. The group also said that the Duterte administration’s proposal to increase food imports is short-sighted, and that the best defense against rising food prices and high inflation is to increase domestic food supply through long-term solutions that correct long-standing government neglect of agriculture.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that July 2018 inflation rose to 5.7% from 5.2% the previous month. This was mostly driven by worsening inflation in food and non-alcoholic beverages with higher rates among 9 out of 11 commodity items in the index. Prices rose fastest for vegetables (16%), corn (13%), and fish (11.4%).
IBON said that this increasingly expensive food is particularly problematic for poor families because food takes up a greater portion of their expenditure compared to higher income families. According to the latest available data from the 2015 Family Income and Expenditures Survey, 59.7% of the expenditures of families in the bottom 30% income group was spent on food compared to just 38.8% for families in the upper 70% income group. Rising prices will push more families into hunger and poverty, the group said.
The Duterte administration is proposing to arrest escalating food prices and inflation by lowering tariffs on food to increase their importation. IBON however said that while this could give some immediate relief it is only a short-sighted measure and the government is still failing to come up with long-term solutions to rising domestic food prices.
The much-needed long-term solution is to increase domestic agricultural, fisheries and livestock productivity, said the group. Yet the Duterte administration is proposing to increase food imports while cutting the Department of Agriculture (DA)’s proposed budget for 2019 by Php862 million, making it 1.7% lower than in 2018. Domestic producers lacking government support are at risk of being undermined or displaced by cheap food imports.
IBON said that additional food imports should only be for a short time until prices stabilize. Suspending the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law will also greatly reduce inflationary pressures. The group stressed that measures to increase farm productivity should immediately be implemented including providing irrigation, production and storage facilities, extension services, subsidized credit and marketing support, among others. ###
152 OFWs get Dubai exit pass; 88 home by August 15
By Angel Tesorero in Dubai / Raymund B. Villanueva in Manila Dubai, UAE – A total of 152 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were given an exit pass in the first three working days (August 1, 2 and 5) of the 90-day immigration amnesty program, Philippine consul-general to Dubai Paul Raymund Cortes said Tuesday. An estimated […]
A President, a Senator, an Assistant Secretary and the Victims
More than two years now, the people of this country have been misled by persons on the highest positions of the land. One is the president, the other is a senator and the other is an assistant secretary but the victims are the people of God. These government officials are leading the people to the path of confusion and darkness. They are happy about this matter because they are winning the hearts and minds of the people and directing them towards passivity, despair, and hopelessness.
When President Duterte ascended to power, he had the intention of wielding iron hands against the criminals. His mouth is full of words of condemnation of the criminals and the threat to kill them all. Definitely, his words inspire the military, police, paramilitary, and private army to engage in extra-judicial killings and violate the basic human and democratic rights of the people.
General Jovito Palparan, the mad dog of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, had claimed before that those extra-judicial killings that happened during the Arroyo regime had been inspired by his style of pronouncements against the revolutionaries and even againt people who are active in the open mass movement.
Now, Senator Manny Pacquiao, in his campaign to pass his death penalty bill, is also interpreting the Bible for his interest and want. He even rejects the legitimacy of the stand of the Roman Catholic Church against death penalty. He does not even care if he is misleading the people as a Roman Catholic official had criticized him. As long as he has the audience and he can gather support and admiration from his blind followers, he is happy about it. After all, his intention to bungle the people’s minds is going well.
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Mucha Uson is also doing her job of fooling the people through her recent ‘Pepedederalismo’ video. Instead of presenting to her viewers an easy to digest but substantial discussion on federalism, she and her co-host Drew Olivar trivialized the matter. Government officials and netizens have expressed disgust over the video.
The people must not be swayed by these tricks and cheap gimmicks and become victims and losers of the divide and rule tactics of the Duterte regime. The issues of God and immorality in the government must not cover up the problems of rising prices of basic commodities. Issues like human rights violations, political repression, church persecution, undeclared martial law and the likes, should be addressed squarely and seriously. Tyranny and fascism must be opposed. The TRAIN law must be stopped. Regularization of workers and demolition of urban poor communities are legitimate concerns of the people that need attention. The remaining Martial Law victims during the Marcos dictatorship must be compensated. All of these are issues of the people and they must not led to quandary, haplessness and helplessness.
The madness of Duterte-Arroyo-Marcos alliance will continue as long as the people will not be led to the right direction. Church leaders and Christians in general must strive to foster unity and cooperation. They can start in opposing charter change. Charter change now cannot solve the fundamental problems of landlessness, job security and poverty. Charter change is not the answer to this decadent society. The answer is the tireless and determined people’s struggle for justice and lasting peace.
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Karapatan to DOJ Sec Guevarra: Your irresponsibility is endangering lives
On August 6, in a budget hearing at the House of Representatives, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra admitted that the DOJ did not personally verify information before tagging 649 people in the petition to proscribe the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA) as terrorist organizations. Guevarra further added that the names and aliases all came from the intelligence units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
National ID system enacted, critics say it’s wolf in sheep’s cloth
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday signed into law the Philippine National Identification System Act which consolidates all government issued ID system into one.