Former police chief and now Senator Ronaldo “Bato” dela Rosa proposes to deploy police into universities and campuses following complaints from parents that their children have been recruited to activist groups and have not returned home.
Carrie Lam’s Imaginary Friend
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Scrap provincial bus ban, find pro-people solution to traffic–IBON
Government should find another way of decongesting Metro Manila’s major thoroughfare instead of aggravating the inconveniences of hundreds of thousands of provincial bus commuters, research group IBON said. Commuters’ welfare should be the primary consideration of the Duterte administration in addressing transport woes, said the group, but its approach should be comprehensive and regulation should cover private vehicles as well.
During a hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Public Services, IBON supported calls to scrap the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA)’s Regulation Number 19-002, which aims to remove all provincial public utility bus (PUB) terminals from the entire length of EDSA in order to ease traffic. That provincial buses are instead directed to load and unload in integrated terminals in Sta. Rosa, Laguna for PUBs coming from the south, in Paranaque for those with terminals in Pasay City, and in Valenzuela City for those coming from the north, is inconsiderate of hundreds of thousands of commuters who have to take the provincial bus regularly, the group said.
IBON said that the MMDA regulation nitpicks on provincial buses servicing a big number of commuters without addressing the fact that private cars make up most of daily EDSA traffic and pollution. Based on MMDA and commuter network Move Metro Manila/ Komyut figures, IBON estimates that provincial buses move up to 425,000 commuters, while cars plying EDSA move at least 370,000. Cars, however, comprise 65% of traffic and also contribute more to pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, noted the group. Buses, meanwhile, 66% of which are provincial, take up only 3.5 percent.
Metro Manila’s transport system lacking a last-mile system makes relocating provincial bus terminals to limited spots more difficult for provincial bus commuters, IBON added. Memo 19-002 adds another layer instead of simplifying the transportation process for commuters. It not only aggravates their plight in combating traffic but even adds cost due to additional rides for example. IBON said that in other countries, last-mile solutions include publicly available shuttle rides or bicycle infrastructure that ensure seamless mobility from a central hub or terminal to a passenger’s final destination.
IBON said that the bus ban also disregards how many ordinary passengers live in neighboring provinces but work in the National Capital Region (NCR) for lack of job opportunities elsewhere. Taking the train is no viable alternative because the country’s rail systems and interlinkage remain quite underdeveloped to say the least, said the group. The public Philippine National Railways has not been restored to its full potential and only runs from Tondo to Laguna; the other public Light Rail Transit (LRT) systems operate only within Metro Manila. The private Metro Rail Transit 3, meanwhile, traverses EDSA but only partially, and has a record of multiple breakdowns and mishaps due to inefficient management regardless of fare hikes.
Looming public utility jeep (PUJ) phaseout worsens the scenario and not only for provincial bus commuters, said IBON. This is because PUJs currently play a proxy role in first mile and last mile functions, or in taking commuters to and from areas near central transport hubs.
IBON said that traffic solutions that are arbitrary and inimical to the public such as the bus ban should be rescinded. Instead, government should forge a pro-people solution to traffic woes that can start with conducting genuine consultations with affected sectors for all mass transport endeavors. The group added that congestion due to too many private cars can be checked, such as with a congestion tax, stricter street parking rules, and perhaps even curbing car ownership.
It may also be necessary, IBON said, to conduct an audit of road and rail safety including the accountability of corporations and agencies involved. As with other public services, privatization and the user-fees policy should be stopped in mass transport, said the group.
In its transport policy study titled “Mass Transport System in Metro Manila and the Quest for Sustainability”, IBON said that government’s direction should be to craft a sustainable mass transport system: It should be efficient – meaning shortest travel time, shortest possible distance, and least changes in transport mode. It should be reliable, where expected travel time is actual travel time, and unnecessary waiting is minimized. It should be accessible – meaning infrastructure is easy to access, and affordable as well as considerate of the specific needs of various sectors. It should be safe to prevent harm and ensure pedestrian-friendly conditions. It must also be environmentally sound using clean and energy-efficient fuels and promoting non-motorized transport such as cycling and walking. ###
International groups express condemnation, concern on journalist shooting
“Until President Rodrigo Duterte shows he is serious about protecting journalists, all the talk of investigations will come to nothing and violent attacks on the press will continue,.”
Salitang iisa ang baybay pero may di-parehong diin at kahulugan
Isa pang katangian ng Filipino, ang Wikang Pambansa sa Pilipinas, ang likas nitong kakayahang makipaglaro sa – at lalo pang pagyamanin ang – imahinasyon ng nagsasalita at bumabasa.
Youth leaders say Bato only justifying military presence in schools
By SHEERAH ESCUDERO
MANILA — Progressive youth leaders assailed recent statements of former police chief and now Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, saying that the missing teen activist case is being used to justify military and police presence in schools and universities.
“They are demonizing and discrediting youth for their activism. But the truth is that they are standing for education, and rights of farmers and workers,” said Alex Danday, Anakbayan spokesperson.
Last week, Dela Rosa led a senate inquiry on “missing” student activists who joined progressive youth organizations. One of the students later posted on her Facebook account that she left on her own will ‘to serve the people.”
Later, government officials have called for review of agreements between the military and state universities prohibiting military presence in schools.
In a press conference yesterday, Aug. 12, progressive youth groups said the police is merely taking advantage of the said issue.
College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) National President Daryl Baybado said the vilification of progressive youth groups aims “to intensify police and military presence in campuses and align it with the Whole-of-Nation approach through a National Task Force.”
Baybado is referring to the anti-insurgency campaign of the Duterte administration.
At the height of Marcos dictatorship, students led protest actions dubbed as Democratic Reform Movement. This led to the Ministry of National Defense-Student Accord banning the presence of state security forces in schools, reopening of student publications and student councils.
Choosing to fight
Kara Taggaoa of League of Filipino Students (LFS) said there are reasons why youth and students become activists, adding that they can discern on their own, especially on standing up for what is right.
If there are so-called changes in the attitude among youth and students, Taggaoa said this is due to their experiences both inside and outside the university.
Taggaoa is reacting to Dela Rosa’s claims that a change in a child’s behavior means they are being brainwashed by progressive groups.
Instead, Hen Namoca of One Big Fight for Human Rights and Democracy also heightened how crucial activism is.
“It is one of the tools in reaching out to the government about the ills of the society,” he said.
Youth lost war vs. drugs
Youth groups also found it ironic that Dela Rosa is suddenly concerned on the welfare of the country’s youth when he was quoted as saying that “shit happens,” following the killing of a toddler in an anti-drug operation a few months back.
Baybado said at least 54 minors have been killed under President Duterte’s war against drugs.
He only sees them as “collateral damage,” Baybado said.
Raoul Manuel, National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) national president, for his part, said students and youth are not brainwashed but rather aspire to contribute in societal change.”
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Collective reconciliation
In this political climate, when we our senses have become accustomed to killings, constant slurs and curses by the President, and thinning lines between the truth telling and acts of disinformation, it becomes more convenient for people to internalize aggression and hate if these are perpetually normalized.
Daniel: bodegero, unyonista ng Super 8
Nagsimulang pumasok sa kumpanyang Super 8 si Daniel Cachuela noong ika-4 ng Agosto taong 2016 bilang “picker” na tumagal lang nang dalawang araw. Matapos iyon, nagtraining kaagad siya bilang assistance receiver kung saan sila ang tumatanggap ng delivery galing sa mga supplier ng kumpanya. Makaraan ang walong buwan ay na-promote naman siya bilang operator. Tumagal […]
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