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Friday, December 30, 2016
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY PROMOTIONS - Saturday Updates Weekly DECEMBER 31, 2016
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No holiday break in gov’t relief efforts for Typhoon Nina victims
From the Website of the President
links: http://president.gov.ph/
Article Links: http://pcoo.gov.ph/news-releases/
Article Links: http://pcoo.gov.ph/news-releases/
|
No holiday break in gov’t relief
efforts for Typhoon Nina victims
|
 A Cabinet official said there is no
holiday break in the government’s relief operations to help the victims of
typhoon Nina which hit the country on Christmas Day.
“So, ngayon ko lang natanto na sa
Department of Social Welfare and Development wala palang bakasyon. Kahit
holidays nagtratrabaho ang ating mga kagawad, yung ating Disaster Response
and Management Bureau, ang mga field offices natin sa Regions 5, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA,
at NCR, at region 8 dahil nga sa pagdating ng Nina,” said Secretary Judy
Taguiwalo of the Department of Social Welfare and Development at a press
briefing in Malacanan on Thursday, December 29, 2016.
Secretary Taguiwalo said the
government continues with its response and relief efforts, in ensuring that
the pre-positioned goods reach the affected municipalities and citizens.
The Disaster Response and Management
Bureau reported the total figures of those affected by Nina are 813
barangays, 206,812 families, and 923, 485 persons.
The Bicol region was the hardest hit
as reported by Taguiwalo since Typhoon Nina made several landfalls in the
area. Albay has the most number of affected people with 240 barangays and
100,000 families.
The Secretary said assistance in
relief goods handed out to the victims of the typhoon amounted to a total of
P47,298,500. The bulk of assistance came from DSWD while some came from the
local government units.
Secretary Taguiwalo gave an update on
the P1 billion President Rodrigo Roa Duterte earmarked for the DSWD.
“Iyong sa reseta ni President Duterte
na yung isang bilyon na idina-download niya sa ating departamento ay inaayos
pa ho natin yung guidlelines. Nililinaw lang ho natin na hindi ho pera ang
ibibigay ng department,” she said.
She clarified that a doctor’s
prescription should be submitted to the department. Upon validation, instead
of money, a guarantee letter for the different drugstores would be given.
Secretary Taguiwalo said although her
department has not yet received the one billion, they have already started
the free medicines program.
Meanwhile, at the same Press
briefing, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said majority of the Filipino
people look forward to the coming year with hope and optimism.
“I have good news. 95% of Pinoys
greet New Year with hope. The SWS survey taken from December 3 to 6 found 95%
of adult Filipinos has said they are entering 2017 with hope rather than fear
which is up from 92% last year,” said Abella.
The survey was based on face-to face
interviews with about 1,500 respondents, 18 years old and above, and the
survey said that this attitude of hope is widespread in all areas. 97 % in
Luzon; 95% in the National Capital Region and 95% in Mindanao; and 92% in the
Visayas.
Another good news Abella mentioned is
regarding the bonus of Department of Education Personnel. He said that
personnel in 9 regions of the Department began receiving their performance
based bonus for the year 2015. The bonus for the fiscal year 2015 will be
given to school based personnel in Regions 4A, 4B, 5, 6, 11, 12, Caraga, CAR
and NCR before 2016 ends.###PND
|
Office of the President Website
http://president.gov.ph/
Article links:
http://pcoo.gov.ph/news-releases/
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Syria: UN envoy welcomes new ceasefire between Government and opposition groups
From the Website of United Nations
Friday, December 23, 2016
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY PROMOTIONS - Saturday Updates Weekly DECEMBER 24, 2016
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PH now safe, crime rate is significantly down
From the Website of the President
links: http://president.gov.ph/
Article Links: http://pcoo.gov.ph/news-releases/#crime%20rate
Article Links: http://pcoo.gov.ph/news-releases/#crime%20rate
Friday, December 16, 2016
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY PROMOTIONS - Saturday Updates Weekly DECEMBER 17, 2016
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'Stand up for someone's rights today,' UN urges on Human Rights Day
From the Website of United Nations
links: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=55769#.WFPd2X3Qsgk
Friday, October 7, 2016
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY PROMOTIONS - Saturday Updates Weekly OCTOBER 08, 2016
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House approves 2017 P3.35-T national budget
links: http://www.congress.gov.ph/press/details.php?pressid=9804
SOLUTION TO KILLINGS: MODERNIZE JUSTICE SYSTEM, "UPGRADE THE HARD DRIVE" - PANGILINAN
links: https://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2016/1006_pangilinan1.asp
Vice President Leni Robredo has remained true to her words
Eastern Aleppo may be ‘totally destroyed’ by end of year, warns UN envoy
From the Website of United Nations
Friday, September 30, 2016
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY PROMOTIONS - Saturday Updates Weekly OCTOBER 01, 2016
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Duterte assures full protection of OFWs from abuses
From the Website of GPH - Government of the Philippines
UN-backed committee launches guides to assist aid workers in curbing sexual exploitation
From the Website of United Nations
Friday, September 23, 2016
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY PROMOTIONS - Saturday Updates Weekly SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
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PNP LAUNCHES MOBILE APP FOR FRONTLINE SERVICES AND CRIME AWARENESS
From the Website of PNP Philippine National Police
links: http://www.pnp.gov.ph/8-news/493-pnp-launches-mobile-app-for-frontline-services-and-crime-awareness
Govt’s war on drugs gaining ground – Andanar
From the Website of GPH - Government of the Philippines
UN official unveils draft principles on protecting human rights of refugees and migrants
From the Website of United Nations
Friday, September 16, 2016
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY PROMOTIONS - Saturday Updates Weekly SEPTEMBER 17, 2016
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Democratic principles at core of UN 2030 sustainability agenda, Ban says on International Day
From the Website of United Nations
Friday, September 9, 2016
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY PROMOTIONS - Saturday Updates Weekly SEPTEMBER 10, 2016
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What is state of lawless violence?
From the Website of INQUIRER
links: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/812620/what-is-state-of-lawless-violence
14 dead, 67 hurt in Davao blast—police
links: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/812298/dozens-wounded-in-davao-night-market-blast
-----------------------------------------
LAW EXPERTS on Saturday said the people’s rights should not be
affected by President Duterte’s declaration of a “state of lawlessness,”
as it is limited to calling out the military to help the police
suppress violence.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II stressed the constitutionality of the declaration, which came hours after an explosion killed 14 people and wounded 68 others at a night market in Mr. Duterte’s hometown, Davao City.
Mr. Duterte’s authority under the declaration is limited to summoning
armed forces to suppress violence “through ordinary police action,”
according to Integrated Bar of the Philippines president Rosario
Setias-Reyes.
Aguirre said the declaration did not amount to an imposition of martial law. Instead, it was a “precautionary measure” that had factual basis in the explosion.
“As Commander in Chief, [he is mandated] to protect the people. The [Armed Forces of the Philippines] is constitutionally mandated to protect the people from lawlessness,” Aguirre said in a text message.
Rule of law
Asked about its effect on people’s rights, Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida Rueda-Acosta said “legal and substantive rights are protected because this [is] part of the rule of law.”
Acosta said the President had the power to “call out” the armed forces to maintain the rule of law and prevent any lawless violence under Article VII, Section 18, of the 1987 Constitution.
She also stressed that police power is one of the inherent powers of the state, alongside eminent domain and taxation.
“The only aim of the declaration is to suppress and prevent lawlessness and violence,” Acosta said.
Reyes, in a text message to the Inquirer, cited two Supreme Court decisions that defined the limits of the President’s power under Article VII, Section 18, of the Constitution.
She said that under the President’s exercise of the “calling-out” power, “the authority of the President appears to be limited only to the summoning of the armed forces to assist in the suppression of lawless violence, invasion or rebellion through ordinary police action.”
“Any act beyond it shall be considered illegal,” Reyes said.
She recalled the 2006 Supreme Court ruling in David v. Arroyo, which found unconstitutional several acts during the “state of national emergency” declared in the aftermath of a supposedly foiled coup attempt.
The ruling hit the warrantless arrests of Prof. Randolf S. David and Ronald Llamas, the dispersal of the rallies and the warrantless arrest of Kilusang Mayo Uno members, the imposition of standards on the press, and the warrantless search of the Daily Tribune offices.
Reyes also noted the 2000 Supreme Court ruling in IBP
v. Zamora, which provided the only criterion for exercising the calling-out power of the President.
The criterion, she said, is “whenever it becomes necessary … to prevent or suppress lawless violence or rebellion.”
“Owing to the vast intelligence network of the Office of the President, [the President] is in the best position to determine the actual condition of the country,” Reyes said.
Ateneo School of Government Dean Antonio La Viña said the declaration provided extraordinary powers to allow Duterte to “wage a most efficacious defense of the nation in times of crisis, without being unduly straitjacketed by structural and bureaucratic restraints.”
‘Most benign’
La Viña explained in a Facebook post that summoning armed forces to combat lawless violence under the declaration is the “most benign” of the powers allowed under Article VII, Section 18.
Martial law is the power that is “most serious and carries the most impact on the social and political life of the nations,” he said.
But La Viña noted that the level of conflict warranting such extraordinary powers tends to “depend on this wide presidential discretion.”
He cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in David v. Arroyo that said “the power is by and large a discretionary power solely vested on the President’s wisdom.”
“For which reason, emergency rule becomes fraught with opportunities for abuse; a gateway to constitutional shortcuts. Once emergency rule is declared, the constitutional bonds are loosened that could create a window of opportunity for unrestricted power,” he said.
La Viña said the 1987 Constitution was designed with a pervading theme to “do away with all possibilities of strongman rule, no doubt a painful lesson of the Marcos dictatorship.”
A
Philippine soldier keeps watch at a blast site at a night market that
has left several people dead and wounded others in southern Davao city,
Philippines late Friday Sept. 2, 2016. The powerful explosion in
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown in the southern
Philippines took place amid a security alert due to a major offensive
against Abu Sayyaf militants in the region, officials said. (AP
Photo/Manman Dejeto)
This design meant the creation of an intricate system of checks and balances that calls for Congress’ participation when the President can invoke more serious powers such as emergency powers, the declaration of a state of war, or the imposition of martial law.
Not legally insignificant
Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, dean of San Beda College Graduate School of Law, said that while the declaration was “nothing alarming … neither is it legally insignificant.”
In a Facebook post, Aquino said it was a signal to the legislature that Mr. Duterte may ask for emergency powers.
Aquino said that while checkpoints have always been allowed in normal circumstances, the declaration means “only that their usefulness becomes more urgent now.”
“Does that allow police officers to search so thoroughly that they can forcibly open gloves and baggage compartment? No, but they can request you to open these and it would be wise for one to cooperate,” he said.
National Union of People’s Lawyers secretary general Edre Olalia said that calling out the military to suppress lawless violence “does not mean the power to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part [of it] under martial law.”
La Viña said the extraordinary powers of the President could be considered, at best, “a necessary evil.”
But he cautioned that “extraordinary powers should only be invoked as a last resort.”
“It should never be considered normal, must never be lightly granted by Congress, and if the right case or controversy comes, the Supreme Court have to scrutinize this carefully,” he said.
While there exists the “ever-present possibility” of the slippery slope of frequently invoking emergency rule, La Viña said: “For now, [Mr.] Duterte’s declaration does not appear to lead us to that slope, but we must be vigilant.”
This is not the first time a part of the Philippines has been placed under the “state of lawless violence.”
A state of emergency was mostly recently declared on April 2, 2003, by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, after two explosions rocked the old Davao International Airport and the Sasa Wharf, killing 38 people and wounded a hundred others.
But, the 2003 declaration was limited to Davao City, unlike Saturday’s declaration by Mr. Duterte, which covers the entire Philippines.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II stressed the constitutionality of the declaration, which came hours after an explosion killed 14 people and wounded 68 others at a night market in Mr. Duterte’s hometown, Davao City.
Aguirre said the declaration did not amount to an imposition of martial law. Instead, it was a “precautionary measure” that had factual basis in the explosion.
“As Commander in Chief, [he is mandated] to protect the people. The [Armed Forces of the Philippines] is constitutionally mandated to protect the people from lawlessness,” Aguirre said in a text message.
Rule of law
Asked about its effect on people’s rights, Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida Rueda-Acosta said “legal and substantive rights are protected because this [is] part of the rule of law.”
Acosta said the President had the power to “call out” the armed forces to maintain the rule of law and prevent any lawless violence under Article VII, Section 18, of the 1987 Constitution.
She also stressed that police power is one of the inherent powers of the state, alongside eminent domain and taxation.
“The only aim of the declaration is to suppress and prevent lawlessness and violence,” Acosta said.
Reyes, in a text message to the Inquirer, cited two Supreme Court decisions that defined the limits of the President’s power under Article VII, Section 18, of the Constitution.
She said that under the President’s exercise of the “calling-out” power, “the authority of the President appears to be limited only to the summoning of the armed forces to assist in the suppression of lawless violence, invasion or rebellion through ordinary police action.”
“Any act beyond it shall be considered illegal,” Reyes said.
She recalled the 2006 Supreme Court ruling in David v. Arroyo, which found unconstitutional several acts during the “state of national emergency” declared in the aftermath of a supposedly foiled coup attempt.
The ruling hit the warrantless arrests of Prof. Randolf S. David and Ronald Llamas, the dispersal of the rallies and the warrantless arrest of Kilusang Mayo Uno members, the imposition of standards on the press, and the warrantless search of the Daily Tribune offices.
Reyes also noted the 2000 Supreme Court ruling in IBP
v. Zamora, which provided the only criterion for exercising the calling-out power of the President.
The criterion, she said, is “whenever it becomes necessary … to prevent or suppress lawless violence or rebellion.”
“Owing to the vast intelligence network of the Office of the President, [the President] is in the best position to determine the actual condition of the country,” Reyes said.
Ateneo School of Government Dean Antonio La Viña said the declaration provided extraordinary powers to allow Duterte to “wage a most efficacious defense of the nation in times of crisis, without being unduly straitjacketed by structural and bureaucratic restraints.”
‘Most benign’
La Viña explained in a Facebook post that summoning armed forces to combat lawless violence under the declaration is the “most benign” of the powers allowed under Article VII, Section 18.
Martial law is the power that is “most serious and carries the most impact on the social and political life of the nations,” he said.
But La Viña noted that the level of conflict warranting such extraordinary powers tends to “depend on this wide presidential discretion.”
He cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in David v. Arroyo that said “the power is by and large a discretionary power solely vested on the President’s wisdom.”
“For which reason, emergency rule becomes fraught with opportunities for abuse; a gateway to constitutional shortcuts. Once emergency rule is declared, the constitutional bonds are loosened that could create a window of opportunity for unrestricted power,” he said.
La Viña said the 1987 Constitution was designed with a pervading theme to “do away with all possibilities of strongman rule, no doubt a painful lesson of the Marcos dictatorship.”
This design meant the creation of an intricate system of checks and balances that calls for Congress’ participation when the President can invoke more serious powers such as emergency powers, the declaration of a state of war, or the imposition of martial law.
Not legally insignificant
Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, dean of San Beda College Graduate School of Law, said that while the declaration was “nothing alarming … neither is it legally insignificant.”
In a Facebook post, Aquino said it was a signal to the legislature that Mr. Duterte may ask for emergency powers.
Aquino said that while checkpoints have always been allowed in normal circumstances, the declaration means “only that their usefulness becomes more urgent now.”
“Does that allow police officers to search so thoroughly that they can forcibly open gloves and baggage compartment? No, but they can request you to open these and it would be wise for one to cooperate,” he said.
National Union of People’s Lawyers secretary general Edre Olalia said that calling out the military to suppress lawless violence “does not mean the power to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part [of it] under martial law.”
La Viña said the extraordinary powers of the President could be considered, at best, “a necessary evil.”
But he cautioned that “extraordinary powers should only be invoked as a last resort.”
“It should never be considered normal, must never be lightly granted by Congress, and if the right case or controversy comes, the Supreme Court have to scrutinize this carefully,” he said.
While there exists the “ever-present possibility” of the slippery slope of frequently invoking emergency rule, La Viña said: “For now, [Mr.] Duterte’s declaration does not appear to lead us to that slope, but we must be vigilant.”
This is not the first time a part of the Philippines has been placed under the “state of lawless violence.”
A state of emergency was mostly recently declared on April 2, 2003, by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, after two explosions rocked the old Davao International Airport and the Sasa Wharf, killing 38 people and wounded a hundred others.
But, the 2003 declaration was limited to Davao City, unlike Saturday’s declaration by Mr. Duterte, which covers the entire Philippines.
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