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Passenger opens plane door mid-air on Asiana flight
A passenger opened an emergency exit on an Asiana Airlines flight as it was preparing to land Friday, the carrier told AFP, adding that the plane landed safely but several people were hospitalized. The Airbus A321-200 was carrying nearly 200 passengers as it approached the runway at Daegu International Airport, about 240 kilometers (149 miles) southeast of Seoul, on a domestic flight. When the plane was still about 200 meters (650 feet) above the ground, a passenger sitting near the emergency exit "opened the door manually by touching the lever", the South Korean carrier's representative told AFP. The unexpected opening of the door caused some passengers to have breathing difficulties, and some people were taken to a hospital after the landing, Asiana said, adding that there were no major injuries or damage. South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that nine people were hospitalized. "The passenger has been taken to the police and is under questioning" to find out why they opened the door, Asiana said. A short video of the incident was shared by Yonhap. The footage shows wind ripping through the open door in mid-air, with fabric seat-backs and passengers' hair flapping wildly as some shout in surprise. Another video shared on social media showed passengers sitting in the emergency exit row next to an open door being buffeted by strong winds. The two male passengers, who are wearing their seatbelts, can be seen wincing as the wind whips around them, while they clutch the armrests and try and turn away from the door. The post Passenger opens plane door mid-air on Asiana flight appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Grounded C-130 plane stalls flights at NAIA
Some flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport were delayed yesterday after a C-130 plane of the Philippine Air Force was stalled at the NAIA’s Taxiway Charlie 6......»»
Florida: 2 dead after jet plane crash lands on highway, collides with vehicles
A private passenger jet with five people aboard crash-landed on a busy Florida highway and collided with two vehicles on the ground in a fiery accident on Friday that killed two people, according to authorities and news footage from the scene. The Bombardier Challenger 600 business jet, which took off from Ohio, was on approach.....»»
5 killed in collision between Japan Airlines, Coast Guard planes
TOKYO— A passenger plane and a Japanese coast guard aircraft collided on the runway at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, and burst into flames. Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito confirmed that all 379 occupants of Japan Airlines flight JAL-516 got out safely before the plane was entirely engulfed in flames. The pilot of.....»»
Body of plane crash victim found in northern Philippines
MANILA, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers on Sunday found the body of a female passenger of a Piper plane that crashed in Isabela province in the northern Philippines over a week ago, Constante Foronda, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said. He said the rescuers found the passenger's remains past 9:00 a.m. local time Sunday, some 200 meters away from the crash site in the forested.....»»
Body of plane crash victim found in northern Philippines
MANILA, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers on Sunday found the body of a female passenger of a Piper plane that crashed in Isabela province in the northern Philippines over a week ago, Constante Foronda, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said. He said the rescuers found the passenger's remains past 9:00 a.m. local time Sunday, some 200 meters away from the crash site in the forested.....»»
Piper plane crash: Pilot found, passenger missing
The remains of the pilot on board a Piper plane that crashed in the mountains of Isabela has been found, but the lone passenger remains missing......»»
Military helicopter finds missing small plane in N. Philippines
MANILA, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- A military helicopter on Tuesday spotted the wreckage of a missing small plane with two people on board, including the pilot, in Isabela province in the northern Philippines, a provincial spokesperson said. Joshua Hapinat of the Isabela Incident Management Team said the Philippine Air Force helicopter could not get close enough to the wreckage, which was nestled deep in the mountain fo.....»»
Missing piper plane in Isabela found
Philippine Air Force aerial search operations has found the missing piper plane in a mountainous location in Isabela province on Tuesday......»»
Military helicopter finds missing small plane in N. Philippines
MANILA, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- A military helicopter on Tuesday spotted the wreckage of a missing small plane with two people on board, including the pilot, in Isabela province in the northern Philippines, a provincial spokesperson said. Joshua Hapinat of the Isabela Incident Management Team said the Philippine Air Force helicopter could not get close enough to the wreckage, which was nestled deep in the mountain fo.....»»
LGUs’ classification, revenue basis codified
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed into law a bill classifying local government units based on their revenues to establish a basis for their separate financial allocations and other forms of assistance. Republic Act 11964 seeks to institutionalize the automatic income classification of LGUs as a “more responsive approach” to support the local economy and “enable LGUs to realize their full economic potential.” “In line with this, the State recognizes the need to determine the financial capability and fiscal position of local government units,” the new law read in a statement released on Friday. The government determines the level of administrative and statutory help, financial grants, and other forms of support to be given to an LGU on the LGU revenue classification system. Likewise, the revenue categorization of LGUs is used to ascertain its financial capacity to carry out projects and programs, as well as how it would carry out administrative orders on allowances and salary regulations. The first general income reclassification would take place six months after RA 11964 goes into force, and afterward, every three years, Malacañang said. According to the law, municipalities are divided into five classes based on their annual average regular income for three fiscal years before the LGU’s general income is reclassified. The classifications of municipality based on annual average income are as follows: first class: P200,000,000; second class: P160,000,000 to P200,000,00; third class: P130,000,000 to P160,000,00; fourth class: P90,000,000 to P130,000,000; and fifth class: less than P90,000,000. This will determine the “LGU capability to undertake development programs and projects” and the overall yearly supplemental appropriation for personal services for all units. Compensation adjustments for LGU employees will also be predicated on classification following the “Salary Standardization Law of 2019.” The classification also includes the following: Minimum wages for domestic workers, bases for the creation of new local government units (LGUs), the number of elective members in Sangguniang Panlalawigan and Sangguniang Bayan, free patent titles for residential land, government service insurance system coverage for LGU properties, and the maximum percentage of agricultural land area that can be reclassified and used. On January 1st of the year following the Finance Secretary’s release of the income classification table, the provinces, cities, and municipalities will undergo their first income reclassification. Within three months of the law’s enactment, the Department of Finance will draft the rules and regulations that will carry out its provisions in collaboration with the Department of Budget and Management and after consulting with the local government leagues. The post LGUs’ classification, revenue basis codified appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Flesh and blood
Perhaps in all the years in this lifetime that Israel has been at war, we Filipinos never made enough sense of what it is really about. Not until we learned, since 7 October, how cruel and bitter it can be — in the photos of a grown man forever captured screaming into the air over his dead nephew’s body; of shrouded bodies that may never be identified; or a clip of a father holding plastic bags of his kids’ remains. And the babies. And the burned bodies. And the blood splattered all over a bomb shelter. No one — unless it is you or yours — can imagine how it truly feels. If you can feel rage and grief at seeing images alone, how much more can your heart take if it were happening right before you? “We are all human,” a father said on Tiktok. It was he who posted about that father with the plastic bags. “There is no difference between me and this man. When we talk of kids getting killed, bombed, or put on fire, it doesn’t really matter what you believe in, where you come from, or what religion you follow. This is never acceptable! You just have to be a human being to stand up and say stop.” Now I am not sure whether this man was genuine (heaven knows there has been plenty of fake and biased news) or if it was propaganda designed to turn sympathy toward a specific cause. But what he said about being human was true. Amid all the atrocious crimes we have seen in the war raging in Gaza, we need to view the whole situation through our humanity. When Gaza struck Israel the way Hitler hit the Jewish people — with extreme violence and a detailed plan to eliminate the enemy in very specific ways — we recoiled. We remembered. But when Israel defended itself, many condemned it. Why? Many immediately concluded that the war was a Palestinian issue, or about Israel’s attempt at occupation or conquest. It is not. So, while it is natural to react the way we do over civilian casualties and collateral damage — likely letting our emotions get the better of us — we need to muster the sense to take it all in with the correct perspective. We must know more, learn more. Shooting from the hip or erupting without understanding — well, wouldn’t that be just as bad as the perpetrators of the war? What is fact and what is fiction? We must seek the truth in light of the misinformation being deliberately spread on social media. One such claim was debunked on Associated Press recently, about the bombing of a hospital in Gaza supposedly by the Israeli military. This was spread in a social media post written in Arabic. AP said, “No such post exists on the military’s actual social media pages and its top Arabic-speaking spokesperson confirmed his office had issued no such statement.” To think this is but one aspect of the entire issue. Let’s begin with the fact that Hamas is a terrorist organization. It is not about Palestine, it is about pushing Islamic supremacy through force. Israel, if you think about it, has “no quarrel with Palestinians,” as Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss, himself emphasized in a talk with DAILY TRIBUNE on Monday. “We are in a war against Hamas, not Palestinians — we have to defend our citizens,” he said. It is a “war of survival,” he added. Israel has long been fighting against Islamic forces that want to see it obliterated from the planet. “We don’t have a choice. We will fight. We will win.” The ambassador added, “The charter of Hamas calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. And it says that there is no political agreement…no political agreement can be reached with Israel. Israel has to be eliminated, and Israelis and Jews have to be killed. That’s the agenda of their philosophy. It has to be an Islamic land. “So, when people ask me today, what is the political future here? I say this is a question that you have to ask Hamas or the Palestinians, because in Israel, we have a government that makes decisions, makes a lot more, and when we sign a document, we respect it, and we can negotiate. We’re a political entity. “Hamas is not in a negotiating position. It is in a war position to eliminate Israel. Very simple. And you see the history. I’m not going into the long history, but Israel had pulled out of Gaza since 2005. We are not controlling Gaza. We are on the international border. So, it’s not about a few patients. It is about an organization that, every few years, initiates again an attack against Israel. This time it was the biggest…” However, the ambassador admits, on a personal level, that a solution seems hazy “because it is continuing and we are living in a complicated neighborhood,” he told this columnist. The enemies are “fundamentalists that are promoting these Islamic states, promising these fundamentalistic terror agenda…” Ambassador Fluss may be keeping it all real as a diplomat, but what he may not ever say is that this war is about all of us, too — humans and families and connected lives. When a Filipino caregiver refuses to leave her ward, sacrificing her own life to the end, that is humanity. But to believe that life is only worth living if another race or culture is removed, where is the humanity in that?.....»»
LTO-7 to LGUs: Register unregistered vehicles
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines – The Land Transportation Office in Central Visayas (LTO-7) is encouraging local government units to register their unregistered vehicles. LTO-7 Director Glen Galario on Friday, Oct. 20, said this to ensure that all vehicles owned by the LGUs are registered and that they are road-worthy. Moreover, Galario said that this can also help LTO-7 generate more income for the region, as was discussed during the strategic meeting of LTO in Tagaytay City a month ago. All vehicles are mandated by the law to be registered under any of the following classifications that include private passenger automobiles, public utility automobiles, taxis and auto calesas, tourist motor vehicles, and government automobiles among others. Section 7 of Republic Act 4163 states that motor vehicles owned by the Government of the Philippines or any of its political subdivisions shall be registered under these classifications ((m)Government automobiles; government trucks; and (o) government motorcycles. Motor vehicles owned by government corporations, by government employees, or by foreign governments shall not be registered under this classification. According to the LTO website, Motor Vehicle (MV) Registration refers to the procedures of getting the first and most important process for every car and car owner done. The procedure creates a unique identifier – the registered plate numbers, which helps the government create a link between vehicles and their owners and users, making the vehicle easy to trace and monitor. READ: New LTO-7 director to prioritize road safety Moreover, MV registration ensures that the car is always in tip-top condition and able to keep its driver and passengers safe and out of harm’s way every time. “We can proudly say that if not all, most of the vehicles owned by all the LGUs are registered, to that extent, it can guarantee us that all plying in within the region is road worthy especially if it is owned by the government,” said Galario. Mandaue City District Office Grand Opening Meanwhile, LTO-7 also conducted the blessing and grand opening of its Mandaue City District Office and Licensing Center on Friday, Oct. 20. The LTO District Office is located on the 3rd Floor of City Time Square 2, in Barangay Tipolo. All motor vehicle registration and license transactions can be done at the office. The new office which has an area of 650 square meters is one of the biggest LTO-7 offices in the region. Galario said that it can accommodate.....»»
Marawi Port rehab almost complete — PPA
The Philippine Ports Authority on Friday said the rehabilitation of the PPA-regulated Marawi Port in Lanao Del Sur is almost complete, in time for the Marawi Liberation Anniversary next year. According to PPA spokesperson Eunice Samonte, the reconstruction of Marawi Port to date is at 70 percent. The port was totally devastated during the Marawi siege in September 2017. “Regarding the improvements and developments in Marawi port, Phase I of the project is expected to be completed by February 2024, hence, it will be fully operational by October 2024,” Samonted said. On the other hand, she said the ongoing MRRP-Port Facilities (civil works) Project at Port of Marawi (MAA-Sector 8), Marawi City, Lanao del Sur is a new port construction developed through the Task Force Bangon Marawi initiative by the Office of the President for the recovery, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of the city of Marawi affected by the fighting between government forces and the Islamic State. “The project covers the construction of facilities such as a backup area of about 8,000 square meters, a one-story Passenger Terminal Building (with 132 seating capacity) of about 265 sq.m., a one-story fish port, and a berthing facility for Fastcraft and a RoRo ramp,” she said. In addition, prior to the implementation of the project, the only existing facility in the Port of Marawi is a causeway that is being used by the fish folks, Samonte said. In 2021, the PPA, through the General Appropriations Act for 2021, received P242,750,191.04 approved budget for the contract payments under the contract for the civil works (of) the Port of Marawi (Most Affected Area — Sector 8), Marawi City, Lanao del Sur. The post Marawi Port rehab almost complete — PPA appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Passenger influx at Davao terminal seen
DAVAO CITY — The Davao City Overland Transport Terminal is now gearing up for the expected influx of passengers come the observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day in the country. DCOTT manager Aisa Usop said the terminal is expecting about 1,000 to 1,500 bus trips in the next two weeks to cater to an estimated 50,000 to 75,000 passengers, adding that the numbers are far from the usual average of 700 to 800 bus trips a day delivering around 35,000 passengers. Usop said an even greater influx of passengers is expected this Undas compared to last year as more national routes heading for Visayas and Luzon have been added to the DCOTT’s operations this year. As of September, the DCOTT recorded revenues of up to P39 million, significantly higher than the P34 million recorded last year for the same period. With the current trend of activity in DCOTT, it is expected that revenues for this year will surpass the P44-million target. “In terms of security, additional security personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police will be deployed to keep operations in the terminal orderly and ensure the safety of passengers,” Usop said. A series of coordinating meetings was also held with the security sector, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Land Transportation Office and the City Transport and Traffic Management Office to provide further security and safety augmentation. The post Passenger influx at Davao terminal seen appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
PAF plane catches fire, disrupts flights
A Philippine Air Force plane bound for the Visayas was forced to do an emergency landing at the Mactan Cebu International Airport after its engine caught fire early yesterday, blocking the runway for hours and disrupting both domestic and international flights......»»
‘They put a price on everything’: extortion hits Mexican economy
Plots of land lie empty among lime and banana plantations in one of Mexico's most violent regions -- abandoned by their owners due to widespread extortion squeezing Latin America's second-largest economy. As in many other agricultural zones around the country, criminal gangs in the western state of Michoacan have become a major market force, driving up costs and hurting not just farmers but also consumers. Take limes, for example: despite a national increase in production, and a slowing of overall consumer price inflation, the cost of the citrus fruit rose by more than 50 percent in the past year, according to the Agricultural Market Consulting Group (GCMA), a consulting firm. The impact is huge in a country where limes are a vital ingredient in many dishes. "The prices are through the roof!" said Gabriela Jacobo, a 53-year-old housewife who now only buys a few limes a week. The threat from organized crime is such that trucks transporting limes now have police escorts, AFP reporters saw during a visit to the region. The fallout has even been felt in Mexico City, where drug and gang violence is often seen as a faraway problem and the ability to source food from all around the country eases supply problems. The price of limes in the capital doubled, reaching almost $4.5 per kilo ($2 per pound) in August. "It's not because of a supply issue," but because of extortion, said GCMA analyst Juan Carlos Anaya. Turf wars Michoacan, which covers an area as big as Costa Rica, is riven by bloody turf wars between rival gangs such as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Los Viagras, and La Familia Michoacana. As well as fighting over drug smuggling routes, they also compete to make money through extortion. Payment is taken in the form of a charge of 11 US cents to package each kilo of limes, a farmer told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal. It may not sound like much, but the region can produce about 900 tons of fruit every day. In the past, "the criminals had their fights but they left us to work. Now they don't even leave us to work,'" the farmer said. Tomato, banana, and mango producers, as well as transporters and distributors, must also pay the gangs, he said. "They put a price on everything," he added. Extortion and theft cost companies in Mexico about 120 billion pesos ($6.8 billion) a year, equivalent to 0.67 percent of the country's annual economic output, according to official figures. In the southern state of Chiapas, extortion and violence have caused food shortages in communities bordering Guatemala. "There's no electricity. There's no food. There's no water. There's no gas," a resident told AFP. The region is gripped by a turf war between the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels that has led to dozens of business closures and forced locals to buy supplies in Guatemala, at higher cost. Even the ingredients for tortillas -- a Mexican staple -- are being purchased across the border. Cities such as Chilpancingo, the capital of southern Guerrero state, also saw widespread closures of chicken shops in the past after farmers and merchants who allegedly refused to pay extortion were murdered. 'Deep trouble' Avocado growers have also fallen prey to the battle for control of Michoacan's agricultural riches. Last year the United States briefly suspended avocado imports from the state after a US inspector checking export shipments before the Super Bowl received phone threats. To confront crime, lime producers like Hipolito Mora founded self-defense groups in 2013 that were themselves later accused of links to criminals. After vehemently denouncing drug traffickers, Mora was shot dead in June in Michoacan. "We're in deep trouble with the cartels," said his brother Guadalupe Mora, who was being watched over by several bodyguards. "They charge us a fee for everything -- basic foods, soft drinks, beers, chicken. Everything's very expensive because of them," he said. State prosecutor Rodrigo Gonzalez urged people to come forward to report such crimes. "We're committed to fighting these people, identifying them, arresting them, and bringing them to court," he said. But many fear they will suffer the same fate as Mora if they speak up. Despite the risks, the farmer said that he had no intention to leave his land. "Lots of people depend on us and our work, to provide for their families," he said. The post ‘They put a price on everything’: extortion hits Mexican economy appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Space invader
Commuters are bracing for a possible one-peso increase in public transportation fares. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, which regulates the fares, is to announce today if it will approve or not the hike petitioned for by transport groups, whose drivers have seen their earnings dwindle due to the almost weekly rise in fuel prices. If LTFRB grants the fare increase, the minimum jeepney fare, for example, would be P13 from P12. Even just a one-peso increase would hurt many commuters who are also reeling from the high prices of food. Student commuters will also be affected as their discounted fare will also rise. Some unlucky commuters may be charged even more, like a 19-year-old Psychology student in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. In a recent Facebook post that went viral, the student narrated how she was forced to disembark from a modern jeepney when the conductor told her she had to pay twice the fare because, with her size, she occupied two seats. It was not that she couldn’t afford the P22 student fare for two seats that prompted her to get off. In her post, the student said she was disgusted with the conductor for shaming her in front of the other passengers, GMA Regional TV One Western Visayas reported. RSJ Lines Inc., the operator of the jeepney, has issued a public apology over the incident and said it suspended the conductor, who claimed he was only joking about charging the passenger double the fare. The post Space invader appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
AFP to redesign reserve force to complement regular force
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said there’s an ongoing redesign of the reserve force paradigm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to “fit in the current security situation” confronted by the country. Teodoro made the statement during the culmination of the National Reservist Week held at the AFP General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Saturday, 30 September. The defense chief cited the calibration should be based on what the country needs to further improve its credible deterrent posture and the ability to protect its interests, “not only on the ground but particularly in the maritime domain.” “In doing so, this time, we have to rethink our reservists' paradigms. And so we are in the process of redesigning the reserve force based on the leads of the time and not based on an old-dated paradigm…that may not be valid anymore,” he added. Teodoro has ordered the “designing of future reserve force” that should complement the regular force of AFP and ensure service continuity, in which civilian parallels business service continuity “so that there’s a subdivision of functions.” The redesigning, he said, also includes effectively tapping of reserve force’s various human skills and building up land military civil defense units within communities. “This is to secure our communities through the benefits of the laws of war that they may not be combatants’ end-targets for hostile actions,” he added. Teodoro said he already tasked the Office of the Civil Defense to merge and synergize the development of the civil defense units which will be based in the communities, municipalities and provinces. These CDUs will manage local disaster risk reduction systems, provide security, and enhance first responders' capabilities in communities, in cooperation with military forces as well as the inclusion of the reserve forces. “We encourage our reservists to help in formulating plans for our strategic development in the future as this is a collaborative effort,” he added. Meanwhile, AFP Chief Gen Romeo Brawner Jr. said the military organization is open to the redesigning reserve force paradigm. “Well, we welcome that. Because we saw that the problems we are confronting now in our country are really different from the previous problems we faced before—this time, we are facing more challenges that are global in nature,” he said in a media interview. Brawner pointed out that the AFP is not only focusing on improving the reserve force organization but also working on the enhancement of the military’s regular force. “We wanted to develop our total force. That means the reserve force and regular force are not separated from each other. We are one Armed Forces of the Philippines, if ever that emergency or any threat comes to our country…reserve forces, even the citizens of our country should get together, and work together for the defense of our country and for the promotion of our national interest,” he said. This effort would help the entire country in addressing emerging security threats, whether internal or external, he added. Further, Brawner confirmed the AFP still plans to tap fishermen in the West Philippine Sea to become part of the military reserve force. “Yes. In fact, many fisherfolk have already expressed willingness to help us. It doesn’t mean that have to fight because they were in the area. That’s not the concept,” he said. “But they can help us in terms of gathering information and making sure that we have a presence in those areas so we can say that those areas are ours,” he added. Earlier, AFP Western Command Chief Vice Adm. Alberto Carlos the military is exerting key efforts to further improve the country’s presence in its territorial waters. Carlos said AFP is eyeing to increase Filipino boats and fishermen in the country’s exclusive economic zone in WPS. “We have ongoing efforts to convince our Filipino fishermen to fish in the WPS para ma-exercise natin ‘yung atin (so we can exercise our) sovereign rights to fish,” he said. Carlos said among these efforts include the effective control of all islands now occupied by the Philippines in the WPS, establishing a stronger naval presence, and enhancing maritime domain awareness in these areas. The AFP previously reported more than 400 foreign vessels are swarming in the features of WPS, including the massive destruction of corals in Rozul Reef and Escoda Shoal after the resurgence of foreign ships in the area. The post AFP to redesign reserve force to complement regular force appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Dela Rosa: ‘Hindi pwedeng magsinungaling ang mga bata’
Several underage members of the Socorro Bayanihan Services Incorporated on Thursday narrated how they were forced to marry and have sexual intercourse with adults as well as locked up within their mountainous community at Sitio Kapihan, Barangay Sering, in Socorro town, Surigao del Norte. In a media interview, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa admitted that he believed the statements of several child witnesses attended the Senate’s public investigation on the alleged cases of rape, sexual abuse, forced labor, and child marriage perpetrated by the Socorro-based group against their young members. “Hindi pwedeng magsinungaling ang mga bata. Nakikita ko Iyan. Sabihin mong biased ako sa mga bata pero naniniwala (Children can’t lie. I see that. You may say I’m biased to children but I believe them),” said Dela Rosa. During the joint investigation by the Senate committees on women and children, and public order and dangerous drugs on Thursday, 15-year-old Jane, not her real name, said she was coerced to marry an 18-year-old man she never met before. She said it was “Senyor Agila” whose real name is Jey Rence Quilario, the SBSI leader, who ordered and facilitated her marriage. She added that Quilario forced her to immediately sleep and have sex with her new husband so can “go to heaven.” Lovely Novie Savandal, also a member, emotionally shared that her 12-year-old sister was compelled to marry someone she didn’t know personally. Savandal said the Quilario was forcing every married couple to have sexual intercourse, if not, they will be punished. Dela Rosa grilled Quilario after Savandal recalled her sister’s experiences. “Bakit gustong gusto mong mag sex ang mag asawa? Bata, 12 years old? Pipilitin mong makipag sex sa lalaking hindi niya kagustuhan. Kinasal mo na, tapos sisiguraduhin mo pa na sila ay mag sex. Tapos kapag hindi mag sex, pina-punish mo ‘yung bata (Why do you want the couple to have sex? A child, 12 years old, [then] you will force her to have sex with a man. You already had them married. Then you still want to make sure they have sex. And when they don’t, you punish the child),” he asked the SBSI leader, Despite revelations from the witnesses, Quilario denied every allegation and claimed he could not do such a thing. “Hindi po ‘yan totoo. Hindi ko po magagawa (There is no truth to that. I cannot do that),” he said. During the opening of the panel’s hearing, Senator Risa Hontiveros revealed that managed to recruit 3,650, including 1,587 minors. “Sabi po ng liderato ng SBSI sa mga interviews, parang normal subdivision lang daw ang [Sitio] Kapihan. Ewan ko lang, pero sa subdivision namin, ‘di nila nire-require ang iisang gupit para sa mga babae, ‘di po inilibing sa ilalim ng lupa ang mga cellphone ng mga dalaga at binata,” she said. Hontiveros earlier revealed that SBSI conducted cult practices including rape, human trafficking, and even punishing disobedient members to swim in human feces. She said some SBSI members were ordered to wear the same haircut and had their cellphones buried underground. They are even forced to drop out of school. Meanwhile, Commission on Human Rights Director Jasmin Navarro-Regino said SBSI is now being subjected to several human rights violations after hearing the testimonies of witnesses during Thursday’s Senate hearing on SBSI’s suspected cult activities. Regino said the CHR has already conducted its initial investigation, conducted by a five-member team in Sitio Kapihan. “We found out initially, based on interviews with children, [that] there was forced marriage…There was a violation of the right to access education, and likewise, there’s a violation of the freedom of movement of these people,” she said. “We will submit our initial investigation report because it is based on many violations,” she added. The post Dela Rosa: ‘Hindi pwedeng magsinungaling ang mga bata’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»