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Bangladesh court sentences two journalists over plot to kill PM’s son
Two elderly Bangladeshi newspaper editors were sentenced in absentia Thursday over a plot to kill the prime minister's son, charges their supporters say were confected to punish them for supporting the country's opposition. Shafik Rehman, 88, and Mahmudur Rahman, 70, were convicted along with three others in what authorities said was a thwarted conspiracy to kidnap and murder Sheikh Hasina's eldest child while he was based in the United States a decade ago. All five were sentenced to seven years in jail, prosecutor Abdur Rahman Khan Kazal told AFP. Rehman edited two of the country's most popular Bengali weeklies and later became an adviser to the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party before his arrest in 2016. Rahman was known as a prominent critic of Hasina's ruling Awami League, which has targeted BNP members with periodic crackdowns and mass arrests over the past decade and was arrested in 2013. Both men were later granted bail to seek medical treatment abroad and have not returned. Friends and supporters of the pair maintain their innocence. The other three defendants have been fugitives since the conspiracy charges were filed and were also sentenced in absentia. Sajeeb Wazed, 52, the prime minister's son, now serves in a senior advisory position to his mother's government. Rights groups and foreign governments including the United States have long raised concerns over efforts by Hasina's government to silence criticism and stamp out political dissent. The 2022 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders ranked Bangladesh at 162, below Russia and Afghanistan. Bangladesh's draconian Digital Security Act, under which hundreds of people have been arrested since 2018, has caused particular alarm. Dainik Dinkal, the country's only remaining newspaper aligned with the BNP, was shut down in February. The post Bangladesh court sentences two journalists over plot to kill PM’s son appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Man who ‘raped’ own daughters collared
A 40-year-old man wanted for raping his own daughters was arrested by the police in a manhunt operation in Antipolo City Wednesday afternoon. The suspect, identified as Carlito Sacdalan, alias Tolits, a resident of Barangay San Luis, Antipolo City, is listed as No. 3 most wanted in the Calabarzon Region. He is accused of raping his two daughters — then 17 years old and 12 years old — while his wife was working abroad in 2016. According to the victims, they were repeatedly raped by their father. One of them got pregnant after the rape. The rape was discovered when the victims’ mother went home and found out that her eldest daughter was pregnant. Since then, the accused went into hiding after finding out that his daughters reported the incident to their mother. The accused was apprehended by joint operatives of the Antipolo City Police Station’s Warrant Section and CIDG Rizal PFU through a warrant of arrest issued by Judge Gay Marie Lubigan-Rafael of Antipolo City Regional Trial Court Branch 73 for five counts of qualified statutory rape, qualified rape and statutory rape with no bail recommended. The post Man who ‘raped’ own daughters collared appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Bong Go: Food, hotel stay, reimbursement for inconvenienced flyers
Senator Christopher “Bong" Go on Wednesday called on airlines to provide passengers affected by canceled or delayed flights with food and water, alternative flights, accommodation in nearby hotels, and prompt reimbursement of expenses they incurred from disrupted trips. The senator made the call during the Senate inquiry on passenger complaints against Cebu Pacific, including the airline's overbooking, offloading, and online booking glitches. Senator Nancy Binay chaired the hearing of her Committee on Tourism. Earlier, she filed Senate Resolution 575 that called for the investigation after her office compiled at least 3,000 complaints from passengers from social media platforms. Binay emphasized the need to identify problems and immediately craft strategies to prevent similar complaints in the future. Go told the Committee that even former president Rodrigo Duterte experienced a flight scheduled at five o'clock but changed to 9:30 last Saturday. The senator also cited his own experience that caused him to celebrate his birthday on an airplane at midnight of 14 June. "Last Saturday, I have an 11:25 p.m. flight. I received the boarding time on my cellphone at 10:40 p.m. It means you have to get ready. Then all of a sudden, when you are in the door, you will be told that the airplane has not yet arrived?" he said in another instance of delayed flight. "Why is that? What the online advisory said was different, that the plane was already there when the truth was that it was not there. Passengers should be given proper information to have a comfortable travel." Go added, "The situation is also difficult for our OFWs who are working tirelessly abroad to support their families. Delayed or canceled flights may jeopardize their employment and livelihood." He also lamented the practice of selling more airline tickets than available seats, which has led to situations where passengers with confirmed reservations have been denied boarding, disrupting their plans and causing immense inconvenience. "The airline should compensate affected passengers for their inconvenience," Go said. During the hearing, several Cebu Pacific passengers complained about apparent website errors that resulted in them being charged multiple times for transactions, yet it appeared to be unsuccessful. Cebu Pacific chief marketing and customer experience officer, Candice Iyog, told the committee that the airline is already working on “a fix or an enhancement” to the interface of the website, which will likely be ready at the end of this month. Iyog said they recently reminded their customer service agents to allow passengers to get back to their original flight or to remove add-ons that were “accidentally added.” The post Bong Go: Food, hotel stay, reimbursement for inconvenienced flyers appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Complaints mar first day of international flights transfer
The Philippine Airlines disclosed on Friday that it has received numerous complaints from passengers going abroad due to the alleged cancellation of their flight schedule without notifying them. This comes on the first day of the transfer of all PAL international flights to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 from Terminal 2, where the cancellations occured simultaneously. According to some affected passengers, the reason given by PAL for the cancellation of their flight was due to aircraft maintenance. PAL, on the other hand, released a statement saying that they recently encountered flight cancellations primarily due to the increase in the number of aircraft on preventive maintenance as a result of high utilization brought about by revenge travel or high travel demand. “In essence, the rise in aircraft maintenance is a direct result of increased aircraft utilization driven by high travel demand in recent months. Consequently, some aircraft require preventive maintenance earlier than scheduled, and unforeseen maintenance issues arise, impacting our flight rotations,” said PAL in its statement. Meantime, during the ocular inspection at NAIA Terminal 1, Manila International Airport Authority officer-in-charge Brian Co said that he will have a meeting with airline companies to resolve the issued regarding on the delayed and canceled flights. Co also mentioned that about 40 international flights or about 6,000 passengers will be added to NAIA Terminal 1 per day during the transfer of all remaining international flights of PAL from NAIA Terminal 2 to Terminal which started on Friday. The post Complaints mar first day of international flights transfer appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Priest arraignment postponed
A Quezon City court on Thursday moved the supposed arraignment of exorcist priest Fr. Winston Cabading to 1 August due to a pending appeal at the Department of Justice. Cabading was charged with offending religious feelings, as the case against him stemmed from the 2022 complaint filed by former Commissions Chief Harriet Demetriou after his statements on the authenticity of the 1948 Lipa Apparitions were quoted in a digital Catholic show. Demetriou, in her complaint, accused the priest of being a “rabid critic” of Mary and lambasted his comment that there exists a 1951 Lipa Diocesan Verdict that “negated the authenticity of the 1948 apparition of Our Lady, Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace.” He was supposed to undergo arraignment Thursday morning but the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 81 rescheduled the arraignment of Cabading to 1 August at 8:30 a.m. The Court also allowed Cabading to travel abroad to visit his family but was required to post a travel bond twice the amount of his bail bond. On the other hand, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, also issued a certificate of good standing for the priest last Wednesday. The certificate stated that Cabading “is a Dominican priest of good standing and is not under any censure or investigation by the CBCP.” The CBCP, for its part, has shouldered the blame over Cabading’s case, saying it may be due to the “shortcomings” of Church leaders. The post Priest arraignment postponed appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
QC court postpones arraignment of exorcist priest
A Quezon City court on Thursday moved the arraignment of exorcist priest Fr. Winston Cabading to 1 August due to a pending appeal at the Department of Justice. Cabading was charged with offending religious feelings, stemming from a 2022 complaint filed by former Commission on Elections chief Harriet Demetriou following Cabading's statements that discounted the authenticity of the 1948 Lipa apparitions. Demetriou, in her complaint, accused the priest of being a “rabid critic” of the Virgin Mary and lambasted his comment that a 1951 Lipa diocesan verdict “negated the authenticity of the 1948 apparition of Our Lady, Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace.” Cabading was scheduled to undergo arraignment Thursday morning but the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 81 rescheduled the arraignment to 1 August at 8:30 a.m. The Court also allowed Cabading to travel abroad to visit his family, but the priest was required to post a travel bond twice the amount of his bail bond. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines also issued a certificate of good standing for the priest last Wednesday. The certificate stated that Cabading “is a Dominican priest of good standing and is not under any censure or investigation by the CBCP." The CBCP has shouldered the blame for Cabading’s case, saying it may be due to the “shortcomings” of Church leaders. The post QC court postpones arraignment of exorcist priest appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Christmas 2020 for workers and farmers
HOTSPOT Tonyo Cruz Two things workers are looking forward to at the end of each year are the 13th month pay and the Christmas bonus. And it seems about two million workers may not get any 13th month pay at all, if the Duterte government would have its way. The reason? Because of the pandemic. In reaction, Kilusang Mayo Uno chairperson Elmer Labog issued his shortest statement yet this year, unable to hide labor’s frustration: “It is the government’s responsibility to bail out MSMEs in times of emergencies.” Indeed, it is the state’s obligation to support and prop up micro, small and medium-scale enterprises especially now in the time of pandemic. By saying MSMEs could dispense with the 13th month pay, the government is practically passing on its responsibility to MSMEs. Workers continue to give their share through the cheap, underpaid and overstressed labor power that makes sure MSMEs continue to function and perform their role as main engines of the economy. The government must do its job: Bail out the MSMEs. It is quite surprising that the Duterte government seems disinterested in bailing out MSMEs, considering the avalanche of news about the borrowings here and there. According to Sonny Africa, executive director of the think-tank Ibon Foundation, the borrowings has reached a historic high: “It took 118 years for the country’s debt to reach P6.1-trillion in 2016. President Duterte is taking just six years to more than than double that to P13.7-trillion in 2022.” Again, the reason for the borrowing has been “because of the pandemic.” Regardless of where the money goes, and whether or not MSMEs and workers received only a drop from it, they would pay the entire debt through more and higher taxes for years to come. Workers are not asking for something they have not earned through hard work. They earned that 13th month pay. It is not an optional thing. It is part of the law. The pandemic should oblige the state to bail out our MSMEs to enable them to fully function, and to give the workers’ their due under the law. Workers have given and lost a lot because of the pandemic. Workers have not asked for free rides to work, but the government fails to provide adequate and safe mass transport. Workers have asked for free mass testing in their companies and communities, but the government has other ideas. Workers and their families would have fared better with unemployment benefits amid the dismal pandemic response of government, but it seems the same government wishes to push them instead to pawnshops and loan sharks. We haven’t even factored in the laid-off, underemployed and unemployed workers, as well as the undetermined number of overseas Filipino healthcare workers stranded in the country since April. They all don’t wish to be “patay-gutom” and “pala-asa”. They don’t wish to stay unemployed and be dependent on aid. They are ready to work and earn their keep. But since the president made policy decisions affecting their ability to obtain work, it is the government’s obligation to bail them out as well. The situation of our nation’s farmers is no different. For instance, rice farmers continue to produce our national staple. The pandemic made even worse the effects on them of the combined power of policies such as rice tarrification, the stranglehold of Big Landlords, the vast influence of rice cartels, and the continued operation of illegal rice importers. Price monitoring by Bantay Bigas and the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas reveals the outrageously low palay prices nationwide, which means ruin to our nation’s rice farmers: Negros Occidental and Bicol region P10; Capiz P10-P11; Caraga P11; Tarlac P11-12; Ilocos Sur and Nueva Ecija P11-13; Camarines Sur P11.50-14; Bulacan and Mindoro P12; Isabela P12-P13.50; Pangasinan P12-P12.30; Antique P12.50; Agusan del Sur P13; Davao de Oro P13.14; Davao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and South Cotabato P13.50; North Cotabato P14; and Lanao del Norte P15. If you look at it, plantitos and plantitas today pay 20 to 50 times more for ornamental plants, compared to the prices traders and the NFA offer to our farmers. According to Bantay Bigas and KMP, the government procures way less than 20 percent of the produce of rice farmers. And then we hear that the NFA would rather import rice from other countries, at pandemic-affected prices at that. Without any state intervention, by way of NFA buying rice farmers’ produce at P20 per kilo, and providing loans to farmers, there could be worse rural poverty in the coming months and years. Between our workers and farmers, their families have been made to sacrifice a lot since March, with prices of basic goods spiking, with new and higher expenses arising from online classes for the children. There cannot be no aid for them. Neither should workers and farmers shoulder the burden of the failure or refusal of government to provide funding for bailouts sorely needed by MSMEs, and be forced to accept new national debts to pay for policies such as rice tarrification and importation. The government knows the scale of the problem. The Department of Labor and Employment says 13,127 companies have either laid off workers or permanently closed. The response cannot be “pass the burden to workers”. The answer should be: “the state must do everything to rescue the companies and the workers.” OFWs across the world should be familiar with bailouts and economic protections because of the pandemic. Many countries that host OFWs enacted huge bailouts and stimulus to their economies, partly so that migrant labor could continue to be employed. They enjoy health insurance, and special COVID19 coverage. Governments handed out checks to both citizens and companies. Is it too much to ask that the same be done in our own country? Or do Filipinos have to go abroad to experience such social and economic protections?.....»»
Akbayan to Sara: You don’t have to be president to speak vs China
MANILA, Philippines — Party-list group Akbayan said on Thursday that Vice President Sara Duterte does not have to be a president of the country for her to call out China’s intrusive actions over the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Empathy and a moral backbone is just what it takes to stand up with fisherfolk and frontline.....»»
Roque bares Duterte, China agreement to respect status quo in WPS
Roque bares Duterte, China agreement to respect status quo in WPS.....»»
7 nanlaban drug suspects dead after Baste Duterte declares drug war
Less than a week after Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte declared a "war on drugs" in the city, at least seven drug suspects were killed during a buy-bust operation in the city — violence that highlights the seriousness of the mayor's recent threat of outright killing persons caught using illegal drugs......»»
CHR alarmed by war vs drugs in Davao City
THE Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is alarmed by Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte’s “war against drugs”, as seven drug users were killed from different barangays in the city over the weekend, just a few hours after his declaration......»»
Revisiting Uniteam (Last of 2 parts)
THE Uniteam coalition of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte, described by many political analysts as the "dream team", had come a long way since sweeping the 2022 elections......»»
Roque: Xi, Duterte agreed to keep West Philippines Sea status quo
The Philippines under former president Rodrigo Duterte had a “gentleman’s agreement” with China to keep the status quo in the West Philippine Sea, a former Cabinet official said yesterday, as fresh tensions surround the WPS due to recent incursions by Beijing that targeted a Filipino resupply mission and a research team......»»
Let’s not forget about sexual reproductive health and rights
I once read that in the ’80s, NASA wanted to send astronaut Sally Ride – the first American woman in space – on a space mission with 100 tampons. Her trip was six days. They could have spared that embarrassment by simply talking about it......»»
Paolo Contis happy for It s Showtime, open to guest in new GMA noontime show
Kapuso actor Paolo Contis is glad that ABS-CBN noontime show "It's Showtime" found a new home in GMA. .....»»
Marian naba-bad trip ba ‘pag sinasabing ‘nakakatakot’ siyang katrabaho?
WALANG nararamdamang galit o pagka-offend ang Kapuso Primetime Queen na si Marian Rivera kapag sinasabing “intimidating” ang kanyang dating. Karaniwan kasi niyang naririnig at nababalitaan na ito ang first impression sa kanya ng mga kapwa artista, lalo na ng mga nakakatrabaho niya sa teleserye at pelikula. “Okay lang iyon, ganoon talaga, normal lang iyon. Parang.....»»
Paolo Contis masaya sa paglipat ng ‘It’s Showtime’ sa GMA
HAPPY ang Kapuso actor at dating host ng noontime program na “Tahanang Pinakamasaya” na si Paolo Contis sa pagkakaroon ng bagong tahanan ng “It’s Showtime”. Sa kanyang exclusive interview sa GMA News nitong Lunes, March 25, natanong ang aktor kung bukas ba siya sa posibilidad na maka-work ang mga Kapamilya hosts ng naturang noontime program......»»
Pause
Like the biblical exodus, the Holy Week period has always ushered in so much travel of people going out of town, or trips abroad for the rich ones......»»
CHR probes Davao drug war deaths
The Commission on Human Rights yesterday expressed grave concern over Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte’s recent declaration of a war on drugs in the city......»»
Drug killings 95 percent lower than in previous admin
The number of deaths recorded under the Marcos administration’s war on drugs has decreased by over 95 percent, in contrast to the bloody anti-drug campaign of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte......»»