Relief volunteers, advocates say junking of charges ‘a vindication’
“Time and again, we have reminded authorities that neither the pandemic nor their grave ignorance of the law or dumb over-zealousness is an excuse to trample upon basic rights and curtail freedoms.” -- NUPL The post Relief volunteers, advocates say junking of charges ‘a vindication’ appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
Phl Army belies abduction of 3 IP advocates; insists “they were NPAs”
The Philippine Army on Thursday belied reports that soldiers abducted three individuals “falsely identified” as Indigenous People’s defenders, insisting that they were members of the New People’s Army. Bgen Randolph Cabangbang, commander of the PA’s 203rd Infantry Battalion-2nd Infantry Division lambasted the Karapatan Group for accusing the military of abducting Alia Encelo, Job Abednego David, and Peter Del Monte. Cabangbang said the Karapatan’s claims on the disappearance of supposed rights advocates are “distorted and full of lies.” Karapatan group condemned the arrest of three personalities who were conducting a probe on “human rights violations in connection to reports of bombings and shelling by the 203rd IB around the area earlier this year.” In response, Cabangbang said the three individuals "were captured and arrested” during a legitimate military operation in Barangay Lisap, Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro on 23 September. He then insisted that the three individuals were members of the NPA’s Main Regional Guerrilla Unit as he cited the guerilla’s combatant profile and gallery. “During the capture, they attempted to resist and reach for some objects inside their bags and upon seeing that they have been surrounded, decided to heed the soldiers' call not to move anymore,” he said. “They were in possession of improvised landmines and grenades inside their bags that they probably planned to use in ambushing government troops,” he added. The Army official said the three would be facing charges of violating Republic Act 9516 (An act Further Amending the Provisions of PD No. 1866, As Amended, Entitled to Codifying the Laws on Illegal/Unlawful Possession, Manufacture, Dealing in, Acquisition or Disposition of Firearms, Ammunition or Explosives or Instruments Used in the Manufacture of Firearms, Ammunition or Explosives, and Imposing Stiffer Penalties for Certain Violations Thereof, and For Other Relevant Purposes) and Violation of Section 4(a) and 4(d), Republic Act No. 11479 (Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020). Cabangbang said one of the captured, Alia Encelo, 19, was an active member of Gabriela Youth prior to joining the NPA in January this year. While Job Abednego David and Peter Del Monte, both 29 years old, have been with the NPA for more than 6 years, he added. “Job, from Quezon City, is a Fine Arts student at a prestigious school, and Peter, a high school drop-out from Tondo, Manila. They were later on identified by former rebels, who have surrendered, to be NPA members," Cabangbang said. “The captured rebels claimed that they have been in hiding for months, owing to the continuous military operations, and have not eaten a decent meal for two months,” he added. The post Phl Army belies abduction of 3 IP advocates; insists “they were NPAs” appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Camarines Sur mayor charged over quarry operations
Environmental advocates have filed charges against a municipal mayor in Camarines Sur and other local officials in connection with alleged illegal quarry operations......»»
Ressa says Philippine press freedom improving, but still ‘work to do’
Buoyed by her latest acquittal, Philippine journalist Maria Ressa told AFP Tuesday that media freedom in the country has improved since former president Rodrigo Duterte left office, but there was still a "lot of work to do". Ressa, who was a vocal critic of Duterte and his deadly drug war, said the fear fostered by him had "largely lifted" since his successor Ferdinand Marcos took power in June 2022. "There's been a lot of problems in the Philippines because fear spreads. But it has improved," Ressa, 59, told AFP in an interview after she and Rappler, the online news outfit she co-founded in 2012, were cleared of tax evasion. "Is it perfect? Far from it. We still have a lot of work to do." Ressa and Rappler have been battling multiple court cases filed during Duterte's rule, which she and press freedom advocates have long maintained were politically motivated. This year, Ressa and Rappler have been acquitted of five tax evasion charges, including the one on Tuesday. They are still fighting two cases, including a cyber libel conviction that could put Ressa behind bars for nearly seven years, and another that could shut down Rappler. "We're not out of the woods yet," Ressa admitted, likening the years-long legal battle to a "war of attrition". - 'Absolutely exhausting' - Shortly after Tuesday's verdict was read out in court, a beaming Ressa returned to Rappler's newsroom where she was greeted by clapping and cheering colleagues. Ressa told AFP the latest acquittal was confirmation that "we weren't foolish to trust the justice system at a time when it was being used against us because we're journalists." While the legal process had taken nearly five years and been "absolutely exhausting", Ressa said she hoped this latest victory would remind the public that journalists were needed "to keep power accountable, and to help power make the right decisions." "Doing the right thing is the right thing," said Ressa, who is also a US citizen. "It's up to us to ... hold the line." Many Filipino journalists had feared for press freedom under Marcos, who largely shunned mainstream media on the 2022 campaign trail. His own dictator father had shut down independent media outlets during his brutal rule that ended in a bloodless revolution in 1986. Since taking office, however, Marcos has been more open to answering questions from reporters, though one-on-one interviews are still rare, and has publicly vowed to protect the rights of journalists. His words have not been enough to prevent the killings of three journalists since he took power. Ressa said the "fear that engulfed us" during Duterte's rule had largely gone since Marcos took power. She attributed that to his desire to "change that history" of his family and vindicate their "tarnished" name. The ordeal of the past few years "forced us to be our best selves" and she remained hopeful for the future. "The cases very slowly are going away as they should have from the very beginning," she said. pam/amj/ssy © Agence France-Presse The post Ressa says Philippine press freedom improving, but still ‘work to do’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Farmer rights advocates, artists raise funds for bail of detained Negros activist
Karina Dela Cerna was only 19 years old when she was arrested along with her father Albert in a series of raids in Bacolod in 2019. They were consequently charged with trumped-up charges such as illegal possession of firearms and explosives and human trafficking. The post Farmer rights advocates, artists raise funds for bail of detained Negros activist appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
Heat wave in US turns Texas prisons into ‘ovens’
On the afternoon of 4 July, as Americans were celebrating the country's independence with elaborate fireworks displays, a prisoner named Joseph Martire passed out in his cell in Texas, amid the excessive heat that has been swamping much of the southern United States in recent days. In concrete, brick, and metal penitentiaries, industrial fans churn warm vapor without really cooling the air. And with no air conditioning in most prisons, when outside temperatures exceed 40ºC (104 Fahrenheit), it can feel even hotter inside the cells. Some prisoners sabotage the toilets in their cells to make the water overflow and wet the floor, which they then sleep on. Others wet their clothes to try to stay cool, according to convicts, ex-convicts and family members who spoke to AFP. In recent weeks, 35-year-old Martire had four heat-related health episodes at Estelle Prison in Huntsville, where he has served 16 years. "I just passed out, the medical (staff) refused to see me and I don't know what to do," he told his family by phone. They called the prison administration to seek help. When other inmates sense that someone has passed out in a nearby cell, they yell to attract a guard's attention, but staff shortages often mean delays, Martire said. The stricken inmate is then taken to an administrative area of the jail that does have air conditioning for so-called "respite." Prisoners try to linger as long as possible. "I've already had too many issues with my health before from the heat," Martire said. Asked what the heat in the cells is like, Amite Dominick of the NGO Advocates for Texas Community Prisons replied: "The fastest way I can explain that is, go sit in your car on a triple-digit day. Bring a blow dryer with you. Crack your window a little bit." Brick oven The Texas Tribune news site reported that at least nine people had died in state prisons in June from heart attacks or other possibly heat-related causes. But Amanda Hernandez, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), which is in charge of prisons, said the last heat death occurred in 2012. In June, the department treated seven cases of people affected "beyond first aid," but there were no fatalities, she said. The department, which oversees 126,000 prisoners, said that 32 people died in June, from a variety of causes. Dominick took issue with that breakdown. "The coroner will usually report something like 'cardiac arrest' because heat stroke is highly correlated with cardiac arrest," she said. "We're seeing the same reports. We're seeing medical evidence for what happens to the body. "You know, during these types of temperatures, these are heat-related deaths," Dominick added. Sean Adams, 36, served time in a prison called the Clemens Unit, in the Texas city of Brazoria, but which inmates call "Burns Like Hell." "It's one of the older units that was made out of, you know, red bricks," Adams said. "And so red bricks are essentially what ovens are made out of." The prisons agency said inmates have access to ice and water and can go to air-conditioned rest areas when necessary. So inhumane Samantha, whose daughter is a 25-year-old inmate at the Lane Murray prison, said three prisoners died there in June from heat-related causes. "The way that they're treated is so inhumane," she said. "In the summer months, when you're inside, you see multiple heat-induced seizures every day," said Marci Marie Simmons, a 44-year-old ex-convict and activist. She said that in late June, a 36-year-old inmate died in the Estelle prison hours after speaking with her mother and complaining about the heat. "If we go and leave a kid or a human being or an animal in a vehicle, we're going to prison. But the state of Texas wants to cook our Texans," said Michelle Lively, whose partner Shawn McMahon, 49, is in Wynne prison. "And some of them are dying, and they have short, like, stupid drug charges and they have a death sentence because they can't handle the heat," she said. In leaks to the media, prison workers have also complained about their working conditions, including the heat. Dominick said legislative efforts to do something about the heat have fallen short, with bills demanding air conditioning in prisons withering in the conservative-majority Texas Senate. Meanwhile, the state recently spent over $750,000 to purchase several air-cooled units for a large swine breeding operation run partly by inmates, Dominick said. "And they don't have it for human beings." The post Heat wave in US turns Texas prisons into ‘ovens’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Relief volunteers, advocates say junking of charges ‘a vindication’
“Time and again, we have reminded authorities that neither the pandemic nor their grave ignorance of the law or dumb over-zealousness is an excuse to trample upon basic rights and curtail freedoms.” -- NUPL The post Relief volunteers, advocates say junking of charges ‘a vindication’ appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
Karapatan files raps vs anti-communist task force
A group of rights advocates yesterday filed criminal and administrative charges against officials of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict led by its head, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr......»»
DOJ charges 2 alleged NPA financiers with terrorism financing
According to the DOJ, the case stemmed after reports that Dumlao and Tolentino possessed firearms and ammunition without a clear source of income or apparent purpose......»»
DOF: GFIs can seek extended relief after Maharlika infusion
Government financial institutions Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines will likely seek an extension of its regulatory relief following contributions to the country’s sovereign wealth fund......»»
Scientists group condemns harassment of researchers near Pag-asa Island
The Advocates of Science and Technology for the People condemned the harassment of Filipino marine scientists who were conducting research at sandbars near Philippine-occupied Pag-asa Island. .....»»
Acciona advocates water conservation
Acciona, a global sustainable infrastructure company, recently launched its water conservation campaign to raise awareness among young children and empower them to become stewards of the vital resource......»»
Lawyer claims Isko Ouano was a victim of ‘mistaken identity’
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — The legal counsel of Francisco “Isko” Ouano believed that his client was a victim of mistaken identity. Lawyer Nelson Macabocsit said he was prepared to prove that Ouano was innocent of the robbery and extortion charges against him. Ouano, 48, along with two other accused – Joselito Agtuca, 46, and German.....»»
SC affirms ruling granting bail to ex-Masbate lawmaker, Napoles
The Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed a ruling of the Sandiganbayan that allowed businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles and former Masbate congresswoman Rizalina Seachone-Laneta to post bail in the plunder charges filed against them in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork scam......»»
PAWS to file charges vs. Killua’s ‘killer’
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Animal welfare and rights group Philippine Animal Welfare Society (Paws) will be filing charges against the man accused of killing Killua, a golden retriever dog, in Camarines Sur. Paws, in a statement, said they will lodge complaints versus Anthony Solares over the death of the canine named Killua, whose story went.....»»
Cebu City files complaint vs CPA with DENR
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Cebu City Environmental and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO) has filed a complaint against the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for violating environmental laws. Reymarr Hijara, CCENRO head, along with City Legal Officer (CLO) Carlo Vincente Gimena and advocates Eleodoro Diaz and Manuel.....»»
OCD-Davao advocates for community fire brigades
AN OFFICIAL from the Office of Civil Defense-Davao Region (OCD-Davao) underscored the necessity of establishing community fire brigades as part of their community intervention strategy......»»
SK chair, others to face road-related law violation charges
SEVERAL youths, including a Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairman in Malita, Davao Occidental, who were seen in a viral video over road-related law violations and reckless driving incident along the Coastal Road in Bago Aplaya, earlier this month will be put under custody in Davao City’s police offices for different charges......»»
EDITORIAL - Victims of domestic violence
On National Women’s Month, advocates of women’s welfare are glad that a general in the Armed Forces of the Philippines is seeing his career derailed by accusations of domestic violence hurled by his estranged wife......»»
CCAP: Current credit card rate cap sufficient
The Credit Card Association of the Philippines said it fully supports the assessment process of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in adjusting or keeping the cap on credit card charges, adding that the current ceiling is sufficient......»»
Ombudsman junks raps vs NBI agents sued for torture of detainees, evidence planting
Criminal and administrative charges filed against nine agents of the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) Task Force Against Illegal Drugs were dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman in a ruling on Feb. 12, 2024, received on Monday......»»