Category: Human Rights

Duterte is mistaken if he thinks he has escaped from ICC by withdrawing PH membership

Published by Ellen on March 16, 2018

Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, the first president in Southeast Asia to be the subject of an examination by the International Criminal Court. Malacañang photo.

If Pres. Duterte thinks he is now out of the reach of the International Criminal Court because he directed the Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to withdraw the ratification of the Philippines of the Rome Statute which established the ICC, he is mistaken.

Former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay said Duterte has no unilateral constitutional authority to withdraw from the Rome Statute of the ICC. The Rome Statute was ratified by the Senate, which shares the Treaty Power with the President. Withdrawal, as a constitutional matter, requires a similar concurrence.”

Hilbay also said, the withdrawal cannot be made “immediately”.

Duterte revises his number of drug addicts in the Philippines

Published by Ellen on March 12, 2018

Pres. Duterte shares a light moment with former President and Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo on the sidelines of the meeting with local chief executives from Luzon at in Clark, Pampanga. Malacanang photo by Robinson Ninal.

At the start of his administration, President Duterte said there were three million drug addicts in the Philippines which was the reason why he launched a brutal campaign against illegal drugs which has now claimed over 4,000 as of March 2017 per data from the Philippine National Police.

From three million drug addicts, which number he attributed to former head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Dionisio Santiago, he increased it to four million in less than a year.

He even fired then Dangerous Drugs Board chairman Benjamin Reyes for saying there were only 1.8 million drug addicts in the country. Reyes was replaced by Santiago whom Duterte fired after just a few months at the DDB for saying the 10,000-bed capacity mega drug rehabilitation facility in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija built by a Chinese official was a “mistake” and an “impractical solution” to the drug menace.

SM needs a heart

Published by Ellen on December 20, 2017

This can yet be the best Christmas story.

SM patriarch Henry Sy, the richest man in the country with a net worth of $20.3 billion can revise the narrative of his life – born to a poor family in Xiamen, in the Fujian province of China, he and his family came to the Philippines in search of a better life. From a small shoe store in Quiapo, Manila in the 1950s, his business grew into a multi-billion empire. He king of shopping banks, into banking, and real estate. His SM Investments, earned $6.7 billion in revenue in 2016, according to Forbes Magazine.

On his 93rd birthday on Dec. 25, he can do something that humankind will remember him for- visit former employee Paul Matthew Tanglao, 21, ask for his forgiveness for putting him into a miserable situation, rehire him or help him become financially stable.

Also, have all employees of SM, especially the supervisor of Save More Sta. Ana, undergo a training on kindness and humanness.

‘Me Pulis sa ilalim ng tulay ‘ in times of EJK

Published by Ellen on September 17, 2017

When things are difficult, you laugh and you sing.

Those are coping mechanisms that Filipinos have developed into art.

There’s a song going around social media that is so much fun. It’s a new version of an old game song “May Pulis sa Ilalim ng Tulay.”

The song is usually sang in a party where each one adds a line to the original sentence about a policeman under the bridge. Often, as each one adds a sentence depending on his or her views and wit, the song becomes a sharp commentary.

CHR explained

Published by Ellen on September 14, 2017

When the House of Representatives voted 119 against 32 last Tuesday to give only P1, 000 budget for the Commission on Human Rights for 2018, it showed that stupidity is not the monopoly of its speaker.

Lambasted in social media, some of the congressmen who voted “Yes” have started explaining their vote and they all showed their ignorance of the mandate of the CHR just like Alvarez.

Alvarez lambasted the CHR for not running after those who killed the policemen, military and government officials.
“Kailangan nilang protektahan at pangalagaan ang karapatang pantao ng sinuman, di lang isang sektor, di lang sa karapatang pantao ng mga kriminal, pati ang innocent victims. Kumikibo lang sila kapag against the military, against the police, against government officials. Hindi naman ganun ang mandato nila. Ang mandato nila ay lahat ng karapatang pantao ay protektahan nila at pangalagaan,” he said.

Actually, Alvarez and the 119 congressmen who voted to strangle CHR by withholding funding , are not the only ones who are misinformed of the role of the Human Rights Commission. They are actually only echoing the ignorance that President Duterte has been articulating in many of his speeches.

The Charlie Tan- Paolo Duterte connection

Published by Ellen on August 28, 2017

Once again, we are seeing proof of the saying that truth will find its way out, however one tries to block it.

We are referring to the Paolo Duterte- Charlie Tan drug connection.

Paolo is the son of President Duterte and is the vice mayor of Davao City. Charlie Tan, according to news reports, is a Taiwanese businessman who does a lot of business in Davao.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s privilege speech last Wednesday on the corruption at the Bureau of Customs was indeed explosive. As Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano said, Lacson’s speech “has exposed more actionable information regarding corruption in BOC compared to Sen. Richard Gordon’s endless hours of monologue and one-man show hearings.”

Sen. Ping Lacson delivering his expose of corruption in the Bureau of Customs. Photo from pinglacson.net

Outrage at Kian’s wake: Lawmakers, rights activists denounce Duterte’s war on drugs

Published by Ellen on August 22, 2017

Please click here for VERA Files’ photo essay

By Arianne Christian Tapao and Ellen T. Tordesillas, VERA Files
Photos by Arianne Christian Tapao

A neighbor of the de los Santos family lights a candle as the protest march passes by.

Usually on opposing sides, supporters and critics of President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs have joined the chorus of condemnation over the killing of 17-year-old Kian Loyd Delos Santos and called for an investigation of police abuse that has resulted in “unnecessary deaths” in the anti-narcotics campaign.

As rain poured on Barangay 160, Caloocan City on Aug. 21, groups led by ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio and BAYAN Secretary General Renato Reyes condemned during a candle-lighting ceremony the killing by police of the Grade 11 student.

‘Tama na po! May test pa ako bukas!’

Published by Ellen on August 19, 2017

Kolumn ko ito sa Abante.

Screen grab of CCTV image. From ABS-CBN.

Anong klaseng tao itong mga pulis na walang habag na pinagbabaril ang 17-taong gulang na si Kian de los Santos habang nagmamakaawa, “Tama na po! May test pa ako bukas!”

Ito ba talaga ang sinasabing kailangan maka-quota and mga pulis kaya kahit sino na lang bibitbitin nila at pagpapatayin at sabihing drug pusher?

Gustong kung magmura ng “Putang Ina mo Duterte” ngunit hindi ko gagawin yun dahil ayaw kung maging katulad niya na wala nang lumalabas sa bunganga niya kungdi mura. Ibig sabihin noon ganun din lang ang laman ng utak niya at puro lason ang nasa puso niya.

Ayaw ko rin na idamay pa ang nanay niya sa kahindik-hindik na pinag-gagawa niya sa bansa. Hindi naman tama yun.

Pained voices from Mindanao

Published by Ellen on June 4, 2017

Evacuation center. Photo by Erwin Mascariñas

There’s so much pain and suffering in their voices and they all have a common message: End the airstrikes in Marawi , lift Martial Law in Mindanao and resume peace talks.

In a gathering of persons and groups from Mindanao last Thursday, stories about panic, fear, hunger and fatigue since the declaration of martial Law by President Duterte last May 23 were shared.

Norkaya Mohamad said in normal times, it takes only 45 minutes from Marawi to Iligan City. When they fled Marawi last week, it took them eight agonizing hours.

ICC will be the next battleground

Published by Ellen on May 16, 2017

Rep. Gary Alejano during the House Justice Committee hearing on the impeachment complaint against Pres. Duterte. Photo from Philippine Star.

It was not surprising that the Malacañang-friendly congressmen killed without much fuss the impeachment complaint against President Duterte filed by Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano Monday.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, also a member of the Magdalo group (which started as a group of young military officers advocating for reforms in the military), lamented the quick dismissal of the impeachment rap saying that the members of the House Justice committee didn’t even study the content of the complaint when they decided that although it was sufficient in form, it was not sufficient in substance.

But Trillanes, one of the few who dare oppose Duterte, said it’s not the end of the quest for a better government for the Filipino people.

In fact, the dismissal of impeachment complaint would even bolster the communication filed by lawyer Jude Sabio against Duterte before the International Criminal Court in The Hague.