GENEVA, Switzerland—A
group of rights defenders called on the Philippine Mission to the ongoing 43rd
session of the United Nations Human Rights Council here to just answer
questions about the human rights situation in the Philippines instead of engaging
in red-baiting.
“The Philippine
Government must focus on explaining to the international community why rights
defenders are being killed and arrested, members of the Ecumenical Voice for
Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (EcuVoice) delegation said.
Reacting to the
government Mission’s statement Wednesday, March 5, at the Palais des Nations,
EcuVoice said the government must also stop recklessly accusing killed and
threatened human rights defenders as supporters of communists.
“How are vilifying
human rights defenders as terrorists a justification to the fact that many of
us are under threat of unjust arrests and are being killed by the security
forces of the Duterte government?” EcuVoice delegation co-head and Karapatan
secretary general Cristina Palabay said.
The group said that while
paying lip service to UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Michel
Forst’s report on the invaluable contribution of human rights defenders, the
government accused rights activists in the Philippines of “[using] the cover of
human rights defenders to protect, cover, or promote agendas of deceit and
violence.”
The government further accused
Filipino “communists” of benefitting from and exploiting the goodwill that the
United Nations system endows human rights defenders.
“Mr. Forst, you have mentioned the need to
address impunity and provide effective remedy, what would you advice in such
situation where unscrupulous groups are using the defender badge as an impunity
blanket to evade accountability from gross human rights violations?” the
government self-righteously taunted.
“This red-tagging spree being exported by the government in the august halls of the UN Human Rights Council is ad nauseam and reflects not only the paucity of its arguments but the bankruptcy of its moral ground in the community of nations.
“Enough already. Just
answer the questions please, “EcuVoice team leader Atty. Edre Olalia said.
The EcuVoice delegation
is in this city to follow up on at least written submissions related to the
Iceland-led resolution in July 2019 calling for an investigation on human
rights violations under the Rodrigo Duterte government.
Kalikasan People’s
Network for the Environment international networks coordinator Clemente
Bautista successfully presented an oral intervention on the killings of
environmental defenders last Monday, March 2.
Other delegation members
include a human rights worker facing arrest when she returns home, a
congresswoman whose partylist is villified, a widow of a slain human rights
lawyera bishop who is facing death threats, a mother whose two sons were
murdered in the “drug war,” a lawyer who is labelled and his group viciously
smeared a journalist whose peers are being pressured, and this reporter whose
colleagues are facing various threats. # (Raymund
B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/850px-palais_des_nations_unies_a_geneve.jpg520650Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2020-03-06 15:23:102020-03-06 20:32:21EcuVoice: PH government exporting red-tagging in Geneva
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) chapters all over the Philippines will hold candle-lighting activities later today, Friday, February 28, to press for media freedom and the franchise renewal of embattled media network ABS-CBN.
To coincide with a mini-concert infront of ABS-CBN’s headquarters in Quezon City are candle-lighting activities in the network’s stations in General Santos City, Davao City, Cagayan de Oro City, and Zamboanga City in Mindanao.
The island-wide coordinated activity marks the start of
similar actions in support and solidarity with ABS-CBN reporters and media
workers, the NUJP said.
A similar activity will be held in the network’s Northern Luzon stations in Baguio City and Dagupan City, as well as in Bacolod and Iloilo cities in the Visayas.
NUJP Bacolod and Iloilo chapters have started their protest actions several weeks ago and both have complained of surveillance by suspected military intelligence personnel during and after their activities.
NUJP chapters in Sorsogon, Surigao del Sur and Batangas shall also hold activities in support of the press freedom campaign.
In Quezon City, NUJP and its allied organizations as well as
ABS-CBN workers and supporters will hold a mini-concert as part of its seventh
consecutive Friday protests.
The NUJP started their protest actions against threats to
block the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise last January 17 after reports that
Solicitor General Jose Calida was set to file a quo warranto petition against
the network.
Calida eventually filed the petition this month as well as a
gag order petition in a bid to stop network representatives from publicly
commenting on the issue.
The NUJP has since conducted and led 11 activities that compelled both Malacañan Palace and Congress to address concerns of harassments.
The group said its call for ABS-CBN franchise renewal is in defense of press freedom and the jobs of the network’s 11 thousand workers.
In a Senate hearing last February 24, ABS-CBN chief
executive officer Carlo Katigbak apologized for “hurting” President Rodrigo
Duterte’s feelings but explained that the network failed to broadcast PhP7
million worth of campaign advertisements in 2016 only due to election rules.
Duterte last Wednesday publicly accepted the network’s
apology that prompted legislators to call on House of Representatives Speaker
Alan Peter Cayetano to schedule hearings for bills on ABS-CBN’s franchise
renewal. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
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The Senate conducted a hearing on the ABS-CBN issue last
Monday, February 24, obviously in reaction to the series of mass actions
calling for the network’s franchise renewal. The Senate Committee on Public
Services, chaired by Senator Grace Poe, again showed the Upper House’s more
independent character than the House of Representatives that still refuses to
schedule hearing on the 11 bills pending before its Committee on Legislative
Franchises. And while Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano called the Senate hearing “a
meaningless and brown-nosing spectacle,” even his fellow administration allies
were compelled to attend and expressed support for ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal
at the end of the hearing. Resource persons from the Bureau of Internal
Revenue, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Telecommunications
Commission and the Department of Justice also clarified that ABS-CBN did not
violate laws that warrant its closure.
The giant media network may now heave a sigh of relief, its position
and future clearer than when the issue blew up middle of January.
Here is a timeline of how organizations have been helping the network weather its worst storm since it was sequestered during Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law:
December 3, 2019
– President Rodrigo Duterte threatend he will
“see to it that you’re (ABS CBN) out.”
December 30, 2019
– Duterte tells ABS-CBN management in a speech to
just sell the company.
January 16, 2020
-The Manila Times reports that Solicitor General
Jose Calida plans to file a quo warranto petition before the Supreme Court
questioning ABS CBN’s franchise.
January 17, 2020
-The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) holds a Black Friday protest at the Boy Scout Monument in Quezon City to denounce the threat. They People’s Alternative Media Network (Altermidya), Defend Jobs Philippines, College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), members of the ABS CBN Rank and File Employees Union (RFEU), the Photojournalists Center of the Philippines (PEP), Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP), International Association of Women in Radio and Television-Philippine Chapter, Rappler, and progressive organizations under Bagong Alyansang Makabayan join the action. The entire Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives attend. Several ABS CBN reporters participate.
January 18, 2020
-The NUJP launches its one million signature campaign
on the online petition platform change.org. Within 24 hours, 100 thousand
signatures were gathered as several ABS CBN artists ask their fans for support.
January 24, 2020
-The NUJP and the ABS CBN-RFEU hold a “silent
protest” at the network’s Sgt. Esguerra gate. Several network reporters join. Participants
light candles and distribute petition forms. Defend Jobs Philippines,
Altermidya and CEGP attend.
January 31, 2020
-The NUJP, PCP members, Altermidya and several ABS CBN fans gather at the Boy Scout Monument and later proceed to one of the network’s Mother Ignacia Avenue gates to conduct its third Black Friday protest. CEGP, CAP and Defend Jobs Philippines join.
February 7, 2020
-The NUJP holds its fourth Black Friday protest at the employee’s Mother Ignacia gate and gather hundreds of signatures from employees. Meanwhile, the NUJP and other employees gather petitions inside the network since January 18. Altermidya and the ABS CBN-RFEU attend the rainy fourth Black Friday.
February 10, 2020
-Calida files quo warranto petition at the Supreme
Court. NUJP and Altermidya denounce the solicitor general’s action, as well as
his harassment of ABS CBN reporter Mark Navallo. NUJP calls for a quick
reaction protest action at the Boy Scout Monument. Altermidya, ABS CBN RFEU, CEGP,
PCP, Rappler, Kadamay, Defend Jobs Philippines and other progressive
organizations under Bayan attend.
February 11-14, 2020
-Media groups, schools and other organizations issue statements issue statements supporting ABS CBN and denouncing threats against the network. Several newspapers publish editorials supportive of the embattled company. ABS CBN report interviews of fans loyal to the network. ABS CBN management issues statement. Several NUJP chapters hold their own protest actions but complain of surveillance by unidentified men who take their pictures even after their activities.
February 12, 2020
-Committee on Legislative Franchises vice
chairperson Isabela 1st District Representative Antonio Albano
admits pressure from both the Duterte administration and ABS CBN supporters.
February 14, 2020
-NUJP and ABS CBN employees jointly organize the fifth protest action named “Red Friday Protest” as the day fell on Valentine’s Day. Hundreds of network officials and workers participate. Reporters prepare food for the increasing number of supporters. PCP conduct interactive activities during protest. CAP, LODI (Let’s Organize for Democracy and Integrity) Kilusang Mayo Uno, Gabriela, Makabayan, and other labor federations attend.
February 19, 2020
-NUJP officers submit to the House of
Representatives copies of 200 thousand signatures to the authors of the 11
bills for ABS CBN franchise renewal as well as to the Committee of Legislative
Franchises secretariat and chairperson Palawan 1st District Rep.
Franz Alvarez. Bayan Muna Rep. Karlos Ysagani Zarate receives the copies in
behalf of his fellow authors.
February 21, 2020
-Thousands of ABS CBN employees light candles and form a human chain around the network compound in an unprecedented mass action in defense of a media organization. Thousands more supporters from other organizations join earlier supporters in a two-hour program in front of the network’s broadcasting center. NUJP, CAP and ABS CBN employees jointly conduct program. Film and television stars attend this sixth protest action. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
[Disclosure: The author is NUJP deputy secretary general.]
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/nujp4.jpg466960Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2020-02-25 13:20:532020-02-26 21:55:15TIMELINE of the struggle for ABS CBN
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP)
submitted to the House of Representatives (HOR) about 200 thousand signatures
urging Congress to act on the 11 bills for the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise
last Wednesday, 19 February.
In a press conference at the HOR’s media center, the media
group submitted to Bayan Muna Representative Karlos Ysagani Zarate about eight
thousand signatures as well as a flash drive containing nearly 200 thousand
signatures it gathered since it launched the petition signing campaign in
January when plans by the Office of the Solicitor General to file a quo
warranto petition were reported last January.
“The NUJP is undertaking this petition signing to show support to the authors of the 11 franchise bills and urge the [HOR} Committee on Legislative Franchises to schedule their discussion,” the group said.
Prior to the press conference, NUJP officers submitted the
same lists to Committee of Legislative Franchises chairperson Rep. Franz
Alvarez, as well as Representatives Edcel Lagman, Vilma Santos-Recto and the
committee secretariat.
“We need not remind Congress that the network’s franchise
expires on March 30 and that the First Regular Session [of the 18th
Congress] only has a little more than a dozen session days [to act on the
bills],” the NUJP said.
In urging Congress to pass ABS-CBN’s franchise, the media
group said it has the welfare of 11 thousand network workers who are fear for
their jobs.
NUJP urged Congress to be independent on the issue and give
the embattled network due process.
NUJP said the petition signing aims to gather one million
signatures and are still ongoing.
It revealed that the signatures are being gathered during
their regular Friday night activities near ABS-CBN as well as in schools and
communities.
They are assisted by other media groups such as Altermidya,
College Editors Guild of the Philippines, Photojournalists Center of the
Philippines, Defend Jobs Philippines, ABS-CBN Rank and File Employees Union,
among other groups.
The group is set to submit the same lists to Senator Grace
Poe, chairperson of both the Senate committees on public information and public
services, on Thursday, February 20.
Zarate thanked NUJP “for the show of support” urging Alvarez
and Speaker Allan Peter Cayetano to listen to the petitioners.
Zarate and fellow Makabayan bloc members are among the
authors of the bills. # (Raymund B.
Villanueva)
(Disclosure: The
author, currently NUJP deputy secretary general, was among the media group
officers who turned over the list of petitioners.)
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Hong Kong domestic worker Eleveneth
Baldero said she fears losing her job due to the travel ban imposed by the
Manila government to the Chinese territory. Contractual workers like her may be
fired if unable to return back to their employers on time as Philippine
authorities have prevented Filipino citizens from travelling to Hong Kong and
the rest of China.
“My contract is set to expire on 6 March that is why I’m really worried. Financially, I am running out of money to sustain my stay here in the Philippines. This is why I really need to return back to Hong Kong,” Eleveneth said in a press conference held at the Migrante International office in Quezon City last Monday, 17 February.
Eleveneth and other migrant workers demanded
that the Rodrigo Duterte government lift the corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19)
travel ban it imposed last February 2 and grant exemption to returning migrant
workers, students and residents.
Rowena Lee was unable to hold back her
tears thinking about her recuperating mother in Hong Kong recently discharged from
a hospital from another ailment. “This is a very big problem for us since my
75-year old mother in Hong Kong still needs medical attention and I really want
to return so I can be with her. She is all by herself,” Rowena said.
Rowena took a short leave from work 28
February and is being prevented to return to Hong Kong by the travel ban. Aside
from worrying for her mother and her job, she is also anxious about bills and
house rents that she needs to pay. “Our family needs us. It will be very hard
for us if we get forced by the situation to borrow money just to extend our
stay here. I am pleading to the government to lift the travel ban so we can
return to our normal lives. We are struggling because we are not earning anything
here,” she said.
Tess Aquino is a permanent Hong Kong
resident and had been for 23 years. Aquino went home to the Philippines last 15
January for her annual leave and was set to fly back on 9 February. She heard
about the travel ban on last 2 February and received an email notice from
Philippine Airlines informing her about her flight’s cancellation. “I have
attempted all possible ways to return back to Hong Kong. I was told by my
company to try travelling to Hong Kong via Vietnam. Travel agencies refused to
book my flight because of the travel ban and I was told that I will only be
wasting my money because even if I make it to Vietnam, they would still not
allow us to get to our final destination which is Hong Kong. For now, my company
allowed me to temporarily work as home-based but for how long? I don’t think
our employers will wait for us forever if this continues,” she narrated
Former Filipino Migrant Workers’ Union
(FMWU-Hong Kong) chairperson Feliza Guy Benitez explained that overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong are usually given two-week annual leaves,
an opportunity they take to visit the Philippines. The leaves are often non-extendible.
“If OFWs get terminated because they
exceeded the 14-day leave, it will be hard for us to get back again to zero
just to process all the application papers and the government won’t even pay
for it,” Benitez said.
Urgent
appeal
Benitez said 131 Hong Kong-based
Filipino organizations already issued their Urgent Appeal Joint Statement calling
on the Duterte government to lift the ban. The statement estimated that
there are around 25,000 overseas Filipino workers who have been unable to
leave the country because of the ban. “We all feel that the travel ban which
was imposed without a warning or consultation is unjustified and oppressive. It
was decided upon without a comprehensive understanding of how it would affect
us, and was not even in line with health protocols set by the World Health
Organization. The abruptness by which it was carried out also belied the
concern for Filipinos abroad that President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed in
numerous speeches and interviews,” the statement reads.
The statement added that an additional
1,000 OFWs are affected by the travel ban consisting of Filipino residents, students
and small business proprietors in Hong Kong. “Health-wise, we also feel safer
in Hong Kong where we are assured of excellent public health care at little or
no cost to us. Some of us who have private medical insurance get the added
bonus of being treated at private hospitals, also for free,” the statement
said.
Feliza Guy Benitez, another Hong Kong
OFW, decried the state of public health services in the Philippines. “People
who need medical attention are safer in Hong Kong because of their advanced
healthcare system. It will be harder for OFWs to settle back here in the
Philippines because of high unemployment, low wages and contractualization,”
Feliza Guy said.
The group also complained about the “miniscule
amount of compensation offered by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA)
to qualified OFWs. “Each stranded OFW was offered Php10,000 compensation from
the OWWA Fund, an amount that would not even pay for the expenses they had to
bear after being stranded at the airport. Moreover, non-OFWs were given no help
at all, when many of them don’t even have houses in the Philippines, and have
to pay for food and lodging while waiting for the ban to be lifted. They are
also in danger of suffering even more if they lose their jobs, as they pay high
rents and other expenses such as school fees for their children in Hong Kong,”
the appeal said.
“When I went to OWWA, I was told that
I am not covered because they are only processing compensation up to 16
February. I really do not know whether I will still receive any compensation
from the government,” Eleveneth said.
Surrendering
right to government assistance
The OFWs also object to proposals that
they sign a waiver freeing the government from any responsibility should they decide
to proceed with their travel to Hong Kong. Tess said the waiver is “problematic
because it is going to free the government from its responsibility towards us
OFWs.”
Migrante Philippines rights and welfare
coordinator Lao Castillo added, “The waiver requirement is tantamount to
obliging OFWs to surrender their right to receive government assistance. It is
a dangerous precedent especially in times of conflict or crisis situations.”
Pinoy
seafarer in trouble
Meanwhile, Victoria Lavado, daughter
of the Filipino seafarer on the cruise ship Diamond fears her father and around
500 other Filipino seafarers who were placed under quarantine in Japan after 10
foreign ship crews which include 1 Filipino contracted COVID-19. “It took a
long time before they received safety masks and they are still forced to work
as if it is business as usual. There is no separate quarantine area for those
who are already infected and they can still mix with other crews despite the
risks. This is why I was really worried when I found out from reports that there
are already 30 to 60 crews who are getting infected with COVID-19 daily,”
Victoria said.
“We really want the Duterte government
to work on medical repatriation for my father and for the other Filipino
seafarers. The government must find a way to provide quality medical services
for them here in the Philippines which is unfortunately notorious for its poor
public healthcare and medical facilities,” Victoria added.
The group United Filipinos (UNIFIL)-Migrante Hong Kong’s said that the OFWs predicament may only be blamed on the government’s labor export policy that has been in place for so long. “If there are only adequate employment opportunities here in the Philippines, there could have been no need for us to leave the country. The government is now telling us that we cannot return back to our work. This is almost akin to taking away our lives.,” UNIFIL said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/mig.jpg525700Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2020-02-18 15:57:182020-02-18 15:57:19Stranded OFWs urge lifting of HK travel ban; quarantined Pinoy seafarer's daughter seeks medical repatriation for dad
A party-list lawmaker on Saturday denounced what he called “back-channel” talks among members of the House panel whom he accused of “sitting” on the application for renewal of the franchise of media network ABS CBN.
Buhay party-list Rep. Jose “Lito” Atienza wondered what has been keeping the House committee on legislative franchises from tackling the 11 pending bills on the ABS CBN franchise renewal, hinting that the delay was supposedly to allow “shady” deals.
“There’s a saying, ‘a fish is caught by its mouth.’ It was they (committee members) who said the measures have been stalled as there has been a lot of back channeling on the ABS CBN issue,” he said in response to queries whether he believed that corruption has crept into the issue.
“We wonder what these secret talks were about on a supposedly public interest issue,” Atienza said in a forum in Quezon City.
He was referring to pronouncements by Isabela 1st Dist. Rep. Antonio “Tonypet” Albano, the committee vice chair, to dispute allegations that the committee was sitting on the franchise renewal application.
Albano has said committee members were already having meetings, but only behind closed doors because of a lot of “back channeling.”
‘Unjust’
Atienza reiterated his call for the House leadership to set hearings for the ABS CBN license, which expires on March 30. In a privilege speech on Monday, he called out House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, citing the urgency for Congress to tackle the media network’s franchise application.
He said the non-renewal of ABS CBN’s franchise imperils the gains of EDSA People Power in ousting a dictatorship and restoring democracy and free speech in the country.
“Congress’ inaction on this matter will be considered a rejection (of the application), and inaction without explanation is unjust,” Atienza told reporters at the In Focus weekly forum.
The Buhay lawmaker also mocked pronouncements from Cayetano claiming that the ABS CBN franchise bills are “important but not urgent.”
“What kind of logic is that? If you really consider a matter as important, you attend to it with urgency,” he said.
Atienza also rebuked Cayetano’s claim that Congress has not tackled the ABS CBN franchise bills because it has been busy with many other important concerns.
“I urge the public to come visit Congress to see for themselves how many of the members do not even attend sessions; how measures are approved despite the apparent lack of quorum,” he said.
The author sought Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez, franchise committee chair, but he did not respond to requests for interview, nor answer text queries sent to his mobile phone.
Slow, fast
Data from the House of Representatives website showed that since the opening of the 18th Congress on July 1, 2019, a total of 43 bills for broadcast franchise have been filed, and have subsequently been referred to the committee of legislative franchises.
Two bills for broadcast franchise were filed on July 1, including that for ABS CBN, authored by Nueva Ecija Rep. Micaela Violago.
Ten more separate bills on ABS CBN’s franchise renewal would be lodged by lawmakers: PBA party-list Rep. Jericho Jonas Nograles; Pangasinan Rep. Rose Marie Arenas (with 34 co-authors); Parañaque City Rep. Joy Myra Tambunting (with 12 co-authors); Laguna Rep. Sol Aragones (with 12 co-authors), and Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto (with 2 co-authors);
Deputy Speakers Aurelio Gonzales and Johnny Pimentel; Cagayan De Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez; Occidental Mindoro Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato; Bayan Muna Reps. Carlos Isagani Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite and Eufemia Cullamat; ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro; Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago; and Baguio City Rep. Mark Go.
Records showed that out of 43 applications for broadcast franchise lodged before the committee, 12 bills that were filed later than the ABS CBN bill have already been approved by the House, and transmitted to the Senate.
Of the 12 bills for broadcast franchise approved, six of these listed committee chair Alvarez, as a co-author.
The House was also quick to approve four broadcast franchises, which were simultaneously filed on Sept. 12 and approved on Sept. 24 — or only after five session days.
Among the recently approved bills y the House was the 25-year franchise for Bicol Broadcasting Systems, Inc., which was filed on Nov. 13 and approved on third reading on Dec. 4, 2019 after just about nine session days. #
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The National Union of Journalists of
the Philippines (NUJP) said it agrees with actor Robin Padilla in deploring
contractualization and reiterated its call to end the practice in all its
forms.
Reacting to Padilla’s comment on media
giant ABS-CBN’s franchise problems, the NUJP said it is one with the million of
irregular works who are still waiting for the practice to be totally
eliminated.
“That is why we also
challenge government to make contractualization and all its iterations
absolutely illegal as the President repeatedly promised in the past. The millons of contractual workers and the NUJP
are still waiting,” the media group said in a statement Friday,
February 14.
Padilla said ABS-CBN
franchise renewal advocates must take the opportunity to compel the
entertainment industry to change its working state.
“Gusto niyo pala itama ang mali, aba’y
umpisahan natin sa una. Pag-usapan muna natin ang tamang sweldo, benepisyo at
tamang oras ng trabaho ng mga kasama natin sa taping at shooting. Bago niyo
ipaglaban ang karapatan ng kumpanya, unahin niyo ‘yung tao ng kumpanya na
kasama niyo sa bawat araw sa location at ‘wag niyo proteksyunan lang ang
regular employees. Paano ‘yung hindi regular?” the Philippine Star quoted
Padilla to have said.
(If you want to correct a wrong, let
us start from the beginning. Let us talk first about our co-workers’ just
salaries, benefits, and the length of time our co-workers during tapings and
shoots. Before you defend the company, you look first at your co-workers at
locations. Do not just protect the regular workers. How about the irregular
ones?)
Padilla said he is against ABS-CBN’s
franchise renewal but called on fellow artists defending the media company to “be
real.”
“Magpagamit muna kayo sa mahihirap, sa
mga taong nagdala sa inyo sa kasikatan bago sa mga mayayaman,” Padilla, a known
supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, added.
(Be in solidarity with the poor first,
those who helped you become famous, before the rich ones.)
Duterte has repeatedly threatened to
block ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal.
Duterte’s solicitor general filed
petitions before the Supreme Court questioning how ABS-CBN implemented two of
its franchises, a move the NUJP is politically motivated.
In agreeing with
Padilla on the contractualization issue, the NUJP however asked if the actor
issued his statement in defense of current moves to close the company down.
“Doing so may be
likened to sinking an entire ship, bringing the entire crew and passengers down
along with it, rather than compeling its owners and captain to do right by
everyone,” the NUJP said.
The group said they
fear for the massive loss of livelihood if ABS-CBN would be shutdown as well as
the closure of a media company it adds is an attack to press freedom.
NUJP has repeatedly
called for an end to labor-only contracting by the entire media industry in the
Philippines. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
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Quezon City—Human rights group Karapatan and other progressive organizations formed a network to defend activists and and rights defenders in Mindanao against trumped-up charges and harassments by state forces under the Rodrigo Duterte government Wednesday, February 12.
Defend Mindanao, a campaign network in defense of Mindanao
human rights defenders and development workers, also called on the Commission
on Human Rights to investigate and
facilitate remedies for the embattled activists.
According to Bayan Muna Rep. Eufemia Cullamat, co-convenor of Defend Mindanao and herself a Manobo tribal leader, Mindanao has been a factory mill of trumped-up criminal charges against activists.
Last March 2019, the Provincial Prosecutors Office of
Bayugan City filed charges of kidnapping, arson, robbery and serious illegal
detention against 468 individuals, including 78 known activists in Caraga and
Northern Mindanao.
Cullamat added that although martial law in Mindanao has
been lifted last December 2019, the arrest of Nestor Amora, a businessman and
former barangay captain in Surigao City, and Karapatan national council member
Engr. Jennifer Aguhob in Oroquietta City, prove that martial law still exists
in the island through Duterte’s Executive Order No. 70.
She added that EO 70 allows the implementation of a de facto
martial law in Mindanao and all over the country.
Other forms of human
rights violations
Meanwhile, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) denounced
the inclusion of teacher Ophelia Tabacon, ACT Region 10 chairperson, among the 467
persons charged with kidnapping, serious illegal detention and destructive allegedly
commited against police personnel from December 2018 to February 2019.
ACT said Tabacon also recieved death threats through her
social media accounts and subjected to various form of surveillance and
harassments by suspected State security forces.
Aside from the teachers’ group, the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU)
and the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP) also reported villifications
and red-tagging by State forces.
KMU said leaftlets linking its allied National Federations
of Labor Union have been distributed in Caraga region they said are the
handiwork of the military.
Sr. Emma Cupin, current regional coordinator of RMP in
Northern Mindanao, is also included in a warrant of arrest.
Hitlist
Defend Mindanao said the arrest warrants for the 468 respondents
is a hitlist of the Duterte government that often leads to extra-judicial
killings of activists.
The group said the red-baiting tactics of the government
lump together civilian activists with the armed combatants of the New People’s
Army in a bid to make them targets of military combat operations and legal
offensives.
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers said that such
tactics is an illegal practice and weaponization of law against critics and
disenters.
The lawyers’ group cited issued warrants from courts they
said are without complete examination of complainants and witnesses as well as
submission of evidences.
The NUPL challenged the Department of Justice to investigate public prosecutors who handle what they say are trumped-up cases against the activists. #
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The country’s top public lawyer earned the objection of his
fellow lawyers after publicly castigating another lawyer while filing a
petition questioning how media giant ABS-CBN had been implementing its
franchises at the Supreme Court last Monday, February 10.
While being asked by ABS-CBN reporter and lawyer
Mike Navallo for an interview, Solicitor General Jose Calida confronted him for
allegedly “always criticizing” him in the news.
The lawyers’ group National Union of People’s
Lawyers (NUPL) said Calida wore a stoic expression when he reprimanded the
reporter but used an arrogant tone as “he condescendingly challenged the young
but unperturbed Navallo to practice law and face him in court.”
Navallo calmly replied to Calida that he was “only
doing his job.”
“Calida’s actions – without doubt condoned if not
encouraged and goaded by President [Rodrigo] Duterte’s persistent threats
against the media outfit – reveal an attempt at censorship and prior restraint,
masked as a perfectly legal action to ‘put an end… to highly abusive practices,’”
the NUPL said.
The solicitor general is the official chief legal
counsel to President Duterte—himself a lawyer—and the entire executive branch
of government.
The NUPL added that Calida’s “feudal treatment” of a
fellow lawyer based on his self-professed superiority does not speak well
neither of the office he represents nor of the profession.
The human rights lawyers group added that “Calida’s
showcase of power exposes this government’s utter disrespect of the people’s
right to a free and independent press, and its unqualified intolerance to
dissent, disapproval of any diversion from the official line, and aversion to
critical yet constructive views, opinions and ideas.”
“It fits right into the mold of presidential
tantrums in tandem with legislative collusion. We pray that the judiciary does
not become a party to this outrageous lawfare,” NUPL said.
“History will judge all these disingenuous legal
assaults against freedoms and liberties the way they deserve. In time, everyone
will be given his due,” the group warned.
Former Supreme Court spokesperson Atty. Theodore Te
also came to the defense of the reporter, saying Navallo is a good lawyer.
“[Navallo] is a better lawyer than he is a reporter
and he is one of the best reporters I know,” Te wrote on his twitter account.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines
(NUJP) earlier condemned Calida’s actions, saying he “clearly overstepped the bounds of his office when he
turned personal against Navallo” who was on coverage.
The NUJP said Calida was being
boorish, “a classic example of a government factotum who mistakes his position
of authority as a license to throw his weight around.” # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/calida.jpg417900Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2020-02-11 21:48:322020-02-11 21:48:33Lawyers vs lawyer: Calida’s attack against reporter-lawyer Navallo earns objections
A media group slammed Solicitor General Jose Calida for harassing ABS-CBN reporter and fellow lawyer Mike Navallo Monday morning.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said Calida clearly overstepped the bounds of his office when he turned personal against Navallo who was covering the official’s filing of a quo warranto petition asking the Supreme Court to nullify the franchise of ABS-CBN and its subsidiary, ABS-CBN Convergence.
While refusing requests by reporters for an interview, Calida singled out Navallo for confrontation.
“Lagi mo akong binabanatan ha. Lawyer ka rin pala,” Calida reportedly told Navallo. (You always criticize me, huh. I heard you are a lawyer like me.)
Navallo replied, “I am just doing my job, sir.”
Calida, however, added: “Mag-practice ka na lang. Magkita tayo sa court.” (Why don’t you just practice law? See you in court.”
The NUJP said Calida was being boorish, “a classic example of a government factotum who mistakes his position of authority as a license to throw his weight around.”
The media group said the top government lawyer’s behavior mirrors his principal, President Rodrigo Durerte.
Calida’s quo warranto petition before the High Court came after Duterte repeatedly and publicly threatened to block ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal the NUJP and other media organizations said are direct attacks on press freedom and freedom of expression. # (Raymund B. villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1-4.jpg7201280Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2020-02-10 14:24:152020-02-10 16:35:42Media group slams 'boorish' Calida's harassment of ABS-CBN reporter