Maniolas

UN special rapporteur on summary executions Agnes Callamard. Photo from Agnes Callamard Twitter account The United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings Agnes Callamard wants the Philippine government to guarantee freedom of movement and unfettered access to detention facilities, witnesses and government officials, Sen. Paulo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV bared Wednesday night. Speaking on behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Aquino made the disclosure under the interpellation of staunch human rights advocate Sen. Leila de Lima as he presented the agency’s proposed P16.59-billion budget for 2017. “The status is that the President actually issued an invitation to the UN special rapporteur to visit the Philippines. However, in the invitation letter there were some conditions set,” said Aquino, who sponsored the DFA budget at the Senate floor. “She has responded already with her own conditions, and now the interagency body has been created to discuss each of the parties’ conditions,” he told De Lima. De Lima, among those advocating for an independent UN investigation of the spate of deaths under President Duterte’s drug war, had inquired about the status of the government’s invitation to the UN rapporteur to come and see the situation in the Philippines. The invitation was the President’s response to the UN’s criticism of his approach to solving the drug problem, reproach that at one point had prompted the acerbic Mr. Duterte to threaten to leave the world body. The following are Callamard’s conditions, as read out by Aquino at the budget deliberations Wednesday night: that the Philippines also invite Read More …

FILE- Phillipines Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza (R) and then- Chairman of the National Democratic Front of Philippines  Luis Jalandori (C) sign a joint declaration next to the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Boerge Brende (L) in which both parties undertake unilateral ceasefires without time constraints on August 26, 2016 in Oslo, Norway. AFP PHOTO Update OSLO – After a delay in the discussions, both the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines finally reached an agreement in crafting a common draft framework and outline for the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER). The parties decided to take a break just after a half day of discussion on Friday following a disagreement on the outline of CASER Julie De Lima, chairperson of the NDFP-Reciprocal Working Committee-SER, earlier said that the outline “should be based on addressing the roots of the armed conflict while the GRP wants an outcomes-based outline.” “We have exchanged with the GRP an outline of a comprehensive drafte on social and economic reforms that includes agrarian reform, national industrialization, environmental protection, rights of the working people, foreign economic and trade relations, and, monetary and fiscal policies,” De Lima said. The government prepared a 9-point outcome and proposed that it be included in the Part 1 or Declaration of Principles of the agreement. After a series of discussions and back channelling following the break, both parties were able to make concessions and craft the common draft. Instead of including it on Part 1, the points Read More …

EU ambassador Franz Jessen/Yuji Gonzales, INQUIRER.net European Union ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen said moving the peace process with leftist rebels has been an important breakthrough of President Duterte in his first 100 days. Jessen, however, noted a lot of changes in terms of “new language” and many interpretations of statements. President Duterte had been thrown into fits of cussing and swearing at the EU as well as United Nations and US President Obama for their criticisms on summary killings of drug addicts that have reached more than 3,000. “One hundred days passed very fast, lots of changes, new policies, new language, and many interpretations of statements and developments,” said ambassador Jessen in his open letter posted on the Facebook website of EU in the Philippines. In his assessment of Duterte’s first 100 days, Jessen said “the ongoing peace process remains an area where President Duterte may have an early and very important breakthrough.” This week, he said talks between the Philippine government and rebels continue in Norway. “We all hope that an agreement will soon be reached between the different parties, so that needed peace and stability in Mindanao can be used as a basis for further developments in Mindanao and the Philippines.” He said the EU-Philippines strong cooperation continues with the successful hosting of the first EU-Philippines Business Summit that gathered 300 businessmen. Jessen said European businessmen remain keen on investing in the Philippines particularly in the area of energy. Times have been rough for the EU Read More …

JUNK EDCA / JANUARY 14, 2016Militant activist protests the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) infront of the Supreme Court in Manila on Thursday, January 14, 2016, after the Supreme Court declated valid a bilateral defense agreement between Washington and Manila.INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE THE presidential legal team is reviewing the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) days after President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to cancel the accord, a Palace official said on Wednesday. On Sunday, Duterte said the Edca was just an executive agreement not even signed by former president Benigno Aquino III, but only by former defense secretary Voltaire Gazmin. “Regarding the EDCA needing a President’s signature, I just like to say that the President’s legal team is currently addressing the matter,” Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a press briefing. During his official visit to Vietnam in September, President Duterte said this year’s war games between the Philippines and the United States military troops would be the last. “You are scheduled to hold war games, which China does not want. I will serve notice to you now that this will be the last military exercise,” he said. The President has publicly said that he wanted to forge new alliance with China and Russia. On Tuesday, the Philippines and US held its last war games for the this year amid uncertainties following Duterte’s pronouncements. Latest BOC imports lack clearance to play in V-League Why Duterte likes to insult Duterte sure it’s De Lima in video – Palace New FBI head in Read More …

INQUIRER.net By: Frances Mangosing, December 15th, 2015 07:26 PM AUSTRALIA has been conducting “freedom navigation” patrols in the South China Sea and an audio recording of one of the flights has been published by an international media network. BBC’s Rupert Wingfield-Hayes was flying above the disputed South China Sea using a Philippine single engine Cessna 206 which took off from Palawan, when he intercepted an Australian Air Force radioing the Chinese Navy. “China navy, China navy. We are an Australian aircraft exercising international freedom of navigation rights, in international airspace in accordance with the international civil aviation convention, and the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, over,” Australia’s audio message said. The BBC report said the recording was obtained from a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion surveillance plane on November 25. The Chinese was given the message several times by the Australian pilot but they did respond. Australia’s Department of Defense confirmed the flight to BBC but played it down by saying it was part of a “routine maritime patrol in the region.” Australia has expressed strong support for freedom of navigation in the resource-rich sea, but it was the first time it acknowledged that it has been conducting patrols there. Hayes was on assignment to observe China’s reclamation activities in the South China Sea. Its sweeping claims and aggressive construction activities have sparked outrage from its neighbors and powerful countries like the US, Japan and Australia. The Philippines is one of the claimants of the Read More …