Aug 092017
 

Former President Benigno Aquino III says a silent prayer in front of his parents’ grave at the Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque, Tuesday. Family and friends commemorated the 8th death anniversary of Former President Corazon Aquino.(MNS photo)

MANILA, Aug 1 (Mabuhay) — Former President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday expressed apprehension over the proposed dissolution of the Presidential Commission on Good Government and the Commission on Human Rights.

The two government agencies were created during the term of his mother, former President Corazon Aquino, after the late strongman, Ferdinand Marcos was ousted from power.

Aquino said PCGG’s work, which was to run after the allegedly stolen wealth of the Marcos family, was not yet done.

“Sa PCGG, natapos na ba yung trabaho nila? Nung panahon ko, meron pa ring mga nare-recover, meron pa ring mga hinahabol na aminado, hindi pa rin tayo natatapos dahil sa totoo lang, hindi tayo sigurado kung may isang taong buhay na alam lahat itong lahat ng nire-recover na ito,” he said in an ambush interview at the Manila Memorial Park where a mass for his late mother was held. Corazon passed away Aug 1, 2009.

“Baka pag pinagsama-sama mo yung mga alam ng kung sino-sino, baka mabuo yan,” he added.

The CHR meanwhile remained necessary in an imperfect society, he said.

“Hindi pa natin masasabi na nasagad ng CHR yung dapat niyang trabaho at habang buhay ang tao at yung pangangailangan na pangalagaan yung karapatang pantao, pwede ba nating buwagin ang isang ahensya na siyang nangangalaga nito?,” he said.

“Hanggang hindi natin naaabot yung perpektong lipunan, sa tingin ko [ay] may pangangailangan sa isang Commission on Human Rights,” he added.

The Duterte administration earlier announced plans to abolish the PCGG, amid the resurrection of the political career of the Marcos family.

“They don’t do anything. What do they do?” Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said, referring to the PCGG.

President Rodrigo Duterte meanwhile threatened to abolish the CHR, which had reported alleged human rights abuses in his campaign against illegal drugs. (MNS)

Jul 112013
 
EU earmarks P570 million for PHL justice reform program

EU, PHL agree to expand justice reform program. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima (left), European Union Ambassdor Guy Ledoux (center), and DILG Sec. Mar Roxas II sign a memorandum of agreement expanding the EU-PHL Justice Reform Program. The EU will support the program with a euro 10 million (P570M) grant. GMA News The European Union has earmarked P570 million or about €10 million to improve the Philippines’ justice system to benefit the poor and disadvantaged people. This was formalized Thursday through the launch of European Union-Philippine Justice Support Programme II (EPJUST-II), the third of similar funding programs by the EU in the country. In his speech, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas highlighted the importance of the financial support from the EU, particularly for poor Filipinos who could not afford the services of lawyers. “With the assistance from the EU, we can address the justice situation in the country. We can help the poor and the voiceless. They would now be given this access and they can better realize their hopes and their rights as citizens of this country,” he said. Aside from giving poor Filipinos access to justice, the funding also seeks to address extra-legal killings and enforced disappearances. For several years, human rights groups have scored the Philippines’ dismal human rights record, particularly during the Arroyo administration when cases of extra-judcial killings soared to more than 1,000. But when President Beningo Aquino III assumed the presidency in 2010, the United Nations noted a significant decrease in reported Read More …

May 052013
 
Comelec to ignore suits vs PCOS machines

By Jocelyn R. Uy, Philippine Daily InquirerPhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:24 pm | Sunday, May 5th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Sunday it would just ignore the lawsuit filed by civil society groups before the United Nations Committee on Human Rights over the use of the controversial precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines in the upcoming balloting. “Officially, we are not going to do anything with it. We will just disregard it since we are already too close to the elections to mind the AES Watch and their complaint to the UN,” said Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. in an interview with reporters. Last week, civil society groups such as the Concerned Citizens Movement, Center for International Law and the Automated Election System Watch announced that it was filing a complaint against Comelec for failing to ensure the free expression of the will of voters in the 2010 elections by foregoing security measures and opting for the same system for the 2013 balloting. The groups also cited the lack of a source code review in 2010 in their complaint. Brillantes had branded the complaint as a mere “publicity stunt” by critics of the Comelec. “Maybe because they cannot win here in our courts anymore, including the Supreme Court, that’s why they went to the UN. They can even go anywhere in the world if they want,” the poll chief had stated upon learning of the complaint. Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said on Sunday the UN Read More …

Apr 182013
 
Govt panel identifies Jonas Burgos case as among 'priority' cases for investigation

The alleged abduction of activist Jonas Burgos was among the 101 “priorities” for investigation identified by an interagency committee tasked by President Benigno Aquino III to monitor cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in the country. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who chairs the committee, said Burgos’ case will be among those to be first investigated and monitored by the panel. “Pinresent na rin sa amin sa interagency ‘yung listahan from the technical working group noong priority cases na dapat tutukan o unahin ang pagtutok sa pag-iimbestiga. Meron na po kaming initial list of priority cases for both extralegal killings and enforced disappearance,” De Lima said at a press briefing Thursday at the military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City. The justice secretary, however, refused to identify other priority cases, saying the list still has yet to be finalized. Armed Forces chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, both members of the interagency panel created through Administrative Order 35, were also among those who approved the initial list of priority cases during the committee’s meeting on Thursday morning. The Court of Appeals recently implicated a Philippine Army officer, Maj. Harry Baliaga, as responsible for the kidnapping of Burgos. Last Friday, the Supreme Court ordered the military leadership to disclose the whereabouts of the military personnel linked to the case. Burgos, a political activist and son of the late press freedom advocate Jose Burgos, was abducted in a restaurant at the Ever Gotesco Mall along Commonwealth Avenue in Read More …