THE declaration of Martial Law in the southern Philippines is unlikely to derail the economy from sustaining growth of above 6% this year, analysts at BMI Research said, even as they flagged greater risk of political instability.
May 282017
May 242017
While on a state visit to Russia, President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao in response to a string of attacks by a band of terrorists known as the Maute group. During a press conference on his arrival back in Manila, Duterte mentioned the killing and decapitation of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief of Malabang, as well as arson and fighting in the streets of Marawi …
Oct 282015
With the presidential election barely six months away, we can already see the candidates trying to position themselves vis-à-vis each other, and in the public’s mind. The stakes for the Philippines have never been higher. The next administration has the potential to shape the economic landscape of the country for the next 20 years. This might be the most hotly contested presidential election since after Martial Law.
Feb 262014
The newly-formed Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board (HRVCB) has shrugged off criticisms and vowed to finish its job of processing, evaluating and approving application for claims from human rights victims under the Martial Law in two years. In a statement Tuesday, the HRVCB said it will deputize various government agencies to help fulfill its mandates. It also plans to take records and statements from both victims and alleged perpetrators of human rights violations to give proper reparations to those who need them. “There will be no historical amnesia. The documentation gathered will also be used to inform present and future generations for them to remain vigilant to defend the freedoms and rights we have gained towards the enjoyment of all human rights by all,” HRVCB said. Records that will be collected from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the now-defunct Philippine Constabulary will be used to document the “massive and systematic violations of human rights” during Martial Law. Though it admitted the enormity of its task, the group remains confident that all human rights violations victims (HRVVs) will be given due reparations. It also vowed to involve them and other stakeholders in drafting the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 10368. “We need to join hands for truth and justice towards the healing of our nation and move forward and say, “Never again to martial law!” it declared. Approved in February 2013, RA 10368 or the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013 aims to Read More …
Feb 232014
Malacañang on Sunday thanked former senator Joker Arroyo for his opinion, but said it stands behind the appointment of a former police officer as head of the Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board. “We respect the views of former Senator Joker Arroyo who [was] an ardent freedom fighter and human rights advocate in the Martial Law period. Nagkakaiba lang po ang pananaw niya sa pananaw ng ating Pangulo sa paghirang kay General Lina Sarmiento,” Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma said in an interview aired over state-run dzRB. Arroyo earlier rejected Sarmiento’s appointment, saying she did not meet the minimum standards set by the Human Rights Victims’ Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013. “General Sarmiento, whatever her qualifications in the field of human rights violations might be today, cannot have any track record of involvement in or understanding or knowledge of the human rights situation during the martial law period,” Arroyo wrote in his open letter to Aquino, published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. But Coloma explained that President Aquino has a deep understanding of the nature of the job that Sarmiento has to accomplish, being a survivor of Martial Law abuse himself. “Si Pangulong Aquino ay mayroon pong malalim at malawak na pag-unawa diyan sa usapin ng human rights dahil sa kanyang personal na karanasan at sa naranasan na rin po ng kanyang pamilya sa buong kaganapan ng Martial Law at ito po ay isinaalang-alang din niya sa pagpili ng mga kasapi ng Claims Board,” he said. “Doon po sa batas na Read More …
Jan 312014
Almost a year after the law offering reparation to victims of human rights violations under Martial Law was enacted, the board tasked to process claims for compensation will finally get to work, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson Etta Rosales said Friday. At a press briefing, Rosales said President Benigno Aquino III has already chosen nine appointees to the board, but refused to identify them pending official announcement from Malacañang. “Meron na siyang listahan. Nakita ko na iyon. Basta ang listahan na iyan, ilalabas na. Malapit na,” she told reporters. Rosales, however, admitted that she had to repeatedly remind the President to already form the compensation board for human rights victims during the dictatorship of former President Ferdinand Marcos. “Siguro very busy naman siya, pero alam mo when I actually texted him, he responded right away. Ibig sabihin, nawawala sa isip niya dahil ang dami-dami niyang problema. You really have to remind him,” she said. In February last year, Aquino signed Republic Act 10368, which seeks to distribute P10 billion in funds from the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses to Martial Law human rights victims. The law requires the President to form a panel to process claims of the human rights victims, but Aquino has not done so until now. The compensation board, which will be attached to the CHR, is tasked to receive, evaluate, processe and investigate applications for claims. Draft, database Rosales further said that she expects the claims board to come up with the implementing rules and Read More …
Jan 042014
A round lost for human rights victims during Martial Law. This was how Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson Loretta Ann Rosales described the Singapore Court of Appeal’s decision to grant over $23 million seized from the estate of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos to the Philippine National Bank (PNB) amid competing claims made by three other parties, one of them being the 9,539 human rights victims that suffered under the Marcos regime. Rosales, herself a human rights victim during the Marcos regime, was part of the group of Martial Law victims that filed the class suit laying claim to the Marcos funds held in Swiss banks. In a text message sent to GMA News Online Saturday, Rosales said: “We have lost this round. We have to study the arguments of the case first.” Rosales, however, clarified that the CHR was not legally representing the Martial Law human rights victims in the case. On Friday, the Straits Times reported that the Court of Appeal has ruled in favor of its Supreme Court’s decision to award $23 million in Marcos money to PNB. The funds, comprised of $16.8 million and GBP4.2 million, form part of Marcos’ illicit fortune stashed in Swiss bank accounts. The court, in the report, said it affirmed the High Court ruling that the PNB held the legal title to the funds as depositor of the money as well as original account holder with WestLB, the Germany-based bank that held the money. Aside from the human rights victims, Read More …
Oct 012013
It’s perhaps the unlikeliest of relationships. She was a student activist in her college days at the University of the Philippines (UP), while he was the defense minister who implemented Martial Law under the regime of Ferdinand Marcos. READ FULL STORY
Feb 042013
The police on Tuesday tightened security anew at the Supreme Court in Manila for the resumption of arguments on the Anti-Cybercrime Act of 2012. Radio dzBB’s Carlo Mateo said some groups had scheduled a vigil and concert there from 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday up to 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Mateo said the police appealed to the organizers of the vigil and protest actions to keep their activities peaceful and orderly. Many of the protesters are marking not just the resumption of arguments but also the eve of Feb. 6, the day the high court’s temporary restraining order on the controversial law lapses. Among the activities lined up by various youth and blogger groups for the day are a concert and vigil protesting a supposed “electronic Martial Law.” Many groups had staged protests at the high court when arguments on the controversial law are held. They argued that the anti-cybercrime law may violate Filipinos’ constitutional right to freedom of expression. – VVP, GMA News
Feb 022013
Malacañang on Saturday said there is no definite date yet for the signing of the newly ratified bill that will provide compensation to human rights violations victims during Martial Law. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that as of Saturday morning, the Palace has yet to receive the transmittal of the bill from Congress. “Wala pa… [itse-]check namin, hindi pa namin na-receive ang transmittal,” she said on government-run dzRB radio, when asked if the bill would be signed into law on Feb. 25. Feb. 25, 2013 is the 27th anniversary of the EDSA-1 People Power revolution, which ousted Marcos and installed President Benigno Aquino III’s late mother Corazon to the presidency in 1986. Some reports had said President Aquino might sign the bill into law on that date. Valte also said the Palace is still waiting for another measure, the bill for the K-to-12 basic education program, to be transmitted after its ratification. Earlier this week, both houses of Congress ratified the human rights violation victims’ compensation bill, a landmark measure that will finance claims by victims of Martial Law. Under the measure, a P10-billion fund plus interest is to be appropriated to the claimants. The fund will be sourced mainly from funds transferred to the government by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court and held in escrow. On the other hand, both houses of Congress also ratified the K-to-12 Basic Education Reform program. — LBG, GMA News