Duterte: Murderer, Human Rights Violator!

The administration of President Rodrigo Duterte killed 141 activists and members of different people’s organizations including 5 minors from July 2016 to March 2018 and has killed at least 20,000 suspected drug pushers and users including those wrongfully accused and minors. The killings were based on mere allegations, and the deaths of the victims of extrajudicial killings were justified by lies, according to children’s rights group Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC) as they joined today’s protests during the commemoration of Martial law declaration in the Philippines.

“Aside from the killing spree, since President Duterte assumed presidency, 10,023 children were almost killed, and 20 minors were illegally arrested and illegally detained. This includes the torture victims from Compostela Valley who were held captive for 8 days, starved, burned and left for dead,” Frances Bondoc, Officer-in-Charge of Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC), said.

From July 2016 to March 2018, the CRC documented a total of 136,945 children victims of human rights violations from the 447 incidents of human rights violations involving children.

“Duterte’s Martial Law has spread fear and sowed terror among the people. He encouraged the military and police to attack people’s organizations, Lumad communities, women and children, including suspected drug pushers. He enabled and allowed the increasing number of human rights violations. Communities and individuals including children are accused of being supporters and/or members of New People’s Army (NPA), as elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) propagate lies while red-tagging individuals and repressing their civil and political rights,” Bondoc added.

According to CRC, President Duterte used Martial Law to serve his own agenda, much like his idol, the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Martial Law served Duterte’s cohorts and big businesses to plunder Philippines’ natural resources, raking huge profits while leaving people scavenging on low wages and unstable jobs and encouraging children to participate in precarious and hazardous labor. Martial Law killed hundreds of civilians in Mindanao and displaced almost half a million Filipinos (427, 232) and bombed communities affecting 356, 304 civilians.

Children’s rights advocates from CRC and other rights groups demanded an end to Martial law and pursue of a just and lasting peace through the street protest. The group also emphasized that genuine peace can only be achieved upon serving justice to all victims of human rights violations, including children and the indictment of the guilty President Rodrigo Duterte, accountable for all his crimes against the Filipino people.

“As the United Nations celebrate September 21, International Day of Peace, Filipinos marked the day with protest against intensifying human rights violations and condemned the continuing impunity of a despotic tyrant who implements his anti-people policies. We will always remember September as a grim reminder of the abuses of Martial Law. AS LONG AS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS CONTINUE AND ABUSE OF POWER PREVAIL, THERE WILL BE NO JUSTICE. WITHOUT JUSTICE THERE CAN NEVER BE GENUINE PEACE,” Bondoc concluded.

*This is Press Release

Philippine infrastructures budget P8.2 to P9 trillion in 6 years

Department of Budget and Management Secretary Dr. Benjamin E. Diokno on November 28 at the Pandesal Forum of the 77-year-old Kamuning Bakery Café in Quezon City announced the new “golden age of infrastructures” for the Philippines under the Duterte administration in the coming six years with a projected record-high budget of P8.2 trillion pesos to P9 trillion pesos.

Former University of the Philippines (U.P.) economics professor, Secretary Diokno said: “We are reforming and opening up the Philippine economy. Local and foreign investors are welcome to be part of the fastest-growing economy of the Philippines in the fastest-growing region in the world which is Asia.”

Among the announcements made by Secretary Diokno at the Pandesal Forum included:

1. The Philippine government can register 8% annual economic growth by year 2022.

2. NEDA has already approved 18 public infrastructure projects.

3. Duterte administration plans to build a new 600-kilometers train system from Tutuban in downtown Manila through Albay and to Sorsogon province in Bicol region, with estimated construction costs of US$250 million to $300 million and to be completed in 4 to 5 years.

4. Infrastructures construction projects will be undertaken by the Duterte administration 24 hours daily and for 7 days a week, Duterte described it as “non-stop and full-speed”.

5. Infrastructures budget for 2017 shall be P861 billion pesos.

6. President Rody Duterte has already convened 9 cabinet meetings in less than 5 months, usually lasting from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. in order to fast-track socio-economic development projects and reforms.

7. Dr. Diokno said that infrastructure projects will help solve Metro Manila’s chronic traffic problem, which he said is costing the Philippine economy P2.4 billion pesos of productivity losses daily. He added: “I think this will get worse until they get better, due to the coming construction activities and infrastructure projects.”

8. The Duterte administration is planning to reduce personal income tax rate from 32% to 25%, and to increase the number of people who shall enjoy tax exemptions. Diokno said: “President Duterte is the first president of the country to submit a tax reform policy within only a few months in office.”

9. Diokno said that the ideal ratio of infrastructures budget to a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is 5%, but the Philippines ever since Edsa 1986 to now or the past 30 years averaged “not over 35”. Diokno said: “Under the Aquino administration of the past 6 byears, infrastructure budget averaged only 2.7% to 2.9% of GDP. Under the Duterte administration, the target is 7% to 8%, and that’s the conservative target only. The cost of borrowing money in the world now is so low, government should increase infrastructure developments and socio-economic services. National economic growth which is not inclusive or not felt by the ordinary citizens, this should change and this Duterte administration wants high economic growth should improve the lives of bthe people.”

10. The Philippines is subscribing to and becoming an active member of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), as part of efforts to speed up infrastructure developments all over the country.

11. The creation of a new government center is possible, perhaps in Clark. During President Joseph Estrada’s short-lived term, there was a plan to create a new government center in Quezon City where Trinoma mall is now located and this was already planned by architect Jun Palafox, but the Estrada government fell. Another possible option is the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, which has 50 hectares of government land.

12. Diokno said President Duterte is expected to decide on what to do with our existing congested international airport, either go for Clark, or San Miguel Corporation’s proposal of a new airport in Bulacan or SM Group’s proposal in Sangley Point  in Cavite.

13. Secretary Diokno said: “The Duterte administration shall continue the Private Public Partnership (PPP) but with a twist, there shall be reforms such as the government entertaining unsolicited bids and others.”

14. The Duterte administration targets to create at least one million new jobs a year.

15. The Duterte administration targets to reduce poverty by 1.25% to 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) every year.

Russia seeks stronger economic and military ties with Philippines

Russian Federation Ambassador Igor Khovaev on November 29 at the Pandesal Forum of 77-year-old Kamuning Bakery Café in Quezon City expressed optimism on strengthening of Philippine-Russia diplomatic, economic, military, cultural, anti-crime and anti-terrorism cooperation after what he described as “the successful meeting between President Vladimir Putin and President Rody Duterte in Lima, Peru”. He said Russia looks forward to President Duterte’s 2017 state visit to his country as “a historic event”, that details are still being planned by both sides, that President Duterte prefers not to go to Moscow during the cold winter.

Khovaev stressed that Russia is against any closed military alliances which usually target third-party countries, that is why Russia has no military alliances in Asia but just close strategic partnerships with China, Vietnam and India. In the same way, Ambassador Kovaev said Russia seeks partnership with the Philippines, but not any military alliance.

Ambassador Kohvaev added that Russia can sell and export modern military equipments and arms to the Philippines, that Russia does not sell second-hand weapons or vehicles, that their military sales shall also include support for military training and technology transfers. He cited as a good example of a good customer for Russian military exports for decades is the country of Vietnam.

Ambassador Khovaev said he likes the Benguet province high mountains’ Arabica coffee served at Kamuning Bakery Café (he drank 4 cups), urging the Philippines to be more aggressive in exporting agriculture and food products to Russia. In eating the pugon-baked pandesal breads and trying the old-style pugon baking process of Kamuning Bakery Café, Khovaev also said Russia is today the world’s

No. 1 biggest wheat producer but the Philippines still doesn’t import any Russian wheat yet. Still on the huge economic potentials of expanding cooperation, Khovaev said there are now 4,000 overseas Filipino workers in Russia, many of whom are in the oil industry of Sakhalin Islands. He said Russia welcomes more Filipino workers to his country, because Filipinos are talented.

On tourism, Ambassador Kohvaev said that the Philippines only welcomes 30,000 Russian tourists yearly while our Asean competitor and neighbor Thailand welcomes one million Russian tourists per year, so he urged the Philippines “to be more aggressive” in attracting Russian tourists. He added that 10% out of Russia’s 150 million people travel abroad every year as tourists, that the Philippines should aggressively tap this tourism market since the Philippines has many beautiful tourist attractions.

Ambassador Kohvaev supports the Philippines’ new reform of pursuing an independent foreign policy, because this pragmatic and wise policy is most beneficial fopr the Philippines’ national interests, can add to the country’s number of friends and allows for more maneuvering in diplomacy and economics too. He said Russia hopes to see the rise of “a new world order” where all countries big or small shall have mutual respect and non-interference in domestic affairs of each sovereign nation, that is why Ambassador Kohvaev said that Russia doesn’t want to comment or criticize the on-going war on illegal drugs of President Duterte, but Russia wishes the Philippines and the Duterte government great success in all anti-crime efforts and socio-economic development policies. He said Russia supports and will cooperate with the Philippines on anti-crime, anti-narcotics, anti-terrorism and other efforts.