Author Archives: Human Rights Online Philippines

[People] Protecting the Planet | by Fr. Shay Cullen

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#HumanRights #Environment

Protecting the Planet
Shay Cullen
11 June 2021

Have you ever seen the sun set upon the sea,
the migrating birds fly in formation proud?
Have you ever seen the mighty forest and heard the birds sing clear and loud?
Have you seen the flowers in the meadows and the fields that provide the nectar for the bee, That gives the honey in the hive hanging from the tree?
Have you ever seen the dolphins race across the ocean wave,
The mighty whales that swim the oceans strong and brave?
A breathless sight of beauty you will ever see
If we will just allow them to live and to be.

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[From the web] Rising unemployment shows Duterte admin’s failed economic policies | EILER

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Rising unemployment shows Duterte admin’s failed economic policies

The increase in unemployment rate in the recent Labor Force Survey (LFS) shows the Duterte administration’s neoliberal agenda and failed economic policies further worsened the labor situation amid the pandemic, according to a labor NGO.

The Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (EILER) said that while the imposition of stricter lockdowns during the previous quarter is seen as the immediate cause, the government’s neglect of local industries and its dependence on foreign businesses is the primary reason for the rising unemployment and precarious working conditions.

The LFS released by the Philippine Statistical Authority (PSA) for April 2021 shows the unemployment rate rose to 8.7% from 7.1% last March. That translates to 4.14 million unemployed Filipinos. Underemployment rose to 17.2% or 7.45 million from 16.2% last March.

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[Video] MAGMALASAKIT! Let’s #RegisterTogether | #WokeDTalk2021 Episode 7

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Let’s #RegisterTogether Serye

Noong Marso ay ipinakita natin sa Woke D Talk 2021 series ang ating hangarin, na #SanaAllDapatAll Pantay at Patas. Noong Buwan naman ng Abril, ipinakita natin na kahit sino ay may kayang gawin dahil nagmamahal at nagmamalasakit, ika nga #HRDpetmalu para sa kapwa, sa kalikasan at sa bayan.

Buwan ng Mayo, ay ipapakita naman natin kung ano at paano ang dapat gawin upang makamit ang ating #SanaAllDapatAll, bilang mga #HRDpetmalu sa pamamagitan ng pagbotong may pagmamalasakit.

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[From the web] Decision to take back hazard pay of contractual airport workers, unjust | EILER

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#HumanRights #Workers

Decision to take back hazard pay of contractual airport workers, unjust

A Labor NGO expresses dismay over the state auditor’s order to recover the hazard pay amounting to P54.36 million given to contractual workers of the Manila International Airport Authority last year. As per the memo released by the service contractor, the retracted hazard pay shall be deducted from workers’ monthly salaries.

The Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (EILER) said that the decision is unjust and shows indifference to the plight of contractual workers who are on the frontlines. EILER also added that all workers deserve hazard pay given the risks they face while at work amid the pandemic.

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[Right-Up] Historical Distortionism is the Destruction of the Nation’s Foundation | Jose Mario De Vega

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Historical Distortionism is the Destruction of the Nation’s Foundation

This is a response with Lito B. Zulueta’s Aguinaldo in a fairer light. I do have some serious reservations, not only to the tenor of his questionable narration but also firmly dispute the veracity and truthfulness of the very core of his views.

Mr Zulueta stated that:

Independence Day is less than a month away, so it is auspicious that the man who declared it on June 12, 1898, often vilified for having allegedly assassinated Andres Bonifacio and “Heneral Luna,” if not independence itself, is getting a fair shake from a Philippine historian with no mean international reputation.

Comment:

He talked about Independence Day, the question there is that, had he read the whole document of the said proclamation? According to that auspicious document:

And having as witness to the rectitude of our intentions the Supreme Judge of the Universe, and under the protection of our Powerful and Humanitarian Nation, The United States of America, we do hereby proclaim and declare solemnly in the name by authority of the people of these Philippine Islands,

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[Right-Up] The Women of my Life | Jose Mario De Vega

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The Women of my Life

Nearly a decade ago, the Star Malaysia published my article on Mother’s day. As I’ve stated then:

My personal life is a bit complicated, coming as I do from two different social classes. My father is a bit well to do, by virtue of him coming from the bourgeois class, while my mother came from the proletarian class. I deem myself a mixed product of heaven and hell, so to speak! Though, I love my father, I love my mother more. Why? Because she taught me all the laws of life and the mysteries of existence from a very young age.

I believe that what she transmitted and bequeathed to me is far more superior and undeniably more substantive tan all things money can buy.

Material things come and go, but virtue, responsibility, character and wisdom can never be bought, and no one can ever take these away from you.

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[Right-Up] Digong and Johnny, Classic Leviathans | Norman Novio

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#HumanRights #Corruption

Digong and Johnny, Classic Leviathans

Juan Ponce Enrile was Rodrigo Duterte’s special guest in the latter’s regular public address on May 17, 2021 and they spent a one hour and 10-minute of scratching each other’s back, flattering each other like toddlers.

President Duterte, who vowed to eradicate corruption until the end of his term, designated as his honorable guest last Wednesday former Marcos architect Enrile who is still facing one plunder and 15 graft charges because of the reported misuse of his priority development assistance fund (PDAF). Allegedly, Enrile endorsed the phony NGO owned by Janet Lim Napoles in exchange for bribes. Enrile’s chief of staff, Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes, is still incarcerated at Camp Bagong Diwa for her alleged role in said scam. According to reports your old man Johnny and Gigi are lovers. Just this January, Reyes filed a motion for her temporary release citing that the corona virus might spread inside the prison facility. The Sandigangbayan instantly denied her bid.

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[Statement] Statement on the Arrest of Dan Balucio | AMP

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#HumanRights #HRD

Statement on the Arrest of Dan Balucio

The Aktionsbündnis Menschenrechte -Philippinen (AMP) and its member organizations express their deep concern about the recent human rights developments in the Philippines and especially about the arrest of human rights defender and United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP) Pastor Dan Balucioon May 2, 2021.

UCCP Pastor Dan Balucioisa dedicated and well-known human rights activist, community organizer and coordinator of Andurog Mayon, an Ecumenical Disaster Response and Management Committee in Albay Province. In this function he lately coordinated the ongoing humanitarian response in communities affected by the typhoons Rolly and Ulysees. Through his humanitarian activities in the Philippines, he ispart of the civil society movement that facilitates the governments humanitarian response to disasters such as typhoons. He is committed to serve the poor and vocal in his criticism of the current administration under President Duterte. Pastor Dan Balucio is also a member of the South Bicol Conference (SBC) which has a close partnership with the Protestant Churches in Germany.

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[Event] TAKBONG TRENTA MOTORCADE! | KAGULONG

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#HumanRights #RidersRights

TAKBONG TRENTA MOTORCADE!

Inaanyayahan natin ang lahat na makibahagi ika-23 ng Mayo, sa pagkakaisa ng mga riders, siklista, motorista at mga komyuters sa huling araw ng UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL ROAD SAFETY WEEK.

Huling araw na maghuhudyat ng simula ng mas malawak na pagkilos para sa kaligtasan sa kalsada. Tayo po ay naniniwala at positibo na malaki ang ang bilang na maililigtas nating buhay ng mga kabataan at iba pa kung magbabawas tayo bilis ng ating mga sasakyan. Nangyari na ito sa ibang bansa, nang itakda nila ang bilis ng mga sasakyan sa 30kph speed limit sa mga mga mataong kalsada kaya hindi ito imposible sa atin. Lalu pa at may batas na tayo hinggil dito. Ang kailangan lang ay seryosohin ang implementasyon at maipabatid ito sa lahat ng mga gumagamit ng kalsada.

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[Statement] Pahayag hingil sa karahasan sa Palestina | MHRDNet

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#HumanRights #Palestine

Pahayag hingil sa karahasan sa Palestina

Mariing kinokondena ng Moro Human Rights Defender (MHRDNet) ang patuloy na garapalang pag-atake ng bansang Israel sa Occupied Palestinian Territory, partikular sa East Jerusalem at sa Gaza Strip. Ang walang habas na pamboboma ng Israel na target ang mga pook ng sibilyan ay patuloy na pumapatay at pumipinsala sa mga inosenteng buhay lalong lalo na sa mga kababaihan, matatanda at walang muwang na mga paslit.

Malinaw na ang pananalakay ng Israel sa mamamayan ng Palestina ay tahasang pagyurak sa mga International Laws partikular na sa mga Humanitarian and Human Rights Laws na karapatdapat kondenahin at singilin ng buong Mundo.

Nanawagan ang MHRDNet ng pakikiisa ng lahat lalo na sa Bangsamoro para suportahan ang panawagang itigil ng Israel ang Kriminal na pananalakay at panlulupig nito sa Palestina. Ganundin sumasabay ang MHRDNet sa malawakang panawagan upang umakto na ang United Nations Security Council para mamagitan at mapatigil ang walang pakundangang karahasan.

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[Statement] Natapos ang third quarter nang walang dumating na printed modules | TDC

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#HumanRights #Teachers #COVID19Ph

Natapos ang third quarter nang walang dumating na printed modules

Ngayong araw magtatapos ang Third Quarter para sa School Year 2020-2021 at magsisimula ang Fourth Quarter sa Lunes, Mayo 17, 2021.

Kung tutuusin ay halos patapos na ang kasalukuyang school year at papasok na uli tayo sa susunod na taong-pampaaralan, ang SY 2021-2022 na maagap na itinakda ng DepEd sa Agosto 23, 2021. Inaasahang distance learning muli ang sistema ng susunod na school year dahil na rin sa sitwasyon ng COVID sa ating bansa. At habang lubos ang suporta ng mga guro sa edukasyon sa ilalim ng pandemya, hindi naman maaaring pikitan natin ang mga pagkukulang ng Kagawaran ng Edukasyon (DepEd) upang maihatid ang ipinangakong serbisyo para sa ating mga mag-aaral at mamamayan. Ang mga pagkukulang kasi na ito, bandang huli ay mga guro ang siyang magpupuno at mahihirapan.

Tama, natapos na ang third quarter pero hanggang ngayon ay marami pang mga paaralan sa halos lahat ng mga dibisyon- probinsiya at lungsod sa bansa ang wala pa ring printed modules. Kung mayroon man ay kulang na kulang ito o kaya’y soft copy lamang na ida-download ng mga guro ang ibinigay sa kanila.

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[Press Release] Protect Human Health and the Environment from Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) | EcoWaste Coalition

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#HumanRights #Health #Environment

Groups: Protect Human Health and the Environment from Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

Environmental health groups today urged national and local authorities to give priority to zero waste strategies that prevent and reduce the generation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), a class of highly hazardous synthetic chemicals.

The EcoWaste Coalition, Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) and Mother Earth Foundation (MEF) together made the call in observance of the 17th anniversary of the entry into force of the Stockholm Convention on POPs last May 17, 2004.

The treaty, which counts on the Philippines among its state parties, seeks to protect human health and the environment from POPs through a range of measures aimed at reducing and eventually eliminating their releases to the environment. Among these POPs are unintentionally produced pollutants such as dioxins and furans resulting from combustion and industrial processes, including the open burning of trash, the incineration of municipal, medical and hazardous wastes, and cement kilns firing hazardous waste.

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[Right-Up] The World Must Come Together to Stand with Palestinian People: In Defense of Humanity | Jose Mario De Vega

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#HumanRights

The World Must Come Together to Stand with Palestinian People: In Defense of Humanity

I am writing this letter not merely as a Filipino but as a citizen of the world. I believe that the time now has come that the world must come together to stand with the Palestinian people in their perennial fight for their honor, their identity, their homes, and their right to self-determination. In a word, their right to exist.

It’s been a week now that the state of Israel is bombing Gaza indiscriminately. The bombings are sophisticated and on a massive scale without due consideration to the civilian population. They are doing it to a besieged nation without an army, navy, and air force. There is no shadow of a doubt that this criminal act is an act of ethnic cleansing, indeed, a genocide.

The world must now stand as one to condemn the state of Israel for Nakba, for their continuing brutal colonialization, to call for an end to their occupation of the land that they did not own, to end their state-sponsored and policy of aggression.

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[From the web] Workers’ Coalition Slams House Urgent Call for Chacha | NAGKAISA

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#HumanRights #Workers

Workers’ Coalition Slams House Urgent Call for Chacha

The biggest labor coalition in the country slams the House leadership’s “hell-bent” effort to amend restrictive economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution amid the raging fight against CoVID 19 pandemic.

Instead of resuming plenary debates and deliberations on the proposed constitutional amendments in his Resolution of Both House No. 2 (RBH 2) when sessions resume this week, NAGKAISA holds that Speaker Lord Allan Velasco needs to prioritize the passage of the Bayanihan 3 and other measures to help displaced workers and to ease the burden of the CoVID 19 pandemic.

NAGKAISA said it before and will repeat it again that this is not the time for charter change. The money for the charter change campaign should be appropriated for “ayudang sapat para sa mga manggagawang nalaglag sa trabaho o kung may trabaho man ay di nakakapasok sa trabaho.”

First, on procedure, the alleged political “consensus” in the House has no counterpart support in the Senate. Under Article XVII of the Constitution, without the uppet chamber, such initiative is already dead on its track before moving an inch.

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[Event] Non-Partisan Youth Coalition for Voters Registration and Education to launch in Bacolod | BaCoD

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#HumanRights #Youth

Non-Partisan Youth Coalition for Voters Registration and Education to launch in Bacolod

BACOLOD CITY — A non-partisan coalition of youth organizations from various causes and sectors are uniting to launch Bacolod Youth Coalition for Democracy (BaCoD) on May 15, 9AM at Saint John Mary Vianney Hall, San Sebastian Cathedral to push for youth voters registration, education, and empowerment.

The launching event entitled “Bangon, Pamatan-on!” aims to introduce BaCoD to the public, and to get youth leaders to sign a manifesto of support for the coalition which is composed of student councils, campus-based organizations, the Sangguniang Kabataan, and the youth arms of civil society organizations.

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[Statement] OCEANA’s MINING PERMIT RENEWAL – 25 more years of violence and destruction | LILAK

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#HumanRights #DefendDidipio #AyudaHindiMina

OCEANA’s MINING PERMIT RENEWAL – 25 more years of violence and destruction

LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights) believes that President Duterte’s impending renewal of the mining agreement of OceanaGold Philippines Inc. (OGPI) for another 25 years presents clear and present danger – not just to the Tuwali people in Brgy. Didipio, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, but to other rural and indigenous communities in the country.

The renewal of OGPI’s Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) assures another 25 years of violence, harassment, destruction of the environment, loss of livelihood, and the deterioration of health which will affect not only the people of Didipio, but the whole province of Nueva Vizcaya. These are the very reasons that for more than 25 years, the Tuwali community has been consistently opposing the Australian-Canadian mining corporation even before it has been granted its FTAA in 1994.

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[Press Release] Identified CARP Beneficiaries’ homes demolished amid pandemic | SANAMABASU

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#HumanRights #LandRights

Identified CARP Beneficiaries’ homes demolished amid pandemic

Hermosa Bataan – Members of the the Samahang Nagkakaisang Magsasaka ng Barangay Sumalo (SANAMABASU) urgently calls the national government through the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to intervene to suspend the ejectment/demolition orders issued by the Dinalupihan Regional Trial Court, for humanitarian reasons amid the threats posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. This was after several houses were demolished by property developer Riverforest Development Corporation (RDC) last Wednesday, May 5, 2021.

The said decision will also affect more than 50 prospective Comprehensive Agrarian Reform (CARP) beneficiaries, 18 of whom are slated for ejectment in the coming weeks. This ejectment order proceeded despite an appeal already filed by SANAMABASU in the Court of Appeals.

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[Statement] Hinggil sa harassment ng PNP sa pagkilos ngayong Mayo Uno 2021 | BMP

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#HumanRights #Workers #Harassment

Hinggil sa harassment ng PNP sa pagkilos ngayong Mayo Uno 2021

KINOKONDENA ng Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) – kasama ang iba’t ibang samahan ng manggagawa na ngangalsada sa Dakilang Araw ng Paggawa – ang ginawang pagharang ng kapulisan sa planong pagmartsa sa kahabaan ng Espana Avenue patungong Mendiola.

Ang ginawang harassment ng PNP ay paglabag sa lehitimong ehersisyo ng mga karapatan sa pagpapahayag at pagtitipon para iparating ang karaingan hindi pa sa rehimeng Duterte kundi sa malawak na publiko.

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[Statement] Filipino workers suffer the most but struggle the hardest amid the pandemic and economic crisis | EILER

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#HumanRights #Workers #Covid19ph

EILER’s Labor Day Statement: Filipino workers suffer the most but struggle the hardest amid the pandemic and economic crisis

We celebrate Labor Day during very trying times. The working class continue to suffer the brunt of the deteriorating health system, and economic crisis due to years of neoliberal impositions further worsened by the pandemic.

One of the most vulnerable sectors to COVID-19 is the working class. The regions with the most concentration of workers are reported to have the highest rate of infection. Workers are forced to go to work without mass testing, effective contact-tracing, and the absence of vaccination.

A year into the pandemic, Philippine economy has not recovered. Yet, despite a -9.6%, GDP growth, workers are still able to create P17.9 trillion in GDP.

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