Tag Archives: New Normal

[Statement] Anti-Terror law will make “torture” a new normal -UATC

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Anti-Terror law will make “torture” a new normal

We, the United Against Torture Coalition (UATC), the broadest network of civil society organizations and individuals working for the prevention of torture in the Philippines, vehemently condemn the treacherous imminent approval of the new Anti-Terror Law that may institutionalize the use of torture and ill-treatment in the name of counter-terrorism.

The enactment of the new Anti-Terror Law amid public health emergency due to COVID 19 pandemic shows not only the lack of concern of the Philippine government with the plight of the Filipinos especially the poor who are hardest hit by the COVID 19 pandemic, but also its propensity to suppress political dissent and infringe on fundamental freedoms and human rights including the non-derogable right against torture and ill-treatment. The railroading of its passage tramples upon the basic principle of democratic policymaking where all stakeholders are amply heard to ensure that law will serve and protect the governed not the governing.

The enrolled Anti-Terror bill which is just awaiting the President’s signature repeals the Human Security Act of 2007. Several of its provisions breach not only international human rights standards but also basic constitutional safeguards against human rights violations. It allows warrantless arrests and detention from the current maximum of three days to 14 days, extendible for another 10 days. This critical period during which forced confessions may be extracted can put a detainee at great risk of torture and ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, and even summary execution.

Torture is prohibited and penalized under Philippine laws. The Philippines as a State party to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) is under obligation to take a wide array of measures against torture and ill-treatment. These include a prohibition in law; prevention; training; prompt, thorough, and impartial investigations; bringing perpetrators to justice; and reparations to victims. The Anti-Torture Act (ATA) or Republic Act No. 9745 was passed in 2009. It makes torture a separate crime and provides for a number of crucial fundamental guarantees to aid in preventing the commission of torture and assists torture survivors in seeking redress.

Despite having domestic legislation criminalizing the act of torture, this abominable practice continues to be perpetrated with the overwhelming majority of reported cases involving the police. The usual pattern shows that torture takes place following an arrest and when suspects are held incommunicado or kept in unofficial and secret detention facilities. Police officers often resort to torture and other ill-treatment to extract confessions or information from the suspects. In many cases, torture and other ill-treatment are inflicted to punish or to extort money from them. The new Anti-Terror Law will only give the government authorities more room to maneuver and further circumvent other laws to escape accountability especially with the removal of the provision on payment of 500,000 Philippine pesos ($10,000) damages for each day of wrongful detention.

Nothing in the new anti-terror law really guarantees that the authorities will not abuse or misuse the law to exacerbate the prevalence of torture and ill-treatment. Given the Duterte administration’s track record and the well-documented open hostility towards human rights, the law practically allows the current dispensation to do anything it wishes including arbitrarily punishing anyone it dislikes. It can create an environment where the commission of torture becomes a new normal.

The new Anti-Terror law undeniably will create a chilling effect on human rights defenders who are providing assistance to victims of human rights violations who may be accused of committing alleged terrorist acts. The Philippine government can use the law to restrict and even discredit the legitimate work of human rights NGOs, through legal persecution, administrative regulations, and public vilification under the guise of fighting terrorism.

While the Philippine government has an obligation to protect its jurisdiction from the threat of terrorism and to ensure its national security, the same should not be at the expense of fulfilling its mandate to promote, protect, and guarantee the exercise and enjoyment of all human rights for all.

Respect for human rights and the rule of law must be the bedrock of the fight against terrorism. The government should take measures to address the conditions that fuel the spread of terrorism, primarily the prevailing social injustice and marginalization, political exclusion and discrimination, irresponsible governance, and the growing violations of human rights.

The Philippine government must learn from the lesson of the COVID 19 pandemic – “cure the disease, not the symptoms”.

#NO TO ANTI-TERROR LAW
#TORTURE FREE PHILIPPINES IS THE BEST NORMAL

UNITED AGAINST TORTURE COALITION
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL-PHILIPPINES * ASIAN FEDERATION AGAINST ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES * BALAY REHABILITATION CENTER * FAMILIES OF VICTIMS OF INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCE * CHILDREN LEGAL RIGHTS AND DEVELOPMENT * MEDICAL ACTION GROUP * PHILIPPINE ALLIANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES * TASK FORCE DETAINEES OF THE PHILIPPINES

—
#ResistDictatorship
#DefendHumanRights
#JunkTerrorBill
#NoToTerrorLaw
#KeepSafeNotSilent

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[Press Release] Teachers may need ‘internet’ allowance, local support -TDC

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Teachers may need ‘internet’ allowance, local support -TDC

With the looming ‘new normal’ in education, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) asks the Department of Education (DepEd) for a sort of internet allowance to boost their existing cash allowance popularly known as “chalk allowance’ intended to for materials they use for teaching.

“With this drastic change in teaching and learning approaches, our teachers will need to upgrade their technological capacity and digital access,” said Ildefonso Enguerra III, a teacher in Roxas High School, Manila and the President of TDC-NCR Teachers’ Union (TDC-NCRTU), the TDC’s regional chapter in Metro Manila. “The DepEd may consider the provision of gadgets like laptop computers or tablets and internet access to our teachers,” he added.

Last week the DepEd announced that the cash or ‘chalk’ allowance in the amount if P3, 500 will be released sooner to all the teachers engaged in actual classes despite the earlier confirmation that there would be no face to face learning.

“That amount is only equivalent to P16.00 a day, but it would certainly help our teachers. But again, with online tasks continuously growing, we may need more funds to cope-up. Our experience in the first week of enrolment alone- where we were tasked to enlist the children online through social media, text messages and calls- shows that we will be needing more assistance to deliver the expected output of distance education,” Enguerra, who is also currently engaged in online classes revealed. The TDC said that a P1, 000 internet allowance per month, may not be enough but will be a great help for teachers.

The TDC, meanwhile commends the local government units that initially pledged their help to their constituents, teachers, and learners alike, including the cities of Pasig, Taguig, Manila and Quezon. These LGUs have pledged to provide gadgets to teachers and students or both.

“We appreciate all those initiatives, but we fear that if we leave it solely to the initiative of the LGUs, it will further widen the digital divide. These are highly urbanized cities and among the richest in our country, so obviously they have the capacity, while others do not,” Benjo Basas, the group’s national chairperson said.

Basas, however said that there is hope even in some localities outside the capital as proven by the Malolos City local school board (LSB), when Mayor Bebong Gatchalian and schools division superintendent Dr. Norma Esteban, co-chairs of the board agreed on the proposal of the City of Malolos Public School Teachers’ Association (COMPSTA) president Rommel Alcaraz for the provision of portable broadband, flash drives, alcohol and masks for all the 1, 700 teachers in the city.

“The city school board complied with the Learning Continuity Plan set forth by the DepEd Malolos and it did not leave the teachers on their own. Napakalaking tulong po ito para sa aming mga guro na makasabay sa ‘new normal education’ na ating kinakaharap ngayon,” Alcaraz said in a Facebook post.

The TDC leadership enjoined all its local members and affiliates to persuade their respective local school boards to divert the funds from repair and maintenance, construction and sports facilities to technological needs of both teachers and learners in their localities.

“The need for building may not be that urgent, even the sports activities are suspended. So it may be wise if we spend the money for digital needs. However, to be fair to all, the national government must step in,” Basas ended. #

For details:
Ildefonso Enguerra, TDC-NCRTU President- 0908 1637529
Rommel Alcaraz, COMPSTA President- 0932 8784676
Benjo Basas, TDC National Chairperson- 0927 3356375

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[Statement] On the August 24 ‘new normal’ school opening: address the gaps and fulfill basic requisites first -ASSERT

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On the August 24 ‘new normal’ school opening: address the gaps and fulfill basic requisites first

DEPED is poised on opening this school year on August 24 amidst confusion and disarray on the ground.

Parents are opting not to send their children to school pending vaccine and assurance of safety against the contagion. Teachers and school heads could not answer the queries of parents and students about the details of the ‘new normal’ and multi-modal learning that DepEd is announcing. The August 24 opening is anchored on so many questions and uncertainties.

The date is incidental. When do we really say ‘we are ready?’ DepEd should make clear its benchmark and accomplish it. Uncertainty hangs over because DepEd pronouncements are not substantiated. Nothing is moving on the ground.

How do we insure the health protocols in schools? How would social distancing be implemented? Will there be shifting of classes? Do we get more teachers and have more classrooms to meet the 15 – 20 class size?

When 61% of 23 million households have no internet connection and 74% of the 47,013 schools have no internet access, how do we proceed with the online learning?
What infrastructures should be put up for the multi-modal learning? What do we do in areas with no electricity and no internet? How would rural population fare in multi-modal?

What trainings of teachers should be accomplished for online and digital tools? When would they be trained? What orientation and training should be given to parents so they are equipped in assisting in the home learning of children?

What is the plan for small private schools which have been complementing the government’s task of providing education and could no longer cope up with the demands of maintaining their schools?

Two months have passed but to date, there is no clarity yet on how to move forward. It is only now that DepEd is conducting survey among teachers, students and parents. DepEd’s responses to queries are so vague and all the more left us groping in the dark.

With these uncertainties, we support the plan of Senate Committee on Basic Education proposal to amend the law declaring August 24 as the latest day allowed for a school year to open. But this move should be back up by clear cut targets and standards on when to declare ‘we are ready.’

At the minimum, it is crucial that the following be addressed asap:
1. Conduct mass testing for teachers.
2. Speed up the requisites for multi-modal learning (broadcast platforms like radio and television, internet among others).
3. Build the needed infrastructure – internet connections and electrification of all schools in remote provinces.
4. Provide teachers with required gadgets and equipment – laptops and computers, digital notebooks and tablets.
5. Conduct massive and intensive teachers’ training on online platforms, digital tools and other alternative modes.
6. Trim the curriculum to focus on the core subjects and core competencies.
7. Develop and enhance the alternative learning system (ALS) as venue for learning and mechanism for moving up to higher level.
8. Encourage cooperation and partnerships among schools and local government units especially in putting up educational infrastructures.
9. Clinch support and sponsorships from private corporations engaged in digital tools, internet providers, telecommunications and social media entities.
10. Provide realistic and accessible mechanisms to engage organizations of all stakeholders: teachers, students and parents in reshaping education.
11. Ease the economic burden of teachers so they can be effective partners in reshaping education: a) give social amelioration for teachers of private schools affected by no work-no pay policy and all teachers who have become the sole bread winners; b) provide hazard pay to teachers.
12. For budgetary requirements, appropriations for debt payments could be realigned in favor of education needs.

The pandemic forced DEpEd to usher in innovations that should have been made years before. Now, it should get its act together and step up to decisively address all the gaps and inequities.

In ‘new normal’ education, the challenge is still the same – provide ‘education for all’ and make sure that ‘no one is left behind.’

https://www.facebook.com/notes/assert/on-the-august-24-new-normal-school-opening-address-the-gaps-and-fulfill-basic-re/125075982527223/

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[Press Release] Environmental and Food Security Advocates Say Home Composting and Farming Should Form Part of the Post-COVID “New Normal” -EcoWaste Coalition

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Environmental and Food Security Advocates Say Home Composting and Farming Should Form Part of the Post-COVID “New Normal”

11 May 2020, Quezon City. Advocates for environmental protection and food security cited the importance of home composting and gardening as the country grapples with the dire impacts of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on people’s lives and the economy.

At a webinar organized by the EcoWaste Coalition, environmentalist Noli Abinales and urban container gardening (UCG) pioneer Perfecto “Jojo” Rom, Jr. drew attention to the tremendous benefits of home composting and farming in preventing and reducing waste, restoring soil nutrients, and ensuring nutritious and safe food on the table.

As communities and families come to terms with the COVID-19 outbreak, both Abinales and Rom pointed to home composting and farming as worthwhile practices that should form part of the sustainable “new normal” following the pandemic.

“We need to separate household waste materials at the source instead of mixing them up. The non-biodegradable waste can be reused, repurposed, or recycled, while the bio-degradable waste can be processed into a natural fertilizer or soil amendment through composting,” said Abinales, founder of Buklod Tao, who also reminded the public to separate and safely manage household hazardous waste.

“Turning food waste and other organic waste into compost should be the norm in our post-COVID society as this will hugely reduce the volume of waste we produce and dispose of,” he pointed out, noting that biodegradables account for over 50 percent of the country’s solid waste composition. “Composting is as simple as ABC,” he said, adding there are various composting methods to choose from that will suit one’s living conditions and needs.

Rom, an avid gardener from Davao City and founder of Home Farmers Club, saw UCG as “the foundation of democratized agriculture” where available containers and spaces are used to grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs for family consumption. Rom is the author of “UCG: The Home Farming Manual.”

UCG, a blend of ecological sanitation philosophy and natural farming system, is “emerging advocacy to simplify agriculture and involves all who are interested to grow what they eat and eat what they grow,” he explained. “It is the technology of home farming that is used to grow food in limited spaces in urban areas.”

As the “nutrition garden of the household”, UCG addresses the food and nutrition security issues and needs of a family while reducing food expenditures, he said.

“It is the cheapest and healthiest way of food production as it utilizes bio-wastes as sources of fertilizers in gardening,” Rom said, who also views home-based UCG as “an effective and doable climate change adaptation measure” that should be promoted and supported.

“We don’t need to become an environmentalist, a forester or an agriculturist to care and make this planet and its inhabitants healthy,” he said, “just make gardening a way of life starting with a single pot.”

For his part, Jove Benosa, Zero Waste Campaigner of the EcoWaste Coalition, stated that “home composting and farming is down-to-earth solutions to our nation’s swelling garbage production and our families’ lack of access to adequate and nutritious food, especially during emergency situations like the coronavirus outbreak.”

“Our post-COVID roadmap will be incomplete if the promotion of home composting and farming, along with other sustainable practices, will be left out,” he concluded.

EcoWaste Coalition
78-A Masigla Extension, Barangay Central, 1100 Quezon City, Philippines
Phone: +632-82944807 E-Mail: info@ecowastecoalition.org
Website: http://www.ecowastecoalition.org, http://ecowastecoalition.blogspot.com

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