26 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY September 1 - 15 , 2017 RP News and More ...
Trump likely to visit Philippines , China on November Asia trip
WASHINGTON - U . S . President Donald Trump is likely to make a stop in China in November during his first official visit to Asia , a U . S . official said on Tuesday , a trip that will come amid tensions over North Korea ’ s nuclear tests .
Washington and its allies have said there is a growing urgency for China , North Korea ’ s top ally and trading partner , to apply more pressure on its already isolated neighbor to get it to back down on its nuclear weapons and missiles programs .
Chinese President Xi Jinping had invited Trump to visit China during their meeting in April in Palm Beach , Florida . The two leaders also met on the
THE United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights scored President Rodrigo Duterte ’ s apparent “ lack of respect for due process rights ,” citing his repeated pronouncements condoning the killing of drug suspects who resist arrest .
“ In the Philippines , I continue to be gravely concerned by the President ’ s open support for a shootto-kill policy regarding suspects , as well as by the apparent absence of credible investigations into reports of thousands of extrajudicial killings , and the failure to prosecute any perpetrator ,” Zeid Ra ’ ad Al Hussein , the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said during the 36th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva Monday .
The UN statement came as the Catholic Church issued its strongest statement to date against the extrajudicial killings that have marred Duterte ’ s war on illegal drugs .
“ In the name of God , stop the killings ! May the justice of God come upon those responsible for the killings !” Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines ( CBCP ) president and Lingayen- Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement signed on behalf of the bishops .
Like the Catholic Church , the UN official cited the case of Grade 11 student Kian
sidelines on the G20 summit in July .
Trump is set to attend the U . S . -ASEAN summit and the East Asia summit in the Philippines in November , as well as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC ) summit in Vietnam .
China ’ s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on a potential trip by Trump to the Asian country .
On Monday , the U . N . Security Council unanimously voted to step up sanctions on North Korea , with its profitable textile exports now banned and fuel supplies capped .
After several days of negotiations on the resolution , Washington dropped several measures to win the support of Russia and China , including a bid for an oil embargo and the blacklisting of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the national airline .
In Hong Kong , former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon told the South China Morning Post the results of a U . S . -led investigation into alleged Chinese intellectual property theft would be announced before the Beijing summit to reset bilateral trade .
The far-right architect of Trump ’ s 2016 election victory ,
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Bannon told an investor conference , organized by a unit of China ’ s largest brokerage , that Trump and Xi had a rapport that should enable them to work out differences , said an attendee at the meeting which was
UN , CBCP denounce Rody ’ s war on drugs
Loyd delos Santos , who was beaten and shot dead by the policemen who claimed he fired on them first .
Zeid described as “ appalling ” the response from the authorities , particularly Duterte and Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II , who initially sought to play it down as “ an isolated case .”
“ However , suspicion of extrajudicial killings has now become so widespread that the initials EJK have reportedly become a verb in some communities – as in ‘ he was EJKed .’ Two days after hundreds of people turned out for the teenager ’ s funeral , the President again told police they would not be punished for killing suspects who resist arrest ,” Zeid said .
“ This lack of respect for the due process rights of all Filipinos is appalling ,” the UN official added .
The top human rights official also expressed “ shock ” at Duterte ’ s threat to bomb schools for indigenous children or the lumad in Mindanao , which he said were teaching children to rebel against the government .
Zeid expressed concern over Duterte ’ s orders for the police to shoot any human rights workers who “ are part of the drug trade ” or who obstruct justice .
“ Many human rights defenders who are the honor of their country face a growing number of death threats , and I call on the government to ensure they are accorded full protection and the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without reprisals ,” Zeid said .
He added that any move to reintroduce the death penalty would be another step back for the country .
“ I urge the government to uphold the Philippines ’ international human rights obligations , amid deeper reflection about the values that the Philippines stands for ,” he said .
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella took issue with Zeid ’ s “ sweeping statements ,” saying some of them were “ bereft of factual basis .”
He added that contrary to Zeid ’ s statement , the President has repeatedly said there is no shoot-to-kill order .
“ All drug killings are subject to investigations ,” Abella said .
He also said Zeid took the threat to bomb lumad schools out of context , saying “ it would be better ” to focus on the Duterte administration ’ s efforts to educate the lumad .
“ The objective of the President ’ s campaign against illegal drugs is to preserve the lives of the Filipino people , to prevent the destruction of Filipino families , and to protect the Philippines from becoming a narco-state ,” Abella said .
Villegas , for his part , called for an end to “ the reign of terror .”
“ For the good of the country , stop the killings ! The toll of ‘ murders under investigation ’ must stop now ,” Villegas said .
“ For the sake of the children and the poor , stop their systematic murders and spreading reign of terror ! In memory of those killed , let us start the healing of our bleeding nation ,” he added .
The CBCP cited the deaths of Delos Santos and 19-year-old Carl Angelo Arnaiz at the hands of Caloocan City police , as well as the killing of a 14-year-old boy , whose body was found floating in a creek with 30 stab wounds .
Villegas said labeling drug addicts as “ hopelessly perverse ” or “ irreparably damaged ” made it easier for the public to consent to their elimination , “ if not participate outright in their murder .”
“ We stand firmly against drugs and the death drugs have caused , but killing is not the solution of the problem ,” he added .
In the Senate , the committee on public order and illegal drugs summoned a 21-year-old eyewitness to the killing of Arnaiz last month .
Committee chairman Senator Panfilo Lacson said the witness informed him that he saw Arnaiz before he was shot dead , and that he had seen him with another companion aboard a police car that passed right in front of him .
Lacson ’ s committee is investigating the recent killing closed to the press .
Bannon , who was let go by Trump last month , told a private lunch gathering in Hong Kong that he still “ speaks with President Donald Trump every two to three days ,” the Wall Street Journal reported . ( Reuters , abs-cbn )
of minors , including that of Delos Santos .
The hearing was reset to Sept . 19 next after Monday ’ s hearing was postponed due to a typhoon .
Lacson said the witness saw Arnaiz alive , and even directly looked him in the eye as the police car drove by .
The witness said the place was well lit and Arnaiz even looked directly at him .
“ Apparently after the incident , the so-called eyewitness had a recurring dream during which the chance sighting would repeat itself , ending with him hearing the gunshot that killed the former UP-Diliman student ,” said Lacson .
It was this recurring dream that pushed him to finally come forward and say his piece , share what he knew of the moments before Arnaiz ’ s killing , Lacson said .
Lacson said the witness also identified the two cops who were with Arnaiz before he died .
Police claim they killed Arnaiz in a shootout after he robbed a taxi driver .
But the driver , Tomas Bagcal , said Arnaiz was cornered by some tricycle drivers who beat him , then later taken alive to the nearest police station .
Bagcal also denied executing an affidavit on the robbery , directly contradicting what the police had said .( J . P . Bencito and M . R . Araneta , MS )