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PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY February 16 - 28, 2019
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No exception, special treatment when it comes
to PH labor laws – CBCP
The head of the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines
Episcopal Commission on Migrants
and Itinerant People said there should
be no exception or special treatment
when it comes to following the
country’s laws.
CBCP ECMI chairman Bishop
Ruperto Santos said this in reaction to
the statement of President Duterte to
allow illegal Chinese workers to stay in
the country as deporting them might
affect the 300,000 Filipinos in China.
“We have our laws. All must follow
and observe the laws,” he said in a
statement.
“The Chinese workers’ entry, stay
(in the country), and work must be
legal, and if not, so apply the law.
No exception, no special treatment,”
added Santos.
The Balanga, Bataan prelate said
even overseas Filipino workers obey
the laws of the countries where they
work and reside.
Santos also urged the government
to prioritize Filipino workers so they
won’t be forced to work abroad.
“Prioritize them. Filipinos first and
give them work here so that there
will be no need of going abroad,” he
said.
“Opportunities, such as work, first
and foremost, must be offered, given
and awarded to Filipinos,” added
Santos.
The CBCP official stressed that
Filipino workers are skilled labourers
that’s why they are most
sought after workers.
“Our Filipinos are very
much qualified,” Santos
said.
“We don’t lack skilled
Filipino workers…it could
be we are not giving
them work and chose
to give work to other
nationalities,” he added.
Such
treatment,
Santos said is “unfair” to
Filipinos.
(Photo Credit: CBCP ;
L.A. Aquino, mb.com.ph)
Otso Diretso accepts Sara Duterte challenge
for rules-based debate
Challenge accepted. This was the
response of the opposition senatorial
slate Otso Diretso to Mayor Sara
Duterte’s call that there should be
clear guidelines for a debate between
administration
and
opposition
candidates.
Otso Diretso campaign manager
Sen. Kiko Pangilinan said the
opposition slate first challenged the
administration candidates to a debate
because many of them do not show
up to televised debates.
“Tungkulin nila na ipaliwanag,
halimbawa, yung TRAIN Law, bakit
naipasa ito? Ano ang epekto nito sa
ating kababayan? Bakit magkakaroon
pa ng TRAIN 2? Dapat kasama ito
sa debate, dapat pinag-uusapan ito.
Hindi ‘yung puro song and dance,
etc,” he said in an ANC Headstart
interview.
Pangilinan said Otso Diretso
bets first challenged Hugpong ng
Pagbabago candidates to a debate at
Plaza Miranda last Monday, February
25, after the administration candidates
said they were willing to conduct a
debate “any time, any where.”
Not a single Hugpong ng
Pagbabago candidate showed up for
the debate.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte
later said Hugpong ng Pagbabago
candidates failed to show up because
there was no formal invitation and
agreement.
“Willing mag-debate ang some
of the candidates but only if there is
an agreement about the rules, venue.
Hindi puwedeng unilateral ang pag-
decide na about a debate,” said
Duterte, also the HNP chairperson.
“Hindi puwede iyong sasabihin mo
lang ‘Oh, mag-debate tayo’ dito tayo
ngayon parang sinabi mo lang, ‘Oh,
magsuntukan tayo,’ parang ganoon
lang kasi, parang barabara, parang
palengke style,” she said.
In response, Pangilinan said he
will accept the presidential daughter’s
challenge.
“We are willing. Today we
will contact perhaps some of the
incumbent senators sa Hugpong, tutal
nakakasama naman natin sa Senado
nitong mga nakaraang taon, we will
contact them. Sige, pag-usapan natin
ang rules para maituloy na ang debate
na ito,” he said.
The campaign manager said it is
possible that some candidates may
shun the debates to mask perceived
weaknesses during debates especially
if they are doing well in pre-election
surveys. He noted all 8 Otso Diretso
candidates have done very well in
televised debates.
The 8 opposition bets are former
senator Mar Roxas, election lawyer
Romulo Macalintal, Mindanao peace
advocate Samira Gutoc, human rights
lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno, former
congressman Erin Tanada, former
solicitor general Florin Hilbay and two
incumbents, Sen. Bam Aquino and
Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano.
“The people deserve to know how
you will defend the positions you are
taking. Sabihin na nating strategy
‘yung umiwas para hindi na makita
‘yung kahinaan. Eh teka muna, bakit
natin tinataguan ang mga botante?
Bakit umiiwas na malaman ng
botante ‘yung saloobin natin at ‘yung
kapasidad natin?” he asked.
He also repeated the line of Otso
Diretso candidate Chel Diokno that
the work of the Senate “is not about
making tarpaulins, but making laws.”
(abs-cbn news)
Duterte expresses doubts on Marcos ill-gotten wealth
PRESIDENT Duterte on Tuesday
night raised doubts about the alleged
ill-gotten wealth of the late president
Ferdinand Marcos, despite several
court decisions affirming the former
strongman’s ill-gotten wealth.
“Until now you have not proven
anything except to sequester and
sell. You are not even sure if it really
belonged to Marcos,” Duterte said
during a gathering of local government
officials of different municipalities in
the country at the Manila Hotel.
Duterte made the remark after
talking about his preference to be
cremated when he dies, and be buried
alongside his parents’ grave instead of
the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
He also talked about the continued
efforts of some “yellows” to question
his decision to allow the burial of
Marcos at the Libingan ng mga
Bayani, which had been affirmed by
the Supreme Court in 2016 as legal.
Marcos, who started his term as
president in 1965, was ousted though
the Edsa People Power revolution in
1986.
The Cory Aquino government then
created the Presidential Commission
on Good Government (PCGG) to
go after the alleged ill-gotten wealth
amassed by Marcos and his allies
while in office and supposedly stashed
through in local and offshore accounts
or under dummy foundations.
Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno,
a senatorial candidate of the opposition
Otso Diretso, scored Duterte for
attempting to revise history.
“Don’t revise history,” Diokno
said. “The President seems to have
forgotten about the Supreme Court’s
2003 decision that that money is ill-
gotten wealth. It’s not Marcos’ money,
it’s the people’s money.”
Diokno spoke before the People
Management Association of the
Philippines senatorial forum at
Fairmont, Makati Wednesday.
Since the Supreme Court’s
decision is a final judgment, he said
the truth behind the Marcos wealth “is
already set in stone.”
“It’s worrisome because they are
trying to change history,” he said,
noting that the High Court, itself,
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
had pegged the amount of ill-gotten
wealth at more than $600 million.
Samira Gutoc, another opposition
senatorial bet, said since he was
elected president, Duterte “has shown
nothing but favor to the Marcos
family.”
“We haven’t even reached three
years under President Duterte’s
leadership and he is not only changing
the map of Philippine territory, he’s
also changing Philippine history,” she
said.
“Mr. President, you do not have
business tinkering with history,
especially the part on how