DOLE Samar provides labor education to academe workers

By NORMA RAE S. COSTIMIANO
February 10, 2022

TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Labor and Employment Regional Office No. 8 through its Samar Field Office (SFO) conducted a seminar on Labor Relations, Human Relations and Productivity (LHP) for the management and employees of Christ the King College in Calbayog City last February 2-3, 2022.

The two-day seminar was attended by over 100 participants.

Mr. Demmie Jose Uyvico, Senior Labor and Employment Officer and Mr. Raul Tabao, Labor and Employment Officer III, tackled several important topics on Labor Relations as well as General Labor Standards, Family Welfare Program and the Batas Kasambahay.

School President, Fr. Jovito Malinao, thanked the DOLE for imparting relevant information through the conduct of LHP.

He said that the seminar has indeed brought new learning not only on increasing productivity but also on maintaining good and harmonious relations at their workplace.

Mr. Uyvico, in behalf of SFO Head Engr. Aleksei Ceasar Abellar expressed continued commitment to provide necessary assistance through the Labor and Employment Education Services (LEES).

“With this LHP seminar, we hope we have provided the assistance you need. And it doesn’t end here, because DOLE is always ready to serve its clients”, said Uyvico.

LHP is one component of the LEES program which aims to increase awareness on the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers, work ethics, values and skills to contribute in fostering a more cooperative labor-management relations and attainment of decent and productive work.

Other components of LEES are Labor Education for Graduating Students (LEGS) and Continuing Labor Education Seminar (CLES). (with a report from DOLE-WLFO)

Angono, Calbayog schools pursue art dreams despite pandemic, thanks to Rebisco

Press Release
February 9, 2022

QUEZON CITY – Rebisco continues its support for young artists by providing art and design essentials to two of its beneficiary schools, the Regional Lead School for the Arts in Angono (RLSAA) in Rizal and the Calbayog Arts and Design School of Eastern Visayas (CADSEV) in Samar.

Rebisco began to provide RLSAA with paint brushes, easels, paints and other materials that will support the needs of the art students in 2019. It also put up a mini gallery on school grounds that was both classroom and exhibition space for the students’ art work. In 2021, Rebisco added CADSEV, known as “a Haven of Art in Eastern Visayas” as a beneficiary school.

This year, Rebisco will provide more basic art tools and materials as well as equipment for mixed media and the performing arts to the two schools. The snacks and biscuits company hopes that their artistically-inclined students can continue to hone their innate skills in art and design and embark on new creative adventures that will allow them to enrich the Filipino art scene.

The Rebisco donations will be a great help, said Ms. Rinalyn Beso, CADSEV School Head. “Teaching the arts through distance learning can be very challenging, but the instruments and art equipment will give every learner the opportunity to be creative in the comfort of their homes while being safe from Covid-19.”

“The new set of art equipment will inspire and motivate our students to be more creative and to pursue their passion. They can create more inspiring and challenging artworks even as they deal with the challenge of remote learning. We thank Rebisco for being our solid partner in honing the talents and skills of our young artists. The art equipment will be an inspiration, a source of joy and a morale booster for our young artists,” said RLSAA Principal, Edgar Diñozo.

In support of the arts, Rebisco also introduced to the market its Designer Tin Cans. The designer cans, which change designs periodically, are mini versions of the Rebisco Special Assorted Cans, the iconic, all-time favorite pasalubong. Featured on the sides of the cans are the works of famous contemporary artists and some students of RLSAA. Packed with premium Rebisco biscuits, cookies, crackers and wafers, part of the proceeds from the sales of the cans go to the support being given to the schools.

The designer tin cans are available at Rebisco Flagship Store on Lazada for those who want to have artful keepsakes, enjoy yummy snacks and help boost art and young artists in their own little way.

Free seaman’s book for first-time applicants gains NMP’s support

By National Maritime Polytechnic
February 4, 2022

TACLOBAN CITY – The National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP) affirms the approval of Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) Board on the free Seaman’s Book to be issued to first time seafarer applicants, as well as the granting of 50% discount for its renewal.

As recently announced by Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, the Seaman’s Book, which cost ranges from Php1,000.00-Php1,800.00, will now be given for free to seafarers who are applying for the first time during the term of President Rodrigo Duterte, while the 50% off for the renewal will be valid until December 2022.

In a statement, MARINA Administrator Robert Empedrad explained that this initiative of the MARINA and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) aims to support the Filipino seafarers especially in the midst of the pandemic and help lessen the expenses for the processing of their documents. MARINA yearns to wholeheartedly fulfill the request of our seafarer-heroes who remains steadfast to help boost our economy amid the health crisis.

NMP Executive Director Joel B. Maglunsod expresses full support to this cause as an excellent way to help our seafarers and repay their valuable contributions. As an advocate of the seafarers’ welfare, the NMP will likewise explore other areas possible to pitch in and further assist the department in the implementation.

The MARINA however is yet to issue an official advisory for the guidelines and effectivity of its implementation.

The Seaman’s Book, technically referred to as Seafarer’s Record Book (SRB), is a full record of a seafarer's career experience and certifications. It certifies that the person holding it, is a Seafarer as per The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) and serves as record of sea service of the holder.

Nearly 3 in every 10 families in Eastern Visayas are poor

By PSA-8
February 2, 2022

TACLOBAN CITY – Poverty incidence among families in Eastern Visayas in the first semester of 2021 was estimated at 28.9 percent. This implies that in the first semester of 2021, nearly 3 in every 10 families in the region were poor or have income that were below the poverty threshold, or the amount needed to buy their basic food and non-food needs.

In the first semester of 2021, poverty incidence among families in Eastern Samar was estimated at 36.0 percent; Leyte (excluding Tacloban City) at 31.3 percent; Samar at 30.0 percent; Southern Leyte at 25.5 percent; Northern Samar at 23.1 percent; and Biliran at 22.4 percent.

Significant improvements in poverty incidence among families between the first semester of 2018 and first semester of 2021 were noted in Eastern Samar and Northern Samar. Poverty incidence among families in Eastern Samar dropped to 36.0 percent in the first semester of 2021 from 43.0 percent in the first semester of 2018. The province of Northern Samar, meanwhile, registered 23.1 percent poverty incidence among families in the first semester of 2021, lower than the 30.0 percent in the first semester of 2018. On the other hand, poverty incidence among families in Biliran significantly increased to 22.4 percent in the first semester of 2021 from 18.0 percent in the same semester of 2018 (Fig. 1).

Given the new master sample, PSA was able to generate reliable statistics down to the provincial level as well as for highly urbanized cities (HUCs). Poverty incidence among families for Tacloban City, the lone HUC in the region, was recorded at 14.7 percent in the first semester of 2021.

36 out of 100 individuals in Eastern Visayas are poor

Poverty incidence among population in Eastern Visayas in the first semester of 2021 was estimated at 36.0 percent. This implies that in the first semester of 2021, 36 in every 100 individuals in the region belong to the poor population whose incomes were not sufficient to buy their minimum basic food and non-food needs.

In the first semester of 2021, poverty incidence among population in Eastern Samar was estimated at 43.1 percent; Leyte (excluding Tacloban City) at 39.1 percent; Samar at 37.0 percent; Southern Leyte at 31.7 percent; Northern Samar at 31.0 percent; and Biliran at 30.7 percent.

Significant improvements in poverty incidence among population between the first semester of 2018 and first semester of 2021 were noted in Eastern Samar and Northern Samar. Poverty incidence among population in Eastern Samar dropped to 43.1 percent in the first semester of 2021 from 52.0 percent in the first semester of 2018. The province of Northern Samar, meanwhile, registered 31.0 percent poverty incidence among population in the first semester of 2021, lower than the 36.6 percent in the first semester of 2018. On the other hand, poverty incidence among population in Biliran significantly increased to 30.7 percent in the first semester of 2021 from 24.9 percent in the same semester of 2018 (Fig. 2).

Poverty incidence among population in Tacloban City in the first semester of 2021 was recorded at 20.1 percent.

Subsistence Incidence among Families

The subsistence incidence among families in Eastern Visayas in the first semester of 2021 was estimated at 13.2 percent. This means that in the first semester of 2021, about 13 in every 100 families in the region have incomes below the food threshold or the amount needed to buy their basic food needs and satisfy the nutritional requirements set by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) to ensure that one remains economically and socially productive.

In the first semester of 2021, subsistence incidence among families in Eastern Samar was estimated at 18.7 percent; Leyte (excluding Tacloban City) at 16.0 percent; Samar at 11.7 percent; Southern Leyte at 10.4 percent; Biliran at 8.7 percent; and Northern Samar at 7.1 percent.

Subsistence incidence among families in Northern Samar significantly improved to 7.1 percent in the first semester of 2021 from 12.2 percent in the first semester of 2018. On the other hand, subsistence incidence among families in Biliran significantly increased to 8.7 percent in the first semester of 2021 from 5.7 percent in the first semester of 2018. Southern Leyte registered 10.4 percent subsistence incidence among families in the first semester of 2021, significantly higher than the 7.9 percent in the first semester of 2018 (Fig. 3).

Subsistence incidence among families in Tacloban City in the first semester of 2021 was recorded at 5.3 percent.

Subsistence Incidence among Population

Subsistence incidence among population in Eastern Visayas in the first semester of 2021 was estimated at 17.3 percent. This translates that in the first semester of 2021, about 17 in every 100 individuals in the region have incomes below the food threshold or the minimum amount needed to buy their basic food needs.

In the first semester of 2021, subsistence incidence among population in Eastern Samar was estimated at 24.6 percent; Leyte (excluding Tacloban City) at 21.1 percent; Samar at 15.4 percent; Southern Leyte at 13.9 percent; Biliran at 13.1 percent; and Northern Samar at 10.6 percent.

Subsistence incidence among population in Northern Samar significantly improved to 10.6 percent in the first semester of 2021 from 16.1 percent in the first semester of 2018. On the other hand, subsistence incidence among population in Biliran significantly increased to 13.1 percent in the first semester of 2021 from 7.8 percent in the first semester of 2018. The province of Southern Leyte registered 13.9 percent subsistence incidence among population in the first semester of 2021, significantly higher than the 10.3 percent in the first semester of 2018 (Fig. 4).

Subsistence incidence among population in Tacloban City in the first semester of 2021 was recorded at 7.6 percent.

Food Threshold

In the first semester of 2021, a family of five in Eastern Visayas needed at least P7,904 per month, to meet the family’s basic food needs. This amount represents the average monthly food threshold for a family of five. This figure is 11.2 percent higher compared with its first semester 2018 level of P7,106.

In the first semester of 2021, the average monthly food threshold for a family of five in Eastern Samar was estimated at P8,451; Southern Leyte at P8,445; Biliran at P8,352; Leyte (excluding Tacloban City) at P7,835; Northern Samar at P7,660; and Samar at P7,319.

Increases in food threshold between the first semester 2018 and first semester 2021 were observed in all provinces. Biliran posted the biggest increase in food threshold at 19.4 percent (Fig. 5).

Meanwhile, average monthly food threshold for a family of five in Tacloban City was estimated at P8,224 in the first semester of 2021. This registered an increase of 19.3 percent compared with its level in the same semester in 2018.

The average monthly poverty threshold for a family of five in Eastern Visayas in the first semester of 2021 was estimated at P11,292, an increase of 11.1 percent from its first semester 2018 level of P10,163. This represents the amount needed every month to meet the family’s basic food and non-food needs.

In the first semester of 2021, the average monthly poverty threshold for a family of five in Eastern Samar was estimated at P12,103; Southern Leyte at P12,088; Biliran at P11,957; Leyte (excluding Tacloban City) at P11,232; Northern Samar at P10,977; and Samar at P10,494 (Fig. 6).

Increases in poverty threshold between the first semester of 2018 and first semester of 2021 were observed in all provinces. Biliran posted the biggest increase in poverty threshold at 19.2 percent.

Meanwhile, average monthly poverty threshold for a family of five in Tacloban City was estimated at P11,777 in the first semester of 2021. This registered an increase of 19.1 percent compared with its level in the same semester in 2018.

Clustering of Provinces based on Poverty Incidence

All provinces in the country were clustered from 1 to 5 using poverty incidence among families as the clustering variable. Cluster 1 comprises the bottom poor provinces and cluster 5 comprises the least poor provinces.

In the first semester of 2021, two (2) provinces moved one (1) cluster lower from their cluster category in the first semester of 2018, namely Leyte and Biliran. The rest of the provinces maintained their first semester 2018 cluster categories.

Three (3) provinces: Biliran, Northern Samar, and Southern Leyte belonged to cluster 3. Meanwhile, Eastern Samar, Leyte (including Tacloban City) and Samar were classified in cluster 2 (Table 6).

IT-BPM sector urges Senate to ratify RCEP

By DTI-IDTPG-Bureau of International Trade Relations
February 2, 2022

MANILA – The Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) called on the Senate to ratify the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement in a statement released Thursday, 27 January 2022. IBPAP represents over 332 member-companies and six partner associations engaged in the country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) industry and related sectors.

According to Jack Madrid, president of IBPAP, “We believe that RCEP will increase external trade and spur more investments that create more livelihood and other business opportunities in the country.”

He added that the stable regulatory environment provided by RCEP would improve the Philippines attractiveness to investors and accelerate the economy’s recovery, stressing that the country had the potential to be a manufacturing and services hub under the agreement.

“RCEP also promises seamless production networks among the members who will be tied to common standards, disciplines on intellectual property, rules of origin, customs process, e-commerce and competition policy. With stable and predictable rules, the Philippines could aspire to become a regional manufacturing and services hub, thereby creating much-needed domestic jobs. This framework will benefit the IT & Business Process Management Industry by making the country a more attractive investment destination and help expedite the economic recovery from the pandemic by creating more job opportunities,” he explained.

The RCEP Agreement is an economic treaty brokered by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which the Philippines is a member, and its dialogue partners – Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea. It is estimated to be the largest trade bloc in the world, representing 30% of the global GDP.

The RCEP Agreement was signed by the ministers of 10 ASEAN Member States and 5 dialogue partners last 15 November 2020. The Agreement took effect last 1 January 2022 for 10 Signatory States, for South Korea on 1 February 2022, and will be implemented by Malaysia on 18 March 2022.

The Agreement was ratified by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte last 02 September 2021, with the measure being deliberated in the Senate for concurrence.

MWSS, NCIP’s railroading of Kaliwa Dam strengthens peoples’ unity

By KATRIBU
January 31, 2022

MANILA – The desperation of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to railroad the Kaliwa Dam project strengthens the peoples’ unity against the said destructive program.

IPs’ organizations, led by Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KATRIBU), IPs’ rights advocates, and defenders of the environment under Network Opposed to Kaliwa, Kanan, and Laiban Dams (NO to KKLD) protested in front of the MWSS’ office, January 31.

They opposed the railroading of the Kaliwa Dam project and the recently concluded week-long activity by the MWSS and NCIP in General Nakar, Quezon province.

"MWSS and NCIP continue to disrespect and neglect the non-consent decision of the majority of the Dumagat people on the dam project. The manipulation of the FPIC process also manifests MWSS and NCIP’s desperation to implement an anti-people program," Rei Paulin, National Coordinator of KATRIBU, said.

Paulin also added the need for Metro Manila to address its water security issue. However, he emphasized that the concern should not compromise the state of the environment.

"We recognize the water security problem in some parts of Luzon. Still, this matter should not compromise the rights and welfare of Indigenous Peoples and the status of our environment," Paulin added.

During the activity from January 24-29, 2022, MWSS and NCIP conducted the anomalous MOA validation of the Kaliwa Dam project amid Alert Level 3 due to the pandemic.

The agencies barred the Dumagat people from joining the discussion and negotiation for the MOA signing and workshop on the Community Royalty Development Plan. The Dumagat people said that the NCIP invited them to negotiate. However, during the day of the negotiation, officials required them to present negative Antigen Test Results. NCIP did not mention the requirement in the invitation, according to the prohibited individuals.

Rodrigo Piston, Indigenous People Mandatory Representative from Lower Pagsangahan, General Nakar, Quezon, denounced the local government of General Nakar, Quezon, for allowing such activity amid the Alert Level 3 due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Members of the affected community claim that such activity put them at risk amid the threat of the COVID-19 virus.

“We are under Alert Level 3 due to the COVID-19. Still, the NCIP proceeded with the negotiation. We, in General Nakar, condemned this activity amid the pandemic. Individuals from other affected communities also opposed the railroading of the program,” Piston said.

Meanwhile, the NCIP is notorious for manipulating FPIC processes. In the case of the Kaliwa Dam project, the commission selected “leaders” from the community to join the MOA validation. Genuine FPIC requires genuine community participation. The opposition of the affected communities to the exclusivity of the MOA validation questions the process’ legitimacy. Hence, NCIP’s selection of “leaders” for the process violates the Dumagat people’s collective rights to self-determination.

Piston also condemned the presence of members of the Philippine National Police during the negotiation. He reiterated his community’s goals to protect the environment and secure their ancestral lands from the destructive state project.

“We are not criminals, murderers, and thieves. We are expressing the truth and the impact of the destructive Kaliwa Dam project to our children in the future,” Piston added.

During the mobilization, Kakay Tolentino, National Coordinator of Bai Indigenous Women’s Network, supported the call of the Dumagat people in their struggle for the protection of their fundamental rights.

“We stand in solidarity with the Dumagats in opposing the implementation of the Kaliwa Dam project. We call on the government to stop all destructive projects across the country. Defend the rights of our IPS! Save our environment!” Tolentino emphasized.

On the other hand, NO to KKLD urged candidates for the 2022 May Elections to stand with the Dumagat people in opposing the Kaliwa Dam project.

"We challenge all candidates for the upcoming elections to join the struggle for the protection of the environment, livelihood, and rights and welfare of the Filipino people,” NO to KKLD said.

Southern Leyte residents clamor for housing materials

Press Release
January 28, 2022

LILOAN, Southern Leyte – Members of agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations (ARBOs) in the Panaon Island area are so grateful for the relief assistance that keeps on pouring from various sectors.

In the afternoon of December 16 last year, Super Typhoon Odette made its third landfall in this town leaving many families homeless.

On January 5 of this year, a team from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), headed by Chief of the Program Beneficiaries Development Division, Victoria Ligtas, brought relief goods for the members of the Anilao Farmers Association, San Roque Farmers Association, Pandan Farmers Association, Himay-angan Rice Farmers Association and the Liloan farmers Agricultural Cooperative.

Ligtas shared that they have provided the member of the five ARBOs, who are all severely affected by Typhoon Odette, with food items, drinking water, garments and “trapal” (tarpaulin) to address their current needs.

The team likewise distributed shirts and biscuits to children at the Anilao Elementary School, which serves as evacuation center, where some agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) are taking refuge.

On December 29, 2021, the same relief goods were received by the members of the Tuno Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative and the Cangcasto Farmers Association, Ligtas added.

Ligtas shared that more than 400 ARBO members from the two municipalities, mostly ARBs, were benefited. However, they are begging for housing materials to rebuild their homes that were destroyed when the typhoon hit the province nine days before Christmas.

ARB Ma. Nita Palabrica, 52, and a mother of three, appeals to those who are still planning to bring relief assistance for the typhoon victims, “Sana financial assistance na lang para makapagpatayo kami ng kahit kubo lang” (We hope for financial assistance instead, so we could build even a small house only.)

Palabrica’s family is among those who are still staying in the evacuation center after their houses were crashed down by the typhoon.

Markenn Jay Maloto, 25, daughter of an agrarian reform beneficiary (ARB), when asked why she was crying, said “Wala na kaming bahay. Di kami makatulog ng maayos.” (We have no house anymore. We can’t sleep well.)

According to her, their house was knocked down by a coconut tree. Now she, her parents, and her younger brother, are crammed in one bed to sleep in a corner of their broken house with a makeshift roof.

She appeals for housing materials they would use in repairing their house.

Josefa Lupas, 72, was lucky that she and her paralyzed ARB husband were able to evacuate before the typhoon came but was dismayed when they returned the following day to see their house, which stands along the seashore, heavily damaged.

ARB Jenelyn Almojicar, 50, chairperson of the Tuno Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative, exclaimed “Salamat! Kahit sa kahirapan sa lugar na papunta dito, nakarating ang taga-DAR at naalala kami” (Thank you! Even if it’s hard to come here, people from DAR reached our place and remembered us.)

Almojicar is also asking for materials they could use in repairing their organization’s building which include a “sari-sari” store.

Just like what happened to many houses all over the province, the roof of the said organization’s building was blown away by strong winds, and consequently, everything inside were damaged.

According to Almojicar, members of their organization, who are all farmers, are dependent on the store for their daily needs.

Meanwhile, DAR Eastern Visayas Regional Director Robert Anthony Yu is looking for ways the office could help the distraught ARBs recover and start a livelihood.

Rep. Wild leads call for action against Philippines human rights violations

Press release
January 28, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Representative Susan Wild (PA-07) led a bipartisan group of her colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretery of Treasury Janet Yellen, urging them to seek targeted sanctions against members of the Duterte regime with documented records of grave human rights violations in the Philippines. Reports of widespread harassment and assassinations have been observed by human rights groups, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has now begun a probe into possible crimes against humanity during Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s infamous so-called “war on drugs” – a pretext for an estimated 30,000 killings by security forces during the Duterte presidency.

"Those behind these corrosive violations should no longer operate with impunity. In our stand for democracy, the United States cannot overlook the crisis in the Philippines, and we must take tangible action if we are to truly stand for human rights and the flourishing of freedom around the world," the lawmakers wrote. "To this end, we urge the imposition of sanctions on individuals who are behind these major human rights violations, particularly via the use of the Global Magnitsky Act."

In July, Rep. Wild reintroduced the Philippine Human Rights Act, legislation to reinforce American commitment to international human rights by suspending security assistance to the Philippines until violence against dissidents ceases and accountability against the perpetrators commences.

This letter also arrives alongside horrific reports detailing the rape of a 15-year-old girl, Belle, by the 59th Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army (IBPA) under the leadership of Lt. General Antonio Parlade, who is among the individuals listed in the letter as responsible for human rights violations committed by the Philippine security forces under the Duterte regime. Rep Wild stands with Belle and her family, who filed charges against General Parlade and other officials this past week.

Rep. Wild was joined in sending the letter by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Dean Phillips (MN-03), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Dina Titus (NV-01), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), James McGovern (MA-03), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Ted Lieu (CA-33), Andy Levin (MI-09), Anna Eshoo (CA-18), Angie Craig (MN-02), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Jim Costa (CA-16), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Danny Davis (IL-07), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Gerald Connolly (VA-11).

Read full text of the letter here

NTF-ELCAC’s red-tagging underscores urgency of passing bill on protection of rights defenders - Karapatan

By KARAPATAN
January 27, 2022

QUEZON CITY – The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s (NTF-ELCAC) red-tagging of the authors of House Bill No. 10576 or the proposed Human Rights Defenders Protection Act “only underscores the urgency of passing the bill into law,” human rights alliance Karapatan stated on Thursday, as it called on the Senate to pass Senate Bill No. 179, the proposed measure’s counterpart bill, filed by Senator Leila de Lima.

“The NTF-ELCAC and Badoy’s unhinged and rabid red-tagging of the authors of the proposed Human Rights Defenders Protection Act in the House of Representatives should seriously alarm our senators to act with urgency. This is a very clear reason why a law on protecting human rights defenders in the country is long overdue, and why it should be passed without any delay,” Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay urged.

NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Lorraine Badoy, in her statement last January 20, red-tagged the authors of the proposed measure, as well as Karapatan and the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, by claiming that it was authored by “urban operatives” of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People’s Army, and the National Democratic Front, and that, if passed, “the bill will open the floodgates of abuse and torment on our people by terrorists” and render the Anti-Terrorism Act “ineffective and toothless.”

House Bill No. 10576 – a consolidated version of House Bills No. 15 filed by Albay First District Rep. Edcel Lagman, No. 161 filed by Quezon City Sixth District Rep. Jose Christopher “Kit” Belmonte, and No. 240 filed by the Makabayan bloc – was approved by the House of Representatives on its third and final reading last January 17, 2022 with a total of 200 affirmative votes. No legislator voted against or abstained on voting on the bill.

Palabay asserted that the Badoy’s statement “clearly shows the NTF-ELCAC’s aversion to uphold human rights in its militarist, fascist, and anti-people counterinsurgency agenda; after all, the NTF-ELCAC is guilty of the worst atrocities against human rights defenders from red-tagging, judicial harassment, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings. Intentionally or not, she also exposes the true intent of the terror law: the NTF-ELCAC wants to use it specifically to target human rights defenders.”