On Dec. 4, 2018, President Duterte signed Executive Order 70 constituting a body, headed by himself, called “National Task Force (NTF) to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict.” It set a six-month period, from its issuance, for the NTF to “formulate and start to implement, in coordination with relevant government agencies, LGUs, civil society and…
Tags: At Ground Level
Duterte order on Negros raises still more questions
There will never be a time when I will declare martial law (in Negros Oriental). What I said was that I would take drastic action,” President Duterte clarified in a speech before local government officials in Malacañang on Aug. 7. He was referring to a statement of his spokesperson that he might declare martial law…
A second look into Negros Oriental killings
In 2015, on the fifth year of the P-Noy administration’s counterinsurgency program (Oplan Bayanihan), the Armed Forces of the Philippines declared the province of Negros Oriental as a “conflict-manageable and ready for further development” area. The implication was that the state security forces had succeeded in weakening the presence/influence of the New People’s Army in…
Spotlight once more on extrajudicial killings
In his fourth state-of-the-nation address President Duterte didn’t say a word about the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines that have shocked many all over the world. Just the week before, his government had been embroiled in a ruckus over the approval of a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council, urging the UN High…
Everyone loses if schools shut down
The Department of Education’s order to suspend the operations of 55 lumad schools, mostly in Davao del Norte, is the latest challenge in the Mindanao indigenous people’s struggle to keep running their own schools as an expression of their cultural autonomy and identity. Should the DepEd order lead to the total shutdown of the schools…
UN human rights body presses Phl gov’t on EJKs
In the past three years, close to 40 nations have been signing a resolution, initiated by Iceland, expressing concern over the rising number of killings related to President Duterte’s “war on drugs.” Initially they urged the Philippine government to stop the killings and undertake an impartial investigation on these cases. Subsequently they called on the…
Climate crisis: Peoples act while governments falter
In the Philippines, used as we are to tropical heat such as the long dry spell of recent weeks, global warming doesn’t seem to be the huge problem that it is in other countries where wild fires and extreme temperatures kill hundreds of vulnerable people. But even as we count ourselves lucky in this regard,…
Why not try using our seasoned diplomats?
The State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.” That’s how direct and clear the mandate on the government is under Section 2 of Article XII (National Economy and Patrimony) of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. It…
Outrage, shame and accountability
For almost two weeks now, the midnight “maritime incident” near Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea has exercised to a considerable degree the Filipinos’ collective sense of outrage, then of outrage combined with disappointment, frustration, and shame. And their basic demand for accountability for the incident and its consequences calls for prompt and appropriate…
Much loose talk over Phl boat sinking in WPS
No doubt it is a serious matter that should be urgently and carefully resolved, through the appropriate international mechanisms and provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS), between the governments of the Philippines and China. The matter pertains to the sinking of a Philippine vessel around midnight on June…
Sweden reaches out to partner on core values
Human rights, gender equality, freedom of speech, environmental protection, and fighting climate change. “These are areas where my government is very active globally. And we like to advocate these matters also here in the Philippines. I appreciate that it’s easy to find partners in advocating our priority concerns.” Addressing a crowded hall filled with guests…