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Saturday, September 3, 2016
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Cayetano: Duterte's War on Drugs a War to Protect Human Rights
Office of the Senator
Alan Peter S. Cayetano
Rm. 602 GSIS Complex Senate of the Philippines Roxas Blvd Pasay City
PRESS RELEASE
01 September 2016
Cayetano: Duterte’s war on drugs a war to protect human rights, ensure safety & welfare of Filipinos
“Our war against illegal drugs is not a war against life, but a war to fight for the lives of all Filipinos. It is not a war against human rights, but a war to protect human rights, and to ensure the safety and welfare of the Filipino family."
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano stressed this in his privilege speech on Wednesday (August 31) amid false reports in foreign press about human rights issues in the conduct of the administration’s intensified campaign against illegal drugs.
Contrary to claims of the Commission on Human Rights, Cayetano said the government’s strong policies against criminality have made it possible for Filipino families to begin feeling safer, particularly since the government waged an all-out war on drugs.
The senator reiterated that President Rodrigo Duterte has not wavered in his commitment to uphold and protect the human rights of every Filipino at any time, contrary to what the President’s critics are trying to portray.
He added the government’s unrelenting campaign against illegal drugs has actually improved the country’s peace and order situation.
“Narinig po natin sa sariling bibig ng ating Pangulo na ang human rights ay importante sa ating bansa. Pero hindi pwedeng gamitin ang human rights para hindi ituloy ang drug war,” Cayetano said. “If you listen to the President’s speeches… palagi niyang sinasabi that he will operate within the confines of the Philippine Constitution. He will respect the Bill of Rights and the rule of law,” he intoned.
The senator pointed out that the drug menace has reached alarming levels that nothing short of bold and swift solutions are needed to end the problem.
He said criminality was already rampant under previous administrations at the rate of almost 1,000-2,000 incidents of murders and homicides every month. The only difference, he said, is that in the past, innocent citizens were hounded and victimized by hardened criminals and drug pushers. But today, it’s the law that’s hounding the drug pushers and criminals, he noted.
“Don’t you feel safer today than six years ago? Wala pong sense of security ang Pilipino dati… Dati, ang takot ay ang tao… Ngayon, nararamdaman ng mga tao ang pagbabago... Ngayon ang kriminal na ang takot, hindi ang mamamayan.” he said.
Cayetano also denounced Duterte’s detractors’ penchant to blame the administration for all the drug-related killings in the country. He said the slack use of “extrajudicial killings” (EJKs) to label all suspected drug casualties puts in question the motive behind the investigation being conducted by Sen. Leila De Lima’s Committee on Justice.
“Are some people using the term EJK loosely not because they are human rights advocates… [but] to discredit the PNP and the Duterte administration?” Cayetano asked as he reiterated his call for De Lima to inhibit herself from the inquiry.
Cayetano said labeling the deaths of drug suspects as EJKs is obviously meant to create the wrong perception that the State is initiating the executions and is doing nothing to resolve the crimes.
“The State, the executive department, legislative department, and the judiciary, are doing its best to ensure that the rule of law prevails. Even the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is part of the state and is already investigating,” the senator pointed out.
Cayetano, meanwhile, said he remains confident of President Duterte’s continuous efforts to uphold human rights while also ensuring the safety and protection of all families.
A world without water?
A world without water?
IN MY OPINIONKlaus Doring
As the world marked again the UN’s World Water Day last March 2016, global residents are still struggling to access fresh water. Water scarcity has long been a problem. But climate change, a growing global population and economic growth are putting the natural resource under even more stress. A world without water? Sounding impossible and crazy, while in some parts of the world, especially in Asia, the monsoon rain keeps large areas land-under.
One example of many: since the late 1950's, the Aral lake in Uzbekistan, once the world’s fourth largest, has been rapidly shrinking. Water that had flowed into the lake was diverted to provide irrigation for Uzbekistan’s ‘white gold’, cotton plantations spread across the arid region, while hydro power facilities and reservoirs across Central Asia have also taken their toll.
It is one of the major environmental disasters of the last half century with animal and plant life in the region dying out as a result. But it is not the only place where water has been disappearing. Bolivia’s second-largest lake, Poopó has all but vanished, with severe consequences for both wildlife and people.
Scarcity of water all over the world is becoming an increasing problem. And it’s only going to get worse, said Richard Connor, editor-in-chief of the United Nation’s World Water Development Report 2016 (WWDR), released last month.
“Water has already been relatively scarce,” he explained in German Television. “It’s just that populations are growing and economies are developing, so demand for water keeps increasing, but the quantity of water that is available does not.”
More than 70 percent of the freshwater that is taken from natural re-sources is used in agriculture, for food crops like wheat and rice, but also for plants like cotton. Energy production ac-counts for 15 percent of water usage and another 5 percent is for household usage.
But with the population expected to grow – the WWDR predicts that by 2050 there will be 9.3 billion people, 33 percent more than in 2011 – the world’s water resources are likely to come under increasing pressure. Regions like Central Asia, the Arab world, parts of China, India and the western United States, already suffer from a physical shortage of water. But storage and infra-structure enable countries to collect water and keep it ready in times of drought.
“The magnitude will be proportional to its vulnerability,” said Connor. “Developed countries are much less vulnerable because they have the storage capacity – dams and reservoirs.” But in the developing world, water scarcity is having the greatest impact. There are already more than 1.8 billion people, who only have access to water that is not safe for human consumption, according to the WWDR. And even in areas where there is an abundance of water, like in Sub-Saharan Africa, economic factors mean that people are not getting enough access to the natural resource.
“The water resource is there, but it doesn’t get to the fields, the factories and the cities because infrastructure and institutions are lacking there,” said Connor, adding that crops there are rain-fed because water cannot be used for irrigation. “When there is a drought, like in Ethiopia, they have serious problems that lead to food crises.”
Without improved efficiency measures, agriculture is expected to need 20 percent more water in the coming years to feed the growing population. And let’s face it again: climate is expected to exacerbate the problem, with some countries becoming drier and hotter, while others experience extreme weather in the form of storms and flooding.
A world with less water translates into hardship for unknown millions. Solution must be find. Or is it already too late?
It is only better water management that will help deal with increasing water scarcity, according to experts worldwide. .
Better irrigation techniques that don’t see water wasted through runoff from flooded fields are one way of saving the resource. But any changes in measures would have to be introduced by individual governments and in some cases individual farmers and other stakeholders.
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Email: doringklaus @gmail.com or follow me in Facebook or Twitter or visit www.germanex patinthephilippines.blogspot. com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com.
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Peace in the Philippines?
DIPLOMACY
Philippines, Maoists reach accord following Norway talks
The Philippine government and Communist guerrillas have agreed to an indefinite ceasefire as talks continue for a final peace deal. The two sides were in Oslo negotiating a truce in the five-decade conflict.
The Philippine government and Maoist insurgents inked an indefinite ceasefire deal Friday to facilitate peace talks aimed at ending one of Asia's longest-running guerilla conflicts.
"This is a historic and unprecedented event ... (but) there is still a lot of work to be done ahead," Manila' peace adviser, Jesus Dureza, said at a signing ceremony in Norway, which is mediating the talks aimed at ending a conflcit that's claimed more than 30,000 live since the late 1960s.
The two sides are slated to meet again in Oslo on October 8-12.
Oslo as interlocutor
Norway has acted as a facilitator for the peace process since 2001. Talks have been held on and off since 1986 to end the conflict.
Recently elected President Rodrigo Duterte says he wants to end guerrilla wars with both communist and Muslim rebels that have been hampering economic development.
The Communist's 3,000-strong New People's Army operates mainly in the east and south of the Philippines. At it peak in the 1980s, it commanded an army of 26,000 fighters during the 20-year dictatorship of the late Ferdinand Marcos.
The Communist guerillas have historically drawn support from those dissatisfied with economic inequality, especially in the countryside, and the Philippines' close alliance with the United States.
jar/rg (AFP, Reuters)
Friday, August 26, 2016
Cayetano to Congress: Give the President Emergency Power Vs Traffic ASAP!
Office of the Senator
Alan Peter S. Cayetano
Rm. 602 GSIS Complex Senate of the Philippines Roxas Blvd Pasay City
PRESS RELEASE
26 August 2016
Cayetano to Congress: don't prolong Filipinos' suffering; give the President emergency powers vs traffic ASAP
The longer it takes for Congress to grant emergency powers to the President, the longer it will take to resolve the country's perennial traffic and congestion problem.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano issued this warning during last Thursday's (August 25) Senate committee hearing on the proposals to give the President emergency powers to address the crisis.
Cayetano urged his colleagues at the Senate to immediately pass an emergency measure soonest to end the traffic mess.
"For every one month na hindi maibigay ang emergency powers, additional three to six months sa implementation ng (infrastructure) projects," he said.
"Marami kasi sa ating kapwa senador ang nag-iisip na kung one month delay, one month lang. We need to explain na hindi ganun. The earlier (the President) gets the emergency powers, the more na mabilis ang momentum of real change," he added.
Cayetano also appealed to members of the House of Representatives to fast-track the passage of a counterpart bill in the Lower House. "Nakiki-usap tayo sa House of Representatives na sabayan at bilisan din nila ang pagpasa ng panukalang ito," he said.
Cayetano was among those who filed a measure at the Senate seeking to fix the country’s worsening traffic situation.
He filed Senate Bill No. 999 or the "Freedom from Traffic and Congestion Act of 2016," which seeks to authorize the President and heads of transport-related executive agencies to utilize necessary resources and employ executive actions to address the crisis.
Cayetano said that giving emergency powers to the executive branch would speed up the procurement of transport and infrastructure projects, which will pave the way for the construction of faster and more reliable transport services throughout the country.
SBN 999 will empower the executive branch to override various transport agencies’ regulations, licenses, and procedures, exercise right of eminent domain by expropriating private property, and be exempted from procurement laws and Temporary Restraining Orders (TROs), which usually delay infrastructure projects.#
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Would you believe it?
Would you believe it?
IN MY OPINIONKlaus Doring
No doubts, there is no mistake about it: something is wrong. International media’s negative headlines about the Philippines is no joke anymore. The word-war between our President and Senator De Lima will even add more. Sure, a mistaken belief accompanies each and every one of us daily. Incorrect decisions and wrong doings are part of our daily life.
It is almost a ridiculous fact that man wants to know certain truths about mundane things. But really he seems least interested in even mundane truths as can be read many times in newspapers for example. There seem to be too much rash judgments, and the readers absorb these and make these their own. A fatal attraction!
This is sometimes referred to as journalistic mentality and social media comments wherein accusations are generously made without proof. Evolution started this trend, when scientists stated for example that man evolved from the apes, without proof. The only proof they had was the missing link, and if I am not mistaken, it’s still a missing proof until now.
To look for proofs is a mental activity, which is no longer a common thing nowadays, because it takes really time, effort and is too serious to think about. Yet, in Christian education, thinking right is very important.That’s why Philosophy is important in Christian life. To avoid error in thinking, the rules of right reasoning must be studied and mastered. It is really totally neglected in today’s modern education?
Thinking is actually an enjoyable activity but when one is pressured to get a good job for one’s sustenance, then the other more mundane become attractive. After all, great thinkers many time do not get (good?) jobs….
Spiritual writers like the British Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) noticed that mankind had stopped thinking even two centuries ago. That was during his age. Man probably stopped thinking even earlier. He has ceased many times to search for the truth. It’s easier to listen to gossip and believe in it. What a sign of weak minds!
Too often are we blind to the truth and as a consequence we easily believe in lies we only have to like it. Too bad, if people always like to close their eyes and ears especially while experiencing the delusion of error.
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Email: doringklaus @gmail.com or follow me in Facebook or Twitter or visit www.germanex patinthephilippines.blogspot. com or www.klaus doringsclassicalmusic.
Monday, August 22, 2016
SWIM WITH THE MASSIVE WHALE SHARKS
Swim with the massive whake sharks - world's largest fish - in Oslob, Cebu Cuty.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Siquijor has magic - it's true!
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Philippine Daily Inquirer
By: Raf C. Sobrepeña
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Having heard many good things about the beauty of Siquijor and seeing photos of what it offers, I arranged a trip to the so-called “Island of Black Magic.”
It wasn’t so much about the mystical stories of witchcraft surrounding the island, as an excuse to travel and appreciate the country’s beauty one island at a time, that set us off.
Maldives of the Philippines
Before heading to Siquijor itself, my friends and I took a detour to Majuyod sandbar, an hour’s drive in a van from Dumaguete airport where we landed. There’s a video on social media that hails it as the “Maldives of the Philippines.” We wanted to see it for ourselves.
It was only 15 minutes by boat from the drop-off point in Bais. There was a cottage waiting for us in the middle of the sea at the edge of the sandbar.
Since we made prior arrangements, lunch was ready the moment we got there.
After lunch, it was time to bring out our inflatables and float on the tide to enjoy the water surrounding the cottage.
Once the low tide came in at around midday, the sandbar emerged. Immediately we grabbed our drinks, hung out on the newly surfaced area and buried our feet in the sand. It was just like having a pool in the morning and a beach in the afternoon—only way better.
When the sun was about to set, we headed back to Dumaguete to spend the night and prepare ourselves for the main attraction.
Getting there
Getting to Siquijor was not as easy as I thought it would be. There were less boat trips on weekends, so we took the earliest departing ferry at 7 a.m.
An hour and a half into the two-hour ride, the water turned into a rich, clear blue—all the way to the port.
It heightened our excitement of exploring the majesty of Siquijor.
Cambugahay Falls
We rented a coaster and headed straight to our first stop on the island, the Cambugahay Falls.
When we got there, some went straight to the top of the falls and plunged into the lake. The others took their time, dipped in the water and positioned themselves right under the waterfalls to shower. Who wouldn’t want to start their day with a cold and refreshing swim by a waterfall?
After everyone was revved up and endorphins were high, we took a crack at the famous swing set up by the locals. This is probably one of the most known sites of Siquijor posted on social media.
We wasted no time in trying it and released the inner Tarzan in all of us. Successful and unsuccessful summersaults or backflips were attempted repeatedly.
It was an exhilarating experience to catapult up into the air and land in the water; twice or thrice of doing this was simply not enough. Really, everyone must try this at least once!
Salagdoong Beach
Less than an hour away is a public beach called Salagdoong where locals and tourists can enjoy the crystal-clear and blue water. There are numerous cabanas along the shoreline, which was the setting for our lunch.
Adding to the beach’s charm were the 20-to 30-feet-high platforms for cliff-diving created by the locals. Confronting one’s fear of heights and plunging into the sea is a great way to build up an appetite for lunch.
Coco Grove Siquijor
Accommodations were at Coco Grove which was only an hour away. This developed resort has one of the best beaches in Siquijor. A large stretch of white sand is surrounded by turquoise water. There are also hundreds of coconut trees planted around the resort.
This was the place to revel or reflect, depending on one’s inclination.
It was hard to leave and our journey back to Manila came with a heavy heart. Still, the experience created many happy memories of an enchanting island.
There were plenty of stories and photographs to bring back and share. That, I believe, is the true “magic” of Siquijor. It allows us to discover, and rediscover, and ultimately fall in love with our country—again and again.
Read more: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/235652/235652#ixzz4HqpqmPsr
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