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(SunStar) ARMED with a court order, a United States (US) delegation of lawmakers visited on Friday, August 19, 2022, detained former senator Leila de Lima at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame.

Two Muntinlupa courts, which handle De Lima’s illegal drug charges, issued permits to the US delegation provided that there would be no audio or video recording during the visit.

The visit was supposed to be on Thursday, August 18, but the PNP denied their entry without permission from the concerned courts.

The PNP said they are only allowed to visit detentions but talking to or interviewing detainees are different matters.

The US delegation is composed of US Senator Edward Markey, US Congressman Alan Lowenthal, John Garamendi, Don Beyer, Congresswoman Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen and US Ambassador to the Philippines Marykay Carlson.

As of Friday afternoon, either of the parties has yet to disclose what was discussed during the visit.

Several US senators, including Markey, earlier called for the release of De Lima after some of the key witnesses on her case retracted their allegations against her.

De Lima has been detained in Camp Crame since 2017, months after she sought a Senate probe on the alleged extrajudicial killings amid the Duterte administration’s drug war… Read More

(Business World) THE PHILIPPINE Department of Justice (DoJ) on Wednesday said it is considering building a modern maximum-security prison for heinous crime convicts in a country known for having the world’s most crowded jails.

At a Senate hearing streamed live on Facebook, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla proposed to transfer the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa City to Nueva Ecija province in the country’s north.

“If it’s a maximum-security prison, then let’s make it a world-class maximum-security prison in the sense that the security features in that prison should be modern,” Senator Aquilino Martin D. Pimentel III said.

As of 2017, the Philippines had 933 jails — seven national prisons and 926 city, district, municipal and provincial jails that are not enough to contain inmates, three-quarters of whom are at the pretrial stage, the World Prison Brief said on its website.

The local Commission on Human Rights has repeatedly flagged the worsening congestion in the country’s jails, more recently because of the high and sudden influx of arrested suspects in connection with ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s war on drugs that has killed thousands… Read More

(Manila Bulletin) Four ambassadors paid a courtesy call on Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte to discuss possible initiatives to strengthen the relationship between their countries.

In separate meetings, Duterte met Italian Ambassador Marco Clemente, Irish Ambassador William John Carlos, Vietnamese Ambassador Hoang Huy Chung, and Lao Ambassador Songkane Luangmuninthone on Wednesday, Aug. 17, at the DepEd Central Office in Pasig City.

During a courtesy call, Clemente sought the cooperation of Duterte to help expose and educate Filipino learners on Italian culture.

Culture, Clemente said, is an “important part of education.” By exposing the youth to culture, “they will be able to pass this knowledge and passion to the next generation.”

After the courtesy call, Clemente hopes that the Philippines and Italy will be able to do “something jointly to promote culture among the younger generation.”

Duterte, on her part, recognized the importance of exposing learners to culture.

During the meeting, she shared that Clemente talked about opera — among other possible partnerships… Read More

(SunStar) THE US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has tagged the Philippines as one of the areas in the world that are considered “high risk” for coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

The Philippines joined Russia and Nepal, along with several other countries, in the list of travel destinations under “high risk” category or Level 3.

The CDC updated the status of the Philippines, Russia and Nepal on Monday, August 15, 2022.

In its website, the CDC advised travelers who are planning to go to areas under Level 3 to make sure that they are vaccinated against Covid-19.

“If you have a weakened immune system or are more likely to get very sick from Covid-19, even if you are up to date with your Covid-19 vaccines, talk with your clinician about your risk and consider delaying travel to this destination,” CDC said.

The term “up to date” means that the traveler has not only received the primary series of Covid-19 vaccines, but also the booster shots.

As of August 16, 130 of the about 235 places monitored by CDC have been placed under the “high risk” group.

Level 3 is used to tag areas that have had more than 100 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days.

Level 4 is the highest category. Tourists are advised not to travel to areas placed under this group. It has been reserved for “special circumstances” only, such as “rapidly escalating case trajectory or extremely high case counts, emergence of a new variant of concern, and healthcare infrastructure collapse.”.. Read More

(The Manila Times) PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is expected to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York and invite American investors to the Philippines when he visits the United States in September,

Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said on Monday.

“I think the President is preparing his speech. He’s had an outline about a month from now. This is the first time that he will be addressing the UN — which is basically introducing himself to the world and the western world, specially, and secondly, to have economic meetings that will bring him investments to the Philippines,” Romualdez said when he briefed the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines on the President’s US visit.

However, he did not say if Marcos will meet with US President Joe Biden at the sidelines of the bilateral meetings lined up for him.

The ambassador said the President’s “main thrust in relations with other countries is to have more economic activity.”.. Read More

(Journal) Pinoy science fiction gets ready for take-off in the North. Thanks to 8Letters Bookstore and Publishing, in partnership with Mt. Cloud Bookshop, accomplished Pinoy science fiction author, Renato Clarete Tranquilino, prepares himself to plant the flag of Filipino science fiction authors in Yangco Road, Baguio City.

He will be holding a book signing for his most recent release, Fate of a Distant Future, on August 19, 2022 in Mt. Cloud Bookshop from 4:00 to 5:00 PM.

During the event, light snacks and coffee will be served while guests are enchanted by the plethora of Filipino-authored books that’ll surround them during their stay.

About the Book
Fate of a Distant Future is a thrilling anthology of four stories, all set in what Tranquilino envisions as the future of the Philippines. This exciting offering to the science fiction genre explores topics such as environmental dystopia, space piracy, and planet colonization.

The audiobook is available for access through this link, while paperback copies are available for purchase through 8Letters’ official website.

Betrayal
Troubles in a country’s economy can lead to desperate and catastrophic efforts for its recovery and revival. This is what pushes national leaders to “rent out” Luzon to the highest foreign country bidder. But, one senator took a stand against this plan. When he wakes up after a 10-year coma, he finds out that his vote was not honored, which would have invalidated the whole rental agreement. Now, he has to face the consequences of an action he did not approve of… Read More

(Interaksyon) MANILA — About 2.3 million people in the Philippines were pushed into poverty between 2018 and 2021, largely due to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, the statistics agency said on Monday.

The number of people living in poverty in 2021 rose to a total of almost 20 million or 18.1% of the population from 16.7% in 2018, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said, overshooting the government’s target of 15.5%-17.5%.

Recently inaugurated President Ferdinand Marcos Jr aims to slash the poverty rate to 9% by the end of his single six-year term in 2028 – a target that remains achievable despite soaring inflation, according to Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

He said the government’s strategy will focus on fully reopening the economy, investing in human capital and social protection, and transforming production sectors to generate more and quality jobs and competitive products… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — Two committees of the House of Representatives are seeking clarifications regarding the issue on sugar importation.

The House committees on good government and public accountability, and the committee on agriculture and food have set the meeting on Aug. 15.

“We expect to be enlightened on what really transpired so that we will be able to make informed decisions on the matter,” Rep. Florida Robes, chairman of the good government and public accountability panel, said in a statement.

On Friday, Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian resigned amid an ongoing investigation on officials involved in the signing and issuance of Sugar Order No. 4.

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said in a briefing on Thursday that the resolution allowing the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar was “signed for and on behalf of the President [Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.] by Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian,” when the latter was not authorized to do so.

Marcos, who is chairman of the Sugar Regulatory Board, had also rejected the proposal to import.

“Good governance requires transparency and accountability. In order to govern properly, we need credible and trustworthy institutions,” Robes said.

No information has been given in the briefing regarding the officials involved.

In June, the Sugar Regulatory Administration warned of insufficient sugar supply in the country, which caused prices to surge… Read More