Day: March 15, 2024

MANILA: Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros is set to request Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri to issue a warrant of arrest against Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.

Hontiveros said Quiboloy’s camp is asking to resolve the show cause order through a Senate plenary hearing.

“Sa totoo lang, wala nga sa [Senate] Rules ang show cause order (The truth is the show cause order is not even in the Senate Rules). It was a courtesy extended to Sen. Robin [Padilla], at the request of the SP [Zubiri]),” Hontiveros said in a statement Friday.

“Kung wala nga sa Rules ang show cause order, much less wala sa Rules na kailangan ng (If the show cause order is not in the [Senate] Rules, much less is the) hearing in plenary to resolve the show cause order,” she added.

Hontiveros cited previous cases, such as that of Senator Cynthia Villar who cited Davidson Bangayan in contempt and ordered his arrest even if criminal charges were already filed against him.

She said Senator Ronald dela
Rosa continued to hear the disappearance of Catherine Camilon even though charges were filed against the police officer who was believed to be involved.

Senator Imee Marcos, Hontiveros said, also presented witnesses with covered faces and using aliases in her hearing on people’s initiative.

“At si SP [Zubiri] mismo, noong Senate hearings sa pagpatay kay Horacio Castillo, hindi niya tinanggap ang right against self-incrimination excuse at ginamit doon ang contempt power ng Senado (And SP Zubiri himself, during the Senate hearings in the killing of Horacio Castillo, he did not accept the right against self-incrimination excuse and used the contempt power of the Senate),” she said, noting it resulted in the passage into law of the Republic Act No. 11053 or the Anti-Hazing Law.

The Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family and Gender Equality chaired by Hontiveros received Friday Quiboloy’s response to the show cause order which was issued by the panel last Wednesday, asking the KOJC head to explain why he c
ontinues to refuse to appear before the panel’s proceedings.

Source: Philippines News Agency

DAVAO CITY: The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Davao Region (DSWD-11) has launched the Program SOLo (Strengthening Opportunities for Lone Parents) in Davao del Norte province, with Panabo City as the pilot area for Mindanao.

In a statement released Friday, DSWD-11 said the launch took place Thursday through a ceremonial signing of the memorandum of agreement between the city government of Panabo and the agency.

Pioneering the initiative in Mindanao, the village of New Visayas in Panabo City has taken the challenge of spearheading the Program SOLo, wherein 30 beneficiaries have been carefully selected based on the Listahanan 3 database.

To ensure the seamless execution of the program, key stakeholders, including DSWD-11 and the Panabo government, will undergo comprehensive training in Cebu City from March 18 to 23, along with other pilot implementers from Luzon and Visayas.

“This preparation phase aims to equip implementers with the necessary skills and knowledge for the successful impleme
ntation of Program SOLo,” DSWD-11 added.

As per DSWD’s Listahanan 3 conducted by the National Household Targeting Office (NHTO), the Philippines has identified a staggering 583,787 individuals as solo parents. Of the number, 422,486 are women, and 161,301 are men.

The program’s primary objective is to empower single-parent households, enabling them to lead resilient and comfortable lives in alignment with the national development agenda.

Source: Philippines News Agency

SURIGAO CITY: The province of Surigao del Norte is now free from insurgency, national and local officials declared Friday.

The Provincial Peace and Order Council and the Provincial Development Council of Surigao del Norte approved a joint resolution earlier this month, which led to the formal announcement.

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict Executive Director Ernesto Torres Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. and Governor Roberto Lyndon Barbers joined the event.

“Just like in other areas in Mindanao, it’s the people who openly declared that they no longer want insurgency. This is the most important thing that happened here, the declaration of the people,” Teodoro said.

Barbers said the challenge remains to maintain and sustain the internal peace and security, “with the valuable support of the nation
al government.”

He led the oath of allegiance to the government of 30 former New People’s Army (NPA) combatants.

Pablo Lugatiman, known in the underground movement as “Ka Lucas,” made a testimony after the oathtaking, detailing how he was recruited by the NPA in 2004 until he surrendered in 2022.

Lugatiman lauded the government programs and services for the former rebels, saying that these have allowed them to renew their lives and settle back peacefully with their families in their communities.

With the support of local officials and government agencies, Teodoro said sustained government programs and services will help convince the remaining communist rebels to go back to mainstream society.

“This is also important for us because of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s mandate to the DND to create a multi-threat armed force capable of addressing both internal and external threats,” Teodoro said.

DND is now concentrating on “reorienting, retraining, reequipping, and re-strategizing” the management and op
erations of the armed forces, he added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss the bilateral alliance, democracy and issues regarding the Korean Peninsula when they meet one-on-one in Seoul early next week, Cho’s office said Thursday.

Cho is scheduled to host a luncheon meeting for his American counterpart Monday, during which they will also hold bilateral talks, foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a briefing.

Blinken is expected to arrive in South Korea on Sunday to attend the ministerial segment of the Summit for Democracy, a U.S.-led multination gathering meant to promote solidarity and share values among democratic countries.

“Discussion will take place on democratic cooperation between the two countries that share common values, such as freedom, human rights and the rule of law, and on ways to strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance, as well as issues of mutual interest, such as the situation on the Korean Peninsula and around the globe,” Lim said.

In a press briefing, State Dep
artment spokesperson Matthew Miller said that during his stay in Seoul, Blinken will meet Cho and other South Korean officials to discuss a “broad” range of regional and global issues and underscore the “unwavering” strength of the bilateral alliance.

The planned talks between Cho and Blinken come only weeks after they held their first bilateral in-person meeting in Washington since Cho took office in January.

Commenting on the forthcoming Summit for Democracy, Miller said that it will demonstrate “how democracies continue to deliver for their citizens and organized to address the world’s most pressing challenges.”

“In Seoul, Secretary Blinken will head the U.S. delegation to the third Summit for Democracy, hosted by the Republic of Korea, bringing together hundreds of leaders from governments, civil society, and the private sector committed to strengthening democratic governance, protecting human rights, and advancing the fight against corruption,” Miller said in a statement released after the briefing.

“The U.S. will also highlight progress made since the last Summit for Democracy to counter the proliferation and misuse of commercial spyware,” he added.

After his trip to Seoul, Blinken will travel to the Philippines for talks with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo on peace and stability in the South China Sea, economic prosperity, clean and renewable energy development, according to Miller.

In the Philippines, Blinken is also expected to engage in trilateral talks involving Japan, with the recent escalation of tensions in the South China Sea likely to top the agenda.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

ANKARA: Oil prices declined on Friday, pressured by a strong US dollar, following higher-than-expected consumer price inflation data and on fears that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will maintain high rates for longer.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at USD85.02 per barrel at 10.37 a.m. local time (0737 GMT) for a 0.47 percent decrease from the closing price of USD85.42 a barrel in the previous trading session.

The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at USD80.92 per barrel at the same time, a 0.42 percent fall from the previous session that closed at USD81.26 per barrel.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Thursday that the Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures the change in the price of goods sold by manufacturers, increased by 1.6 percent year-on-year in February against market expectations of a 1.1 percent rise.

The latest PPI marked the largest increase since September 2023.

Ahead of the Fed’s meeting on March 20, these figures were released, which raised con
cerns that the Fed would decide to keep interest rates higher for longer.

With support from the latest data, the US dollar index increased by 0.58 percent to 103.36 on Thursday, aiding the fall in oil prices.

The strong dollar is expected to lower demand by making oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Meanwhile, increased demand in the US, the world’s biggest oil consumer, and supply concerns stemming from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine curtailed price declines.

Geopolitical unrest and the decline in US crude inventories raised global supply concerns, which prompted profit-taking by investors in Friday’s early trade and increased pressure on prices.

Source: Philippines News Agency

TEHRAN: Iran’s embassy in Pakistan called on all countries, especially Islamic states to fight against Islamophobia, religious violence, and terrorism.

Regarding March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, the Iranian Embassy in Pakistan emphasized the need to take coordinated measures at the national, regional, and international levels, especially in Islamic countries to deal with the phenomenon of Islamophobia while condemning all forms of religious violence, fanaticism, and Islamophobia.

The statement said that the Zionist and colonialist conspiracy through provocative actions such as Quran burning, insulting the Islam Prophet, and openly insulting the holy things, beliefs, and religious values of one and a half billion people under the pretext of “freedom of” expression” has become a normal subject.

This dangerous phenomenon causes the escalation of tension, spreading hatred, Islamophobia, and violence against Muslims and is considered a threat to international peace and security and huma
n rights and a threat to peaceful relations between nations and followers of divine religions and peaceful coexistence, the statement said.

Source: Philippines News Agency