#Senate of the Philippines

[thedalatribune]

© Paolo Dala

We're Playing With The Big Boys Now

The Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Marawi Siege Compensation Act of 2022’s at the Senate of the Philippines…

I'm playing with the big boys now.

[justanothergeneralkrow]

Doing a literary analysis of a poem about PGMA (Gloria Macapagal Aroyo) and reading about how she wasn't impeached for the "Hello, Garci" scandal cause the house failed to get enough votes. On that very same article one of the reccomended articles was about the senators who opposed the contempt of court charged on Quiboloy (a pastor who's been accused of rape, child molestation and human trafficking.)

[rhk111sblog]

Is China preparing to REMOVE BRP Madre from Ayungin Shoal, now that their Close Friend Duterte is not in Power anymore, and because of EDCA and other Reasons?

[warningsine]

The Senate on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution condemning China's incursions in the West Philippine Sea and its continued harassment of Filipino fishermen.

The measure also exhorted the Philippine government to take action in asserting its sovereign rights over the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The resolution also calls on China to stop its “illegal activities” in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and with the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).

The adopted Senate Resolution 718 was the outcome of an all-member caucus on Monday where the senators discussed with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and AFP chief Romeo Brawner Jr. the appropriate action on Senator Risa Hontiveros’ resolution which urges the Department of Foreign Affairs to bring China’s aggression before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

In his manifestation after the adoption, Zubiri explained that Hontiveros’ resolution was not “watered down” but rather strengthened after the meeting with the country’s Foreign Affairs chief and the top military official.

“We came out with a strong consensus yesterday after the discussions with the West Philippine Sea Task Force, together with the AFP chief-of-staff  General Brawner and DFA Secretary Manalo and actually we never watered down the resolution that we filed, we actually strengthened the first resolution that we initially filed with Sen. Risa,” Zubiri said.

“I think what happened here is we strengthened the position of the government. Now, we gave them several options to choose on how to deal with our neighbors in the north,” he added.

Among the courses of action enumerated in the adopted resolution are:

-Bringing international attention to China’s harassment of Filipino fishermen in the Philippine EEZ and its continued violation of the Hague Ruling and the UNCLOS

-Utilizing international fora to rally multilateral support for the enforcement of the Hague Ruling and raise awareness on the real situation in the WPS

-Engaging like-minded countries in various international organizations, meetings, and other fora to call on China to respect the Hague Ruling and the UNCLOS and subject to necessity and prudence

-Filing a resolution before the UNGA to call for the cessation of all activities that harass the Philippine vessels and violate the Philippines’ established rights in the WPS

-Pursuing such other diplomatic modes as the DFA may deem appropriate and necessary

[thoughtlessarse]

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has told a Senate inquiry that he had maintained a “death squad” of criminals to kill other criminals when he was the mayor of a southern Philippine city. Mr Duterte, however, denied authorising police to gun down thousands of suspects in a bloody crackdown on illegal drugs he had ordered as president and which is the subject of an investigation by the International Criminal Court as a possible crime against humanity. The 79-year-old attended the televised inquiry in his first public appearance since his term ended in 2022. The Senate is looking into the drug killings under Mr Duterte, which were unprecedented in their scale in recent Philippine history. Mr Duterte acknowledged without elaborating that he once maintained a death squad of seven “gangsters” to deal with criminals when he was the long-serving Davao city mayor, before he became president. “I can make the confession now if you want,” Mr Duterte said. “I had a death squad of seven, but they were not policemen, they were also gangsters. “I’ll ask a gangster to kill somebody. ‘If you will not kill (that person), I will kill you now.'”

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[trendynewsnow]

Duterte Defends War on Drugs in Senate Hearing Amid ICC Investigation

Duterte Defends His Controversial War on Drugs Before Senate The former president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, recently took the stand to defend his infamous war on drugs during a Senate hearing. He asserted that he bears “full legal responsibility” for the campaign that resulted in thousands of extrajudicial killings, a topic currently under investigation by the International Criminal…

[flyhighdreamer]

Dear Philippines

Why does it seem like foreigners are profiting from our tourist attractions in Bohol? The establishments (cafes and beaches and restos) are being managed and are likely owned by foreigners. And yes, I noticed cause I have been there. In OUR own country.

DO SOMETHING.

[ricisidro]

HAPPENING NOW: POGOs, Online Gaming / Gambling 🔥

The Philippines' Senate and House continues to hold hearing and investigation into POGOs.

The House Quad Committee cites Harry Roque in contempt for failing to submit the subpoenaed documents. Penalty is detention until Roque submits documents or until the joint panel is dissolved.

[shelivesingalaxies]

If it is too difficult to strengthen and make sure our Philippines coast guards are not bullied, can you at least ensure that they and their families are well provided for with proper healthcare and insurance?

May God have mercy on our country - the Philippines, our citizens - the Filipinos, the old and elderlies who cannot afford good healthcare and have to work because they need to eat despite being weak, the breadwinners (the widows and widowers and those who are children and singles too but had to take over when their father died) still paying lots of taxes and supporting their families even if it means forgetting their original dreams, the children and young adults who could barely eat three times a day, much less attend school and focus on education, our bullied Philippine Coast Guard, our teachers who have to pay for resources with their own money for good teaching materials, the students who need to limit their study hours because they have to share rooms, our commuters who are mostly employees who come to work, already exhausted because our transportation systems are too poor and in dire need of improvement, and everyone else. Everyone else. Every single Filipino.

Please. Please treat us well. Stop the corruption. Raise our moral. Dear government, you are there to serve. And we are here to support. But please treat us well and prioritize us. Do not waste our taxes on your own propaganda and on elevating yourselves. The real ones who need help are everywhere. The real ones who need our funds are everywhere. Do you feel their pain? Do you see us? We have been enduring for far too long. Do not hire people who are incapable and have their own motives. Do not waste money on poor materials and poor planning. Hire loyal and competent ones. Let them sign contracts that call for accountability. Let there be an audit team consisting of concerned and talented workers with a true heart to help ensure the work is properly done and the Filipinos are blessed with improvement. Let there be transparency in your spending to ensure every cent is accounted for and used for the right cause. Please treat OUR country and OUR people right. Respect OUR rights and OUR welfare, not another country's.

Pretty please. Do it well.

Please HELP our country beloved - the Philippines.

[whatdoscissorsdo]

this generation is so unserious we’re all shipping politicians left and right its so comical

[westvalleyfaultph]

Strengthening Earthquake and Tsunami Monitoring in the Philippines: Phivolcs Calls for Urgent Action

In a recent Senate hearing, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) emphasized the critical need for expanding earthquake monitoring and tsunami early warning systems across the country. The call comes as part of a broader initiative to enhance hazard mapping and mitigate the potential impact of seismic activities. During the hearing, Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol…

[rhk111sblog]

In a surprise Twist, China still went out to give the Government of President Bong Bong Marcos (PBBM) a Loan worth Usd 1.14 billion to start the construction of the Bataan-Cavite Bridge, this despite the constant Word War between them

This was initially released as an Article last May 30, 2024 at https://therhk111philippinedefenseupdates.blogspot.com/2024/05/china-surprisingly-philippines-usd-114-billion-loan-bataan-cavite-bridge.html

[shelivesingalaxies]

Dear Philippines

Please.

I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him. -Abraham Lincoln

[bobbiedlifeinphil]

The Love Train Nation Philippines Headlines

[dlyarchitecture]

[sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog]

A Big TB Announcement

Greetings from Washington D.C., where I spent the morning meeting with senators before joining a panel that included TB survivor Shaka Brown, Dr. Phil LoBue of the CDC, and Dr. Atul Gawande of USAID. Dr. Gawande announced a major new project to bring truly comprehensive tuberculosis care to regions in Ethiopia and the Philippines. Over the next four years, this project can bring over $80,000,000 in new money to fight TB in these two high-burden countries.

Our family is committing an additional $1,000,000 a year to help fund the project in the Philippines, which has the fourth highest burden of tuberculosis globally.

Here’s how it breaks down: The Department of Health in the Philippines has made TB reduction a major priority and has provided $11,000,0000 per year in matching funds to go alongside $10,000,000 contributed by USAID and an additional $1,000,000 donated by us. This $22,000,000 per year will fund everything from X-Ray machines, medications, and GeneXpert tests to training and employing a huge surge of community health workers, nurses, and doctors who are calling themselves TB Warriors. In an area that includes nearly 3,000,000 people, these TB Warriors will screen for TB, identify cases, provide curative treatment, and offer preventative therapy to close contacts of the ill. We know this Search-Treat-Prevent model is the key to ending tuberculosis, but we hope this project will be both a beacon and a blueprint to show that It’s possible to radically reduce the burden of TB in communities quickly and permanently. It will also, we believe, save many, many lives.

—

I believe we can’t end TB without these kinds of public/private partnerships. After all, that’s how we ended smallpox and radically reduced the global burden of polio. It’s also how we’ve driven down death from malaria and HIV. For too long, TB hasn’t had the kind of government or private support needed to accelerate the fight against the disease, but I really hope that’s starting to change. I’m grateful to USAID for spearheading this project, and also to the Philippine Ministry of Health for showing such commitment and prioritizing TB.

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One reason this project is even possible: Both the cost of diagnosis (through GeneXpert tests) and the cost of treatment with bedaquiline are far lower than they were a year ago, and that is due to public pressure campaigns, many of which were organized by nerdfighteria. I’m not asking you for money (yet); Hank and I will be funding this in partnership with a few people in nerdfighteria who are making major gifts. But I am asking you to continue pressuring the corporations that profit from the world’s poorest people to lower their prices. I’ve seen some of the budgets, and it’s absolutely jaw-dropping how many more tests and pills are available because of what you’ve done as a community.

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I don’t yet have the details on which region of the Philippines we’ll be working in, but it will be an area that includes millions of people–perhaps as many as 3 million. And it will include urban, suburban, and rural areas to see the different responses needed to provide comprehensive care in different communities. This will not (to start!) be a nationwide campaign, because even though $80,000,000 is a lot of money, it’s not enough to fund comprehensive care in a nation as large as the Philippines. But we hope that it will serve as a model–to the nation, to the region, and to the world–of what’s possible. 

—

I’m really excited (and grateful) that our community gets to have a front-row seat to see the challenges and hopefully the successes of implementing comprehensive care. Just in the planning, this project has involved so many contributors–NGOs in the Philippines, global organizations like the Partners in Health community, USAID, the national Ministry of Health in the Philippines, and regional health authorities as well. There are a lot of partners here, but they’ve been working together extremely well over the last few months to plan for this project, which will start more or less immediately thanks to their incredibly hard work.