NMP supports maritime modernization in Eastern Visayas

By National Maritime Polytechnic
March 29, 2023

TACLOBAN CITY – The National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP) took the center stage at the Eastern Visayas Maritime Transport Modernization Summit held at Hotel de Fides, Tacloban City on March 22, 2023 as it showcased its comprehensive maritime research and skills competency programs, highlighting its role in supporting the maritime modernization program in Eastern Visayas.

As a premier maritime training and research institution accredited by the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), NMP offers a wide range of upgrading, specialized and value-adding courses. With 51 available courses, NMP offers a holistic approach to training, combining theoretical knowledge and practical applications thereby, equipping seafarers and maritime-allied professionals with the necessary skills and competencies to excel in their careers. NMP also ensures that its courses meet the requirements of both domestic and international shipping industries, covering Deck, Engine, Specialized, Basic, and Professional Development Courses.

Apart from its training programs, NMP is mandated to conduct research activities for the maritime industry. This commitment is evident in the Agency's conduct of various research initiatives that have a significant impact on the Philippines as a major provider of maritime workforce in the international labor market. The Agency also recognizes the importance of domestic shipping and seafaring as vital components of national development and undertakes research activities that promote the welfare of seafarers, including the empowerment of women seafarers.

NMP's partnership with maritime higher education institutions (MHEIs) in the Eastern Visayas region, such as the Palompon Institute of Technology (PIT), Eastern Samar State University (ESSU), and Biliran Province State University (BiPSU), is a vital component of its commitment to support the maritime industry. These tie-ups were aimed to enhance the capabilities of the MHEIs in delivering high-quality education and training to aspiring seafarers and ensure that their maritime cadets are equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities.

The Agency is also in collaboration with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in professionalizing the competencies of Vessel Crane Operators. Through this initiative, NMP takes active steps to ensure the safety of crew, dockworkers, and cargoes on board ships, while addressing the training needs of personnel to prevent crane accidents caused by human error.

In support of the modernization of the maritime sector in Eastern Visayas, the NMP has taken steps towards digital transformation. It has introduced several information systems that streamline processes and enhance efficiency. The Online Registration System, which enables clients to enroll in NMP's Training Courses via a Web Portal. The system includes features such as electronic registration, message reminders, and online payment processing. Additionally, the Certificate Verification System is linked to the Maritime Training Information System (MTIS) server, allowing trainees to verify their certificates online. It also verifies the enrollment of applicants in their preferred PDC Courses. These innovative systems demonstrate the NMP's commitment to adopting cutting-edge technologies to support the maritime industry in Eastern Visayas.

"Seafaring continues to be an attractive career choice for the people in Eastern Visayas. Preliminary data from DMW Strategic Planning Management Service reveals that 9,375 seafarers from Region 8 were deployed in CY 2022,” NMP OIC Executive Mayla N. Macadawan disclosed.

“The region demonstrates enormous potential in terms of maritime workforce development and leverages the availability of maritime training services through the NMP, which catered to a total of 2,645 seafarer-trainees in the Region in 2022 constituting 57% of the trainee population,” she added.

Through its steadfast dedication to providing quality training and responsive researches, and collaborating with MHEIs and other organizations, NMP is setting the foundation for a thriving maritime industry in Eastern Visayas, contributing to the region's economic growth.

Empty PH gov't response to UN human rights report portends continued violations

By PH UPR Watch
March 27, 2023

GENEVA, Switzerland – The Philippine government’s response to the numerous concerns of United Nations (UN) member states about the human rights situation in the country confirms that rights violations are likely to continue under the new Marcos Jr administration.

In a plenary session, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) today (Monday, March 27) adopted the fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report on the Philippines’ human rights record. The report highlighted views and recommendations on unresolved human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, illegal detention, torture and other forms of human rights violations. Many states voiced concern about red-tagging, anti-terrorism efforts not conforming to human rights standards, and attacks on journalists and human rights defenders. Persistent poverty, joblessness, inequality and addressing climate change were also noted.

All throughout the UPR process, the government put up a façade and claims to uphold human rights in the country. It has brazenly tried to cover up its accountability not just for violating the civil and political rights (CPR) violations of tens of thousands of victims but also for failing to promote the economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) of tens of millions of Filipinos.

The government delegation’s statements today confirm its dark intent to keep protecting perpetrators of gross human rights violations including from the previous Duterte administration. It also shows its insincerity in addressing deeply entrenched poverty, inequality and underdevelopment, as well as in tackling environmental distress and climate change.

Continuing civil and political rights violations

The Philippine government plays up accepting 215 of 289 recommendations made by UN member states, over two-fifths of which were on CPR and almost three-fifths on ESCR. However, the quantity belies their quality and the true value of the accepted recommendations on the ground will range from limited to inconsequential. This is even assuming that they are all implemented which the government has a poor track record of doing.

The Marcos Jr administration accepted over 90 recommendations on civil and political rights but systematically refused to support the most critical recommendations for genuinely improving the human rights situation – taking these as merely noted, which is diplomatic-speak for rejection. These included the crucial recommendations to re-accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), to issue standing invitations to UN special procedures, to end the so-called war on drugs, and to take various urgent measures to uphold civil and political rights.

The government spurned dozens of important recommendations: to end extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, illegal detention, torture, red-tagging, and attacks on media freedom; to protect journalists and human rights defenders; to review the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), Anti-Terrorism Law and other abusive mechanisms and revise these; and to conduct thorough and impartial investigations towards accountability and ending impunity. It does this to self-servingly protect state and state-sponsored perpetrators of gross human rights violations, also shown by its dismal record of three prosecutions and convictions for drug-related extrajudicial killings since 2016.

The government’s response exposes the emptiness of supposed measures to address the problem such as Administrative Order 35 which ostensibly created an inter-agency committee to resolve worsening political violence. Even the United Nations Joint Programme (UNJP) is extremely lacking any real mechanisms and tools for accountability. The country is sorely lacking serious instruments for ensuring justice for victims and preventing additional violations. The administration even opposes passage of the Human Rights Defenders Protection Bill.

By its actions and omissions, the Marcos Jr administration is sending the signal that it is allowing continued and widespread violations of human rights justified as part of its so-called war on drugs and as part of its anti-terrorism campaign. This creates the conditions for thousands more victims under its term in the years to come. This trend is already clear with 227 drug-related killings since the start of the current administration.

The daylight abduction of teacher organizer April Dyan Gumanao and her partner in Cebu is only a recent example of the brazenness of attacks. The repressive Anti-Terrorism Law was also recently used to spuriously designate community doctor Naty Castro as a “terrorist” without due process. Free expression and freedom of association are relentlessly repressed. The number of political prisoners continues to rise.

The threat of violations of international humanitarian law is growing especially in the countryside. Recently, in the provinces of Kalinga and Cagayan in Northern Luzon, indiscriminate aerial bombings and artillery fire caused distress among civilian and indigenous communities and disrupted livelihoods.

Unmet social and economic rights

The Marcos Jr administration accepted over 120 recommendations on economic, social and cultural rights. The government’s obligations to respect, protect and fulfill these rights certainly demands expansive efforts. Yet while some of the commitments made may address concerns of certain vulnerable groups, any gains will be incremental at best and fall far short of the substantial reforms needed to improve the economic conditions of tens of millions of Filipinos.

The overwhelming number of ESCR recommendations accepted were mainly on education, sexual abuse and exploitation of children, persons with disabilities, migrant workers and trafficking, and violence against women. If implemented, these will directly benefit the targeted groups. Many other recommendations accepted were merely about generic statements on tackling climate change and poverty.

The government however does not really make any meaningful commitments on fundamental reforms that would benefit millions more. This includes direct interventions to improve income and wealth distribution such as substantial wage hikes to achieve a family living wage, urgent emergency cash assistance, and more progressive taxes such as higher income taxes on the rich and large corporations or a wealth tax.

Nor are there any commitments to address the structural problems of agricultural and industrial backwardness causing widespread joblessness and economic dependence on foreign powers. There is also only the charade of taking steps to address climate change and environmental distress.

The Marcos Jr administration’s behavior exposes its empty development rhetoric. As much as 75-85 million (70-80%) Filipinos are poor and vulnerable by reasonable standards of poverty, especially after the disastrous pandemic response of the previous Duterte administration. Yet the government has only pretended to address inflation which has been accelerating virtually since it took office to its worst in nearly 15 years and the third highest in Southeast Asia – driving 70% of Filipinos into hunger or borderline hunger.

The administration cut the budget for urgent cash assistance and only gives enough for the pretense of intervention. It is also refusing wage hikes arguing that a low-wage economy is needed to attract foreign investment. Tens of thousands of small jeepney (minibus) drivers and operators were only recently forced to launch a transport strike against a modernization plan that would displace them and make commuter fares more expensive. It is also fast-tracking large mining projects and investments.

The government is playing up incremental progress on scanty ESCR recommendations to divert from its efforts to support the accumulation of profits and wealth by an elite few including close political and oligarchic allies. While there is austerity in the national budget for health, housing, education and social services, there is a budget increase for corporate-friendly infrastructure projects. Laws on public-private partnerships and water privatization are being pushed to press turning public infrastructure and water services into profitable opportunities for big business. Even the 1987 Constitution threatens to be changed not just for a self-serving political agenda but also to further deliver the economy to foreign capital.

Superficial steps

The steps that the Marcos Jr administration claims to be taking to resolve human rights problems are superficial. It commits only to recommendations of limited gain and which do not strike at the core problems resulting in human rights violations.

The government’s policies on the drug war are abusive and those on closing civic and democratic space are repressive. It refuses important recommendations to be able to maintain the abusive and repressive legal apparatus set up by the previous Duterte administration.

The human rights situation will worsen under the Marcos Jr administration astride impunity for violators including under the previous Duterte administration. The government has shown that it will not take concrete steps to end impunity for human rights violations, to investigate and prosecute those responsible, and to provide reparations to the victims and their families. There will be no accountability and justice for the tens of thousands of victims of human rights violations in the country. Political and economic elites will remain in power while tens of millions of Filipinos are denied real and meaningful development and dignified lives.

Human rights defenders and civil society groups will continue working tirelessly to document and expose human rights violations, work towards creating a society where human rights are respected and protected for all.

DAR turns over second processing center in Samar town

By JESSA LABAGALA, DAR-Samar
March 26, 2023

GANDARA, Samar – Native broom producers and members of the Parag-Uma ngan Batad Association (PUBA) in this town rejoiced when the upgraded processing center for their broom production was finally turned over to them on March 6 this year by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

“This is a dream come true for us, batad (local term for native brooms) producers,” said Susan Magaro, president of PUBA, as she thanked endlessly DAR officials during the said occasion.

Magaro described their processing center before as a mere small makeshift building. Whenever it rains, the rain drips on the roof, she added.

With the newly-constructed building in Barangay Casab-ahan, which is made of concrete materials and good roofing with storage for the raw materials and finished products, the members can now work comfortably.

Samar Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II (PARPO II), Alfonso Catorce, who led the turnover ceremony of the P250 thousand worth of upgraded facility funded under DAR’s Village Level Farm-Focused Enterprise Development (VLFED) program, encouraged the members of PUBA to improve the quality of their products in order to have an increased income.

PARPO I Segundino Pagliawan on the other hand, advised the 96 PUBA members, where 85 of them are agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), to maintain the facility and foster cooperation to sustain their livelihood activities.

The chief of the Program Beneficiaries Development Division (PBDD), Thelma Alfaro, told the members “Kun kita magkakaurusa, waray makakapugong hit atun pag-uswag” (If we will unite, nothing can stop our progress.).

Aside from DAR officials, present also during the said occasion were representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Municipal Agriculture Office and the local government unit (LGU) who likewise expressed their support to PUBA.

Municipal Agriculturist, Lucas Rebay, committed to provide applicable technology to escalate the number of tiger grass, which is the raw material used in making “batad.”

Though DTI trained them in tiger grass production, pricing and costing, as well as quality control and labeling, DTI Samar Provincial Director, Engineer Meilou Macabare, promised PUBA to help in the promotion of their product to penetrate bigger markets.

Meanwhile, Municipal Administrator, Alfredo Delector, assured the LGU’s support in marketing PUBA’s products.

Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer (MARPO), Nilda Velasco, disclosed that even before DAR formally organized PUBA into an agrarian reform beneficiaries organization (ARBO) in 2017, its members were already into “batad” making.

They sell their brooms at P100 each for the ordinary one, while the jumbo-type costs P200 each, she added.

Further, Velasco shared that this is the second processing center provided by DAR to ARBOs in this municipality. According to her, the first processing center was provided to Concepcion Farmers Association for their coco vinegar processing.

Rebel group in EV continue to disintegrate, NPA leaders along with 7 firearms surrendered to gov't troops

By DPAO, 8ID PA
March 25, 2023

CAMP LUKBAN, Catbalogan City – Five Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) members and two militiamen surrendered along with their firearms to 87th Infantry "Hinirang" Battalion, 8th Infantry "Stormtroopers" Division, Philippine Army at Barangay Poblacion 2, San Jose De Buan, Samar last March 22, 2023.

The surrenderee were members of Yakal Platoon, Sub-Regional Committee (SRC) Browser, Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee (EVRPC).

Their surrender is the result of the continuous effort of the Local Peace Engagement (LPE) Cluster of the Municipal Task Force to End Local Communist and Armed Conflict of Paranas, San Jose de Buan, Motiong and San Jorge.

Fear, hunger, and dismay are the main reasons they return to the folds of the law. They handed over one 60mm Mortar, three M14 Rifles, one M16 rifle, one cal .45 pistol, a homemade shotgun, and assorted ammunition.

In his statement, Lieutenant Colonel Luzelito Q. Betinol the Commanding Officer of 87IB encourage the remaining members of the CTG to return to the folds of the law to enjoy and take advantage of the services of the government.

"The continuous disintegration and surrender of CTG members indicate the effective program of our government," Lt.Col. Betinol added.

The 8th Infantry "Stormtroopers" Division Commander, Major General Camilo Z. Ligayo is grateful for the trust given by the seven surrenderees to the government.

"I hope that the seven surrenderees will serve as an example, to encourage the remaining CTG members to give up violence and embrace the path of peace and development. It's never too late, our government will support your reintegration to the mainstream society,” said Maj. Gen. Ligayo.

Barral Bridge passable to motorists in Oquendo District, Calbayog City

By FLORSELISSA A. JUSAYAN
March 25, 2023

CALBAYOG CITY – The Department of Public Works and Highways Samar First District Engineering Office constructed Barral Bridge II in Barangay Cabatuan, Oquendo District, Calbayog City, Samar.

The said bridge is a double-lane structure with a 10.812-meters-wide that spans a length of 22.8 meters and is now passable to all types of vehicles.

Previously, motorists use the three-barrel reinforced concrete box culvert as their way to cross from Brgy. Cabatuan to Brgy. Barral which is very narrow and a height which is halfway down its main road making it more steep and prone to accidents. Leo Cajurao, resident of Barangay Cag-anibong shared that, they experienced not being able to pass through the bridge because it was built lower than the road – bridge became flooded during rainy season and accident occurred on occasion due to the steep road which sometimes allow the passengers to get off from the vehicle so that the weight will not be a problem when they cross it.

The new bridge now allows them a safe and hassle-free travel experience which is very important especially to those farmers that transport their goods to the nearest marketplace.

The project is from the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for CY 2021 under the ”Tulay ng Pangulo para sa Kaunlarang Pang-agraryo (TPKP)” program with a total revised contract amount of P13.85 million.

74 Friends Rescued in EV receive P590K gov’t financial assistance

By DPAO, 8ID PA
March 24, 2023

CAMP LUKBAN, Catbalogan City – The Office of Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and 8th Infantry Division distributed P590,000 financial assistance to 74 former members of the Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) in the region, today, March 24, 2023 at 8th Infantry Division Headquarters.

Among the 74 Friends Rescued (FRs), 44 of them who surrendered with firearms received P10,000 each as financial assistance and 30 received P5,000 cash.

The Chief of Staff (CS) of Senator Dela Rosa, Macky Dela Rosa spearheaded the distribution of financial assistance together with Grace Dela Rosa, the Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) Chief of Staff of the Senator and Brigadier General Perfecto Peñaredondo, the 8ID Assistant Division Commander and Social Workers from DSWD.

In her message, Macky Dela Rosa thanked the former rebels for returning to the folds of the law and appealed to help the government in encouraging their former comrades to surrender.

“Sobrang napakalaking bagay na kayo po ay nagiging partners natin, mga Peace-makers pinili ninyo na magdesisyon at maging bahagi kayo sa kapayapaan na ating minimithi,” Dela Rosa said.

Alias Web, the former Finance Officer of Sub-Regional Committee, EMPORIUM, Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee (EVRPC), who has been a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) for 21 years expressed that he is grateful for all the help and support extended to them by individuals and the government and appealed to his former comrades to surrender.

“Mula ng pagbalik ko dito, nagkasama-sama kami ng aking pamilya. Kaya sa mga kasama ko na nandoon pa, bumaba na kayo, walang kahihinatnan ang inyong ipinaglalaban hanggang sa pagsasakripsyo at pagsayang lang ng buhay. Kung andito tayo sa gobyerno, mabibigyan pa tayo ng magandang buhay,” alias Web stressed.

Meanwhile, 8ID Assistant Division Commander, Brigadier General Perfecto Peñaredondo is hopeful that the financial aid received by the FRs will help in starting over as free individuals.

“Nawa itong ibinigay na tulong ng pamahalaan ay gagamitin natin ng maayos para tuloy-tuloy ang daloy ng mga biyaya. Sapagkat hindi lang dito magwawakas marami pa ang pwede itulong ni Senator Bato, medical, educational at mayroon pang ginagawang mga batas,” BGen. Peñaredondo said.

The financial assistance received by the FRs thru the Office of Senator Dela Rosa and the DSWD are just some of the various assistance and programs of the government to help them live their life anew.

Help stop the killings, Filipino rights defenders appeal to the world

By KARAPATAN
March 24, 2023

QUEZON CITY – Ahead of the adoption of the recommendations made by United Nations (UN) member states during the fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on the state of human rights in the Philippines last November 2022, Filipino human rights defenders from the Philippine UPR Watch again appealed for international support to put a stop to the extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations in the country.

The group is co-led by National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers chairperson and International Association of Democratic Lawyers interim president Edre Olalia who recalled first attending UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Regular Sessions in March 2008.

“I have been here the first time during the 7th session and now it is the 52nd. We don’t want to come back here. We don’t want to come back again and again and again. [The killings] must stop. Whatever the administration, it must stop,” Olalia said as his closing statement on a side event to the UNHRC meetings.

Olalia’s group, the Philippine UPR Watch, cited the report by the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center which monitored 227 drug war-related killings under the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government, proof that the State-sponsored killings in the country have not stopped.

In the same event, National Council of Churches in the Philippines for Faith, Witness and Service program secretary Mervin Sol Toquero decried the weaponization of laws like the Anti-Terrorism Act, in the context of the government's all-out war or counter insurgency program, instead of addressing the roots of the armed conflict.

“Also as a member of the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform, I am also asking for your support for our call for the resumption of the peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines,” Toquero said.

Among the speakers in the side event, sponsored by prominent international human rights NGOs led by Civicus at the Palais des Nations last Thursday, March 23, was recent abduction survivor April Dyan Gumanao, Region 7 coordinator of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers.

“First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their support regarding our case. I am so grateful for the opportunity to speak before you alive,” Gumanao, who earlier narrated how he and partner Armand Dayoha were brazenly abducted by suspected State agents as they disembarked from a ferry at the Cebu port last January, said.

A video of Gumanao and Dayoha’s abduction that went viral was shown at the side event.

Gumanao said she agreed to be part of the delegation to Geneva in realization that their struggle for justice is far from over.

“I believe that this will still be a tough struggle, especially with the worsening case of impunity, [there is] no justice to a lot of human rights violations victims. But we are still hopeful a lot of people in the Philippines are still taking the risk, who are still standing up and fighting for justice,” she said.

“And we are still hopeful that our international friends and fellow advocates would stand in solidarity with us in this struggle. In dark times, what kept us alive is this certain ray of hope. This is what keeps us going on,” Gumanao added.

Human rights campaigner and Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay pointed out that domestic redress mechanisms remain ineffective in delivering justice and accountability, as she called on the States and international NGOs to continue to monitor the Philippine government’s actions on the UPR recommendations.

Three years after the UNHRC’s resolution on technical cooperation and capacity-building on human rights in the Philippines, and even with a UN Joint Programme (UNJP), Palabay said “it is clear that a more decisive action from the Council, especially a resolution to conduct independent investigation in the Philippines is imperative.”

“There are no accountability benchmarks and tools in the implementation of the UNJP, the joint program may not be the most responsive mechanism for the delivery of justice and accountability,” Palabay stated.

Northern Luzon humanitarians unite for government accountability for continuous judicial harassment and HRVs

By KATRIBU
March 24, 2023

QUEZON CITY – A delegation of activists and human rights defenders from the Cordillera, Cagayan Valley, and Ilocos regions rallied to the National Capital Region from March 20-21, 2023. The delegation aimed to engage in several activities with government agencies, officials, and civil society to bring light to the continuous attacks on communities and human rights defenders at a national level.

They held a symbolic action and dialogue with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), lobbied at the House of Representatives, and organized a forum at the University of the Philippines-Diliman to give attention and solicit urgent responses to the intensifying human rights violations in Northern Luzon. Alongside these activities, the contingent also dedicated time to honor the Northern Luzon heroes inscribed on the walls of the Bantayog ng mga Bayani.

The dialogue with the CHR proved fruitful, with representatives from national minority and peasant organizations in the NCR joining in solidarity with the pleas and demands of the delegations. Highlighted in the dialogue were the recent community bombings by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the barangays and municipalities in Cagayan and Kalinga provinces that happened in recent months. The CHR committed to the independent investigations of these bombing incidents, the red-tagging and terrorist labeling of people’s organizations, and trumped-up charges of the Northern Luzon 7. The delegation also followed up on unresolved cases that they raised in the recent past, such as the attempted assassination of Brandon Lee and the abduction of Steve Tauli.

The trooping to the House of Representatives to gain support for the #DefendTheNorth campaign also resulted in several positive developments. The delegation met with Kalinga District Rep. and Chair of the House Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples Committee, Allen Jesse Mangaoang, Mt. Province District Rep. Maximo Dalog Jr., Manila District Rep. and Chair of the House Committee on Human Rights Benny Abante Jr., Kabataan Partylist representative Raoul Manuel, and ACT Teachers Partylist France Castro.

Hon. Mangaoang, Dalog, and Manuel shall file a resolution to investigate the bombings in Kalinga. Alongside raising the current HRVs, the delegation also discussed the ongoing Gened dam project in Kabugao, Apayao.

Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel delivered a privileged speech in which he challenged his fellow lawmakers to take action on the cases of the North. He called to stop the attacks, harassment, and filing of false charges against the citizens of Northern Luzon.