Day: April 17, 2023

The family lawyer of the late Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo said they will be filing more cases soon in relation to about 60 killings in the province. In an interview on Monday at the preliminary investigation of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the March 4 slay of Degamo and eight others, lawyer Levito Baligod said suspended Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves will be among those who will be sued. ‘I think in a few days from now, we will be filing new murder cases involving previous killings,’ Baligod said. ‘(A)ctually there are a lot more as I’ve said in my previous interviews. In my record alone, I have 64 already na (that are) incidents of killings.’ Baligod already filed murder complaints against Teves before the DOJ on March 7 for the deaths of three persons in Negros Oriental in 2019. The alleged victims were former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agent Miguel Dungog, Lester Pialago Bato and Pacito Retes Libron. Monday’s preliminary investigation involved the 10 witnesses under the NBI’s custody. They are former soldiers who were arrested in succession soon after the Pamplona town massacre. The governor’s widow, Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, and her group of about 40 left Dumaguete City over the weekend to attend the investigation and the Senate probe, which also began Monday. The DOJ investigation has yet to include Teves, who has refused to return to the country despite the expiry of his personal travel authority on March 9. He is suspended for 60 days until May 22, with House Speaker Martin Romualdez acting as caretaker of his district. A preliminary investigation was also held on the charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives against Teves’ sons, Axel and Kurt Matthew, in connection with the 2019 triple murder charges. Another hearing is scheduled next month. Baligod said the families of the victims are concerned over the delay in issuing subpoenas or warrants. ‘Napaliwanag ko naman sa kanila (families) ‘yung proseso at naiintindihan naman nila pero dadating din tayo sa objective na makamit ang hustisya para sa lahat (I explained to them that this is what due process entails and they understand that there will be a little delay but we will eventually reach our objective to attain justice for all),’ he said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Government troops have recovered an M60 machine gun with 300 rounds of ammunition after an encounter with the communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Carmen town, Surigao del Sur province, over the weekend. In a statement Monday, the Army’s 36th Infantry Battalion (36IB) said soldiers were immediately dispatched to remote Barangay Esperanza in Carmen on Saturday afternoon after receiving reports from civilians on the presence of around 25 NPA insurgents in the area. A 15-minute skirmish ensued between government troops and the NPA guerrillas consisting of two units under the rebels’ North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC). After the armed confrontation, the NPA rebels abandoned their position and scampered in different directions, the 36IB said. Government troops recovered from the encounter site a laptop, a body cam, a handheld radio, and personal belongings. Lt. Col. Michael Rey Reuyan 36IB commander, said the encounter was the result of the “relentless combat operations” of government troops, as well as the support of the residents. ‘We are thankful for the support of the residents, especially in providing us information on the location of the rebels,’ Reuyan said in the statement. Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. George Banzon, the commander of the 901st Infantry Brigade, said the NPA’s “revolution should stop now, even as he urged the residents to ‘not be swayed to the deceit of the enemies of the state.

Source: Philippines News Agency

This return wave is a common thing that has become BP2MI’s annual job to prepare everything in welcoming and providing protection for migrant workers Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Protection Agency (BP2MI) has extended a welcome to Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) returning home to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in the country.”This return wave is a common thing that has become BP2MI’s annual job to prepare everything in welcoming and providing protection for migrant workers,” BP2MI head Benny Rhamdani said at a press conference here on Monday. Migrant workers may find it easier to return to Indonesia this year as the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have been relaxed, he added. BP2MI’s commitment to welcoming migrant workers homecoming is based on the agency head’s Instruction No. 2/2023 concerning the handling of PMI’s homecoming flow pre- and post-Eid al-Fitr. Rhamdani said that BP2MI has been monitoring the movement of Indonesian migrant workers from overseas to home, and their number is expected to increase ahead of the day of Eid. “There are 8,311 migrant workers who are estimated to return to Indonesia because their work contracts will end in April 2023,” he informed. Hong Kong is the host destination with the most migrant workers that will complete their work contract by April, with the number of such workers surpassing 5 thousand. Meanwhile, East Java is the province that will welcome the highest number of PMIs returning to Indonesia at 3,049. Hence, BP2MI has alerted and added more officers at 23 PMI Protection Service Centers (BP3MI), which will remain open 24 hours a day. “The officers will be concentrated at the entrances of PMIs, such as airports, seaports, and state border posts across Indonesia,” he said. BP2MI has provided shelters, helpdesks, and lounges at some airports as transit places for themigrant workerstraveling to their hometowns, he added. PMI lounges have been made available at Soekarno Hatta Airport, Kualanamu Airport, Juanda Airport, I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, Zainuddin Abdul Madjid Airport, Ahmad Yani Airport, Husein Sastranagara Airport, and Raden Inten Airport. ccording to Rhamdani, migrant workers are heroes for their families and for the country’s foreign exchange income. baca-jugaRelated news: Agencies placing migrant workers illegally to get sanctioned: MinistryRelated news: Indonesia, Saudi Arabia discuss SPSK for workers’ protectionRelated news: andgtov’t committed to protecting Indonesian migrant workers: VP

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian government, represented by Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar, encouraged G7 countries to lead and facilitate support, specifically in system and technology as well as to mobilize climate funding.On April 15-16, 2023, Nurbaya attended the G7 Ministers’ meeting in Sapporo, Japan. During that time, she underlined the importance of concrete efforts to handle challenges posed by the global crisis. Everyone has to work together in solidarity for a more sustainable future and for the future generation, she noted through a statement on Monday. The paradigm of collaboration, in which every country has to become part of the solution and contribute based on its respective capacity, should be prioritized, she stressed. ccording to Nurbaya, G7 can share and mobilize existing innovations, technologies, and knowledge, including methodology and financial resources. More affluent countries should support and empower other countries. During the meeting, the minister outlined several real actions that Indonesia has undertaken to control climate change, including the IndonesiaForestry and Other Land Uses (FOLU) Net Sink 2030, waste management, and ecosystem recovery. baca-jugaRelated news: Various funding sources needed for environmental management: Ministry In its implementation, there is also potential for technical cooperation with various partners, including G7 member countries. She noted that all national efforts have to be complemented with clear international support, investment in resources’ efficiency, and the circular economy. This also includes the formation of an effective and fair carbon market, investment for the development and implementation of technology, and fulfillment of climate funding. The G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy, and Environment is one of the ministerial-level meetings held in conjunction with the G7 Summit. Indonesia, which holds the ASEAN chairmanship in 2023, attended the meeting as one of the countries invited to the forum. baca-jugaRelated news: Indonesia seeks various funding strategies for 2030 FoLU Net Sink Related news: Regional governments to partake in climate change funding: Minister

Source: Antara News Agency

Photos and documents featuring the life and career of late President Ho Chi Minh were exhibited at the headquarters of the Vietnamese Embassy in Brussels, Belgium, from April 14-16.

The exhibition was among activities to celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of Vietnam-Belgium diplomatic ties and the 133rd birth anniversary of the late President.

In his opening remarks, Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Nguyen Van Thao, who is also Head of the Vietnamese Delegation to the European Union (EU), emphasised that President Ho Chi Minh is a prominent hero of the Vietnamese nation, who devoted his entire life to the struggle for national liberation, bringing independence and freedom to the Vietnamese people.

With his intelligence, talent and outstanding contributions to the Vietnamese nation and the advancement of mankind, in 1987, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) honoured President Ho Chi Minh as a Hero of National Liberation and a Great Man of Culture of Vietnam.

On display were 200 file photos and documents, including some publicised for the first time, thereby contributing to clarifying the life and glorious revolutionary career of President Ho Chi Minh, as well as honouring and recognising his great contributions to the revolutionary cause of the Vietnamese people and building the friendship and solidarity between the Vietnamese people and the people of the world.

Bert De Belder, Head of the Department of International Relations of the Workers’ Party of Belgium, said he was impressed by the exhibition, which, he described as a good chance for young people in Belgium, and Europe at large to understand more about the life of the late Vietnamese leader.

Within the framework of the exhibition, on April 15, a talk on the late President was held, with French historian Alain Russio being the speaker./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A photo exhibition opened in Hanoi on April 15, spotlighting the start of a Western-style city in Southeast Asia in the capital of Vietnam.

The event is held at an old villa at No 49 Tran Hung Dao street, Hoan Kiem district, on the occasion of the 50th founding anniversary of Vietnam – France diplomatic relations, the 10th anniversary of the bilateral strategic partnership, and the 12th conference on decentralised cooperation between the two countries.

It displays the first 30 colour pictures of Hanoi, which were captured by Leson Busy between 1915 and 1921. They describe the start of a Western-style city where local traditional characteristics co-existed with foreign factors imported from France.

Aside from the structures that helped change the urban face of Hanoi, many details in the photos also show the presence of the Western culture in the Old Quarter and local living spaces, reflecting the strong influence of the French culture and its confluence with the local culture in the city in the early 20th century.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Duong Duc Tuan said that the city and the Ile-de-France region of France formed the first pair of partners in the Vietnam – France decentralised cooperation in 1989.

Over the past years, the two sides have cooperated fruitfully in the fields of sustainable development, urban planning, culture, and heritage conservation, he noted, adding that the villa that hosts the exhibition was the first from the French colonial period to have been restored by Hanoi with technical support from the Ile-de-France region.

In the coming time, they will continue working together to collect and showcase evidence of the confluence of the French and Vietnamese cultures in the first half of the 20th century, aiming to show the public the local administration’s determination and French partners’ assistance in heritage conservation and call for the community’s support for the conservation, according to Tuan.

Mésadieu, member of the Regional Council of Ile-de-France, affirmed that collaboration in heritage and cultural affairs is always a priority of the two countries’ decentralsed cooperation./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency