Day: April 24, 2024

MANILA: The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday assured that the government remains resolute in reforming law enforcement in the country to protect and promote human rights under the Bagong Pilipinas of the Marcos administration.

“We guarantee that reforms are in place to change the mindset and attitude of erring law enforcers and make them responsible for their actions. We are taking all the necessary steps to strengthen the criminal justice system and hold to account the perpetrators of these violations,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said in a statement.

Remulla issued the statement following a report by the United States State Department that human rights abuses, including extra judicial killings (EJKs), continue to be a problem for the Philippines in 2023.

He added the DOJ always remind law enforcement agencies, and those in charge of the administration of justice that ‘there are no shortcuts in enforcing peace and order.’

‘It is of primordial consideration that we, as responsible Stat
e enforcers, uphold the rule of law and resolve to protect and promote human rights. The DOJ, as the principal law agency and legal counsel of the government, remains deeply committed to the administration’s thrust towards a Bagong Pilipinas – one that is safe, peaceful, and just,’ Remulla said.

In its 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the US State Department noted that while human rights issues continue to be a problem in the Philippines, the number of incidents of arbitrary and extrajudicial killings and of some other abuses by government agents decreased.

It also noted that the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. continued the antidrug campaign – which began under the Duterte administration – ‘albeit with a focus on treatment and rehabilitation, due process, and rule of law-based investigations.’

In its latest report on the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) in November last year, the European Union (EU) has cited the willingness of the Marcos administration ‘to engage
the international community on the issue of human rights,’ having actively participated in multiple mechanisms of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

It noted ‘several positive steps’ taken by the government, including its “new focus” on prevention and rehabilitation in the campaign against drug and the visits of several UN Special Rapporteurs.

In February this year, visiting United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan took note of the DOJ’s measures to strengthen the investigation and prosecution of violence against journalists and human rights defenders, and asked the government to further strengthen the agency’s Administrative Order (AO) 35.

AO 35 is a government mechanism that brings together various agencies of the government against impunity.

Last March 14, the DOJ and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) aimed at facilitating assistance to victims of human rights abuses, summary executions, torture, and enforced disappearances, among others.

Source: Philip
pines News Agency

CEBU CITY: The Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Central Visayas said it will streamline its processes in releasing vehicle licensed plates within the mandated period of 11 days from application, an official said Wednesday.

Glen Galario, regional director of the LTO-7, said the office would exert more effort in aligning their processes after Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza instructed them to fast-track the release of licensed plates for newly registered cars and motorcycles.

Galario said the region still has 670,000 licensed plates left undistributed since 2018 but his office is now adopting strategies to distribute them by flagging down cars and motorcycles carrying temporary plates, as well as establishing coordination with the dealers.

Mendoza, who visited Cebu on Tuesday to open a new licensing center in Barangay Talamban, said the agency assured buyers of new vehicles that they could get their licensed plates 11 days after the issuance of the sales invoice.

‘From the time a buyer buys a motor veh
icle and the sales invoice is issued to that buyer, he should get the plate not more than 11 days. You have the commitment on the part of the LTO that we have five days within which to bring us the plates,’ Mendoza said.

The dealers, he said, should only have three days within which to bring the plates to the buyer.

The agency received 404,000 licensed plates and another 1.1 million licensed plates are coming in the next few weeks.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Vice President Sara Duterte expressed Wednesday her gratitude to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for his continued trust and support in her function as education chief.

“Maraming salamat, Pangulong Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., sa patuloy na pagtitiwala sa akin bilang Kalihim ng Kagawaran ng Edukasyon (Thank you President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., for your unwavering trust in me as the Secretary of the Department of Education),” Duterte said in a statement.

She pledged to continue upholding the welfare of learners in the country.

“Makakaasa po kayo na ang DepEd, na binubuo ng ating mga guro at non-teaching personnel, ay patuloy na maglilingkod nang tapat para sa kinabukasan ng bawat mag-aaral (You can count on the DepEd, together with our teachers and non-teaching personnel, to continuously serve faithfully for the future of each learner),” she added.

On Wednesday, the President said there is no reason to replace Duterte as education secretary, noting that Cabinet members are replaced
based solely on their performance.

The country’s two highest officials are set to talk in private to thresh out various issues.

Source: Philippines News Agency

CALAMBA CITY: The City of Carmona in nearby Cavite province is leveraging the support of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and international partners to advance its goal of becoming a ‘smart city.’

This can be gleaned after the Carmona City government signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with DOST’s Innovation, Science, and Technology for Accelerating Regional Technology-based Development Program (iSTART).

The MOA calls on the DOST to facilitate the transfer of relevant technologies and training to the city government, DOST-Calabarzon regional director Emelita Bagsit said on Wednesday.

In the Philippine context, a ‘smart city’ is defined as “an innovative urban area that uses technology and innovation to enhance the overall functionality, sustainability, and livability of urban areas, making them more responsive to the needs of their inhabitants and the environment.”

Meanwhile, Smart City Network (SCN), in partnership with the DOST-Calabarzon and the city government Carmona on Tuesday cond
ucted a workshop on smart city transformation at the Carmona Training Center.

The lectures were facilitated by Dr. Kok Chin Tay, SCN chair and executive director of the ASEAN Smart Cities Council, and Dr. Piyush Sinha, chief business officer of L and T Technology Services, Ltd.

During his speech, Sinha said ‘being an archipelagic country used to be a challenge, particularly in logistic(s), but given their advancement in connectivity, at least sharing some of the basic data around islands, will help in terms of creating an open data platform.”

‘Despite the slower connection, the municipality can do digital literacy programs for the indigenous groups, and then they can be part of this journey,’ Sinha said.

SCN is a non-profit individual membership-based organization whose members are professionals with expertise in a wide variety of themes, from strategic planning, integrated command center, circular economy, smart mobility (transportation), cyber security, smart locks, digital twins, augmented and virtual
reality, education, healthcare, food security, start-up incubation and others.

Source: Philippines News Agency