President allows UN rights body to set up office in Manila

By: Philip C. Tubeza - @inquirerdotnet

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 07:06 AM September 19, 2017

Fed up with allegations of extrajudicial killings, President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said he would
invite the UN human rights commission to open an office in the country so its personnel could join
and monitor police antidrug operations.

They will assign personnel in every (police) station Station commanders will be told, Do not
operate without the human rights commission of the United Nations, the President told reporters in
Caloocan City.

Mr. Duterte made the statement after visiting the wake of Caloocan policeman Junior Hilario, who
was killed in an antidrug operation.
ADVERTISEMENT

He said the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) would not be abolished and would just
be on standby with CHR Chair Jose Luis Chito Gascon still heading the agency.

The President also said he had declared Sept. 21 a Day of Protest so that those with grievances
could air them in the streets.

He said it was not a public holiday but there would be no classes in schools and government offices
would be closed.

All of those who would like to protest against the police, the military or everything, you can go
down, he said

We will also protest. We in government and I will because our are salaries are low. We have no
equipment. We have no allowance. Let us protest to our government, he added.

The President said even communist rebels could come down from the mountains and join the protest.

I will not arrest you. But do not . commit crimes, he added.

Read more: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/160363/war-on-drugs-drug-killings-extrajudicial-

killings-rodrigo-duterte-un-office-of-the-high-commissioner-for-human-rigts#ixzz4t5ZghLyG
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

Palace welcomes P730-M US aid for Marawi rehab
By: Nestor Corrales - Reporter / @NCorralesINQ
INQUIRER.net / 01:27 PM September 06, 2017

Malacaang on Wednesday welcomed the United States P730-million emergency relief and
recovery assistance for victims of the Marawi City conflict.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the devastation in Marawi wrought by the homegrown
Maute terrorists was extensive.

READ: Govt readying Marawi rehab plan

ADVERTISEMENT

The US said it was deeply committed to its relationship with the Philippines, which remains to be
a friend and ally.

We welcome the assistance of the United States to finance emergency relief and recovery efforts for
the areas affected by the Marawi rebellion, Abella said in a statement.

He said the recovery and rebuilding of Marawi cannot be done overnight.

It is a multi-year rehabilitation effort, which requires the full support and cooperation of everyone to
help the city rise as a prosperous city again, as promised by the President, he said.

We look forward to the end of the rebellion and eventually, the chance to bravely face the
challenges and opportunities of reconstruction together with our friends and allies here and abroad,
he added. JPV
Inquirer calls for support for the victims in Marawi City

Responding to appeals for help, the Philippine Daily Inquirer is extending its relief to victims of the
attacks in Marawi City

Cash donations may be deposited in the Inquirer Foundation Corp. Banco De Oro (BDO) Current
Account No: 007960018860.

Inquiries may be addressed to Inquirers Corporate Affairs office through Connie Kalagayan at 897-
4426, ckalagayan@inquirer.com.ph and Bianca Kasilag-Macahilig at 897-8808 local 352,
bkasilag@inquirer.com.ph.

For donation from overseas:

Inquirer Foundation Corp account:

Inquirer Foundation Corp. Banco De Oro (BDO) Current Account No: 007960018860

Swift Code: BNORPHMM

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/928288/marawi-city-mindanao-united-states-ernesto-

abella-maute-terrorists#ixzz4t5buKT8e
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

Carpio cautions Duterte on statements about West Philippine Sea

By: Tetch Torres-Tupas - Reporter / @T2TupasINQ
INQUIRER.net / 12:51 PM March 20, 2017

A Filipino fishing vessel ventures into the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
REM ZAMORA

Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio reminded President Rodrigo Duterte to avoid any
statement or declaration that expressly or impliedly waives Philippine sovereignty to any Philippine
territory in the West Philippine Sea.

This will preserve for future generations of Filipinos their natural patrimony in the West Philippine
Sea, Carpio said.

Carpios statement came after Duterte said he cannot stop China from implementing its plan to build
structures on the disputed Panatag Shoal for now.
ADVERTISEMENT

In 2012, China seized Panatag Shoal or the Scarborough Shoal after a tense standoff between
Chinese and Filipino vessels. China denied Filipino fishermen access to Scarboroughs rich fish
stock.

Filipinos have been able to go back to Scarborough after Duterte reached out to Beijing and restored
good diplomatic ties, which were damaged when President Benigno Aquino III tried to forcefully
enforce Philippine authority on the shoal.
 The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that Panatag Shoal is a common fishing ground of
fishermen not only from the Philippines but also from China and other neighboring countries.

Duterte said if the US was not able to stop China, what could the Philippines do?

Carpio said Duterte was the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces which is tasked by the
Constitution to defend the countrys territory.

He pointed out that under Republic Act 9522 or the Philippines Baseline Law, Scarborough Shoal is
part of the Philippine territory.

Carpio said since the Philippines was no match to China militarily, the President could fulfill his
constitutional duty by doing any, some or all of the following:

File a strong formal protest against the Chinese building activity.

This is the least that the President should do, Carpio said.
ADVERTISEMENT

Carpio said that is what the Vietnamese did recently when China sent cruise tours to the disputed
Paracels.

Send the Philippine Navy to patrol Scarborough Shoal.

Carpio said if the Chinese attack the Philippine navy vessels, the country can invoke the Philippine-
US Mutual Defense Treaty which covers any armed attack on Philippine Navy vessels operating in
the South China Sea.

Ask the United States to declare that Scarborough Shoal is part of Philippine territory for

purposes of the Philippines-US Mutual Defense Treaty since the shoal has been part

of Philippine territory even during the American colonial period.

The high courts Senior magistrate and an expert in the maritime dispute with China said the US has
declared the Senkakus as part of Japanese territory for purposes of the US-Japan mutual defense
treaty.

Accept the standing US offer to hold joint naval patrols in the South China Sea, which

includes Scarborough Shoal.

Carpio said this will demonstrate joint Philippine and US demonstration to prevent China from
building on Scarborough Shoal.

Aquino earlier tried to use the Navy to assert the rights of the Philippines over Scarborough, but
China responded by sending more of its ships to the shoal.

China also began building artificial islands in the West Philippine Sea, which is reportedly already
being militarized by Beijing.

The US has conducted patrols and freedom of navigation exercises in the West Philippine Sea but has
not stopped China from reportedly arming its artificial islands. CBB/rga

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/882226/carpio-cautions-duterte-on-statements-about-west-

philippine-sea#ixzz4t5d8L7zk
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

Urbanization spreads to provinces outside Metro Manila

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 12:00 AM March 01, 2017

Urbanization is most pronounced in provinces contiguous to Metro Manila.

Bulacan province, for instance, has been subject to rampant conversion of agricultural land to
nonagricultural uses. It is now home to several government relocation sites and part of the P63-
billion Metro Rail Transit (MRT 7) project of San Miguel Corp.

Expected to be completed in 2020, the 22-kilometer elevated railway will run from North Avenue in
Quezon City to San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan.
ADVERTISEMENT

Land reform awardees

MRT 7s intermodal depot and commercial components will cut through 103.48 hectares of the
farming communities of Barrio Visaya and Sitio Ricafort in Tungkong Mangga. The land is owned
by the Aranetas.

Bananas, root crops and rice in Ricafort have sustained holders of Certificates of Land Ownership
Award (Cloas), like Ronnie Manalo, since the 1960s.In 1998, about 300 ha of the land were placed
under the coverage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, but the Araneta family filed a
petition for exemption in the Department of Agrarian Reform, claiming the land was undeveloped
and unirrigated.
There are 28,586 farmer-beneficiaries nationwide who are Cloa holders but still do not till their
designated lands as of 2016, according to the state-run Philippine Information Agency.

Pending dispute case

In the 15th Congress, then Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano, Gabriela Rep. Emmi de Jesus and Bayan
Muna Rep. Teddy Casio argued that since the case was pending with the Presidential Agrarian
Reform Council, the Araneta family did not have the right to make decisions affecting the property,
including consenting to the construction of MRT 7.

For Manalo and fellow residents, the Aranetas have long made decisions that adversely affect those
living off the land.
ADVERTISEMENT

For example, they banned Sitio Ricafort residents from developing a long dirt road that connects their
upland village to the foot of the mountain and by extension to the Novaliches market where they sell
goods twice a week.

The government has no rules here. Its the rules of the Aranetas that are followed, Manalo said.
REPORTS FROM JINKY CABILDO, MATTHEW REYSIO-CRUZ AND KRIXIA
SUBINGSUBING

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/876430/urbanization-spreads-to-provinces-outside-metro-

manila#ixzz4t5eVtm9Z

anila, Beijing to discuss West

PH Sea dispute later this year
By: Philip C. Tubeza - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 07:25 AM July 12, 2017

Malacaang said on Tuesday that Manila and Beijing have agreed to discuss mutually acceptable
approaches to deal with their overlapping claims in the South China Sea, as the Philippines marks
the first anniversary of its legal victory over China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The
Hague on Wednesday.

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the Philippines-China Bilateral Consultation

Mechanism would meet again in the second half of the year to find ways to enhance trust and
confidence on issues related to the territorial dispute.
China claim invalid
On July 12 last year, the Hague tribunal ruled that Chinas claim to almost all of the South China Sea
had no legal basis and that it had violated the Philippines sovereign rights to fish and explore
resources in the West Philippine Seawaters within Manilas 372-kilometer exclusive economic
zone in the South China Sea.
ADVERTISEMENT

The Philippines and China have reviewed their experience on the West Philippine Sea issue,
exchanged views on the current issues of concern to either side, and they have agreed that they will
further discuss mutually acceptable approaches to deal with them, Abella said.

He said Filipino and Chinese officials could discuss the plight of Filipino fishermen who were still
having a hard time going to their traditional fishing grounds after these were seized by the Chinese.

The second meeting coming up within the bilateral Im sure items like that will be considered.
However, its excellent that we are now in dialogue with the other country, Abella said.
Ads by Kiosked

Improving relations
Since coming to power last year, President Duterte has tried to steer the Philippines closer to China,
improving diplomatic, trade and tourism ties between the two countries.

In an Asean security forum in Makati last month, Assistant Foreign Secretary Hellen de la Vega said
the Philippines had not abandoned the tribunals ruling.

The arbitral award stays. (President Duterte) already said this. The Philippine government has not
abandoned it. What hes trying to say is he would raise it at an appropriate time. So, that appropriate
time would have to be defined by him, being the chief architect of policy, she said.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/913132/manila-beijing-to-discuss-west-ph-sea-dispute-

later-this-year#ixzz4t5f9kqzf
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebookllow us: @inquirerdotnet on
Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

NEWSINFO / NATION


Palace: Duterte wants to

develop already occupied
islands
By: Nestor Corrales - Reporter / @NCorralesINQ
INQUIRER.net / 06:25 PM April 07, 2017

Pag-asa is a fifth class municipality in Palawan, located in the West Philippine Sea (South China
Sea). It has a population of about 200.(File photo from Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Malacanang clarified on Friday the order of President Rodrigo Duterte for the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) to occupy all islands of the Philippines in disputed areas of the West Philippine
Sea (South China Sea).

He wants to develop what we have already occupied, Secretary Ernesto Abella, presidential
spokesperson, said in a text message.

The statement came a day after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana clarified the Presidents
statement, saying that government troops had long been deployed in nine areas in the West Philippine
Sea.
ADVERTISEMENT

The AFP backed Lorenzanas statement, saying it would upgrade its facilities on its naval
detachments in the Spratlys and not occupy new ones.

In a speech at the Western Command of the AFP in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Duterte ordered
the military to deploy troop and fortify unoccupied islands and reefs claimed by the Philippines in the
West Philippine Sea.

READ: Duterte: Occupy PH islands in South China Sea

It looks like everybody is making a grab for the islands there, so we better live on those that are still
vacant, Duterte said.

The President said the government would build structures on the said islands to assert our claims over
the resource-rich region.
READ: Govt to build structures on islands in West PH Sea, says Duterte
We have to fortify, he said. I must build bunker there or houses, and make provisions for
habitation.

The chief executive also said he would support the development of the airstrip on Pag-asa Island.
ADVERTISEMENT

The money is there, he said. I dont know how the Army or the engineering battalion would do it.
But, that development there is, has my full support

Gen. Eduardo Ao, the AFP chief, said they would follow Dutertes order to reinforce our troops
and improve the structures and facilities there.

In a Facebook post, Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the
Sea at the University of the Philippines, reacted on the confusing statement of Duterte.

Ordering the AFP to occupy, build on, and raise the flag over islands and reefs that have already
been occupied, built on, and flying the flag for decades initially makes no sense, Batongbacal said.
It can make sense if applied to an island or reef that is currently unoccupied.

If what was meant was to simply order the repair of the runway on Pag-asa and the building of new
facilities on presently occupied islands, then thats exactly what should have been said. No more, no
less, he said.

A new occupation of currently unoccupied areas, he said, will comprise a breach of its commitment
in the 2002 Declaration of Conduct of the Parties to the South China Sea to not engage in actions that
tend to complicate and escalate the dispute, and to refrain from any new inhabitation of previously
uninhabited features. /atm