Duterte orders freed heinous crime convicts under GCTA law to surrender

Arianne Merez, ABS-CBN News

MANILA (2nd UPDATE)—President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday ordered heinous-crime convicts who
were freed under a law that reduces an inmate’s sentence due to good conduct to surrender to
authorities.

The President gave the convicts 15 days to surrender.

“I would address myself ‘yung lahat nakulong at na-release sa batas na ito, 1,700 of you, you surrender
and have yourself registered with the BuCor (Bureau of Corrections),” he said Wednesday.

“I will give you 15 days liberty, provided you make yourself available anytime that you will be called for
investigation to have a recomputation, or if there’s an investigation of corruption that you cooperate
fully.”

If the freed convicts refuse to surrender, Duterte said the government would consider them fugitives.

“And you will be treated as a criminal who is evading the law and, well, you know things can go wrong. If
I were you, mag-surrender na kayo to the nearest police or military detachment wherever you are now,”
he said.

Convicts who will "surrender in good faith" will not be sent back to prison "because there was really a
release order,” Duterte said as he requested them to help in the probe on the anomalies in the
implementation of the GCTA.

Data from the Bureau of Corrections showed that 1,914 heinous-crime convicts were released through
the good conduct time allowance law since 2014.

The implementation of Republic Act 10592, which increases the “good conduct time allowance” of
prisoners, has come under scrutiny after the justice department announced that convicted rapist-killer
Antonio Sanchez might be released from prison because of supposed good behavior.

Duterte also offered a P1 million bounty per heinous crime convict who refuses to surrender.

Asked for a specific law for the rearrest order, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said "basis for
rearrest is not a law but jurisprudence, which forms part of the law of the land."

A 2018 Supreme Court decision also held that the power to issue hold departure order is inherent to the
courts and not to an executive agency like the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“[T]he liberty of abode may only be impaired by a lawful order of the court and, on the one hand, the
right to travel may only be impaired by a law that concerns national security, public safety or public
health. Therefore, when the exigencies of times call for a limitation on the right to travel, the Congress
must respond to the need by explicitly providing for the restriction in a law,” the high court said in
Genuino v. De Lima.—With reports from Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News
SOGIE

MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) – President Rodrigo Duterte has no plans of

certifying the SOGIE (sexual orientation gender identity and expression) equality bill as
urgent after all, Malacañang said on Wednesday, September 11.

ADVERTISING
In a text to reporters, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said when Duterte said
on Tuesday that he would certify such a bill as urgent, he was thinking of an "anti-
discrimination bill."

“He was referring to an anti-discrimination bill, not SOGIE bill,” said Panelo.

Senate Bill No. 689 is also known as the anti-discrimination bill.

What Duterte supposedly had in mind was a measure “much like the anti-discrimination
ordinance existing in Davao passed when he was still the mayor there.”

Panelo, in na interview with CNN Philippines, said the SOGIE equality bill is problematic
because it supposedly “discriminates” since it benefits only LGBTQ+.

“Hindi ka pupuwedeng mag-legislate for a particular class lang, eh nagdi-discriminate

ka (You can’t legislate for a particular class only, that would be discrimination),” he said.

An anti-discrimination law, on the other hand, “applies to everyone.”

“He (President Duterte) is a lawyer so he will not certify a bill that will appear to be or is
a class legislation,” said Panelo.

The spokesman didn't think the news has caused disappointment among LGBTQ+
persons, insisting the anti-discrimination bill Duterte would support would also protect
their rights as well as the SOGIE equality bill would. He was apparently referring to the
comprehensive anti-discrimination bill of Senator Juan Edgardo Angara.

"Hindi naman. Bakit naman madi-disappoint sila (No. Why would they be disappointed)?
In an anti-discrimination bill, which is in an enlarged version of whatever bill you have in
mind, eh di sasama din sila doon (they will also be included there)," said Panelo.

On Tuesday, Duterte was directly asked if he would certify the SOGIE equality bill as
urgent.

“Yes, whatever would make the mechanisms of – what would make them happy," he
had said in response.
"Gusto ko, kagaya ni Senator (Juan Ponce) Enrile, gusto ko happy siya (Like Senator
Enrile, I want them to be happy)," he added.

Before that question, he spoke of how he was opposed to any form of discrimination
and had championed an anti-discrimination ordinance in Davao City for equal treatment
of Muslims and indigenous peoples.

He also said he supported separate restrooms for lesbians and gays, aside from just the
male and female restrooms, in apparent reference to the controversy surrounding the
experience of transgender woman Gretchen Diez, who was prevented from using the
women's restroom and arrested for documenting the incident.

Duterte had met with Diez in Malacañang in August where, Diez had said, she and the
President "discussed my issue of discrimination, and the possible passing of [the]
SOGIE bill." (READ: Gretchen Diez meets Duterte, teases 'surprise' for LGBTQ+
community)

Senator Risa Hontiveros, lead author of the SOGIE equality bill, said Malacañang's
statements on the proposed measure reflected its "confusion" on addressing
discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.

"President Rodrigo Duterte's statement that he plans to certify as urgent the SOGIE
equality bill, only to be corrected by his spokesperson that the President was referring to
an anti-discrimination Bill, shows Malacañang's policy confusion regarding how to
address discrimination against the LGBT community," Hontiveros said.

The senator said the SOGIE equality bill "remains the best policy tool to protect
members of the LGBT community from discrimination, harassment, and even violence."

"The SOGIE Equality bill does not only define and prohibit discrimination, it also
addresses stigma against persons with diverse SOGIE through programs promoting
equality and diversity. This protective mechanism is unique to LGBTs who experience
not only discrimination but also stigma. We hope that President Duterte will seriously
consider these points," she said. –
Grupo lumikha ng palay na
kayang mabuhay sa tag-init,
tag-ulan
Tuwing bumabagyo at kapag tagtuyot kadalasang nadadama ng magsasaka ang epekto ng panahon sa
kanilang kabuhayan.

Dahil dito, lumikha ang grupong Magsasaka at Siyentipiko Para sa Pag-Unlad ng Agrikultura
(MaSiPag) ng iba't ibang binhi ng palay na akma sa climate change.

Mahigit 2,000 klase ng palay ang nagawa ng MaSiPag, na kayang labanan ng tagtuyot, baha,
saltwater, mga peste, at iba pang sakit ng palay.

"May mga dinevelop ang MaSiPag na mga drought-tolerant na mga varieties ng palay na bagay sa
kanilang pangangailangan," ani Lucille Ortiz, research education and training unit officer ng
MaSiPag.

Ipinakita nila ang mga ito sa kanilang demo farm sa Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija.

Iginiit din nila ang kalahagahan ng proyekto para mapanatili ng mga magsasaka ang kanilang inaani
sa panahon ng climate change o iyong pabago-bagong panahon.

"Mahalaga na makalikha tayo ng mga binhi ng palay na kayang maka-adapt sa climate change para
sa food security ng mga Filipino dahil ang mga magsasaka ang lumilikha ng pagkain ng bayan,” ani
Cris Panerio, national coordinator ng grupo.

Sa demo, nagpahayag ng kanilang pagtutol sa rice tariffication law ang ilang magsasaka gaya ni
Rodolfo Cortez.

Umaaray din si Cortez sa "pambabarat" umano ng ilan sa mga magsasaka.

"Binabarat ang magsasaka, binibili sa mababang presyo ang palay samantalang napakataas ang cost
of production ng palay," ani Cortez.

Umaasa naman ang MaSiPag na makakatulong ang kanilang programa para mapaganda ang ani ng
mga magsasaka.

-- Ulat ni Abner Mercado, ABS-CBN News

Rice prices still falling
MANILA, Philippines — The price of rice remained on the downtrend, with consumers saving
more but farmers earning less following a new rice regime in the country.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed consistent lower prices for
more than three months now after the Philippines opened its rice industry to more private sector
imports.

In its regular update on palay, rice and corn prices, PSA said the average wholesale price of
well-milled rice is now at P39.30 per kilogram as of end-June, six percent lower than the P41.58
per kilo level from the same period a year ago and 0.1 percent lower on a weekly basis.

Its average retail price also decreased 3.3 percent to P42.92 per kilo.

Meanwhile, the wholesale price of regular-milled rice was P35.39 per kilo, down 7.4 percent
while its average retail price was P38.56 a kilo.

While consumers are benefitting from the opening up of the market, local farmers are suffering
from declining palay farm gate prices.

The average farm gate price of palay continued to decrease to P17.85 per kilo.

In all, the current price is a 17 percent drop from the P21.38 per kilo last year when the rice
liberalization has yet to become a law.

It is also lower than the P19.40 per kilo last March when the law took effect.

The lower farm gate price is caused by the increased local harvest and is exacerbated by
imports flooding the commercial market.

Total rice inventory as of May stood at 2.94 million metric tons (MT), 1.3 percent higher than last
year’s volume stock of 2.91 million MT.

This is also 12.2 percent up from the previous month’s volume stock of 2.63 million MT.

Under the rice tariffication law, quantitative restrictions on rice importation are lifted and private
traders are allowed to import the commodity from countries of their choice.

The rice tariffication law replaced the government’s quantitative restrictions on importation of the
staple with a 35 percent tariff.

The measure also created the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund or a special rice buffer
fund, with an initial P10-billion annual fund, to ensure rice production competitiveness.