Inside Philippine politics & beyond

House Speaker’s move to slash Commission on Human Rights budget to measly sum could throw Senate President’s sister out of a job

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By Raïssa Robles

The move of the House of Representatives to slash the Commission on Human Rights budget to the equivalent of US$20 may have unintended consequences, such as rendering the sister of Senate President Koko Pimentel III jobless.

Ironically, the man of the hour who egged on the vote is House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, a new member of Pimentel’s PDP-Laban Party, the de facto ruling party of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Did Alvarez even give a thought that Pimentel’s sister, Human Rights Commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, would be highly inconvenienced?

Probably not.

I wonder what she thinks of this move. Does she approve?

My hubby says she can easily find a job within the Duterte administration. True.

Still, I wonder what the children of a man who was unjustly incarcerated by Ferdinand Marcos think about Duterte’s human rights record.

Is everything lost?

No. Not at all.

A day before the House voted to punish the CHR for being at the forefront of moves to investigate killings of suspected drug addicts and dealers in the hands of arresting police officers, the Senate Committee on Justice under Senator Loren Legarda quietly (and with not much coverage from the news media) voted to approve a P678 million budget for the CHR.

It was lower than this year’s budget of P749 million, but definitely stratospherically higher than P1000.00 or US$20, give or take a few cents. Not a few netizens noted that the US$20.00 CHR budget would be far lower than the monthly salary of Presidential Communications Office Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson.

The interesting thing about the Senate justice committee’s approved budget for the CHR is that FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME it is appropriating money amounting to P25.565 MILLION for setting up a HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS VICTIMS’ MEMORIAL COMMISSION.

What does this mean?

It means a memorial dedicated to remembering Ferdinand Marcos’ atrocities will be set up. Now that the Marcoses and President Duterte are aware of such a move, will they now strike it down? What happens now?

It really depends on the citizens. If the street protests are gigantic, Duterte will backtrack. Or he might declare Martial Law and claim anarchy in the streets as he has been threatening to do. But Martial Law is only good if people obey.

Please keep in mind, though, that when the proposed budget appropriations for the same agency of government are so far apart in the House and the Senate, both sides will have to come up with a compromise. This will take place during the bicameral conference committee just before the final reading of the national budget. But what if Human Rights Commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana leans on her brother to pass the Legarda-backed appropriation?

That would be quite interesting.

Meanwhile, I have been asked on Facebook what ordinary citizens can do when they do not agree with what Congress did.

For starters, you can write, e-mail, tweet, or FB your own congressman and the senators you voted for, plus Human Commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana. Go to this link to find out who your congressman is – http://congress.gov.ph/members/?v=region

Remember that we are all “represented” by the congressman of our district. It is time to make your sentiments known to your own congressman. Hound him, serenade him. His vote is not really his own. He is voting for the people in his district.

He is voting for you.

If you don’t like his vote, tell him so.

If you like his vote, applaud him.

Comments

    • yup.para yong sister ni koko pimentel ang ihulip.bagay ang pangalan ng senate president na si kiko pimentel.sayang ang voto ko sa kanya.iba si kiko sa kanyang ama.senate president lang ang habol nya kahit ginagawa na syang kiko ni digong roa duterte ang psychopath natin presidente.

  2. DU30 TOOK TRILLANES BAIT? LAID DOWN HOW TRILLANES ACCUMULATED MONEY

    http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/930935/philippine-news-updates-president-duterte-antonio-trillanes-iv-china-bank-accounts-panatag-shoal-scarborough-shoal

    Interviewed by Erwin Tulfo, he said among others:

    “Trillanes had led backdoor negotiations with China during the Aquino administration, and had been accused of working for Beijing by then Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile with regard to the Panatag Shoal or Scarborough Shoal dispute.

    Mr. Duterte said the funds in the senator’s supposed foreign bank accounts were held jointly with dummies or came from those who gave the money to Trillanes.
    “Or otherwise, what he earned from China. He was going back and forth about 8 or 9 times to China, and then his money accumulated. That was the time that we lost Scarborough Shoal,” Mr. Duterte said in a taped interview with Erwin Tulfo aired over PTV 4 on Friday evening.
    But he also said the foreign country that provided him the details about Trillanes’ supposed accounts suggested that he focus on the senator’s accounts in Zurich and Singapore because these were “single accounts without a co-depositor.”
    The Zurich UBS account, he said, had $75,000 or P3.8 million, while the Singapore DBS account had a balance of “193,000.” He did not specify the denomination….”

    Trillanes is just one senator, Du30 is the President, Soldiers, police, citizens follow him because he claims he is against corruption so the biggest question now is
    As President, if you really hate corruption, why cant you and your family issue a written waiver to AMLC and Ombudsman?

    I think Du30 just put himself into a corner here, the more idiin nya si Trillanes, the more people will ask, teka ikaw ang Pangulo, asan ang written waiver mo sa AMLC, malinis ka ba o korap?

      • digong make fake news! hindi pa yata sapat ang mga fake news na gawa-gawa ni mocha loca, digong gotta make his own too. fakers galore.

        digong once accused trillanes of stealing kubyertos! that did not stick. so now, digong up the ante and make it tagong yaman na. dyos ko, baka next time trillanes will be accused of fathering kitty!

        hoy, digong na cousin ni carl arnaiz, why dont you present dna proof na talagang mag-cousin kayo ni arnaiz?

    • simple ang answer nyan.kaya di nag sign ng waiver ang psychopath natin na presidente kasi toto-o lahat ang sinabi ni sen.trillanes.corrupt naman talaga yang mga duterte.ilang taon na silang naghari sa davao?

  3. Lorenzana on nationwide declaration of martial law: ‘Remote possibility’

    By: Nestor Corrales 01:11 PM September 15, 2017

    http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/930833/lorenzana-on-nationwide-declaration-of-martial-law-remote-possibility

    (Editor’s note: We are reposting this story to clarify and update the story by AFP we published earlier.)
    (2nd Update, 2:09 p.m.) The declaration of a nationwide martial law next week is a “remote possibility,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Friday.

    Wire service Agence France-Presse, which earlier came out with a report titled “Philippines’ Duterte may declare martial law next week: Defense chief,” has updated its story to remove its reference to the possibility of a declaration of martial law next week.

    • Duterte is trying to reframe the issue because he has lost the narrative on:

      a. endless killings of Filipinos in the drug war
      b. continuous inflow of Chinese-made shabu
      c. continued loss of Philippine territory in the West Phil Sea

      Each of these variables continue to rise since the start of this administration.

      All three are linked and inter-related. China has managed to check-mate Duterte into an endless orgy of Filipino killings by using a combination of foreign policy tools like loans, foreign aid, show of military might, diplomatic pressure and the plausible covert support of drug trafficking. But China’s bigger objective of course, is the annexation of the West Phil Sea.

      Even Sen JV Ejercito and UN Ambassador Teddy Locsin agree with this narrative.

      This view will also explain the bizarre behavior of Phil Foreign Affairs officials and agencies in recent weeks- the publication of that Xinhua editorial in a Phil News Agency site; the feigned ignorance on the continuing reclamation, the continuing harassment of Filipino fishermen, etc.

      • toto-o lahat sinasabi mo.wala syang ginawa sa china sa isla natin na inagaw nila.hindi nag mura ang bastos natin na presidente na si digong ng ma intercept ang shabu sa custom.naghimala na ang tulad nyang bastos bna presidente ay di nag mura sa shabu na nahuli sa mga taohan nya sa custom.kasi kasali sila pati anak nya na si foolong.ginawa lang tayong gago ng ulol natin na presidente

    • remote possibility: para bagang insurance policy po itong sinabi ni lorenzana. gaya ng 99% guarantee the product you’ve bought will work to perfection. it’s the 1% that the manufacturer cannot guarantee that is often the loophole.

      remote possibility, a narrow window of opportunity, and yet how many people these days can work within that narrowest window of opportunity?

      he, he, he, lorenzana has better chances of growing hair on his head!

      martial law is a possibility, and if lorenzana opens his eyes wider, he’d see that ml is already being practiced, done and implemented. and it is being resisted, heckled and peckled. long live the citizens protective of their rights!

  4. iisa lang naman ang ugat ng pagbibigay ng budget na iyan.
    sumusunod lang ang mga alipores sa kanilang poon.
    chr is a can opener.
    it opens to expose the hidden bones.
    kung wala silang budget, wala silang gagawin.
    iyan ang gusto ng poon.
    wag kalawkawin ang kanyang dumi…

  5. JOKE FOR THE DAY

    Namili ang Duterte cabinet ng bagong Apple IPhone X, yung may facial recognition lock.

    First cabinet meeting: ” Paano natin unlock to e doble kara lahat tayo? ”

    LOL

      • congrats!
        good for the pinoys in the tate esp those who are not aware of the makoy’s plunders and deceits.
        go go go raissa…

        • uhm, sana no problem on your entry. alam mo naman ang estados unidos ngayon, hinihigpitan ang entry ng foreign nationals na sumasalungat baga sa american ideals defined by trump. even senator nick xenophon of australia was barred entry to estados unidos on the basis of his whatever even though australia is friendly country and not terrorists haven. ganon din ang nangyari sa mismong anak ni boxing icon, mohamad ali, his son was twice barred from entering his own country of birth!

          once in america, raissa, be aware po na baka may mga book agents and booksellers who may try to approach you with view of taking your book to bookfair where your book can reach a much wider audience: alaska, canada, south america, europe, etc.

          have a safe journey po, and congrats.

  8. Think about it: he who was so bold and arrogant to pack a gun and ask for a duel cannot even pack a pen and sign a waiver!

    • may tinatago si digong! trillanes was correct, barking at the right tree. there’s a big fat dabawenyo cat high up the tree! fat cat!

      digong showed his tattoo, but that’s not what is being asked of him. him packing a gun, well, anybody can also pack a gun.

      sign waiver, digong! and be honest for once. rise above the challenge, not sink with it, and dont prolong the inevitable. there is life after bank waiver; simpler life, life well spent sleeping under kulambo.

  9. OT. . .

    The ‘. . .fear that the grant of Estrada’s bail plea would cause a “domino effect” in the related plunder cases involving the other two former senators, Ramon Revilla Jr. and Juan Ponce Enrile.’

    Demonyo effect . . . yun.

    Why court procedural rules
    allows re-iterated motions
    such as ‘For Bail’ etc. after
    such are denied?

    Denied with finality.

    Just because there is
    a change in the composition
    of the members, such
    should not be entertained.

    Entertaining it is an
    outright abuse…a
    repetition of the thing.

    Or it is because the rules
    are really flexible like
    plastic?

    Plastic justice ang labas.

    Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/930493/jinggoy-estrada-bail-petition-plunder-case-pork-barrel-scam#ixzz4sbVCdUCK Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebooknewsinfo.inquirer.net/930493/jinggoy-estrada-bail-petition-plunder-case-pork-barrel-scam

    • ‘Ano yan?’ . . . eh . . . di Equus caballus! May takip sa dalawang mata!

      Any which way the stirrup is pulled
      the direksyon it goes!

      99% bulag ang Equus caballus!

      he he

    • yeeha! I’ve a better idea, folks. if you cannot support the govt dahil kumag yong mga policies nyan, then improve the govt and make it better, make it accountable, reliable, infuse it with newer blood not the likes of stagnant sotto. make the govt up to date and better able to handle eventualities and challenges of today. responsive not merely reactive.

      sotto must have heard of a thing called best practice. it’s not best practice to fire your high achieving workers just because they questioned you, their ideas are better than yours and they have better grasp of the situation than you. there is something terribly wrong with an organization that does not value its staff and there is high turnover of workers, resulting in poor quality of work.

      what sotto should have done is ask why policies cannot be supported and what can be done so policies can be supported. if he only looks forward to people resigning kaagad, he might as well install a revolving door with himself as doorman.

  11. Just a little backgrounder for readers on Chito Gascon, the embattled CHR head:

    He was a bit ahead of me in college, but having met him and heard him during campus politics-related events (he was with TUGON party), I have to say fate must have put him in that position at this time.

    If there is a person who can withstand the pressure and still cling on to principle, if there is anyone who has the spiritual fiber and the intellect to go head to head with the demons stalking this country it is him.

    Pray for him, fight for him.

  12. I don’t know but what is happening now always reminds me of the netflicks series about Pablo Escubar. Those in position are so worried with the CHR.

    Last week i was watching the senate hearing, Bato said he need clearance from Do Dirty to submit a copy of the spot report. … Di ba public document ito? Then why the need for such clearance? May tinatago ba? Are they or Is there anything DoDirty is worried what CHR or the senate may found out?

    Baka ba lumabas ang totoo yon sinabi ni Do Dirty …”Pag lumaban … barilin ninyo, Pag walang baril, bigyan ninyoo… Pag ayaw lumaban … palabaan ninyo”

  13. Nakakagalit nga lang. But this such grandstanding will never materialize into law (the General Appropriation Act).

    Ma-drama lang masyado si Alvarez.

      • lunacy! and all because alvarez is ignorant of the scope of the job chr is doing. kontra govt kuno yang chr, and if alvarez has done his research, he would have known chr investigates mga paglabag ng karapatang pangtao done by govt agencies like pnp. in short, alvarez wants to deny justice to people victimize by kapolisan and other govt agencies.

        a defunded chr will be very hard pressed to investigate ejks.

        • CHR is good to check
          agencies of the State
          for abuses.

          CHR is not to check
          all abuses in criminality.

          Tongress members are
          all out to interfere
          beyond the lines
          drawn in the law
          with CHR’s duties.

          NPA and Maute rebels’
          etc., actions are NOT for
          CHR to check. It is for
          the State’s agencies
          work and duty.

          ‘The House press release, which was also sent out through Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s office e-mail address, said lawmakers criticized the CHR for being “quick to denounce alleged human rights violations committed by the law enforcement agencies, but is noticeably quiet on the human rights abuses perpetrated by criminals or terrorists.”

          The CHR has explained repeatedly that speaking out against crime by non-government actors like criminals is not its main function.’

          The House of Congress is
          noticeably quiet on human
          rights abuses like the EJK
          atbpa.

          Congress wants that
          CHR does not function
          re EJK. Thus,
          P1000.00 budget for
          Yr 2018. Haughty
          reaction indeed.

          Such measly sum
          budgeted is good
          for 1-2 bags of
          PANDESAL.

          Low blow!

        • “In 2015, when not yet a member of Congress, Roque noted in his blog that “the CHR can only investigate but has no power to prosecute.”

          Same news paper source.

          For CHR to have power
          to prosecute will duplicate
          DOJ and Ombudsman’s work.

          Three agencies is a crowd.
          Two is a company.

        • sabi ni leona, tongress.
          dagdagan natin, tong-gak-gress…
          may narinig ako sa radio- parang mga bata raw ang mga alipores.
          e di pwedeng sabihing isip-bata.
          wag nang ibigay sa pnp ang pag-imbestiga ng krimen.
          ipasa na sa chr.
          therefore, ang pnp ay bigyan na rin ng 1000 budget.
          kung sususugan natin ang utak ng mga alipores…

  14. Would like to see constituents writing/calling/visiting their representatives. There is an assumption here that the constituents are fully informed, engaged, empowered, and organized. You have done the informing part but who will do the engaging, empowering and organizing.

    • @jerry

      “Unfortunate is a people who need a hero” – Galileo/Brecht

      If you see no one around, then maybe you can step forward and be the answer to the question that you asked.

      If there are just two or three other people sharing your belief you are already a Group Against Tyranny. Then you can link up with the Movement Against Tyranny and that is the pebble that will start an avalanche of protest and usher in the new government.

    • Nasubok ko
      na sumalat
      sa mga ibang
      tongress members.

      Eh…walang pa
      lang e-mail
      apps sila!

      Iba sa Tongress ‘Pinas. . .
      zero-mail! Dead STUFF
      malamang.

      ha ha

      • there will come a time when those writing and sending letters to their reps but did not get a reply will be brave enough to name and shame said reps in the social media.

        name and shame reps for ignoring constituents and disregarding their concerns.

  15. Raissa,

    Father and son Pimentel in my view are examples of so many of our countrymen who have made a Faustian bargain with the devil, who has promised:

    “Hold my hand, pointy fingers and all, and I promise to bring you to heaven. But you have to come down to the dungeon with me first.”

    In the Pimentel case, the bargain is for federalism. Basta may federalismo, di baleng bayan ay magkanda-loko.

    They are pretty much like the devout Catholics and evangelicals in the US who still support Trump even when he equated the Charlottesville neo-Nazis and white supremacists with counter-protesters and when he denied climate change and when he collaborated with Russia. All because Trump will roll back Planned Parenthood and EPA regulations.