MANILA, Philippines- Patuloy ang batuhan ng pasaring sa pagitan ni Vice President at Education Secretary Sara Duterte at ACT Teachers, kung saan sinabi ng una na ang huli ay “fake representative” ng sektor ng edukasyon sa Kamara.

Ito ang naging tugon ni Duterte sa pahayag ni ACT Teachers Representative France Castro na ang Department of Education, sa ilalim ni Duterte, ang naglilihis ng atensyon ng publiko mula sa usapin ng lehitimong isyu sa eduaksyon.

Sinabi ng Vice President na patuloy ang pagtanggi ng partylist na kondenahin ang karahasan ng New People’s Army sa Masbate.

“I am glad that France Castro confirmed that ACT Teachers is, without a doubt, a fake representative of learners, educators, and other members of the education sector in Congress with her continued refusal to publicly and explicitly condemn the New People’s Army’s violence in Masbate,” pahayag ni Duterte.

“That ACT Teachers is a sham and truly does not represent the education sector in Congress was even validated by her call for ‘forensic experts’ and the Commission on Human Rights to ‘see the real perpetrators of the gun firing near the schools’,” dagdag niya.

Sinabi rin ni Duterte na kinukumpirma ni Castro sa kanyang panawagan ang kanyang “duplicitous character” na makikita rin umano sa kanyang “attempt to lawyer for the terrorist NPAs.”

Aniya pa, patuloy na binabalewala ni Castro ang hamon niya na kondenahin ang NPAs at “almost neatly slipped into the conversation” ang panawagan sa muling pagbubukas ng peace talks sa pagitan ng gobyerno at ng National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

“No, the Masbate violence does not highlight the need for the resumption of the peace talks. It highlights the need for our collective effort as a nation to protect our learners from threats brought by groups like the NPA,” aniya.

“It highlights the NPA’s appetite for violence and its insatiable thirst for the blood of its fellow Filipinos. It also highlights the complicity of people like France Castro and groups like ACT Teachers,” dagdag ni Bise Presidente.

Nagsimula ang word war sa pagitan ni Duterte at ng ACT Teachers mula nang ihirit ng huli sa pamahalaan na tumanggap ng 30,000 guro kada taon para punan ang school shortages.

Nauna nang sinabi ni Duterte na ito ay “unrealistic and impossible” at sinasabing inililihis lamang ng ACT ang atensyon mula sa pag-atake ng NPA sa lalawigan ng Masbate, na nakaapekto sa mga estudyante sa lugar. RNT/SA

MANILA, Philippines- Kasunod ng M/T Princess Empress oil spill noong February 28, panibagong trahedya na naman na kumitil sa buhay ng ilang indibidwal at nakapinsala sa kalikasan ang naganap nitong Miyerkules.

Tinutukoy ni Senator Grace Poe, chairperson ng Senate Committee on Public Services, ang pagkamatay ng 10 indibidwal at pagkakasagip ng 230 nang magliyab ang ang passenger ferry sa katubigan ng Bulok-Bulok islands, Hadji Mutamad sa Basilan nitong Miyerkules ng gabi.

“Clearly, the safety component in our transportation is sorely lacking,’’ giit ni Poe.

Muling nanawagan si Poe para sa independent agency na magsasagawa ng mabusisi at makatotohanang imbestigasyon, at makapagbibigay ng akmang rekomendasyon.

“As we push for our bill creating the Philippine Transportation Safety Board (PTSB), we will continue to keep watch to ensure that the needs of the victims in the recent sea tragedies are addressed and those responsible will be held accountable,’’ giit niya. RNT/SA

MANILA, Philippines- Muling pinagtibay ng Japan ang suporta nito sa posisyon ng Pilipinas hinggil mga maritime issues, lalo na pagdating sa sitwasyon sa West Philippine Sea, ayon sa Department of Foreign Affairs nitong Miyerkules, Marso 29.

Ayon sa DFA, ang naturang pagsuporta ay nabanggit sa ikalimang maritime dialogue ng Pilipinas at Japan sa Tokyo.

“The delegations exchanged views on issues of mutual interest; particularly the situation in vital waterways of the West Philippine Sea, Luzon Strait, Sulu-Celebes Seas, and the East China Sea; regional efforts to maintain peace and stability; and climate change,” pahayag ng departamento.

Dagdag pa ng DFA, muling kinumpirma ng Japan ang pugsuporta nito sa 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea, kung saan tinukoy na hindi naaayon sa batas ang mga ginagawa ng China sa West Philippine Sea – kabilang na ang pagpapatupad ng nine-dash line, at land reclamation sa mga isla na sakop pa ng Pilipinas.

Pinamunuan ang nasabing dialogue nina DFA Assistant Secretary for Maritime and Ocean Affairs Maria Angela Ponce at Deputy Director General Hayashi Makoto ng Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Department.

Kasama rin ni Ponce ang mga kinatawan ng Department of National Defense, Department of Transportation, National Security Council, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Space Agency, at National Mapping and Resource Information Agency. RNT

MANILA, Philippines- Nanawagan si Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin nitong Huwebes sa The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) for 2022 na ipagpatuloy ang kanilang adbokasiya at gawin ang Pilipinas na “land worth living in and loving.”

Si Bersamin ang guest of honor at speaker sa awarding ng TOYM 2022 sa Malacañang Palace.

“And so I raise a challenge not only to the 10 of you awardees, but as well to the countless others who had been so honored before you, to keep up the excellence you have shown,” bahagi ng talumpati ni Bersamin.

“It is encouraging for me to note that many of you do not consider financial success as the ultimate measure of achievement. Because to you, it is rather the lives you have improved and positively affected that matter above all.”

“The world must be preserved through peace and harmony and kept safe for generations to come. Continue to be relevant. Continue to do more. Continue your advocacies and make our country a land worth living in and loving,” patuloy niya.

Sinabi ni Bersamin sa awardees hindi dapat maging finish line ng kanilang pagsisikap sa kani-kaniyang larangan at adbokasiya ang seremonya.

“Our country desires you to continue individually in the fields [in which] you have been recognized today. Better still, I urge you to act as one group of inspiration and motivators for others,” pahayag niya.

Kabilang sa recipients ng TOYM 2022 ang mga sumusunod:

1. Dr. Paul Gideon Lasco: a physician and expert in medical anthropology, for Education and the Academe;

2. Manix Abrera: creator of Kikomachine Komix, for Literature, Culture and the Arts;

3. Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho: Department of Health (DOH) Assistant Secretary and Director of Public Health Services Team (PHST), for Health and Medicine;

4. Dr. Ramon Lorenzo Luis Guinto: one of the world’s pioneers in the new field of planetary health, for Health and Medicine;

5. Dr. Ronnie Baticulon: a pediatric neurosurgeon, for Health and Medicine;

6. Rico Ancog: an environmental educator, for Education and the Academe;

7. Victor Mari Baguilat Jr.: founder of the social enterprise Kandama, for Literature, Culture and the Arts;

8. Kristian Cordero: a Bicolano writer and filmmaker, for Literature, Culture and the Arts;

9. Shawntel Nicole Nieto: founder of One Cainta Program, for Humanitarian, Civil Society or Voluntary Leadership; 

10. Joanne Ascencion Valdez: a city councilor of Candon, Ilocos Sur, for Humanitarian, Civil Society or Voluntary Leadership 

Ang TOYM ay annual recognition sa mga Pilipino, edad 18 hanggang 40 na malaki ang kontribusyon sa kani-kaniyang larangan. RNT/SA

MANILA, Philippines- Isinasailim na sa mga pagbabago ang immigration procedures bunsod ng sunod sunod na reklamo ng mga pasahero laban sa mga umano’y abusadong tauhan ng Bureau of Immigration (BI) sa NAIA.

Tiniyak ng Department of Justice (DOJ) na hindi nito palalampasin kung mapatutunayan na nagpakita ng hindi tamang asal ang mga Immigration officer sa pagganap sa kanilang tungkulin sa pag-screen sa mga papaalis na pasahero.

Gayunman, binigyan-diin ng DOJ ang kahalagahan ng laban kontra human trafficking.

Ayon sa DOJ, kasalukuyang nirerebisa ng Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) ang Departure Formalities upang mapaayos ang usad sa mga immigration counters at maiwasan na ang abala sa mga biyahero dahil sa ipinaiiral na Departure Formalities.

Naniniwala ang kagawaran na nagiging malikhain na ang mga human trafficker sa kanilang modus upang maipuslit palabas ng bansa ang mga nagiging biktima kung kaya mahirap matukoy ang regular na pasahero sa biktima ng human trafficking.

Dahil sa mahigpit na pagpapatupad ng departure formalities, nasa 6,788 na biyahero mula sa kabuuang 1,056,247 ang naapektuhan mula Enero hanggang Pebrero 2023.

Magugunitang inireklamo ng ilang biyahero ang sobrang tagal ng pagtatanong ng mga Immigration officers kung kaya naiiwan sila ng sasakyang eroplano. Teresa Tavares