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Kupcho makes history as first woman to win at Augusta

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA — Jennifer Kupcho struck a blow for gender equality and entered golf history books on Saturday when she was crowned Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion by firing a final-round five-under 67 for a four-shot win over Maria Fassi.

Following the first women’s competitive round played at Augusta National, it was a double celebration for Kupcho as she hoisted the silver and gold Tiffany-designed cup at a club that just seven years ago did not have a single woman member.

“You are now part of history of Augusta National along with all the great Masters champions who have been right here in this Butler Cabin,” Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said as he presented Kupcho with her trophy in the same location where the Masters champion is presented with the winner’s green jacket.

With Augusta National set to host the Masters next week, Fassi and Kupcho proved that women can also produce nerve-jangling drama with a back-nine battle worthy of any major.

Kupcho’s elation was mixed with relief as she struggled with a migraine and blurred vision from the eighth through 11th holes that threatened to scuttle her title hopes. “I actually got a migraine on the eighth green and kind of over to the left I just couldn’t see it was blurry,” said Kupcho. “I told my caddie I’m looking for you to read the putts and tell me where to hit it and I will do my best to hit it there.

“Amazing enough, I have gotten these migraines before so I knew the blurriness would go away and I would just have a headache. On the 11th tee was where it finally started to go away and I could finally see.”

The Masters is often decided on the back nine on a Sunday and that was the case for the women who played their final round on Saturday, as Kupcho played the final six holes in five under.

Showing why she is the world’s top-ranked amateur, the 21-year-old carded birdies at 15, 16 and 18 along with a brilliant eagle on the par five 13th that wiped out Fassi’s two stroke lead.

Opened for play in 1933, Augusta National became the private sanctuary for some of the world’s most powerful men and it was almost 80 years before the club welcomed its first women members in 2012, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and financier Darla Moore.

After the opening two rounds of the 54-hole tournament were held at Champions Retreat in nearby Evans, the women finally got the opportunity to step on to one of the sport’s great stages.

The first competitive round played by women at Augusta National attracted a large crowd but it was not the typical gallery seen at the Masters.

The crowd more resembled one you might find at a US women’s soccer game with plenty of teenage girls and mothers and fathers with children in tow.

While the sight of women battling for a trophy was new for Augusta National, so were the sounds as the galleries offered encouragement with shouts of “Atta girl” and “Way to go girls.” — Reuters

Three teams join MPBL

For P50-million, are you willing to put up a team in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League?

The price may sound stiff, but for the provinces of Bicol and Iloilo and the city Mabalacat in Pampanga, the amount seems logical as far as getting noticed is concerned, something that would boost their tourism and the prestige of having their own basketball team in the fastest growing regional amateur basketball league.

Fifty million pesos doesn’t look like a problem though for sponsors willing to shell out a pie for marketing expenses as the MPBL is one of the most competitive shows as far as late night prime time viewing is concerned.

It is one of the most followed sports shows on late night, it could even surpassed a late night news show in terms of TV viewing.

To the teams which invested at a P500,000 franchise and become a founding member in the MPBL, it looks like their gamble is all worth it. Their team is now worth a hundred times bigger.

But let’s look beyond the monetary. Let’s set aside the investment. Let’s talk about the prestige of owning an MPBL team.

Having a basketball team gives the entire province of Bicol some sense of pride, something which it has never done before.

To be known as the Albay, Volcanoes, the Bicolanos are definitely looking forward to a more explosive performance from the team carrying the entire province on their chests. They are bound to put up a very competitive team and political leaders there had thrown in their full support they’re willing to provide the team two home venues each time the game will be held here.

The Ibalong Centrum for Recreation and Albay Astrodome in Legazpi City will be used as venues for the home games of the Volcanoes, who are set to formally sign the contract anytime this week to become the league’s 27th member.

Iloilo, a province known for its rich history in football, is now thinking of pouring in its resources in basketball.

The Philippine Foremost Milling Corp. of La Filipina Uygongco Group of Companies, a firm involved in trading of agricultural raw materials being used in soybean meal, corn, wheat, and micro ingredients, among others, is willing to bankroll a squad in Iloilo.

Top executives of the company are willing to sit down and discuss their plans with Senator Pacquiao and Commissioner Duremdes as Iloilo is looking to become the other team to join the MPBL.

And then, there’s Mabalacat in Pampanga.

With the city of San Fernando already using the Pampanga Lanterns in the MPBL, Mabalacat will be carrying the city alone, but is determined to put up an equally formidable team and uphold the pride of Pampangueños.

 

Rey Joble is a member of the PBA Press Corps and Philippine Sportswriters Association.

reyjoble09@gmail.com

The Masters

As in any other year, talk about the Masters begins long before the start of golf’s preeminent major tournament. The House that Bobby Jones Built is Number One for a reason: It’s a veritable walk down memorable lane. Everything — from the way members comport themselves while in the Augusta National Golf Club to the way its leadership goes about hosting a competition for an extremely limited field — is a reminder of a time long past, critical for a gentleman’s sport that, for all intents, claims no small measure of its lure and allure from its capacity to turn back time.

Granted, Augusta National hasn’t had a spotless history, and there is ample evidence to support the contention that it’s slow to change of the meaningful and certainly necessary kind. For instance, it didn’t have a single female for a member up until 2012 — and not before significant public pushback from outside interests prompted its caretakers to reexamine its values, indeed, even while chairman Hootie Johnson contended otherwise, “at the point of a bayonet.” In any case, change did come, and, most importantly, continues to come, as evidenced by the course’s crowning of its first Women’s Amateur champion yesterday.

Timeliness may not be one of Augusta National’s virtues, but timelessness definitely is the biggest. For all the tweaking it has done to Tiger-proof its pride and joy, the venue for the Masters continues to be golf’s most intimidating — and awe-inspiring — risk-reward test. It’s why those casting moist eyes on the Green Jacket invariably declare their first shot of the competition to be the hardest; the gravity of their situation as both an opportunity and a challenge sinks in as they are introduced on the first tee. And in the midst of their respective rounds, they are compelled to come up with shots as picture-perfect as the well-appointed layout they feel privileged to negotiate.

The Masters isn’t the best at everything, to be sure. The British Open offers an unparalleled real-links feel. The United States Open requires the most of shotmaking. The PGA Championship is unabashedly egalitarian. On the other hand, it’s the finest at evoking emotions battle-hardened players are conditioned to precisely keep in check. Little wonder, then, that Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez, all-time greats with 145 professional victories between them, couldn’t help but get teary-eyed yesterday — even though they were around simply for ceremonial tee shots.

So, yes, the Masters will again dominate discussion for the foreseeable future. And, yes, it will in and of itself drive discourses as the site of four day’s worth of gripping golf. It’s the sum total of the experiences of those fortunate enough to have walked its fairways and greens, and its mere promise of more helps it keep its status as first among equals.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

March inflation below expectation, gives BSP policy space

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
and Carmina Angelica V. Olano, Researcher

INFLATION further eased for the fifth straight month in March, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported, lending support to the central bank’s view that price increases will ease this year even as officials signaled caution against swift plans to cut policy rates.

March’s headline rate of 3.3% — the slowest since January 2018’s 3.4% — was down from 3.8% in February and 4.3% in the same month last year. It also fell within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 3.1%-3.9% forecast for March and the 3.5% median estimate in a BusinessWorld poll of analysts.

Year-to-date, inflation is at 3.8%, marking the return to the BSP’s target range for 2019. This also puts price movements on track towards the central bank’s three percent forecast for the entire year.

Core inflation, which excludes commodities prone to volatile price swings, went down to 3.5% in March from 3.9% in February.

The PSA attributed the downtrend primarily to the slower annual increase in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverage index at 3.4% in March from 4.7% in February and 5.9% in March 2018.

The PSA also noted slower annual markups in the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 10.8% in March from 12.2% in February; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 3.4% from 3.7%; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house at 3.4% from 3.8%; health at 3.9% from 4.2%; communication at 0.3% from 0.4%; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services at 3.7% from 4%.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said the slower-than-expected 3.3% inflation rate last month is “certainly good news,” but noted that emerging risks may affect price dynamics.

Mr. Diokno flagged emerging price risks from a “stronger and prolonged” El Niño episode and the continued rise in global crude oil prices, even if the global economic slowdown and the local budget impasse could keep prices at bay.

“Against this backdrop, the BSP will continue to keep a close watch over price developments in the country and shall consider all relevant information at its next monetary policy meeting on May 9 to ensure that the monetary policy stance remains consistent with the BSP’s primary mandate of price stability,” Mr. Diokno said via text message.

The BSP chief has repeatedly said that he is seeing room to ease interest rates, although the Monetary Board voted last month to keep policy settings on hold. The policymakers said they still need to confirm if the inflation downtrend will be sustained, as they only had the data for the first two months of 2019 at the time.

In a statement, the National Economic and Development Authority said the signing of the Rice Tariffication Law has helped ease food prices, together with the end of the three-month closed fishing season in the Visayas. Malacañang also said that they are “confident” that the downward inflation path will be sustained.

Market watchers have been calling for a May 9 rate cut, saying that it will mark the first step to undo last year’s 175 basis points of rate increases.

TIME TO LOOSEN MONETARY POLICY?
Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank N.V. Manila, said conditions are ripe for policy easing.

“With inflation now more firmly entrenched, inflation expectations anchored and demand-side pressures to inflation limited, we do expect the BSP to finally consider reducing reserves in the near term and slashing its policy rate at the May 9 meeting given signs of growth slowing after several institutions scaling back their growth projections for the year,” Mr. Mapa said in a statement to reporters.

For Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc. (UnionBank) chief economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, a cut in the reserve requirement ratio is “more likely” in the coming months than a cut in interest rates.

“However, a 50-basis point cut this year is not being ruled out. These RRP (reverse repurchase rate) cuts may come in the second half of 2019 as inflation expectations become more anchored.”

For his part, BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said they still need to “be very careful” in setting local interest rates, in the context of a global economic slowdown.

“We need to see a clear disinflationary trend established by more observations of within target monthly inflation readings with year-to-date inflation firmly settling within the range. We also want to see inflationary expectations turning out in broad consistency with the inflation objective,” Mr. Guinigundo said in a separate text message.

“A good outlook in inflation is consistent with the effort to achieve higher output growth because that encourages both consumption expenditure and domestic capital formation,” Mr. Guinigundo added.

OUTLOOK
As for inflation, analysts were optimistic that the pace of general price increases will be kept within the BSP’s target range even as price pressures remain, particularly on food and transport.

“2019 inflation is expected to be in a downtrend as food supplies normalize and as global gasoline prices remain at current levels,” UnionBank’s Mr. Asuncion said.

However, “a higher-than-expected rise in global oil prices can definitely hamper UnionBank’s Economic Research Unit’s 2019 inflation view including food supply shocks due to weather disturbances such as the El Niño phenomenon,” he added.

For ING Bank’s Mr. Mapa: “With supply chains normalizing, the 2018 inflation pop has faded very quickly with inflation now firmly within target to help solidify expectations for within-target inflation for this year and next.”

“[A]lthough risks to the inflation outlook remain, the threat of oil price spikes and El Niño crop damage all emanate from the supply side of the equation and would be best addressed by measures on the supply side,” he said.

Feb. factory output down for third straight month

Data showed February factory output — as measured by the Volume of Production index — contracted by 8.5% in February 2019. — Reuters

By Christine Joyce S. Castañeda, Senior Researcher

THE country’s industrial production posted its third consecutive month of decline in February, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

Preliminary results of the PSA’s Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) showed that February factory output — as measured by the Volume of Production index — contracted by 8.5%.

The February result marked a third straight month of year-on-year decline after the contractions seen in January at 2.9% and December 2018 at 9.3%. It was also a reversal from the 15.2% growth posted in February 2018.

Year to date, the factory output decline averaged 5.7% versus the 13% growth in 2018’s comparable two months.

The report noted production of eight out of the 20 major industry groups fell, namely: food manufacturing (-19.5%); tobacco products (-4.4%); petroleum products (-0.5%); non-metallic mineral products (-12%); basic metals (-4.5%); machinery except electrical (-2.8%); electrical machinery (-8.2%); and furniture and fixtures (-6.5%).

In comparison, the Nikkei Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was 51.9 in February, lower than January’s 52.3, but higher than February 2018’s 50.8.

A PMI reading above 50 signals improvement in business conditions from the preceding month, while a score below that point indicates deterioration.

Average capacity utilization — the extent by which industry resources are being used in the production of goods — was estimated at 84.3%. Eleven of the 20 sectors registered capacity utilization rates of 80% and above.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) economist Michael L. Ricafort ascribed the continued decline in factory output to higher base effects, the downward trend in inflation, and “uncertainties” brought by the proposed rationalization of fiscal incentives and slower global economic growth.

“On local factors, the declining trend in both inflation and interest rates may have caused some manufacturers to wait for loan rates to go down further to save on borrowing costs… As a result, the borrowings for new and expansion projects, as well as for working capital, of some manufacturers may have been delayed/deferred…,” Mr. Ricafort said in an email.

Inflation further eased for the fifth straight month in March, the latest PSA data showed. Headline inflation was recorded at 3.3% in March, down from 3.8% in February and 4.3% a year earlier.

“On external factors, slower global economic growth and outlook largely due to the lingering trade war between the US and China, China’s recent economic growth among the slowest in about thirty years, [and] uncertainties related to Brexit that slowed down the economies of the UK and some European countries… have slowed down the demand/growth in exports and in related manufacturing industries locally,” Mr. Ricafort said.

The economist also noted that uncertainties related to the proposed rationalization of fiscal incentives may have led manufacturers to take a “wait-and-see” attitude before making new or additional investments in manufacturing facilities.

In a phone interview, Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) Chairman Jesus L. Arranza said the contraction may be attributed to the decrease in demand of locally-produced goods due to increased imports, particularly food products.

“We have been importing a lot especially from China. If you look at food, you go to supermarkets, almost all are imported,” Mr. Arranza surmised.

Separate PSA data showed that in January, imports of consumer goods — which made up 17.8% of the total — grew 19.1% year-on-year. Imports of food and live animals, mainly for food, also increased by 22.8%.

Looking forward, Mr. Arranza said that the government should encourage corporate and non-corporate entities to support locally-produced goods for factory output to improve.

In a statement, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the increase in demand during the summer season, election-related spending, and the easing inflation could help the sector recover.

“Despite [the decline in the volume and value of production indices], the heightened election-related spending will drive up demand for goods and services leading up to May and improve domestic demand in the second quarter of the year,” NEDA quoted its Officer-in-Charge (OIC) and Undersecretary Adoracion M. Navarro as saying.

For RCBC’s Mr. Ricafort, the easing inflation trend would lead to higher disposable income for consumers and businesses, which in turn, may lift factory production.

“Greater clarity on the proposed rationalization of fiscal incentives under the TRABAHO (Tax Reform for Attracting Better and Higher-Quality Opportunities) bill…, as well as the proposed gradual reduction in corporate income taxes, could again encourage some increase in investments in the manufacturing sector, especially by foreign/multinational companies,” he added.

The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading the TRABAHO bill or House Bill No. 8083 which covers the reduction of corporate income tax and the rationalization of fiscal incentives.

Duterte says gov’t should seek a ‘compromise’ with China over Pag-asa

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Thursday said the government should seek a compromise with China over the Philippine’s Pag-asa Island, saying the country would never win if it went to war over it.

Mr. Duterte stressed though that he will never allow Beijing to touch the island, which is part of the Municipality of Kalayaan, Palawan.

“I assure you, unless China wants a war with us, eh ’di ako papayag kung pati ’yung Pag-asa i-occupy nila (I will not agree that they occupy even Pag-asa). No, of course not,” the President said in a televised interview with reporters in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan on Thursday night.

“We go into a compromise for the time being…. If we go to war or there is a violent conflict, we would never win and I would suffer beyond imagination. I would just go there send my soldiers and policemen to be slaughtered. I am not prepared to do that,” he added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued a statement saying “the presence of Chinese vessels near and around Pag-asa (Island) and other maritime features in the KIG (Kalayaan Islands Group) is illegal.”

Mr. Duterte said, “We say it’s ours because of the economic zone that is given to us. Then they say it’s part of their territory. That’s why there is a conflict not only with us but with the peripheral countries around China Sea.”

The DFA clarified the island is “an integral part of the Philippines over which it has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.”

The Armed Forces of the Philippines-Western Command (AFP-WesCom) confirmed recently that it spotted at least 275 Chinese vessels near Pag-asa Island.

“Moreover, it has been observed that Chinese vessels have been present in large numbers and for sustained and recurring periods — what is commonly referred to as ‘swarming’ tactics — raising questions about their intent as well as concerns over their role in support of coercive objectives,” DFA further said.

For his part, the President said: “And I assure you that if they kill or arrest people there who are Filipinos, then that would be the time that we will have to decide on what to do.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

Portions of EDSA, C-5, Katipunan to be closed over the weekend for rehab work

THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is advising motorists who plan to take EDSA and the Circumferential Road 5 (C-5) this weekend to instead take alternate routes as it will be conducting road rehabilitation work on these two thoroughfares over the next two days.

In a statement released on Friday, the DPWH said it will be reblocking one lane of EDSA southbound from New York St. to Monte de Piedad in Quezon City, and one lane of EDSA northbound from near the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Magallanes station up to Makati.

On C-5, it said the affected portion will be the southbound lanes from the Ortigas Flyover to Tiendesitas in Pasig City, and the northbound lanes near SM Aura in Taguig.

It also said the southbound truck lane at Katipunan Ave. from C.P. Garcia up to near Gonzales St., after F. Dela Rosa St. will also undergo rehabilitation work.

“Due to expected traffic slowdown in affected areas, motorists are advised to take possible alternate routes, until sections re-open at 5 a.m. Monday, April 8, 2019,” the DPWH said.

The road rehabilitation activities will begin at 11 p.m. on Friday. — Denise A. Valdez

Seven dead in clash between AFP troops, Abu Sayyaf

THREE soldiers and four pro-Islamic State militants were killed, and a total of 22 wounded during a brief, but intense, firefight on a remote southern island on Friday, the military said.

Troops of the elite 5th Scout Ranger Battalion clashed with about 80 members of the Abu Sayyaf group in the town of Patikul in Sulu province, said Colonel Gerry Besana, spokesman for the military’s Western Mindanao Command.

“The 30-minute fierce firefight resulted (in) four killed and nine wounded on the enemy side,” he said.

The notorious Abu Sayyaf group has been known for extortion, kidnappings, beheadings and bombings, and has pledged allegiance to Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.

The group in Patikul was believed to be led by Abu Sayyaf leader Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, identified by security authorities as the mastermind in a church bombing in Sulu in January.

The bombing, which killed more than 20 people and wounded more than 100, including civilians and soldiers, was a suicide attack by an Indonesian couple helped by the Abu Sayyaf group, authorities have said.

Mr. Besana said 13 soldiers and nine militants were wounded during the latest clash in Patikul, where troops have been pursuing those behind the church attack.

The soldiers’ injuries were mostly slight, from shrapnel, and they were now in stable condition, he added. But the whereabouts and condition of the injured militants were unknown.

Reuters could not immediately verify the military report. — Reuters

Duterte urges prosecutors to coordinate with police over their protection

In light of a spate of assassinations of prosecutors across the country, President Rodrigo R. Duterte has urged prosecutors to coordinate with law enforcement agencies in crafting measures that would protect them and their families.

In a speech at the 31st Annual Convention of the Prosecutors’ League of the Philippines held in Puerto Princesa City on Thursday, April 4, Mr. Duterte noted that there have been “assassinations of prosecutors across the country.”

He said that law enforcement agencies have been ordered to expedite the investigation of all these assassinations.

“I also encourage the leadership of the Prosecutors’ League to work with the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the other relevant agencies to come up with solutions on how to better protect our prosecutors and [their] families,’ the President said.

He further said that he would welcome suggestions that aim to protect them.

“Options, all, are on the table. Anong gusto ninyo? Baril? (What do you want? Guns?) I will allow it,” he said.

“Kung kaso lang na sa trabaho ninyo (If cases are filed against you for doing your job), I will do everything to protect you. Kagaya rin ng pulis na ano… (Just like the police) Bakit — bakit ka magkulong? (Why should get jailed?) Why do you suffer for doing your duty?” he added.

Mr. Duterte also acknowledged the importance of their role in the administration of justice.

“As a former prosecutor, I understand the very important role that you play in the administration of justice, which unfortunately involves antagonizing lawless elements, hardened criminals, and their powerful backers,” he said.

“With the valuable help of the Prosecutors’ League, I am confident that we can further strengthen, improve, and reform the entire National Prosecution Service so that you may all become efficient, credible, impartial, and incorruptible prosecutors upon whom our people may depend on whenever they feel wronged or aggrieved,” the President said further. — Arjay L. Balinbin

House member demands senators show their budget realignments

THE squabble over the National Budget continues as House appropriations committee chair and Camarines Sur 1st District Rep. Rolando G. Andaya, Jr. demanded that senators disclose their individual realignments in the 2019 national budget, and Senate officers denied that there were any changes made.

“I do not know why are the senators so afraid of making public their individual realignments. Wala naman tayong dapat itago sa publiko (There is nothing we should hide from the public). As responsible officials tasked with budget authorization, we must all be ready to defend our positions and decisions,” said Mr. Andaya in a statement released on Friday, April 5.

The Camarines Sur representative made the statement after Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III denied on Thursday that Senate made post-ratification adjustments worth P83.9 billion for pet projects.

“Eighty-three what? I don’t even know what he is talking about,” Mr. Sotto told reporters via Viber.

He added, “LBRMO [Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office] and finance comm[committee] can swear to all that we did not touch anything after ratification except what was agreed in bicam.”

For her part, the Senate’s Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office director general Yolanda D. Doblon said in a statement: “We are at the Committee on Appropriations Office to prepare for the printing of the enrolled bill. Preparation of the enrolled bill requires the presence of the technical staff of both Houses to ensure that the amendments are carried in accordance with the Bicameral Conference Committee.”

She added that “there is no need for the Congressman to furnish the Senators a copy of the CCTV of the House of Representatives.”

Further, Ms. Doblon said that the alleged amendments were “already made to known to the public.”

However, Mr. Andaya slammed the LBRMO chief’s claim: “What I cannot understand is her explanation that the senators’ realignments were already made known to the public…. Kung matagal na pong alam ito ng publiko, hindi na ito ibabalita ng media (If this was already made known to the public, then the media should not have reported about it). Journalists do no report old news.”

Mr. Andaya added, “I was forced to make full disclosure of the budget cuts and their realignments after the senators refused to come out clean on the issue. The taxpaying public cannot be kept in the dark as far as government expenditures are concerned. They need to know where their taxes go.”

Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said on Thursday that President Rodrigo R. Duterte has “no choice but to veto” the items in the 2019 national budget identified by the Senate President as “unconstitutional realignments.”

Meanwhile, House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently said that Malacañang is expected to sign the budget bill soon. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

ICC starts prelim exam of NUPL complaints vs Duterte

THE International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague has started its preliminary examination of the complaints filed by the National Union of People’s Lawyer (NUPL) against President Rodrigo R. Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity.

In a letter received by NUPL on April 4, the ICC said: “It appears that your communication relates to a situation already under preliminary examination by the Office of the Prosecutor. Accordingly, your communication will be analyzed in this context, with the assistance of other related communications and other available information.”

In August last year, NUPL assisted the families of victims of alleged extrajudicial killings in filling a complaint before the ICC on the government’s crackdown on illegal drugs and criminality.

Lawyer Jude Sabio filed the first complaint against Mr. Duterte for crimes against humanity before the ICC in April 2017.

The ICC added that “analysis will be carried out as expeditiously as possible, but please be aware that meaningful analysis of these factors can take some time.

“As soon as the decision is taken whether there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation, we will advise you promptly and we will provide reasons for the decision,” the letter said.

Malacañang reiterated its claim that it was never a party to the Rome Statute which created the ICC. This even though the Philippines officially withdrew from the ICC on March 17, one year after the note verbale on the country’s withdrawal was sent to the United Nations.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo had previously said that the ICC’s probe into the government’s deadly war on drugs is a form of interference. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

He knows that is against the Constitution: VP Leni Robredo

VICE-President Maria Leonor G. Robredo Ms. Robredo expressed her disappointment over the president’s threat to suspend the writ of habeas corpus and declare a “revolutionary war,” and said she is ready to take his place if need be.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Thursday threatened to suspend the writ of habeas corpus after critics cautioned him over his order for a review of all government contracts. The president then followed this up with a warning that he would declare a “revolutionary war” which would last until his term ends in 2022.

Speaking at the the Annual Convention of the Prosecutor’s League of the Philippines on April 4 in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, he said “Pero ’pag ako ang pinaabot niyo ng sagad, I will declare a suspension of writ of habeas corpus and I will arrest all of you. Isama ko kayo sa mga kriminal, rebelde, pati dorogista. (If you push me to my limit, I will declare a suspension of writ of habeas corpus and I will arrest all of you. I will put you together with the criminals, rebels, and drug lords.)

“Pahirapan mo ako, I will declare a revolutionary war until the end of my term. (If you give me a hard time, I will declare a a revolutionary war until the end of my term),” he continued.

Ms. Robredo expressed her disappointment over the president’s remarks during the Ahon Laylayan Koalisyon Launch in Bohol on Friday. She said to reporters, “Iyong pagdeklara ng Pangulo ng revolutionary government, medyo nagulat ako dahil abogado siya, at alam niya na labag ito sa Konstitusyon…. Kaming dalawa, pareho kaming nanumpa na ipagtatanggol namin ang Konstitusyon ng Republika ng Pilipinas (When the President said he would declare a revolutionary government, I was surprised because he is a lawyer and he knows it is a violation of the Constitution. Both of us have sworn to protect the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines).”

This wasn’t the first time Mr. Duterte said that he would suspend the writ of habeas corpus. The former Davao mayor made similar statements in 2016 saying this is a way to address persistent crime in the country, particularly drug-related crimes.

Habeas corpus is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court.

Ms. Robredo stressed that Mr. Duterte’s actions that appeal to public fear is irresponsible on his part.

“Maraming kahirapan, maraming mga frustrations, pero iyong pagsagot sa mga pagsubok at kahirapan, dapat within constitutional means… Hindi puwedeng dahil, parang, nag-alburoto ka, parang tatakutin iyong taumbayan sa isang paraan na hindi constitutional (There are so many difficulties, many frustrations, but you answer the trials and difficulties within constitutional means… you cannot, just because you are outraged, scare the people in a way that is unconstitutional),” she said.

Reacting to Senatorial bet Romulo B. Macalintal, who said that Ms. Robredo would automatically become president if Mr. Duterte pursued setting up a revolutionary government, Ms. Robredo says she is ready to take the role.

“Iyong lahat naman na kumakandidato na pangalawang pangulo, dapat ready na, ready sa ganiyang eventuality, kasi iyon naman iyong mandato ng opisina… mayroong ganiyang dapat na klaseng paghahanda, dahil iyon naman ang mandato ng aming opisina (Everyone who is a candidate for vice-president, they should be ready for that eventuality because that is the mandate of our office… there should be that kind of preparation because that is the mandate of our office),” she stressed. — Gillian M. Cortez

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