Malacañang ready to defend anti-loitering drive before Congress, court
PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON Harry L. Roque, Jr. on Thursday said the administration welcomes the proposed Congressional investigations on President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s anti-loitering campaign. Mr. Roque said the planned inquiries in both the Senate and House of Representatives would even be helpful, especially if these lead to the drafting of laws that would improve the implementation of the campaign that largely uses local ordinances as basis. “So we welcome the Congressional investigations and we welcome also challenges before the Supreme Court. The President has said so,” the spokesperson said in a press briefing at the Palace. He also said the administration does not intend to criminalize vagrancy. “We are not criminalizing vagrancy po. We are implementing the laws and ordinances and it is a form of higher police visibility intended to act as deterrent towards the commission of crimes,” he said. Asked if the campaign is not in violation of Republic Act No. 10158, an act decriminalizing vagrancy, Mr. Roque replied: “Hindi po, hindi po (No, no). (The) decriminalization… is (only) a particular crime of vagrancy under the Revised Penal Code, and that’s without prejudice to other existing ordinances.”— Arjay L. Balinbin
Aguirre files libel complaint vs PDI, Tulfo
FORMER JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II has filed a libel complaint against columnist Ramon T. Tulfo, Jr., and several editors and officers of newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) and sister publication, the tabloid Bandera. The charges are based on articles which Mr. Aguirre claimed to be, not only false, fictitious and untrue, but are wholly libelous, scurrilous, defamatory, malicious, and derogatory.” In his 29-page complaint submitted before the Manila City Prosecutor’s Office, Mr. Aguirre charged Mr. Tulfo, PDI officers Marixi R. Prieto, Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez, and Renato R. Reinoso with 12 counts of cyberlibel and ten counts of libel, in violation of Republic Act No. 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act) and Articles 253, 355, and 360 of the Revised Penal Code. Also charged were editors Jose Ma. D. Nolasco, Rosario A. Garcellano, and Abelardo S. Ulanday, along with “other responsible corporate officers, publishers, editors, and managers of (PDI).” Meanwhile, Bandera Publisher Eileen G. Mangubat and editors Dona B. Policar and Jimmy I. Alcantara face 10 counts of libel. Mr. Aguirre is seeking damages of P1 as “a symbolic amount in principle to end the proliferation of fake news and its appurtenant lies and calumny against anyone in this country.”— Dane Angelo M. Enerio
ACB lauds efforts to cut plastic waste
THE ASSOCIATION of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) has lauded the initiatives of member states to cut plastic wastes in markets and restaurants, citing Los Baños in the Philippines as one example. ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim said the use of plastic bags has been regulated and plastic straws have been banned in the town located about 68 kilometers south of the capital. In several other parts of the Philippines, public markets and supermarket chains have launched campaigns to encourage customers to bring their own bags. In Brunei, shoppers are encouraged to bring their own reusable bags, while Vietnam establishments have introduced eco-friendly bags. Major supermarket chains in Cambodia, meanwhile, charge shoppers $0.10 per plastic bag, while Singapore has started to ban the use of plastic utensils for dine-in customers this month. Thailand has launched a campaign to reduce the use of plastic. — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato
