(Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates "Soc" Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, wrote the following open letter to his mentor, the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, for the 31st anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution of February 25, 1986. Villegas was the long-time private secretary of Sin.) 

Dear Cardinal Sin,

It is you I miss most these days.

I do not mean to disturb your peace. You already have passed from this valley of tears to the House of the Father, but please Cardinal Sin, do not forget us in our present travails as a nation. I know you can receive this message. I believe. Nothing can separate you from us in the Lord. You love this country so much. You will not let us lose our hope.

I know you can hear me, and I know you are here. As I know your love for this country, I also believe that in heaven your heart pleads to the heart of God to embrace this beautiful land. Cardinal Sin, embrace us and ask God to embrace your God loving people. Do not look at the blessings we have squandered and the heroism we have ridiculed. Do not look at the news we have faked and the people we have cheated. Do not look at our uncaring attitude about the victims of extrajudicial killings now exceeding the number of victims during martial law.  (READ: CBCP denounces 'reign of terror' in Duterte drug war)

Look at us in our fears and pray for us to God to heal our land. Give is courage. Give us hope. Shake us up from our timidity. 

Thirty one years after EDSA 1986, I hear our people ask: What shall we celebrate? What is there to celebrate?  By the corner of EDSA and Ortigas, I want to sit and weep as I remember the four glorious days of February 1986 now dimmed. The glory now flickers in the darkness of fear and terror again. The songs of peace now drowned by the cuss words of hate that invite murder. The bloodless revolt now stained by the blood in our streets and street gutters. The statistics of unresolved murder continues to rise, and not a single one has been investigated and brought to justice.

Four days of bloodless revolution! Wow!

Now 8 months of relentless killings of the poor in the name of "change"! It is a nightmare, Your Eminence! It is a shame.

'Did you also cry quietly?'

The dictator ousted by People Power is now buried among heroes. The Lady of 1,200 pairs of shoes is now Representative in Congress. History books are rewritten. Historical memory is revised. The hero is a villain. The plunderers are now heroes. Thank God, Eminence, you did not see these days we are going through.

Tears flow. Uncertainties choke us. It is hard to choose silence and take the blows. How long can we endure? It is hard to fight for the right without question or pause and be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause. You remember that song Eminence? That was your favorite line I remember. Singing it again makes me smile and makes me tear.

Did you also cry quietly in the dark years of the dictatorship? Were you ever discouraged and did you also question yourself if what you were doing was right? Were you ever afraid or did you ever feel the urge to stay in your zone of comfort instead of fighting the unbeatable foe?

Cardinal Sin, I feel the same and you know that. I know many feel this way. Teach us how to cope. Teach us your courage. Teach us your humor. Teach us your faith.  Teach us righteous indignation. Wake us up from our pacifism and pull us into the fire of passion and courage again.

They are looking for you, but you are not here. They are waiting for your voice, but they cannot hear. They want to see you again, but you seem so far away now. Is it wrong to miss you?

Can we still celebrate EDSA People Power? I asked you that years ago and you said, "Yes we must celebrate because EDSA is people! Please celebrate even when Cory and I are gone."

'Our people's cry, God's loving reply'

For as long as there is a child willing to right the unrightable wrong;
for as long as there is a young man willing to reach the unreachable star even if his hands have grown weary; for as long as there is a war-weary soldier willing to smile at  a colegiala who bravely puts a flower onto the muzzle of his gun; for as long as there is priest willing to offer the Mass for the healing of this broken and bleeding land…this land may be ruled by tyrants and killers, murderers may win in elections, plunderers may grin at the ignorant voters they have cheated, trolls may keep hurling invectives at their peace loving countrymen, commanders may prostitute the meaning of EDSA…but we will still celebrate.

For EDSA is not about the enemies of peace and democracy but the faith and bravery of a people who called upon the Lord in their distress and whose cry the Lord has heard from heaven. EDSA is our people's cry and our God’s loving reply.

In your final years, Your Eminence, you saw how that spirit was diluted and some even wanted it reversed. But you were firm to remind me even from your sickbed that EDSA is heroic courage and will always be. What the pimps of that spirit have done cannot remove the purity of EDSA’s valor and the nobility of its lesson. The EDSA spirit is pure worth celebrating always. It is people who have raped it.

Against all odds, Cardinal Sin, we will remember. We will give thanks. We will challenge ourselves to live for God and to live for country as you did.

Rest now, Cardinal Sin. You have left us lessons to last us many lifetimes. All we must do is to keep on remembering and to keep the fire aglow. You have passed on that torch to us and we will not fail you. Promise!

Hug me in my dreams. Embrace me in my prayer. Guide me by your memory. Please hug my parents for me in the Father’s House.

Lovingly,

Soc

– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The eldest daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte slammed Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas for claiming her father "single-handedly defaced" the memory of the EDSA People Power Revolution.

For this, she declares that Villegas is "truly, madly, deeply worse than a hundred President Dutertes."

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte said her father understands the significance of the 1986 revolution, recalling how, on that day, he had told his children never to forget the event.

"On the evening of February 25, 1986, I was playing in dreamland when my father interrupted my slumber and told me to get dressed because we have to go downtown.

"While we were huddled in the car, he told us, 'Timan-i ninyo ning gabhiona ni. Ayaw ninyo kalimti (Remember this night. Never forget.),'" she recalled.

She was responding to a letter Villegas wrote to EDSA Revolution icon Jaime Cardinal Sin which was posted on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website.

Villegas, CBCP president, did not mention President Duterte's name in the letter, but he alluded to the administration by mentioning how recent controversies, like the extrajudicial killings linked to the President's drug war, have "dimmed" the spirit of People Power.

He wrote: "By the corner of EDSA and Ortigas, I want to sit and weep as I remember the four glorious days of February 1986 now dimmed. The glory now flickers in the darkness of fear and terror again. The songs of peace now drowned by the cuss words of hate that invite murder. The bloodless revolt now stained by the blood in our streets and street gutters. The statistics of unresolved murder continues to rise and not a single one has been investigated and brought to justice."

He also spoke of the "raping" of the EDSA spirit.

"What the pimps of that spirit have done cannot remove the purity of EDSA's valor and the nobility of its lesson. The EDSA spirit is pure worth celebrating always. It is people who have raped it," wrote the religious leader.

'Delusional hypocrites'

Though she recognizes the importance of the EDSA Revolution, Mayor Duterte lamented how it has become the "standard definition of freedom for our country" which is being "forced down our throats" by people like Villegas and the "elite."

While Villegas has recently been vocal about the controversies facing the Duterte administration, Mayor Duterte claimed he had been silent in the face of the failures of the administration of Benigno Aquino III, son of democracy icons Ninoy and Corazon Aquino.

Villegas, she said, is among the "delusional hypocrites" who do not understand why many people have pinned their hopes on her father.

Mayor Duterte wrote: "You preach about freedom as if you invented it, as if it is your gift to us. Let me tell you what freedom is. It is to live a life that is free from your selective moral standard. This is what the meaning of EDSA is."

Critics of the Duterte administration, including Vice President Leni Robredo, have expressed disappointment over the "simple" and "quiet" EDSA Revolution anniversary being held this year.

But the Palace has said the government is "not downgrading" the celebration and is keeping it low-key given the other major events it is organizing this year, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Biñan City Representative Marlyn Alonte denied allegations she bribed high-profile New Bilibid Prison (NBP) inmates for them to recant their testimonies against Senator Leila de Lima.

"Okay, unang-una po, wala akong kakilala sa kahit sinong inmates na sinasabi nila. Ikalawa ho, 'di ako tumawag at 'di ako nakisali sa ganyang gawain," Alonte told dzMM on Friday, February 24.

(Okay, first of all, I do not know any of the inmates they are referring to. Secondly, I neither made the call nor am I involved in that kind of activity.) 

On Thursday, February 23, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II alleged that two politicians from the once ruling Liberal Party (LP) – a former senator and an incumbent congressman – supposedly offered P100 million to the NBP convicts who said during a House probe that De Lima allowed the proliferation of drugs at the national penitentiary when she was still justice secretary. (READ: The public trial of Leila de Lima) 

Aguirre then named Alonte and former senator Jamby Madrigal as the people who made the bribe in a separate dzMM interview on Friday.

An arrest warrant has already been served against De Lima, who is facing multiple drug charges. The fiercest critic of President Rodrigo Duterte has already surrendered to the police. (READ: Emotional De Lima vows to fight charges, seeks prayers for safety in jail)

Alonte ran for congresswoman as a member of the LP but later jumped to Duterte’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban). 

While she was surprised that her name was involved, Alonte said she is willing to face Aguirre and even be subjected to a lie detector test.

"Ako po ay under sa leadership ni President Duterte. Ako po ay tumatayo bilang isang PDP-Laban member. 'Di ko po sisirain ang pangalan ng partido," she said.  

(I am under the leadership of President Duterte. I am standing as a PDP-Laban member. I will not destroy the name of the party.) 

The congresswoman added that she does not know Madrigal personally.

Alonte plans to reach out to Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who is also PDP-Laban secretary-general.

She is currently facing a plunder complaint over the alleged overpriced purchase of land to be used for Biñan's public cemetery.

Destabilization plot?

Alvarez said in a dzMM interview on Friday that he would be looking into the allegations against Alonte.

"Kinakailangan talaga nating alamin iyan, ang puno’t-dulo niyan, dahil makikita natin 'yung pattern doon sa panggugulo ng kasalukuyang gobyerno (We need to get to the bottom of this because we can see a pattern in destroying the current government)," said Alvarez.

He cited the retraction of SPO3 Arturo "Arthur" Lascañas of his denial on the involvement of Duterte in the so-called Davao Death Squad when the latter was still Davao City mayor.

"Unang-una, involved nga din daw sa allegations yung si Congresswoman Len Alonte-Naguiat, ito ay relative noong dating PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) chairman yata. So alamin natin iyan, kasi malaki ang pera na naglalaro dito. Talagang ginagastahan nila ito just to…'yung i-destablize yung gobyerno natin," said Alvarez.

(First of all, Congresswoman Len Alonte-Naguiat is a relative of the former PAGCOR chairman, I think. So we will look into this because huge sums of money are involved here. They really are spending money just to destabilize the govenrment.)

Former PAGCOR chairperson Cristino Naguiat Jr is the cousin of Naguiat's father-in-law.

Cristino Naguiat Jr faced allegations that improper gifts were received by PAGCOR officials from a foreign firm in 2012. – Rappler.com 

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Leila de Lima surrendered to the Philippine National Police on Friday, February 24, over drug charges filed against her by the Department of Justice.

De Lima said her arrest is driven by President Rodrigo Duterte's "fixation of revenge" against her, rooted in her investigation of the Davao Death Squad when she chaired the Commission on Human Rights. The goal, she claimed, is to "silence" his fiercest critic.

She called out the Duterte administration for basing the charges against her on the testimonies of convicts involved in the drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison, some tapped as state witnesses in the cases.  (READ: EXPLAINER: What is Leila de Lima being accused of?)

In a statement she released as she neared detention, De Lima called on the people to be vigilant against human rights abuses in the government's war on drugs, to fight any attempt to return to a dictatorship, and to protect the Constitution.

Here is her full statement:

What we have feared has come. My arrest is an appalling sign of the return of a power-hungry, morally bankrupt and abusive government.

As we expected, the Department of Justice filed criminal cases against me based on manufactured stories accusing me of involvement in the drug trade.

According to the mastermind of the filing of cases against me – none other than President Rodrigo Duterte: “She has to face the music. It took months to develop the case.”

They really have such nerve, all of them!  Of course it would take you this long to manufacture lies against me! There must be so much Fentanyl in Mr Duterte’s brain, for him to have the gall to boast of the testimonies of their witnesses who are convicted drug lords, and whose statements contradict each other.

Liars! Hypocrites!

As reward for testifying against me, this administration, through the Department of Justice restored the privileges of these inmates – the very same privileges that I put an end to during my term as the Secretary of Justice.

Their revolting plan: convicted criminals become state witnesses so they can be exonerated from their crimes. They are not the heroes that this administration is forcing us to believe.

Where else in the world have you seen drug lords turned into state witnesses? All they have ever done is to follow the badly-written script of this administration to pin me down with baseless accusations for their personal gain.

From the very beginning, we have seen the brand of injustice his regime is pushing for. As they continue to malign and persecute me, meanwhile, Mr Vitaliano Aguirre of the DOJ coddled prisoners in exchange for their testimonies, and Solicitor General Jose Calida sought the acquittal of the convicted kidnapper and indicted mastermind of pork barrel scandal Janet Lim Napoles.

From the very beginning, I knew that this regime would not seek true justice. The filing of criminal cases against me is only the fulfillment of Mr Duterte’s fixation for revenge against me, because of my investigation of the Davao Death Squad when I was then the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights.

The Filipino people know your style, Mr President. To put the rule of law in your hands, silence your critics, and destroy those who will go against your caprices.

Actually, this should no longer surprise us. If the President supported a policy of killing the poor and drug offenders, what is then stopping him from doing whatever comes into his head: absolve big time drug lords, acquit a kidnapper and queen of pork barrel scandal, fabricate stories and plant evidence against his critics, which he admitted he used to do when he was a fiscal, and continue killing the poor with impunity.

We all know now that every action of the President has no clear basis. He does it on a whim. Not because it is right or wrong, but because he can do it, and we are letting him. This is impunity. Whatever he does, he is confident that he is free from any punishment.

This all started when he discovered as Mayor of Davao City that he could kill people without accountability. Truth is, even though he has killed over 1,000 in Davao and over 7,000 throughout the Philippines with his death squads and rogue police, he has yet to pay for it under the law. 

But perhaps now he can be made accountable for his horrible crime against humanity.

Recently, the President’s right-hand man in the Davao Death Squad, police officer Arturo Lascañas, finally revealed himself. Just like his former comrade, Edgar Matobato, he too made a public confession about the killings they carried out in Davao City upon the orders of President Duterte himself. He, together with police officer Sanson “Sonny” Buenaventura, are the brains and hands of President Duterte in any of the Davao Death Squad operations.

With the revelation of Lascañas, there is no more doubt that our President is a murderer and a sociopathic serial killer. This is also the reason why we are experiencing all the madness in government under this regime that is being led by the number one criminal in the entire Philippines, if not in the whole world, none other than President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

Let’s not ask anymore how come there seems to be a reunion of questionable characters under the Duterte regime—from the Marcoses, to Arroyo, and up to Napoles, together with their lawyers and operators. Also, there are the main enforcers of President Duterte’s orders—Secretary Aguirre and SolGen Calida who are among the abusive and arrogant officials in our government. Let’s no longer ask why, during the Duterte regime, all the criminals, the corrupt, the savages, and those with evil souls have returned and are thriving. 

I speak before you with honor and integrity as my only defense. As former Human Rights Chairperson and Justice Secretary, I can look everyone straight in the eye and say: My track record as a public servant has never been tarnished by any wrongdoing, except until now based on manufactured lies. I have never used and will never use my position for my personal interest.

I am innocent. I have never betrayed and I will never betray the trust of my country and the Filipino people.

Clearly, this administration has evil and dangerous plans: to make an example of me to intimidate, silence, and destroy anyone who dares challenge them; to draw public attention away from the government’s abuses and failures; and to cover up their most murderous war on drugs. In the past 7 months, the death toll of this war has exceeded the number of deaths recorded during the 14 years of Martial Law and the Marcos regime.

This fight is not mine alone. This fight is our fight for the victims of government’s failed war on drugs, especially for 7-year-old Saniño Butucan of Cebu, 5-year-olds Danica May Garcia of Pangasinan and Francisco Manosca of Pasay City, and 4-year-old Althea Fhem Barbon of Negros Oriental. Perpetrators of these hideous crimes have no conscience; even worse than them are those in power who allow these to happen.

From all these violence, killings and crooked governance of the Duterte regime, clearly, I am not the Public Enemy No. 1 here, but this regime which has no respect for basic human rights, especially the right to life.

Since the start of his term, Mr Duterte has brought in the entire machinery of the State to silence me, and to destroy my person, credibility and honor as a woman. If they can do this to a sitting Senator, what is stopping this administration from doing the same to ordinary Filipinos?

If they think that by jailing me, I will turn my back on my principles, they are mistaken. Instead, they have encouraged me more to pursue truth and justice.

I have long prepared myself to be a political prisoner of this regime. Rest assured that I will answer all the accusations against me in the proper time and venue. To the best of my ability, I will fulfill my duties as Senator of the Republic. Even in prison, even as I continue to be persecuted by this government, for as long as I live, I will continue fighting the good fight up to my very last breath.

To Mr Duterte: Stop the killings now! Stop harassing me, stop this madness! Instead, the Filipino people are begging for your undivided attention to address the myriad problems our country face.

I call on the members of the Fourth Estate to guard our fragile democracy against attempts to curtail our rights and freedom, and against the return of dictatorship.

I urge people of conscience everywhere: Please pray for the Philippines. I ask you to remain vigilant and continue to fight, so that true justice and respect for human rights prevail. Let us not allow this administration to continue violating our Constitution, disrespecting our laws, and taking the lives of our countrymen.

I am hopeful that we will not remain silent in the face of the daily killings taking place in our midst, the flagrant violations of our fundamental rights, and the deliberate efforts to poison our minds, and that of our children.

Let us fight for our rights, let us fight for justice, let us fight for democracy.

– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine drug war critic Leila de Lima was a highly paid lawyer who switched focus mid-career to human rights, a decision that would draw her into the deadly world of President Rodrigo Duterte.

De Lima was arrested on Friday morning, February 23, on drug trafficking charges she insists are manufactured to silence her opposition to Duterte's anti-crime crackdown, which has claimed more than 6,500 lives in 8 months.

De Lima, 57, began her career as one of the brightest legal prospects in the Philippines, having scored the 8th highest mark in the country's annual lawyer licence exams in 1985.

She worked as a law clerk for the House of Representatives and as a legal aide of a Supreme Court associate justice, while building a successful law practice that specialized in helping prominent politicians in election court challenges.

De Lima helped now-Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III to unseat a Senate election rival, and future senator Alan Peter Cayetano beat a suit alleging he was not a Filipino citizen and therefore not qualified to run for office. (READ: Koko Pimentel, Alan Cayetano: From De Lima clients to critics)

Ironically, Pimentel and Cayetano are now among the most powerful allies of Duterte, a longtime mayor of the southern city of Davao who won presidential elections last year after promising to kill tens of thousands of criminals.

De Lima's life turned in 2008 when she accepted her first government post as chairwoman of the government's independent Commission on Human Rights.

During two years in the job she worked with a small team of lowly paid lawyers, investigating extrajudicial killings, abductions and human rights violations by the Philippines' notoriously corrupt security forces.

Duterte as target

Another one of her main targets was Duterte, who had for years faced allegations of running death squads in Davao that killed hundreds of drug addicts and petty criminals as part of a ruthless anti-crime campaign.

De Lima opened a probe into the so-called Davao Death Squads. (READ: De Lima witness: Duterte 'ordered' killings in Davao)

She left the commission with the probe unfinished in 2010 to become justice secretary in the administration of Benigno Aquino, who swept to power on a pledge to fight corruption.

As justice secretary she prosecuted cases linked to the misuse of huge amounts of legislators' so-called pork-barrel funds, and raided the country's biggest prison to dismantle the perks accorded to inmates convicted of drug offences.

She left the Cabinet in late 2015 to run for the Senate, winning a seat last year at the same time Duterte was elected president. (READ: Hint of 'human rights bias' in De Lima's oath?)

As Duterte launched a Davao-style anti-crime crackdown that would go on to claim thousands of lives, De Lima was one of the few politicians willing to criticize him.

"I will have to destroy her in public," Duterte said in August last year, then proceeded to build a case alleging she was one of the nation's biggest drug traffickers.

"Throughout my entire life, I never imagined myself becoming a victim of a human rights violation myself," De Lima, a divorced mother-of-two, said in October last year as she insisted the charges against her were absurd. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said on Friday, February 24, that the arrest of Senator Leila de Lima was proof that the country’s judicial system "is working."

"Makikita natin na ang hustisya sa ating bansa ay gumagana. Medyo mabagal nga lang, pero makikita natin na talagang ito ay sumusulong (We can see that the justice system in our country is working. It may be slow, but we can see that it is really moving),” Alvarez said in an interview on radio dzMM. 

De Lima, the fiercest critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, surrendered to police on Friday after she was served a warrant for her arrest over drug charges. (READ: Emotional De Lima vows to fight charges, seeks prayers for safety in jail)

Her drug charges stemmed from a House probe into the narcotics trade at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) when she was justice secretary.  

The House committee on justice found links between De Lima, her alleged bagman Ronnie Dayan, and other Bureau of Corrections officials and the  Bilibid drug trade, based on the testimonies of inmates.

Alvarez also slammed the claim of De Lima’s party mates at the Liberal Party that her arrest is nothing but political persecution.

"Siguro 'yung komentaryo na iyan, iyon bang wala ka nang ibang masabi. Dahil nga malinaw naman na kung probable cause pa lamang ang ating pag-uusapan, dahil itong filing of criminal charges, talagang probable cause lang naman 'yung pinag-uusapan dito at hindi pa iyan guilt beyond reasonable doubt,” he said.

(Perhaps that comment is made by people who have anything else to say. Because it is clear in filing of criminal charges, we're only talking about probable cause, not yet guilt beyond reasonable doubt.) 

“Malinaw na malinaw ‘yung lumabas na pagdinig sa House of Representatives, na ang dami pong naging basehan para sampahan siya ng kaso (What was revealed during the hearing at the House of Representatives was very clear, that there is enough basis to file a case against her),” he added.

Alvarez, a longtime political ally and friend of Duterte, has been a tough critic of De Lima.

Alvarez and other House leaders filed an ethics complaint against the embattled senator for telling Dayan to snub the House hearing.

The Speaker also previously called De Lima “stupid” for saying that Duterte can be impeached for admitting he had personally killed criminals. 

‘Open season to hunt opposition’

Opposition lawmakers, however, do not share Alvarez’s sentiments 

Akbayan Representative Tom Villarin called De Lima’s arrest as an “ugly episode.”

“It demeans our sense of justice and fairness. It is now open season to hunt down the political opposition with trumped-up charges and instill fear among our people as we celebrate EDSA People Power,” Villarin told Rappler in a text message. 

Ifugao Representative Teddy Baguilat Jr is also suspicious why De Lima’s arrest warrant was issued on the same week retired Senior Police Officer 3 Arturo “Arthur” Lascañas corroborated the testimony of confessed hitman Edgar Matobato onDuterte's alleged involvement in the Davao Death Squad.

“The timing betrays the deceit coming after the Lascañas testimony and the exposé of the privileges given hardcore convicts who testified against the senator,” said Baguilat. 

De Lima had previously accused Aguirre of rewarding the inmates who testified against her at the congressional inquiry. Some of those inmates have been cleared of drug charges after they were tapped as state witnesses in the cases against De Lima.

President Rodrigo Duterte himself had earlier described two of the cleared inmates – Herbert Colanggo and Peter Co – as drug lords "beyond redemption" who would surely "die" if they left jail during his term. – Rappler.com

MELVILLE, USA – Activists, parents, and transgender students on Thursday, February 23, vowed to resist the Trump administration's "dangerous" reversal of federal protections of bathroom rights, warning it risked exposing young people to hate-fueled violence.

The White House decision to allow states and school districts to decide whether students can access bathrooms of their choice violates civil rights that should be enshrined at the national level, they said.

Fewer than half of all states currently ban public accommodation discrimination based on gender identity while 4 Republican states actively restrict bathroom access or restrict laws that would allow it.

"Things I never imagined happening are just blowing my mind," said Lauren Bocketti, mother of 10-year-old Zach, whose needs she says were always treated fairly at school on Long Island, New York.

"We've been lucky and want everybody to feel lucky," she told a news conference of Long Island parents and transgender students who joined an avalanche of human rights groups already criticizing the move.

"It's not a choice. It's who he is. He knew by two years old who he is. He is a boy. He's a boy trapped in a girl's body," she said.

Madeline Bruni, 18, who began transitioning in middle school, said even in a state as liberal as New York, which now enshrines bathroom rights, life was not easy. A year and a half ago, a restaurant called the police when she used the women's restroom.

'Boggles my mind'

"In this day and age, it just boggles my mind that is something that still goes on," she told reporters.

Ethan Diaz, 16, said that while he had never had a problem, the decision made him angry on behalf of others who had experienced fear and anxiety about using the bathroom.

"New York is a great place to transition, people do feel comfortable," he said. "But for people not in New York, that's the fear."

Toxic schools contribute to higher rates of depression, suicide, homelessness, and HIV infection for transgender young people, activists say.

New York LGBT Network CEO David Kilmnick warned that the decision will increase the stigma attached to transgender youths and put them at "greater risk for hate-motivated violence."

"What this policy does is increase the likelihood of that violence taking place," he told the news conference. "Refusing to protect our most vulnerable youth is both deplorable and dangerous."

Three quarters of transgender students report feeling unsafe at school, more than 40% have been physically abused at school, and over half report skipping school to avoid bullying, Kilmnick said.

He dismissed arguments put forward by conservatives that the protections put in place by former president Barack Obama's administration had put other children at risk.

'High risk' of assault

"We know that the transgender community is not at risk for committing sexual assault, the transgender community is at high risk of being a victim of sexual assault," Kilmnick said.

His network, which he founded 24 years ago, set up a 24-hour hotline on Thursday and is now assembling a team of lawyers to take action against institutions or the federal government if warranted.

The issue will be a rallying cry at a national LGBT march on Washington scheduled for June 11 and Kilmnick said there is an increased urgency for all marginalized groups to unite in protest.

On Thursday, several hundred protesters filled the block outside the historic Stonewall Inn, a landmark of the gay rights movement in New York's Greenwich Village, in support of transgender students.

The crowd held signs proclaiming "Resist," "Protect Trans Youth" and "Trans Rights Are Human Rights," chanting, "Stand up, fight back!"

Bathroom rights are a hot-button social issue at the center of a broader cultural battle between conservatives and liberals.

When North Carolina passed a law requiring transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to the gender on their birth certificates, a string of companies and sports teams boycotted the state.

The US Supreme Court is set next month to consider the case of a 17-year-old in Virginia who was born a female but identifies as a male and filed suit to be able to use the boys' bathroom at his high school. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Leni Robredo accused the Duterte administration of "circumventing due process" to silence Senator Leila de Lima, who is facing charges for her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison.

"Our history as a nation is marred by instances where government officials use the processes of criminal justice to cow, silence, and eliminate critics," Robredo said in a statement on Friday, February 24.

"These efforts to smear Senator De Lima are a strong indication that the charges against her arise from a political agenda and are not the result of an independent, unbiased legal process. These efforts began soon after she launched an investigation into the issue of extrajudicial killings under the present administration."

As the highest elected official of the Liberal Party, Robredo is the honorary chairperson of the party, which De Lima is a member of. 

Robredo warned the public to be vigilant and hold the government accountable for its actions.

"We cannot, and we must not, stand by and let this happen again. We must make sure that our government institutions remain uncorrupted and independent of each other, particularly when it comes to checks and balances in pursuit of accountability," said the Vice President.

"We exhort the people to follow and scrutinize this case religiously. Let us fight for the right to speak dissent, which is the foundation of our strength as a free and democratic nation," she added.

'Political prisoner'

De Lima surrendered to the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group on Friday morning after Judge Juanita Guerrero of Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204 issued an arrest warrant on Thursday afternoon, February 23. (READ: De Lima to join Revilla, Estrada in Crame jail) 

The senator is known to be Duterte's top critic in his bloody war against drugs. She also investigated him in the past over the supposed Davao Death Squad, during her time as chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights.

De Lima has described herself as the Duterte administration's "first political prisoner."

The cases filed against the senator were based on the House probe into the alleged drug trade inside the national penitentiary with convicts as key witnesses.

Veteran human rights lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno, one of De Lima's legal counsels, raised the lack of credibility of criminals acting as witnesses.

"In my experiences as a lawyer, those kinds of witnesses are the least that we would want to believe," said Diokno. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, February 24, reminded Filipinos that no single group can lay claim over the fruits of the popular movement that restored democracy to the country 31 years ago.

Duterte made the statement in his message at the commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution in Camp Aguinaldo, which was delivered by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

"No single party, ideology, religion, or individual could claim credit for the bloodless revolution at EDSA in the same way that no single party, ideology, religion, or individual could claim a monopoly of patriotism," Duterte said.

The President hoped commemorating the peaceful revolution would inspire heroism among Filipinos.

"EDSA lives on and the spirit should continue to inspire heroism in all of us for the greater glory of God and country," he said.

Among those at the Camp Aguinaldo event were EDSA revolution personalities like former president Fidel Ramos, former senator Juan Ponce Enrile, and Senator Gringo Honasan.

Also present were Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, and Palace Communications Secretary Martin Andanar.

In his speech, Duterte recognized the selflessness of the Spirit of EDSA Foundation awardees, such as Valiente Namion, a wheelchair attendant at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport who found P100,000 and returned it to its owner.

He  also cited another awardee, Sabrina Artadi, a former beauty queen who hosts a feeding program for streetchildren in Manila.

Namion and Artadi are this year's SOEF Good Citizen Movement Awardees.

The complete list of awardees is below:

For the military:

• Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (Army)
• Lieutenant Colonel Braulio Balbas Jr (Navy)
• General William Hotchkiss III (Airforce)

For the religious:

• Sister Sarah Manapol (Catholic)
• Aleem Said AkmarBashir (Muslim)
• Bishop Jonel Milan (Protestant)

For the Filipino People

• Bobby Aquino (Luzon)
• Ching Montinola (Visayas)
• Uriel Jojo Borja (Mindanao)

SOEF Good Citizenship Movement Awardees:

• Valiente Namion
• Sabrina Artadi

Duterte's absence

Duterte chose to be in the Davao region on Friday. (READ: Duterte to skip EDSA anniversary event in Camp Aguinaldo)

He will attend the turn-over of a drug rehabilitation facility from the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the launch of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission.

The Camp Aguinaldo event was among the activities to celebrate the 31st EDSA Revolution anniversary.

On Saturday, February 25, there will be a wreath-laying and flag-raising ceremony at the People Power Monument in Quezon City.

The Duterte administration has been criticized for its "simple" EDSA anniversary celebration. The Palace said the government has no intention of "downgrading" the commemoration.

Vice President Leni Robredo, among those who criticized the low-key celebrations, did not attend the Camp Aguinaldo event although Medialdea said she was invited.– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Leila de Lima was detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame past noon Friday, February 24, after the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 204 issued a commitment order.

At shortly past 1 pm, De Lima entered the same compound where former senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr are currently detained over graft and plunder charges in connection to the multi-billion peso pork barrel scam.

"I'm okay," the senator, who was at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) headquarters in Camp Crame awaiting detention, said in a phone patch interview with ANC when asked how she was.

De Lima reiterated that she had prepared herself "psychologically" as she had anticipated her arrest and detention, being a fierce critic of President Rodrigo Duterte and his vaunted war on drugs.

Even so, she said, "I could not imagine myself to be in this situation in the sense that I’m now an accused – a former secretary of justice now turned accused based on false charges." (READ: TIMELINE: De Lima – from drug probe to arrest)

PNP Spokesman Senior Superintendent Dionardo Carlos said the compound has separate facilities for men and women. The PNP Custodial Center currently has 25 inmates – including the two former senators – all male.

Officers from the Senate Sargeant-at-Arms (OSAA) will be deployed to the Custodial Center to augment De Lima's security force, said Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, president of De Lima's party, the Liberal Party.

"Hindi rin biro itong mga balita na may sinakal at pinatay sa loob ng PNP. Kahit sinong akusado, mababa man o mataas, ay dapat ligtas sa kapahamakan," Pangilinan said, referring to South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo who was strangled to death inside Camp Crame in October last year.

(The fact that someone was strangled to death inside the PNP is no joke. Any accused, regardless of status, should be free from harm.)

Safety concerns

Pangilinan said De Lima has turned over her Senate work to her staff, and has prepared her family for her arrest, but safety remains her primary concern.

"May halong galit, agam-agam. Ang pinaka-concern din niya ay mga anak niya, pamilya niya. 'Yung kanyang seguridad. Si Senator Leila hindi tulad ng high-profile accused dahil marami siyang pinakulong, maraming gustong maghiganti, kaya safety ang kanyang concern," Pangilinan said.

(There's a mix of anger, misgivings. Her main concern is here children, her family. Her security. Senator Leila is not like other high-profile accused because she put a lot of people behind bars. Many want to get back at her, so safety is her concern.)

Malacañang sought to allay De Lima's fears, saying her rights would be protected while she's in police custody. (READ: Palace says De Lima can 'rest her fears' about safety)

Father Robert Reyes, who was also with De Lima during the booking procedures inside Camp Crame, said the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) assured the senator that she will be safe inside her cell.

Reyes also said: "If you stand for the truth, if you fight for your convictions, expect persecution. It's just ironic that this is happening before the anniversary of the EDSA revolution."

Carlos said De Lima was supposed to inspect her detention cell before she was brought to the Muntinlupa court, but she was taken straight to the court instead.

De Lima underwent booking procedures – mugshots, fingerprinting, and medical examination – inside the  CIDG Headquarters inside Camp Crame on Friday morning.

De Lima has previously said she preferred to be detained at Camp Aguinaldo, the military headquarters, because she didn't trust the PNP. (READ: FULL STATEMENT: Leila de Lima on her arrest)

De Lima has filed a motion to recall the warrant of arrest before Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204, citing the need to hear her pending motions to quash. Judge Juanita Guerrero has reset hearing of De Lima's motions to March 10, saying that the prosecutors from the Department of Justice (DOJ) must file their response first. 

"Hocus-pocus ang mga prosesong ito, pero ang posisyon ni (These processes are hocus-pocus but the position of) Senator Leila ay to avail of all legal remedies available," Pangilinan said. – Rappler.com

JERUSALEM – Israel will stop issuing work visas to Human Rights Watch staff, the NGO said Friday, February 24, with the Jewish state accusing the group of being "fundamentally biased" against it.

The New York-based watchdog, which has written critical reports about the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, applied months ago for a visa for its Israel and Palestine director, American citizen Omar Shakir.

On February 20, Israeli authorities informed it the request had been rejected because HRW is "not a real human rights group," the group said in a statement.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon confirmed the decision to AFP.

HRW, he said, had "demonstrated time and again it is a fundamentally biased and anti-Israeli organization with a clear hostile agenda."

But Nahshon added that the group was not banned and its Israeli and Palestinian employees would still be permitted to work in Israel and issue reports.

"But why should we give working visas to people whose only purpose is to besmirch us and to attack us?" he asked.

Israel's government, seen as the most right-wing in the country's history, has been accused of putting pressure on both international and local rights organizations.

"We are genuinely shocked," Shakir said in response to the Israeli decision.

"We work in over 90 countries across the world. Many governments don't like our well-researched findings but their response is not to stifle the messenger," he told AFP.

Last year HRW published a report, "Occupation Inc", detailing how international and Israeli companies operating in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank were contributing to rights abuses.

"Settlement businesses unavoidably contribute to Israeli policies that dispossess and harshly discriminate against Palestinians, while profiting from Israel's theft of Palestinian land and other resources," HRW's Arvind Ganesan said at the time.

'Zero appetite for rights'

International law considers all settlements to be illegal and a major obstacle to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state. 

HRW has also staunchly campaigned for Israeli football clubs based in West Bank settlements to be expelled by the sport's governing body FIFA.

"We were shocked they (Israeli authorities) were not able to distinguish between genuine criticism and propaganda," Shakir said.

He admitted to having taken part in pro-Palestinian campaigns before joining HRW.

But according to Shakir, Israeli authorities told HRW the visa ban was not targeting him alone but would be applied to all foreign members of the organization.

Nahshon said other organizations such as Amnesty International would be assessed on a case by case basis.

Last year, the Israeli parliament passed a controversial law compelling Israeli NGOs that receive most of their funding from foreign state entities to declare it in official reports.

The law did not specifically refer to left-wing organizations, but is applicable to some 25 NGOs. 

Right-wing NGOs, such as those supporting Israeli settlements, tend to rely on private donations, to which the law does not apply.

Roy Yellin from the anti-occupation Israeli NGO B'Tselem said they felt the government was trying to "scapegoat" them.

"It is part of a larger illiberal wave in recent years that is trying to portray critics as enemies of the state," he told AFP.

HRW, which has its headquarters in New York city's famed Empire State Building, has periodically fallen foul of governments across the globe.

In 2011 the government of Uzbekistan closed down HRW's office in the capital Tashkent, while one of its delegations was expelled from Venezuela in 2008.

"We have little relations with governments in North Korea, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Cuba, and Venezuela where there is zero appetite for human rights engagement," Shakir said.

"With this decision, Israel is joining the list." – Rappler.com

LONDON, United Kingdom – One person was killed by falling debris on Thursday, February 23, as Storm Doris slammed into the British Isles, also causing flight disruptions at Europe's busiest air hub and power outages.

A 29-year-old woman suffered a fatal head injury from a piece of debris blowing down onto the street in Wolverhampton, central England.

As the storm swept through London, police said a man was taken to hospital in a serious condition following reports of debris falling from a building near Victoria Station.

A girl was left with life-threatening injuries in Milton Keynes, north-west of London, after a school ceiling collapsed in an accident police said was possibly linked to Doris.

The gales caused around 10% of flights to be scrapped at London Heathrow Airport, although an airport spokeswoman told Agence France-Presse the travel hub was operating normally again on Thursday evening.

In Britain, the top wind speed of 94 miles (151 kilometres) per hour was recorded at Capel Curig near Snowdon, the highest mountain in  Wales.

In Ireland, wind speeds of 87 mph (140 km/h) were recorded at Mace Head in County Galway on the Atlantic west coast.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said several paramedics were sent to the fatal incident in Wolverhampton.

"On arrival, crews found a woman who had suffered very serious head injuries," a spokesman said.

"Sadly, it quickly became apparent that there was nothing that could be done to save her and she was confirmed dead at the scene."

A West Midlands Police spokeswoman said: "The incident is believed to be related to Storm Doris."

Rebecca Davis, a 40-year-old teacher who saw the victim receiving emergency treatment, said the debris "was a big piece about the size of a coffee table".

Fallen trees, flooding and debris on the tracks hit train travel, with Network Rail saying "significant disruption throughout the country" was caused by the storm.

Speed limits of 50 mph (80 km/h) were imposed on several train lines in Britain, while many trains were cancelled, including services linking London with Manchester and Liverpool.

The Port of Liverpool in northwest England was closed due to the winds, while some ferry services to Scotland's west coast islands were disrupted.

Some roads were shut due to snow and strong winds, which toppled large vehicles.

The Republic of Ireland's state Electricity Supply Board said it had restored power to more than 49,000 customers who were left without electricity, although around 4,000 customers would be without power overnight.

In neighboring Northern Ireland, NIE Networks said they had restored electricity to around 24,000 customers, with some 500 still affected. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Leila De Lima has nothing to fear while in detention at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters, Malacañang assured President Rodrigo Duterte's fiercest critic on Friday, February 24.

"I think she should put herself at rest," Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said in an interview with CNN Philippines.

He said the administration respects De Lima's right to due process and safety.

"You know, these things follow due process and we do respect the right of everyone," he said.

PNP chief Director General Ronald Dela Rosa has vowed to ensure the safety of the lady senator, who has been butting heads with Duterte since she investigated the Davao Death Squad when she headed the Commission on Human Rights under the Arroyo administration.

Abella downplayed threats to De Lima's life while in police custody.

"I don’t see any reason why anybody should take such, you know, take such a risk of doing something like that, you know, trying to attempt at her life," said the President's spokesman.

Before her arrest, De Lima asked the public to pray for her safety while in detention.

She had said the threat was real given the deaths of Albuera mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr in a Leyte jail and of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo in Camp Crame. 

“Sa inyo pong lahat, humihiling po ako ng dasal na sana maging safe and secure po ako saan man ako dalhin, saan man ako ikukulong (To all of you, I ask for your prayers that I be safe and secure wherever they will detain me),” De Lima said on Thursday night.

She reiterated her call on Friday, hours before her detention in Camp Crame. (READ: FULL STATEMENT: Leila de Lima on her arrest)

Duterte himself has not issued a statement about De Lima's arrest. But the Palace said the order to arrest the senator for drug charges was a "major step forward" in the administration's campaign against illegal drugs.

It was Duterte who first publicly accused De Lima of accepting money from drug traffickers incarcerated in the New Bilibid Prison while she was still Justice Secretary. (READ: TIMELINE: De Lima – From drug probe to arrest)– Pia Ranada/Rappler.com

THE RELEVANCE OF THE 1986 EDSA PEOPLE POWER TODAY
A discussion on the promises of, successes, and disappointments on the dictator’s ouster and the restoration of constitutional democracy

School of Economics Auditorium
University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City
24 February 2017 (Friday)
1:00 PM to 4:00 PM

PROGRAM

I. National Anthem

Cookie Chua
Singer and Songwriter

II. Welcome Remarks

Professor Michael Tan
Chancellor, UP Diliman

III. Discussion Proper

Francis Pangilinan
Senator of the Philippines
President, Liberal Party of the Philippines

Christian Monsod
Member, 1986 Constitutional Commission
Former Chairman, COMELEC

Raissa Robles
Correspondent, South China Morning Post (HK)
Investigative Journalist

Jose Almonte
Former National Security Adviser


IV. Open Forum

V. Closing Remarks

Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo
Chairperson, Liberal Party of the Philippines


Moderator:
Professor Agustin Arcenas
UP Diliman School of Economics

Event organized by:

Institute for Leadership, Empowerment, and Democracy (iLEAD)
University of the Philippines
Liberal Party of the Philippines

– Rappler.com

BRANCHBURG, New Jersey, USA – "Do your job!" "Answer the question!" "Push back Trump!" In the New Jersey town of Branchburg and across the United States, Republican lawmakers are feeling the heat of anti-Trump fury from their constituents.

In this first week of recess in Congress since President Donald Trump took office, senators and representatives have followed the timeworn tradition of going home to their citizens to discuss legislative projects.

But in the extremely polarized country, where anti-Trump protests have rocked major cities since his January 20 inauguration, these town hall meetings have become flashpoints for citizens to voice dissent with the new administration and push against Republican lawmakers who support it.

Trump this week denounced the "so-called angry crowds" in some Republican districts, asserting on Twitter that they were "in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists."

But the movement, which echoes protests by the ultra-conservative Tea Party in 2009 town halls after Democratic president Barack Obama took office, seems to have momentum – to such an extent that many lawmakers have cancelled meetings.

Not New Jersey Congressman Leonard Lance, 64, a veteran Republican reelected last November to represent the district where Branchburg is located, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) west of New York.

A crowd jammed his town hall meeting Wednesday night, February 22, packing out a 1,000-seat auditorium at Raritan Valley Community College – many of them Democrats, but also some with Republican sympathies, and most of them clearly anti-Trump.

Outside, some 200 protesters decried the Trump administration's alleged ties to Russia, and the president's plans to overturn Obama's healthcare law; strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider; and roll back environmental protections.

Trump supporters appeared invisible, except for student Jack Hoffman, 18, who watched from afar wearing a pro-Trump cap. "They are crybabies that won't accept the results of the election," he said.

Inside the auditorium, retiree Lee Brush, said that Lance was "well-liked" but now "has become kind of a party-liner" by supporting the Republican administration's more radical measures.

With a large US flag nearby, Lance stood at the podium, opening the meeting by leading the Pledge of Allegiance, his right hand placed on his heart as is customary.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all," he said.

"For all! For all!" the audience picked up in a chant. Lance tried to calm the crowd by assuring that questions would be chosen "at random."

Tough questioning

One after another doctors, students, professors and others took the microphone to talk about the events of recent weeks and to question him, politely but firmly, on all subjects.

"Are you going to allow our tax money to be used to build that wall?" someone asked, referring to Trump's vow to build a wall on the US southern border with Mexico. The question drew applause.

"Will you vote for a congressional commission to investigate the ties with Russia?" asked another, encouraged by the shouts in the auditorium.

Many wielded signs, saying "Agree" on a green-colored side and "Disagree" on the red reverse side, flipping them according to what the lawmaker said.

Not one Trump supporter spoke at the meeting.

Lance kept calm and pointed to his moderate positions, saying he does not think a wall along the entire border with Mexico is necessary and that he agrees with Republican Senator John McCain in being "very suspicious of Russia."

He pointed out that he was "one of the first Republicans to criticize the travel ban" ordered by Trump and blocked by the courts.

Many of his statements were applauded. But not all.

The crowd did not like it when he said that a congressional inquiry on Trump's links with Moscow was unnecessary "at this stage" and that a demand that Trump release his tax returns to Congress "goes too far."

That last point drew a barrage of boos and cries of "push back" Trump.

"It was a little disturbing that he would not criticize the administration," said Steven Antunes, an environmental lawyer, after the meeting.

"His job is to represent his constituents, not to worry about his party," he said. "But to be fair, he showed up, he tried to answer questions... he was polite and the questions were not staged."

"And he is in a hot spot: there is a fear of retribution from the administration."

A visibly fatigued Lance later told journalists that he had found the "vigor" of the meeting "very useful." He said he planned another one Saturday, February 25. – Rappler.com

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea has up to 5,000 tons of chemical weapons, South Korean experts said Friday, February 24, including the toxin used to assassinate its leader's half-brother.

Traces of VX – a nerve agent listed as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations – were detected on swabs from the face and eyes of Kim Jong-Nam, who was poisoned at a Kuala Lumpur airport last week, Malaysian police said Friday.  

Malaysian detectives are holding 3 people – women from Indonesia and Vietnam, and a North Korean man – but want to speak to 7 others, 4 of whom are believed to have fled to Pyongyang.

South Korea's defense ministry said in its 2014 Defense White Paper that the North began producing chemical weapons in the 1980s and estimated that it has about 2,500 to 5,000 tons in stock.

North Korea has chemical weapons production facilities in 8 locations including the northeastern port of Chongjin and the northwestern city of Sinuiju, it said in the 2012 edition of the document.

"North Korea is believed to have a large stockpile of VX, which can easily be manufactured at low cost," defense analyst Lee Il-Woo at the private Korea Defense Network told AFP.

Developed some 100 years ago, VX can be produced at small laboratories or facilities producing pesticides, he said.

"Chemical and biological weapons can be delivered through various means such as artillery, missiles, and planes," he added. 

If absorbed through the skin, eyes, or nose, just a tiny drop of the colorless, odorless nerve agent is enough to fatally damage a victim's central nervous system.

Military science professor Kim Jong-Ha at Hannam University said the North has 16 kinds of nerve agents including VX and sarin, used by a Japanese doomsday cult, Aum Shinrikyo, in the 1995 attack at the Tokyo subway system that killed 12 people.

It also possesses other lethal chemicals, including suffocating, blistering, and blood agents, Kim said, as well as 13 types of biological weapons such as anthrax and bubonic plague.

North Korea has not signed a global chemical weapons convention that prohibits the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons.

More than 160 countries signed the treaty, that went into force in 1997. – Rappler.com

WASHINGTON, USA – US President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday, February 23, reinstated the use of private prisons for federal inmates, saying commercial prison operators are needed for the correctional system's "future needs."

Trump's new attorney general, Jeff Sessions, officially rescinded the Barack Obama administration's move last August to phase out the management of prisons by private companies, which Obama's justice department had said proved to be inadequate, more dangerous, and not cheaper than government-run prisons.

Sessions said in an order that the move last year had reversed a longstanding policy at the Federal Bureau of Prisons to have private companies involved, "and impaired the bureau's ability to meet the future needs of the federal correctional system."

The Obama move had only affected a small portion of the US prison system: 13 privately run prisons housing just over 22,000 people, or about 11% of the federal prison population. Most are foreign nationals, mainly Mexicans incarcerated for immigration violations.

The Trump government has promised a crackdown on crime and illegal immigration, suggesting the prisons bureau could require greater holding capacity in a short time.

The 13 prisons are run by 3 companies: CoreCivic (known until recently as Corrections Corporation of America), GEO Group, and Management and Training Corporation.

The announcement gave a strong after-hours boost to the stock of the two listed firms. Core Civic jumped 3.2%, while GEO Group added 1.0%.

The move was expected and both companies' stocks had already risen sharply after Trump's election victory on November 8. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – China blasted Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr after the official said that foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reject China's reported militarization of the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). 

Referring to Yasay's recent remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Thursday, February 23, "China finds them baffling and regrettable."

Geng made this statement after Yasay on Tuesday, February 21, said ASEAN foreign ministers "have expressed grave concern" about China's militarization of the disputed waters.

Geng said he believes that these "are opinions" of Yasay, "not of the whole ASEAN group."

The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman noted that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's visit to China in October 2016 has boosted ties between Manila and Beijing. (READ: Duterte visit marks 'full recovery' of PH-China ties)

"As we have noted, Mr Yasay's recent remarks apparently deviate from the consensus of the two leaders, go against the current trend of the sound and rapid development of China-Philippine relations, disagree with the overall stable situation of the South China Sea, and run counter to the shared desire of regional countries to maintain peace and stability of the South China Sea and promote regional cooperation," Geng said. 

"We hope that Mr Yasay can follow the consensus reached by the two leaders and the shared desire of regional countries, exercise prudence, and make concrete efforts to uphold China-Philippines relations and regional peace and stability," the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said. 

A day after airing the ASEAN's "grave concern" over the sea militarization, Yasay disclosed in another event that China has promised not to build facilities on the disputed Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea. 

Geng said China's position on Panatag, such as its claim over it, "is consistent and clear and and is subject to no change." – Rappler.com

SYDNEY, Australia – Australia's plan to rescue the beleaguered Great Barrier Reef has been set back at least two decades after the fragile ecosystem suffered its worst-ever bleaching last year, experts said Friday, February 24.

The vast coral reef – which provides a tourism boon for Australia – is under pressure from agricultural run-off, the crown-of-thorns starfish, development, and climate change.

Last year swathes of coral succumbed to devastating bleaching, due to warming sea temperatures, and the reef's caretakers have warned it faces a fresh onslaught in the coming months.

Canberra updated the UN's World Heritage committee on its "Reef 2050" rescue plan in December, insisting the site was "not dying" and laying out a strategy for incremental improvements to the site. 

But an independent report commissioned by the committee concluded that the government had little chance of meeting its own targets in the coming years, adding that the "unprecedented" bleaching and coral die-off in 2016 was "a game changer."

"Given the severity of the damage and the slow trajectory of recovery, the overarching vision of the 2050 Plan... is no longer attainable for at least the next two decades," the report said.

Last year's bleaching killed two-thirds of shallow-water corals in the north of the 2,300-kilometer (1,400-mile) long reef, although central and southern areas escaped with less damage.

'Imminent risk'

The government has pledged more than Aus$2.0 billion (US$1.5 billion) to protect the reef over the next decade, but researchers noted a lack of available funding, with many of the plan's actions under-resourced. 

The latest assessment comes after the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority warned the Queensland State government of an "elevated and imminent risk" of mass-bleaching this year, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

With heavy use of coal-fired power and a relatively small population of 24 million, Australia is considered one of the world's worst per capita greenhouse gas polluters.

Researchers highlighted that the government's rescue plan does not do enough to address climate change, noting that "new coal mines pose a serious threat" to the reef's heritage area.

While the plan has a strong focus on improving water quality, environmental groups too have been critical of the government for inactivity on global warming.

"These independent experts have given UNESCO a far more accurate assessment of progress than the rose-colored-glasses version released by the Australian and Queensland Governments late last year," said World Wildlife Fund Australia head of oceans Richard Leck.

But Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg told the ABC the government had been "very successful to date" in implementing the reef's 2050 plan.

"Climate change is the number one threat to the reef together with water quality issues," he said, citing the government's ratification of the Paris agreement, the world's first universal climate pact, as part of the "broader" efforts to reduce stress on the reef. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) revealed on Friday, February 24, that it has issued show cause orders to 22 mining companies for failing to complete the deposit of their Final Mine Rehabilitation/Decommissioning Fund.

"[They were issued show cause orders on] why they should not be penalized for failing to complete the deposit of their final mining rehabilitation fund," Environment Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Maria Paz Luna said in a press conference on Friday.

"Hindi kumpleto yung deposit nila based on schedules that they have to deposit (Their deposit is incomplete based on schedules that they have to deposit)."

According to Luna, the 22 companies were issued show cause orders on February 14 for violation of Section 71 of Republic Act 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.

Under the law, contractors and permittees are mandated to "technically and biologically rehabilitate the excavated, mined-out, tailings covered and disturbed areas to the condition of environmental safety."

Thus, a mine rehabilitation fund must be created "based on the contractor's approved work program," and said fund must be deposited as a trust fund in a government depository bank.

This fund will be used for "physical and social rehabilitation of areas and communities affected by mining activities and for research on the social, technical and preventive aspects of rehabilitation."

Failure to comply with this obligation "shall mean immediate suspension or closure of the mining activities of the contractor/permittee concerned."

On Friday, Luna said about P3 billion should already be in the fund, but only P500 million has been accounted for as of 2016.

The DENR must approve the final mining rehabilitation plans of mining companies before they can begin mining "so that we will know that if they start, that they can rehabilitate."

"Some of the reasons given kung bakit 'di pa sila nakapag-deposit ay hindi pa approved 'yung kanilang final mining rehabilitation plan (Some of the reasons given on why they were not able to deposit was that their final mining rehabilitation plan has not been approved yet)," she explained.

"I think the secretary is alarmed and that's why she issued these show cause orders, because there are certain things in a mine that you cannot rehabilitate to as near a condition as possible which is required under the forestry code," she added.

Luna cited as example an open pit mine which is "there forever."

"Hindi mo na mare-rehabilitate to a condition that is as good as possible to the previous environment, so it's alarming to see if kung kulang pa 'yung na-deposit nila sa rehabilitation fund, lalong 'di mo mare-rehabilitate ng maayos," she explained.

(You can't rehabilitate to a condition that is as good as possible to the previous environment, so it's alarming to see if their deposit to the rehabilitation fund is incomplete, because they can't rehabilitate well.)

The DENR is expected to announce the list of the 22 companies on Monday, February 27.

The department has already announced this month the cancellation of 75 mineral production sharing agreements in watersheds all over the country, as well as the closure and suspension of 28 mining companies. – Rappler.com