本日発生したフィリピン南部・ミンダナオ沖で大きな地震によって、建物の倒壊を含め被害が出ているとの報に接し、大変心を痛めています。
犠牲になられた方々及びその御家族に対し、心から哀悼の意を表するとともに、被害を受けた方々にお見舞い申し上げます。
日本は、現地のニーズを踏まえて、フィリピンが必要とする可能な限りの支援を行う用意があります。
日本は常にフィリピンの皆様と共にあります。
I am deeply saddened by reports that the major earthquake that struck off Mindanao in the southern Philippines today has caused damage, including the collapse of buildings.
I extend my heartfelt condolences to all those who lost their lives and to their bereaved families, and my sincere sympathies to all those affected.
Japan stands ready to provide all possible assistance that the Philippines may need, based on local needs.
Japan always stands with the people of the Philippines.
You’ve done it again! 🎾🇵🇭
Alex Eala clinches her second WTA 125 crown in a stunning victory at the #LexusBirminghamOpen. Keep sending love to our ace as she lifts the trophy for all of us! 💙 🙌🏻
#GoForwardTogether#LexGo
🏆 @AlexEala05 captures her first-ever grass court title!
Alex Eala 🇵🇭 defeats Nikola Bartunkova 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 to win the Birmingham Open. What a week! VAMOS🔥
Accountability is easy to demand when it's someone else in the hot seat. The real measure of character is whether you're willing to face the same scrutiny when it's your turn.
Some of the same “Duterte”Senators who used to say, “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear,” now seem unable to practice what they preached. Instead of facing the issues directly, it's been a parade of excuses, distractions, and claims of persecution.
Contrast that with what we've seen before.
De Lima faced every allegation against her and was even arrested inside the Senate. Trillanes did the same, facing his cases head-on and being arrested within Senate grounds as well. PNoy attended hearings on DAP and Dengvaxia despite already being ill. All of this happened under a Duterte supermajority in both the House and the Senate.
And where was the drama back then? Where were the calls for unrest? Where were the endless claims that the system was out to get them?
They showed up. They answered the accusations. They went through the process.
What makes the double standard even more glaring is that Cayetano was quick to defend Bato and Estrada, yet many of these same voices had little to say when De Lima and Trillanes were being arrested inside the Senate itself.
If you truly believe in accountability, then that principle shouldn't change depending on whose name is involved.
Hindi kelangan ng kasunduan for indirect bribery.
Tatlo lang elements niyan:
1. Accused is a public officer
2. Acceptance of gift
3. Offered by reason of office.
Timbog ka Mike Defensor.
Punch wakes up slowly... and the first thing he looks for isn't the world - it's his orange mama, the one that stayed when no one else did. He pulls it close and cuddles into it, like his small heart still remembers who never left him alone.
BREAKING: LOOK: The Office of the Ombudsman files plunder and graft cases against Senator Jinggoy Estrada and others over their alleged involvement in the flood control kickback scheme. | via @KaxandraSalonga
How convenient it is for some people to use me or what I went through as an example whenever it serves their purpose or agenda. Kahit fake news, kahit ibang-iba ang totoong nangyari at naging sitwasyon ko noon, ipipilit pa rin para lang umakma sa naratibo nila.
Nung una, ang sinabi, hindi raw ako nagpa-aresto sa Senate premises. Maliwanag na kasinungalingan yan dahil sa Senado ako mapayapang humarap at nagpa-aresto sa mga awtoridad. Hindi ako nagpakanlong sa Senado, hindi ako nagdulot ng gulo, hindi ako tumakas, at lalong hindi ko inilagay sa peligro ang buhay ng maraming tao.
Now, they cite the resolutions filed by my fellow Senators during my unjust incarceration to allow me to participate in committee hearings and plenary deliberations via teleconferencing. Those were never approved. Kahit nga may COVID-19 pandemic noon kung kailan na-amend na ang rules to allow teleconferencing, di pa rin ako pinayagan. More importantly, no railroading or shortcuts to amend the Senate rules were resorted to in order to accommodate that request which, I repeat, was never granted. Malinaw yan kaya tigil-tigilan nila ang pagkukumpara.
Mahiya at kilabutan naman ang mga nagsasabing magkapareho lang ang pinagdaanan ko sa sinuman na gusto nilang pagbigyan ngayon.
JOINT STATEMENT ON THE SENATE MINORITY WALKOUT
We strongly condemn what appears to be an attempt to rush a major change in the Senate Rules, especially when several members of the minority still wanted to speak and raise serious questions on the floor.
Bakit kailangang madaliin? Bakit kailangang pigilan ang mga gustong magsalita? Bakit kailangang i-divide ang house kung marami pang senador ang nagtatanong tungkol sa proseso?
Minamadali ba ang rule change na ito dahil gusto nilang maka boto si Senator Bato? At ngayong may mga ulat na may mga majority senators na maaaring arestuhin?
We walked out because what happened on the floor looked less like orderly deliberation. The proposed rule change affects how senators may attend sessions, participate in proceedings and exercise their mandate through remote means, and such a measure should be opened to healthy public debate instead of being rushed by the tyranny of the majority.
We have always welcomed healthy discussions on the floor, but this should mean allowing all members to be heard, not forcing the chamber to move at the speed preferred by the majority.
At the time the motion was taken up, there was no duly constituted Committee on Rules and there was not even an elected Majority Leader who could properly guide a rules amendment through the regular process.
How could there have been any action or discussion before the Committee on Rules when no Committee on Rules has been organized to date?
With due respect, the answer that no Senate rule had been violated does not settle the matter, because the rules cannot be treated as a matter of convenience when the very process for amending them is under serious question.
The timing raises a question that the public deserves to hear debated openly. Kaya pinili naming tumayo at iwan ang majority sa plenary. Kaya kami nagdesisyon to question the quorum and call for adjournment.
If the proposal is truly defensible, then let it pass through the proper route.
We owe it to the people who voted for us to do our mandate. This is why we want more time to discuss this further.
DUTERTE TO REMAIN IN DETENTION
#BREAKING: The ICC Trial Chamber III has decided that former president Rodrigo Duterte should remain in detention.
In an eight-page decision dated May 22, the trial judges said there is a real and substantial risk that Duterte “could abscond or obstruct justice either on his own or through his associates.”
“The Chamber finds that the Accused’s physical condition and cognitive capacities referred to by the Defence do not constitute factors which outweigh the risks outlined above,” the ruling read.
Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s former defense counsel, earlier said that the former president’s supposed deteriorating condition constitutes a change of circumstance that could warrant his release from detention.
But the trial judges noted the previous examination conducted by court-appointed medical experts, “whose reports… do not contain any information that warrants modifying the Accused’s detention.”
“The Chamber further observes that the Defence’s and the Registry’s Observations do not present information that constitute new facts or a change in circumstances in comparison to the information provided in the Panel’s Reports,” the ruling added.
The trial judges also cited Duterte’s refusal to attend his confirmation hearings, saying his statement that he does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction “demonstrates at its lowest that the [he] will not comply with any orders that might be made in respect of a release from custody.” | @jvrmateo