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The Philippine government is hot on the trail of the Abu Sayyaf as another member of the terrorist group was killed early Friday, May 5, after an escape attempt.
Also on Friday, United Nations Special Rapporteur on summary executions Agnes Callamard told a forum on drug issues that the war on drugs does not work. She is in Manila on an academic visit.
In other parts of the world, political unrest continues to worsen in Venezuela as the number of people killed has risen to at least 35. President Nicolas Maduro plans to rewrite the constitution – a move seen by the opposition as an attempt to cling to power.
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Agnes Callamard, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, told a forum on drug issues that a punitive approach to the drug problem does not work. It is the “badly thought-out drug policies” that cause the many harms associated with drugs, and not the drugs themselves, she said, citing results of an April 2016 UN special assembly on the drug problem. The Palace expressed disappointment over the unannounced visit, which was said to be an “academic” one.
Less than 24 hours after he was arrested by authorities in Bohol, Abu Sayyaf member Saad Samad Kiram was gunned down early Friday, May 5, after he allegedly tried to escape, police said. Kiram reportedly tried to escape en route to a local jail in Bohol. He complained of stomachache, prompting authorities to stop the vehicle. He ran away, prompting an hours-long pursuit operation that ended with his killing at 4:30 am, police said.
During a recent phone conversation, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte asked China’s Xi Jinping to “intervene” in the increasingly tense situation in the Korean Peninsula. It was US President Donald Trump – Duterte told a gathering of doctors in Davao City on May 4 – who raised the possibility of Chinese intervention when Trump called him just 4 days ago.
Flames, tear gas, marches led by students against government in Venezuela brought the number of dead to at least 35 after about a month of political unrest. A student was shot dead Thursday, May 4. The opposition accused President Nicolas Maduro of trying to strengthen his grip on power and delay elections by launching constitutional reforms. A day earlier police had fired tear gas and protesters hurled Molotov cocktails.
US President Donald Trump has confirmed his first foreign trip as president will include visits to Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the Vatican. These are on top of announced visits to NATO and G7 summits in Brussels and Sicily this May. The trip to the Middle East signals an attempt at peacemaking where past presidents and diplomats have failed.
It’s the power of “lobby money”. President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, May 4, explained to a group of doctors in Davao City why the Commission on Appointments rejected Gina Lopez as environment chief. In his speech, Duterte said, “Sayang si Gina (It’s too bad about Gina). I really like her passion…But you know how it is. This is democracy, and lobby money talks.” While he has preferences for members of his Cabinet, the President said he can’t control everything.
As early as May 15, the House committee on justice may begin reviewing the first impeachment complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte. Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said on Thursday, May 4, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez had already referred the complaint to the committee on rules, which is tasked to include it in the House plenary’s order of business.
After announcing a nationwide inventory to make sure no hidden detention centers are being maintained inside police facilities, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald dela Rosa said all reports indicated “negative”. The inventory covered police stations and provincial headquarters. The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) had earlier found at least 12 men and women detained in a secret cell kept behind a bookshelf inside MPD Station 1 in Tondo, Manila.
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