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Good morning, Rappler readers!
Amid fears about his authoritarian tendencies, President Rodrigo Duterte airs what he dislikes about a democracy like the Philippines: citizens enjoy too many rights. Terrorists, he says, take advantage of this fact.
At the Supreme Court, members of the bench designate Antonio Carpio as acting chief justice as they unanimously vote to ask CJ Ma Lourdes Sereno to take an indefinite leave.
In the United States, students return to school at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Thursday, at the same time President Donald Trump surprises both Republicans and Democrats with a tougher stance on gun control.
In Germany, officials confirm that the government’s IT system is under attack, after media reported that Russian hackers had infiltrated government networks including those of the foreign and interior ministries.
Here are the big stories you shouldn’t miss.
“This is democracy and that is the reason why we are pretty hard up. It is not easy to run [a country] where a citizen has so many rights,” Duterte said on Thursday, March 1.
The President made this statement at the opening ceremony of the National SWAT Challenge in Davao City where he was guest of honor. He was speaking before elite personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and officials of the Philippine National Police.
Since the Philippines is a democratic state, he said, a citizen is given “so many” rights which are being taken advantage of by terrorists: “That is the reason why the terrorist is determined. [So] for the same reason we will not hesitate and we will not be afraid to kill.”
Read also:
Things to know: Human rights in the Philippines
Hate human rights? They protect freedoms you enjoy
The Supreme Court (SC) en banc has designated Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio as Acting Chief Justice as Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno went on indefinite leave beginning Thursday, March 1.
SC spokesman Theodore Te made the announcement in a news briefing where he read the statement of 13 justices that the indefinite leave of Sereno was the “consensus” of the SC en banc on Tuesday, February 27.
Kuwaiti officials will arrive in Manila next week to finalize the memorandum of agreement on the additional protection of OFWs in the Gulf country, said Philippine labor officials.
According to Labor Undersecretary Claro Arellano, the agreement will cover all household service workers (HSW) and skilled workers in Kuwait.
Among the salient features of the agreement are the following:
- Employers cannot confiscate the passports and other travel documents of Filipino workers.
- Filipino workers must be allowed to use their phones.
- Transfer of workers to another employer should be with the consent of the Filipino worker or with the go-signal of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office.
Health Undersecretary Enrique Domingo explained they declared an outbreak even with only 7 cases because measles is a vaccine-preventable disease.
In late January, the health department also declared a measles outbreak in Davao City with 222 cases. But Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the outbreak was contained by February.
Read here the fast facts about measles and how it can be prevented.
United States President Donald Trump surprised lawmakers by embracing gun control measures that are tougher than usually supported by his party, as students returned to the site of America’s latest horrific school shooting.
“We have to do something about it. We have to act,” Trump said, voicing support for expanded background checks, more secure schools, curbs on the ability of the mentally ill to buy firearms and raising to 21 the age for buying certain guns.
“We can’t wait and play games and nothing gets done,” Trump said at a meeting with lawmakers from both parties.
At one point, he turned to a Republican senator and said: “You’re afraid of the NRA,” referring to the National Rifle Association, the premier and powerful US gun lobby.
A cyberattack targeting Germany’s government IT network is “ongoing,” the parliamentary committee on intelligence issues said Thursday, March 1, without confirming a media report that Russian hackers were behind the assault.
“It is a real cyberattack on part of the government system. It’s an ongoing process, an ongoing attack,” said Armin Schuster, chairman of the committee, adding that no further details would be given to avoid passing crucial information on to the attackers.
Quoting unnamed security sources, German news agency DPA reported Wednesday that Russian hackers had infiltrated government networks including those of the foreign and interior ministries.
The United States is asking the United Nations Security Council to set up a new inquiry of chemical weapons attacks in Syria following reports of suspected chlorine use in Eastern Ghouta, according to a draft resolution obtained by Agence France-Presse on Thursday, March 1.
The US push to establish the new panel comes 3 months after Russia killed off a previous UN-led investigation by vetoing the renewal of its mandate, arguing that the probe was flawed.
A draft resolution presented to the council on Wednesday, February 28 would establish the United Nations Independent Mechanism of Investigation (UNIMI) for a period of one year “to identify perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks in” Syria.
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