April 2018 – ellen tordesillas

Benham Rise trip: Duterte’s latest comedy act

Published by Ellen on April 30, 2018

China builds a monument on Kagitingan Reef that the Philippines claims as part of its territory in South China Sea and President Duterte announces he will sail to Benham Rise, an underwater plateau east of Luzon that has been declared part of the country’s extended continental shelf, to show the world that he will die for a land mass that is not even part of Philippine territory.

In his speech before the Free Masons at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City April 26, Duterte again justified his selling out to China based on mistaken assumptions.

Pres. Duterte shares a light moment with his special assistant Bong Go,House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on the sidelines of the 102nd Annual Communication of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Free and Accepted Mason in the Philippines at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City, April 26, 2018.Malacañang photo by Joey Dalumpines.

A lawyer-blogger’s view on the quo warranto petition vs Sereno

Published by Ellen on April 22, 2018

A lawyer-friend who goes by the name of “saxnviolins” in my blog sent me a helpful brief on the petition for quo warranto filed before the Supreme Court by Solicitor General Jose Calida to oust Chief Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno.

Saxnviolins said had he been invited to be amicus curiae (friend of the Court) on quo warranto petition, he would have submitted the following opinion:

Duterte’s threat helps ICC build case against him

Published by Ellen on April 17, 2018

Pres. Duterte threatens to arrest ICC prosecutor Bensouda in his speech at the Davao International Airport upon his arrival from China April 16. Malacañang photo by Arman Baylon.

President Duterte’s incessant rants against Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda of the International Criminal Court betray how deeply the communication submitted by lawyer Jude Sabio, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Rep. Gary Alejano (Magdalo Partylist) has stung him.

He has reasons to worry about the ICC examination which Bensouda announced last February.

His situation now is like a person having stepped on a quicksand. He is panicking. The more he moves to get out, the deeper he gets stuck.

Last Friday, upon his arrival from Hongkong and Boao, China, he resumed his tirade against Bensouda without being asked about her nor about the ICC. The question was about Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

VERA Files to help fight spread of fake news in Facebook

Published by Ellen on April 13, 2018

Facebook Thursday announced the launch its third-party fact-checking program in the Philippines with VERA Files and Rappler.

(Disclosure: I’m a trustee and writer of VERA Files, a group that takes a a deeper look into current Philippine issues.)

As the Facebook announcement stated, the third-party fact-checking program is aimed at helping combat false news from spreading on Facebook.

“These partners have been certified through a non-partisan International Fact-Checking Network and will review news stories on Facebook, check their facts, and rate their accuracy.

Duterte’s answer to questions on Boracay

Published by Ellen on April 13, 2018

Boracay in 2011. Photo by Ellen Tordesillas

The resort owners and workers and residents of Boracay are angry and confused.

The President last week made official his rantings about Boracay and ordered it’s closure for rehabilitation for six months.

In his conference April 9 at the Davao International Airport before he took off for Boao, China, Duterte was asked by Philippine Star’s Edith Regalado what’s his masterplan for the island, with a beach considered one of the best in the world.

His answer: “In the meantime, there is no plan. My order was to clean it up. So mag-clean, sarado, there is one way in and one way out….

Mother of tokhang victim petitions Netflix not to show ‘Amo’

Published by Ellen on April 8, 2018

There’s a petition going around online addressed to Netflix to stop the April 9 showing of the TV series “Amo” about the brutal war against illegal drugs being waged by President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Netflix TV series is directed by the multi-awarded Brillante Mendoza and stars Derek Ramsay.

OFW Luzviminda Siapno,mother of Tokhang victim, petitions Netflix not o show Amo. Photo from change.org

The petition is by Luzviminda Siapo, mother of 19-year old Raymart, a person with disability, who was killed by policemen April last year in its indiscrimate operation against illegal drugs.

Here’s Siapo’s letter in Filipino. There’s an English version in the Change.org website: https://www.change.org/p/netflix-netflix-don-t-air-pro-duterte-drugwar-series