Monday, January 25, 2021

DND firm on ending UP pact despite gaffe. Inquirer Newsletter. January 26, 2021

KILLED IN ACTION Special Action Force (SAF) commandos on Monday lead the National Day of Remembrance honoring their 44 colleagues who died in a police operation to arrest Malaysian bomb maker Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, six years ago. Relatives of the slain troops say no one has been punished for the lapses that led to the deaths of their loved ones. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

News

PNP still looking for 9 ex-cops charged with killing 4 Army intel agents

The hunt is still going on for nine former policemen accused of killing four Army intelligence agents in Jolo, Sulu province, last year. “The manhunt is in Jolo. According to the last report, they are in Jolo and have gone home,” said Philippine National Police chief Gen. Debold Sinas. —STORY BY Jeannette I. Andrade

Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Lifestyle Wellness

Are menstrual cups and reusable pads the better option?

There is a menstrual cup in our bathroom that has been staring at me for the past year and a half. I had been toying with the idea of making the switch to more eco-friendly feminine products for a while. What clinched it was when I was egged on by a colleague who said, with much enthusiasm, “It will change your life!” —STORY BY Lia Cruz

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DND firm on ending UP pact despite gaffe

By DJ Yap

The controversy over the military’s Red-tagging of academic institutions, particularly the University of the Philippines (UP) and their graduates, “may merit at least a suspension” of the planned termination of the 1989 accord between the Department of National Defense (DND) and the state university, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said on Monday.But Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana is not keen on this suggestion as he stood by his position on Sunday night to scrap the accord, which sought to restrain security forces from entering UP campuses without prior notice to school authorities.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Monday apologized for the erroneous list it posted on social media last week, which included names of several UP graduates as members of the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and even a number of them as dead.

‘Truly sorry’

“[W]e are truly sorry for those who were inadvertently named,” said Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, AFP deputy chief of staff for civil-military operations. “We are conducting an investigation on how that list was released.”

Another list posted on the AFP Information Exchange’s Facebook account identified a number of students as slain NPA members.

“That article has since been immediately taken down or deleted from our social media accounts,” the AFP Information Exchange said in a statement on Sunday.

It apologized to “those who were inadvertently affected by inconsistencies regarding the List of Students Who Joined the NPA (Died or Captured).”

“The Office of the J7, AFP, is already conducting an internal investigation as to how the list got published. Personnel who are responsible will be held to account,” it said. —WITH REPORTS FROM KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING, JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE, MARLON RAMOS, JULIE M. AURELIO, MAILA AGER AND LEILA B. SALAVERRIA INQ

Editorial

Chastised, ‍cut down to size

Hell hath no fury like a Supreme Court insulted. The high court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), has strongly rebuked Solicitor General Jose Calida for using his high office to intervene in the private election protest filed by defeated candidate Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. against Vice President Leni Robredo.

Read full story: opinion.inquirer.net