iDEFEND Calls for Locsin’s Resignation from UN Post

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Following global condemnation of President Duterte’s claim to follow in Hitler’s example which forced the President to do another vague “clarification”, the new Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations is not wasting any time defending those awful words by citing that German Nazis did many things right, and asking the people to look beyond the holocaust. 

Duterte clearly approved the slaughter of 3 million Jews in his address to media last week. A thousand apologies will never remedy this atrocious statement. Moreover, to recommend the extermination of suspected drug users and criminals in order to save future generations of Filipinos not only compared an entire race to criminals, but still reflected the same belief that Germany’s mass murderer espoused. 

If Duterte’s words deserved the world’s denunciation, Teddy Locsin’s defense of those words deserved immediate reckoning. Locsin appeared to be the only one among the government’s spokespersons not bothered by the President’s gruesome pronouncements and threats, which Congressman Edcel Lagman described as 'criminally culpable'. He has transformed his newspaper column “Tedditorial” from an independent thinkers’ page into a Goebbels-style propaganda machine for the President. 

By publicly endorsing an idea which have not, are not, and never will be part of the Filipino’s beliefs, he has grossly misrepresented the country in the global community. Under any other administration past and future he would be immediately sacked.

Mr. Locsin’s actions are contemptuous to the Filipino people and its solidarity with the Jewish people against tyranny and any form of targeted exterminations. As sovereignty resides in the people we are therefore firing Mr. Locsin as UN Ambassador. 

iDEFEND further calls for legal actions to ban him from any government appointments henceforth.

#GiveArtAChance with UndaMADEged

Wazzup Pilipinas!

WHERE: Commune Cafe + Bar
WHEN: October 15, 2016, 1-5 P.M.
WORKSHOP FEE: 350 (inclusive of food and drinks)

UndaMADEged is a project spearheaded by Gilda Flores, a 17- year old student-correspondent for The Philippine Daily Inquirer, a contributor for WheninManila, Voice of the Youth Online, and Applica, and a writer for The LaSallian. She has always dreamed about making art, writing, and the likes as permanent entities in this ever-changing world. It might be a long run, but creativity has no finish line--it doesn't stop. It shouldn't stop.

One captivating twist here is that the event would be fully handled by young bloods--from the manpower, to the hosts, and to the speakers. Also, the topics would drift away from the conventional "how to write 101," instead, Gilda and her team would be shedding some light on more modern forms of art such as: spoken word, mobile photography, creative brainstorming, writing and experience, and how to be a 'YouTuber.'

We're giving you a chance, we're giving art a chance. It's about time. Let's do this.

Official event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1680167785635559/
Pre-register here: https://goo.gl/forms/6rhMfmmLvUko7tgr1

Promise Hope Not Death to Drug Dependents, Push for Public Health Approach to Anti-Drug Campaign

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Two days after President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to kill the country's estimated three million drug users, Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros made an emphatic appeal to the government to provide drug dependents with hope by mainstreaming a public health approach to its anti-drug campaign.

In a forum held at at the Ateneo De Manila University on Monday, Hontiveros spoke of the need for a policy anchored on public health and human rights to effectively address the drug problem and rehabilitate drug dependents. The forum was organized by the Ateneo School of Government, Ateneo Law School and the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health.

The Senator argued that worldwide the drug problem is acknowledged as a public health issue, and a strictly punitive and violent war on drugs have failed in many parts of the world.

"The government must promise hope not death to drug dependents. It must guarantee health care assistance not violence. This is the more effective, affordable and compassionate anti-drug policy," Hontiveros said.


"Harm reduction"

Hontiveros, who is also the Chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, pushed for "harm reduction programs and practices" to reduce the adverse health, social and economic consequences of the use of illegal drugs. These include the opening of community-based out-patient rehabilitation programs, drop-in centers, and conducting of harm reduction capacity-building sessions for local governments, health agencies and non-government organizations.

"Harm reduction as an essential component of the public health approach to the drug problem has effectively reduced overdose, overdose deaths, and HIV transmissions. Furthermore, based on the experiences of China and Iran, harm reduction strategies led to less trafficking, less use of illicit drugs, crime reduction, higher rates of employment among former dependents, and greater participation of drug dependents in communities and family activities," Hontiveros explained.



"Cost-effective and affordable"

The first-term senator also said that a public health approach to the drug problem is cost-effective and affordable. Citing several studies, Hontiveros said that for every dollar invested on harm reduction, over $4 accrue in short term health-care cost savings. She also said advocates estimated that only 10 percent of the approximately $ 100 billion spent annually on international drug enforcement would already cover HIV prevention services for drug users for four years.

"The government must explore all available options and enrich the discourse on the alternatives we have. It must include the public health and human rights lens in its anti-drug campaign. Maybe in order to win this war, it is the legendary nurse, Florence Nightingale, that we must find inspiration from rather than an Adolf Hitler," Hontiveros concluded.