iDEFEND Condemns Police Brutality on Successive Dispersals of Indigenous People’s Rallies

Wazzup Pilipinas!

iDEFEND strongly condemns the mowing down of Lumad protesters near the US embassy yesterday, and the firing of water cannons at them in front of Camp Aguinaldo last Tuesday.

The rallies called for a stop to militarization and intrusion of foreign corporations in ancestral territories. The groups further demanded an end to the presence of U.S. troops in the country, supporting what they believe to be the call for an ‘independent foreign policy’ by President Rodrigo Duterte.

The President’s call for investigation stopped short of condemning the use of brute force against the rallyists who traveled all the way from Mindanao to air their grievances. The commander-in-chief has command responsibility over their actions and should have stated the inacceptability of such forms of violence.

The public saw that rather than maximum tolerance and restraint, the violent action of the police showed a complete disregard for the lives of the people. Indigenous elders and women were run over by a police car, a woman’s hair pulled by the police, a driver beaten in the head until he lost consciousness, and several others dragged and severely beaten up before the very eyes of the public, as videos of the dispersal spread like wildfire in the quad-media.

Five remain confined with serious injuries while others are still under police custody.

The conduct cannot be divorced from the conduct that has exhibited violence and impunity in the first one hundred days of the Duterte administration with more than four thousand extra-judicially killed as a result of his violent and hard-line approach to drugs and criminality.

Though we welcome the move of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) which ordered for an administrative relief of police officials involved in the violent dispersal, we demand for an impartial investigation and immediate filing of criminal as well as administrative sanctions for those responsible.

iDefend has been reiterating that political violence has no place in a democratic society. There is nothing that can justify the inhuman act against those who were just exercising their freedom of speech and assembly.

Clearly, the police and military were emboldened by the President’s promise of protection amid mass killings by the uniformed groups.

This brazen act of violence shows the prevailing culture of brutality among the police force who are now acting above the law.

If they think that they can get away with murdering handcuffed drug suspects for allegedly resisting arrest, it is not surprising that they would not think twice to mow down anyone who are exercising their constitutional rights.

We stand in solidarity with the protesting indigenous people. They, like us, are human rights defenders. We stand steadfast in the face of attacks against the people’s democratic rights as well as any form of curtailment of such rights.

PHL Team to Represent Country at Crossfire Finals in China

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Philippines’ very own Pacific Wara took home the championship title at the CrossFire Stars National Finals recently held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. 

This is one of the CrossFire competitions, held alongside the CrossFire Invitational Manila 2016, which was attended by thousands of gamers from the region. The Pacific Wara team went home with the US$10,000.00 grand prize. 

They will also represent the country in the CrossFire Stars Grand Finals happening in China this December. 

As for the overall tournament winner, the AllGamers team from China bested top CrossFire teams from other countries during the CrossFire Invitational Manila 2016. 

The AllGamers took home the grand prize amounting to US$15,000.00. 

Globe Board Approves New Capex of US$300 Million for Network Expansion

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Globe Board of Directors approved new capital expenditure (capex) of US$300 million for network expansion, consisting of US$160 million for mobile; US$50 million for corporate data; and, US$90 million for broadband. Previous to this new approval, the Company’s 2016 capex availment and capex cashflow were the same at U$750 million. The additional network spending will bring 2016 capex availment to U$1 billion while the capex cashflow will range between U$750 – 810 million depending on the final network build completion in the fourth quarter of this year.

In line with Globe’s vision for the Philippines to become an admired nation for having first world Internet connectivity, the Company is kick-starting an additional mobile capex program for more deployment of LTE services using the 700 megahertz (MHz) and 2600 MHz frequencies, increased 3G capacities and further expansion of mobile coverage. Consistent with the Company's commitment to the government for the improvement of mobile internet services and expanding LTE coverage across the Philippines, Globe plans to roll-out additional 700 LTE 700 sites, close to 2,700 LTE 2600 sites and additional core and transport upgrades.

In parallel, Globe has started the deployment of fiber broadband technology that will provide ultra-fast internet access to two million homes in 20,000 barangays by 2020. Lastly, Globe is investing for capacity augmentation of its corporate data network to address the bandwidth requirements of enterprise clients for the use of various data solutions to improve business efficiency, enhance productivity and boost competitiveness.

“Guided by our new purpose of ‘creating a Globe of Good’, the Company is aggressively fast-tracking a multi-pronged network infrastructure and capacity expansion build to provide our customers a better internet experience”, said Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu. “We are leveraging our additional 700MHz and 2600Mhz spectrum by investing heavily on LTE to improve both mobile data and fixed wireless broadband. The Company is now in the best position more than ever to deliver the best video platforms and expand our data services, in line with the future of our business.” “Mr. Cu added.

From a product perspective, data has remained Globe’s catalyst for growth across all the product segments. For the first half of 2016, the Company’s data-related revenues accounted for 50% of consolidated service revenues, up from 37% in the first half of last year. Total data revenues, which consist of mobile data, home broadband and corporate data services, reached Php29.6 billion in the first six months of the year, up 48% from the Php20.0 billion pesos reported last year.