By Junex Doronio

“GIVE PEACE A CHANCE.”

This is the gist of House Deputy Minority Leader and Basilan Representative Mujiv Hataman’s statement when he urged the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to join the calls for a ceasefire between Israel and the armed group Hamas.

Hataman cited the loss of lives of several innocent civilians, including children and the elderly, who were caught in the crossfire between Israeli forces and Hamas militants.

“I call on my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join calls for an end to the violence. I believe this august body can encourage governments including our own to take a strong position against the continued violence against innocent civilians caught in the crossfires of the conflict,” Hataman said.

The former governor of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) also called for immediate and unimpeded access to international humanitarian agencies in the affected communities, especially in Gaza, to provide relief and medical care to civilians.

“We urge the international community of nations to work collaboratively towards a permanent and peaceful resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. We believe in peaceful resolution of conflict, and we have proven this in Bangsamoro,” Hataman stressed.

The Basilan lawmaker then pressed for peace negotiations to end the armed conflict and misery in the Middle Eastern country.

“We call upon the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority to return to the negotiating table to seek a just and lasting peace in the region,” Hataman said. (ai/mnm)

The Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women and its provincial chapters, with support from Gabriela, organized a protest march from Morayta to Mendiola in Manila on Sunday, October 15, 2023. Their primary demand was for the Marcos Administration to address the rising prices of rice.

The group leaders emphasized that rice liberalization and government importation had been the primary contributors to the agricultural crisis in the country.

Photographs captured the demonstrators as they made their way from Morayta to Mendiola in Manila, carrying large banners to mark this year’s International Rural Women’s Day.

(Report and photos by Benjamin Cuaresma/ai/mnm)

Image Courtesy of: House of Representatives of the Philippines (Facebook Page)

By: Junex Doronio

SAYING the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. strongly supports the Free College Education law, House appropriations panel senior vice chairperson Stella Quimbo of Marikina City on Tuesday gave assurance of sufficient funds for the significant law enacted during the previous Duterte administration.

“We will make sure that we will have sufficient funds to support that law. That is very important for our youth…for them to have access to free college education. It is very important for their future,” Quimbo said.

She answered the query of House Deputy Minority Leader Paul Daza of Northern Samar during Tuesday’s deliberations on the proposed P5.768 trillion budget for 2024.

Quimbo has sponsored the proposed P5.768 trillion budget for 2024 before the House plenary.

On Monday, September 18, Dr. Tirso Ronquillo, president of the Philippine Association of SUCs (PASUC), expressed dismay that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) only approved P21.69 billion.

But Quimbo stood firm that the PBBM administration has “strong commitment from the DBCC (Development Budget Coordination Committee) that it will support free education.” (ai/mnm)