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The Star
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte agrees with poll: She should be tried
MANILA: Vice President Sara Duterte (pic) said she agreed with an overwhelming majority of Filipinos that she should be tried by an impeachment court for corruption and other high crimes, but she has not withdrawn her petition in the Supreme Court questioning her impeachment. 'Oh, I totally agree,' she said of the results of a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll that she should be tried by the Senate after she was impeached by the House of Representatives on Feb. 5. 'I'm among those 88 per cent who say that,' she told reporters and supporters on Friday (May 30) outside the International Criminal Court detention center in The Hague, the Netherlands, where her father, ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, is being held. Her office provided the media in the Philippines with a copy of the video interview with her. 'I'm thankful for the opportunity to clear my name and answer the accusations against me,' Duterte said. The impeachment complaint accuses her of culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust for, among others, her alleged misuse of more than P612 million (US$110 million) in confidential funds and for her alleged threat to assassinate President Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez. She spoke in The Hague on May 30, on the eve of her 47th birthday, which she planned to celebrate with her father and their supporters. The former president is accused of murder as a crime against humanity for the thousands killed in his brutal antinarcotics campaign that he implemented as mayor of Davao City and later as president. The May 2025 SWS survey on 'people's post-election expectations' released on Thursday, showed that 68 percent of the 1,800 respondents nationwide said that the Vice President 'definitely should address the impeachment charges, answer all allegations pertaining to corruption and clear her name.' It showed that 20 per cent said that she 'probably should' do the same. Only four per cent said that Duterte 'probably should not' and three per cent said she 'definitely should not,' results of the survey showed. Four per cent were unsure what to say. The poll also saw a consensus that Duterte should focus more on her work as Vice President and minimise any politically driven activities. Asked to comment on the deferment of the start of the impeachment trial to June 11 instead of June 2, when the Congress resumes session, Duterte said she saw no impact of the delay on her case, but would leave it to her lawyers to study the developments further. Also in the Netherlands was Sen. Imee Marcos, the eldest sister of President Marcos. Duterte had a bitter falling out with Marcos, unraveling their formidable UniTeam that swept the 2022 national elections. Marcos said on his inaugural BBM Podcast that he was willing to reconcile with the Dutertes because he needed more friends than enemies. 'I probably won't talk about reconciliation because people's personal problems aren't important. What's more important is our people and our country,' Duterte said in response to his remarks. She said the President's sister, whose reelection she supported in the recent midterm polls, was in The Hague to speak with her father's lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman. 'Whatever it is they talked about, I have nothing to do with it anymore,' she said. The Vice President and her mother, Elizabeth Zimmerman Duterte, were able to see her father for a 'prebirthday' celebration. A 'send Duterte home' rally is scheduled to take place outside the detention center on her birthday on Saturday. She earlier said she was eager to see the trial through because she wanted a 'bloodbath.' She did not elaborate on what she meant. While Duterte committed to face the charges against her in the impeachment court, she did not say anything about the petition she filed on Feb. 18 in the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the impeachment process. Duterte accused the House of Representatives and its secretary general, Reginald Velasco, of withholding the first three complaints against her allegedly to circumvent the one-year ban on the filing of more than one complaint against an impeachable official. She said that the House only acted on the fourth complaint, which was signed by 215 of around 300 members of the chamber. The fourth petition, however, contained essentially the same charges against her in the three others. 'This political stratagem was done at the expense of constitutional standards … with the ultimate goal of having the petitioner perpetually disqualified from running for any national elective office,' she said in her petition. Duterte is a probable contender in the May 2028 presidential election. Another petition was filed just hours after her own petition by several of her supporters. They asked the Supreme Court to stop the Senate from convening into an impeachment court. Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. said then that Duterte and the other petitioners were 'running scared … perhaps the allegations of corruption are true.' Deputy Speaker David Suarez of Quezon said Duterte's move 'reeks of panic and a blatant effort to undermine the impeachment process even before it formally begins.' ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro criticised Duterte for flying to the Netherlands to celebrate 'with more lies and political theatrics' instead of reflecting on her actions ahead of her impeachment trial. 'The Filipino people deserve transparency, not squid tactics,' Castro said. 'On her birthday, we challenge VP Duterte to choose truth over deception, accountability over evasion. The impeachment process is constitutional and legitimate—she should respect it instead of undermining it with her desperate antics,' the lawmaker said. Other ACT leaders slammed the fresh delay in the start of the impeachment trial, which they called a 'calculated scheme' to quash the proceedings altogether. ACT Representative-elect Antonio Tinio said the delay signals an attempt to 'kill the impeachment trial through procedural maneuvering rather than addressing the serious charges on their merits.' He said that the 'delaying tactics make a mockery of our democratic institutions and constitutional processes.' 'If impeachment proceedings can be killed through procedural technicalities and political alignments, then no high official will ever be held accountable for corruption and abuse of power,' Tinio said. He was particularly concerned about how the delay strategy 'was seemingly being orchestrated across party lines,' noting that Marcos himself again publicly expressed his opposition to the trial. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
GMA Network
29-05-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
SWS: 87% of Pinoys want new Senate to prioritize education
Eighty-seven percent of Filipinos want the newly composed Senate to prioritize reforms on education in the upcoming 20th Congress, the latest survey by Stratbase and Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed. The survey conducted on May 2-6 asked respondents which issues the upper chamber must prioritize after the midterm elections, which was conducted last May 12. A large number of respondents said that the Senate should definitely prioritize improving accessibility of education by strengthening the public education system, distribution of scholarships, and expansion of vocational training programs. A recent study by the Philippine Statistics Authority found that 5.58 million Filipinos who have at least graduated junior high school are considered functionally illiterate. The SWS poll also showed that 83% believe that senators must support agricultural development with subsidies, training, and market access for farmers to boost food security. There were 82% who said that the Senate must prioritize investing in healthcare systems and 79% said that senators should push for expanding social welfare programs for low-income families. Further, 74% of the respondents are expecting the upper chamber to deal with the calls to increase the minimum wage and 73% said that promoting job creation must definitely be prioritized. The survey showed that 71% agree that senators should work on the implementation of price control measures to stabilize the cost of essential goods and services. There were 67% who said that the Senate must strengthen governance reforms to ensure transparency and accountability in government's spending. The survey commissioned by the Stratbase Group was done through face-to-face interviews of 1,8000 registered voters (aged 18 years and above) nationwide: 300 in Metro Manila, 900 in Balance Luzon, 300 in the Visayas, and 300 in Mindanao. The sampling error margins are ±2.31% for national percentages, ±3.27% for Balance Luzon, and ±5.66% each for Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/BM, GMA Integrated News
Time of India
29-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
DRI arrests 2 in Rs 60 crore luxury furniture import scam in Mumbai
MUMBAI: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai, arrested two directors of an import firm for their alleged involvement in the gross undervaluation of luxury furniture imports amounting to Rs 60 crore and evasion of various duties worth over Rs 20 crore. The DRI arrested Rizwan Iqbal Chunawala (49), the proprietor of Design Decode, and Sajid Hanif Jada (44), the ICE holder of Design Decode, under the Customs Act. Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officials launched an investigation into M/s Design Decode, an importer operating under Importer Exporter Code, which allegedly consistently undervalued branded luxury furniture consignments imported from overseas suppliers since September 2021. During searches conducted at multiple premises, including the operational address of M/s Design Decode at Laxmi Industrial Estate, Andheri, officers recovered incriminating documents. The recovered documents pointed towards systematic undervaluation and document manipulation aimed at evading customs duty, Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST), and Social Welfare Surcharge (SWS). Since its inception, the importer imported consignments via 392 bills of entry amounting to a declared value of Rs 24 crore, whose actual value is worth ₹60 crore, resulting in huge evasion of import duties of Rs 20 crore, including customs duty, IGST, and SWS. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Truque caseiro eficaz contra o bigode chinês (faça hoje mesmo) Notícias | Beleza | Mulher Saiba Mais Undo Chunawala admitted that M/s Design Decode was essentially a front created to import goods on behalf of Defurn Furniture Studio. He acknowledged being fully aware of the undervaluation scheme and confessed to playing an active role for personal financial gains. Jada also admitted his role in managing the warehouses where the undervalued imports were stored before delivery. The DRI revealed that since its inception, M/s Design Decode imported 392 consignments with substantially undervalued invoices. Based on re-determined valuations, the total value of the imports is estimated at ₹60 crore, against which duties amounting to approximately Rs 20 crore were evaded.
GMA Network
26-05-2025
- General
- GMA Network
DSWD, SWS, Globe partner on hunger reduction
The Department of Social Welfare and Development, telecommunications company Globe, and poll firm Social Weather Stations have partnered to address food insecurity in the country. DSWD and Globe first initiated 'Walang Gutom Program' aimed at more than just feeding families but also keeping children focused on learning, and giving parents a better chance to work and provide. The program is set to expand to 300,000 more families in 2025; 150,000 more in 2026; and reach one million households by 2027. To better understand the impact on families, Globe commissioned SWS, in coordination with DSWD, to carry out a two-wave study on hunger alleviation. The first wave was conducted from October 7 to 18, 2024, and the second wave from December 1 to 10, 2024. It covered a total of 3,991 household responses—2,011 in wave 1 and 1,980 in wave 2—across 33 provinces nationwide. 'This study proves that when the public and private sectors work together with purpose, we can make a real difference in people's lives,' said Yoly Crisanto, Globe Group Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer. 'We're honored to support efforts that not only provide digital access, but also help shape better programs through data and insight,' she added. Months after implementation, the study showwed that the program is making an impact. Among program beneficiaries, the share of households experiencing hunger dropped by 4.1 percentage points—from 48.7% in October 2024 to 44.6% in December. In contrast, hunger among non-beneficiaries increased by 6.1 points during the same period. The 10.2 percentage point gap between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries shows the positive effect of the intervention. Significant regional improvements were seen in areas with high vulnerability. In the BARMM-Plus region—which includes the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, and Zamboanga Sibugay—hunger among beneficiaries dropped by 7.3 points, and in the Central-South cluster—Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Cotabato City, Zamboanga del Norte, and Surigao del Norte—the drop was at 5.7 points. A similar trend was observed in severe hunger, where beneficiary households in BARMM-Plus saw a marked decrease of 8.1 percentage points, the highest across all clusters. The improvements were especially felt in households where women or less-educated members were in charge of meal planning—those often hit hardest by hunger. 'Hunger is one of the most urgent challenges facing vulnerable Filipino families today,' said Linda Luz B. Guerrero, SWS president. 'This study provides clear, data-backed proof that when support is well-targeted, it works. Programs like 'Walang Gutom' help break the cycle of poverty and guide national policy toward real, measurable change,' she added. Globe is also contributing to the goals of the 'Walang Gutom Program' through its Hapag Movement, a flagship initiative that addresses involuntary hunger by providing both food assistance and livelihood support to vulnerable families. As of end-2024, the movement had already reached 120,455 families, surpassing its original 2025 target, with the help of P53 million in donations from corporate partners and Globe customers. It also enabled over 4,000 individuals to graduate from upskilling programs designed to equip them with sustainable livelihood skills.—Vince Angelo Ferreras/AOL, GMA Integrated News
Sharjah 24
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Sharjah 24
Sharjah Women's Sports celebrates "World Kids' Athletics Day"
The initiative, aligned with the SWS' vision of promoting sports as a sustainable lifestyle, blended physical activity with educational fun to build early sports awareness among children. Celebrated annually, this global occasion—launched by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)—aims to encourage children's participation in athletics in an interactive way. Morning activities: Engaging the youngest athletes The day began with two age-specific sessions held from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Ages 3–4: 56 children from Al Badea Nursery, under the Sharjah Education Academy, participated in interactive activities designed to match their motor abilities. Dr Iman Al Zarouni, Director of Al Badea Nursery, highlighted the event's positive impact, noting its role in boosting self-confidence, motor skills, and social interaction. Ages 8–10: 49 students from the American School of Creative Science and Emirates American School—partners in the Foundation's sports programs—took part in games focused on running, jumping, and throwing. These fun, educational activities supported their physical and social development in a collaborative environment. Evening session: Activities for preteens From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., a third event was held for children aged 11–12, with 54 participants. Organised in collaboration with the Sharjah Children (part of the Rubu' Qarn for Creating Future Leaders and Innovators), this session showcased the Foundation's commitment to building strategic partnerships and broadening the initiative's reach. A holistic approach to sports education Alyazia Al Suwaidi, Head of the Technical Preparation and Follow-up Division, emphasised that this event reflects the Foundation's dedication to participating in international efforts that integrate sports into children's lives. 'Through this event, we aim to offer enriching, developmental experiences that build confidence, inspire passion, and cultivate an early love for athletics,' she said. 'It is part of a broader approach that encourages self-awareness and positions sports as a lasting element of a healthy lifestyle.' Building a conscious and active generation The celebration of World Kids' Athletics Day reaffirms the Sharjah Women's Sports goal of creating a supportive, safe sports environment for children. As part of its long-term strategy, the Foundation continues to empower youth, foster sports culture, and integrate physical activity into the daily lives of future generations through innovative, age-appropriate programmes.
