Philippine News Digest 29
July 01 - 10 July, 2002
Contents:
Prison sentence to Australian child sex tourist
6.6 million in Asia-Pacific have AIDS/HIV
Rights groups demand law banning tortur
14,500 Zambaleńos evacuated
Prison
sentence to Australian child sex tourist
Raymond Colin Smith, 41, of New South Wales was sentenced on June 7 to
three years' jail for committing three sexual acts with two 6 year old girls
in Olongapo City. Judge Coolahan also sentenced Smith to a concurrent 18
months' jail sentence on each of the two other offenses. On the day he
committed the offenses, Smith admitted the molestation to David Cowie,
director of the Mercy Ships Youth Ministry to which Smith is working, who
decided to return him to Australia for prosecution rather than the possibility
of Smith's facing a death sentence if convicted in the Philippines. Smith is
the 12th Australian to be prosecuted under the child sex tourism
provisions of the Commonwealth crimes
Act for child sex offenses
committed overseas on children under 16 years of age. Source: New Castle Herald, 8 July 2002.
6.6million in
Asia-Pacific have AIDS/HIV
Some 6.6 million people were
estimated to be infected with HIV or AIDS in the Asia-Pacific region at the
end of last year, according to the latest UNAIDS report for 2002. The figure
puts the region as a whole in second place behind sub-Saharan Africa where the
epidemic affected 28.5 million people. “It serves
as a reminder that no country is immune to a serious HIV epidemic,”
the report said. It added that low national prevalence rates conceal serious,
localized epidemics in several areas, including China and India. In China, HIV
infections rose more than 67 percent in the first six months of 2001 while in
India, 3.97 people are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS “more than in
any other country besides South Africa”. Source:
AFP report in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, 3 July 2002.
Rights
groups demand law banning torture
Human rights groups said they would
press Congress to revive a bill that seeks to outlaw the torture ofprisoners.
Max de Mesa, deputy executive director for Mindanao of the Task Force
detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) said the bill, filed by Rep. Satur Ocampo
has not been acted upon. The Commission on Human Rights in Southern Mindanao
admitted that although the Constitution guarantees civil and political rights,
a law penalizing torture would have to be passed first before the practice is
totally stopped. But while alaw on torture is being adopted, de Mesa the
government could prevent it from happenning if it would act on the
recommendations of the United Nations. Among the UN recommendations include
the abolition of all secret places of detention, a stop to the use of
blindfolds and hoods during interrogation, transparency in the entire process
of arrest to detention, and quick investigation by authorities of cases of
complaints of torture. Another group, Karapatan, said that the country was a
signatory to the UN-led International Covenant Against Torture but it has not
stopped the government fromcommitting abuses agaisnt suspected criminals. In
Southern Mindanao alone, there were at least 29 cases of torture under the
Macapagal administration, according to Bishop Felixberto Galang, the
chairperson of Karapatan. Source:
Philippine Daily Inquier Mindanao Bureau, 1 July 2002.
14,500
Zambalenos evacuated
An estimated 14, 500 residents of
41 barangays from seven towns of Zambales were evacuated to highwer grounds as
two more typhoons are expected to
enter the country after the exit of typhoons Gloria and Florita. Heavy rains
had triggered some low-lying barangays to be swamoped with floodwaters.
Several portions of the national highway, particularly in Barangay Alusiis in
San Narciso and the Sto.Nino
stretch in Cabangan , as well as the Bucao Bridge in Botolan, were rendered
impassable to light vehicles. Classes in all levels in both public and private
schools were also suspended. Source:
Today, 10 July 2002.
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