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SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2017 Adelle Chua, Editor
Opinion
Joyce Pangco Pañares, Issue Editor
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PESO: ASIA’S UGLY DUCKLING OF THE YEAR
EDITORIAL
SPECTACLE
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By Ditas Lopez and Cecilia Yap SPARE a thought for the Philippine peso. While other Asian currencies have strengthened against the dollar this year, the peso has hit a more than 10-year low and remains locked out of the party. Some analysts say that’s because investors are spooked by simmering allegations that President Rodrigo Duterte was involved in unlawful killings and corruption in his former post, which he denies. Duterte’s spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a text message Friday that the moves in the exchange rate have been driven by expectations the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. The peso is down 1.3 percent this year, while the Korean won leads the pack of Asian currency gainers, rising 4.5 percent. It could get worse for the peso before it gets better. Technical indicators suggest its decline will continue after it breached a support level of 50 versus the dollar last month. The peso touched 50.395 on Friday, its weakest since September 2006. Overseas funds have sold net $122.1 million of Philippine equities this year, wiping out the $83.4 million inflow seen through 2016, exchange data compiled by Bloomberg show. “You have a whole bunch of political developments recently that when you put it all together, people outside will probably say ‘wait, let’s be cautious here,’” said Joey Cuyegkeng, a Manila-based senior economist at ING Groep NV. “I expect some recovery in sentiment once all these political concerns are addressed, but it will take a while.” Further pressure could build in the coming days, with the Senate due on March 6 to open an inquiry into fresh allegations by a retired policeman that Duterte headed a group that carried out extrajudicial killings when he was mayor of the southern city Davao. The 71-year-old president has also been accused of illegally amassing 2 billion pesos ($40 million), and political opponents say he is attempting to quash dissent after Leila de Lima, a senator critical of Duterte, was arrested on drug-trafficking charges. The now suspended war on drugs launched after he came to power last year has also drawn international condemnation and claimed thousands of lives. Duterte has retained a high popularity rating domestically. Since he enjoys immunity as president, any allegations into illegal wealth and disclosure failures would need to be raised at an impeachment trial in Congress, which is controlled by his allies. “There’s clearly some concern,” said Gareth Leather, a senior economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in London, referring to the political developments. The deterioration in the current account over the past year may have undermined the peso as well, he said by phone. “There’s more than just politics at play here.” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Director Zeno Abenoja in December said the current-account surplus is forecast to narrow to $800 million this year from
incident clearly amounted to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of prisoners. Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, said international standards prohibited searches that intimidated or unnecessarily intruded upon a prisoner’s privacy. Where, then, do we draw the line between enforcing order and protecting people’s—even prisoners’—basic human rights? The sight of rows upon rows of naked prisoners conjured ugly thoughts of concentration camps where prisoners were no more than bodies, worse, numbers. Nobody denies the need to curb the drug menace, specifically when it breeds corruption in places that are supposed to rehabilitate people who have violated the law. But there must be a more decent way. This latest stunt is an apt metaphor for what is going on in the country: People are naked, helpless and vulnerable, completely under the control of state agents who do whatever they please, in the name of some so-called good but through methods that are tyrannical, questionable, and just plain wrong.
OT long ago, inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center became known the world over. They had a series of viral videos—with several million views— showing them dancing to popular tunes. It was refreshing to see prisoners making good use of their time. There were healthy, worthwhile things to do in jail, and learning choreographed dance steps was one of them. The same prison facility is in the spotlight again these days—but for reasons less upbeat. Circulating on the internet are photos of prisoners of the CPDRC sitting cross-legged and naked on the floor of the prison gymnasium. The inmates were ordered to take their clothes off before being gathered and made to sit on the concrete floor. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency conducted the search in its attempt to look for drugs and other contraband in the compound. PDEA Region 7 director Yogi Ruiz said they decided to use this search method because he did not want to risk his agents’ safety in the event inmates hid weapons or started riots. The PDEA spokesman in fact said the stripping was upon the orders of the provincial governor. And indeed the search turned up 80 cellphone units, laptops, bladed weapons, P90,000 cash, and 19 sachets of suspected shabu from the cells of over 3,000 inmates. The warden has been sacked after the discovery of these items. Human rights groups protest. Amnesty International said the
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DISCO MUSIC: ANTHEM OF THE LIBERAL MOVEMENT POP GOES THE WORLD JENNY ORTUOSTE
IT FLOURISHED in the 1970’s until the early ‘80s, got a bad rap that’s totally fabricated and unjustified, and should be revived to bring a troubled world back on its boogie feet. I’m talking about disco, the music that brings to mind lighted dance floors,
mirror balls, and slicked-back hair. With roots steeped in funk, soul, pop, and salsa, disco grew to become one of most popular genres of the ‘70s, along with R&B and funk. The music conquered the world, giving rise to Euro disco, Italo disco, and
other variants. In the Philippines, it merged with Filipino folk music, kundiman, pop, and light jazz to create “Manila sound.” The Hotdogs led the way with “Manila” (the theme song of balikbayans), “Bongga Ka ‘Day,” and “Annie Batungbakal”— “sa
disco siya ang reyna!” Meanwhile, no party or school program is complete without VST and Company and their “Disco Fever,” “Awitin Mo Isasayaw Ko,” “Tayo’y Magsayawan,” and “Rock Baby Rock.” The Boyfriends contributed Turn to B2
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