Senators, EU lawmakers discuss war on drugs, ICC

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

DESPITE some tense moments, Philippine senators and visiting European Parliament members on Wednesday had a "constructive and fruitful" discussion on various human rights issues, especially the International Criminal Court's (ICC) investigation into former President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.

Senator Francis Tolentino and Hannah Neumann, the head of the European Union delegation, shared this in a press conference after the dialogue between the members of the Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee and the EU Parliament members.

Both sides agreed to move forward and do more engagements that local

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the abolition of the Department of Finance’s One-Stop-Shop InterAgency Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center (OSS Center), whose officials and employees were found to have committed a series of tax credit scams involving billions of pesos over the years.

The abolition is also in line with the administration’s rightsizingpolicy, said Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who recommended the move to the President.

The OSS Center has not processed and issued any tax credit certificates since 2016, Diokno also pointed out.

“It is not practical for the government to provide for its budget every year since it does not perform its functions anymore,” he said. The agency has about 40 officers and staff who may apply for any available positions in the DOF or any of its attached agencies, or those in other government agencies, Diokno told the Standard.