IN BRIEF

LRT-2 suspended from April 6 to 9

THE Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) on Monday said the operations of LRT Line 2 will be suspended on Holy Thursday until Easter Sunday (April 6 to 9).

The rail authority also said a day before the suspension of operations (Holy Wednesday) it will implement a shortened operating schedule.

The shortened operating schedule will be at 7 p.m. only for both Recto and Antipolo routes.

LRTA administrator Hernando Cabrera said the four-day shutdown will give the rail firm enough time to conduct thorough maintenance on LRT-2 trains, station facilities, and equipment to ensure the system’s reliability and safety.

“We normally take advantage of the Holy Week to perform our yearly maintenance activities. With this, we appeal for understanding from the riding public and request that they plan their trip and take alternative transportation during this period,” Cabrera said.

After the Holy Week, normal operations of the LRT-2, which connects Recto and Antipolo, will resume next Monday, April 10, with trips starting at 5 a.m. Darwin G. Amojelar

BOC nabs passenger with P40.8-m shabu

BUREAU of Customs (BOC) agents arrested a passenger from Madagascar who was allegedly carrying P40.8 million worth of shabu upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Sunday.

The Customs X-ray Inspection Project (XIP) team detected the prohibited substance from Harisoa Sandra upon her arrival at the NAIA Terminal.

Initial investigation showed that the foreigner arrived from Hong Kong on board Ethiopian Airlines flight ET644, and was originally from Madagascar, East Africa as crimination against Women (CEDAW) that the Philippines violated the rights of victims of sexual slavery committed by the Japanese Army during the war.

“CHR urges the government of the Philippines to seriously consider and act on the recommendations of the Commit- tee, particularly on providing the victims ‘full reparation, including recognition and redress, an official apology, and material and moral damages’ proportionate to the physical, psychological, and material damage suffered by them and the gravity of the violation of their rights experienced,” the CHR said in a stat ment.

The agency pointed out that the 1987 Constitution prohibits the use of torture, force, violence, threat, and intimidation or any other means which vitiate free will; and mandates the compensation and rehabilitation of victims of torture or similar practices and their families.

The CHR also reminded that the Philippines is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which mandates the right to remedy and repa- rations for violations of human rights.

“To a larger, nobler end, providing reparations to Filipina ‘comfort women’ pursues transitional justice, where largescale and systematic human rights violations are addressed so that the nation and its people can move towards peace and reconciliation,” the Commission added.

It also expressed willingness to assist the government in crafting a policy and the supporting mechanism for proposed reparation for the “comfort women.”

The CHR recommended that the government seek an apology from the Japanese government and restore the comfort women statue that once stood on Roxas Blvd. in honor of the stories and struggles of these “comfort women” and as a reminder of the abhorrence to the violence of war.