OP-ED EDITORIAL & CARTOONS: ‘Time to decide’ by The M.Standard
Does he believe the chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, who says that P6.8 billion worth of crystal meth or shabu was smuggled into the country through Customs? Or does he believe his Customs chief that no such thing happened?A Palace statement Monday that the President trusts them both insults our intelligence—and is the kind of wimpy response we don’t expect from the likes of Mr. Duterte.
The crux of the problem is that both officials disagree over four empty magnetic lifters found in an empty warehouse in Cavite on Aug. 9.PDEA chief Aaron Aquino insists the lifters contained shabu, the presence of which was detected by the agency’s drug-sniffing dogs. The shipment, Aquino says, is now flooding the market, bringing a sharp drop in the price of the illegal drug from P6,800 a gram in July to P1,400 today.Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña says no such thing happened, and that no traces of the drug showed up in their own tests.Clearly, they cannot be both correct, and it is silly to say the President trusts them both.If the lifters had in fact contained drugs as the PDEA says, the vehement denials from the Customs chief suggest a coverup.
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On the other hand, if the Customs chief is correct and that no drugs were in the lifters, then the President has an overzealous PDEA chief who cannot be trusted to make the right call in the crucial war on illegal drugs.To complicate matters, Lapeña has now sacked the deputy collector who accused Customs officials of covering up the smuggling of shabu through four magnetic lifters.Customs deputy collector Lourdes Mangaoang, the former X-ray division chief, was put on floating status, allegedly for underperformance, and a bureau spokesman pointedly denied she was transferred to silence her.Mangaoang, he said, was moved because of the “ongoing internal cleansing of corrupt Customs officials” and would be subject to a lifestyle check.But an official at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport who requested anonymity said Mangaoang was doing her job well because NAIA is one of the top BOC ports and exceeded its collection target of P3.587 billion in September this year.Mangaoang said her removal was a warning to stop her from testifying against Lapeña.None of these allegations have been proven, but they hardly inspire confidence. On the surface, we see a whistleblower being sacked by the very people she is speaking out against. Can the Palace continue to ignore these disturbing developments?
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The Straits Times says:
EU, Britain must try harder on Brexit
Ever since the referendum in June 2016 that saw Britons voting by a margin of 52 per cent to 48 per cent to leave the European Union, there has been a sense of disbelief accompanying the whole process: Could this be really happening? Do the British recognise the enormity of the situation, and its potential pitfalls? Was this an astute decision or one moved by emotion and exaggerated promises? Did “Yes” voters understand at the time that the EU would have the upper hand in exit negotiations? With less than six months to go before the deadline on March 29 next year, a divided country is still grappling with the realities of its fateful decision. Not surprisingly, the negotiations to leave have proved vexatious for Prime Minister Theresa May, who inherited the job of executing Brexit from Mr David Cameron.
Bargaining from a less-than-strong position, she has had to make concessions to the EU leadership. But this has infuriated pro-Brexiteers at home, particularly suggestions that Britain may be compelled to stay on in the Customs union and common market at least until 2021 while it negotiates a free trade deal with the EU. A “no-deal” exit will mean chaos at border controls and bad news for the economy, hitting businesses, trade, services and the movement of people hard. Some 700,000 people marched in London on Sunday demanding a referendum on the terms offered by the EU – in effect demanding a second vote on Brexit. The size of the gathering underscores growing worries at the ground level about separating from the EU as the deadline looms. The last time Britain saw such a large turnout was in 2003, when people marched against the decision to go to war with Iraq. People’s Vote, a British campaign group calling for a public vote on the final Brexit deal, believes that as many as 50 Conservative MPs out of 315 could be persuaded to its cause. Mrs May has ruled out a second referendum. But the Labour Party says it is open to the idea – and of staying in the EU – under certain circumstances. Further complications could arise if Mrs May’s grasp on power is weakened. Disenchantment with her government is rising by the day and an internal challenge is still possible.
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TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE:https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/eu-britain-must-try-harder-on-brexit
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