News Briefs

Robredo includes Du30 in prayer to miraculous Naga icon

Vice President Leni Robredo said she included President Duterte in her personal petition to the Our Lady of Peñafrancia, a religious icon in Naga City revered by millions and believed to have miraculous powers. Robredo said she prayed for the President not only during the feast of Peñafrancia “but every day.” “That he will always be guided in bringing betterment to our country,” Robredo said. She said she included Mr. Duterte in her personal petition to the Our Lady of Peñafrancia aside from praying for her family. “I’ll always be praying for the President since it’s him that we rely on when it comes to decisions for the country,” Robredo said. —STEPHANIE FLORIDA

DFA helping OFW who stabbed abusive Kuwaiti employer

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday said it would extend all possible assistance to a Filipino domestic helper in Kuwait who is being held by authorities there for allegedly stabbing her employer who abused her. In a statement, the DFA said the Philippine Embassy was in touch with the distressed household service worker, Ulumbai Singgayan, of Maguindanao, and Kuwaiti authorities handling her case. The statement quoted Sarah Lou Arriola, foreign undersecretary for migrant worker affairs, as saying embassy personnel wanted to “ensure that her rights are protected.” Singgayan had been beaten up after she stabbed her abusive employer. X-ray showed internal bleeding in her stomach, according to the DFA. —JEROME ANING

De Lima to Duterte: Heed Anwar advice vs abuse of power

Detained Sen. Leila de Lima called on President Rodrigo Duterte to heed the advice of Malaysian politician Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim against abusing his power to get back at his critics and the opposition. In a statement, De Lima said the President “continues to undermine the country’s democracy and the rule of law” by intimidating his critics with “illegal arrests and trumped-up lawsuits.” Anwar had been quoted as saying previously that he “would certainly want him (Mr. Duterte) to continue to ensure that there’s a vibrant democracy and respect for the rule of law in the Philippines.” —JULIE M. AURELIO

Mocha ‘untouchable,’ says Bayan Muna congressman

Mocha Uson is clearly an “untouchable” government official. Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate on Friday said this was among the conclusions which could be drawn from the admission of Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, who told the House appropriations committee that he could not impose disciplinary sanction on the sex guru-turned-Palace official. “Uson is untouchable for some reason. I think that’s already public knowledge by now,” Zarate told the Inquirer. “They have a special arrangement regarding her. It’s probably because of her role in the presidential campaign of President Duterte,” he said. —MARLON RAMOS

UP Mindanao paper staffers protest ‘censorship’

The editor in chief of Himati, the official student publication of the University of the Philippines in Mindanao, protested what he said was the new university policy barring staffers of the paper from writing anti-Duterte articles because they were being funded by the government. Grecian Asoy, Himati’s editor in chief, said the paper’s staff learned about the policy at an Aug. 19 dialogue with the Office of Student Affairs (OSA). OSA director Teody Boylie Perez allegedly told the paper’s staffers to heed government rules because the paper’s operations were now being funded by the government. Asoy said the policy was a “form of repression.” She said student councils’ budgets for events were also rejected by the university administration because the proposed activities were antigovernment. For its freshmen’s night, the student council adopted human rights as a theme. The Inquirer sought comment from the university administration but has yet to receive a reply. “It is a glaring attempt to censor us,” said Asoy. —MART SAMBALUD