NEWSLETTER

Updates on legislative efforts around the world

ISSUE NO.2 | SEPTEMBER 2016

Ousting a legislator now possible

as Israeli Parliament passes law
The Parliament of Israel has passed
a controversial law permitting the
suspension or expulsion of
members
suspected
to
be
sympathetic to militant groups or
of racial enticement. Critics
denounced the vote which they
perceive
singles
out
Arab
legislators and hinders democratic
principles including the freedom of
expression.
The new law comes two weeks
after another contentious law was
passed requiring nongovernmental
organizations partly funded by
foreign governments to reveal the
identities of their benefactors in
their publications and ads. While
supporters counter that such bills
protect Israel against subversive
foreign influence, opponents argue
groups critical of government
policies and reliant on private
donations are being targeted.
The think tank Israel Democracy
Institute says the new law will
turn the Parliament, a political
body, into investigator, judge, and
jury, on the basis of a vague legal
provision. According to the
Association of Civil Rights in Israel,
it harms the very building blocks of
democracy the right to freedom
of expression, the right to vote and
to be elected, and the right to
representation. JRL

PH learns from Cuban healthcare model

Philippines Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Paulyn Ubial hails and
reveals plans to emulate the Cuban healthcare system. The DOH intends to
partner up, sharing new technologies particularly in relation to organ and
tissue transplants, complete surgeries and treatment of cardiovascular
diseases, and finally, emergency preparation and response.
Cubas community-based health system was partly developed because of
the economic embargo. After the Cuban revolution in the 1950s, health
services were decentralized as physicians were forced to be creative and
resourceful. Newly graduated physicians and medical students were
compelled to volunteer in remote communities. The program, called the
Rural Medical Service, focused on integrated preventive and curative
medicine.
In Cuba, health is a constitutional right. The 1983 Public Heath Law
mandates healthcare be made equally free and available to all. Multispecialty polyclinics and family doctors and nurses posted around the
country serve 95% of the population. In addition, 97% of the countrys
medical graduates specialize in family medicine. Challenges in funding have
been overcome thanks to the governments continued prioritization of
health and social spending. SBA/MPC

European Parliament to consider fast

broadband lay-out
The EU plans to relax rules obliging
telecom companies to rent their
networks to competitors at a fair
price. It will do so by requiring
national regulators to first consider
prevailing
agreements between
operators.
This is one of the measures included
in planned reforms of the European
Commission for the blocs telecom
sector. They intend to raise
investment for new fiber-optic
networks and meet the demands for
data services. The Commissions
proposals will have to be approved by
the European Parliament and
national governments. Hence, they
may undergo changes.

inhibit satisfactory return on

investment. The Commission intends
to protect operators who invest in
unprofitable areas and whose
operations will be undermined by the
entry of a competitor.

Singapore plans
legislation securing
national data

In addition, the EU plans to offer light

access rules in a bid to encourage
telecom companies to co-invest in
fiber-to-home rollouts.

The EUs digital infrastructure lags

behind the United States, China, and
other major economies. Guenther
Oettinger, the blocs digital chief,
reveals some US$ 800 billion is
needed to compete with the two
aforementioned
countries.
An
obvious concern against the plan to
Operating fiber-optics networks is relax regulations is the proliferation
of local monopolies trapping
costly.
Operators
such
as
customers with their service
DeutscheTelekom,
Orange,
and providers. JCM
Telecom Italia them to share with
competitors and

Japan to amend laws for expats

The Japanese government reveals plans to attract and enable skilled

expats to more easily thrive in the domestic labor market. The reforms
will focus on hospitalization, taxes, and residency requirements. The
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry intends to amend various laws
including the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and tax
legislation at the national, prefectural, and municipal level.
Part of the measures is to increase the number of English-friendly
hospitals to 100 nationwide by 2020. Hospitals will be subsidized for its
medical interpreters. Guest workers such as foreign care workers will also
find residency requirements eased. Care work will be included in the
countrys Technical Intern Training Program, a program set up to aid
developing nations.
The Japanese government is currently debating on expediting the process
for expatriates to obtain permanent resident status by lowering residency
requirements to three years. Studies are also being undertaken to cut red
tape and entice more foreign corporations into the country. MIN

StratSearch Foundation, Inc.

9 Centennial Building, E. Jacinto St.,University of the
Philippines Campus,Diliman, Quezon City 1101

Singapore will introduce legislation

protecting the sensitive data used by
app developers as it doubles efforts to
become a world leading technology
hub. Called the Cybersecurity Act, the
move aims to counter security risks and
guarantee
companies
protection
against hackers.
A significant part of the legislation
really is just to make sure providers of
essential services at least take basic
precautions to protect the data,
protect the privacy, and do not abuse
the access to the information,
elaborates
Vivian
Balakrishnan,
minister-in-charge of the city-states
Smart Nation program.
Companies creating Smart Nation
technologies gather data from their
millions of users. They also gain access
to government data and networks.
Hence, it is imperative they are made
accountable for the nations data as
Singapore joins Hong Kong and
Australia in the race to become the
premier financial technology hub in the
Asia-Pacific region. KVL

Website: www.stratsearch.org
Email: stratsearchfoundation@gmail.com
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