WASHINGTON (CNS): The apparent forced resignation of Jesuit Father Patrick Conroy, the chaplain who tends to the spiritual needs of the House of Representatives of the United States of America has drawn fire against Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House and a fellow Catholic.
 
In April, news trickled out that Father Conroy, a beloved figure on Capitol Hill, was set to retire in May, but various news outlets began reporting on April 26 that he was ousted and forced to resign by Ryan.
 

MANILA (UCAN): A proposal in the Philippine Congress to qualify a provision in the country’s constitution on freedom of speech has drawn flak from various quarters.
 
Allies of the president, Rodrigo Duterte, in the House of Representatives proposed to insert the qualifier, responsible, in the constitution, to read “No law shall be passed abridging the ‘responsible exercise’ of freedom of speech.”
 

HONG KONG (SE): On September 12, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) of The Philippines saw its 2018 budget whittled down to a mere 1,000 pesos ($152) by the House of Representatives of the country’s Congress which claimed the commission—which is a constitutional body—was not doing its job.
 
The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and Energy Regulatory Commission also found their proposed budgets eviscerated.