In part 39 of Retards in the Government we witness the beginning of an investigation into the Philippines' own election hacking scandal, we learn that natural resources were used as collateral for Chinese loans, several PNP officers are fired, and the first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court faces impeachment.
The Office of the Ombudsman has found sufficient basis to file graft charges against former Southern Leyte Gov. Rosette Lerias and five provincial procurement officials over the anomalous issuance of a check for P2.31 million to buy fertilizer.
The procurement was not covered by an existing contract.
An anomalous purchase of fertiliser. For what? Why is the government buying fertiliser anyway? Landscaping for government properties?
Ambassador Jesus Domingo expressed his disappointment with Krispy Kreme on Facebook after a Filipina was reportedly refused entry into its first doughnut outlet in New Zealand.
"Filipinos and friends in New Zealand-shall we boycott Krispy Kreme," Domingo said in his Facebook post.
Domingo also likened Krispy Kreme's actions to those of the Klu Kux Klan, a violent white supremacist group in the United States, and called the company "Krispy Kreme for Kiwis" only.
The actions of Ambassador Domingo are truly undiplomatic. Without knowing the details of the situation he rushed to Facebook and labelled Krispy Kreme racist and likened them to the KKK. Even after they released a statement apologising for the incident and misunderstanding the Ambassador did not apologise for his remarks but arrogantly called it "a promising start." This is not diplomacy. This is the Facebook fake news rumour-mill culture rearing its ugly head. This is Pinoy Pride at its finest.
"The President has been serious in advancing the lot of Filipino women in this country," Roque said during a press conference in Paniqui, Tarlac, on Friday, March 2.
"The President does not promote violence against women," he added.
Roque again employed his usual defense of Duterte's controversial jokes about women.
"Let us not take the words of the President literally, but of course, we should take the President's word seriously," he said.
A forumla for confusion if there ever was one. Duterte does not MEAN what he says but he means what he says. If we are not to take the things he says literally then how can we take them seriously? How are we to tell the difference?
He acknowledged backlash from the public over the presence and demeanor of both Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos and former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos that tagged their participation as highly political.
They were both given a chance to speak to the crowd at the Athletic Bowl, with Imee introducing “Bongbong” as the vice president of the Philippines.
“It is unfortunate that it happened. We will take this seriously in the post assessment to ensure that it will not happen again,” Domogan said.
SunStar sources said the Marcos siblings were not formally invited by the local government but instead contacted the city to inform of their participation in the weekend parades.
Previously, the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Incorporated strictly imposed a ban on politicking during the conduct of the street dancing and floral float parade events.
During campaign session, senatorial and other candidates were not allowed to enter the event even if they had their own floats, with incumbent political candidates barred from distributing campaign paraphernalia or going down the floats to approach the crowd during the event.
"Unfortunate." With all this revisionism of EDSA going on and the loveliest over Ferdinand Marcos why would anyone be perturbed that the Marcos children participated in a parade? The city was informed of their participation but allowed it anyway.
(The question is why can’t they stop the illegal operations when the police receives a share from STL operations)
(I think one of the reason why they have an allocation is to enable them to help stop illegal gambling operations but unfortunately it is still here)
On the other hand, the police insist that there have been no illegal STL operations in the city.
This STL operator says there are illegal operations and the PNP says there are none. Who are we to believe when the PNP admits they have gambling lords in their ranks?
ILOILO Governor Arthur Defensor Sr. challenged the 1,721 barangay captains in Iloilo to set a good example this forthcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections by not engaging in money politics and harassment of voters.
He said he observed that the barangay and SK elections are commonly marred by vote buying and manipulated by politicians.
He said the barangay and SK election should serve as a model for the conduct of elections in the country -- clean, fair and honest.
He told the barangay officials to win the election not through vote buying and harassment but by getting the trust and confidence of the people through better public service.
C'mon guys. China is our friend. They just want to help us get ahead by offering loans and other assistance. Don't believe those naysayers who say that Chinese loans will keep us in perpetual debt bondage. And don't worry about the militarisation of the SCS. Those missiles are for the USA and not us. What's so bad about co-ownership and co-explortaion of Philippine Rise? Friends help each other you know. So please let's just give them a chance.
Last week Trump had something to say about the drug war in the Philippines which I did not post but I wanted to post it with the following comment:
Oh no it looks like Trump has fallen for the EJK meme. Doesn't he know there aren't EJKs in the Philippines? Doesn't he know they aren't just killing everybody? I hope this does not harm Philippine-USA relations.
To my surprise Duterte got wind of this remark and it made him so very happy that he wants to kill more drug suspects.
The President said Trump was right when he commented that the Philippines has no drug problem since those involved are killed.
“Was it yesterday or the other day? Tignan mo ‘yung front page ng either Bulletin or ‘yung Philippine Star. ‘Trump: we would like to follow Duterte because they have no problem in the Philippines, he just kills them,’” Duterte said with a grin during a police shoot fest in Davao City.
“Tama ka talaga Trump. Bilib ako sa iyo. Nagsasabi ka ng totoo (You are right, Trump. I’m impressed with you. You are telling the truth),” Duterte added.
President Duterte admitted that he prefers drug suspects to put up a fight so they could be neutralized by arresting lawmen.
“Bakit kung lumaban ka, hindi kita patayin? Hay naku, yan nga ang gusto ko. Mas gusto ko lumaban ka (If you fight back, I won’t kill you? That’s what I actually like. I prefer that you fight back),” he added.
So there you have it. Duterte admits that in the Philippines drug dealers get killed and that he prefers they fight back so they can be killed.
“If we simply comply with environmental laws, especially the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and the Ecological Solid Waste Management (ESWM) Law, we would not have to be here,’’ Legarda said on the woes Boracay island finds itself in.
Legarda said this is not just an issue to point to the local government and other government agencies.
“We are all in this together. The problem in Boracay is also the problem of many eco-tourism areas and other communities in the country, which is why the government must strictly enforce environmental laws, while residents and business establishments should also comply with our laws,” she added.
“Our government agencies and LGUs must step up in enforcing our laws. At the same time, all the residents and tourists in Boracay should be accountable for the preservation of the island. We should not use our islands, seas, bays and rivers as sewerage or garbage bins,’’ she said.
Wow! How 'bout that!? If the laws were followed and people weren't taking bribes to look the other way and if Filipinos had some real Pinoy pride in their island instead of using it as a garbage dump then the environment wouldn't be such a disaster. Who'd'v'e thought!?
GMA needs to fix it's closed captions! "I'ma crapola?"
According to the commander of Davao City F. Bangoy Fire Station, the building has no fire exit signs, smoke alarms and fire extinguishers.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Caprio, meanwhile, admitted that the City Hall does not comply with safety requirements for fire but said they are already looking into it.
She also said they are now calculating how much it will cost them to comply with the fire safety standards.
Fire exit signs, smoke alarms, and fire extinguishers don't just disappear. Likely they were never installed. The Davao City Hall building was erected in 1926 but it was renovated in 2017.
THE historical value of Davao City Hall will not be sacrificed when the ground floor is being renovated, although restoration has not been discussed, only renovation.
Davao City Acting City Engineer and City Building Official Joseph Dominic Felizarta, in an interview with SunStar Davao, said renovation of floor of the Davao City Hall, which started last Friday, January 20, is meant to replace old wood materials used in the building as it was built decades ago.
But that is all that will be fixed.
Felizarta said the front door of the City Hall building will be closed until the renovation ends before Araw ng Dabaw in March.
“Daot na ang kahoy sa ilalom, kinahanglan na utrohon (The wooden flooring is worn out, it needs to be replaced),” he said.
He said over time, the wood was rotten, and it was also brittle because it was eaten away by termites.
Felizarta added Davao City Mayor Inday Sara-Duterte, herself, wanted the renovation of the floor.
This ongoing renovation also means the suspension of the renovation being done on the second floor of the city hall.
Sara wanted the renovation and she got the renovation but now that they have to bring the building up to code she is wondering where to get the budget from. She didn't have a budget problem then.
"We already have a plan, but we are still having a hard time where to find the budget. The plan is to really renovate everything from the inside. We cannot renovate from the outside because it is prohibited by the National Historical Commission (NHC)," she said.
The building has been certified as a heritage building by the NHC.
She said they are still calculating how much the renovation will cost, which will include building rentals for temporary operation of the city offices to be affected by the renovation.
She added that she already instructed city heads to do small and doable fire and earthquake safety measures inside their offices.
"Those which will need major renovations will have to wait, the only thing we can do so far are stop-gap measures to comply with the building code," she said.
This building also failed earthquake safety requirements. Maybe they should just build a whole new building and stop wasting money on "stop-gap" measures.
With all the money OFWs have been sending home each year for decades you would think the Philippines would have its act together by now in organising, handling, and overseeing this crucial part of the economy. But noooooo! It's all scams and people dying or getting beat and abused.
If you don't know, the Pasig River is a very toxic and polluted body of water flowing through Manila. It is a garbage dump and open sewer rolled into one. This administration has no shame or respect for anyone or anything expect their own agenda. What a disgraceful little man to say such a thing.
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte says if Guam lies on its continental shelf it will belong to the Philippines.
Duterte is quoted as saying “I hope (the continental shelf) does not reach Guam now because Guam will be ours also,” adding “But just the same, we cannot fight America, just like China. I’ll just keep quiet. But if you get something there from the economic zone, I will order the Navy to fire.”
Haha! Love that Joker! Duterte will never have Guam because the US would capsize it before giving it up!
DFA passport division director Ricarte Abejuel III said that “based on our initial investigation we have not found any employee guilty” in conniving with the fixers. “But I do not want to jump into conclusion while police investigation is ongoing.”
Kind of obvious that there are inside men involved in this practice. It wouldn't be able to work without them.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) sacked its entire regional office in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon (Calabarzon) and placed its personnel under investigation for the illegal issuance of identification cards and bulletproof vests to civilian assets.
In a statement, Aquino said he sacked the entire regional office, following intelligence reports on its involvement in illegal arrests and extortion in the provinces of Batangas and Cavite.
The PDEA is not going to save the integrity of the drug war.
It’s business as usual for unlicensed small-scale miners in Benguet province, following Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu’s launch here on Feb. 14 of a nationwide crackdown on illegal mining.
“Each miner has a family to feed and children to send to school. How can they make ends meet if they stop?” Kaniteng said, adding that grocery stores and food establishments in mining communities would also suffer.
On Feb. 10, Cimatu formed the National Task Force Mining Challenge, which closed down 18 pocket mines and dozens of gold processing plants within the Philippine Military Academy reservation here.
“It hurts the people but we have to implement the law. This is their livelihood but they need to follow regulations,” Cimatu said.
It seems that instead of halting illegal mining absolutely these miners have been given the go-ahead to continue their illegal operations while their permits are being processed because enforcing the law would be too much of a hardship on the community.
When will Filipinos stop being so closed-minded and bigoted towards China. They love the Philippines and only want to help the country exploit its own resources. Pure altruism. Promise.
Read the fine print. The Philippines ranks high in corruption and in cheap labor and manufacturing costs. This report also notes that foreign investment is low so even if it s number one not a lot of people are investing. With the peso continuing to weaken who would? This report is also based on data from 2016.
Calida insisted that Sereno is just a "de-facto chief justice" since her appointment to the position is invalid due to her failure to meet the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth requirement of the Judicial and Bar Council.
The administration is trying every trick in the book to oust Sereno. She was lawfully appointed by Aquino. End of story. Any criminal activity on her part (like failing to file her SALN for so many years) can be taken up in the impeachment hearings or before the Ombudsman.
"The relief of the station commander should also serve as a reminder to all other officers especially those assigned in anti-illegal drug units to be always vigilant over their personnel," Eleazar said in a statement on Tuesday.
Nuñez and Songalia, meanwhile, were put on floating status, waiting for their new assignments.
What do they mean by "vigilant?" Is this guy supposed to have his men on 24 hour watch? To do daily drug tests? Did he ever tell his subordinates to not do drugs? Sacking him for another man's behaviour is ridiculous.
In a privilege speech, Sotto, citing information from an "impeccable" source, bared that a transmission activity was captured as early as May 8, 2016 — a day before the May 9 elections.
"The transmission is being done by IP Address 10.11.5.5 to 0507.ccs.pili2016pinas.net as seen in logs of SRVCNTADNS01 server which is an IP address of a clustered vote counting machine or precinct count optical scan," he said.
He said it was later found out that 0507.ccs.pili2016pinas.net was the Consolidated Canvassing System (CCS) of Libon municipality in Albay province, while 5801.ccs.pili2016pinas is the CCS of Angono, Rizal.
He said user e360 is a server in amazonaws.com which is a cloud computing service located in the United States. He added that user e360 "looks very similar to a software product of the Philippine election provider Smartmatic."
An impeccable source, eh? Look at all that technobabble! Does this literal comedian, Sotto was a comedian before he was a Senator, even know what he is talking about? To cast doubt on the 2016 elections is to cast doubt on the validity of Duterte's win at the polls. What if they did an investigation, found irregularities, did a recount, and it turns out Sen. Grace Poe actually won?
In an interview with reporters, Cayetano explained that a dispute remains because the Hague ruling has no "enforcement mechanism."
What a brilliant legal analysis. Not! Brighter minds than his have been discussing this and agree there are ways to make China obey the UN ruling. I tend to think it's far too late for that.
President Duterte has asked government counsel Jose Calida to determine how officials of the previous administration, including former transportation secretaries Mar Roxas and Joseph Emilio Abaya, can be made accountable for the mess at the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3).
A great example of the corrupt politics and the mindset of politicians in this country. Duterte does not want to determine IF they are accountable and responsible but rather how they CAN BE made accountable. In his mind they are already guilty and any investigation or trial will just be a formality. Now take this mindset to the drug war and no wonder the PNP is accused of EJKs and 4000 are dead. They are on a list and therefore guilty and that's that.
Chief Insp. Clark Ariola, chief of the Mabolo Police, said policemen were scouring the streets in Barangay Luz when the suspects were spotted in a pot session.
To their surprise, one of the suspects was later identified as PO1 Jayrome Solano, who is assigned at the Carbon Police Station in Cebu City.
Immediately after the incident, Police Regional Director Robert Quenery relieved Carbon Police Chief Jacinto Mandal, citing command responsibility.
Mandal accepted the decision, but insisted that he had no prior knowledge of Solano's alleged illegal activities.
He added that he has been consistent in reminding his subordinates to avoid any act that will tarnish the police organization.
Quenery said that this incident proves that they are serious about weeding out scalawags from the Philippine National Police.
The cops were out looking for law breakers when they stumbled upon some dudes smoking a joint one of whom happened to be a fellow officer. Subsequently his Chief was fired even though he had told his subordinates to not do drugs. So who exactly is the scallywag? The Chief? The PO1? They caught the PO1 by surprise and the Chief was unjustly fired so how is that weeding out scallywags? The PNP claims they have gambling lords in their midst. They know who the scallywags are but they choose to let them stay or give a small slap on the wrist!
"And the Philippines has strong debt-paying ability. Besides, the loans are usually accompanied by repayment agreements, which use certain natural resources as collateral," Zhuang told Global Times.
There you have it! Straight from China's mouth. Natural resources as collateral. No wonder Duterte is talking about co-ownership and exploration with China in the Western Philippine Sea.
The Cebu City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 12 has convicted a Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) employee who demanded P100,000 from woman for the processing of a miscellaneous sale application (MSA) for a lot in Talisay City, Cebu.
Another case that has taken over a decade to move through the courts. But at least justice has finally been served.
Agree or disagree what's important to note is that this is the second time a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines has been facing impeachment. The first one, Renato Corona, was impeached. Sereno is the first female Chief Justice to face impeachment so chalk that up to a win for women and the Philippines! (We're number one! We're number one!)
The complaints were broken down to 311 complaints involving PNP personnel acting as a protector, 263 extortion, 238 drug users or pushers, 161 illegal gambling, 75 hulidap, 19 physical injuries, 13 illegal logging, nine unexplained wealth, six kidnapping, four gun running and 387 other analogous anomalies.
There are PNP Officers involved in illegal logging? HAHAHAHAHA!!! Is there no racket the PNP won't get into?
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