It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez on Friday said that a possible solution for workers from the provinces who will be displaced by the impending lockdown in Metro Manila is to just “find a place” to live or rent in the area for the time being.
(The workers can rent for the meantime in order to lessen the movement of people. In that way, the flow of people to and from Metro Manila would also be limited.)
This is ridiculous advice. Metro Manila is basically under lockdown and commuters are told to rent a place in the city to avoid hassles. Do I really need to highlight the how asinine this is? People probably cant afford it and if the city is infected who wants to live there?
To cushion the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) threat to local tourism industry, the province of Cebu will launch a program to spur local travel and bookings in luxury hotels and establishments at extremely low rates.
Governor Gwendolyn Garcia on Thursday said the new program dubbed as “Suroy Suroy Alang sa Sugbo” is a reverse version of the already existing Suroy Suroy Sugbo, a famous tour junket organized by the provincial capitol to promote countryside tourism.
With the new program, domestic tourists from the countryside will be given a chance to explore the Metro Cebu area and provided access to luxury hotels and resorts, shopping malls, restaurants, and day tour experiences.
Garcia said the program is meant to lessen the “adverse and painful effect” of the Covid-19 pandemic that has hit the local tourism industry, and to allow resort and hotel workers to keep their jobs in these trying times.
Occupancy rate of hotels and resorts, especially in Metro Cebu area, has dipped from 90 percent to 40 to 30 percent, with the diminishing tourist arrivals, she said.
All these cities going on "lockdown" to stop the spread of the disease and Cebu is trying to attract tourists!
A village councilor allegedly into illegal drug peddling was arrested by anti-narcotics and police operatives during an anti-drug operation in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat on Friday.
Director Naravy Duquiatan of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) identified the suspect as Michael Tamles, 35, a three-term village councilor of Barangay Sucob in Columbio town.
“Tamles belonged to the top ten priority target-listed personalities of PDEA in Sultan Kudarat,” Duquiatan said.
Another village councillor selling drugs.
Joint police and anti-narcotics agents arrested a former police officer during a drug sting operation in Pikit, North Cotabato on Saturday morning.
Director Naravy Duquiatan of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Region 12 (PDEA-12) led the operation with Pikit police personnel in Barangay Poblacion, Pikit, North Cotabato, that resulted in the arrest of Motin Kidap Jr., 41.
“Confiscated from the suspect were 16 small sachets of suspected shabu with an estimated value of PHP8,160, the PHP500 marked money, cellular phone, and the motorcycle he used during the transaction," Duquiatan said in a statement.
Kidap, a target-listed drug personality, is a former police officer assigned with the Police Regional Office in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
He was declared absent without official leave (AWOL) following allegations of his links to illegal drugs, Duquiatan said.
Another PNP officer involved in the drug trade. Isolated incident? Bad egg? Just business as usual.
A village councilor and three other suspects were nabbed in separate buy-bust operations in Catanduanes and Camarines Sur on Saturday.
Col. Paul Abay, Catanduanes police chief, said in a report that Pio Dela Cruz, 44, was arrested in Barangay San Miguel, Panganiban town at around 10:20 a.m.
Dela Cruz, a councilor of the said village, was included in the regional and national watchlist of illegal drug personalities.
Recovered from him were 28 sachets of suspected crystal meth, locally known as shabu, and a .22-caliber firearm with three live bullets.
Another village councilor busted on drug charges.
A policeman was arrested in Cebu City by anti-scalawag unit of the Philippine National Police (PNP) due to his alleged involvement in the operations of “swertres,” an illegal numbers game.
Staff Sergeant Carlito Tinoy was arrested by operatives of the PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) Visayas Field Unit, assisted by other local police units, in an operation launched in Sitio Sudlon, Barangay Lahug at about 8:45 p.m. on Sunday.
“We have arrested a police non-commissioned officer who has been the subject of persistent reports regarding his involvement in the rampant operations of ‘swertres,’ a banned numbers’ game in his neighborhood despite the order of [PNP chief] Gen. [Archie] Gamboa to stop all forms of illegal gambling activities and the full implementation of the ‘no-take policy’ across the country,” IMEG chief Col. Ronald Lee said Monday.
He said the 41-year-old suspect is a member of the Police Regional Office 7’s (Central Visayas) 701st Regional Mobile Force Battalion. Also arrested during the operation was Tinoy’s alleged cohort identified as Joven Igam.
Confiscated from the accused policeman were a total of P4,000 in different denominations, which were believed to be proceeds of his illegal gambling activity, a calculator, pen, and a tally sheet. Igam meanwhile yielded P500, a pen, and three pieces of stapled tally sheets.
A PNP officer involved in illegal gambling.
Police are hot on the trail of armed men who ambushed and killed a municipal councilor of Maguindanao and a companion along the stretch of the highway here on Sunday.
Lt. Col. Bernard Tayong, speaking for the North Cotabato police, identified the slain councilor as Ruben "Udzi" Mindalagat of Datu Montawal, Maguindanao.
“The councilor died on the spot,” Tayong said.
His companion, Mokamad Mindalagat, was critically injured and later pronounced dead on arrival at Albutra hospital situated about 20 meters away from the ambush scene.
The two were heading home in Datu Montawal aboard a black Honda Fit vehicle (MGE-382) driven by the town official from Kabacan public market where they bought food supplies when ambushed at 10:30 a.m.
Another LGU official assassinated.
Panelo first said that the Philippines would take Korea's lead in implementing a total lockdown.
"What Secretary Año and other members of the Cabinet are considering is what [South] Korea carried out. They did a total lockdown. That is what we'll present to the president," he said in Filipino.
As of this writing, South Korea has not implemented such a measure.
Instead, the East Asian country initiated a comprehensive testing drive to supplement its already-advanced healthcare system.
Duterte's mouthpiece also shared a few ways the general public could protect themselves from transmitting the virus.
These included eating bananas often and gargling salt water.
"I read a few things about how to destroy or contain the virus. You know, even without me knowing it, I've been fond of bananas," he said.
"They I saw on the internet, that bananas are a good way to fight [viruses]. So here I am, eating bananas every day."
"It has been my habit to gargle salt water. Whenever I feel a bit of colds, I do it. [Health Secretary Francisco] Duque said that's okay. Even gargling with Listerine," Panelo went on.
He explained that this was because the virus would first enter the body via the throat.
Panelo may have been referring to a graphic that circulated social media earlier this week with these same claims.
“Corona virus before it reaches the lungs it remains in the throat for four days and at this time the person begins to cough and have throat pains,” the graphic read.
"If he drinks water a lot and gargling with warm water & salt or vinegar eliminates the virus. Spread this information because you can save someone with this information."
This is not necessarily true.
Presidential spokesman Panelo is literally disseminating fake news from his podium.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday addressed criticism that he repeatedly mispronounced the word “virus” in his public speeches.
In a televised address, Duterte said he deliberately called the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) “vee-rus” because he was angry at the unseen enemy, which causes fatal respiratory illness, especially in older people.
Duterte is angry at the virus so he is calling it by the wrong name. Take that you stupid virus!
A former official of the Cebu City Government surrendered to police after an arrest warrant was issued against him in violation of the Social Security Law (Republic Act. No. 8282).
Dr. Librado Macaraya, ex-chairperson of the Cebu City’s Commission on Parks and Playgrounds, posted bail on Wednesday, March 18, 2020, after he voluntarily surrendered before enforcers from the Cebu City Mobile Force Company (CMFC).
Police Lieutenant Colonel Randy Korret, said Macaraya is among the 11 people who surrendered to CMFC during their three-day operation against loose firearms.
“Our intensified operation led to some of those to voluntarily turn themselves in, like this doctor, who told us that he is aware of a warrant of arrest issued against him,” said Korret in Tagalog.
Aside from Macaraya, Korret also said a traffic enforcer from Mandaue City, identified as Leumel Cortes and who claimed to be a nephew of Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, also surrendered himself to authorities.
It is not clear if Dr. Macaraya was in possession of illegal firearms or how he violated RA 8282.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on Tuesday explained why the lion’s share or P14 billion of the P27.1-billion spending plan to combat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and provide economic relief to affected industries has been earmarked for the tourism sector.
Under the Duterte administration’s economic team’s “war chest,” various programs of the Department of Tourism (DOT) will be given P14 billion to support the tourism industry. The funds will be sourced from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).
Meanwhile, an additional P3.1 billion will be mobilized to contribute directly to efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, including the acquisition of test kits. The funds came from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Asked why bulk of the government’s package is allotted for tourism, Dominguez told GMA News Online “because as of now, the tourism sector is the most affected.”
For his part, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said the allotments presented by the economic team are “tentative allocations.”
“We will shift the funds where it is more needed, whenever required and/or necessary,” Avisado told GMA News Online.
“What we are simply saying is that funds are available when needed,” the Budget chief said.
P14 billion to the department of tourism and only P3.1 billion to direct efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus. It's always tourism! What about the tourism industry? Every single time there is an emergency some kind. Even DFA secretary Locsin can't impose necessary measures to stop the entry of foreigners without consulting the tourism secretary!
Its as if without tourists the Philippines economy would collapse! We will see how it goes during the next month.
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