Friday, April 13, 2018

Retards in the Government Part 44

It's part 44 of Retards in the Government.
http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/06/18/piol-duterte-ordered-nfa-council-abolition
Pretty sure he cannot actually legally do this.
https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/04/06/duterte-plans-to-take-over-supervision-of-nfa-and-its-policy-making-body/
Roque also maintained that the NFA Council headed by Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. would not be abolished, contrary to earlier reports. 
“It’s NFA that will be transferred to Office of the President with the NFA Council,” he said.
Yeah Duterte can't just abolish the office outright.  But he can restructure it so that all the powers of the NFA Council are essentially vested in him with the council itself being merely a rubber-stamp.
http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2018/04/07/duterte-to-NFA-ignore-council-import-rice.html
"Sinabi ko na sa kanya [I told him], 'Ignore the Rice Council which is mandated by law, go ahead and make the importations,'" he said in a speech during a dinner concert in Pasay City.
The nations top law enforcer who is out against any whiff of corruption telling the NFA Secretary Aquino to ignore the law is...I am left speechless. There are now words to adequately describe these kinds of shenanigans.  The epitome of corruption perhaps?

http://business.inquirer.net/248752/ph-import-500000-mt-rice-year
NFA Administrator Jason Aquino has ordered the importation of 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice under the government-to-government (G2G) scheme. While the G2G scheme is believed to be more prone to corruption and less transparent since it does not require the disclosure of the bidding’s base price, its procurement process is considered the fastest.
Each grain of rice imported by the NFA now represents so much corruption.  A scoop of corruption to go with your liempo. Sarap!
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/980484/pnp-chief-clears-cebu-city-mayor-of-drug-links
Both the PNP and the PDEA have cleared the Mayor of Cebu from having any drug links. So was former DOJ Sec Aguirre lying? Or are the PDEA and the PNP lying? An affidavit from 2016 and no links established yet.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/649066/pathologist-challenges-phl-officials-view-that-us-cameraman-committed-suicide-in-cebu-jail/story/
If the PNP murdered this guy it would not be the first time PNP officers murdered a foreigner. See the case of Jee Ick Joo.

https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/cebu-news/2018/04/06/1803406/bus-accidents-prompt-dpwh-conduct-road-safety-audits
In the Philippines there is no such thing as preventative safety measures. Horrible accidents have to happen before anyone cares enough to check on the conditions of roads or construction sites or make sure building are up to code.
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the relief of all personnel of Land Transportation Office (LTO) assigned in the truck weighing station in Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya following complaints of extortion activities in the area. 
Piñol said as much as 1,000 trucks pass through the weighing scale everyday and the extorted money amounted from P500,000 to P1 million daily or up to P30 million every month. 
“They said that this has been going on for over 10 years now and previous administrations seemed helpless in stopping the extortion operations,” he added.
This sounds good but if these allegations are true and for 10 years these men have been extorting truck drivers out of millions of pesos then they need to be charged with a crime and not just relieved from their jobs.
“We cannot guarantee there will be no blood in our campaign against illegal drugs,” said Albayalde, who is also the current chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO). 
Albayalde said he would continue implementing the programs of PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa in addressing the country’s drug problem.
"Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." But why should it be any different.  He will do as the President, at who's pleasure he serves, tells him. No more. No less.
"Our plan is to initially lower the tax rate for corporations from 30% to 25%. But our proposal to Congress is to allow us to do that only if there is a reduction in the amount that we provide for incentives," Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez said on Tuesday.  
"Some guys have been receiving incentives for 40 years... Shouldn't people grow up and compete with the rest of the world?" he said.  
Dominguez said they will retain tax incentives, but they need to make sure the country gets something in return. 
There's more tax reform to come. At the end of the month, the Finance department will file TRAIN 2+, updating taxes on tobacco, alcohol, mining and gambling. TRAIN 3 will be submitted by the end 2018, covering property taxes. To be submitted in 2019 is TRAIN 4, which covers taxes on investments.
If you thought the first TRAIN bill, which cut income taxes by raising excise taxes thereby increasing inflation, was a wreck you ain't seen nothing yet. Note that there are 3 more TRAINs making their way through the Congress. The DOF wants to cut incentives for corporations and compensate for the by providing a tax rate of 25%. Funny how DOF Sec Dominguez says, "Shouldn't people grow up and compete with the rest of the world?" when the Philippines has been the recipient, with the permission of the WTO, of quantitative restrictions on rice imports along with a special tariff rate since 1995 all because they cannot compete in the free market.

How do corporate investors feel about TRAIN 2?
https://www.philstar.com/business/2018/04/08/1803796/train-2-fears-stall-manufacturing-growth
Fears emanating from the second tax reform package continued to drag new investments into the local information technology (IT) and manufacturing sectors. 
“No one is closing or stopping but no new investments in manufacturing and IT until investors know the TRAIN 2 result,” Plaza said. 
“Foreign chambers and industry locators/organizations are submitting their position paper on TRAIN 2 appealing not to change the incentives because they have seen continuing investments,” she added. 
“Government knows why (there is a drop) because business chambers, foreign embassies, and industry locators sent their petitions to the DOF and Congress about their opposition to TRAIN 2. Industries are fighting for retention of PEZA incentives,” Plaza said. 
In 2017, PEZA recorded its worst year for new IT and manufacturing investments. 
Despite ending the year with an 8.89 percent growth in total investment approvals, PEZA registered total IT investments of P15.56 billion and manufacturing investments of P48.36 billion, the lowest for both sectors in PEZA’s history. 
“Manufacturing firms don’t want to invest if there is uncertaintybecause in manufacturing, it requires huge investment in equipment and machine,” PEZA manager for promotion and public relations Elmer San Pascual  earlier said.
Manufacturers are afraid. They don't want to lose the incentives that allows them to continue to invest in the country. How does this square with the recent survey that the Philippines is the number one place to invest? If there is fear about TRAIN 2 then how will the Philippines attract the industries they hope to bring to the country?
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and aerospace industry officials, in a briefing at the Clark Freeport Zone yesterday, said the country is well positioned to become a regional hub for the industry. 
Lopez said the industry is considered “very essential for the future of our country” given its huge potential for jobs generation and export earnings. 
“The Philippine aerospace industry has chartered significant growth in the last few years and we see this emerging industry ready to compete in the global market. We see the Philippines participating more not only in the global supply chain of aircraft manufacturing but also in the maintenance of these aircraft,” Lopez said. 
Damien Damperon, vice president of the Aerospace Industries Association of the Philippines, said the Philippines is an enticing market for investors in the aerospace industry “mainly because of the high educational level of people combined with amazing work ethics demonstrated every day.” 
“Investing in the Philippines today is a very wise choice for investors,” Damperon said.
You can't blame these guys who want to Aim High and increase the aerospace industry to the Philippines. But how is investing in the Philippines today a wise choice when the economic situation is uncertain? Did the men they speak with have any knowledge of TRAIN 2 and disappearing incentives? Empty phrases like "very wise choice for investors" or "amazing work ethics demonstrated every day" are not going to cut it. Investors need stability and reliability in the economically and with the people. Where are these highly educated and deeply ethical workers in the Philippines?
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/980714/doh-records-871-new-cases-of-hiv-infections-in-february
In addition, 723 cases, or 86 percent, were newly diagnosed infections involving males who had sex with males. A third of the 871 new cases were from Metro Manila.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/news/649279/doh-data-show-5-537-ofws-have-hiv-aids-says-lawmaker/story/
Bertiz said that based on the DOH's registry, 4,763 of the infected OFWs are male. 
He added that 140 OFWs have been newly diagnosed with HIV from January to February this year. 
The new HIV-positive OFWs include 129 males and 11 females. 
"Almost all of the OFWs in the registry acquired the infection via sexual contact," the lawmaker said. 
He said that OFWs are more susceptible to having HIV or AIDS because they are "they are exposed to foreign cultures that usually encourage high-risk behavior, including casual sex."
Both of these articles are necessary to get the bigger picture on AIDS and HIV in the Philippines. This lawmaker is actually blaming "foreign cultures" on the rise of AIDS amongst OFW's. But look at the statistics. Amongst OFWs and those in the country the newly infected are mostly men. Gay men. Does Beritz think the Philippines has a a culture which does not encourage high-risk behaviour? He is out of his mind. Filipinos are not saints and the culture here tolerates and embraces the LGBT community.  It is this specific community which is driving the AIDs increase.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/lifestyle/2017/09/08/homo-and-bi-sexuality-driven-new-aidshiv-cases-philippines-561145
For this lawmaker to blame the rise in AIDS cases on foreign cultures is outrageous. 
An October 2008 decision of the SC had classified the island as both forest and agricultural land that belongs to the government as it junked ownership claims by several resort owners. 
The SC classified the owners of resorts fronting the shoreline as merely “builders in good faith” because the area is a forestland that cannot be privatized. 
“The continued possession and considerable investment of private claimants do not automatically give them a vested right in Boracay. Nor do these give them a right to apply for a title to the land they are presently occupying,” said the 35-page decision penned by now retired Associate Justice Ruben Reyes. 
It explained that only owners with valid land titles since June 12, 1945, the date prescribed under the Public Land Act or Commonwealth Act 141, could claim ownership to their properties in the island. Most owners of beachfront properties are without titles. 
The groups lamented that even if they already spent millions to develop their respective properties, they could not be granted ownership.
This changes everything! In 2008 the SC ruled that Boracay belongs to the government and that none of the land could be privatised. Yet investment and building continued despite resort owners not being able to own the land and have a proper title. So how are these resorts even allowed to be there in the first place? Who issued building permits and on what basis? On what authority? Everyone there is a squatter! The existence of this ruling and the continuing existence of Boracay as a resort island proves that the whole matter is full of corruption. This is the Philippine way of doing business. Why would anyone want to invest here?? Is Duterte going to raze it all to the ground?

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/981162/duterte-boracay-to-be-a-land-reform-area-for-farmers-after-closure
 “You want to know now, I’m going to make the announcement. It’s going to be a land reform area for the Filipinos,” Duterte said in a press conference in Davao City before flying to China on Monday afternoon. 
 “Consider Boracay a land reform area. I will give it to the farmers, to the Filipino first,” he said. 
 “Give it to the people who need it most. That is an announcement. It will be a land reform area. Period,” added.
There is no telling what Duterte will really do. But it would be funny if all the resorts were bulldozed and the entire island turned into farmland.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/04/09/1804326/duterte-tells-sereno-i-am-now-your-enemy
“I am putting on notice that I am now your enemy. And you have to be out of the Supreme Court,” the chief executive said. 
Duterte said he would ask his ally, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, to expedite the impeachment process.  
"I am asking the Congress, what’s taking you too long? Do not create any crisis in this country. I will not hesitate to do what is to the best interest of my country. If it calls for your forced removal, I will do it," he said. 
The president also said that he would encourage the government’s chief lawyer, Solicitor General Jose Calida, to do his best on the quo warranto petition he filed against the chief justice. 
“I already told you Sereno that I did not meddle. If you are insisting, then count me in. Count me in and I will egg Calida [on] to do his best,” he said.
True colours shining through?
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2018/04/07/2-city-hall-employees-nabbed-drug-busts-597313
More government employees caught doing drugs.
“Basta ako [As for me] I will run under the administration ticket,” Estrada said 
“If they will not get me, I will run as an independent but I will be supportive of the administration of President Duterte no matter what happens,” the former senator said. 
Estrada also vowed to support the administration’s projects and legislative agenda for as long as these would benefit the people.
Disgusting. This man is accused of plundering millions and is out on bail despite his offence being non-bailable and is even going to speak at a conference on good government and now he is going to run for office again. If he wins a seat just remember that's what the people wanted!
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/649524/bato-mark-my-word-i-will-succeed-vs-drug-lords-in-bilibid/story/
"I will not give you the details but I tell you, mark my word, I will succeed. Hindi ako magpapatalo sa mga drug lord na 'yan, as to how I will do it, just (use) your wild imagination," he added.
Sure. Whatever. Bato said he would cleanse the PNP of rouge cops and scalawags but he didn't. He should shut up and do his job without all the theatrics.
The mayor of Caluya, Antique has been charged at the Sandiganbayan over her alleged unlawful approval of the cutting of 245 coconut trees in the municipality in 2014. 
Ombudsman prosecutors filed one count of violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and one count of violation of Section 5, in relation to Section 9 of the Coconut Preservation Act against Mayor Genevive Gumban Lim-Reyes. 
Reyes allegedly "willfully, unlawfully and criminally" ordered the cutting of 254 coconut trees planted and cultivated on the five-hectare land of a certain Juliet Ramos in Barangay Tinogboc on February 28.
This happened four years ago and he is jus now being charged.  Slow moving justice in the Philippines.

“Number one, you can question why he (Osmeña) knew that the illegal drugs in Cebu City came from China. From that information, maybe he (Osmeña) has inside information about the drugs that come to Cebu City,” Duterte said. 
She added that a mayor like Osmeña wouldn’t talk about illegal drugs coming from China if he doesn’t know about the process or the system of transport. 
“That is the question that should be asked from him (Osmeña). If he has knowledge about that illegal drugs, he should report it to the police and they can work together to control the drugs coming into the city,” Duterte said. 
Second, Duterte said Osmeña must produce proof on how illegal drugs from China came into Cebu City. He owes it to the public and the authorities. 
“As local chief executive, you work with the local police to control it and arrest the suspects,” Duterte said. 
Duterte also denied Osmeña’s claim that her father, President Rodrigo Duterte is afraid to deal with China on the issue about illegal drugs. 
“That is false. The President is very passionate about his war against drugs. When it comes to illegal drugs, the authorities act regardless of country and citizenship. They do something about it,” the Davao City mayor sad.
Sara Duterte is a very disingenuous woman. Last week the Mayor of Cebu said drugs are coming from China and Duterte is afraid to confront China to stop it. This week Sara Duterte acts surprised to hear such a thing and says if Osmeña knows something he should go to the police. She says he must produce proof that illegal drugs came from China.  All right so here's the proof:
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/163783/news-china-pdea-drugs-shabu-mexico-drug-cartels
It's common knowledge at this point that China is a plentiful source of illegal drugs. Why would she act so stupid? For one thing it seems there is a concerted effort to link Osmeña to the drug trade and for another she accompanied her father on his visit to China this week. She is just being basic.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/165477/duterte-ready-open-ph-doors-rohingya-refugees
Duterte has been accused of all kinds of human rights violations and he thinks they will let him accept refugees?  Where would all these people go anyway? They are Muslims so maybe put them in the ARMM where they can join ISIS and fight for the caliphate.
https://www.rappler.com/nation/200042-supreme-court-war-on-drugs-state-sponsored-killings
"The government's inclusion of these deaths among its other accomplishments may lead to the inference that these are state-sponsored killings," the SC said in a resolution released on Tuesday, April 10. 
In the resolution, the High Court denies Solicitor General Jose Calida's motion for reconsideration of the SC order for government to provide full documentation of Oplan Tokhang. Despite Calida's appeal that documents would risk national security, the SC is compelling the government to turn them over to the court. 
The SC took judicial notice of the 2017 yearend report of the Duterte administration "where deaths in cases related to illegal drugs and the internal cleansing conducted within the Philippine National Police (PNP) are touted as accomplishments." 
According to the report, 3,967 drug personalities died in anti-drug operations from July 1, 2016, to November 27, 2017, while there are 16,355 homicide cases under investigation from July 1, 2016, to September 27, 2017. 
"This is a total of 20,322 deaths during the Duterte administration's anti-drug war from July 1, 2016 to November 27, 2017, or an average of 39.46 deaths every day," the SC said. 
It added: "This Court wants to know why so many deaths happened."
The government has been loathe to turn over these documents but not that they are being forced to do so we might find out the truth of the drug war and whether or not there have been EJKs.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/981978/barangay-bets-warned-be-truthful-in-declaring-party-affiliation-or-face-consequences
Now why would a candidate lie about that?
https://www.rappler.com/nation/200009-alvarez-wants-house-representatives-impeach-sereno-may-2018
It's pretty much a done deal for Sereno.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/649829/pet-orders-leni-bongbong-camps-to-explain-disclosure-of-info-on-vp-vote-recount/story/
The Supreme Court sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) wants to know why the camps of former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Vice President Leni Robredo have disclosed "sensitive" information in the ongoing vice presidential vote recount despite being ordered not to.
Like I said previously:  Corruption will ultimately be the winner in this recount.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/649817/peter-lim-to-doj-public-outrage-is-not-evidence/story/
Assailing Aguirre's two-paragraph order, the Lim motion claimed it does not appear the erstwhile Justice chief "actually reviewed the records of this case." 
"There is no discussion whatsoever on the evidence presented by complainant, much less any error in the findings on which the resolution is based," the motion read.  
"Intriguingly, despite the voluminous records of this case, which include multiple counter-affidavits from the respondents and the parties' respective memoranda, it took the Secretary of Justice only one week to vacate the resolution without citing any factual or legal basis therefor," it added.
Dismissing this case in the first place and then reopening it because of public outrage and not the merits of the case has opened a huge can of worms. For sure his rights are being violated for having to go through this process once more. Likely he will walk. Legally he should walk. Isn't this double jeopardy? This is the Philippine justice system at work.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/04/12/1805294/china-commits-help-philippine-state-media
The Philippine government secured RMB 17 million (P140.8 million) worth of aid from the Chinese government to improve the country’s state media during President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to China. 
Andanar also announced that there would be a media exchange program with China, even noting that Xi emphasized the importance of the media cooperation between his country and the Philippines. 
“We all know that the Xinhua News Agency is one of the most successful news agencies in the world and the CCTV is also one of the largest broadcasting networks in the world; China Radio International also,” he said. 
The PCOO chief added: “In terms of management, in terms of the technology that they are using, we, in the Philippine government media, have so much to learn from them.” 
But the former newsreader recognized the “different ideologies and different paradigms in reporting” of the two nations.
At least Andanar recognises the differences between China and the Philippines, whatever they may be. This move is right in line with Duterte's turn to China and PDP-Laban's drive to have their members learn governance techniques from China.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2018/04/12/minglanilla-village-officials-surrender-firearms-598100
Barangay officials with unlicensed firearms. Colour me surprised!

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Thursday, April 12, 2018

El Pollo-Fil-A

Chicken is as much of a staple as rice in the diet of the Philippines. No surprise then when a new chicken store recently opened.



Much to my disappointment this store does not sell cooked chickens. They only sell dressed chickens which you can take home and roast or fry yourself. They also sell all the standard sari-sari store fare because in essence that is what this place is. A sari-sari store which sells dressed chickens. 

I left empty handed.

One the way home I could not shake the feeling that something about this store seemed mighty familiar.


Mighty, mighty familiar.

But I can't quite put my finger on it.

Can you?
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Wednesday, April 11, 2018

"I Shoot Your Dog"

Nice title right?  I shoot your dog. Yes that is what he told me with a smile. "I shoot your dog." How did I end up in that situation?  

I woke up around 1 pm after a short but powerful nap. The kind where you wake up still tired. The stench of smoke filled the room. All the windows were shut but the wind was blowing so hard it pushed the smoke all around the air, forcing some of it through the cracks. What a stink!

It was time to take the dogs out for their walk so I figured I would try to find the source of this overwhelming smell as we walked. Outside the air was gray and hazy. It was obviously a large fire but looking in the direction of the usual suspect's houses I saw nothing. So I leashed up three of the dogs and went out searching.


These are the dogs. When they go out they like to run and jump and sniff wherever their nose leads them. They are not hard to reign in but they can be rambunctious. We walked one street up and there was the fire. Quite large. I got close enough to take a few pictures when the big black dog wandered over to the guy overseeing the fire to take a sniff. I immediately yanked the chain and pulled her toward me. That's when he said it. The first time.

"Hey what you doing? I shoot your dog."  

You could hear the calm smile in his voice. He wasn't angry. He was being factual. 

"You going to report me?", he kept asking. "Why you taking picture?"




"It's so beautiful", I said sarcastically motioning toward the flames.

After that the dogs and I left the street and continued on our walk. But the confrontation really began to bug me. This person just threatened to shoot my dog and asked if I was going to report him as if to say, "Go ahead and report me. I shoot you too!"

The more I thought about it the more I realised I should do something about this guy. It would be no use reporting him. The cops simply do not care. I settled on taking a video and uploading it to the internet. Not that it would do anything but two still photos was really nothing.

I returned the dogs to the house and walked back to the fire to shoot a few seconds of video. My reappearance was most unwelcome but I stayed my ground and took a short video of the fire which was in the process of being doused.


If you listen very closely towards the end this guy, whose name I am told is Joemarie, says, "But don't bring your dog." If I had kept the camera rolling he would have finished that thought with, "Or I shoot your dog!" I really regret having turned off the camera so soon before he could say those fatal words.

But at least I got his picture.

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Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Martial Law: Last Chance/Racing Against Time

This 45th week of Martial Law has not been much different from last week. A few skirmishes but mostly all talk. Duterte has been talking and talking and talking about the BBL to the Muslims and to Congress. He has also indicated that he wants to revive the peace talks with the communists. Talk, talk, talk. Blah, blah, blah. Let's find out what he's been saying.

First let's start with the BBL.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/648594/duterte-i-am-racing-against-time-on-bbl/story/
Speaking at an event for land reform beneficiaries in Sultan Kudarat, the President said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), whose leaders had a meeting with him last week, "has placed on us the burden of a timeline." 
"And I have agreed to that period. I gave my solemn promise and I assure you I am working hard to meet the deadline," he said.
The MILF is now holding the entire nation and Duterte hostage. How does this terrorist group have any standing to place "the burden of a timeline" on this process? And why would Duterte agree to this? His solemn promise isn't worth much as he promised to jet-ski to the Spratly Islands and plant the flag and he promised to end drugs and crime in six months and he did neither.

What will the MILF do if the Congress does not vote in favour of this de facto Islamic State which Duterte even admits won't settle ethnic hostilities? Will they launch attacks again? Does Duterte not realise that the MILF is a terrorist group and that there is only a temporary ceasefire? The "us" on which the burden has been placed is everyone in this country. 

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2018/04/05/1802840/bangsamoro-basic-law-ready-signing-law-june
The proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will be ready for signing into law when Congress adjourns sine die on June 1, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said yesterday.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/04/07/1803571/duterte-urges-house-pass-bangsamoro-basic-law
The draft faces rough sailing due to what many congressmen consider as unconstitutional provisions. 
One such provision is the proposed regional parliamentary setup, which does not jibe with the presidential structure the Constitution provides and which exists nationally. 
Duterte himself has acknowledged the constitutional infirmities of the draft, which is similar to the one presented by the Aquino administration to Congress and which the legislature failed to pass.
The first headline contradicts the second. How can the Senate guarantee the bill will be ready by June 1st when the House has not even passed the bill yet and when it faces opposition because of "unconstitutional provisions"? The Senate version of the BBL and the House version are not the same. Why would Duterte acknowledge the BBL draft bill's "constitutional infirmities" but still want it passed when he just withdrew from the ICC because he believes provisions in the Rome Treaty are unconstitutional?? It makes no sense. It is contradictory and confusing. It is classic Duterte.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/06/18/duterte-wants-bangsamoro-law-before-sona-milf-says
While the MILF has "no objections" to the version of the BBL pending at the Senate, Jaafar said his group had "some problems" with the one at the House of Representatives, which included some watered-down provisions.
More contradictions! Duterte wants the House to pass the version of the BBL they have but the MILF is not ok with that version of the bill. So what then? They pass it, the Senate amends it, and then it goes back to the House for another vote or what? If this bill is to succeed there is too much work to be done to simply railroad it through to the Preisdent's desk. Interestingly in this interview with a MILF spokesman there is no mention of the MILF giving a deadline but he does mention that Duterte set a deadline of having it passed before the SONA.

We see that Duterte's real goal is not peace in Mindanao per se. No. His real goal is to be the Saviour of the Philippines. He wants to be the man who brought everlasting peace to Mindanao and the country by settling the 500 year old Moro Conflict, ending Islamic terrorism, and reigning in the Communists. The announcement of wanting to sign the BBL into law before the SONA is proof that this is his goal. Remember last year when the AFP was told to reclaim the Marawi before the SONA?

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/910717/clear-marawi-of-terrorists-before-sona-military-told
It's all a show. Duterte wants to stand before the entire nation and say, "I have brought peace to the country."  In reality all he will do is curse and ramble on while the director uses every angle to make him look good on TV.

http://preen.inquirer.net/51935/curse-words-president-duterte-shouldt-said-sona

Given that Marawi was not retaken until October perhaps the BBL will also pass by then. But don't count on it.

Now let's move on to the communists.

Remember this?

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/03/09/duterte-ready-for-an-all-out-war-with-npa/
“Let them choose. Ako, I’m ready for an all-out war. Another 50 years if need be. What you give, you receive also,” Duterte said in an ambush interview on Thursday (March 9) after his visit to the wake of the four slain policemen when asked if he would prefer peace talks or war.
Turns out Duterte isn't ready for all-out war with the Communists.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/04/05/1802926/duterte-oks-last-chance-peace-reds
Dureza said the President directed his officials “to work on the resumption of peace talks with the CPP-NPA-NDF, with clear instructions on the importance of forging a ceasefire agreement to stop mutual attacks and fighting while talks are underway.” 
“The President said, ‘Let’s give this another last chance,’ ” Dureza added in a text message.
Another last chance?  How many times do you get a "last chance?" Last chance should be last chance but with Duterte having no firm policy regarding Islamic terrorists or Communists there will be plenty of last chances to go round. Not only is Duterte wanting to revive the peace talks, he also wants to bring them from the Netherlands to the Philippines.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/04/05/duterte-proposes-peace-talks-should-be-held-in-the-country/
“Come home. I will not talk there. Come home. I will subsidize your trip here. I will pay for your billeting, board and lodging,” the President said during an agriculture event in Malacañang, addressing the communist rebel group.
When he says, "I will pay," what he really means is, "The Filipino taxpayers will pay." Right now Norway is covering all the costs and is playing mediator in the peace talks. Is there a budget allocated for peace talks?  Do the people want this? Sure, groups have raised their voices to resume peace talks but do they represent what all 100 million citizens, or at least a majority of them, want? Duterte has even given his blessing for Joma Sison to return to the country.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/648979/palace-joma-may-return-to-phl-if-peace-talks-resume-subject-to-gov-t-conditions/story/
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said the President had indicated his willingness to give Sison, his former college professor, "an assurance that he can come home without being arrested for the purpose of participating in the peace talks." 
Sison fled to Europe soon after peace talks with the government of then-President Corazon Aquino failed in 1987 and has stayed in the Netherlands since, while the country's longest running insurgency continued to claim thousands of lives amid fighting with government troops.
What does Duterte hope to gain from renewing peace talks?  They failed the first time. He could not have possibly thought they would have succeeded. DND Sec Lorenzana said everyone thought releasing terrorists from prison in a bid to have peace talks succeed was foolish.
It was in August 2016 when the government released 22 NDF consultants for the negotiation, including CPP chairman Benito Tiamzon and his wife Wilma, who were arrested in 2014. 
The Duterte administration then conducted its first round of peace talks with the NDF in Norway, ending almost five years of impasse. 
Lorenzana, meanwhile, said the government did not get anything in return when the communist leaders were released. 
“They went to Oslo, Norway to talk. Because our troops were prevented from operating against them, so they were able to recover a lot of barangays that we have taken from them,” he said. 
“What did we get? Nothing, so ‘yun ang masasabi ko, they're just trying to take advantage of the peace talks, to gain a space to pursue their range,” he added. 
The Defense chief also pointed out that he did not think that peace negotiations under the Duterte administration would work right from the start. 
“No I did not think, a lot of us, the defense community did not think it would work and also lot of civilians did not think it would work,” Lorenzana said.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/647307/peace-talks-with-reds-terminated-for-good-says-defense-chief/story/
Lorenzana is a brave man to say he he and others did not think Duterte's foolish plan would work. Such a statement could be used against him as proof of disloyalty and cost him his job. Who would dare contradict Duterte? Not even the AFP and PNP who's recommendation regarding peace talks Duterte said he would follow. They both said, "NO!" a few months ago because the communists continue to fight and kill both PNP and AFP personnel. Why have peace talks if the SPARU assassination squad is being revived? Now the PNP and AFP are on  board with this plan to revive the peace talks.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/648976/pnp-afp-support-possible-resumption-of-peace-talks/story/
"The AFP supports the administration in all its efforts and initiatives to bring just and lasting peace and development for the country. We will continue performing our mission and mandate of protecting the people and securing the state," AFP spokesperson Brigadier General Bienvenido Datuin said in a statement. 
"The PNP is pro-peace and we support all government efforts to achieve lasting peace. All of us have witnessed the sincerity of the government through President Duterte for exhausting all possible means to hold the peace negotiation with the CPP/NPA/NDF [Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army/National Democratic Front]," Bulalacao said.
Neither of these statements seem particularly enthusiastic about Duterte's plan. It seems as if the AFP is saying, "You do your thing and we will do ours which means killing each NPA rebel we come across." 

Duterte says the timeline for the talks is 60 days. 
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/04/08/1803878/2-month-deadline-set-talks-new-peoples-army
“I will do it. I will be the one who will deliver. But I’ll have a timeline of something like two months, 60 days. Good or break tayo,” the President said during a dinner concert at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Pasay City last Thursday.  
“I will spend for it. I will bring rice... I will shoulder the hotel (costs). You can all go out, all of you. Nothing will happen. But if we fail, I’ll start collecting. That’s for sure,” he added. 
Nothing is for sure with Duterte. Nothing.

If all the above information has you angry over how stupid it all is then take a breath. Let it out. Get ready to laugh.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/980802/military-spies-hold-conference-in-undisclosed-location-in-davao-city
Sources told the Inquirer that during the command conference, which was held in an undisclosed location, officials of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), also discussed ways on how to further strengthen intelligence gathering to thwart possible moves by IS-affiliated groups and the NPA to “sow terror. 
Last year, the ISAFP took some blame because of “lapses” in intelligence gathering that led to the siege of Marawi City, which started on May 23, 2017. 
“Basically, the command conference was all about counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency strategies, nothing special,” one of the sources said. 
Asked why the command conference was held here, another source it was “simply a change of venue” from the ISAFP headquarters in Manila to Davao. 
In fact, the President was supposed to grace the closing ceremonies of the conference, which will be held at the Grand Regal Hotel.
This article starts off by saying the ISAFP will be meeting at an undisclosed location and ends by disclosing the location! Was this really supposed to be secret? It definitely should have been. Why would the top intelligence service members and the top enlisted commanders gather together in one place and have it broadcast? Why would they meet outside headquarters in Davao which increases the risk to their safety and security? They could have had a change of venue by meeting somewhere more secure than Mindanao. Why even have a change of venue in the first place? This isn't an Avon meeting! Makes one wonder if there wasn't some ulterior motive for moving the venue.
https://pcoo.gov.ph/news_releases/president-duterte-attends-isafp-command-conference-and-sergeants-major-forum/
President Duterte lauded the intelligence service and senior enlisted leaders for their efforts in defending and protecting national security. 
“Our fight for a peaceful, stable and secure Philippines rests greatly on the two pillars of the AFP gathered here today: the ISAFP, which heads the intelligence efforts of the AFP, and the Sergeants Majors, which collectively provide steady operational leadership to the entire non-commissioned corps of the AFP,” Duterte said in his speech. 
“I could not stress enough the importance of timely, accurate and useful intelligence in securing the country and protecting our people from all enemies of the state,” he said. 
“The government credits the successful apprehension and neutralization of several high-value communist and Islamic terrorists to your effective intelligence operations,” he added. 
“May you further improve your intelligence and counterintelligence operations, and continue to work closely with other intelligence units and concerned stakeholders in the crucial tasks of gathering and processing intelligence information,” said Duterte. 
“As we consolidate our gains in this time of rapid progress and growing strength, I count on the ISAFP and our Sergeant Majors to propel our country towards real and lasting peace,” he added. 
“With you by our side, our dream of a truly strong Philippines will be achieved in the next few years,” he further said. 
“Rest assured that the government remains steadfast in looking after your welfare and in modernizing the entire Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he said. PND
Duterte is right. The gathering of "timely, accurate, and useful intelligence" is 100% crucial to winning the war against terrorism. Too bad when they had intelligence about Abu Sayyaf going to Bohol last April, actually monitoring their boat in real time, they did nothing about it until it was too late. Too bad that last April when they learned about the plans for the Marawi siege they were not able to prevent it from happening. Too bad that Duterte admitted the Marawi siege was not the result of a failure of intelligence because they knew all about the plans and weapons were allowed to flow into Marawi due to the government's soft stance on terrorists. Too bad that Lorenzana admitted the DND did not verify intel reports they received about ISIS and foreign terrorists in the country.

If no one acts on the intelligence the ISAFP gathers or that is given to them from foreign sources then it's a worthless endeavour. I wonder what role Operation Pacific Eagle is playing in the gathering of intelligence?
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Monday, April 9, 2018

The Flying on a Plane Because He's Been Deported Dutchman

A Dutchman in Cebu has been arrested and will be summarily booted from the Philippines for being an undesirable alien. What makes him so undesirable?

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2018/04/09/declared-persona-non-grata-cebu-dutchman-be-deported-soon-597542
According to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, Vondeling was arrested on the strength of a warrant of deportation issued against him by the BI last September 2015. 
Morente said the issuance of the arrest order was prompted by the resolution penned by San Fransisco, Cebu municipal council and Barangay Poblacion council dated July 2014, declaring the Dutchman a persona non grata and recommending his deportation.  
Both resolutions, which stated that the Dutchman is “inimical to public order, safety and morals,” stemmed from his failure to secure building permits for the two resorts that he was constructing in San Francisco town. 
Morente said that: “Foreigners like him who refuse to comply with our laws and who openly manifest disrespect to persons of authority do not deserve the privilege to stay in our country."
I fail to see the problem. He is merely doing business the Filipino way! Who needs a permit??

If only they kicked out illegally operating contractors and business owners and corrupt officials.  Then there would be no businesses or politicians in the Philippines! 
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Jeepney Art 11

More jeepney art. Truly this is art in motion!








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Saturday, April 7, 2018

Retards in the Government Special Edition: Rice!

In this time, the most precious substance in the Philippines is the rice. The rice extends life. The rice expands consciousness. The rice is vital to jeepney travel. The rice must flow. Why is there so much trouble with rice these days? He who controls the rice controls the Philippines. It is the government who controls the rice which should clue us in immediately as to why there are problems.  

The headlines this week shout loudly that the NFA buffer stock of rice is gone.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/04/04/1802590/nfa-rice-gone-govt-retailers-disagree
“We all know that the stocks of the NFA are running low but the overall rice supply is more than sufficient with plenty to spare. No need to panic,” Guevarra said in a text message.  
Adjusting the importation schedule of the NFA is also unnecessary, according to Guevarra.  
“There is no shortage so the same importation schedule will be followed,” he said.  
Or maybe not. What's this about no shortage and keeping to the same importation schedule? Duterte does not seem to agree.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/980478/duterte-orders-abolition-of-nfas-policy-making-body-duterte-rice-subsidy-nfa
With the impending shortage of subsidized rice in the country, President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the abolition of the policy-making body of the National Food Authority (NFA) to fast-track the agency’s importation of rice. 
James Magbanua, national president of the Grains Retailers Confederation of the Philippines (GRECON) who was present at the meeting, said the President explained that the move was to do away with the rigors of bureaucracy.
According to Magbanua, President Duterte wanted the imported rice to arrive as early as next month, as opposed to the shipment’s original time frame to arrive in June. 
The NFA Council is an 18-member advisory body that is tasked to evaluate proposals coming from the agency’s management team, which is led by NFA administrator Jason Aquino. 
Do away with the rigours of bureaucracy? By abolishing the NFA Council? Maybe Duterte is just embarrassed because he did not listen to what the Council had to say last year and enforced a ban on rice importation during peak harvest time because farmers were expecting a "bumper crop."

"President Duterte said that while there is a need to import rice to fill up the requirements of the country for buffer stock, the importation must not be done during the peak harvest season as this would compete with the production of the Filipino rice farmers," Piñol said in a statement, citing the President's announcement Wednesday. 
At a harvest festival in Nueva Ecija on Wednesday, the President fired Undersecretary Maia Chiara Halmen Reina Valdez for defying National Food Authority Administrator Jason Aquino's decision to suspend rice importation given the local harvest season.
It is true that he fired one person, a holdover from the Aquino administration, but according to her the entire NFA Council voted to continue to import rice while NFA Administrator Jason Aquino did everything to stymie that plan.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/887631/sacked-cabinet-exec-denies-it-was-her-decision-to-extend-rice-importation
“Please note that except for the NFA administrator, who DELIBERATELY refused to attend NFAC meetings, the extension of the deadline of MAV from February 28 to March 31 was UNANIMOUSLY agreed and voted upon by ALL the members of the Council,” she said. 
“In sum, the decision therefor was made by the NFAC, as a collegiate body,” she added. 
Valdez said it was NFA Administrator Jason Aquino who publicly defied the NFAC decision. 
“That being said, the NFA administrator, after deliberately absenting him from the NFAC meetings where he should have raised and defended his position has opted to publicly defy the NFAC’s decision as though he is superior over all the other Council members,” she said. 
“Despite the result of the discussion made by the NFAC, the NFA administrator has bypassed the Council, and even went directly to the President requesting that there be G2G importation of rice with total volume of one million metric tons,” she said. 
Valdez accused Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol and Aquino of meddling into the affairs of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary. 
“On their desperate attempt to convince the President to resort to G2G, the agriculture secretary who has been meddling on the functions and affairs of the OCS, and the NFA administrator have made it appear as if there is a shortage of rice in the country, causing alarm and possible upward movement in the prices of commercial rice,” she said. 
She said all decisions and resolutions of the NFAC and the OCS have been forwarded to the President through the Office of the Special Assistant to the President (OSAP). 
The NFAC members, she said, had been requesting for a dialogue with the President through OSAP but it was not granted. 
“To date, it appears to us that this request, along with the documents submitted by the OCS, which were personally handed down by Cabsec to the head of OSAP, have either failed to reach the President or have been tampered,” she said. 
“This leads us wondering, how come Jason Aquino and Emmanuel Pinol, were able to get direct access to the President, when the Cabsec has been trying to get through the President from the gatekeeper (OSAP), but to no avail?” she added. 
Duterte has said that he doesn’t want to import rice at the moment because it’s harvest season for farmers.
Duterte claims he is looking out for the farmers but is he really?
The National Food Authority (NFA) could not buy rice from local farmers for more than P17 per kilogram but could import rice from Vietnam or Thailand for P24 per kg. 
The reason? Rules that prohibit the NFA, an agency under the Department of Agriculture (DA), from spending more than P17 per kg on locally grown rice. 
The budget limit, according to Lucia Balayon, NFA provincial manager for Davao del Sur and Davao Occidental, is forcing the NFA out of competition with private traders, who buy rice from local farmers for at least P19 per kg. 
“It’s sad to note that we could not directly compete with traders,” said Balayon. 
The fixed budget for NFA was “way too low” compared with farm gate prices being offered by private traders which range from P19 to P25 per kg, said Balayon. 
Farmers, she said, would naturally sell their produce for a higher price. 
“There would be no reason for rice farmers to sell their palay to the NFA given the discrepancy,” Balayon said.
Money talks and sellers who get lowballed walk. The government admits it cannot compete and farmers have no reason to sell their rice so cheap. Raising the price isn't doable either. That would mean a budget increase and it would have to be approved through all the committees. Why is the government in this game anyway? The game of importing, buying, and selling rice that is. The NFA controls the importation of rice into the country. Some people want to see that changed.

http://business.inquirer.net/216870/dof-wants-private-sector-role-in-rice-importation
The Department of Finance (DOF) has thrown its support to plans of imposing a tariff on rice imports, saying this was more beneficial to the rice sector readying to become an open market. 
In 2014, the World Trade Organization (WTO) allowed the Philippines to extend its QR on rice until June 30, 2017 in a bid to buy more time for local farmers to prepare for free trade.
Before June 30, 2017 came around Duterte signed Executive Order 23 which extended the Quantitative Restrictions on rice imports.

http://www.manilatimes.net/rice-import-quota-extended-3-yrs/328761/
But Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol in December called for at least a two-year extension, saying Filipino farmers were not prepared for an influx of cheap rice imports.
Filipino farmers have had several years to prepare in whatever way possible for participation in the free market but are still not ready. What preparations have been made? How has the government helped? 
 
Add http://business.inquirer.net/45969/us-opposes-philippines’-appeal-to-limit-rice-imports-at-wto
The government has pushed for a three-year extension of the QR, noting that Filipino farmers need protection and encouragement as the country wants to be rice-sufficient by 2013. The Philippines also wants to be a rice exporter in the coming years.
Rice sufficiency by 2013 did not happen obviously. The above article is from 2012. How long exactly has the Philippines had restrictions on rice importation?

https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/156759/adbi-dp8.pdf

Quantitative restriction on rice imports to the Philippines have been granted by the WTO since 1995! What is QR? It means the Philippines can impose a quota on imports of rice each year and they are also allowed a lower tariff.

Originally set to expire in 2004 and now set to expire in 2020! And all because the government wants to protect farmers from the adverse effects of the free market. In a word the Philippines hopes to become 100% rice sufficient with no or little need to import rice. The same line has been said over and over. Take this from 2004.
http://www.asiarice.org/sections/whatsnew/philippines200.html
The government is targetting to achieve a 97 percent self-sufficiency in rice this year with projected palay production of 155 million metric tons (MT).
97% self-sufficiency in 2004!  Well that is an admirable goal but we know that this did not happen at all. Let's jump a decade to 2014.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/content/370204/phl-on-track-to-meet-100-rice-self-sufficiency-in-2016-agri-chief/story/
The Philippines is still on track to become 100 percent self-sufficient in rice by the end of the Aquino administration's term despite the pronouncements by a former senator and now presidential adviser that the goal will not be achieved, the Secretary of Agriculture said Monday. 
"We have to remind him that we are already at 96 percent level, why go back to 90?" Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said in a briefing in Quezon City.
"Malayong-malayo naman po iyon. With all the intervention,  naisaayos from 82 to 96 [percent], maganda na po iyon. It means we are doing something right," he said.

Rice self-sufficiency means covering the yearly domestic consumption, plus a 90-day buffer stock.

Alcala issued the statement after former Senator and current Presidential Adviser on Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Francis Pangilinan last week said he was happy with 90 to 95 percent self-sufficiency in 2016 and will import more to cover the buffer stock.

Pangilinan said there will no time frame in hitting the much coveted 100 percent self-sufficiency, Reuters reported last Wednesday.
One thing people, especially Philippine government officials with lofty goals, do not like is a naysayer. In the Philippine government there is always a naysayer wanting to dump a bucket of cold wet reality on your head and this guy turns out to be right. 96% sufficiency in 2014? How will that hold?


It doesn't hold at all. It slips to 95% three years later in 2017! And despite this slip and the goal ever being just out of reach the government remains optimistic.
With a favorable trend in the country’s average rice production per hectare, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol said the Department of Agriculture’s rice self-sufficiency target could be achieved in 2019, or a year earlier than its original time frame.
Why can't the country meet this target of 100% rice sufficiency?  Why does it keep slipping out of reach? One reason is population growth.

https://www.technochops.com/sec-pinol-warns-ph-rice-self-sufficiency-fleeting-population-growth-left-unchecked/7674/
“Even if the country achieves rice sufficiency by the Year 2020 as programmed, maintaining the level of food security will be fleeting and temporary unless the massive population growth is checked,” he said. 
Piñol also explained that the Philippines’ resources (both in the land and in the sea) are not infinite and there would be a time when these would never be enough to feed millions of Filipinos. 
“Farmers can only produce as much food as there are lands to till and fishermen could only catch as much fish as there are seas to sail,” he said. “Beyond that, not even the best agriculturist could ensure that there will be enough food for everybody.”
Another reason is plain old fashioned incompetence. Old fashioned? Incompetence never goes out of style really.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/889910/govt-rice-policy-exposes-ph-to-price-spikes-shortages-says-economist
Piñol on Sunday lashed out at economists and think tanks after the Inquirer reported on a commentary from New York-based Global Source Partners, which warned that the Duterte administration’s rice policy exposed the country to the risk of falling stocks and spiking prices. 
As Piñol himself announced last week, “President Rody Duterte has ordered the National Food Authority (NFA) to buy the paddy rice produce of Filipino farmers and import only if there is a shortfall.” 
Clarete described this policy as “local procurement first, we are not by the way against rice imports, and there is no need to import rice because we are sufficient in supply.” 
Piñol took issue with economists and think tanks for suggesting that the ban on imports be reconsidered and that the NFA be allowed to import quickly as its buffer stock was running low and the lean months were approaching. 
But Clarete said Piñol, like his predecessor, mistakenly equated sufficiency with no importation. “If local supply is equal to local consumption, that is 100-percent sufficiency all right but at a higher price,” Clarete told the Inquirer. “There is rice availability (supply may not drop) but access to that supply may not be inclusive because of the higher price.” 
“So if the price goes up in the coming months, because of the ‘no need to import rice because we are sufficient in supply’ policy, the supply is not enough for the poor consumers,” Clarete said.
This article is dated April 18, 2017.  One year later what do we have?  The EXACT opposite of what Agriculture Secretary Piñol thought would happen. Rice supplies are low and rice prices are high.

The bottom line is this: the NFA and the Agricultural Secretaries of the current and past administrations do not know what they are doing. They keep shooting for lofty goals and consistently missing the target. Farmers have had since 1995, 23 years now, to prepare for the free market and they are still unprepared. The government says they want to help farmers but offers them low prices and apparently little or no help to prepare for the lifting of the quantitative restrictions. One economist says the problem is the government keeps doing the same thing and expecting different results while the government tells him to shut his mouth.

I don't know what I expected to find when I started researching this article or where I expected it to end up but here we are back in the same place we always end up, right in the thick of government incompetence. There are no answers. There are no answers to the rice problems, or alleged rice problems, in the Philippines. And by answers I mean there is nothing specific to point to and say, "A-ha! That's it right there." No. It's a number of things that are wrong here.

If you have learned anything I hope it is that the Philippines has been getting "freebies" from the WTO via quantitative restriction and low tariffs on rice imports since 1995 and they still cannot get their act together. Along with the Philippines, South Korea and Japan also were given a special quantitative restriction deal from the WTO but both of those countries have lifted their restrictions leaving the Philippines the only country with this special benefit now in place until 2020!

And now Duterte has plans to take over the NFA Council, the body which makes all decisions pertaining to the importation and purchasing of rice. Why? So he can make those decisions alone like some kind of rice king or rice dictator? Is Duterte going set the rice policy for the Philippines all by himself? Will the NFA Council be his rubber stamp?

Rice sufficiency? Any day now!
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