Online Sexual Child Abuse in the Philippines is a Billion Dollar Family Business

What can one say about this story?  I don't even know how to introduce it so let's dive right in.

https://philippineslifestyle.com/raped-online-british-sentence/

A British man who paid to watch abducted Filipino children be drugged and raped online has been sentenced to 21 years in prison. 

According to police, Alan Porter – who has visited the Philippines for 30 years – had also arranged to rape street children during future trips to the country. 

According to police, he was even found with a suitcase full of chocolate bars, ready to entice children on his next visit. 

The amount of evil in those few sentence is shocking. A man who has been visiting the Philippines for thirty years has been paying others to film themselves raping children so he can watch via the internet and on his next visit he was planning to rape street children himself. He even had a suitcase full of chocolates to lure them.

At first one would have to agree that it is a very good thing this man has been put away. 

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/17770276.immensely-dangerous-paedophile-behind-bars/

The court heard Porter had travelled to The Philippines – where he has a Filipino wife and step-daughter – on numerous occasion over the past 30 years. 

He also had a previous conviction for inciting the distribution of indecent images of children, which dated back to 1999, the court heard. 

Between 2015 and 2017, Porter contacted various sources in the Philippines to take children from the streets and engage in “sex shows” for him to watch online. 

In his messages he also asked to engage in sexual acts with several children during future trips. 

These included a 15-year-old girl whose virginity he was offered for £280. 

When asked if he wanted to try sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl, Porter replied “yeah, why not?” 

When asked whether he preferred young boys or girls, he replied “both hehe”. 

Porter, who used the email address porterbigboy@btinternet.com, requested children with particular physical features to suit his desires. 

Prosecutor Rachel Beckett said: “When told that some of the children were 17 or 18, he asked if there were children younger than that available.” 

He also requested “rape and drug films”. 

He transferred money online to his sources, on some occasions as little as £20, who then sexually abused the children and filmed it for him to watch.

But then you read the details of the case and suddenly realise that this man was not alone. While he was arrested by the UK police somewhere in the Philippines is a man who has been raping little children for about P1200. It's not as if the UK coordinated a sting operation with Philippine authorities and let the man fly to the Philippines and then the PNP nabbed him and his accomplice at the airport. Not at all.

The case came to the attention of the police on February 17, 2017, when an anonymous letter and a memory card were sent to Durrington Police Station in Worthing. 

The letter said Porter had been going to the Philippines for the past 30 years and there had been “talk of rape and drugging street children on his next visit”, and grooming of various children “as young as seven”. 

Police started to investigate and, less than a month later, a relative of Porter’s paid him a visit after his father died. 

During the visit Porter logged into his Facebook on his relative’s phone. 

It became clear later on he had failed to sign out of the website and his relative was able to see his discussions about abusing children. 

She sought advice from police and Porter was arrested on April 5 at his home address in Onslow Drive, Ferring. 

Officers found half-packed suitcases of chocolate, a heavy-duty nylon rope, plus two alarm clocks and a coat hanger that he used to disguise hidden cameras to film his abuse.

An anonymous letter with a memory card and forgetting to sign out of Facebook led to his downfall. But that is only HIS downfall. There is not mention of coordination with the PNP or the NBI or the DOJ to nab his accomplice. In fact this story did not even show up on any mainstream Philippine news sites but only on Philippinelifestyle and a few UK news sites.  

The official statement from the Sussex police is not any more helpful. Every news story is basically regurgitating that statement. The detail about his having a wife is missing from that statement but that is irrelevant because this man had a contact, whether his wife or not, in the Philippines who was more than willing to drug and rape street kids for his viewing pleasure and that rapist is still at large. 

Filipinos are not above abusing their own children to earn a few pesos from overseas sickos.

https://philippineslifestyle.com/online-abuse-arrests-philippines/

About 170 people have been arrested in the Philippines for the online abuse of children since the beginning of September. 

These arrests have led to the filing of human trafficking charges against the suspects and the conviction of at least 46 traffickers, the International Justice Mission (IJM) said in a statement today (Friday, October 12). 

The IJM, an organisation that campaigns against the online sexual exploitation of children, commended the efforts of Cebu Vice Governor Agnes Magpale and the Department of Justice (DOJ). 

As we reported earlier this month, both Magpale and the DOJ were instrumental in bringing a couple from Cordova town, Cebu, to justice for exploiting their own children.  

The court was told how the couple forced their six children to undress and pose naked in front of a web camera. Overseas ‘clients’ would pay from 1,000 to 5,000 pesos for each ‘show’.

Sexual abuse of children has become a depraved family business.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/31/live-streaming-child-sex-abuse-family-business-philippines

Now, the United Nations says, there are tens of thousands of children believed to be involved in a rapidly expanding local child abuse industry already worth US$1bn. 

In some areas, entire communities live off the business, abetted by increasing internet speeds, advancing cameraphone technology, and growing ease of money transfers across borders. 

And while perpetrators used to download photos and videos to their hard drives – providing authorities with a virtual paper trail and usable evidence – criminals have found anonymity in encrypted live-streaming programs. 

Stephanie McCourt, the south-east Asia liaison officer for the UK’s National Crime Agency, said the Philippines provided a perfect storm to allow the crime to develop, with its entrenched poverty and high level of internet access for a developing country. But there is one thing that she said was absolutely key: a widespread knowledge of the English language. 

“They can communicate with offenders. After we’d been scratching our heads, the penny dropped,” she said. “That’s not to say that it won’t move to other countries … There is probably a huge amount we don’t know.” 

It is hard to estimate the size of an industry involving small anonymous payments, roughly $5-$200 a show, conducted in people’s homes and mostly operated by families rather than large crime syndicates. 

“We think that what we are seeing, what we are dealing with, is a small part of what is out there,” she said. “It is big money. Big business.” 

The number of ongoing live-streaming criminal cases in the Philippines is rising, from 57 in 2013, growing to 89 in 2014, and up to 167 in 2015. 

But those numbers belie the true scale, according to Det Supt Paul Hopkins, the head of the Australian Federal Police team in Manila who has spent the past two years investigating the crime. Wearing a short-sleeved, Filipino-style shirt, he described the size of the trade as “monstrous”.

Big money. Big business. An industry worth US$1bn. And that is from 2016. The problem has continued to expand so that the Philippines has been declared by UNICEF as the number one global hub for online child pornography.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/191219-philippines-top-global-source-child-pornography-unicef

“Child pornography is a billion-dollar industry, and Filipino children are the ones being traded and exploited online. Children who are made to perform sex acts in front of a web camera will never get their childhood back. We must all work together to protect our children,” Unicef Country Representative Lotta Sylwander said.

A billion dollar industry! That is the verdict from a 2017 UNICEF report which seems to be the latest. But has that changed? Is it worth any less? Are children at any less risk since then? NO! The article above about 170 Pinoys being arrested for abused is from October 2018 and the following stories are mostly from 2018:

Go ahead and applaud the arrest of this sicko pervert from the UK who paid to watch children raped online. But realise he is just the tip of a billion dollar iceberg. And don't play the blame game. Filipinos do not have to abuse their own children. They do not have to rape street kids for the pleasure of white men in far away lands.  They choose to do so. Don't come to me with your excuses about poverty either. Plenty of impoverished people do not sexually abuse their children to strangers online.

As long as Filipinos are willing to sell themselves and their children to white men this evil business will continue to exist.

Sri Lanka and the Philippines: Similarities and Differences

A story from the AFP news service is making the rounds and it showcases just how much the Philippines and Sri Lanka have in common. That is because the President of Sri Lanka is intentionally imitating the Philippines. When a country imitates the Philippines they can expect to have the same problems as the Philippines.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/drug-gangs-behind-sri-lanka-easter-bombings-president-claims-11722322

International drug syndicates orchestrated Sri Lanka's deadly Easter Sunday bombings, the country's leader claimed Monday (Jul 15), despite earlier blaming the attacks on Islamists. 

Sirisena's office said the day after the bombings that local terrorists and international terror groups were responsible for the attacks. 

But in a statement issued by his office Monday, Sirisena said the attacks "were the work of international drug dealers". 

"Drug barons carried out this attack to discredit me and discourage my anti-narcotics drive. I will not be deterred," he said. 

Sirisena is waging a battle against efforts by his governing coalition in parliament to abolish capital punishment, which has been subject to a moratorium since 1976. 

Sirisena has marshalled public support for an end to the moratorium on the death penalty, saying that hangings would deter the illegal drugs trade. 

"If the government brings legislation to abolish capital punishment, I will declare a day of national mourning," Sirisena said in the statement, adding that public opinion favoured hanging condemned criminals.

Before dissecting this assertion of President Sirisena I want to point out that he never issued a statement blaming international drug dealers for the Easter bombing. What he did was give a speech at a ceremony where land deeds were presented to 5000 settlers. It is at this speech where the spectre of international drug dealers being behind the Easter bombings was raised.

The day a Bill to abolish the death penalty is brought to Parliament will be declared a national day of mourning as the it will mark the occasion of handing over this country to drug dealers, criminals and rapists, President Maithripala Sirisena said. 

President made these comments during a ceremony in Walawa zone to present land deeds to 5000 Mahaweli settlers today (14). 

Expressing his views, President further said attempts by a certain section of the government to bring a Parliament act to abolish the capital punishment is an achievement of drug dealers and criminals. 

President vouched that he will not leave room for these criminals to destroy the future of this country’s children while adding that he will leave no stone unturned to bring the drug dealers to the law and will not revoke the decision of death penalty. 

Foreign forces play a role in the opposition to the decision, President added.

http://www.president.gov.lk/abolition-of-death-penalty-is-a-victory-of-drug-kingpins-and-criminals-president-2/

Any search for an official transcription of this speech will be fruitless as it does not exist and we are forced to rely on the reporting of the AFP. That is not to imply they are lying or untrustworthy. Two weeks ago President Sirisena made the same comments about drug dealers being behind the Easter bombings. 

http://www.pmdnews.lk/unheeded-to-life-threats-i-lead-the-fight-against-drug-menace-for-the-future-generation-president/

Those who did not give their slightest support for the battle against eradicating drug menace during last four and half years are now trying to vilify me in the face of tough action now taken against drug kingpins, President Maithripala Sirisena said. 

He said he will demand answers from them on what they have done to safeguard 300,000 youth who are addicted to drugs while they are in power or in opposition. 

The President made these comments addressing the Western Province ceremony of the National Drug Prevention Week held at Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium today (1). 

President further said that he is leading the fight against the drug menace unheeded to life threats for the sake of the future generations. 

Drug is the easiest method to destroy a nation, President pointed out while adding every citizen should perform his or her duty to free this country from illegal drug trafficking. 

Certain international organizations attempt to intimidate Sri Lanka after the decision to re-enforce capital punishment against drug dealers. Though the assistance of global entities is required for the development of a country, nobody has the right to interfere in the domestic affairs or the sovereignty of a nation, President said. 

The connection between illegal drug business and politicians is no secret and how many politicians do their duty to protect the nation against this threat is questionable, he said. 

Explaining the interdependence between illegal drug trafficking and terrorism, President said there is a hand of international drug dealers behind Easter Sunday attack.

From the above description of President Sirisena's speech the picture clearly emerges that he is following Duterte's steps in his own drug war. He claims to be fighting for the future of the nation, that politicians protect drug lords, that drugs will destroy the nation, that the opposition are doing everything the can to vilify him, that the opposition has no answers and does not care about the problem, and that terrorism and the drug trade are related. These are the same claims Duterte has made time and again to justify his war on drugs.

It is no small wonder that President Sirisena is taking a page from Duterte since he said that is exactly what he intended to do back in 2018.

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2154851/sri-lanka-will-hang-drug-dealers-promises-replicate-philippines 

Sri Lanka announced Wednesday it would start hanging drug dealers, ending a near-half century moratorium on capital punishment as officials promised to “replicate the success” of the Philippines drug war. 

President Maithripala Sirisena had told the cabinet he “was ready to sign the death warrants” of repeat drug offenders, government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said Wednesday. 

“From now on, we will hang drug offenders without commuting their death sentences,” he said. 

The government has drawn inspiration from the Philippines, where a no-holds barred war on drugs has been a centrepiece of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration. 

“We were told that the Philippines has been successful in deploying the army and dealing with this problem. We will try to replicate their success,” Senaratne said of the decision to deploy the military to tackle drugs.

He reiterated this promise again when he visited the Philippines in January 2019.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/01/18/sri-lanka-to-adopt-ph-drug-war-model/

“Drug menace is rampant in my country and I feel that we should follow your footsteps to control this hazard.”

“The war against crime and drugs carried out by you is an example to the whole world and personally to me,” he said during the state dinner.

With various international human rights agencies breathing down Duterte's neck about his drug war and demanding accountability it is certainly not true that the Philippine drug war is a model the whole world aspires to follow. Of course Duterte does not care about international pressure and considers any desire to peep into the files of the PNP and ascertain a true picture of the drug war an affront to the sovereignty of the nation. In turn the world calls him a Strongman.

Likewise President Sirisena is also facing international pressure for attempting to revive the death penalty in order "to “replicate the success” of the Philippines drug war" and for this reason is also called a Strongman. Unlike the Philippines Sri Lanka has never abolished the death penalty. It is only on hiatus at the moment with the last execution taking place in 1976. Though death sentences have been regularly issued they have automatically been commuted to life sentences. 

Opposition to the death penalty started to become increasingly widespread and the United National Party government modified the use of it in its 1978 rewrite of the constitution. Under the new arrangement, death sentences could only be carried out if authorized by the trial judge, the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice. If there was no agreement, the sentence was to be commuted to life imprisonment. The sentence was also to be ratified by the President. This clause effectively ended executions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_Sri_Lanka

Siriesena recently signed the death warrants of four men. However the Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction until October 30th when it will rule on the constitutionality of the death penalty.

Just as the Philippines is being lambasted by human rights groups for attempting to revive the death penalty for drug dealers Sri Lanka's possible revival of the death penalty is being decried by international human rights organisations.

“The death penalty is a cruel practice that has no place in modern society for combating drug crimes or any other offense,” Adams said. “Sri Lanka should work toward upholding its human rights pledges and immediately rescind the execution orders.”

https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/06/30/sri-lanka-resuming-death-penalty-major-setback

Amnesty International has repeatedly called on President Sirisena to halt his plans to resume executions, making clear that the death penalty does not have a unique deterrent effect on crime. The human rights organization absolutely opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, regardless of the crime committed or method of execution.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/06/sri-lanka-halt-plans-for-executions-once-and-for-all

It is likely to groups such as these that Sirisena is referring when he says, "Foreign forces play a role in the opposition to the decision." I am not aware of what other "foreign forces" work their magic in Sri Lanka but if you told me they were linked to the CIA and other Western agencies I would not be surprised. Like the Philippines, the USA has a major stake in Sri Lanka and is using its influence to counter that of China.

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2159546/us-gives-sri-lankan-military-us39-million-combat-chinas

The United States announced Monday it would grant Sri Lanka US$39 million to boost maritime security as China develops its strategic hold on the Indian Ocean island. 

The State Department will provide the funds as “foreign military financing”, pending congressional approval, the US embassy in Colombo said. 

“We look forward to discussing with the government of Sri Lanka how this contribution can support our Bay of Bengal initiative and Sri Lanka’s humanitarian assistance and disaster response priorities,” it said. 

It comes as China, the world’s second-largest economy, increases investment in ports and other building projects in Sri Lanka – a key link in its ambitious “Belt and Road” infrastructure initiative.

The US and Sri Lanka are negotiating a status-of-forces-agreement governing rules for visiting US military personnel which the President and others have said would undermine the sovereignty of the nation. That is very much akin to the situation with EDCA which Duterte eventually signed when Trump visited the Philippines in 2017.

Like the Philippines, yet despite not having a permanent military presence, the US has assisted the Sri Lankan military with 

...assistance in terms of military training, military technology, intelligence, special training in counter-terrorism, and direct monetary assistance for military development.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka–United_States_relations#Defence_relations

But to return to the main story of President Sirisena blaming international drug dealers for the Easter bombings when such was not the case, this is is parallel to what Duterte did in September 2017.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/09/27/1743196/duterte-now-claims-arrest-warrant-vs-drug-lord-triggered-marawi-siege

“The Marawi war was ignited by the service of a summon and a warrant of arrest of one of the drug lords there,” Duterte said in his speech during the 56th anniversary of the Philippine Constitution Association. 

“There was a firefight and that started the rebellion. And I was really aghast to know that until now, they have so many bullets, ordnance and everything that the fight is still going on,” he added. 

The president's claim runs counter to what security forces have been saying since hostilities in the city began months ago. 

According to the military, a failed attempt by government troops to arrest Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon in Marawi on May 23 triggered the battle against the Maute group, homegrown jihadist militants who claim allegiance with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and backed by some foreign fighters.

Duterte changed the story about how the Marawi siege started just as Sirisena changed the story of the motivation for and perpetrators of the Easter bombings. That is not to say that drug trafficking does not help finance ISIS here or in Sri Lanka. P10 million worth of shabu was found in the house of the former Mayor of Marawi during the siege. It is to say that both Presidents have issued patently false statements about each attack. Those who investigated the Easter bombings had this to say:

A spokesman for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe discounted the president's claims. 

"Police completed the investigations within about two weeks," Sudarshana Gunawardana told AFP. 

"There is no mention of drug dealers being involved. We have no reason to doubt our investigators."

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/drug-gangs-behind-sri-lanka-easter-bombings-president-claims-11722322

For President Sirisena to claim that the Easter bombings were an attempt to discredit his drug war makes HIM the focus of the attacks and not the 259 dead or the hundreds of injured. Suddenly the attack loses its religious nature and becomes an angry gesture of protest against his polices in order to keep the heroin trade flowing. The claim that attacks are happening to discredit him is the same claim that Duterte made about the killings of mayors in 2018 and about EJKs. Who can forget all the many claims of ouster and destabilisation plots Duterte has alleged in the past three years?

There is one major difference between Duterte and Sirisena when it comes to these attacks and that is accountability. Just like the AFP, PNP, DND and other officials in the Duterte administration ignored prior intelligence about the Marawi siege top officials in Sri Lanka also ignored prior intelligence of the Easter bombings. But unlike the Philippines Sri Lanka investigated the attacks and is now holding  the former police chief and Defence Secretary liable for not preventing the attacks.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/sri-lankas-suspended-police-chief-ex-defence-secretary-arrested/article28265112.ece

Sri Lanka’s suspended police chief and former Defence Secretary were on Tuesday arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department for their alleged failure to prevent the Easter Sunday bombings that claimed nearly 260 lives. 

The arrest of Inspector-General Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando comes a day after the Attorney-General termed their alleged failure to act on security warnings a “crime against humanity”. “The two officials should be brought before a magistrate for their criminal negligence to prevent the April 21 attacks,” Attorney-General Dappula de Livera told the acting police chief in a letter. 

In June, Mr. Jayasundara and Mr. Fernando testified before a parliamentary panel probing the blasts and pointed to the serious gaps in acting on intelligence. 

Confirming that intelligence on a possible attack was available since April 9, they said it was shared among top police and defence officials, on the eve and morning of the bombings.

Sri Lanka formed a panel to probe the blasts and it has decided to hold these two high ranking men and others responsible. In contrast the Philippines has refused to investigate the Marawi siege despite admissions of failure to act on intelligence warnings. DND Secretary Lorenzna has said he does not want an investigation and that it is better to move on.  

With Sri Lanka emulating the Philippines in so many categories it would be refreshing if the Philippines imitated Sri Lanaka in this regard and finally investigated the Marawi siege.

Martial Law: You Will Succeed

Last week it was confirmed that Norman Lasuca is the first ever Filipino suicide bomber. Now we finally have a picture of him.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1140046/one-of-two-suicide-bombers-in-sulu-blasts-a-filipino-pnp

Look at this guy. He's cool, confident, ready to go out there and accomplish all his goals. His whole attitude is right there on his t-shirt. "You will succeed." While he succeeded in not only becoming the first Filipino suicide bomber but also in causing a lot of damage the AFP and the PNP have not succeeded in exterminating the terrorist problem in the Philippines. Even Duterte does not see them stamping out terrorism anytime soon despite their repeated assertions that they will soon wipe out Abu Sayyaf and that the BARMM will bring peace.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1139805/duterte-i-see-very-dangerous-times-ahead

“I see very dangerous times ahead. And I hope that we will be able to contain whatever there is really to… My hands sweat just thinking about [what would happen] if it would go awry outside of Sulu and Basilan Islands,” the President, speaking partly in Filipino, said. 

Though acknowledging that AFP had already acquired valuable assets, the President insisted that there were still “instruments” needed in fighting terrorism. 

He said he might call for a discussion on how the government would face terrorism in the years to come. 

“One of these days, I will call for a time to talk at ease and we’ll talk about it because it is really needed by the country,” he said.

If Duterte really does see dangerous times ahead and believes that the government needs to come to grips with how it will face terrorism in the years to come then he should hold those talks. He should gather his cabinet and the AFP and PNP top brass and lay out a plan to fight terrorism. Frankly the Whole Of Nation Approach as spelled out in EO 70 is not going to cut it.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1074689

A military official on Thursday said the government has found the best approach to end insurgency via Executive Order (EO) No. 70, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last year that institutionalizes a “whole-of-nation approach” in attaining an “inclusive and sustainable peace.” 

The EO 70 has created a national task force to help end local communist insurgency and armed conflict in different areas of the country.

The Whole of Nation Approach is directed towards ending the communist insurgency by providing more government services thus ending grievances locals may have which in turn will deter them from joining the CPP-NPA. The E-CLIP program is linked to this approach.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/07/10/ex-rebels-get-lot-titles-drug-surrenderers-freed-on-plea-bargain-deal-in-compostela-valley/

The Compostela Valley provincial government handed out land titles and gave cash assistance to former New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas to consolidate the local government’s effort in integrating them back to the communities. 

On July 4 and 5, the provincial government distributed 149 land titles to former NPAs who are residents of Barangay Araibo in Pantukan town. They were also granted P300,000 in cash assistance. 

The Department of Agrarian Reform also distributed titles, while the Department of Social Welfare and Development sepatately gave P300,000 to the members of Araibo Bugasan Pamana SLP (Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan-Sustainable Livelihood Program) Association.

That is 149 men will never pay for their crimes. Instead they receive land titles and P300,000. Abu Sayyaf members are also encouraged to surrender and avail of government benefits. Like these two men.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1141240/from-clashes-to-classes-former-abu-sayyaf-bandits-earn-diplomas

Beaming in a white toga and academic cap, Ibrahim Malat Fernandez, 40, proudly marched to the stage of Basilan State College here. 

His immediate family members and relatives were there to applaud his life-changing feat. “It’s like a dream. Once, I was in the mountains, fighting soldiers. Now I’m a high school graduate.” said an emotional Fernandez. 

He is the younger brother of the late Abu Sayyaf commander Long Malat, whom he joined in the hills. When Malat was killed in an encounter with the military in 2014, Fernandez took over his command and became one of the bandit group’s leaders in Basilan. 

But his new role in the group led to strained relations between him and his three wives and nine children. He soon feared suffering the same fate that befell his sibling. 

Fernandez decided to surrender in May 2017.

How many soldiers did this man kill? How many people did he terrorise? He was not just a regular member of the ASG he was one of its leaders. But now we are to applaud him for graduating high school? Both of these men should be dead or sitting in prison. Seeing their smiling faces and reading how they want to live peaceful lives is an affront to those whose lives they have destroyed.

Generally speaking though the Muslims don't care about the government offering more services. Muslim terrorists are separatists who want their own nation which is to say all of Mindanao. The only way to deal with them is extermination.  

https://www.untvweb.com/news/duterte-orders-all-out-war-on-abu-sayyaf-terrorists/

Duterte's order to destroy "Abu Sayyaf by whatever means" was given back in January after the cathedral bombing. What has happened since?  Has ASG been destroyed? No. Instead the DND and the Palace and the AFP and PNP are all wringing their hands over the first Filipino suicide bomber. 

“It’s a cause for concern, given that this is the first time that there is a Filipino suicide bomber. It goes against the grain of the character of Filipinos. ‘Yung mag suicide ka para sa terrorism,” he said.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1140504/first-filipino-suicide-bombing-incident-worries-malacanang

What exactly goes against the grain of the character of Filipinos? Killing? Loyalty to a cause even unto death? It's certainly not killing. 

On July 6th Duterte reiterated for the umpteenth time his call to destroy Abu Sayyaf. 

https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/07/07/duterte-to-afp-pnp-finish-off-abu-sayyaf/

“Kaya tayo medyo may gulo and the Abu Sayyaf, which is really a connect of ISIS is still sowing terror…My orders to my military and police to just simply wipe them out from the face of the Earth if we can do that,” he said during his visit to Leyte last Friday. 

“If they can exhibit that kind of brutality, finish them off because we do not need that kind of human beings with us. We have been out to make peace with them,” he said. 

Duterte said he has already placed a military division in Sulu to combat the Abu Sayyaf militants threatening public safety. “We have to continue to worry about terrorism,” the Mindanaoan leader said. 

He admitted that fighting has been “brutal” in the south as the IS militants commit kidnap-for-ransom and murder. He bewailed that these lawless elements have a penchant to decapitate their captives.

How will the AFP meet this goal?

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1074665

"Definitely, we will have adjustments in our (security) techniques, tactics, and procedure given this development in Sulu but as you know and I know you would understand we just cannot reveal that to you because those are operational matters that cannot be publicly announced," he said. 

Arevalo also said the AFP will also develop doctrines for fighting in urban terrain based on the combat experience of soldiers during the five-month battle for Marawi City in 2017.

Adjust security techniques and tactics? What good will that do? How many times will they have to make an adjustment to their tactics before they find the right way to go about defeating Abu Sayyaf?

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/01/16/afp-to-constantly-adjust-tactics-to-curb-asg-threat/

The Armed Forces of the Philippines said it will constantly adjust its tactics in fighting the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). 

This was disclosed by AFP public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo in an interview late Sunday. 

He added adjustment in tactics will be done after six months which is in line with the self-imposed time frame set by AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Eduardo Año on eliminating the ASG threat. 

“And if within six months, the ASG threat is still present or existing, after six months, then, we will have an assessment of the experiences, lessons made in fighting the ASGs and, we will come out with an adjustment (in tactics) that will be based on the previous semester,” Arevalo said in Filipino. 

He also said the AFP chief’s commitment to crush the bandit group in six months is not ambitious as changes are now ongoing on operational commitments, procedures, leadership and compositions of the fighting teams.

Oh look. It's the same guy saying the same thing two years ago. Obviously any adjustments that have been made are not working.

What is the response of the PNP to Duterte's call to wipe Abu Sayyf off the face of the Earth? They will strengthen their intelligence gathering.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1139176/pnp-intensifying-intelligence-to-help-in-drive-to-crush-asg-before-end-2019

(The help we usually do there besides the joint operations with the Armed Forces of the Philippines is our intelligence, the strengthening of our intelligence gathering.)

Remember all the intelligence the AFP and PNP had about the Marawi siege which they ignored? Read about it here. The problem is not merely gathering intelligence but acting on it. Notice above Duterte says wipe them off the face of the Earth "if we can do that." Can the AFP and PNP do that? Seems unlikely. Especially when they don't even have the equipment needed to intensify their intelligence.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1140521/albayalde-blames-political-issues-for-lack-of-intel-equipment

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde on Thursday blamed “political issues” in Congress for the lack of modernized equipment of the police for gathering intelligence information, as part of the measures to counter terrorism. 

Albayalde said the government, not just the police and the military, should be more serious with enforcing actions against terrorism in the country, after a DNA test confirmed that 23-year-old Norman Lasuca, one of the suspected suicide bombers at a military camp in Indanan, Sulu, was a Filipino. 

(Our lawmakers should understand that this time we really need to have important intelligence technical equipment.) 

Albayalde earlier said suicide bombing is not popular among local terrorists since it is not embedded in our culture. 

Despite this development, Albayalde, however, said the procurement of the modernized equipment is not included in the proposed budget of the PNP for 2020. 

Asked by a reporter on the reason behind not including it in the proposed budget, he said: “Alam mo na ang reason siguro doon (You probably know the reason why).” 

(We cannot request those kinds of surveillance equipment. Sometimes, political issues get in the way so we cannot improve our important surveillance equipment.) 

Aside from improving equipment for intelligence information gathering, Albayalde also called for the passage of amendments for the Human Security Act of 2007 and the creation of national ID, which he said can help authorities fight terrorism and insurgency. 

He said education can also thwart the radicalization of Filipino youth by terrorist groups.

What does PNP Chief Albayalde mean that they cannot request the equipment they need? If the Philippine government won't earmark funds for equipment at least the US is providing the country with drones and the training to use them. By the way do you remember when the PNP spent P24,560,256 on 48 bomb sniffing dogs?

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/01/18/bato-defends-dogs-k9-units-can-prevent-bomb-attacks

PNP chief Director General Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa said the additional K9 units were purchased under the 2017 budget to help prevent the "threat of ISIS and terrorism" in the country.

Looks like the dogs haven't prevented anything. Of course they were procured to protect the airports but one would think that a few dogs would be deployed to Mindanao to sniff out bombs. 

In the same speech where Duterte called for their extermination he also mentioned that the ASG operates by kidnapping people and holding them for ransom. A few months ago he warned people to stay away from Zamboanga because of that very risk.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/23/19/duterte-warns-tourists-against-visiting-zamboanga

“There’s a certain place which I would not recommend to anybody to go there, not just as yet, is Zamboanga,” Duterte told Filipino and foreign participants of the 7th Union Asia Pacific Regional Conference in Pasay City.

“Some Europeans go there for the bird watching and they are captured and eventually they are decapitated even after the payment of ransom,” he added.

But just this week the DOT says Mindanao is safe and actually recommends tourists visit Zamboanga for bird watching.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1140038/dot-says-mindanao-still-safe-tourist-destination

Despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration that Mindanao remains a “dangerous place,” the Department of Tourism (DOT) on Wednesday said parts of the region are not “troubled” and in fact “full of attractions and destinations.” 

Speaking at the weekly economic forum in Malacañang, Tourism Assistant Secretary Roberto Alabado III said the department remains steadfast in promoting different tourist attractions in Mindanao even as some of its areas continue to be gripped with terrorism and armed conflict. 

Alabado particularly mentioned Zamboanga which boasts its Intramuros-like forts and the pink beaches of Santa Cruz island. 

“If you go to Zamboanga, I don’t think that it’s a troubled area. I go there for bird watching. If we have the Intramuros here, you should see the old forts that they have in Zamboanga. It’s a city where you would see the interplay of Muslim culture, the American heritage (and) the Spanish heritage,” Alabado told reporters 

“I would encourage our Filipino tourists to visit Zamboanga and you would be pleasantly surprised at how nice the pink beaches of Santa Cruz Island,” he added.

The DOT is out of its mind. From promoting malls as legitimate tourist destinations to encouraging tourists to visit dangerous areas like Zamboanga where both Filipinos and foreigners have been kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf it seems the DOT is doing everything in its power to mock the Philippines, misrepresent the security situation, and encourage potentially deadly behaviour. Anything for a few more tourist shekels right? I wonder if they recommend traveling to Sulu, Abu Sayyaf's home base, to see the rare and beautiful light formations in the night sky.

https://philippineslifestyle.com/light-pillars-phenomenon-sulu/

The Philippines is Great for Expats, Not So Great For Filipinos

It's a tale of two surveys released within a few days of each other. One ranks the Philippines as the 24th best place to live and work.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2019/07/06/dutertes-philippines-among-the-best-places-to-live-and-work-ahead-of-china/#c11313f676b8

Philippines has been ranked 24th best place to live and work, just behind the US, which ranked 23rd, and ahead of China, which ranked 26th. 

That’s according to the 2019 HSBC Expat’s annual survey, which is based on responses from more than 18,000 expats across 163 markets on three metrics: living, career opportunity, and family life. 

The Philippines jumped up the rankings from 26th place last year.

The other ranks the Philippines as the fourth most dangerous country in the world for civilians.

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/177866/us-based-data-group-ranks-ph-fourth-most-dangerous-place-in-the-world-for-civilians

The Philippines ranks high among countries where civilians are most unsafe as a result of what was described as “targeted attacks” arising from government policy, landing at No. 4 next to civil war-torn Yemen on a list of countries where violence against civilians is leading to rising casualty figures, according to a United States-based research and analysis group.

Quite a stark contrast and like all of the regular surveys taken in or about the Philippines ripe for politicisation. 

https://twitter.com/MarkYu_DPT/status/1147867067112153089

https://twitter.com/gorilla_truth/status/1149979268337659904

Both of these Twitter armchair assessments are wrong. The HSBC survey has not "slapped the life out of the dilawans" (which means the Liberal Party but can be extended to mean all those who oppose Duterte's policies.) Neither is all the killings "the way we like it." Plenty of Filipinos are worried about the flood of violence surging across the county. The ACLED is also not a human rights organisation. They merely collect data about political violence and analyse it. They do not advocate policy.

The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) is a disaggregated conflict collection, analysis and crisis mapping project. ACLED collects the dates, actors, types of violence, locations, and fatalities of all reported political violence and protest events across Africa, South Asia, South East Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America. Political violence and protest includes events that occur within civil wars and periods of instability, public protest and regime breakdown. ACLED’s aim is to capture the forms, actors, dates and locations of political violence and protest as it occurs across states. The ACLED team conducts analysis to describe, explore and test conflict scenarios, and makes both data and analysis open to freely use by the public.

https://www.acleddata.com/about-acled/

Let's take a look at the second report first which consists of two reports. The crowning of the Philippines as the 4th most dangerous country in the world actually took place back in May with the release of ACLED's "Fact Sheet: Civilians in Conflict."

https://www.acleddata.com/2019/05/28/fact-sheet-civilians-in-conflict/

There are two sets of data in this first report. "Countries with the highest number of civilian targeting events" and "Countries with the most reported fatalities from civilian targeting." As you can see the Philippines did not make the second list. This data also extends only from January 1 to May 18, 2019. 

The second report about the Philippines from ACLED has data that extends to June 29th, 2019.

https://www.acleddata.com/2019/07/03/press-release-data-confirm-wave-of-targeted-attacks-in-the-philippines/

The report states that there have been 450 attacks targeting civilians which have resulted in 490 fatalities. I suppose that would have to include a single attack where multiple people are killed. They don't explain the math here. How do you get 490 deaths out of 450 attacks? The majority of the deaths are of drug suspects and the rest are of current and former government officials. State forces, the PNP, log the most kills but the ACLED posits that many of the motorcycle assassins could be linked to the state. 

With only 490 fatalities that would tie the Philippines with Mali but since the first data set is only from January 1 until mid-May it is likely that Mali has now surpassed 490 fatalities. I think this data needs a lot more clarification. It's not clear that the Philippines is the 4th most dangerous country in the world. According to ACLED's own data that honour goes to Mali. The data set being used to label the Philippines as the 4th most dangerous country does not include fatal events but only non-fatal events where civilians were targeted. Not to downplay the seriousness of 340 non-fatal events targeting civilians but a fatal event is certainly more dangerous than a non-fatal event.

The ACLED does include an "other" category in this data set but it is much smaller compared to drug suspects and government officials. However that data should not be ignored. The deaths of farmers, activists, and lawyers at the hands of unknown men, often alleged to be government assassins, is appalling. I also find it strange that police operations against drug dealers constitutes political violence.

It must be kept in mind that the ACLED is also only tracking political violence and not regular murders so the numbers represented here are a lot lower than they would be if all types of violence were factored in. What is clear is that being a politician or a drug user could lead to your death at the hands of the state or of assassins likely connected to the state. 

While Filipino politicians and drug users are being killed foreign expats are having the time of their life. Here are the results of the 2019 HSBC Expat Survey which ranks the Philippines as 24th best place to live and work.

https://expatexplorer.hsbc.com/survey/country/philippines/chart:table

What these numbers mean I have no idea but here is Forbes to give us some useful analysis.

That may come as a surprise to some for a couple of reasons. One of them is that the Philippines has a reputation for sending its own people overseas in droves rather than attracting foreigners who want to live and work there. 

The other reason is that the country is mired in violence, which has taken a huge human toll. 

Apparently, that isn’t what foreign expats are concerned about. They find it easy to relocate to a country of friendly people and a reasonable cost of living. “With its tropical climate and steadily growing economy, the Philippines is quickly becoming one of the most popular expat destinations in Southeast Asia, “ says the report. 

Meanwhile, the results of the expats survey should be interpreted with extreme caution. People surveyed are usually more affluent and better educated than the average immigrant, and they are on short assignments. This means that an overseas assignment may be seen as an “adventure.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2019/07/06/dutertes-philippines-among-the-best-places-to-live-and-work-ahead-of-china/#c11313f676b8

Foreigners aren't concerned about violence because it does not affect them. They are not the targets of motorcycle assassins. That is not to say foreigners are never targets. Plenty of foreigners have been murdered in the Philippines but when you are working for a company making Dollars or Euros in a land where the Peso is devalued and you can purchase more why would you care about anything else? With more money to spend foreigners are also more likely to live in gated communities where less violence occurs. 

A judgement about the state of the economy or the strength of Duterte's polices cannot be made with this survey. Expats come and go and many may have no real grasp on the political or even economic situation as they are busy with work. Many are even busy with play. Anecdotal stories about Filipinas being easy pickings for any foreigner abound!

Then again there are also horror stories about having to deal with the minutiae of Philippine bureaucracy which can require stacks of paperwork just to get your factory running. Foreigners also cannot own real property in the Philippines meaning land or houses. Any foreign business must be 60% Filipino owned. How is the Philippines a good business environment when you cannot even wholly own your business? At least the labor is cheap!

Overall these two surveys don't really tell us anything meaningful about the Philippines. One is a survey of expats and the other is data about political violence. Anyone who reads these surveys will inevitably project their own interpretation upon them. Labelling the Philippines as the 4th most dangerous country in the world is misleading as there are two lists in the ACLED data and the one with fatalities does not feature the Philippines. Also political violence is going to be directed at a very small subset of the population. Thinking a true picture of the Philippine economy will emerge by surveying expats is foolish because of their tenuous and brief connection to the country. Who did they survey anyway? I assume it's the more affluent Westerners and not the Chinese being sneaked over here to work in illegal online gambling casinos.

One thing is for sure though: The world of the poor Filipino with a target on his back because he is a drug user or a land activist and the world of the Foreigner expat with a target on his back because he is white and wealthy live in two different worlds. 

Picture of the Week: Exact Change

What is this sign? No, really. WHAT is THIS....SIGN!!!??

Why is she wearing sunglasses on that hat!!!?

Do I need to tell you what it is? It's a sign of what you can expect from the Philippines. 

Does SM really need to post a sign at the cash register telling customers they will be provided exact change? That should be a given! Not an extra. Everyone should expect exact change when they make a purchase. 

It's so hilarious how when you give any cashier at any store any amount of money they will say, "I receive xyz pesos." Hilariously pathetic.

It's all about the culture of distrust that is prevalent throughout the Philippines. Sad but true. It's hard to trust anyone here so these kinds of measures are taken to reassure folks.