Philippinefails

Monday, July 22, 2019

Hi, my name is...5

Some of these people are dying to meet you! Say hello and be nice.

Hi, my name is, Teodoro Mejares. I am 53 years old but sad to say I had to bail myself out of jail over an illegal possession of a gun charge. I paid my fine and was on my way home with my wife and grandchild when a motorcycle rode up and stopped in front of me. I knew what was about to happen and I pleaded with the assassins to spare my life but they shot me dead anyway.

Hi, my name is REDACTED. I am a German living in Lapu-Lapu City and I have a dirty secret. I make child pornography. It's a family business as I use my two-year old son in some of the videos and images I make. The Australians found my stash back in 2017 and since then they have been keeping an eye on me. Today it all came to a head when with the coordination of the PNP and German authorities I was busted thus spelling the end of my career as a pornographer.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/235196-german-trafficker-arrested-lapu-lapu-city-cebu-july-2019

Hi, my name is Jerry Brown but you can also call me Jerry Rockstone. I am an ex-U.S. Marine and all I need is a little bit of money. Not much. Just enough for me to retrieve my luggage from storage. It's very nice luggage. $150,000 nice. What's that you say? My accent? It's American because I'm an American. You don't believe me? No it's definitely not a Liberian accent because I'm an American and I really am an ex-Marine. And my name is certainly not Justin Wisdom Barlee. I'm Jerry. Call me Jerry. Now about that $150,000...can you help a brotha out? Hey where are you going! I am not trying to scam you. Promise!

https://philippineslifestyle.com/us-marine-fraud-pasay-city/

Hi, my name is Eduardo Dizon and I am a radio journalist. Ever since I started speaking out against the KAPA investment scheme I have been receiving death threats. I even reported these threats to the police. What can they do anyway? Well I was driving home when several men on motorcycles pulled up and fired at my car killing me pretty much instantly. Lucky me I have become the 13th journalist killed since Duterte took office.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/07/12/1934113/kidapawan-radio-commentator-shot-dead

Hi, my name is Manuel Tan. I run a hardware store in Tacoloban City. As a Chinese businessman I am always working which is why I arrived early at my store on Sunday morning. As the guard was opening the gate three men approached my vehicle and fired at me. Then they boarded their motorcycle and got away. Just goes to show that having a security guard isn't a guarantee you won't be assassinated.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1814196

Hi, my name is Jesus de Guzman. I was driving to church when all of a sudden a fat guy in a green jacket on a motorcycle comes speeding up and fires at me. As I was breathing my last a priest approached the car to administer the last rites but he was shooed away by the cops. Now my soul won't be able to rest in the next life.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/700941/one-dead-in-shooting-incident-on-osmena-highway-in-makati/story/

Hi, my name is.... I am a business man from Zamboanga. Only July 8th I was kidnapped by 5 armed men and was held captive in Basilan for 48 hours. Eventually I was released when I promised to pay my abductors P15,000. But actually.....I lied. I made it all up. I just wanted to get the attention of my children. They don't pay me much attention anymore. Hopefully they will visit more regularly...if the cops don't throw me in jail for wasting their time and resources.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1142065/zambo-businessman-fakes-own-abduction-to-get-familys-attention

Hi, my name is Rempel Joe M. Senados. I was driving along on my motorcycle when another motorcycle with two men pulled up beside me. One of the riders pull out a gun and shot me dead. For what reason? I don't know. Does it matter? Just put my name down as another victim of motorcycle assassins.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1142836/man-shot-dead-in-surigao-city

Hi, my name is Gerald Reparip. I was invited to a birthday party at an abandoned building. Sounds creepy right? Don't worry the people throwing the party are also the caretakers of the building. We had a grand time and there was a lot of drinking. I got very drunk and before I knew it I was raping a one year old little boy. Caught up in passion I choked the life out of him as well. I don't know what to say except I got drunk. It wasn't me it was the Red Horse. I have a seven year old boy myself but now he will have to do without me.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1142755/man-admits-raping-killing-1-year-old-boy-in-makati

Hi, my name is Romeo Entrina Lupida Jr. After I parked my motorcycle a car crashed into me and dragged my body for 30 meters and then sped off! There were plenty of witnesses but nobody recorded the license plate number and nobody recorded it on their phone! How about that? Everything gets documents on cellphones these days except my death.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1143248/man-dies-after-being-hit-dragged-by-car-in-makati

Hi, my name is Joel Aquino. If anyone knows how ironic life can be it's me. While attending a relative's funeral two men rode up on a motorcycle and shot me dead. Life doesn't get more stupid than that. My death is no doubt due to the fact that my name was on the barangay's drug watchlist.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1142980/man-shot-dead-while-attending-relatives-funeral-in-manila

Hi, my name is Enrique Buenaflor. I have a friend named Franklin Andaya who I was bullying. You know how guys can be. It's just banter. But he took it to heart and was really upset about what I said. It was about 2:30am when I was asleep on the sidewalk that he hacked me to death. The whole thing was caught on CCTV but don't expect that to be uploaded to the internet anytime soon.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1144008/habal-habal-driver-hacked-to-death-in-camsur

Sunday, July 21, 2019

How Many People Have Died As A Result of Duterte's Drug War?

How many people have died as a result of Duterte's drug war? That is not as straightforward a question as you may think. What does it mean exactly? What is being asked? Are we asking how many have died as a result of police operations? Are we including how many have died as a result of vigilantes? Are we asking how many drug dealers and users have died? Or are we asking about innocent bystanders as well? It all depends on who you ask.

The official government tally as of July 2019 is exactly 5,526.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1143058/pdea-drug-war-death-toll-now-over-5500-arrests-reach-193000

The number of drug suspects killed in anti-drug operations has reached 5,526, data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) showed Thursday.

Another 193,063 drug personalities, meanwhile, have been arrested in 134,583 operations conducted nationwide.

The data which covered July 2016 until June 2019 were disclosed during the Real Numbers PH presentation that aims to clarify data on the drug war, amid the 27,000 deaths that human rights groups allege could be related to the drive against the illegal drug trade.

This also clarifies the 6,600 deaths earlier reported in the unofficial data of the Philippine National Police (PNP). This earlier figure has not yet been verified with PDEA.

The PDEA says only 5,526 people have died as a result of the drug war. But they are only counting deaths from police operations. This number is also lower than the number PNP Chief Albalyde gave just a day earlier which the PDEA calls "unofficial data!" The data from the PDEA is dated July 18th. Let's go back to one day before, July 17th.

https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines/status/1151672574297853952/video/1

You must go to the link and watch that brief clip. PNP Chief Albayalde quotes from PNP statistics and gives a very specific number which the PDEA contradicts the next day. Not only do they contradict it but they call it "unofficial data" even though it is official PNP data! This official PNP data was confirmed just a month earlier on June 18th, 2019.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/06/19/1927750/drug-war-death-toll-now-6600-pnp

At least 6,600 suspected drug offenders have been killed in police operations since President Duterte took office in 2016, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported yesterday.

Maj. Gen. Ma-o Aplasca, chief of the PNP Directorate for Operations, said the suspects were killed in alleged shootouts with police officers from July 1, 2016 to May 31, 2019. Aplasca presented the report during a command conference at PNP headquarters at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

The report said 240,565 suspected pushers and users were arrested in the same period. PNP chief General Oscar Albayalde presided over the meeting attended by regional police commanders and heads of national support units.

6,600 is official PNP data. Was it just a joke? Why should we disbelieve them when they are at the forefront of the drug war? Surely their numbers are as good as gold? It is very believable that the number was 6,600 at the end of May and increased to 6,739 a month later. This is still 1,000 more deaths the the official PDEA figure. Why the difference? Why do the PNP and PDEA contradict one another?

Two months before that in April Ateneo University released their findings and came up with a comeptley different number.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1111203/academe-led-database-over-7000-suspects-killed-in-3-year-drug-war

More than 7,000 drug suspects—mostly poor, male breadwinners from Metro Manila—have been shot dead during the course of the Duterte administration’s three-year war on drugs, according to Drug Archive, an independent listing of alleged extrajudicial killings nationwide.

The Ateneo School of Government on Friday released the updated number of drug-related killings from the Drug Archive, the academe-led database prepared by Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University and the University of the Philippines, which was launched in 2017.

7,000 is more than the PDEA and PNP's official tallies. How is it that their numbers are more than the official government numbers but less than those of various human rights organisations which allege many more deaths have occurred? How is it that the Durg Archive, which is "compiled and validated through news reports," records 7,000 deaths between May 2016 and December 2018 but Rappler reported 7,000 deaths back in 2017?

https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/inside-track/180831-aguirre-drug-war-deaths-7000

Rappler, along with other news outfits, presented a tally of 7,000 deaths as of April 2017 but clarified that the number is cumulative of all the deaths linked to the war on drugs. They are both deaths from legitimate police operations and deaths from vigilante-style or unexplained killings.

Rappler's 7,000 includes deaths from police and assassins. But so does the Drug Archive.

Most of the reported killings -- 4,152 people or 59 percent of the total -- involved police operations, while 2,469 individuals or 35 percent were "killed by assailant." A relatively small fraction, 402 people making up 5.7 percent, consisted of bodies discovered or found.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/692540/over-7-000-drug-related-killings-as-of-dec-2018-ateneo-policy-center/story/

It is the tally of those deaths, deaths from assassins and unexplained killings, that have caused a lot of the confusion over the official kill count. The official terms used for such deaths related to the drug war but not as a result of police operations are "Death Under Investigation" and "Homicide Cases Under Investigation." It is the number of those deaths that have pushed the kill count to over 20,000.

https://www.bworldonline.com/bachelet-phl-drug-war-not-a-model-by-any-country/

“The drug policies in place in the Philippines, and its lack of respect for rule of law and international standards, should not be considered a model by any country,” she later added.

Sought for comment, Malacañang said on Thursday that the figures Ms. Bachelet was citing on the number of drug-related deaths at 27,000 was wrong.

“The problem with that statement coming from that UN official is that… she relies on what she receives (as) information coming from the critics and the detractors of the administration. And we have been saying that this information is wrong. Like, for instance, when she claims that there were 27,000 deaths, the official count is only 5,000,” presidential spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said during a Palace briefing.

These numbers are from March 2019. Bachelet says 27,000 Panelo says 5,000. Where did she get the number 27,000 from? Official government statistics of course.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/06/11/1823545/pnp-22983-deaths-under-inquiry-drug-war-launched

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has recorded a total of 22,983 cases of killings that were classified as deaths under inquiry (DUI) since President Duterte launched the war on drugs.

In a report, the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) said at least 33 persons were killed daily from July 1, 2016 until May 21 this year.

Earlier, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said the #RealNumberPH was the consolidated numbers in the administration’s accomplishment against illegal drugs.

“These are real numbers that we need to know, the others are either false, misinformation or fake,” he said.

Those numbers are from May 2018 so of course they are less than any numbers from 2019. What's important to note is that PCOO Secretary Andanar tells us that #RealNumbers PH is the official tally. But does the PCOO really believe that? No. They don't.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1075130

The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) on Tuesday said the total number of homicides cases under investigation (HCUIs), under the "Fighting Against Illegal Drugs" chapter in its 2017 accomplishment report, were included to create a distinction on the number of deaths that were all related to the administration's anti-illegal drugs operations.

"We included the figures on homicide cases under investigation when we published real numbers to make it clear that there is a different number which is directly related to deaths during drug operations since the opposition had been insisting on the numbers most convenient for them to push their political agenda," Assistant Secretary Marie Rafael said in a phone interview.

From another article we read:

The PCOO reiterated that the numbers under homicide cases under investigation (HCUI) “are not at all related to the anti-illegal drugs campaign.”

“We are not contradicting these data; in fact, we have been updating these data. May we reiterate that these homicide cases under investigation are not at all related to the anti-illegal drugs campaign,” PCOO said.

“HCUI may have resulted out of road rage, land dispute, business rivalry, family dispute, love triangle, crimes of passion or politics, what may be considered as drug-related incidents are those where the victim is killed by non- government elements because he/she is an alleged informant or the victim is killed and/or raped and killed by a person who uses drugs,” it added.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1141530/vera-files-pcoo-contradicted-what-it-claims-as-only-official-source-of-drug-war-data

If HCUIs are not related to the drug war then why include them in that data? Here is the controversial page in question from The Duterte Administration Year-End Report 2017 Key Accomplishments report.

https://www.foi.gov.ph/requests/aglzfmVmb2ktcGhyHgsSB0NvbnRlbnQiEVBDT08tMzM2Mzg4NTUyMDEyDA

No reasonable reading of this report would lead one to believe that the 16,355 HCUIs are anything but related to the drug war. The numbers are on a page titled "Fighting Illegal Drugs." If people are confused about the #RealNumbers the PNP have themselves to blame for appending the dubious label "Deaths Under Investigation" to unsolved homicides and including those numbers in the drug war data.

So it's entirely disingenuous when PNP Chief Albayalde mocks those who use official data from #RealNumbers.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1140970/albayalde-dares-rights-groups-name-all-27000-people-killed-in-drug-war

(Can we have a list of names of these 27,000 deaths that they always bring up? Show us the list, the names, and we will gladly investigate all of these if those numbers are true.)

Has anyone presented a list of the names of the dead? I don't think so. But dear readers I happen to have a list of the names of all the people who have died in the drug war using official PNP and PDEA data. Here they are:

That's all of them. Where are the names you ask? Well you see names belong to people and no people have died during the drug war because drug users and dealers are not people!

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/867331/criminals-are-not-human-aguirre

“The criminals, the drug lords, drug pushers, they are not humanity. They are not humanity,” Aguirre told reporters when asked to comment on the Amnesty report.

“In other words, how can that be when your war is only against those drug lords, drug addicts, drug pushers. You consider them humanity? I do not.”

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/02/10/sotto-are-drug-pushers-and-users-part-of-humanity/

“Ang tingin ko dun pa lang sa charge, hindi pwede, eh. Pag sinabi mong ‘crimes against humanity,’ eh sino ba yung humanity na binabanggit?…Humanity ba ang drug pusher at mga abusadong drug user (I think that the charge can’t be. When you say ‘crimes against humanity,’ who is the humanity being mentioned? Are drug pushers and stubborn drug users considered part of humanity)?” Sotto said in a radio interview this afternoon.

Sotto continued on, saying “Kung sagot nila oo, aba, eh isa sila run o suportado nila ang mga yun (If their answer is yes, then they’re either one of them or they support them).”

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/810395/junkies-are-not-humans

“That’s why I said, ‘[W]hat crime against humanity?’ In the first place, I’d like to be frank with you, are they (drug users) humans? What is your definition of a human being? Tell me,” he said.

The numbers may vary on how many have been killed in the drug war but it is a fact that since drug users and drug dealers are not human no people have died as a result of Duterte's drug war.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Picture of the Week: Dog on a Tricycle

Look at this dog. Just look at him.

Look at how he is balanced on the back seat of the tricycle. He is not tied up. He is not sitting down. He is standing up. He is not secure. Any false move and he is dead. But does he care? Probably not. I bet he loves the wind in his face. Does his owner care? Obviously not. Or else he would have secured the dog. At least the woman has a nice seat.

Hopefully the dog made it safe to wherever they were going.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Retards in the Government 111

It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption and murder in Philippine politics.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1140885/probinsyano-rep-faces-crime-raps-party-ax-for-punching-waiter

A party list lawmaker may be facing criminal and administrative charges for hitting a waiter in the face at a local restaurant here.

Ang Probinsyano Rep. Alfred delos Santos, who is set to assume his seat in the 18th Congress on July 22, may also face sanctions from his group, which won a seat in the House of Representatives by banking on the title of a hugely popular television series.

A security camera caught the lawmaker hitting Alejo in the head at Biggs Diner on Rizal Street in this city’s central business district five days ago.

The footage shows Delos Santos standing up from his seat and hitting Alejo with his left hand. The congressman was with three male companions.

It was not clear what provoked the congressman to hit the waiter.

I would imagine a political party named after a TV show would not attract the creme de la creme of society to its ranks.

http://davaotoday.com/main/human-rights/lumad-leader-farmer-activist-killed-in-their-homes/

On July 8, Datu Mario Agsab, was shot dead in his home at Sitio Mainaga, Brgy. Iba, Cabanglasan, Bukidnon at around 7am by suspected members of paramilitary group Alamara with CAFGU members under the 8th Infantry Batallion.

According to Karapatan-Bukidnon, Agsab was an active leader of PIGYAYUNGA-AN, a local chapter of Kalumbay Regional Lumad Organization in Cabanglasan, Bukidnon.

Two days earlier, the group also reported similar shooting incident which targeted a member of KASAMA-Bukidnon, an affiliate of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP).

Karapatan said that farmer Joel Anino was shot in his home in San Fernando town, Bukidnon by unidentified gunmen around 6:30am last July 6. He later died at the Malaybalay General Hospital.

The group has already documented nine incidents of extrajudicial killings in Bukidnon in the middle of 2019.

Anglao attributed these killings to the implementation of Martial Law in Mindanao, which is expected to last until the end of this year.

“The [State] wants to silence anyone – especially the farmers here in Bukidnon – who is strongly calling for genuine agrarian reform in the country,” Anglao said.

Is the State killing farmers and activists who advocate for agrarian reform? Somebody sure is. The bodies keep piling up. These two are only the latest.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1074666

Ako Bicol (AKB) Party-List president Elizaldy Co proposed the PHP500-million undertaking during an administration political rally at the Albay Astrodome here last April. He said spotlights set up around Mayon will accentuate its magnificent slopes.

The plan, according to AKB, is a milestone project that will further boost tourism in Bicol.

The party-list group further claimed that lighting up the volcano will “spark” economic activities in the region as it will attract more private investors to do business in Albay.

But netizens, scientists and environmentalists have criticized the plan for being impractical and damaging to the environment.

Merlita Tariman, a freelance journalist, said lighting up Mt. Mayon "is one of the craziest, pettiest, ill-conceived proposals" she has ever come across. "Pailawan mo ang mga pobreng kabahayan, hindi iyang bulkan at kagubatan (Light up the homes of the poor, not the volcano and the forests),” she said.

"Imagine our province which suffers from the most outrageous power outages today would like to light up hectares of forest, while it cannot even sufficiently electrify its towns and cities; cannot even complete construction of its international airport for years now; cannot even push faster the operation of its dream modern seaport in Pantao for decades now; cannot even build good farm-to-market roads," Tariman added.

Any old scheme to bring in a few tourist bucks while the rest of the province goes to pot.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1074648

An updated report of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)-Maguindanao identified the fatalities as Datu Norodin Mangandian Guiaman, 34, chairperson of Barangay Tuka, Mamasapano, Maguindanao;

Tuka barangay treasurer Sindatu Agao, Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT) member Basser Guiaman, 42; and Alwaida Guiaman, 28, wife of chairman Guiaman.

Major Esmael Madin, chief of CIDG-Maguindanao, said all the victims were onboard a gray Toyota Vios sedan with temporary license plate when six gunmen onboard three separate motorbikes opened fire on them along Notre Dame Avenue at 1:40 p.m. Wednesday.

Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) found two pistols inside the victims’ car believed to have been used by the victims in an attempt to fire back. Some 40 empty shells of .45-caliber pistol and 9-mm pistol were recovered at the ambush site.

Investigators believed the ambush was triggered by a “rido” (family feud) involving the village official and another clan in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

Rido or not it's another LGU official shot dead by motorcycle assassins.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1141225/malacanang-staffer-files-charges-vs-3-pcoo-execs-at-ombudsman

A staffer at the Presidential Communications Operations Office’s (PCOO) News and Information Bureau (NIB) has filed cases of grave abuse of authority, oppression and neglect of duty against three PCOO executives with the Office of the Ombudsman, over the alleged arbitrary transfer of some Media Accreditation and Relations Office (Maro) employees.

In a complaint-affidavit submitted July 3, Lucrecia Luz Roque asked the Ombudsman to perpetually ban from government service PCOO Undersecretary for Maro Feducia Mia Reyes-Lucas, PCOO Assistant Secretary for Content and Messaging Rachel Queenie Rodolfo and NIB Acting Chief Virginia Arcilla-Agtay.

Luz Roque said the three respondents repeatedly blocked her attempts to return to Maro and instead hired job orders.

“We were experts but the presidential media coverages were left to be handled by amateurs, [a] waste of taxpayers money,” the complaint said.

In her six-page complaint, Luz Roque said that in December 2010, during the term of then President Benigno Aquino III, she and six other Maro employees were removed “without any valid reason at all.”

Nine years ago this lady and others were removed from their office and replaced by other people who were not fit to handle the duties in the office. Is there a statue of limitations? Why file a case now?

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1141217/court-suspends-cotabato-gov-for-90-days

The Sandiganbayan has ordered the suspension of Cotabato Gov. Nancy Catamco for 90 days for her involvement in an allegedly overpriced fertilizer procurement in 2005.

Another politician involved in a fertiliser scam.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/07/14/1934500/duterte-vows-defend-jail-personnel-facing-job-related-cases

“Stay on the right track. As I have been telling this to everyone time and again, maybe for the nth time before (that) you just do your duty according to the books. And you do not have to worry about (criminal) cases,” Duterte said during the 28th anniversary of the BJMP at Camp Aguinaldo last Friday.

If there are some problems that might later arise, Duterte said the concerned officials should just be truthful in giving him details of what really transpired.

“Just do your duty… I’m sure General Año and me will look at it in a very positive way. As long as there are no abuses,” Duterte said, referring to retired general, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año.

Duterte insinuated he would not mind if hardened criminals get killed during operations while under detention.

“If they are killed while in detention …well that’s better … We have cases like that. But I assure you, I will not abandon them (BJMP personnel),” Duterte said.

“If there’s anything that I can do and I said especially cases that are duty connected or in the fulfillment of your duty, (but) do not (lie),” he said.

“Do not invent a story… I will provide the (cover story) not you, so when I talk to you, tell me the truth.”

And the Duterte administration wonders why the UNHRC passed a resolution to investigate the human rights situation in the Philippines.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/07/14/1934519/malacaang-transfer-eyed-boc-64

The 64 high-ranking officials and employees of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) who are being investigated for corruption might be transferred to Malacañang.

BOC Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip Maronilla, acting spokesman of the bureau, said the personnel might be put under the Office of the President.

“(They might be re-assigned) pending final resolution of the charges against them, administrative or otherwise,” Maronilla added.

He maintained that President Duterte would not dismiss the employees without due process.

“The President has already stated that he will respect the rights of these employees, including of course their right to due process,” Maronilla said.

Duterte has dismissed plenty of government workers without due process and based on unproved allegations. The fact that this is even being discussed is more proof Duterte is not serious about fighting corruption.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1141643/mayoral-candidate-in-may-polls-shot-dead-in-sultan-kudarat

A mayoral candidate in Lambayong town in Sultan Kudarat in the elections last May was shot dead on Saturday, July 13, in his hometown, police said Sunday.

Lt. Col. Aldrin Gonzales, speaking for the police in the Soccsksargen region, said Edgar Lucero, 53, was on a motorcycle with his two children when repeatedly shot as they were traveling along the national highway in Barangay Didtaras in Lambayong at around 9:30 a.m.

Gonzales said Lucero and his children just came from nearby Tacurong City and were heading home when shot from behind by assailants, who were also on a motorcycle.

He had five gunshot wounds in the head and body and died instantly. His children were spared by the gunmen, Gonzales said.

His family said Lucero had been receiving death threats in the past months, but he ignored them, saying he had no enemies.

Obviously he was wrong about not having enemies. He should have taken those threats seriously.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1141645/ncmf-execs-plead-guilty-to-lesser-offense

Three officials of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) have entered into a plea bargain with the Office of the Ombudsman, and were slapped with P10,000 in fines.

Sadain, Mabang, Makalinggan and Rodriguez were earlier slapped with graft charges for the alleged anomalous use of the priority development assistance fund of former Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Ampatuan Datumanong, who has since passed away.

Anomalous use of PDAF money. At least the case wont't be dragged out for a decade.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1141410/coa-asks-ptv-for-documents-on-p90m-paid-to-employees

The Commission on Audit (COA) has cautioned state-run television network PTV4 over some P89.68 million that it paid to contract of service (COS) and contractual employees without proper documentation.

In its annual audit report, the COA said that if the Philippine Television Network Inc. failed to submit the required supporting documents for the salaries paid to COS and contractual workers, the audit body would issue a notice of suspension that could lead to a notice of disallowance.

“The legality, validity and accuracy of the payments in the total amount of P89.680 million for the salaries of contractual and contract of service personnel of [PTV4] for the period January 2018 to December 2018 could not be ascertained due to nonsubmission of the documentary requirements such as daily time records (DTRs), contracts of service and accomplishment reports,” the COA said.

Bad paperwork keeping is a problem in many government agencies that always comes to light with the annual COA report.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1141653/bill-seeks-regular-pay-for-village-officials

Angara’s bill seeks to treat barangay officials as regular government employees who will receive fixed salaries, allowances, insurance, medical and dental coverage, retirement and other fringe benefits.

At present, barangay officials do not receive fixed salaries and are only entitled to honoraria and other allowances.

Also under the bill, the national treasury should automatically remit to the barangays their just share from the national taxes to ensure that the barangays enjoy local autonomy, Angara said.

If barangay officials do not receive a fixed salary then why are so many officials kill and why are positions within barangay sought? One word: power. Undoubtedly many of these officials get kickbacks.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/245202/coa-tells-cebu-province-to-return-p40-7-m-unspent-pdaf

In its 2018 Audit Report, the Commission on Audit (COA) pointed out that the province “still did not return to the National Treasury the remaining unutilized Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) balance of P40, 769,414.12, which had been idle in its treasury for 5 to 12 years, despite the lack of basis or authority to use them for future projects.”

How does this kind of thing keep happening? In city after city there are millions in idle funds. What are the treasurers of these cities even doing?

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/701181/2-cops-one-police-asset-nabbed-for-alleged-robbery-holdup-in-pasig/story/

Three men, including two police officers, who were allegedly involved in a robbery hold-up incident were nabbed in San Miguel, Pasig City, on Monday night.

Authorities on Tuesday identified the suspects as Police Corporal Duman-ag Lipawen and Pat Arsenio Velardo, who were both assigned at Pasig City Police Station Drug Enforcement Unit, and police asset Janus Francisco.

Police investigation bared that victim Robert Tamondog Ignacio was approached by the suspects for alleged violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

The suspects allegedly took Ignacio's money worth P850 and his silver ring. After taking his belongings, Ignacio was released by the suspects.

Two more "bad eggs" who do not represent the PNP as a whole. Isolated incident.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/701191/ex-vp-binay-files-electoral-protest-vs-kid-pena-demands-manual-recount/story/

He also urged the body to set aside Peña's proclamation as the winning representative of the district and instead declare him as the duly elected and rightful winner in the elections "for having obtained the plurality of the votes cast."

According to Binay, the election results used to proclaim Peña as winner in the elections in the district were not reflective of the actual votes he garnered.

He cited "high incidence of null or misread votes" in the certificates of canvass for Penã, which he said resulted in the omission of votes; and cases of fraud, anomalies, irregularities and statistical improbabilities in several clustered precincts.

Binay alleged that there were cases where the ballots were rejected by the vote counting machines (VCMs) and the voters' receipts did not reflect the actual votes, as well as incidents of vote-buying.

He even accused Peña's followers and watchers of manipulating the precinct proceedings so that voters who were listed disabled or physically unable to prepare their ballots were not allowed to vote with help from personnel in the voting precincts.

He also claimed that the assigned VCMs in most of the clustered precincts malfunctioned, which raises questions as to the "accuracy and quality of the machines to correctly count the votes."

"Definitely, if there were no electoral frauds, anomalies or irregularities in the protested clustered precincts, the Protestant (Binay) would have garnered the most number of votes for the position of Member of the House of Representatives for the First District of Makati City," Binay's petition read.

Binay, however, clarified that he was not filing the petition "out of spite."

"It is a challenge to uncover the true will of the people, the voters of Makati City," he said.

Binay, whose voting card was rejected several times by the VCM at his precinct, is filing a protest which the declared winner says is "out of spite." One could sympathise with Binay seeing as there were certainly a lot of anomalies that day with machines malfunctioning and vote counts not transmitted. But will the courts find the case with merit to go ahead with a recount?

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/178032/im-calling-now-america-duterte-invokes-defense-pact-with-us

“I’m calling now America. I’m invoking the RP-US pact. I would like America to gather all their Seventh Fleet in front of China. I’m asking them now. And I will join them,” Duterte said in an interview over Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s television program.

The President added that he will drag the critics of his stance in the West Philippine Sea dispute, namely, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and former Foreign Affairs chief Albert del Rosario, to go to war with him.

“I will ride on the boat where admiral of the US. But I will drag along this Carpio and the rest of Albert. When the Americans say, ‘we’re here now’, ready, I will press the (button),” he said.

“Maybe that would be the end of Palawan. Palawan may be devastated, maybe occupied or if there will be nuclear bombs it will dry up. So nothing will grow here, we can just wait, just like a big hole coming our way, to suck us to eternity,’ he added.

Obviously Duterte is exaggerating and making joke in an attempt to paint his critics as fools for saying that the Philippines must enforce the Hague ruling and the Philippines EEZ. But it is Duterte who comes off looking like a fool who can only think in terms of war. No one is calling for war except Duterte.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1142586/coa-to-philhealth-return-p33m

The Commission on Audit (COA) has ordered Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to return about P33 million in allowances and bonuses it gave to its employees and officials illegally in 2009 and 2011.

The COA keeps repeating itself telling various agencies to return money it should not have spent.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2009/11/06/520377/lto-exec-brod-killed-iligan-ambush

The assistant district officer of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) here and a brother were killed in an ambush a few hundred meters from their residence yesterday.

Police said LTO executive Ali Datumanong was on his way to work when his vehicle driven by his brother was fired upon at around 9 a.m. in Barangay Tubod here.

Bystanders rushed the Datumanongs to the Dr. Uy’s Hospital but they were declared dead on arrival.

Investigators said they were trying to determine if the attack was related to Datumanong’s work at LTO or motivated by a clan feud or rido.

What if it's all three!?

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/701360/duterte-i-am-a-deeply-religious-person/story/

“You might think that just because I quarrel with the cardinals and the bishops that I’m irreverent. ‘Yung I could be a sacrilegious guy. Hindi baya. Kilala ako ni Pastor,” the President said in an interview over Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s television program.

“I am a deeply religious person, sa totoo lang. And my guiding life, alam ni Pastor ‘yan, is the Bible. And if you can memorize by heart and understand Ecclesiastes 3. You can face any problem. You might not be able to solve it but you can understand why.”

Duterte added: “I was prepared to deal with it every time because I was using the Bible. As there is a time for victory, there has to be a time for defeat. Kaya ganun ako.”

These bad jokes are never ending. He already said in 2016 that he is a Muslim. Since then he has repeatedly cursed the Church. I bet he can recite Ecclesiastes 3 thanks to The Turtles.

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/178052/duterte-on-west-philippine-sea-im-the-owner-im-just-giving-china-fishing-rights

President Rodrigo Duterte insisted Wednesday Manila’s sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea despite his decision to allow China to fish in the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“As far as I’m concerned, I’m the owner, and I’m just giving the fishing rights,” Duterte told Pastor Apollo Quiboloy in his show “Give Us This Day.”

“We filed a case for arbitration actually, and we won. But the problem is the property is in their possession. It is with China who claims it also to be his property, their property,” Duterte said.

Except he is not the owner of the WPS. He is the President of the Philippines and has a duty to uphold the constitution and that means not seceding Philippine territory to a foreign nation. He also contradicts himself when he says China claims the WPS to be their property. China is not there at the permission of Duterte.

Philippine political scandal of the week!

The scandal here is the overblown reaction of the Philippine government to the UNHRC's call for an investigation into alleged EJKs in Duterte's drug war meaning:

“to get clarity around the contested facts, figures and circumstances” of reports alleging crimes against humanity in Duterte’s bloody campaign against the drug trade and crimes.

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/177862/in-war-of-words-over-unhrc-probe-clarity-is-lost

The only thing left now is for Duterte to unilaterally withdraw from the UNHRC and the UN. Does he have the nerve? Here are a few outrageous headlines!