Martial Law: Thriving in the Philippines

Big news last week as the announcement of the death of the austere religious scholar at the helm of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, rocked the world.

https://web.archive.org/web/20191027151235/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-islamic-states-terrorist-in-chief-dies-at-48/2019/10/27/0d004abc-663d-11e7-8eb5-cbccc2e7bfbf_story.html

When Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took the reins of the Islamic State of Iraq in 2010, few had heard of the organization or its new leader, an austere religious scholar with wire-frame glasses and no known aptitude for fighting and killing. 

But just four years later, Mr. Baghdadi had helped transform his failing movement into one of the most notorious and successful terrorist groups of modern times. Under his guidance it would burst into the public consciousness as the Islamic State, an organization that would seize control of entire cities in Iraq and Syria and become a byword for shocking brutality. 

He died Oct. 26 in northwest Syria, during a raid conducted by Special Operations forces, President Trump said in a Sunday morning news conference at the White House. Mr. Baghdadi was 48, and had run into a “dead-end tunnel” before he “ignited his vest,” killing himself and three of his children, Trump said.

Just like Osama bin Laden al-Baghdadi was buried at sea with full Islamic religious rites by US special forces and absolutely no pictures verifying his death were released. What a contrast to the Philippines which released graphic pictures of Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon and Matue leader Omar Maute verifying their deaths. 

What does the death of al-Baghdadi mean for the Philippines? Experts say "para bellum." Prepare for war.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/243591-analyst-says-revenge-attacks-isis-groups-likely-baghdadi-killing

"As you know, in the Philippines itself, more than 3 dozen groups pledged allegiance to Islamic State. In Southeast Asia alone, there are more than 100 networks that pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. So it is very likely that at least some of these groups will mount revengeful attacks, or what they call retribution attacks,” said Rohan Gunaratna, professor of Security Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technology University in Singapore. 

The loss of al-Baghdadi, Gunaratna said, will further decentralize ISIS and push its regional tentacles to organize on their own. 

The military downplayed the threat from local terrorists, saying it “seriously doubts” there would be retaliatory attacks, according to AFP spokesperson Brigadier General Edgard Arevalo. 

Although the leaders of local ISIS-linked groups will likely feel the impact of al-Baghdadi’s loss, their “rank and file” fighters probably know too little about him to get the urge to avenge his killing, said AFP Western Mindanao Command chief Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana. 

Moreover, al-Baghdadi’s rivalry with Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was pretty much the only thing that prevented ISIS and Al Qaeda from joining forces. 

"When these leaders die, the younger leaders have no problem with cooperation and collaboration,” Gunaratna said, and wiith al-Baghdadi gone, the two terror organizations will likely “come together.” 

That means local ISIS-linked groups may soon join forces with Al Qaeda-linked ones. For example, Sawadjaan’s faction of the ASG might absorb the broader group led by the aging Radullan Sahiron, who rejected ISIS.

Perhaps the AFP is right on this one and there will be no retaliatory attacks to avenge the death of al-Baghdadi. After all ISIS-Core, that is the main branch, has basically left ISIS-Philippines in the lurch since their defeat at Marawi. With no officially recognised leader ISIS Philippines has been decentralised ever since October 2017. Funding has allegedly come mostly from money stolen from Marawi and not from overseas. However ISIS did use Marawi as a propaganda tool and Southeast Asia is still considered by many jihadis as another front in the global jihad. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/10/29/1964291/mindanao-might-attract-more-foreign-fighters-amid-death-isis-leader-expert

Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington, said the death of Baghdadi would not have any real impact on counter-terror efforts in the Philippines. 

ISIS-inspired groups, such as the Abu Sayyaf Group, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Maute group, AKP and others will continue to operate in Mindanao. 

"My concern is that the southern Philippines will continue to be a draw for foreign fighters from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, simply because ISIS has suffered such reversals in Iraq and Syria, on top of the already formidable logistical challenges of getting there," Abuza told Philstar.com. 

The Washington-based security expert noted that ISIS-inspired groups in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, are very autonomous. 

"The southern Philippines is the only place in Southeast Asia that pro-ISIS cells have the ability to actually control territory, and the pro-ISIS groups there are more than welcome to take in foreign fighters," Abuza said. 

He also noted that the central leadership of ISIS has not given priority to Southeast Asia aside from the Marawi siege in 2017.

Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore? The Philippines has actually attracted fighters from Jordan, Morocco, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. But the majority of fighters are all Filipinos. Disgruntled Filipinos who are angry at the government for destroying Marawi and for historical injustices against the Marano people. Don't forget Abu Sayyaf, the main ISIS affiliated group in the Philippines, is a spin off of the MILF which is a spin off of the MNLF all three of whose goals is an independent Islamic State consisting of the whole of Mindanao.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/delay-return-boosting-isil-recruitment-philippines-marawi-191022063320387.html

Rasul warned that "anti-government sentiment is high" among the displaced Maranao, and "all of those" interviewed by her organisation confirmed that there was ongoing recruitment by "extremist groups" even inside the refugee camps.  

The "narrative" employed by the recruiters to convince young people to fight is as simple as pointing out their current condition, Rasul said.

"They will just say, 'Look what is happening to you. The government is not helping. In fact, they destroyed your homes, they are destroying your livelihood.'" 

"The longer that this is not resolved and they are not allowed to go back, the higher the probability that they will believe in this narrative, false as it may be," Rasul added. 

Rasul said that some of the young people she interviewed "see no option", and that the financial offer to fight is appealing. 

A sign-up bonus could be between 20,000 to 50,000 pesos ($390 to $1,000) plus a monthly allowance - a significant monetary enticement for an impoverished family in Mindanao, Rasul said 

Many of the young Maranaos also said that they had been promised that whatever happens to them, their family would continue to receive compensation. 

"For them, that's showing that they are being a good son, proving their self-worth that they are doing something to help the family," Rasul said. 

She said some young people at local universities are also being recruited, using the more "sophisticated" political persuasion about the plight and injustice against Maranaos. 

Rebekah M Alawi, a professor on cultural studies and literature at Mindanao State University's main campus in Marawi, has also conducted interviews among the Maranaos after the siege. 

She told Al Jazeera that recruitment is ongoing, not only in Marawi but also in nearby towns surrounding Lake Lanao.

Recruitment is ongoing. In fact it has never stopped. At last count ISIS linked militants were numbered at 574.  When the new Operation Pacific Eagle quarterly reported is released in the next few weeks we will get an update on that number and learn just how effective recruitment efforts and AFP operations have been.  In the meantime both the PNP and the AFP remain on alert for any retaliatory attacks.

https://www.untvweb.com/news/pnp-brace-for-possible-retaliatory-attacks-after-death-of-isis-leader/

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2019/10/28/1964056/westmincom-alert-sympathy-attacks-after-isis-leaders-death

According to Sobejana, most of the leaders who pledged allegiance to ISIS—like Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, his supposed successor Abu Dar and the Maute brothers—are already dead. 

Of the Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf group, Sobejana said, only sub-leader Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan has pledged allegiance to ISIS. Senior leader Radullan Sahiron has not.

Sahiron is believed to be distancing himself from ISIS and other foreign militants in Sulu because he believes they are linked to the US Central Intelligence Agency. 

Despite that, Sobejana said the military is taking preemptive measures "based on the worst-case scenario on the assumption they will conduct retaliatory attacks."

Now that is very interesting. The current senior leader of Abu Sayyaf has not pledged allegiance to ISIS because he thinks they are backed by the CIA. Would that mean the Marawi attack was a CIA plot to destabilise the Philippines as some have posited?

https://journal-neo.org/2017/05/30/the-cia-s-cloddish-isis-attack-on-duterte/

The terrorist siege in Marawi City is blatantly a desperate Washington try to topple the very popular (80% popularity in polls) Duterte, who successfully won the Presidency last June over a US-backed Mar Roxas, a US-educated former Wall Street banker.

Yeah, no. That is a very simplistic picture of Abu Sayyaf and Maute and their relation to ISIS and the Islamic independent movement in Mindanao. Whether ISIS is a CIA or Mossad front group their influence in the Southeast Asia will continue to be felt and fought for the foreseeable future.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/s-e-asia-expects-long-fight-against-isis-influence

Though his death will unsettle ISIS, it remains capable and dangerous, said Mr Delfin Lorenzana, Defence Secretary of the Philippines, where the group's influence has taken a hold among unschooled Muslim youth in its troubled Mindanao region. 

"This is a blow to the organisation, considering Baghdadi's stature as a leader. But this is just a momentary setback, considering the depth and reach of the organisation worldwide," he said. "Somebody will take his place." 

South-east Asia has long been an important focus for ISIS, which has inspired Islamist militants in West Africa, across the Middle East and Asia, and through to Indonesia and the Philippines. 

The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia are concerned that ISIS supporters from the region and those fleeing Iraq and Syria could exploit the porous borders, lawlessness and abundant arms found in Mindanao to take refuge in its far-flung villages. 

ISIS has claimed responsibility for four suicide bombings since July last year in the Philippines, which fought its toughest battle since World War II in 2017 when extremists seeking to establish an ISIS stronghold laid siege to Marawi City and occupied it through five months of air and ground assaults.

Compared to elsewhere in SEA ISIS is thriving in the Philippines.

https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/10/article/isis-fading-in-mid-east-thriving-in-the-philippines/

Regional security experts are concerned that recent convulsions in Syria are driving a new wave of ISIS fighters into Southeast Asia, particularly into the southern Philippines, where dozens of local extremist outfits have declared fealty to the group. 

As during a previous exodus of ISIS fighters from the Middle East to Southeast Asia, where militants crossed into the Philippines lightly patrolled southern reaches on the island of Mindanao, analysts believe Marawi is reemerging as an extremist epicenter. 

“Marawi City has become a fertile ground for extremist recruitment,” said Rommel Banlaoi, chairman of the Manila-based Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, a think tank. 

“The Islamic State in the Philippines is continuously recruiting and is taking advantage of the frustrations of affected (Marawi-based) families and individuals.” 

He said ISIS is drawing on a large pool of potential recruits in Marawi, namely the more than 100,000 residents still residing either in squalid temporary shelters or with their relatives who have not been allowed to return to rebuild or repair their homes and businesses. 

ISIS recruitment is now in full swing over social media, school campuses and among remote Muslim communities, with recruiters said to be offering cash, guns and monthly allowances to lure mostly young men to their radical cause, according to various sources.

Banlaoi claims Mindanao has become a well-known safe haven for ISIS fighters fleeing the Middle East, with many recently being absorbed into local extremist groups that continue to hit Philippine security forces in hit-and-run attacks. 

There are currently several ISIS-aligned groups actively operating in Mindanao, and there are violent indications they are concertedly ramping up attacks in preparation for another Marawi-like big bang assault. 

They include the Abu Sayyaf Group, which operates in the island provinces of Sulu and Basilan and was instrumental in the 2017 Marawi siege. 

The ISIS-aligned Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a breakaway from the ceasefire Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) based in mainland Maguindanao province, is also a formidable force with a deep military arsenal and explosive-making expertise.

They may have a pool of 100,000 potential recruits but with less than 1,000 not many fish are biting. Perhaps foreign fighters could fill in the gap. Here is a map of ISIS-aligned groups operating in Mindanao.

That doesn't seem like much territory. Just a few provinces with only a little more than 500 members. But these few, these happy few, these band of brothers, have thrown quite a monkey wrench in the security plans of the Philippines and they won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Filipino Cult Leaders: Apollo Quiboloy and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, Inc

Apollo Quiboloy is the founder of the the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, Inc. He is also know as The Appointed Son of God and The New Owner of the World. Is it any wonder then that he was able to stop the earthquake which recently rocked Mindanao.

https://coconuts.co/manila/news/i-told-the-earthquake-stop-pastor-quiboloy-says-we-have-him-to-thank-for-mindanao-quake-ending/

In his regular two-hour religious TV program “Give Us This Day,” which aired Oct. 30, the Davao City-based Quiboloy recounted in Filipino, “When it quaked yesterday I was there. I said to the quake, stop! And it stopped.” 

“Another one came at around 11[pm], it quaked again, I said stop. And of course, it stopped. So you have to me thank [for that].” 

While it’s unclear if the poker-faced religious leader was joking or dead serious, he went on to repeat the claim, saying, “You should thank me. If I didn’t make [the earthquake] stop, a lot of you would have [suffered] a building collapse; you’d all be dead.” 

He also claimed that there were witnesses to his alleged earthquake-halting powers, although he failed to name them, and put a cherry on top of the earthquake-halting cake by also laying down the law to a shaky lighting fixture. 

“When the chandelier moved, I told it to stop! And it stopped immediately. I did the same for the second one. So you should all thank me for stopping the earthquake. But I won’t say this because I’m bragging.”

How could this man be possibly be bragging about such a thing when it is a matter of fact that he is the New Owner of the World? As the New Owner of the World it is his right to control earthquakes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXSp3Z04G2A

Important doctrinal manna from this long sermon include the following.


5:00: "Who am I?  I am the New Owner of the World." 

6:25: "The father told me now you will be the standard of my salvation and my judgement."

26:23: "When the Almighty Father created Adam and Eve His plan was for them to have dominion over all things. Adam was the first king. Of course through God who made them and he wants them to own everything just like me now. I am the replacement of the Adam that was fallen and this is the Adam that was restored. He will own this world through me again. Because it was made for me."

27:08:  "Now I am here; the new Adam who overcame, who won against him (the devil). That is why the ownership of the world is back in the hands of the Father through his Appointed Son. 


47:55:  "I am the manifestation of the Spirit. I am the Spiritual man. He that is spiritual judgeth all things but he himself is judged of no man. I judge all things and you judge me, the judgement will come back to you. 

48:15: "But the Father told my July 22, 2018 if they malign your name again they are maligning my name because your name is my new name. And if they malign my name they are in danger of the unpardonable sin. So you who are maligners of my name are after July 22 you have committed the unpardonable, unforgivable sin. So for those who have committed the unpardonable sin you have no more soul to be saved. Love your enemy is not applicable to you. What is applicable to you? Hebrews 10:26 and Romans chapter 2. That is what is applicable to you now. 

1:14:55: "Since Sonship is connected to the Kingship, the Appointed Son is taking over the dominion of this world, just like the original plan of the Almighty Father. On June 18, 2018 the Almighty Father revealed that He has reclaimed the ownership of the world through His Appointed Son. The time of Satan Lucifer's ownership is over.   

1:21:05: "I am the fulfilment of all of the Word of God. All of those words are mine." 

1:27:13: "The Appointed Son now owns the whole world that our Almighty Father has created because he has become like Him. The Greatest Spirit of the Almighty Father now dwells in his body. His body is no longer a member of the fallen Agamic race under the dominion of Satan Lucifer the Devil but has become a bona fide ownership of the Father who will implement His Spiritual laws here on earth. This signals the beginning of the Thousand-year Rule beginning on April 13, 2005.

1:27:55: "All seven billion humanity whether you knew me or not, all of you, whether you knew me or not, as long as you're human, you will go through me. Those who want to go to heaven will go through me.  "I don't like you." Then you will go to hell. You do not like me? Then you will go to hell. There will be no place for you. Those who want me will go to heaven. I am not forcing anyone here because all power over the flesh is mine."   


It's really not hard to understand. Apollo Quiboloy is the Appointed Son of God. He is filled with the Greatest Spirit of the Almighty Father. He is the new Adam who has overcome the devil. Because he has overcome the devil ownership of the world has now been transferred back to the Father and He has given that ownership to His Appointed Son Apollo Quiboloy. As such he can stop earthquakes.

Does Quiboloy think he is Jesus? Yes. From his FAQ.

If your ministry now was the ministry of Jesus Christ, why are you not nailed to the cross? 

The physical aspect of salvation is already finished. What I have fulfilled now is the spiritual component of salvation. I do not need to be crucified again. The physical and spiritual are now fulfilled and they are fused together in the Appointed Son. 

https://www.apolloquiboloy.com/faq/why-are-you-not-nailed-to-the-cross/

Actually it's a little more complicated than a yes and no. First you have to understand he came out of the United Pentecostal Church. This church denies the Trinity. There is no Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existing as three persons yet sharing one divine nature. Rather the Father, Son, and Holy Spirt are differing manifestation of the same being. This is also known as modalism or oneness. Jesus Christ was the human manifestation of God in his time. Quiboloy is the human manifestation of God in our time. But he remains the man Quiboloy and not the man who was Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and Life, no man cometh unto the Father except through me.” These are the words of Jesus Christ. Why are you using it, Pastor? 

In the Gentile Setting, because I have been appointed as the Son, I have now inherited these Words and therefore, I own them as they are my Father’s. (Revelation 21:7)The Father and the Son are one, (John 10:30) so, when I speak these Words, I speak not of myself, but the Father that lives in me. (John 14:10)  

When I say, “I am the Way, the Truth, and Life, no man cometh to the Father, which is in me, except they go through me.” Now, you are able to understand that those Words that are coming from me are actually coming from the Father using my body. He has chosen a body to represent Him. I did not choose Him, He chose me. So, let us wait whom He will the Father choose.  

Now, that He has produced a Son where He can live and deposit His Words in that Son, that Son will inherit everything the Father has. The Father now can walk and can talk through the Appointed Son. Fortunately as I said, I am that Appointed Son. Without a true body representing Him, any Tom, Dick and Harry can stand up and say, “I know how to preach. I am a representative of Jesus Christ.” But, when you listen to them, they misrepresent Him by the way they live, by the way they talk, by the way they preach.  

Now, that body is here talking to all of His children that wants to join Him in Heaven. That is why I said, you do not have to die in order to go to Heaven, because the Kingdom of Heaven is already revealed here on this earth. He let His Kingdom come. If you pass through me, you pass through Him. You will know if you are going to Heaven or not. I am the standard for that.  

Now, that is speaking both of my Father and of me, as the Son. I can truly say, “I and my Father are one.” I, the Son is the body, and my Father is the Spirit within me speaking to you right now. We are one. I and my Father are one. 

From a sermon, "Knowing the True Jesus Christ."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ1fxoPT1PU

1:48:48:  "My ministry is to inherit all things. Appointed Son mission by the Father is to inherit all things. The Sonship and the Kingship over all the Father's New Creation. That is why I am the king of the New Creation.  I am the owner of the New World. 

Quiboloy is a vessel, a residence, of the Father Almighty.. 

Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy is not leading just any church organization, he is the residence of the Father Almighty, the bodily manifestation of the unseen God, as Adam should have been. The Father has come to rule His Kingdom here on Earth as promised for one thousand years through His Appointed Son.

https://www.apolloquiboloy.com/life-calling-apollo-quiboloy/

He is admittedly possessed by a Spirit calling itself the Father Almighty whose voice he heard audibly and who gave him visions and has led him to from dire poverty to fabulous riches. This same spirit has given him a promise that the Earth will be ruled for one thousand years by the Father through Quiboloy.

Because of Quiboloy's presence Davao is now the New Jerusalem.

Six million people around the world believe the doctrine laid out above. Why? Because Quiboloy is the Appointed Son of God of course. His word is truth. Also because like the Jesus of the Bible he feeds his flock. More importantly he loves his flock. Truly the Kingdom of God, Pastor Apollo's Kingdom Nation, is here on earth.

Restoration of the earth? Peace? Equality? Yes, all those will happen. In fact, it is already happening inside Pastor Apollo’s Kingdom Nation where His Will is already being implemented. 

If anybody from the outside would only bother to look inside the Kingdom, he would be surprised to see that all these are already taking place. While the world is tearing itself apart, each with their own personal agenda for power and dominance, the Kingdom Nation of the Father thru His Son is only getting bigger and stronger every day. 

Pastor Apollo’s Glory Mountain was a denuded mountain before. Now it is planted today with thousands of pine trees, the very epitome of nature restored. 

Girl power? In the Kingdom, women are leaders, respected and never degraded. Women here are never, ever exploited. 

In the Kingdom, you are merited by your faithfulness, never by your name or your money. Not even by your talent. 

There is no personal agenda in the Kingdom, everyone’s heart and mind are directed towards what is good for the Kingdom, truly one nation with one heart and one purpose. Everyone is each other’s brother or sister. 

Kingdom citizens don’t worry about how they will live from day to day, because everything is provided by the Father through His Son – food, clothes, houses, and yes, even cars and gadgets. Communal living at its very best. There is no squalor, no poverty. People live in prosperity. 

Happiness and contentment? Kingdom citizens have it in spades. There is no such thing as a rat race in the Kingdom culture. There is no such thing as dog eat dog. The words “downtrodden” “underdog” “oppressed” does not apply to anyone.  All the fruit of the spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23 – love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance – these are the laws written, not just on paper, but in the heart and mind of its citizens. Who then could be the oppressor? When you are one, you are considered a breaker of the law – a criminal.  

Now, can you imagine if this same thing is allowed to replicate all over the earth? It could and it would. And it is happening. If you want to be part of it, then open your heart and your mind to the preaching of the Appointed Son of God. Listen and pray. And you will understand. It will all become as clear to you as the noonday sun. And you will find joy. And you will laugh at yourself because it took you so long to get it. And you will fall on your knees and thank the Father that now you understand the true meaning of His grace and salvation. And finally, you will understand who Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy is, the Appointed Son of God, the New Owner of the World.

https://www.apolloquiboloy.com/blog/dont-we-all-want-a-new-world-to-live-in/

Don't you want to live in such a utopia with the Appointed Son of God smiling over you for a thousand years? Many Filipinos do even now. All you have to do to join them is believe. Repent and believe.

Retards in the Government 126

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

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1181262/pasay-precinct-commander-sacked-2-of-his-men-nabbed-for-extortion

A precinct commander in Pasay City was relieved from his post after two of his men were caught receiving alleged protection money from a bus operator, Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas, acting director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said Thursday. 

Sinas identified the relieved officer as Capt. Mark Oyad, commander of the Pasay City Police Community Precinct 7, and the two arrested policemen as Cpl. Reynald Pallangeo Macwes and Cpl. Jimuel Ilagan Bernal, who were in their service uniforms and aboard a patrol car during the entrapment. 

In a press briefing at the Kamuning Police Station in Quezon City, Sinas said the entrapment procedure stemmed from a report that Macwes and Bernal were collecting P500 to P1,000 per trip from bus and van operators – depending on the size of their vehicles – in order to continue their operations in terminals within the Malibay area. 

Sinas said the complainant, a bus operator, was summoned September 28 by Oyad in his office to inform the businessman that the daily collection will be fixed at P1,000 for every trip of buses and vans. 

Sinas said the complainant disagreed, displeasing Oyad, who then threatened the complainant that he will be arrested for drug charges if he will not accede to the new scheme. 

The bus operator, however, decided to report the incident to higher authorities. Sinas said personnel of the Philippine National Police-Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) and the Intelligence Group (IG) then conducted surveillance on the suspects.

From this it appears that the bus drivers were going along with this scheme until they fixed the fee too high for one driver!  One reason corruption continues is because people allow it to happen and do not report it right away.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1181495/mayor-arrested-after-beating-up-masseur-telling-masseuse-to-massage-his-birdie

Clarin Mayor David Navarro was about to board a plane at the Mactan Cebu International Airport around 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, when he was arrested by police. 

He was accused of beating up masseur John Duenas who was assigned to massage the mayor in the absence of masseuse. 

Security camera footage obtained by police showed Navarro punching Duenas in the stomach. 

Duenas said when a masseuse was assigned to the mayor, Navarro asked that she massage his private parts.

None of these charges matter anymore because now this mayor is dead.  Assassinated like any mayor in the Philippines.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1181767/misamis-occidental-town-mayor-dies-in-ambush-while-in-police-custody-in-cebu

The mayor of Clarin, Misamis Occidental was killed in an ambush while on his way to the prosecutor’s office for inquest proceeding in Cebu City on Friday, police said. 

The incident happened as the police convoy was traversing M. Velez Street at about 2 p.m., according to an initial report from Cebu City police. 

Citing a witness’ account, local media reports said a white van approached the convoy of the mayor. The witness said about four masked men then opened fire at the police vehicle multiple times. 

Witnesses said the suspects also pulled the mayor from the patrol car and was shot to death by at least four assailants.

What good are the police if they let this happen? Why did they not fire back? Why was there no shootout? Why did they let the assassins get away? What a coincidence that he happened to be on the narcolist as well. The same mayor was also allegedly the leader of a robber group.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1829287/Cebu/Local-News/NCRPO-Clarin-mayor-a-rob-group-leader

Clarin Mayor David Navarro and Dante Navarro, the leader of the Alferez Robbery Group based in Ozamiz City, were one and the same person, according to the information fed by the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) to the local police. 

The robbery that struck four jewelry shops and a money changer at the J Centre Mall in Mandaue City on Oct. 19 was traced to the Alferez Group.

True or not that is still no excuse for the man being assassinated while in the custody of the PNP!

https://www.manilatimes.net/2019/10/28/news/headlines/steel-smuggling-prima-facie-evidence-found/651512/

THE Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) has found sufficient evidence that will pin down those responsible for the alleged technical smuggling of billions of pesos worth of steel billets and stainless steel by unscrupulous importers and brokers in collusion with corrupt personnel of the Bureau of Customs (BoC). 

“[Our investigation is] ongoing and we found prima facie evidence to launch a deeper probe,” PACC Commissioner Manuelito Luna told The Manila Times on Sunday. 

“There appears to be undervaluation in the import declarations.” according to Luna, PACC commissioner in charge of the probe. 

“This is industry-wide. We are auditing at present 4 to 5 steel companies but there will be more as we go on,” Maronilla added. 

Proliferation sub-standard steel across the country has been documented by concerned groups. 

It was found out that the sub-standard steel was being used in various constructions such as rebuilding of collapsed residential and commercial buildings in the typhoon-devastated provinces of Leyte and Samar.

BOC personnel not only help smuggle drugs and cars into the country but also steel.  A very diversified portfolio.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1182439/cop-hurts-self-due-to-accidental-firing

Pat. Jun Utto, assigned to the Regional Mobile Force Battalion of the National Capital Region Police Office, was alighting a jeepney at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday when his 9mm pistol accidentally fired, hitting his right knee, a report from Pasay City Police said on Monday.

What if a passenger on the jeepney and accidentally been shot?

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/713020/duterte-admin-to-revise-build-build-build-plan-to-make-it-more-achievable/story/

The Philippines is carrying out an inventory of infrastructure projects under its ambitious six-year, P8.2 trillion “Build, Build, Build” program to come up with a more realistic list of projects. 

Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia told Reuters the government was “trimming” the list of 75 flagship projects it had promised to deliver or at least start and “substituting with others more economically feasible and doable.” 

But its plan has hit snags, the most recent of which is the delay in the approval of this year’s budget, forcing economic managers to trim their growth target for this year to 6% to 7% from 7% to 8%. 

Pernia said the government has struck three long-bridge projects costing P161 billion off the original list because they are “not economically viable” and tough to build because the technology is not yet available.

The government has to revise its Build Build Build program because it was unrealistic, not ecumenically viable, and the technology needed to build some projects is lacking! It's like the Duterte administration implemented these projects without thinking about how to actually carry them through to completion.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1182177/govt-agencies-urged-spend-spend-spend

“The agencies have to catch up on their spending so that we can hit our growth target. The reenactment of the budget was regrettable but as the data has shown, the targets set are still attainable so we must sustain the momentum,” Angara, who chairs the Senate’s finance committee, said in a statement. 

There is still time to catch up on spending, which would benefit especially the poor, Angara said. 

“It’s not just infrastructure but also on the delivery of social services that have faced delays,” he said. “We should do everything to make sure our people don’t feel shortchanged by the government.” 

The low budget utilization by key government departments could also undermine the Duterte administration’s ambitious P8.4-trillion “Build, Build, Build” program to construct 75 major infrastructure projects, including railways, roads, bridges and airports in six years. 

But the program remains “illusory” because the public works and transportation departments have not implemented many of these projects, according to former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cielito Habito.

Underspending is a perennial problem in the Philippine bureaucracy. That the budget was passed very late only serves to worsen the problem.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1182756/duterte-now-suspecting-cops-killed-misamis-occ-mayor

The President claimed Navarro, who met with him two weeks before he was shot dead, was his supporter during the last elections. 

Duterte claimed “somebody is out to get him,” referring to Navarro. 

(That’s why I said, “What did the PNP do? Maybe they were the ones who killed him?” They were the ones near him). 

Duterte said he wanted the probe to be fair so he preferred the police out of the investigation. 

(Anyway, it is still being investigated. It’s being investigated by the NBI. I prefer the NBI because the police were there when it happened. To make it really fair, I’d like the PNP to terminate their investigation and hand it to the NBI whatever documents and/or proof or evidence that they have in their hands).

The entire nation "knows" the PNP did it.  The hard thing will be getting the evidence to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1182789/duterte-orders-ano-dismiss-rogue-cops

(Not all policemen are, mind you. By and large, the police are good. There are really just some scalawags in the police force, especially those who have been punished before and those who have cases. I will tell General Año, ‘Dismiss them’).

How many times will Duterte issue such an order?

https://www.rappler.com/nation/243580-duterte-says-will-make-robredo-drug-czar-6-months

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte claimed he will give Vice President Leni Robredo powers over all anti-drug activities for 6 months, smarting from her criticism of his crackdown on illegal drugs. 

Duterte, speaking to new government officials on Monday, October 28, said he had instructed Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to send Robredo a letter. 

"As a matter of fact, I'm sending a letter to her through Secretary Medialdea. I will surrender my powers to enforce the law, ibigay ko sa Vice President, ibigay ko sa kanya ng 6 months," said Duterte. (I will give it to the Vice President, I'll give it to her for 6 months.) 

It's not clear if the President is serious about the proposal or if he was only using it as a sarcastic jab against Robredo.

Actually it is pretty clear that he is just being sarcastic.  Legally he could not surrender his executive powers and if he could no way would he do it.  But why is he mad?  Robredo said the drug war has failed and there are more drugs and addicts in the country now.  This is the exact same thing Duterte said a few months ago!

https://www.rappler.com/nation/243593-duterte-wants-rehabilitation-body-abolished-pasig-river-already-clean

President Rodrigo Duterte thinks Congress should abolish the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC), saying the famous river is already "clean" anyway. 

"If Congress is listening, abolish niyo 'yan (abolish it). There is nothing to clean in the Pasig River. It is already clean," he said on Monday, October 28, at the oath-taking of new government officials in Malacañang. 

But in his succeeding sentences, he appeared to say the opposite – that it is impossible to keep Metro Manila's famous river clean so it would be useless to pore funds into it. 

"That is the state of the art ng Pasig, unless we require every building, not only along the river but everybody who has the waste going down in a sewage or sewerage, walang mangyari (nothing will happen)," said Duterte. 

"We're wasting time, you're paying people for nothing. They cannot do anything," he added, saying the funds allocated for the PRRC are better spent on "rice and medicine." 

But in 2018, the PRRC was recognized for successful efforts to bring Pasig River back to life. The commission accepted the first Asia RiverPrize Award, handed by the International River Foundation (IRF). 

The IRF lauded the PRRC for removing almost 22 million kilos of solid waste from the river from 1999 to 2017 and the relocation of over 18,000 families living along waterways.

Remember when Duterte was all gung-ho about cleaning up Manila Bay and shut down Boracay for six months to clean it up? So what's the real deal here? The Pasig River is gradually getting cleaner and to abolish the PRRC would only reverse nearly 20 years of hard work.

https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/10/29/Northern-Mindanao-police-relieved-grave-misconduct.html

The chief of the Northern Mindanao police has been relieved just five months after his appointment due to grave misconduct. 

The Philippine National Police (PNP) relieved PBGen. Rafael Santiago after receiving his six-month suspension order from Malacañang dated October 21. 

“Sayang din [It’s a shame.] He's a very good performer but we have to implement the suspension order for six months,” PNP Officer-in-Charge PLtGen. Archie Gamboa said Tuesday. 

Santiago is Gamboa's “mistah” or classmate at the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1986. 

He will retire in May 2020. 

After the major reshuffle in the PNP, a white paper circulated stating that Gamboa practices the “bata-bata” or patronage system, which is why Santiago managed to allegedly keep his post as regional director despite a pending suspension.

Well that's too bad for him but not an uncommon practice.

https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/10/30/Marcos-defer-poll-protest-comment.html

Days after lamenting delays in resolving his poll protest, the camp of Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos said it wants more time to comment on the results of the recount as required by the Supreme Court. 

In an October 23 motion, Marcos' lawyers asked the court to defer a standing deadline to respond to the results of the recount of votes for the vice presidential race in three provinces. 

"Protestant Marcos is constrained to request this honorable tribunal to allow him to photocopy the said report/s to enable him to comply with the directive of this honorable tribunal to file his comment thereon," read the manifestation filed by the losing bet. 

Marcos named 15 authorized representatives to photocopy the materials. He also asked the court to deduct all the expenses for his request from the cash deposit he paid in 2017, referring to a ₱66-million feecollected by the PET to fund the poll recount. Robredo was billed ₱15 millionfor her counter-protest. 

"Considering that the photocopying of the reports has yet to commence, protestant Marcos is likewise constrained to move for the deferment of his deadline to submit his comments on the said report/s on the revision and the appreciation of votes until the requested photocopying of the documents reports is granted and completed," he added.

Now Marcos wants to defer the protest resolution again so he can photocopy all the documents. Any little trick to drag it out as long as possible.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/243598-forest-ranger-killed-nueva-ecija

A government forest ranger was shot by an unidentified assailant in Nueva Ecija on Friday, October 25, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). 

Citing reports, the DENR in a statement on Monday, October 28, said Ronaldo Corpuz, who was assigned to the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, was "shot multiple times by an unidentified assailant while he was closing the gate of their house at around 7:35 pm on October 25." 

According to the DENR, days before his death, Corpuz and a Bantay Gubat team conducted a surveillance operation against timber poaching and illegal transport of forest products in Rizal, Nueva Ecija.

A forest ranger shot dead at his own house after surveilling illegal timber packing operations.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/10/30/1964557/gamboa-says-policewomen-less-prone-bribes

Policewomen should be given the chance to hold sensitive positions in the Philippine National Police (PNP), as they are less likely to get involved in corruption unlike their male counterparts, PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa said on Monday. 

Asked what makes policewomen different from their male counterparts, Gamboa said women are less susceptible to corruption. 

“Sinasabi nila mahirap i-bribe ang babae (They say women are hard to bribe),” he said in an interview with “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV’s One News. 

But he clarified he did not mean to insinuate that policemen were prone to corruption. He said it only appears that women are more difficult to bribe. Females comprise only about 10 percent of the 191,000-strong police force. 

He also said that based on his observation, women are more meticulous and diligent in their work than men, who tend to be sloppy.

But policemen are prone to corruption and it's not because they are men, it's because of the position they are in as police officers. Since this is all "based on his observation" it's certainly not scientific or reliable.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1183315/duterte-can-take-over-public-utilities

Lacson said the Constitution as well as prevailing jurisprudence allowed Congress to delegate to the Chief Executive the power of the state to take over the operation of public utilities. 

“However, the President has to declare an emergency, and if Congress delegates that power to him, the government must be ready to compensate whatever losses the private concessionaire/s would incur during the period of the government takeover,” the senator said.

Why does Duterte always think this is they way to solve the nation's problems? He might as well just get it over and declare a dictatorship.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/243748-mmda-says-drivers-with-violations-still-driving

In a press conference on Wednesday, October 30, Garcia held the records of drivers with over 100 violations, saying there are over a thousand of them. These drivers settle their violations by paying the fines. When asked if they’re still plying the roads, Garcia answered affirmatively. 

Some traffic violations carry a penalty of license suspension after the third offense. However, Garcia said it had been hard to apprehend these drivers due to the lack of coordination between local government units and the Land Transportation Office.  

He mentioned cases such as one driver who had 533 violations since getting a license, and another who had 20 violations in 2019 alone.

Is it really that hard for the LTO to take these people's licenses? Even then I doubt that will stop them driving. It's not like there are PNP officers patrolling the roads 24/7.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1183958/village-chief-companions-killed-in-masbate-shootout

Dante Hernal, chief of Barangay Salvacion and Association of Barangay Captains president of Balud, and a certain June Ibañez of Barangay Tonga were killed when they engaged police operatives in a firefight at 8:25 p.m. in Barangay Mapitogo, Maj. Maria Luisa Calubaquib, Bicol police spokesperson, said. 

Calubaquib, quoting a report, said policemen were on their way back to their station after conducting an anti-gambling operation when the group of Hernal, armed with high powered firearms, alighted from their pickup van and a motorcycle and fired at them. The police operatives returned fire, hitting and killing Hernal and Ibañez. 

Police probers are still investigating if the victims were members of a gambling syndicate operating in the said town, Calubaquib said.

If the police were on top of whatever is happening in town then they should know if the barangay captain who tried to kill them was running a gambling syndicate. Sounds rather likely that is the case.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1183877/mayor-police-get-prison-terms-for-violent-dispersal-of-rally

The Sandiganbayan has sentenced an Agusan del Norte mayor and his police chief to several prison terms for their involvement in the violent dispersal of a 2006 antimining rally that led to serious injuries among those present. 

The antigraft court’s Seventh Division found Tubay, Agusan del Norte, Mayor Fidel Garcia and police chief Benny Esparagoza guilty of three counts of slight physical injuries and of violating the Public Assembly Act and provisions of the law on peaceful meetings. 

The court’s 84-page decision said Garcia and Esparagoza were also guilty of grave coercion, which carries a prison term of two years, four months and one day, and an individual fine of P6,000. 

The rally attended by about 50 was organized by antimining advocates who were calling attention to the waste generated by a local mining company.  Police used a water cannon mounted on a fire truck to disperse ralliers, causing injuries to eight of them. 

The antigraft court said that while the ralliers had no permit from the Office of the Mayor, there was actually no need for one since the rally was held on private property. 

The court also noted that since the rally was not characterized by “violence or acts of destruction,” there was no need for the authorities to use a water cannon to disperse it.

The mayor and police chief sprayed protestors with a water cannon to disperse the protest but it turned out the protest was completely lawful. Now these two will be spending two years in prison.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1183819/ex-navy-officers-found-guilty-of-malversation

Two former high-ranking officers of the Philippine Navy have been convicted by the Sandiganbayan for malversation for failing to liquidate funds of the Naval Education and Training Center (NETC) in 2006. 

In its decision last Oct. 25,  the Second Division said former Rear Adm. Constancio Jardiniano Jr. and Lt. Cmdr. Manuel Gimena — commander and special disbursing officer of NETC, respectively — failed to return P83,934 out of the P343,297 worth of cash advances used to buy equipment like medicines, food, and auto supplies.

These two officers failed to return cash advances they took to spend on supplies and now they will be facing two years in prison.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1084606

Anti-narcotic agents arrested three rogue cops during a drug buy-bust operation in Parang, Maguindanao on Oct. 30. 

Juvenal Azurin, director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency–Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-BARMM), identified those arrested as Patrolman Sandiali Mangundacan Manalao, Staff Sgt. Fahmi Bangon Como, and Master Sgt. Monjel Nassal Aradais, all of the police force in Marantao, Lanao del Sur. 

The three were nabbed while transacting with a poseur-buyer in Barangay Nituan of Parang town around 8:30 a.m. 

Seized from the suspects were 50 grams of suspect shabu with an estimated street value of PHP340,000; mobile phones, an M16 rifle, five handguns of various calibers, vehicle license plates, and a red Toyota Innova vehicle used in illegal transactions.

Hopefully they toss these cops in jail and don't simply recycle them!