Friday, December 13, 2019

Retards in the Government 132

It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.



https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1198809/cops-told-enforce-law-even-if-violator-is-friend-of-some-govt-big-shot
“We will no longer tolerate this. Anyone who will not enforce the law just because somebody tells them that he is a friend of some government big shot will be charged administratively for negligence,” the acting police chief said. 
“Bawal na ang mga nagpapasindak sa mga nagpapakita ng mga calling card (Intimidation by those showing off calling cards is no longer allowed),” he added.
It's a pretty bad situation when you have to tell the cops to enforce the law. It's their job!

“People always seek and look for the police when they are in trouble. Let them feel that you are the true superheroes,” Gustilo said, reminding them to avoid getting involved in illegal activities particularly illegal drugs and leave behind a legacy of good service reputation to their name, family and the police organization.
More of the same. PNP leadership has to tell their officers to do their jobs and refrain from criminal activities.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1088180
The Agusan del Sur Provincial Police Office (ADSPPO) has launched a manhunt against a patrolman who shot his superior officer. 
In a statement on Saturday, Col. Ringo Zarsozo, ADSPPO chief, said they have set up checkpoints in the towns of Bunawan, Rosario, Trento and other areas in Agusan del Sur to capture the suspect, Patrolman Jhon Paul Gerida. 
Gerida was assigned at the 2nd Agusan del Sur Provincial Mobile Force Company based in Barangay Bunawan Brook, Bunawan, Agusan del Sur. 
A report of the Bunawan police showed that Gerida was called to the office of his superior officer, Lt. Col. Rex Lomente on Friday night.  
After several minutes, gunfire was heard from the Lomente’s office, the police report said. 
Members of the mobile force immediately rushed inside the office and found the officer with a gunshot wound in the head, police said.
A PNP officer shot his superior dead.


https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1199667/ex-pdea-agent-felled-by-assassins-bullets-in-baguio
An unidentified gunman killed a 58-year-old retired agent of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) here on Monday, Dec. 9, police said 
Investigators said the ex-PDEA agent, Samuel Lopez Mora, was driving his Toyota Hilux pickup along the Marcos Highway at KM 4 when the motorcycle-riding assailant shot him several times around 7:30 a.m.
Ex-PDEA agent killed by a motorcycle assassin. Another government employee assassinated.  Nothing new here.


https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1199568/retired-cop-killed-in-rizal-drug-bust
A newly – retired police officer who is also a drug suspect was killed in a buy-bust operation in Quezon City before dawn on Monday. 
Retired Cpl. Tirso Agustin Lactaotao, 48, died in a buy-bust launched by the PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) in Barangay Novaliches Proper at 12:25 a.m. 
The operation was conducted by the Regional Special Operations Group of the National Capital Region Police Office and  Calabarzon police. 
According to a report from PNP-IMEG, the operation led to a shootout when the Lactaotao suddenly opened fire when he apparently sensed that he was transacting with an undercover police officer. 
Lactaotao availed of optional retirement from the PNP in November. 
According to IMEG, the operation was part of the crackdown against police officers involved in recycling or peddling illegal drugs. IMEG is the police unit tasked to run after erring police personnel. 
Police said that based on intelligence reports, Lactaotao has been involved in the illegal drug trade.
There are many mysterious things about this incident. The man was newly retired at the very young age of 48. He was known to be involved in the drug trade. Did the PNP bungle this operation? Would they think that the man would not be able to tell who is an undercover? But there's more!

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1199588/slain-retired-policeman-linked-to-over-10-ninja-cops-pnp
(Other units save [drugs], and he is the one who distributes. Others don’t distribute because they have a distributor.) 
Reyes said some of these police officers are assigned in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon. 
IMEG, the unit tasked to run after scalawag personnel of the PNP, is currently conducting surveillance on officers identified to be linked to the slain suspect, who had availed of optional retirement only in November. 
Their operations, said Reyes, are not organized. He explained these erring officers are just aware of each other’s illegal acts and even occasionally asks who among them will “dispose” recycled drugs. 
“Magkakakilala na mayroong pangdispose so ‘yun, nagtatanungan sila (They know each other and have drugs to dispose so they ask each other),” he said.
Contrary to Reyes this operation sounds rather organised. Some cops save drugs and have them distributed by other cops. Very standard ninja cop practice. Sounds like it has been happening for quite a while. Sounds like these ninja cops are known by name. So why have the been allowed to operate for so long?

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1199610/22-ninja-cops-ceased-drug-recycling-says-pnp
The 22 so-called ninja cops, or police officers recycling drugs confiscated in buy-busts and raids, have ceased their illegal operations, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Monday. 
“Sa nakikita natin ay mukhang tumigil naman na sila sa kanilang mga ilegal na gawain (Based on what we see, it seems they have stopped their illegal activities),” PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said in a press briefing. 
He said it is possible that the 22 police officers decided to lay low their crooked acts, especially after the controversy on drug recycling among the police force hogged the headlines in the previous months, eventually leading retired Gen. Oscar Albayalde to vacate his post as PNP chief in October. 
Banac said the PNP continues to monitor the activities of these 22 police officers. 
“Hindi tayo titigil hanggang hindi natin malinis ang buong hanay ng PNP ng tiwali na mga pulis (We will not stop until we rid our ranks of all erring personnel),” he added.
So they know who these ninja cops are and they choose to keep them on active duty? Why? Why don't they arrest them?


https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1088522
Unidentified gunmen shot and killed on Wednesday afternoon a former village chair of the Maguindanao town of Shariff Saydona Mustapha while he was inside an “Ukay-Ukay” (second-hand clothing) store in the city. 
Maj. Rustom Pastolero, city police station 2 commander, identified the victim as Basit Macmod Taguigaya, 40, former chair of Barangay Poblacion. 
Taguigaya, who had been residing in Shariff Aguak town, Maguindanao, was standing inside the “Ukay-Ukay” store near the Cotabato City plaza when two men arrived and opened fire on him at about 1 p.m., police said.
Another ex-LGU assassinated in public by unknown assailants. Nothing new here.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Regional 7 along with the Philippine National Police (PNP), regional trial courts, and Cebu Provincial Government led the destruction of seized dangerous drugs with an estimated market value of P194,221,005.82 at the Apo Cement Corporation in Tinaan, City of Naga on Dec. 10, 2019 
These are 26,853.48 grams of shabu (P182,603,633.40), 559.09 milliliters of nalbuphine (P139,772.50), 52,504.67 grams of marijuana (P6,300,559.92), and 976.80 grams of cocaine (P5,177,040.00). 
The illegal drugs were seized as far back as 1994 up to 2019. 
At first glance this is a pure;y good thing. But below the surface thee is trouble. The PDEA has held onto these drugs since 1994 for one stupid reason: they have zero budget to destroy drugs because the offender is supposed to shoulder those expenses.


https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/274850/pdea-7-to-get-two-incinerators-from-cebu-city
The Cebu City Government is giving two incinerators, worth P2 million, to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7).  
This move followed after the Cebu City Council and Mayor Edgardo Labella approved the amount alloted for the incinerators during the regular session on Tuesday, December 10.  
The budget will be taken from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) funds of the city for 2019. 
Cebu City Councilor Antonio Cuenco has proposed to help the PDEA-7 after they reported to the council during the Citizen’s Hour on October 22, 2019 that the agency does not have the equipment to destroy the drugs that they confiscated in drug busts. 
PDEA-7 Director Wardley Getalla said the incineration would cost at least P16, 000 per session regardless of the volume of drugs to be incinerated.  
There is no allocation for drug incineration in PDEA’s annual budget because the offender is supposed to shoulder the expenses. 
In the history of PDEA-7, no offender spent money for the destruction of the drugs.  
This is why PDEA-7 had to find other ways to ensure the proper disposal of the illegal drugs.  
This is the reason why the agency can only afford to destroy illegal drugs by bulk. The recent drug incineration happened last Tuesday, December 10, in Naga City. 
How about the PDEA aching their protocol and allocate a budget to destroy the drugs? That would ensure drugs don't stick around for years taking up space and tempting would-be ninja cops. 


“Based on our report, I think we have about 186 local drug groups in the Philippines,” PDEA chief Aaron Aquino bared in a Palace briefing Thursday. 
However, Aquino cannot quantify how many international drug rings are in the country but he cited the recent capture of alleged drug lord Hong Liangyi, the supposed head of the Dragon Wu drug syndicate. 
He said the Chinese national ran drug laboratories discovered in Ibaan, Batangas; Tagaytay; and Malabon 
Aquino said PDEA is coordinating with their Chinese counterparts to go after other members of the Dragon Wu group. He added that the group traces its roots to the so-called “Golden Triangle” area which is notorious for being a drug-producing region. 
The PDEA chief also revealed that they are currently monitoring several “Chinese-looking” individuals who pose as divers to search for cocaine in Bicol and Caraga areas. 
“We are now conducting investigations because marami tayong nakikitang mga Chinese-looking persons na nagco-conduct ng diving diyan sa mga areas na ‘yan kung saan ang discoveries ng cocaine pero hindi naman diving sites (there are many Chinese-looking persons who go diving in those areas where cocaine has been discovered, even though those are not diving sites),” he said.
From this report it sounds like Aquino is admitting that the Chinese play a large role in the drug trade in the Philippines.  Why then did he contradict not only Robredo but the PDEA's own past reports that China is a main source of drugs into the Philippines? Is it just a technicality? Like the drug lords and gang are Chinese but the drugs themselves come from other countries?


https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/12/12/1976509/p7528-monthly-no-frills-food-budget-unrealistic-government-told
Government's claim that a family of five can subsist on P7,528 a month on a "no frills" diet denies the realities that the poor in the Philippines face, fisherfolks' and farmers' groups said. 
Fisherfolk federation Pamalakaya (Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas) said the Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia should "get real," while peasant women's federation Amihan said the claims were indicative of "government neglect and non-intention for authentic poverty alleviation." 
"Instead of sincerely working for poverty alleviation, they deny even the impoverished state of the people," Pamalakaya chairperson Fernando Hicap, a former party-list congressman, said in a press statement. 
This came after Philippine Statistics Authority Assistant Secretary Rosalinda Bautista said on Wednesday that P10,727 is the minimum amount for a family to afford basic items. 
“That is known as basic needs so 'no frills'. No fancy items there [and] I’m sure many families are subsisting with that kind of budget,” Pernia explained at a press briefing in MalacaƱang on Wednesday.  
The World Bank has been using $1.90/day as its International Poverty Line since 2015. In 2019, that is around P96.45 per day or around P2893.50 a month and around P14,467.50 a month for a family of five. 
NEDA officials at the briefing even presented a sample menu of food items they said could sufficiently feed a family of five for just P7,528 a month. 
The "sample menu" included a lunch of boiled monggo with malunggay to go with dried dilis, steamed rice, and a banana. Bautista said the items listed in the menu would meet 100% of the energy requirements along with four-fifths the requirement for protein, calcium, and iron. 
"Actually, that is not enough because of high prices of rice, vegetables, meat, fish and other items at the market," Zenaida Soriano, Amihan national chairperson, said in Filipino in a separate press release. She said the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law, which lowered income taxes but also raised excise taxes on fuel, caused the increase in prices. 
According to Pamalakaya, the sample food budget would mean that an average meal of P81 would be adequate for a family of five.
Imagine thinking a family of five can be fed at the rate of P81 for each meal!  The government really does not understand the plight of the poor.


https://www.philstar.com/sports/2019/12/12/1976488/cayetano-blasted-online-sea-games-closing-rant
Barely the euphoria of the 30th SEA Games’ closing ceremony had subsided, social media was abuzz with scathing comments on House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano’s long speech that delved much on politics, clichĆ©s and his wife.  
Cayetano’s rant against critics of the Philippines’ hosting of the Games left an indelible mark to an otherwise grand, athlete-centered affair, ending it with a sarcastically “Peace be with you” line and sign. 
After a couple of speakers, Cayetano took the podium and delivered his piece, capping it with: 
“For those of you who did not believe, for those of you who said this could not be done, for those of you who said this stadium will not be built on time, for those of you who said ‘sayang ang pera (waste of money), dapat hindi tayo nag-host (we should not have hosted),’ sa lahat ng nagkalat ng fake news (for all those who spread fake news), ang masasabi ko sa inyo, at ito itaga niyo sa bato: (what I can say to you, and you can cast this in stone): Peace be with you,” said Cayetano while flashing the peace sign.
After all the criticism he faced for the mess ups during the beginning of the games Cayetano gave a rambling speech where he talked mostly about himself and politics rather then focusing on the athletes and the games.

Thursday, December 12, 2019

American Found Naked And Dead In Dumaguete Apartment

An American was found naked and dead in the living room of the apartment he was renting in Dumaguete.
https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/273250/american-national-found-dead-inside-rented-apartment-in-dumaguete
An American national was found dead inside his rented apartment in Barangay Mangnao here on Monday evening, December 1, 2019. 
Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilfredo Alarcon, Dumaguete City Police Chief, said the body of Harold Kenneth Smith, 69 years old and a native of Michigan, USA, was discovered by the apartment owner, Ely Abarado. 
According to a police report, Smith was alone in his rented apartment when the owner noticed that the victim didn’t come out for the whole day. 
This prompted the owner to open the back door of the apartment. 
Initial investigation revealed that once inside the living room, Abarado saw the body of the victim with no clothes on. 
Police found no signs of foul play. 
All the personal belongings and valuable items of the victim were also intact, the police said. 
Joan Catan Smith, wife of the victim who arrived at the apartment later, said her husband was suffering from a Chronic Pulmonary Disorder. 
The City Heath Officer is expected to conduct a post mortem examination on the body of the American national to determine the exact cause of his death.  
Police Staff Sergeant Catalino Entea, investigator on the case, said the wife of the victim won’t have the body autopsied since she was fully convinced that her husband’s death was caused by health problems
Is this not the hope of every American retiree? To die naked in the living room of their rented apartment and have a photo of their nude corpse posted on the internet? At 69 the man was not young but plenty of people live healthy enough lives into their 80s and beyond. But some things in this story do not sound right.

Obviously I do not know anything about this guy or his routine but is it really all that strange if one never leaves the house all day? Sometimes I never leave mine. But it must have been strange if it prompted the owner of the apartment to OPEN THE DOOR AND WALK RIGHT IN!  Did he knock? Did he call? 

And where was the wife all day? Again there are scant details here but is she always gone all day? Funny that she does not want an autopsy because she is "fully convinced" that he died from his chronic pulmonary disorder. Wouldn't she want to be 100% about it? Maybe he died from something else? 

Why was he naked in his living room? Did he get out of the bath and collapse on his way back to the bedroom? Does he strut around naked often? 

Too many questions.  Maybe its all above board. The media could at least have the decency to not publish a picture of a corpse. Any corpse. But that's not how things work here. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of ageing foreigners face the prospect of their bodies being shown in the news after they have collapsed and died. 

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

National Human Rights Consciousness Week

Did you know that every year the week of December 4th to December 10th is National Human Rights Consciousness Week?  I did not until I saw this banner hung up by the PNP.


Can you say irony? Believe it or not the PNP really does promote NHRC week.  Here is an FB post from last year, 2018.


https://www.facebook.com/pnp.pio/posts/2421590221215553

I think you know exactly what I will say here. We all know the PNP's human rights record is not exactly stellar. It is not only the PNP who is directed to celebrate NHRC week.  All government offices are to do so.  Here is the law, R.A. 9201 in full.


Republic of the Philippines
Congress of the Philippines

Metro Manila
Twelfth Congress
Second Regular Session

Begun held in Metro Manila on Monday, the twenty-second day of July, two thousand two

Republic Act No. 9201             April 01, 2003

AN ACT DECLARING DECEMBER 4 TO 10 AS NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS CONSCIOUSNESS WEEK IN THE COUNTRY AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippine Congress Assembled:

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the "National Human Rights Consciousness Week Act of 2002".

SEC. 2. December 4 to 10 is hereby declared as National Human Rights Consciousness Week in the country.

SEC. 3. All government agencies, including government-owned and-controlled corporations, shall celebrate the week through simple and appropriate ceremonies and activities to make the people aware of their basic human rights in relation to the functions and services offered by these government instrumentalities.

SEC. 4. All levels of education/learning institutions, both public and private, shall celebrate the week through simple adn appropriate ceremonies and activities to propagate, particularly among the students, a human rights culture that aims at sustainable development in the country.

SEC. 5. A national committee composed of the following shall take the lead in the preparation and implementation of the guidelines on how to celebrate the week through simple and appropriate ceremonies and activities:


(1) Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights-Chairperson;
(2) Chairperson of the Civil Service Commission-Vice-Chairperson;
(3) One (1) representative from each of the following government agencies as members:
(a) Department of Education;
(b) Department of National Defense;
(c) Department of Justice;
(d) Department of Social Welfare and Development;
(e) Department of Foreign Affairs;
(f) Department of Labor and Employment;
(g) Department of the Interior and Local Government;
(h) Philippine National Police
(4) One (1) representative each from two (2) human rights nongovernment organizations as members, to be appointed by the President upon recommendation of the Commission on Human Rights

SEC. 6. This Act shall take effect upon its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.1ĀŖvvphĆÆ|.ƱĆŖt



Approved,
FRANKLIN DRILON
President of the Senate
JOSE DE VENECIA JR.
Speaker of the House of Representatives

This Act, which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 2413 and House Bill No. 4526 was finally passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on December 3, 2002 and January 13, 2003 respectiveley

OSCAR G. YABES
Secretary of Senate

ROBERTO P. NAZARENO
Secretary General
House of Represenatives



Approved: April 1, 2003
GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President of the Philippines



Approved April 1st 2003.  April Fools day. Figures huh?  Take note of section 3.

SEC. 3. All government agencies, including government-owned and-controlled corporations, shall celebrate the week through simple and appropriate ceremonies and activities to make the people aware of their basic human rights in relation to the functions and services offered by these government instrumentalities.
How will all government agencies celebrate NHRC week under the Duterte administration?  The man has publicly made known his disdain for human rights.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/08/rodrigo-duterte-human-rights-160806211448623.html
Earlier on Saturday, Duterte had vowed to keep his "shoot-to-kill" order "until the last day of my term, if I'm still alive by then". 
"I don't care about human rights, believe me," he said, according to official transcripts released by the presidential palace.
Maybe I do not pay attention enough but I have never heard of this National Human Rights Consciousness Week until now and probably for good reason. Human rights are not a big deal in the Philippines and the record of the PNP, AFP, and the government in general, not just under the Duterte administration bears this out.

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Martial Law: Lifting of Martial Law

Duterte has said he will rely on the recommendations of the PNP, AFP, and DND on whether to renew the martial law extension or not. Last month the PNP, DND, and AFP all said they would not issue such a recommendation and they seem to be sticking to that decision.

https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/8/20/Defense-chief-recommends-non-extension-of-Mindanao-martial-law.html
Defense Secretary Delfin said on Wednesday he has recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte to no longer extend martial law in Mindanao beyond this year. 
“Yes, confirmed. No extension,” said Lorenzana in a phone message to CNN Philippines, without giving details. 
In a statement, Lorenzana said the purpose of martial law has been accomplished. 
"Our security forces have determined that the purpose of implementing martial law has been attained and the prevailing conditions in the whole of Mindanao Island as well as the Islands of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-tawi have greatly improved since the defeat of the Maute fighters in October 2017," said the Defense chief. 
He added, "The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) believes that the Maute group and other threat groups can no longer launch a Marawi-type attack as their forces and capabilities have significantly dwindled." 
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) also confirmed that it has sent its recommendation to the Department of National Defense and the Department of Interior and Local Government to lift the martial law soon. 
"The PNP confirms its recommendation submitted to the Department of National Defense and the Department of Interior and Local Government, and concurs with the AFP assessment, for the lifting of martial law and that it may no longer be extended beyond the authorized period," said PNP Spokesperson PBGen. Bernard Banac in a statement.
Some would say the purpose of martial law ran out long ago as soon as Marawi was liberated. It maybe that no group could launch an attack on the scale of Marawi but they are still capable of doing a lot of damage.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1197288/t1204minbreak1
According to military intelligence, the BIFF has been plotting to distribute these powerful bombs along Maguindanao roads regularly used by the military and in populated areas of Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat provinces. 

“These terrorists are using IEDs that pose grave dangers to our troops in a desperate attempt to overpower our soldiers,” said Carreon.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1198380/govt-troops-find-more-bombs-in-maguindanao
Government troops found six more powerful improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Maguindanao Wednesday as the military intensified its offensive against Islamic State-linked militants. 
The total number of IEDs recovered since the operations began on Nov. 24 is now 20. Earlier, soldiers found 14 IEDs in various hideouts of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1088160
Government troops belonging to the Army’s 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion (MIB) recovered on Friday war materiel from fleeing Islamic State-inspired Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao. 

Among the weapons recovered were one 40-mm. grenade launcher, one 60-mm. mortar tube launcher, black powder, and metal grindings used to manufacture improvised bombs. 

“Our troopers are continuously scouring Sitio Maybunga for more homemade bombs left behind by the fleeing terror group,” Carreon said.
The BIFF and the AFP have been clashing which has led to the displacement of 40,000 people.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1197745/40000-flee-as-clashes-rage-in-maguindanao
Close to 40,000 residents have been displaced by the ongoing clashes between government forces and members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Maguindanao province, social welfare officials said on Tuesday. 

Emma Ali, Maguindanao provincial social welfare chief, said the number of internally displaced persons had reached 38,235 and was still rising in evacuation centers. Some of them had taken refuge in homes of their relatives. 

Ali said Shariff Saydona Mustapha town in Maguindanao posted the highest number of evacuees at 3,668 families, followed by Datu Saudi Ampatuan town, 2,021; and Shariff Aguak town, 1,958. 

“The number of evacuees rises and falls every now and then, depending on what happens overnight,” Ali said. At one point, the number rose to 48,000 since the fighting between government troops and the BIFF rebels broke out on Nov. 24. 

“When there are explosions and shelling at night, people move to safer grounds,” Ali said. “That explains why people in conflict areas have their valuables ready in tricycles or carabao-drawn carts for quick movement.”
It appears Maguindano province is under siege. BIFF certainly poses a major threat. If they ever got a chance to set off any of those IED's scores could end up dead. It is a good thing that the AFP continues to go after them but perhaps there should be a limited martial in Sulu and Eastern Mindanao which is where all the terrorism is happening? This was discussed earlier but now it appears that a wholesale lifting of martial law in Mindanao is what will be recommended to Duterte. Former AFP Chief, now DILG Secretary, AƱo has different reasons that Lorezana for recommending no more martial law.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1198403/fwd-dilg-chief-end-of-martial-law-to-benefit-mindanaos-economy
AƱo said the windup of martial law in Mindanao will benefit the economy in the South, bringing with it more local and foreign investments and increase tourist arrivals in the region. 

“We believe that the lifting of martial law will be advantageous to the economy as it will signal the full return to normalcy and the end to perceived security risks of investing and travelling to Mindanao,” he said in a statement. 

According to AƱo, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) agrees with Lorenzana that the purpose of martial law in Mindanao has already been attained based on the assessment of the police and the military. 

He said “normalcy has returned” to entire Mindanao, and the peace and order situation in the area has “remarkably improved” compared to when martial law was declared in 2017 at the height of the Marawi siege.
AƱo thinks marital law should be lifted as it will a boon for the economy and for tourism. Interesting that he says lifting martial law "will signal the full return to normalcy and the end to perceived security risks of investing and travelling to Mindanao." Perceived risks? He sounds like the Becoming Filipino guy. The risks of travelling to Mindanao are very real with tourists being captured by Abu Sayyaf which is exactly what happened in October with a British man and his wife in Zamboanga. Kidnapping remains a risk in Mindanao. 

And what is normalcy? Terrorist groups are still running around getting into firefights with the AFP. I suppose that is normal.  It has been normal since the 70s. Who can define what normal is for the Philippines anyway but if AƱo thinks lifting of martial law will end "perceived security risks" and that those risks are not actually ended then perhaps martial law should still be in place in at least certain areas.

Don't forget the NPA is also still very active in Mindanao. What's to be done about them?  How about opening peace talks again?

https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/12/5/duterte-to-send-bello-to-speak-to-joma-sison.html
The President revealed that he will be sending former government chief negotiator and Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello to speak with Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Joma Sison, without elaborating on what they are expected to discuss. 

President Rodrigo Duterte said he has not yet given up hope on reopening negotiations with Sison even after terminating the talks and the services of its peace panel -- including Bello as negotiator -- in March this year. 

"This is the first time that I will reveal it, I'm sending Secretary Bello... He should go there, talk to them...basta I'm sending him back to Sison and talk to him about...malaman ninyo 'yan pagdating ng panahon (you will know when the time is right)," he said Thursday during a situational briefing on the effects of typhoon Tisoy. 

He said this after lamenting the long-standing insurgency problem in the country. 

"Three times we attempted to talk sense dito (to them) and it has always failed...I cannot stop. Hindi ko sabihin na ayaw ko makipag-usap (I cannot say I do not want to talk), that is not a statement of a leader, of a President," he argued.
Mysterious Duterte won't tell us exactly why he is sending Bello to speak with Sison. Probably peace talks.  Maybe about coming back to the Philippines to face trial. Who knows? The AFP says the meeting will be about peace talks and they are supportive of this move to resurrect the peace talks again.


https://www.untvweb.com/news/afp-supports-possible-talks-with-cpp/
“We understand that those instructions to Sec. Bello are in the nature of exploratory discussion with Mr. Sison and are meant towards the attainment of sustainable peace which is the President’s and also the AFP’s ultimate desire,” Arevalo said in a statement. 
Arevalo also reiterates that “if we are to negotiate, therefore, we so do from the position of strength.”

Why negotiate in the first place? They know what the CPP wants.  They want the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) to be implemented and that is simply impossible.

Same goes for Dutere's upcoming tete-a-tete with MNLF leader Nur Misuari. Why negotiate with this man?

https://mindanaoexaminer.com/misuari-to-meet-again-with-duterte-to-talk-peace/
FORMER REBEL chieftain Nur Misuari is set to meet with President Rodrigo Duterte to discuss the resumption of peace talks with the former rebel group Moro National Liberation Front in Davao City. 
Misuari has previously met with Duterte, his long-time friend and political ally, in MalacaƱang Palace in Manila where they discussed the creation of a coordinating committee between the MNLF and the national government. 
Duterte previously told the former Libyan firebrand that he ordered Presidential peace adviser Carlito Galvez to immediately form a coordinating committee between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the MNLF, and to convene and set the agenda for discussions. 
Misuari has also asked Duterte to include the influential Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the peace talks after the influential body played a vital role in the peace process between the Philippine government and MNLF. 
The coordinating committee will serve as a venue to seek for the cooperation of the MNLF to achieve immediate peace in Sulu province by, among others, helping in combating the Abu Sayyaf militants and to convincing MNLF relatives to return to the folds of the law. 
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said Duterte will walk the extra mile to bring harmony to the country and the nation. “In resolving the Muslim rebellion in Mindanao, every undertaking that may lead to a lasting peace and prosperity to that region must be tried and tested until its fruition. We can do no less as a people,” he said. 
Misuari signed a peace deal with Manila in September 1996 ending decades of bloody war. After the peace agreement was signed, Misuari became the governor of the Muslim autonomous region. But despite the peace accord, there was a widespread disillusionment with the weak autonomy they were granted. 
Under the peace accord, Manila would have to provide a mini-Marshal Plan to spur economic development in Muslim areas in Mindanao, and livelihood and housing assistance to tens of thousands of former rebels to uplift their poor living standards. 
In 2001, Misuari’s loyal forces and former rebels, who joined the military and police following the signing of the peace deal, attacked a key army base in Sulu’s Jolo town and civilian targets in Zamboanga in an effort to stop the government from calling an election in the Muslim autonomous region where Misuari wanted to be a perpetual governor. 
He then escaped by boat to Malaysia where he had been arrested and deported to the Philippines and was eventually pardoned and released by then President Gloria Arroyo in exchange for MNLF support to her election bid, as well as her allies in the Senate and Congress in 2004. 
And in September 2013, MNLF members attacked Zamboanga City for the second time, sparking fierce clashes that lasted for weeks, and left hundreds of people dead and wounded, and displaced over 300,000 civilians. Many of the raiders were killed, but the others managed to escape following the failed rebellion. 
Misuari, who is accused of rebellion by authorities for the deadly attacks, is being protected from arrest by Duterte, who interceded to the police and military on behalf of the former rebel chieftain so he would be free to move around without any fear of being arrested. 
Misuari is also facing graft charges at the Sandigan Bayan over the alleged anomalous purchase of education materials when he was governor of the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. He denied all criminal and graft accusations against him. 
Despite all these charges against Misuari, the OIC continues to support him. And in 2017, the OIC Secretary General, Dr. Youssef Al Othaimeen, in support of the peace process, even convened the 4th Session of the Bangsamoro Coordination Forum in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire on the margins of the 44th Session of the Council of Foreign sMinisters. 
The OIC said it continues to deal with the MNLF through the Jeddah formula. The meeting discussed the prospects of the peace process under the Duterte administration and is part of the efforts of the OIC to close ranks between the MNLF and MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front which also signed a peace accord with Manila in 2014) and to help in the process of merging the two peace tracks and to consolidate realization of the inalienable rights of the Muslim minority in southern Philippines for a peaceful, just and durable settlement of their problem. 
The OIC Council of Foreign Ministers also reaffirmed the importance of unity within the MNLF and the Jeddah formula.
The story of Nur Misuari is conveniently compressed into the paragraphs above which is why the article has been quoted in full.  This man is a bona fide terrorist who was able to get the Philippine government to agree to give him and his men, the MNLF, control over a large chunk of Mindanao known as the ARMM. Not satisfied with this he continued his terrorist activities after a further peace deal was signed in 2001 because he wanted to be president of the ARMM for life. Then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo pardoned him in exchange for votes from the MNLF. In 2013 he attacked Zamboanga but his arrest was suspended by the court and he has been out walking freely around the country ever since. He even travelled overseas to attend events with the OIC last year. Duterte has met with him in the Palace twice.

Now Duterte is considering giving Misuari the whole of Sulu province in order to placate him. Like all those surrendering NPA fighters the only place Misuari belongs is in prison.

Monday, December 9, 2019

The Justification of Leni Robredo

Remember when Leni Robredo was the drug czar for a brief 3 weeks?  Remember when Robreo said she wanted to talk to the US embassy and the UN and other agencies in order to help coordinate with the drug war? Remember then how Duterte warned her to watch out or else she could be charged with treason for revealing "state secrets"?  Remember how the whole of DDS latched on to that poisonous insinuation that Robredo might be a traitor because of sharing "state secrets" with foreign countries? 

All these people have been proven to be fools because the United States embassy has recently released a fact sheet detailing cooperation with the Philippines in the drug war. It will do good to publish the entire fact sheet here.

https://ph.usembassy.gov/fact-sheet-us-anti-narcotics-cooperation-with-the-philippines/
The United States has partnered with Philippine government agencies and law enforcement officials for many years to reduce drug demand, provide training on anti-narcotics techniques, and enhance the criminal justice sector’s ability to handle drug cases. 
Support for Drug Demand Reduction 
  • Since 2017, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs has budgeted more than $5,250,000 (Php 266,700,000) for drug demand reduction programs in the Philippines. These programs reduce substance abuse through prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and policy development.

  • USAID’s $15,000,000 (Php 762,000,000), five-year, RenewHealth: Expanding Access to Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation project works in partnership with Philippine government agencies and communities to improve the quality of community-based drug rehabilitation and recovery (CBDR) and reduce drug dependence. RenewHealth will enable healthy behaviors and demand for CBDR services; enhance the quality of CBDR services; and strengthen the policies and systems for sustainable CBDR service delivery.

  • USAID’s $100,000 (Php 5,080,000) Zones of Positive Change program creates safer spaces in Metro Manila for people who use drugs, through a comprehensive community rehabilitation program based on respect for human rights and harm reduction.

Anti-Narcotics and Law Enforcement Training 
  • The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Manila Country Office provides training on a range of narcotics-related topics: drug interdiction, evidence processing, interview techniques, chemical diversion investigations, clandestine laboratory investigations, and other specialized narcotics-related topics.

  • The Federal Bureau of Investigation, through its Legal AttachĆ© in Manila, regularly shares knowledge and capabilities, and provides training on a range of law enforcement best practices, including interviewing techniques, evidence collection, and leadership training.

  • The United States collaborated with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in 2013 to establish the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (NAIA-IADITG).  Since its inception, the NAIA-IADITG has successfully deterred, prevented, and apprehended a range of narcotics shipments to transnational criminal drug trafficking organizations and their affiliates operating in the Philippines.

  • The Department of Justice, Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training conducts regular trainings with prosecutors and investigators on the rule of law.  These trainings and roundtables cover investigative techniques, effective ways to build criminal investigations while protecting human rights, and handling of cases in court.
International Engagement 
  • The U.S. government, through the Drug Enforcement Administration, also hosts and invites its Philippine law Enforcement partners to the International Drug Enforcement Conference (IDEC) annually. IDEC is a global forum that provides an opportunity for senior drug law enforcement officials to meet, deliberate, and determine the most effective strategies to attack and defeat criminal drug trafficking organizations.

  • The U.S. Embassy has supported the travel of Philippine delegates participating in demand reduction conferences, such as the annual International Society for Substance Use Professionals conference and the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America Training Institute.  These international conferences expose senior government officials to international standards in both prevention and treatment.
Look at bullet point number 1. Money given to the Philippines from the USA helps with POLICY DEVELOPMENT!! You can't get more meddling than that! In what way exactly is the USA helping to shape the drug war policy in the Philippines? Would be interesting to know for sure.

USAID is also contributing to the Philippines drug war! Don't forget that USAID is a CIA front! Don't tell Thinking Pinoy or he might have a heart attack.  Imagine the government receiving USAID money! I wrote about NGO's receiving USAID money before. Read about it here

How about the PDEA and the USA collaborating to establish Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group?  What does the PDEA have to say about this?
Cacdac thanked the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (US-DEA) and the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force-West (JIATF-W) for their support to the project through funding the establishment of the CRK-Operations Center, equipment provision and trainings. 
“The CRK-IADITG is a collaboration that will demonstrate once again closer working relationship among its member-agencies with interrelated mandates concerned with the safety and security of the country’s airports from illegal drugs,” Cacdac noted.
http://pdea.gov.ph/10-news/57-pdea-leads-drug-interdiction-task-group-at-clark-international-airport
Right on their website the PDEA thanks the US DEA for helping them out in the drug war for providing funding for the CRK-Operations Centre at Clark airport! That is not NAIA!  That means the US has been helping out in more than one airport!!

Here is some news from 2016 when Dutere was president!
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Office at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines received information that a traveler aboard an incoming international flight from Togo, transiting Addis Ababa, was suspected to be carrying contraband. DEA shared this tip with the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (NAIA IADITG), a task force led by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). Upon arrival of the flight, the NAIA IADITG identified the Malaysian passenger, and the Philippine Bureau of Customs discovered approximately 4.6 kilograms of cocaine pellets in his luggage. The subject was arrested. 
The NAIA IADITG is a multi-agency task force led by PDEA that was established in a cooperative effort between the Philippine government and DEA. The task force receives training, equipment, and infrastructure support from the U.S. government.
https://ph.usembassy.gov/us-philippine-cooperation-leads-counternarcotics-arrest-naia/
The task force received training, equipment, and infrastructure support from the U.S. government.  And yet Leni might be a traitor for going to the US embassy for help in the drug war. How ridiculous is that??  Did the media ever report on the US's involvement in the establishment of the NAIA IADITG?  Here is a news story from 2013.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency on Friday inaugurated an inter-agency anti-drugs operation center at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport complex, Terminal 3. 
PDEA said the center shall serve as an operations, coordination and administrative hub of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group.
PDEA director general Arturo Cacdac Jr. said the inauguration and turn-over ceremonies was attended by US Ambassador to the Philippines HarryK Thomas Jr., who was also the guest of honor of the event. 
The ceremonies were also witnessed by heads and key officials of member-agencies of the NAIA-IADITG. 
Known as the NAIA-IADITG Operations Center, the center is created following a memorandum of agreement signed by PDEA, the Manila International Airport Authority, Office for Transportation Security, National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice-National Prosecution Service, Bureau of Customs, Philippine National Police Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force, Bureau of Immigration, and the PNP Aviation Security Group, on Sept. 29, 2011.
https://www.philstar.com/nation/2013/04/19/932549/anti-drugs-ops-center-opens-naia
Why was the US Ambassador to the Philippines a guest of honour? Philstar does not tell us but now we know it is because the USA helped establish this task force. Just look at all the Philippine law enforcement organisations participating in this task force.  They are all working in tandem with the US.

During the brief time that Leni was the drug czar not a single government official made a peep about the collaboration between the USA and the Philippines in the drug war. Instead Duterte poisoned Leni in front of the whole nation by indicating she might be guilty of treason for revealing state secrets and he called her stupid for going to the Americans and not the barangay captains.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/715651/duterte-threatens-to-fire-robredo-if-she-reveals-state-secrets/story/
Duterte, in an exclusive interview with GMA News' Marisol Abdurahman on Balitanghali Weekend, made the pronouncement when asked regarding Robredo's meeting with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), community-based advocacy groups and U.S. Embassy officials to discuss the drug problem in the country. 
"There's a limit to that. I know that she's a lawyer and she has other advisers... There are certain matters that should be kept with the government, that classified matters cannot be shared. Once [she does] that, she's out, I would fire her. Because you jeopardized the security of the state," Duterte said.
This would have been an opportune time to inform the nation that the USA and the Philippines are partners in the drug war and have been so for years.  But he did not do that? Why not?  What did he do after he fired her?  He publicly insulted her.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/717181/robredo-made-an-a-hole-of-herself-as-icad-chair-says-duterte/story/
“Instead of talking to the law enforcement, instead of talking to the barangay captains, instead of talking to itong mga taong handling the rehabilitation, she made an asshole of herself,” Duterte told reporters in MalacaƱang.
Again instead of acknowledging that the USA collaborates with the Philippines in the war on drugs he chose to ignore this fact and insulted her. Does he not know the PDEA and the USA collaborate?  Does PDEA head Aquino not know this? Is there anyone in the government that knows this fact? Why did no one mention it? Why did it take the US embassy to quietly release this fact sheet to set the record straight? 

The damage has already been done.  All across social media Leni was maligned by DDS as a potential traitor.




I never thought there was anything funny about Leni going to see the US embassy because the US is close partners with the Philippines in the war on terror among so many other things. On this blog I have written many times about Operation Pacific Eagle. The USA is an important ally and partner with the Philippines. The most recent SWS survey says Filipinos think it is more important to cultivate ties with the USA than with China.
https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/12/7/us-china-philippines-relationship-sws.html

Whatever the validity of this survey it is indisputable that behind the scenes Duterte has continued the tradition of courting the USA in matters of national security. From Operation Pacific Eagle to the signing of the EDCA pact to the Marawi siege.



The USA has always been intimately involved in the affairs of the Philippines. That is a fact that continues to the present day. Why won't Duterte admit this? More importantly why can't his supporters see through his lying rhetoric?