Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Martial Law: Lessons Learned Part 1

Martial law in Mindanao is set to end at the end of the year. For 135 weeks Mindanao has been subjected to the rigorous military rule of the AFP. At this point it would be a good idea to look back and see what lessons have been learned. Surely the AFP learned a few things? I know I did and I hope anyone who has been reading this series has also. To make it easier and organised I will only cover five points: ISIS, Security/Borders, Policy, Foreign Assistance, and Marawi and Mindanao. 

1. ISIS

At the beginning of the Marawi siege terrorists drove around with black ISIS flags. They declared it was a victory for ISIS. The Palace and the AFP both denied any ISIS involvement in the siege and any ISIS presence in the country.

"We don't have ISIS in the Philippines," Col. Edgard Arevalo, AFP public affairs office chief, told reporters. 
Arevalo said what the government troops encountered in Marawi City was a local terror group which is using the incident to get recognition from ISIS. 
"Ginagamit nila ang mga insidenteng ito upang sila ay i-recognize. These groups who are claiming to be ISIS, they are merely courting the acclamation of ISIS na hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin nila nakukuha kaya patuloy ang kanilang ginagawang atrocities," he said. 
In a separate press briefing, PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos said the Maute group is not an ISIS group. 
"It is not an ISIS group, it is a local terror group. Walang ISIS dito. They are not even recognized yet by ISIS," he said.
Funnily enough the next day they changed their tune all because Duterte contradicted them.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/612073/afp-to-follow-duterte-s-assertion-of-isis-presence-in-phl/story/
The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Thursday said it will follow the pronouncement of President Rodrigo Duterte saying that ISIS has a presence in the country. 
"Our commander in chief has already made a pronouncement na ito po ay grupo na ng ISIS, so we are making adjustment accordingly sapagkat our President and commander-in-chief has access to other information that initially the AFP might not have," Col. Edgard Arevalo, AFP public affairs office chief, said in an interview on Unang Balita. 
"It's already the commander-in-chief na nagsabi, so we subscribe to that pronouncement," Arevalo added. 
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday admitted the presence of ISIS despite the denials from PNP and AFP. 
In a statement posted on its Twitter account, the DFA said the Philippine government is "fully aware that the Maute Group / ISIS groups have the capability (although limited) to disturb the peace..."
Duterte might have information the AFP dos not? Makes sense right? No. It's a straight up lie.  The AFP lied to the country for several years about the presence of ISIS in the country. Here is a press release from the AFP with no date but which shows up in the internet archive or Wayback Machine  for the first time on May 22, 2016.
https://www.afp.mil.ph/index.php/news/8-afp-news/346-afp-statement-on-alert-vs-terrorism-in-the-philippines
We have not received any report pertaining to the presence of ISIS or their legitimate sympathizers in the Philippines. There is no authentic link or relationship between the ISIS and the ASG in Mindanao.
Those two sentences are a bold faced lie. The Consolidated Comments on Martial Law submitted by the OSG to the Supreme Court in 2017 tells a completely different story.
The Philippines as the extension of the ISIS caliphate Islamic groups worldwide. These groups commit atrocities in the name of the Islamic State in order to seek recognition and support—financial or otherwise—from ISIS. 
8. The notoriety of the ISIS in Middle East has attracted the attention of extremist groups in the Philippines. The AFP has obtained ISIS’ propaganda material, Dabiq, which reports that as early as November 2014, a number of groups in the Philippines had already pledged their allegiance to the caliphate. 
9. There are four ISIS-inspired groups that operate in different parts of Mindanao. These groups have formed alliances for the purpose of establishing a wilayah in Mindanao. The four (4) groups, which find their roots in different parts of Mindanao, are as follows: 
a. The Abu-Sayyaf Group (“ASG”) from Basilan, led by Isnilon Hapilon (“Hapilon”);  
b. Ansarul Khilafah Philippines (“AKP”) from Saranggani and Sultan Kudarat. The group is led by Mohammad Jaafar Maguid;  
c. The Maute Group from Lanao del Sur led by Omar Maute; and,  

d. Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (“BIFF”), based in the Liguasan Marsh, Maguindanao. 
10. These groups are notorious for committing numerous bombings, assassinations, and extortion activities in the country, especially in Mindanao. In the past, these groups had been operating separately and independently. Due to their uniform pledge of allegiance to ISIS and their support for the establishment of a caliphate, an alliance has been formed between and among these groups (for brevity,these groups are collectively referred to herein as “ISIS-inspired local rebel groups”). 
11. On April 2016, the ISIS’ weekly newsletter, Al Naba, announced the appointment of Abu Sayyaf leader Hapilon as the emir or leader of all ISIS forces in the Philippines. The appointment of Hapilon as its Philippine emir was confirmed in a 21 June 2016 video by ISIS entitled “The Solid Structure.” The video hailed Hapilon as “the mujahid” authorized to lead the soldiers of the Islamic State in the Philippines.” 
12. On 31 December 2016, Hapilon and about thirty (30) of his followers, including eight (8) foreign terrorists, were surveilled in Lanao del Sur. According to military intelligence, Hapilon performed a symbolic hijra or pilgrimage to unite with the ISIS-inspired groups in mainland Mindanao. This was geared towards realizing the five (5)-step process of establishing a wilayah, which are: first, the pledging of allegiance to the Islamic State; second, the unification of all terrorist groups who have given bay'ah or their pledge of allegiance; third, the holding of consultations to nominate a wali or a governor of a province; fourth, the achievement of consolidation for the caliphate through the conduct of widespread atrocities and uprisings all across Mindanao; and finally, the presentation of all of these to the ISIS leadership for approval or recognition. 
13. The appointment by ISIS of an emir in the Philippines is already the third step in the establishment of a wilayah in Mindanao. Moreover, these groups now have the unified mission of wresting control of Mindanaoan territory from the government for the purpose of establishing a wilayah. 
http://www.osg.gov.ph/documents/officeupdates/OSG%20Consolidated%20Comment%20on%20Martial%20Law.pdf
Before 2017 the AFP knew that several groups in the Philippines had pledged allegiance to ISIS and that in April 2016 Hapilon had been appointed the emir of the forces in the Philippines by ISIS. Yet they lied to the public and said there was no ISIS and only changed their tune when Duterte forced them to do so. Why did they do this?  Why have the never been held accountable for it? 

Incredibly enough long after the siege had ended, long after reports had been coming in about foreign jihadis flocking to the Philippines under the ISIS banner, the AFP continued to deny the presence or threat of ISIS to the stability and peace of Mindanao.

Remember the suicide bombing in Basilan which was carried out but a foreign jihadi under the banner of ISIS back in 2018? The AFP denied it was the work of both ISIS and a foreign suicide bomber. 
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/08/02/1838931/afp-chief-isis-not-behind-basilan-blast
The military yesterday dismissed claims that the Islamic State (IS) was behind the car bomb attack that killed 11 people in Basilan. 
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Carlito Galvez said the IS was claiming every terror attack as part of its propaganda to gain more support. 
“They are claiming everything. Even what happened in Manila, they were claiming to have had a hand in it. They are doing it to heighten the support and to show that they are still there,” Galvez said. 
He also discounted the possibility that the supposed suicide bomber in last Tuesday’s attack was a foreigner. 
An anti-terror official, however, maintained the suicide bomber was a foreigner, bolstering claims and identifying the slain suspect as Abu Kathir Al-Maghrib, a Moroccan jihadist. 
But some officials stressed it might be possible that the driver of the van was just a courier of the bomb. 
“So it is not conclusive that it was a suicide bomber and it’s not conclusive the suspect was a foreigner,” Galvez said.
Galvez was wrong on both counts and it was just a few weeks later that Galvez, in a budget meeting, changed his story.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/210709-deadly-bombings-demonstrate-isis-tactics
“The greatest threat that we have now is really ISIS,” said Galvez during a budget hearing on Wednesday. He referred particularly to its adherents – the Maute Group and BIFF in Central Mindanao and the Abu Sayyaf Group in Western Mindanao. 
Since 2018 there have been six deadly suicide bombings including the blast at a cathedral in Jolo. Most of these have been carried out by foreigners with one confirmed Filipino. All claimed by ISIS.

While the fortunes of ISIS continue to change in the Middle East and in the Philippines they still remain a force to be reckoned with. Given the right conditions they could once again be able to lay siege to a city the size of Mindanao. The AFP should not let up on their offences against the BIFF and Abu Sayyaf who remain the largest ISIS affiliated groups in the Philippines. Nor should they underestimate the threat ISIS poses to the security of the nation.


2. Security/Borders

During the Marawi siege DND Secretary Lorenzana admitted surprise that so many foreign fighters had made their way into the country.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/627258/lorenzana-admits-gov-t-clueless-how-thousands-of-maute-fighters-entered-marawi/story/
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana admitted Tuesday that they still do not know how the Maute fighters and foreign terrorists laid siege to Marawi City and continue to battle government forces til now. 
“The Marawi is a class by itself because we have not yet found out how they got in, a lot of them coming from other places, from outside the Philippines, from Malaysia, Indonesia, from Jolo, Sulu, Basilan and other places in Mindanao,” Lorenzana said during a press conference on the recently concluded Tempest Wind drill. 
“So we are going to intensify our intelligence efforts, we are trying to upgrade our technical capabilities with the  help of the US and other countries [that] are capable of those technical capabilities,” he said. 
“I think we have no choice but to really solve this problem because if we will not, then it can happen in other places other than Marawi,” he added.
Could it be the porous borders of the Southern Philippines?  So said AFP Col. Arevalo.

“We cannot discount the possibility of foreign fighters surreptitiously able to enter the country given our vast and porous borders,” AFP spokesperson Colonel Edgard Arevalo said in a press statement. 
That is certainly one idea. Anyone can take a boat from Indonesia and cross over to the Philippines unseen. Abu Sayyf abduct both fishermen and tourists regularly. What has happened since 2017 when Lorenzna said, "We have no choice but to really solve this problem?" Nothing it would seem. The term porous borders has consistently been used to describe the Philippines' southern costal areas by media and government officials.

https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/philippines-indonesia-11202019181356.html
The Philippines and Indonesia have agreed to intensify joint maritime security patrols to check the movements of terrorists across their porous borders, military officials from both nations said Wednesday. 
Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines began trilateral patrols in June last year after pro-IS militants launched a siege in the southern Philippine city of Marawi. Five months of vicious fighting ended in October 2017 and killed at least 1,200 people, mostly militants, including the acknowledged Philippine IS leader, Isnilon Hapilon, and several foreign fighters. 
Malaysia’s Sabah state is a short boat ride from islands in the Philippines’ Mindanao region, where pro-IS Muslim guerrillas and other armed Muslim groups operate. The waters between the two countries are extremely porous. According to analysts, the three nations share coastal borders that have long been used for smuggling routes.
The border remains wide open and a lot of that has to do with China's encroachment in the WPS preventing the Philippines from focusing as many resources as possible on maritime security in Mindanao.

Lorenzana, however, hopes that China eventually honors and respects the decision of the tribunal as it will lessen the external threat the Philippines is facing.  
“If we can only get China to respect the ruling, it would be a big load from our back,” he said. “We could probably devote more of our resources to pressing problems at home. “ 
The second phase of the modernization program which starts in 2017 or early 2018 will be pursued as planned.  
Adjustments, however, will be made in line with the new administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. 
“We may have to tweak it a little so that we can address the priority of the new president,” he explained. “He said in his pronouncement a couple of weeks ago that we need more helicopters and night flying capabilities so that we can pursue these mandates, criminals, and terrorists that are trying to create trouble in the South.” 
Talking to other countries is important because “the border is so porous and wide” and the Abu Sayyaf have shifted to kidnapping passengers of fishing boats. 
We all know China has not bothered to honour the ruling and Duterte has tossed it aside completely. The arbitral ruling over the WPS might as well not have happened. As such Philippine patrol boats and planes are regularly harassed by Chinese military from their newly built bases in Scarborough Shoal and the WPS. But how much does this interference impede the Philippines' ability to patrol their own costs?

I can't say but I can say for sure that there are foreign jihadis running around the country. The AFP knows this and claims they are keeping an eye on them. Back in September 2019 they said there  could be up to 60.
The military commander for Western Mindanao, meanwhile, said troops were searching the region for about 60 suspected foreign militants, including people from Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco and Afghanistan. 
“They are scattered in our areas. They don’t have popular support. In due time, using our capabilities, we will neutralize them,” Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said, reiterating an earlier pledge that the foreign fighters would be accounted for by year’s end. 
Now they say there are only 8.
Meanwhile, Arevalo said the AFP is still monitoring eight foreign terrorist groups and Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Hajan Sawadjaan of Sulu.
https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/12/11/improved-security-climate-in-mindanao-reason-for-non-extension-of-martial-law/
We also continue to read foreign analysis claiming the the Philippines is the new land of jihad and that more and more foreign jihadis will continue to make their way here. Whether they do or not it is imperative that the AFP secure the southern border and work closely with the BI to prevent would be terrorists from flying in through Manila.

Next week we will look at the remaining three areas of Policy, Foreign Assistance, and Marawi and Mindanao.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Monday, December 23, 2019

The Maguindanao Massacre Verdict Does not Prove The Philippines' Justice System is Working

The recent guilty verdict handed down by the court proves beyond all shadow of doubt that the Philippines' justice system is working.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1089147
The guilty verdict against key suspects in the Maguindanao massacre case handed down on Thursday showed that the justice system in the Philippines is working, an official of the Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat (PHRCS) said. 
“The judicial process may have taken quite some time, but justice has triumphed, with our government, under the Duterte administration, remaining true to its obligation to fulfill the human rights of those concerned,” Undersecretary Severo Catura, PHRCS executive director, said in a statement sent to the Philippine News Agency (PNA). 
“The mechanisms have effectively worked in the victims’ favor, and this is what human rights is all about,” he added. 
Catura said the Maguindanao massacre case has defined the human rights situation in the Philippines and even allowed detractors to accuse the government as a purveyor of impunity. 
“That is farthest from the truth. The dictum that every person who is charged with a crime is deemed innocent until proven guilty remains an anchor of the Philippine justice system. And we’re talking of more than a hundred people indicted in this gruesome incident," he said. 
”What seems to be disregarded is the fact that the government has upheld everyone’s right to a fair and public hearing,” he added. 
Catura said the conviction of 43 personalities can be considered “a milestone in human rights history in the Philippines”.
Wow! The guilty verdict handed down by the court in this singular case proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Duterte administration cares about human rights and the right of everyone to a fair and public hearing.  The justice system is working. 

 Except the Palace says this case is an example of the serious flaws in the justice system. 
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1204022/despite-maguindanao-massacre-conviction-palace-notes-serious-flaws-in-justice-system
The Palace on Saturday said there are still “serious flaws” in the country’s justice system that needs to be rectified despite the resolution of the decade-old Maguindanao massacre case. 
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that while the efforts of the prosecution in the case are commended, “an analysis of the court’s judgment shows that 10 years of what could have been productive lives of fifty-six acquitted accused have been wasted in incarceration.” 
Panelo said that during their time in jail, their families have become dysfunctional as they bear the stigma and humiliation attached to being accused of involvement in the 2009 mass killing that horrified the world. 
“This is an injustice that cannot be countenanced nor continue. It must not find print ever again in the pages of our history as a nation,” Panelo said in a statement. 
Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes on Thursday sentenced eight members of the Ampatuan family led by former town Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. and 20 others to life imprisonment without parole for the murder of 57 people, including 32 journalists. 
The judge acquitted more than 50 police officers and other members of the Ampatuan family, citing a lack of evidence, while 15 people were given 6- to 10-year prison terms as accomplices. 
Panelo noted that a major cause for the “aberration” is the filing of charges before the court “even if the evidence presented before the investigating public prosecutor cannot sustain a conviction of an accused of a crime to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.” 
“The hasty and heedless filing of an information is due either to the faulty appreciation of evidence by — or the fear of — the investigating prosecutor to be subjected to an administrative sanction or get a reprisal from the complainant if the case is dismissed at the preliminary investigation stage,” Panelo said. 
These cases, Panelo said, are not isolated as he noted the hundreds of similar pending cases. 
“The blindfolded Lady Justice symbolizes an impartial proceeding without regard to the social and political status of those haled before the mighty and unforgiving arm of the law, uninfluenced by the torrent of adverse people’s judgment,” Panelo said. 
“The government, forever unaffected and unmoved by the infectious winds of public opinion, must pursue and protect this ideal,” he added. 
Further, Panelo said that aside from the years of innocence wasted for the acquitted persons, hours of effort have also gone to waste. 
“This is one lesson we must all learn lest we repeat the same grievous error at the cost of liberty and honor of the innocents,” the spokesperson said. 
What Panleo is decrying is the fact that this case took 10 years to resolve. During that time 56 people were incarcerated who ended up being acquitted. During that time their families have been greatly affected and a whole decade, which adds up to 560 years, of potentially productive years has been wasted.

The reason is that charges were filed hastily and without due appreciation of the evidence at hand which is done because the prosecutor fears the case might be dismissed before it reaches trial resulting in no justice and administrative sanctions for himself. Panelo says this is not an isolated case.

Indeed we read in the news often daily accounts of cases finally reaching resolution after years of lingering in the courts. DeLima is certainly the most high profile prisoner right now who has been in prison for nearly three years with no end in sight. That means no trial and no resolution of the case. Truly in the Philippines there is no such thing as a swift and speedy trial. The courts are severely backlogged.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/11/29/doj-starts-decongestion-of-backlog-of-over-10000-cases/
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has started a “decongestion project” meant to slash and reduce the backlog of over 10,000 cases with pending petitions for review. 
“This should make a dent on the number of unresolved petitions in the docket,” said DOJ spokesman and Undersecretary Markk Perete on Friday, Nov. 29. 
Petitions for review are filed before the DOJ’s Office of the Secretary to appeal the rulings prosecutors made on cases which were either dismissed or approved for filing of charges in court due to findings of probable cause. 
The spokesman said the DOJ begun its “decongestion project” back in August to address the backlog of pending petitions for review. 
“We started this since about three months ago,” Perete told reporters. 
Recently, Guevarra revealed that when he got appointed justice secretary back in April 2018, he was faced with a huge backlog of petitions for review. 
“When I assumed the position of Justice Secretary, over ten thousand cases – in fact estimates peg the number at close to fifteen thousand – have yet to be resolved,” Guevarra disclosed during a conference of the Prosecutors League of the Philippines (PLP) held in Manila. 
“That such a huge backlog exists is worrisome,” he lamented. 
“That the appealed cases of those denied justice have for so long languished in our docket constitutes a travesty which I hope to address,” he stated.
10,000 cases backlogged at the DOJ!  Think that's a lot? Think again.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/06/14/953927/courts-congested-over-1-million-cases-yearly-nscb
The Philippine judiciary faces serious difficulties in addressing case backlogs as lower courts are congested with over a million cases every year, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) revealed on Friday.

NSCB Secretary General Jose Ramon Albert said that from 2005 to 2010, lower courts were continuously confronted with heavy volume of caseload, with an annual average of 1,059,484 cases or equivalent to an average of around 4,221 cases per working day.

He said this backlog of cases in lower courts has been increasing over the years since the Regional, Municipal, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts (MTC) posted low annual disposition rates from 2005 to 2010.

Albert revealed that while the total inflow of cases in the lower courts has been declining from 457,146 in 2005 to 385,067 in 2012, the total outflow of cases has likewise been on a downtrend, from 487,605 cases in 2005 to 382,957 in 2012.

"Hmmmm. I wonder if this suggests that lawyers are prolonging the trial process, or that judges are taking too long to make judgments, or that judges just have too many cases to resolve, or all of the above," Albert said in the latest issue of Beyond the Numbers.
This number of one million is from 2013. With more cases coming in each year are we to believe that these cases have been cleared up since then? Doubtful. Especially when the DOJ admits they alone have 10,000 cases backlogged.

Another problem with the Philippines' justice system, as exemplified by the Maguindanao Massacre case, is the use of private prosecutors.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/625305/private-public-prosecutors-in-maguindanao-massacre-trial-at-odds-over-strategies
Is it really a rift between the public and private prosecutors in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre case, or among the private lawyers themselves? 
Two private prosecutors in the Maguindanao are pointing to deep-seated differences with the state prosecutors, which are supposedly affecting the panel’s legal tactics in the case. 
However, another outspoken private lawyer has contested this, saying the conflict is actually between two private prosecutors and the rest of the panel.
The better question is why is private prosecution allowed? Why isn't all prosecution done by the state? Here we read that the use of both private and public prosecutors and their subsequent quarrels is one reason the case was delayed for so long. Private prosecution is absolutely one of the worst, if not the worst, aspects of the Philippines' justice system. It is the complete opposite of justice.

Right in line with private prosecution is the ridiculous fact that in some cases no charges will be brought against criminals unless the victim files a complaint. But this is something the state should do.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/275559/parents-set-to-file-murder-case-against-jealous-man-who-killed-their-daughter
A murder case is still being readied against the 27-year-old man, who allegedly shot dead his common law wife after he had an argument with her in their house in Sitio Mahayahay, Barangay San Vicente in Liloan town in northern Cebu on Saturday, December 14. 


Police Master Sergeant Jason Gayo said the parents of the victim, Bianca Paige Bayang, 25, were hoping that they could file the murder complaint on Tuesday (December 17) because they were still processing her death certificate which would be needed in the presentation of the case in court.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1204292/rising-pnp-concern-chinese-kidnappings
Pogo-related kidnappings grabbed public attention in mid-December when the video of 28-year-old Pogo worker Zhou Mei went viral. Zhou is shown screaming for help as her abductors pulled her into a gray van. CCTV footage collected by the Makati police showed the van driving around the building where she lives in the city’s business district several times before she was kidnapped. The team of Makati police chief Col. Roberto Simon has identified Zhou’s kidnappers. One has left the country and three others remain at large. Simon is frustrated by the refusal of Zhou and her husband to file a criminal case that would allow his team to pursue the suspects.
Both of these cases are maddeningly ridiculous!  The parents of a murdered daughter have to file a criminal case? The police know who the kidnappers are but cannot pursue them because the victims refuse to file a criminal case? That puts more Chinese in danger of being kidnapped and tortured. It is an absolute travesty of justice that the state does not file criminal charges against suspects in all cases.

The final reason, at least the final reason I will mention, that the Philippines' justice system is broken and not working is that judges and lawyers are routinely killed. Now the judge in the Maguindanao Massacre case will be given a tighter security detail.

Police officers are still providing security for Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221, after she handed down on Thursday the long-awaited ruling on the Maguindanao massacre case after 10 years of trial. 
Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas, acting director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said close-in security personnel are still deployed for Solis-Reyes, while some police officers are stationed near her residence and are authorized to conduct random checkpoints. 
(Our agreement with the Supreme Court administrator is the security detail will continue until the time that she feels the situation is back to normal and she no longer has apprehensions.)
Filipinos do not respect the law. They do not respect the decisions judges make and they do not respect the fact the all criminals have the right to defend themselves. That is why judges and lawyers get assassinated.

In the very first article mentioned in this post I quoted the following:
“That is farthest from the truth. The dictum that every person who is charged with a crime is deemed innocent until proven guilty remains an anchor of the Philippine justice system. And we’re talking of more than a hundred people indicted in this gruesome incident," he said. 
That is a total lie.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/05/19/alleged-narco-politicos-waived-right-to-presumption-of-innocence-panelo
The Commission on Human Rights earlier said it recognizes that the list is meant to ensure that only law-abiding candidates get elected, but it also reminded the administration that "presumption of innocence is a Constitutionally-guaranteed right."  
The body urged the government to instead file cases against the alleged narco-officials.  
Panelo, however, said some rights under the Constitution "can be waived."  
"These candidates who are involved in drugs, to my mind waived the right -- to such right -- of being given presumption of innocence," he told ANC.  
"Why? They know they are involved there, they run for public office and it's fair game. You open yourself to criticism as well as exposure of your involvement to anything illegal," he added.
That is straight from the Palace. Duterte has never contradicted that pronouncement from Panelo. Hard to believe they are lawyers.  But not really. They are Filipino lawyers and they are part of the problem which is the Philippines' broken justice system.

When he was still a prosecutor, President Rodrigo Duterte said there was one tactic that helped Davao City authorities when going after criminals. 
"We planted evidence. We arrested persons but we released them, [then] telling him that it was this person who squealed on him. And then when he goes out for the killing, then we said that it was this fellow who really did it, who did you in," the President, who was city prosecutor before becoming Davao City mayor, said in an early morning press conference on Sunday, August 21. 
"We first planted the intrigues so that we would know... from where they came from," he said.  
The President, in his statements during the early morning press briefing, implied that this strategy is being used by the police now, but at the same time denied their involvement in extrajudicial killings. 
"We say it’s not the work of police to be wrapping people with plastic and [putting] him in the bag. That is not a job of the police. I just told [them] that one bullet will do. Why do you have to wrap it? I said [don't] waste your time," he said.  
"I have learned a lot during my prosecution days," he said.
Don't be fooled. A broken clock is right twice a day. Just because justice was meted out in the Maguindanao Massacre case does not mean the Philippines' justice system is working. Far from it.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Friday, December 20, 2019

Retards in the Government 133

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


https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1201154/sandiganbayan-imposes-90-day-suspension-vs-eastern-samar-town-mayor
The Sandiganbayan has preventively suspended the mayor of Guiuan town in Eastern Samar for 90 days pending an investigation on a graft case filed against her. 
In its resolution dated November 25, the Sixth Division denied Mayor Annaliza Gonzales-Kwan’s bid to overturn the ruling, as Section 13 of the Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act mandates the preventive suspension of incumbent officials. 
That is, even if Gonzales-Kwan contended that the informations were filed prior to her election as Guiuan mayor.  The accused is facing graft charges for the alleged anomalous purchase of firetrucks in 2007, that was reportedly conducted without public bidding.
Purchasing fire trucks without public bidding. It's not fertiliser anyway.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1088577
A woman who works as a clerk in a village here was arrested by anti-drug operatives after she was caught selling shabu to a poseur buyer on Wednesday night. 
The drug enforcement unit of Police Station 6 (San Nicolas Police Station) acted on a concerned citizen's report about a barangay worker who reportedly was selling shabu at Sitio Magpalaser, Hipodromo village here. 
Major Kenneth Albotra, chief of Station 6 who led the operation, identified the suspect as Anna Liza Mendez, 40, who is tasked to issue barangay clearance to the village residents.
Another LGU official caught selling drugs.

President Rodrigo Duterte has floated the possibility of enlisting military men to run the operations of water services in Metro Manila as he continued to slam the concession agreements entered into by the government. 
Speaking at the birthday celebration of former Senate President Manny Villar in Las Piñas City on Thursday, Duterte said he broached the idea of a military takeover before a gathering of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) on Wednesday. 
“Last night I was talking to the PSG, sinabi ko sa kanila huwag mo akong laruan na takot takutin ninyo ako, sige magsibat kami, bahala wala kayong tubig,” said Duterte, who threatened on Tuesday to “expropriate everything” from Maynilad and Manila Water if he is not satisfied with their explanation of the concession agreements. 
“I will order the Armed Forces to operate. Sige sundalo, take over kayo.” 
He also warned of a warrantless arrest of people he accused of committing economic sabotage due to the supposed onerous provisions in the concession agreements. 
“‘Pag niloko mo ako, niloko mo [ang] Pilipino. I will suspend the [privilege of the] writ of habeas corprus and I will arrest all of you. Gusto ko makita ang mga bilyonaryo na nakakulong,” Duterte said.
Just more big guy tough talk that will not solve anything. The Manila Water mess is indeed a mess. It appears that the deal crafted under the Ramos administration was "onerous" and not beneficial to the city. However instead of renegotiating a better deal as well as improving the delivery of water to the city Duterte is doing exactly what he has accused Robredo of doing, running his mouth. In fact a large part of the blame of Manila's water woes lies with the government.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/12/12/1976483/manilas-water-shortage-seen-persist-amid-blame-game-supply-woes
A water shortage in Metro Manila would likely persist over the next two years, but it seems President Rodrigo Duterte may be blaming the wrong parties for the problem. 
Not only did the government repeatedly drag its feet on establishing an alternative water source, it has also allocated limited funds to develop the water sector, a duty it has since effectively relegated to the private sector. 
Now, as Duterte orders a review of supposedly “onerous” contracts with water firms, his subordinates also rely on Manila Water and Maynilad Water Services for a short-term fix that will buy the government time to address the capital's water shortage. 
Politically, the popular Duterte has the upper hand, forcing the Ayala- and Pangilinan-led water firms to drop their arbitration claims—unrelated to the present water problem—totalling some P11 billion. 
"Fundamentally, it was a problem of lack of foresight, planning and political will. Government agencies from past administrations were basically kicking the can down the road. They all knew that (water) demand will outstrip supply," said Eduardo Araral, director of the Institute for Water Policy at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. 
But as dams nearly ran empty early this year due to inadequate rainfall, old problems resurfaced, and less water flowed into household taps. 
On the government side, there seems to be a dearth of funds for water infrastructure. 
Official data showed a budget of P70.1 billion for water resources and flood control projects for 2020, up 15% year-on-year although the bulk of funds would go to flood control instead of improving water supply. The amount also accounts for just 1.71 percent of the budget, down from 2.6 percent in 2018.
Under the contract with Manila Water the government is tasked with finding new water sources and improving infrastructure to improve water delivery but they have failed to do this. Coupled with the extended dry season and you get all the problems earlier this year.  But Duterte  wants to focus on the P11billion settlement as if money is the sole problem here.  And it could be.  It could be that government funds to improve water infrastructure were plundered.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1201819/alleged-drug-pusher-shoots-down-village-exec-in-batangas
A village councilor in Batangas City was shot and killed allegedly by a man tagged as an illegal drug pusher in their barangay (village). 
The victim was identified as Jorge Almarez, a councilor in Barangay Bolbok. 
Batangas city police chief Lt. Col. Julius Añonuevo, meanwhile, identified the suspect as Gilbert Acuña. 
“Allegedly, it was Almarez who [submitted] the information [that Acuña was into drug dealings],” Añonuevo said. 
He said that around 7:45 p.m. Saturday, Almarez came across Acuña in a drinking session in the village. 
The two had argued shortly before the suspect allegedly drew his gun and shot Almarez several times.
At least the authorities know who shot and killed the man. Maybe they will find him.
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1836350
Businessman Roberto “Kaisek” Lo Tan, elder brother of former Bacolod councilor Ricardo “Cano” Tan, was gunned down by unidentified assailants on a motorcycle Sunday morning, December 15. 
A report by the Bacolod City Police Office said Tan, 70, was driving his Nissan Sentra car when one of two motorcycle-riding men shot him dead at 9:45 a.m. along CL Montelibano Avenue in Greensville 1 subdivision in Barangay Estefania, Bacolod City.  
The report said the motorcycle overtook the victim’s car. The assassin fired six times before he and his driver fled towards the west. Tan died on the spot. 
In 2018, former councilor Tan was also ambushed along with his wife. Both were wounded, but survived the attack. 
The former councilor was earlier mentioned by President Rodrigo Duterte as among the local government officials who were allegedly involved in illegal drugs.
In 2018 assassins tried to kill Bacolod Councillor Cano Tan.  They failed and he fled the country with charges of being invloved in drugs following him. Now the assassins have killed his brother.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1088799
The village chief of Kalamtukan in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental and one of his companions were shot dead by suspects believed known to them in that Saturday night. 
A report from the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) on Sunday identified the slain victims as barangay chairman Johnny Semillano Condez, 47, and Danny Marata Jr. 
Condez, Marata Jr., and the latter's father, Danny Sr. were on board a rescue vehicle with two others riding their motorcycles and headed towards Sitio Candollon in Barangay Kalamtukan in search of a wireless network signal at around 7:30 p.m. Saturday when they were shot at, the NOPPO report said. 
Initial police investigation revealed that upon reaching the place that had a strong cellular network signal, the barangay chairman disembarked from the vehicle. 
Witnesses said they then heard bursts of gunfire that hit Condez and Maratas.
Driving around searching for a strong signal ends in the deaths of a village chief and another man.

The former mayor of Dinagat town in Dinagat Island has been sentenced to one-year imprisonment for failing to declare ownership of five motorcycles in her 2007 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) in 2007. 
“The motorcycles were purchased by Ecleo on different dates in 2006.  As such, they should be declared as among her personal properties in her 2006 SALN, as well as in SALNs for 2007 and 2010,” the decision penned by Associate Justice Reynaldo Cruz said. 
“Not only are the CRs of the motorcycles in the name of Ecleo as their owner, their corresponding ORs (official receipts) for the years 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2011 are also still in her name,” the court added.
A whole year in prison for not declaring five motorcycles.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1202323/dutertes-reaction-to-monsods-praise-f-you
It seems that President Rodrigo Duterte does not take too kindly to praises from his critics. 
Inquirer columnist Solita Monsod, a former socioeconomic planning secretary, drew the ire of Duterte for a recent column in which she congratulated his administration’s poverty reduction efforts. 
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said it was a surprise that Monsod wrote something favorable about the President, because she “has not said any good word” about him. 
“The President asked me to give his response to this columnist. He said: ‘Tell her, I hate being patronized! F*** you!’” 
“The Duterte administration must be congratulated,” she said. 
“Not since the Ramos administration has the war on poverty been so effectively pursued; it managed to reduce family and population poverty incidence by 8.8 and 8.3 percentage points respectively between 1994 and 1997,” she added. 
Instead of welcoming the praise, Panelo cast doubt on Monsod’s motives. 
“Aren’t you surprised with that column? I’m asking: Aren’t you surprised suddenly this columnist is praising, is heaping praise on the President?” he said. 
He said Monsod “has not said any good word and then suddenly there is praising.” 
“There must be some reason. Is she laying a predicate?” Panelo asked.
The House of Representatives has unanimously approved on third and final reading a bill lowering the optional retirement age of government workers from 65 years old to 56. 
“With a lower optional retirement age, the retirees can enjoy a better quality of life thorough their pension and retirement benefits at an earlier age…” said one of the bill’s authors, Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr., in his explanatory note. 
“The lower retirement age ultimately helps the bureaucracy, as it hastens the turnover of government positions to younger professionals, making way for infusion of fresh blood in public service,” he added.
This is an example of a bill with good intentions but who's sponsors are not thinking ahead. Where will the money come from to pay for all these retirees for extra years? What will they do if they retire at so young an age? One cannot be on vacation forever.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/275528/pro-7-director-to-police-station-chiefs-close-illegal-gambling-booths-in-your-areas-or-be-relieved
Station commanders and provincial directors under the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) may be relieved from their post if there will still be illegal gambling booths operating in their areas of responsibility. 
This is the warning of Police Brigadier General Valeriano De Leon,  Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) director, after he found that there were still unauthorized gambling booths operating around Central Visayas. 
After shutting down operations on unregistered Small Town Lottery (STL), Peryahan ng Bayan and other games under the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), De Leon said that reports from their intelligence monitoring had verified operations of unauthorized booths.
Once again cops having to be told to do their jobs.
 https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1088944
Albay Gov. Al Francis Bichara on Tuesday expressed dismay over the apparently bloated damage reports submitted by various local government units (LGUs) after Typhoon Tisoy hit Bicol last December 3. 
Data from the Albay Public Safety Emergency and Management Office (APSEMO) indicated that as of Dec. 10, damages to infrastructure, social services, and agriculture were placed at PHP6.3 billion. 
Infrastructure and social services incurred the highest damages at PHP6 billion while agriculture suffered PHP314 million worth of production losses, the report said. 
Bichara, in an interview after reviewing the damage reports from 15 towns and three cities of the province, said they found out, however, that almost all of the reported figures were padded by as much as 50 percent. 
“You can just imagine 50 percent of the PHP6.3 billion damages. That’s equivalent to PHP3.1 billion damages that were reportedly padded,” the governor said. 
He said, “the reports need to be reviewed and validated by the APSEMO in coordination with appropriate agencies like the Departments of Public Works and Highways, Agriculture and Social Welfare”. 
“I understand and don’t blame the LGUs since they are forced to jack up their estimates believing that only half of what they submitted may be granted and eventually released in the form of rehabilitation funds,” Bichara said. 
Citing how the damage reports are accomplished, he said the normal practice starts at the village level where barangay officials gather the list of damages then submits this to the town or city mayors which in turn submits a consolidated report to the province. 
“Generally the bloated estimates of damages start at the barangay levels, then these go to the town or city for another round of padding," he said. 
Asked whether he has reprimanded those LGUs with padded reports, Bichara said: “We called for their attention while avoiding to offend them and their credibility. These LGUs instead were asked to make a revision on their respective damage reports.”
LGU's padded their damage estimates in hopes of getting more money and the governor actually defends them! Says he does not want to offend them! He is actually tolerating corruption.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/12/16/1977478/taking-nap-or-getting-trim-contradicting-statements-what-duterte-was-doing-during-quake
President Rodrigo Duterte and his family were safe after a powerful quake that struck Davao del Sur Sunday afternoon but there are some inconsistencies on what the president was supposedly doing when it struck. 
Brig. Gen. Jose Niembra, chief of the Presidential Security Guard that provides close-in security to the president, said Sunday that Duterte went back to sleep after the shaking stopped. 
Niembra initially told reporters that the president was resting at his home in Davao City when the quake jolted southern Mindanao. 
Sen. Bong Go, the president's long-time aide and de facto spokesperson, also said Duterte remained in his room with his nurse during the incident. 
According to a report from SMNI, Go said he immediately called Duterte's nurse after the quake but the president refused to get out of his room. 
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, meanwhile, claimed Monday that the president was getting a haircut when the earthquake happened. 
"When the quake hit Davao, the president was having his hair cut. That's what the first lady said," Panelo said. 
This is not the first time that those close to Duterte have had different accounts about the president.
Two things here. First Duterte has a nurse! Second how is it Dutere's men are giving differing explanations of where he was during an event? Why does this keep happening?
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1088914
Police in Kabayan, Benguet continue to provide tour guide services to trekkers in Mt. Pulag, considered a best practice in ensuring safety of tourists. 
“Involving tourists' safety, they are very safe. We are implementing the ‘my police officer is my guide’ program,” said Lieutenant Gilbert Anselmo, Kabayan chief of police, on Monday. 
Kabayan police have been trained on how to serve as tour guides doubling as security, which they do without a fee. The practice has been in effect for years upon request of visitors.
The PNP cannot patrol the roads and enforce traffic laws but they can act as tour guides.  Unbelievable.
The Sandiganbayan’s First Division found former Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) Chairman Camilo Sabio guilty in two graft complaints filed against him and several others in connection with two deals for the lease of service vehicles. 
In a 20-page decision promulgated on Thursday, the court sentenced Sabio to six up to 10 years imprisonment with perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
“In the instant case, two points prove the fact that there was bad faith on the part of Sabio in entering into the subject contracts: (1) not undertaking the required procurement process; and (2), subjecting government funds to unnecessary expenditure without the pre-allocation and the necessity for the same,” the court said 
The cases stemmed from two lease deals allegedly entered into with the UCPB Leasing and Finance Corporation (ULFC) through negotiated procurement without public bidding. 
According to the court’s ruling, ULFC leased out four vehicles to the PCGG through the April 18, 2007 contract while the undated contract leased out five vehicles.
Facing up to 10 years imprisonment because he did not go through the required procurement process for leasing vehicles.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/719617/ampatuans-convicted-over-2009-maguindanao-massacre/story/
A trial court has declared several members of the influential Ampatuan clan guilty of multiple murder for the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao in 2009 that is known as an unprecedented case of election-related violence and an exceptionally brutal attack on the press. 
Among the Ampatuan clan members convicted were former Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan, Anwar Ampatuan Sr., Anwar "Ipi" Ampatuan Jr., and Anwar Sajid "Ulo" Ampatuan. They were judged guilty for 57 counts of murder. 
Along with Manny, Mohades, and Misuari Ampatuan, several police officers and other personalities, they were sentenced to reclusion perpetua, or up to 40 years of imprisonment, without parole. 
Fourteen police officers and Bong Andal, who operated the backhoe in the infamous massacre, were sentenced to six to 10 years in prison after they were found to have acted as accessories to the crime. 
On November 23, 2009, the wife, sisters, relatives, and supporters of a 2010 Maguindanao gubernatorial candidate — challenging an Ampatuan — were on their way to file his candidacy when they were abducted by around a hundred armed men, forced up a remote hill, and shot using high-powered firearms. They were buried in a mass grave. 
Thirty-two of the victims were members of the media who had accompanied the camp of the candidate, Mangudadatu, to cover the filing. Mangudadatu is now a congressman.
Six of the victims were not part of the Mangudadatu and media convoy. 
Aside from being the Philippines' worst case of election-related violence, the massacre is considered by the Committee to Protect Journalists as the single deadliest attack on the press since it began keeping records on journalist deaths.
It took ten years but finally justice has been delivered in this the deadliest case of election violence in the Philippines. A former mayor, his brother who was  governor, and a host of police men and others ambushed a gubernatorial candidate and his supporters and massacred them all. Don't think it could never happen again. It certainly could.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1089146
The Antique Electric Cooperative (ANTECO) needs PHP17 million just to remove the 200 electric posts affected by the road widening project from Barangay Atabay here to Barangay Cubay in Sibalom, Antique. 
In an interview Thursday, ANTECO Technical Services Division manager Neal Peter C. Veñegas said they had a dialogue last Dec. 10 with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Regional Office 6 officials about the posts affected by the road widening. 
He said the affected posts will be removed within this year or early next year. 
“ANTECO has so far removed already 80 posts from Barangay Bantayan to Barangay San Pedro in San Jose de Buenavista town toward Barangay Cubay, Sibalom town but those were the ones that had been prioritized because of the danger these pose to commuters,” he said. 
“Once we remove the pole we have to have it replaced by a new one outside of the DPWH road right of way,” Veñegas said.
Why didn't the DPWH make sure these poles were moved BEFORE they widened the road?  Very stupid and dangerous!
https://www.rappler.com/nation/247150-panelo-says-no-need-duterte-release-2018-saln
Despite President Rodrigo Duterte's promise to be transparent, his own office says it's not his responsibility to make public his 2018 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN). 
The SALN is a critical document that shows the growth or decline in a public official's wealth for the years they held the position. Its public release is seen to be a safeguard against corruption. 
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo, in a statement sent on Friday, December 13, said that the responsibility of releasing Duterte SALN for public scrutiny lies with the Office of the Ombudsman, not with the President. 
"Neither instrument (the Constitution or a law) requires the President to personally and directly furnish a copy thereof to the media or to whomever wants it," said Panelo. 
Duterte's own Freedom of Information executive order reminds officials to "file and make available for scrutiny their (SALN) in accordance with existing laws, rules and regulations, and the spirit and letter of this Order.” 
RA 6713's Implementing Rules and Regulations also state that a copy of SALNs of all filers “shall also be filed with their respective departments, offices or agencies.” 
The supposed absence of rules for public officials to release their own SALNs did not stop Vice President Leni Robredo from having her own office disclose her 2018 SALN. 
Panelo said it was unfair of some camps to take the non-release of Duterte's SALN as proof that the President lacks commitment to transparency. He said saying so is "baseless if not malicious." 
Panelo is totally wrong. Duterte's unwillingness to release his SALN does indeed highlight his lack of commitment to transparency. The Office of the President has not even signed up for the online FOI portal and Duterte's promise to sign an FOI bill has gone unfulfilled.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)