Friday, May 8, 2020

Retards in the Government 153

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


https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/306704/former-policeman-caught-with-shabu-in-lapu-lapu
A former policeman was caught in possession of illegal drugs and paraphernalia at past 3:00 p.m. today April 30, 2020 at the vicinity of a hotel in Barangay Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City. 
The suspect was identified as former PO1 Nick Arthur Rebecca, 34, a native of Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte but presently residing at Barangay Bali-Bali, Compostela town in northern Cebu. 
The suspect was found out to be a dismissed Police Non- Commisioned Officer (PNCO), said Police Lieutenant Colonel Mark Gifter Sucalit, Chief of City Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office. 
Sucalit said that Rebecca was assigned at the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) when he went absent without official leave (AWOL) and was dismissed from service last year.
PNP Officer gone AWOL turns up later as being involved with drugs!

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/736363/barangay-captain-hits-woman-after-scuffle-over-social-amelioration-list/story/
A woman was injured after a barangay captain hit her with a gun after her live-in partner confronted the official over the listing of beneficiaries of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) in Northern Samar. 
The footage of the brawl between barangay captain Lito Orio and Michael Macallan was taken at Barangay Binay in Palapag, according to Ian Cruz's report on "24 Oras". 
Their scuffle, which allegedly started over the list of beneficiaries of the social amelioration, was stopped by barangay residents. 
However, their fight resumed when Orio went to Macallan's house carrying a gun, while the captain's companion brought an axe.
A barangay captain and a man fight over the SAP list and money. The fight is stopped and then the barangay captain and his pal storm over to the man's house brandishing a gun and an axe where the man's live-in-partner is hit in the mouth with the barangay captain's gun.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2020/05/01/2010968/cop-relieved-hitting-boy-13
Meanwhile, a police officer has been relieved from his post for allegedly hitting a 13-year-old boy with a stick for violating quarantine rules in Quezon City. 
Cpl. Albert Aquino of the police community precinct 1 was put on floating status at the Batasan police station. 
Aquino was caught on video arguing with the boy’s mother while holding an arnis stick.
Seems pretty cut and dry. A cop hits a 13 year old boy with a stick and is relieved from his post. PNP says they are investigating.





https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/04/30/son-of-mnlf-cotabato-chair-slain-6-others-hurt-in-ambush/
Gunmen shot dead the son of the chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and wounded six others in a daring attack at Purok Tagumpay-Dos, Barangay Kilada in Matalam, North Cotabato , a police official said on Thursday. 
Police Captain Junrel Amutan, chief of the Matalam municipal police station, identified the slain victim as Norodin Sulayman Ali Ambil, who was also a councilor of Barangay Kilada, Matalam. 
Others wounded in the attack were identified as Romeo Datu Ali Ambil, 54, kagawad of Barangay Kilada; Robert Datu Ali Ambil, 25; Alipin Onotin Ambil, 25; Datu Mauro Ambil Matalam, 15; and Hamarodin Datu Ali Indao, 17, all residents of Barangay Kilada. 
Reports from the police intelligence unit said Ambil was also the deputy chair of the MNLF Sebangan Kutawato State Revolutionary Committee (SKSRC). His father, Datu Dima Ambil, is chair of the MNLF-SKSRC based in Barangay Kilada, Matalam. 
The chief of police said Ambil was driving his Isuzu D’Max pickup truck on their way to his village when the suspects, armed with high-powered guns, pumped bullets into his head. He died instantly. One of the bullets allegedly hit De Leon who was seated next to the kagawad. 
Amutan said they have yet to find out if Ambil’s attack could be part of a ‘rido’ or clan war with another Moro family due to a long standing land feud. 
A year ago, reports said the rido between the Ambil clan and another Moro family led by a certain Naig Naga and Michael Imbong — both members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), was already settled by leaders in the community. 
The latest attack against the Ambil clan caused the displacement of at least 174 families from three puroks of Barangay Kilada.
Two MNLF men who happen to also work for the barangay as a councilor and kagawad were gunned down in what could be a rido or clan feud.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1264197/dswd-probes-social-amelioration-aid-anomaly-in-isabela-town
Some villagers here complained that they received half of their P5,500 allocations because barangay officials decided to divide the money so it could be shared with other residents who were not in DSWD’s list of beneficiaries. 
“The omnibus guidelines are clear. The assistance should be for identified and qualified beneficiaries. The P5,500 should be given in full to the qualified beneficiary, not shared with others. If there is deviation [to the rules] like the money was given to unqualified beneficiaries, the local government may face criminal, civil, or administrative charges,” said Chester Trinidad, regional information officer of the DSWD Cagayan Valley office.
In an interview on Dobol B sa News TV, DILG Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño said around 2,000 complaints were submitted to them. 
Diño said he also received a complaint that some beneficiaries were allegedly charged P2,000 for processing fee for the cash aid. “Meron naman, processing fee, P2,000.” 
Aside from this, some complaints were of residents who just recently moved residences and were not included in the list of beneficiaries, which was based on the census in 2015. 
According to him, the department is already resolving these issues to ensure that qualified beneficiaries will receive the subsidy.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1268870/bulacan-village-councilor-nabbed-for-anomalous-sap-distribution
Police arrested a barangay (village) councilor in Hagonoy town for graft allegations after he has been reportedly collecting more than half of the P6,500 cash aid under the government’s special amelioration program (SAP). 
Col. Roginald Francisco, Hagonoy police chief, said they arrested Danilo Flores, 66, of Barangay San Agustin on Saturday night on the order of President Rodrigo Duterte. 
Flores was caught on video while telling SAP cash aid recipients that they would only get P3,000 of the cash aid and that the remaining P3,500 would be given to the town mayor for distribution to non-SAP beneficiaries.
Lots of trouble in doling out the SAP money. Some officials are even using it to enrich themselves it seems. Who didn't see that coming?

In a phone interview with INQUIRER.net, San Juan City Police chief Col. Jaime Santos said Estrada was invited to the police station to explain. 
“(Former) senator Jinggoy Estrada was invited to our station and we let him explain the manner he distributed the bangus (milkfish) to the people in San Juan,” Santos said. 
“We noticed the violations on social distancing and there is no necessary permit from the mayor. Wala siyang mayor’s permit to do it,” he added.  (He did not have a mayor’s permit to do it). 
Santos said Estrada was later let off with a warning and was told that if he wants to continue with his food distribution activities, he should first get a permit from the city government and ensure that social distancing measures are strictly observed. 
Santos said the former senator was also “given this stern warning not to do it again because we will again be forced to effect his arrest.” 
In a separate interview, San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said Estrada has been conducting unauthorized food distribution operations in different barangays of the city.
Distributing food without a permit from the mayor.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/736450/gov-t-leans-on-domestic-travel-for-tourism-sector-recovery/story/
In a televised briefing on Friday, Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. said short distance travels, especially with family members, may take place once the lockdown measures are lifted by the government. 
"We believe that, for the rest of the year, what will really trigger the activities would be itong domestic tourism movement.”
The Philippines is so dependent on tourism. What is this "domestic tourism movement?" The lockdowns have left people unemployed with diminishing cash reserves. How is anyone going vacation? Not to mention these new GCQ measures will not be lifted anytime soon which will severely restrict movement of people and goods.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101776
Several officials of Barangay Dulag here have been arrested after the police caught them in the middle of drinking liquor while inside the barangay hall amid the extended enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the province. 
A police report issued on Monday said the Lingayen policemen received a tip from a concerned citizen on Sunday about an alleged drinking session of the barangay chairperson and his officials as gunshots were heard in the area, prompting the authorities to respond.

Barangay Chair Benjie Mararac, and incumbent barangay councilors (kagawad) Jerwin Canilang, Arthur Rosario, and Edzel Mararac, along with barangay security enforcers Jaime Ferrer and Ruben Mangiralas, together with a private citizen Harold Calingasin, were caught in the act having a drinking session.

It was also found out that Mararac was responsible for the indiscriminate firing using a .40-caliber pistol he owns, the report added.

Despite the gun having a license and permit to carry, it was confiscated by the police together with the six bottles of gin; five of which were already empty.
A Barangay Chairman and his councilors were caught having a private drinking party inside the barangay hall. They emptied five bottles of gin and one of them fired of his .40-caliber pistol just for kicks.

“Lumobo nung distribution natin ng social amelioration program, ang dami ngayon (The number of complaints ballooned during the  SAP cash assistance distribution),” he added. 
(The problem with distribution is social distancing. Social distancing will repel COVID-19.)
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1267185/dilg-issues-show-cause-orders-vs-5-mayors-100-barangay-captains-for-ecq-violations
“Sa mayors, may 5 mayors, tapos sa barangay captains umaabot na mga 100. Mostly, ay dito sa Metro Manila,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in an interview on dzBB on Thursday when asked about updates on SCOs filed against local officials.
Looks like even LGU officials are having trouble keeping their distance. It's a new crime to clog the jails and courts.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1270674/46-village-execs-in-manila-asked-to-respond-to-irregularities-in-covid-19-relief-efforts
The Manila City government said that it had received complaints that some barangay officials allegedly required residents to sign acknowledgment receipts for P1,000 cash aid under the Manila City Amelioration Crisis Assistance Fund but did not release any cash aid to the beneficiaries. 
The government added that some senior citizens also complained that they did not also receive the milk food supplement assistance from the city government. 
Some barangay officials were also accused of unfair distribution of relief goods, abuse in the issuance of quarantine passes, and pilferage of the contents of food packs.
Making people sign for money but then not giving it, not properly distributing food packs, and some cases stealing from them. All in a day's work for a Philippine LGU official.


https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/05/06/2012103/duterte-apologizes-ayalas-mvp
Saying he had been humbled by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, President Duterte apologized to business tycoons – brothers Jaime and Fernando Zobel de Ayala and Manuel Pangilinan – for badmouthing them in public over what he called their onerous water business deals with the government. 
The President aired his apology in a televised recorded address late Monday. 
“The hurtful words to the Ayalas and to Pangilinan, I apologize for the hurting words. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me – because if you do not, then I will ask – if you do not want to forgive me, I will undercut you. I’ll go direct to God. ‘God, they do not want to forgive me.’ I will ramble again,” Duterte said. 
“Naubos na ho iyong pagkasuplado ko kasi dahil sa (I ran out of grumpiness because of) COVID. The COVID humbled me. That with the kind of response that you gave, showed to the public, it’s a humbling experience also for me that, you know, you might need them one day.  So maybe there will be a lot of legal issues, but we can talk... I am ready to talk and I’d be reasonable,” Duterte said. 
He had claimed that the water deals were “onerous” because they barred the government from stopping water rate hikes and allowed concessionaires to collect damages for losses that stem from regulatory actions. 
The President had also threatened to file economic sabotage, plunder and graft charges against the owners of water firms and to send them to jail. 
“The big business. Let me tell you something. We had problems then, which was really part of governance and which I hope you would understand that it was really part of my sworn duty as... an employee of the government who heads the executive department. Words were, well, mainly mine,” the President said.
What kind of apology is this?  Duterte asks for forgiveness but says if they don't give it to him he threatens that he will complain to God? That's not an apology. And what does this say about his past remarks? That they were all lies?  That he was just being grumpy and the fault was really all on the government's side? He threatened these people with arrest and accused them of basically plundering the nation. That's not just being grumpy.


https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/737077/universal-health-care-funding-projections-to-be-reviewed-due-to-missed-sin-tax-targets/story/
The Cabinet official cited low demand for products such as alcohol and cigarettes amid the quarantine measures being implemented to contain COVID-19 spread. 
Revenue to be generated from additional excise taxes on alcohol, cigarettes as well as its electronic variety are meant to be used for the UHC program and Health Facilities Enhancement Program of the Department of Health.
Low demand!??  The demand is as high as ever.  The problem is their is a liquor and tobacco ban and the DOF approves of it! The solution is to repeal this senseless ban.

Cayetano faced brickbats from his colleagues for his inaction that led to ABS-CBN’s shutdown. One of them, Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza, was forced to apologize publicly for the “failure of Congress to do its job.” 
This is our fault. This is the fault of Congress. More important, I’d like to say squarely — this is Speaker Cayetano’s fault,” he said in an interview aired on ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), which continued to operate under a separate franchise. 
The House legislative franchises committee chaired by Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez had sat on bills renewing ABS-CBN franchise since 2016, spanning the 17th and 18th Congresses. The bill was also sidelined during the later part of the Aquino administration.
Right now everyone is blaming everyone else for the shutdown of ABS-CBN but the real fault lies with Congress.  A bill to renew the ABS-CBN franchise has been sitting idle since 2014. But Congress failed to act on it. When Duterte came to power he vowed to shut down ABS-CBN and veto any bill granting them a franchise. Understandably the Duterte friendly Congress failed to act on the bill. Now Duterte claims he is neutral and would not veto such a bill while PCCO spokesman Anadar is upset with the international media for blaming Duterte for the shutdown.


https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/05/07/2012421/andanar-decries-unfair-international-media-reporting-dutertes-ties-over-abs-cbn-closure
“We decry any claims and assertions associating [Duterte] with the National Telecommunications Commission’s independent and impartial decision to impose a cease and desist order against ABS-CBN Corporation,” Andanar said in a statement Thursday. 
“Such claims are bereft of truth and just a rehash of an old malicious imputation to bedevil the President and his administration,” he added.
What a ridiculous twisting of the facts. It is a combination of Congress' laziness and Duterte's ire which has brought this situation about. With the coronavirus crisis it likely won't be anytime soon before ABS-CBN is broadcasting again. 


“(The) 357, it was already submitted to the President. We are waiting for (response), (of course), the President is very busy right now,” Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Gen. Archie Gamboa, told reporters in a press conference after the turnover ceremony of the We Heal As One Center in Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Why does the president have to deal with these cops? Can't the PNP decide what to do with them? "The President is very busy right now." That's an understatement! But wait, there's more narco cops!

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101889
The national adjudication board of the Philippine National Police (PNP) will begin its probe on the second batch of police officers allegedly involved in illegal drugs, a ranking official said Tuesday. 
Lt. Gen. Camilo Cascolan, PNP deputy chief for administration and board chairperson, said the second batch consists of 352 cops, 83 of whom are under their National Watchlist on Illegal Drugs (NWID), while 269 are under their Counter Intel Watchlist (CIW). 
He added that the probe results on the first batch, composed of 357 police officers accused of having links to the illegal drugs trade, have already been submitted to the office of PNP chief, Gen. Archie Gamboa.
That is 709 narco cops! Are there more? Of course there are.

Thursday, May 7, 2020

Picture of the Week: Caught in the Act

Like a deer caught in the headlights this dog gave me quite the look of surprise when I took his picture.



He and his buddy are just enjoying a light snack of chicken McDo. No big deal right? I let them alone and kept walking. 

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Coronavirus Lockdown: Hatched Balut, Living in a Tricycle, and A Coffin Full of Gin

As the lockdown continues in full and in part across the nation crazy things continue to happen.

With street vendors forbidden from hawking their wares and people forbidden to drink and hang out outside their homes the balut industry is taking a hit.

In Pateros City, around 300 balut or fertilized duck eggs have hatched into ducklings in what could be a reminder of how long the enhanced community quarantine has been in effect. 
Known for its balut and salted eggs, the city is feeling the impact of the lockdown that started on March 17, which has halted almost all economic activities as a way of containing the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). 
Deo Reyes, who is in the balut business had to give away the ducklings and his stocks of around 15,000 eggs because of slow sales,  according to Bam Alegre's Tuesday report on 24 Oras. 
"Hundred percent. Wala talagang pinakinabangan the last two months. Lumaking sisiw, eh. Papunta na siya doon and then imbis na masayang, pinamigay namin sa mga taga-Pateros," Reyes said. 
He said some of the eggs were given to health workers and other frontliners. 
With a population of 70,000, the municipality of Pateros did not receive a large budget which can be used to give aid to balut makers as most had gone to relief goods for residents.
With no one to eat the duck embryos they have hatched into full ducklings. But what will healthcare workers do with the ducks? Where will they raise them?

Many small businesses like balut sellers might never come back due to new strict DOH protocols.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/companies/736034/small-micro-businesses-may-opt-to-close-for-good-due-to-covid-19-protocol-demands-ecop/story/
The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) on Wednesday said small and micro businesses may just close their operations altogether than comply with the strict health protocols against the COVID-19. 
Interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV, ECOP chair Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said these businesses, which makes the 90% of enterprises in the country, do not have enough resources to continue their operations unlike large businesses. 
“Yung mga medium saka large company, walang problema ‘yan, pero 'yung small at micro natin, malaking problema 'yan. Sa dami ng ihahanda mo, baka ayaw na lang magbukas ng mga yan,” he said. 
According to ECOP, 90% of businesses in the country are micro and small enterprises, 8% are medium, and the remaining 2% are large.
Could the Philippines really see 90% of the economy vanish? Is the Philippines on the verge of an economic apocalypse?

Duterte has set aside more reward money. This time it's P20 million for any Pinoy who can develop a respirator.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/04/29/2010529/p20-million-any-pinoy-who-develops-respirator
President Duterte is offering a P20-million reward to any Filipino who develops respirators for patients infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Malacañang announced yesterday. 
The respirators should “outlast the lives of the patients,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said. 
Duterte made the offer amid the global shortage of respirators and ventilators due to the high demand in treating patients severely infected with COVID-19, according to Roque.
Perhaps he means a ventilator? It should be an easy reward to claim since respirators were invented long ago. Ventilators too!

Deaths continue to mount from COVID-19. What to do with the bodies until they can be cremated?

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/735972/qc-creates-mobile-morgue-as-covid-19-deaths-mount/story/
The Quezon City (QC) government has created a “mobile morgue” to temporarily house bodies that are awaiting cremation. 
According to a 24 Oras report by Saleema Refran on Tuesday, the Baesa Crematorium has cremated 140 bodies since March 24, including 13 which were confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. 
Since COVID-19 hit QC, the local government noted that at least 10 families go to their one-stop-shop to process death certificates every day. 
As deaths continue to mount due to the pandemic, QC has converted a 40-foot-tall refrigerated container van into a mobile morgue that can house 40 to 45 bodies.
It seems only one mobile morgue has been deployed which is in stark contrast to New York which has deployed 45.

The lockdown has not been kind at all tricycle and jeepney drivers. With a total ban on public transportation some of them have lost everything and have ended up living in their tricycles and jeepnies.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/familyandrelationships/736167/family-lives-inside-tricycle-after-losing-source-of-income-amid-quarantine/story/
A tricycle driver and his family have resorted to living inside a tricycle after he lost his only source of income amid the enhanced community quarantine. 
According to Bernadette Reyes' report for "24 Oras," the family could no longer afford to pay rent and opted to endure living in the cramped space. They eat inside the tricycle and cook on the streets. 
Joel, the driver, collects cardboards wherever he could find them and sells it to junk shops just to feed his family every day.
Some netizens put up a Facebook group called "SuperTsuper" to facilitate donations for PUV drivers 

In the jeep that a driver and his family live in after they couldn't pay rent and lost their home since all passenger car travel was stopped. They rely on passing motorists to cross the food daily. In this jeep they sleep and eat while on the side of the road they cook and do laundry.
That is really just awful. While there is a Facebook group to raise donations for these people who knows if they will get that money when the government is having a hard time distributing the SAP funds.

Could you take in an old homeless man? One family did.  Turns out they were already homeless and living in a cart!

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/familyandrelationships/736162/homeless-family-takes-in-tired-and-hungry-elderly-man-amid-quarantine/story/
A homeless family took in a tired and hungry elderly man they met amid the enhanced community quarantine
According to Bernadette Reyes' report for "24 Oras," Genesis Cunanan lives in a cart with his wife and child. 
When the lockdown was imposed, they came across Lolo Gerry, who was already weak and starving. 
"The man had his belongings, and then of course we were sorry because we were heavy, we rode," Genesis said. 
"Blessing it, eh, share your blessings is not there so that's what I'm doing," he added.
This man living in a cart with his family is talking about sharing your blessings! Doesn't that make you feel like an unappreciative jerk?

Part of the new normal will be that the elderly and the young, those 20 and under and those 60 and over) will not be able to leave their houses even under a general quarantine. But there is something else that will be part of that new normal.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/04/30/2010757/seniors-arms-over-quarantine-rules
ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said government’s rule of not allowing senior citizens or those aged 60 and above, as well as the young or 20 years old and below, to leave their homes during GCQ may lead to people losing their jobs. 
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said shopping malls that will reopen in areas under relaxed quarantine are required to set their air-conditioning units at higher thermostat to prevent crowding. “The general rule is unlike in the past when we go to the malls for recreation and leisure, they (mall owners) will keep the temperature rather warm at 26 (degrees Celsius) so that people will not be loitering in the malls,” Roque told ABS-CBN News Channel. ?Restrictions in areas with low to moderate risks will be downgraded from enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to GCQ by May 1.
Warmer malls!  The malls will be kept at a warm 26 C of 78 F to keep people from loitering.

Imagine you live way out in the middle of nowhere.  You are going about your business when you hear a whirring sound growing louder and louder.  It's a helicopter! Is it blasting Fortunate Son or Flight of the Valkyries as it drops face masks and leaflets all over the countryside and your remote village?
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1268368/1766-rats-eliminated-in-pied-piper-contest-at-baguio-market-during-quarantine
The Philippine Army dropped leaflets on coronavirus disease and facemasks in remote villages of the Agusan and Surigao provinces this week. 
Major Francisco Garello, civil-military operations officer of the 402nd Infantry Brigade said they used a Philippine Air Force Huey helicopter and two MG-520 gunships to drop 10,000 leaflets and 200 facemasks on Wednesday and Thursday. 
“This was part of our COVID-19 information awareness campaign to remote communities unreachable by vehicles,” Garello said. 
He said the airdrop concentrated on the remote villages of the towns of Kitcharao, Jabonga and Tubay in Agusan del Norte, and the towns of Alegria and Gigaquit in Surigao del Norte. 
He said they reached out to residents of these remote villages to urge them to observe the guidelines of the Department of Health on the virus.
How many of those 10,000 leaflets and 200 masks are littering the countryside?

Do you know what to do with your disposable face mask once it is finished being used?

https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/04/29/public-urged-to-separate-used-face-masks-from-household-garbage/
The Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines (SWAPP) asked the public on Wednesday to separate used masks in a yellow garbage bag to allow waste collectors to know that a medical waste is included in the household waste. 
“I hope that households do not include (used) face masks in the municipal waste picked up by our garbage collectors,” SWAPP president Grace Sapuay said in an interview on DZBB. 
Medical wastes, such as face masks and gloves, are being dumped with the household garbage, while garbage collectors unknowingly pick up the medical waste that further poses the risk of infection. 
“We specifically call on all households who have members identified as persons under investigation or persons under monitoring (of COVID-19) to take extra precaution in handling their special wastes by initially disinfecting it with chlorine based solution prior to collection to prevent any further spread of the COVID-19 virus in the community,” the EMB said. 
Practicing proper waste segregation is in accordance with the Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act 2000. 
“Proper handling of household healthcare wastes, such as used face masks and gloves that are considered as special wastes will help stop the spread of COVID-19,” the EMB said.
How is the public supposed to separate medical waste (face masks) from their normal garbage when they don't segregate garbage now and too many practice open burning? RA 9003 is a joke and is hardly enforced or put into practice.

Some folks have not gotten their SAP money yet. One man will never get it.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/306942/man-waiting-to-claim-his-sap-cash-dies-of-heatstroke
Residents of Dumanjug, a southern town in Cebu, are being reminded to bring with them umbrellas or have someone accompany them when they run errands to avoid heatstroke this summer season. 
This, after a 59-year-old man who was supposed to receive his social amelioration program (SAP) assistance, was unable to claim them after he died of heatstroke while walking home for lunch in Barangay Lawaan, Dumanjug, Cebu on May 1, 2020. 
Police Major Ardioleto Cabagnot, chief of Dumanjug Police, said that the victim, Lolito Ferrer, from the same place, was found dead on a farm field about 300 meters away from Barangay Lawaan Hall at past 1 p.m. today. 
Responding medical personnel Dr. Josefina Malana, declared Ferrer dead due to heatstroke. 
It was found out that Ferrer might have been dead for hours before his body was found. 
Cabagnot said that prior to the incident, Ferrer was lining up to get his SAP, but he decided to go home to eat lunch when his name was not yet called then.
Just how far did he have to walk to get home?

Truly COVID-19 is the great equalizer. All around the world rich and famous celebrities are hunkered down in their mansions just like us! Some of them even got the virus just like us! They also get bored and post quarantine selfies on Instagram just like us! They also have to go shopping for groceries and then disinfect when they return home just like us!

https://entertainment.inquirer.net/373708/aldens-new-role-household-runner-during-quarantine
Alden is the household’s designated “runner”: He’s the one who goes out grocery shopping and takes care of utilities. As such, it’s crucial, he said, to take extra precaution, especially since he’s living with his grandparents. “I can’t risk their health and welfare,” he said. “I can’t let them get sick.” 
“Upon returning home from the grocery, our Ate Virgie (house help) would be waiting for me in the garage, where I change clothes. I disinfect my exposed body parts, especially my arms, before entering the house through the backdoor,” he related. “Then, I go straight to my room and take a bath.” 
One of the realizations Alden has had during this pandemic is that the virus has been an equalizer of sorts. “Regardless of who you are or what you have, when it comes to life and death… It has been an eye-opener for everyone. There’s a lot at stake. We have to be selfless,” he said. “What’s happening right now is something we can’t fully understand, and feels unfair, sometimes. But maybe there’s a reason for everything,” added Alden, who has been using his free time to “reestablish connections” with family and friends.
Wow!  He's just like us!

One stressed out NYC-based OFW has been using her spare time to destress by manufacturing face masks.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/familyandrelationships/736167/family-lives-inside-tricycle-after-losing-source-of-income-amid-quarantine/story/
A Filipina based in the United States, as a form of stress relief, started making face masks which she then donates to those in need. 
Based in New York, Chona Villacorta started making face masks with prints that she donates to her friends and family, as well as her colleagues. 
"We have so many reasons how we can help during this pandemic and you know... we can also pray for other people," she said in a report on GMA's 24 Oras Weekend" on Sunday. 
Villacorta currently makes 15 masks in an hour and could do as much as 60 during the weekends. She has given these out to her colleagues, including her boss' family.
That's nice but will that fabric really protect anyone from contracting COVID-19 or any other virus?

The nationwide lockdowns have been hard on everyone even the Aetas. Some volunteers have taken it upon them to provide them with what they need.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1268592/aid-volunteers-trek-through-rivers-lahar-land-checkpoints-to-reach-hungry-aetas
Tarlac province, along with the rest of Luzon, has been under strict quarantine since March 17, as the government tries to contain the spread of the coronavirus. 
Locking down the population will starve the virus of hosts, saving thousands if not millions of Filipino lives. But it’s a big-picture approach that can have dire consequences for those living in the margins. 
Thus, community workers like Arby (who asked to be identified only by his nickname for security reasons) are worried that hundreds of quarantined Aeta families in Capas might starve first as their income sources vanish and food becomes scarce. 
Arby said he tries to make deliveries to over 250 families in Santa Juliana and Bueno every other week. But with the supply of goods running dry in Cristo Rey, Arby is urging donors to ship powdered milk directly to his house instead of cash. 
“There are so many families to feed,” he said. “We focus on the children. But sometimes even the elderly approach us asking for food to eat. How can I say no?” 
Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the Aetas of Capas made money as tour guides or traveled to towns such as Cristo Rey to sell kamote, ginger and banana heart harvested in their own lands. 
Among the estimated 10 to 20 million indigenous peoples (IPs) scattered across the Philippines, the Aetas cope with poverty, lack of economic opportunities and discrimination. 
Their isolation means they have no easy access to basic social services. In many cases around the country, IPs receive less priority when it comes to local government aid, private donors have told the Inquirer. 
Like most of the poor, they are bearing the brunt of the lockdown. 
Unlike Capas, the Aetas in Zambales are more isolated. Ammay said she worked hard to earn their trust. 
“It was different before we came here in 2015. If someone was very ill, they just wait for the person to die if their herbal medicines are not effective,” she said. “Today, I can coordinate with the local government and they now allow us to treat their sick.” 
“Tourism gets them out of the hunger zone. But the land has to produce something,” Dionisio said in an interview. 
Before the lockdown, money generated from tourism helped pay the Aetas to plant fruit trees such as sampaloc, guyabano and jackfruit. These will later create a sustainable source of income.
How did the Aetas, who are indigenous people, survive for hundreds of years but now cannot do without tourism bucks?

Tired of dancing yet?  These cops aren't!

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/307709/pro-7-dancers-teach-public-on-ecq-guidelines-good-hygiene-through-dance
Patrolman Christian Dabuco, currently assigned to the City Mobile Force Company (CMFC) of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) and a member of the PRO-7 dance troupe says he and his fellow police-dancers have come up with ways to migrate their thoughts from the challenges posed by COVID-19 like dancing with his colleagues during their free time. 
“Amoa nalang gyud isayaw amoang kaguol aning virus (We just dance our sadness caused by this virus),” said Dabuco. 
Then last May 1, Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, director of PRO-7, asked the dancers to come up with a dance presentation with a twist. 
And the twist is: the dance steps should help remind the public about the rules of ECQ and proper hygiene. 
The performance must then be filmed and uploaded in social media since social gatherings are still prohibited. 
Dabuco said that his fellow dance troupe members were ecstatic about the idea of encouraging the public about following the ECQ rules and practicing proper hygiene through their dance. 
And so on the evening of May 3, after the video was edited, it was immediately uploaded online.
Who knew the PNP had a dance troupe? Like busy bees these cops are dancing out an important message about proper hygiene.  You can watch it on Facebook here.


The liquor ban is still in effect and people are getting mighty thirsty.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101906
“We sensed that something was wrong because of the speed of the hearse and especially when the driver maneuvered when he saw a checkpoint,” he added.

Authorities chased after the hearse until they were able to intercept it at Barangay Biec this town.

“Upon inspection, we saw inside the casket three boxes of liquor (gin). Each box contains 24 bottles of gin,” Palisoc said.
That's not a dead body! Hopefully it's real gin and not some bootleg poison.

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Insurgency: Sexual Abuse

The CPP-NPA's ceasefire is officially over and now the will resume their fruitless 50 year fight against the oppressive forces of the Western allied Philippine government. 

https://www.rappler.com/nation/259596-cpp-npa-ends-ceasefire-may-1-2020
“The refusal of the Duterte regime to relent in its attacks against the NPA, despite calls for a ‘global ceasefire,’ has made the further extension of the NPA ceasefire impossible,” the party said on its official website.
Apparently all the attacks by the NPA on AFP soldiers and others handing out goods had nothing to do with the response of the "Duterte regime." 

Members of the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People’s Army Terrorist (CNT) group fired upon troopers of the joint 79th Infantry Battalion and the 6th Special Action Force Battalion in Sitio Sicaba, Barangay Gawahon in Victorias City, April 24. 
Troopers were conducting information dissemination to the communities about COVID-19 pandemic, residents of Sitio Sicaba complained about the presence and extortion activities of the CNTs and upon securing the area, the CNTs spontaneously fired upon the government troops forcing them to return fire. 
The firefight ensued for about 30 minutes that led the NPAs to withdrew to different directions and were seen dragging four of their comrade casualties leaving also two wounded government soldiers during the pursuit operation. 
According to Alvaran, the NPA terrorist group were about to explode IED which indicates a clear violation against humanitarian law. 
Recovered from the encounter site were improvised explosive devices, guns, ammunitions, radios, personal belongings and subversive documents.
The announcement of the ceasefire has the PNP  on full alert.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/736538/pnp-goes-on-full-alert-after-cpp-npa-ndf-ends-ceasefire/story/
"The 205,000 strong PNP under the command of Police General Archie Francisco F Gamboa is now on full alert and is ready and able to defend the country against any atrocities of this communist terrorist group," it said. 
"The PNP Chief also condemns this act by the CPP-NPA-NDF as it endangers government response to overcome the pandemic," the PNP added.
With the insurgency on-going for 50 years now one would think the PNP is always on full alert. 

Peace talks wth the communists are also over. Again. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1265601/no-more-peace-talks-with-communist-rebels
“Again, this is a sad thing to know that my soldiers were killed while doing the most honorable task of accompanying the government workers delivering money and food,” Duterte said, speaking partly in Filipino,  in a televised address on Monday. 
“I am so sad about this development, but there will always be a time for reckoning. There [are] no more peace talks to talk about. I am not, I will never be ready for any round of talks,” he added. “Because, simply, the NPA [New People’s Army], the Communist Party of the Philippines, [have] no respect either for their spoken words or in their deeds of killing soldiers who are on humanitarian missions.”
Peace talks with the CPP were always dead in the water because they want the CASER agreement to be implemented and that will never happen. 

The AFP says the NPA is worse than COVID-19 as they continue their attacks.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101461
"These terrorists are worse than the Covid-19 pandemic. (Even in) crisis, they continue with their antagonism rather than help people in need,” said Maj. Gen. Eric Vinoya, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, which covers the provinces in Western and Central Visayas.
Evidence that NPA men are abusing their female comrades has come to light recently.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101081
The recovery of boxes of anti-pregnancy pills from a lair of the New People’s Army (NPA) overran by the military in Northern Samar is a proof of the communist terrorist group's sexual abuse of its female combatants, the Philippine Army said. 
Maj. Gen. Pio Diñoso III, commander of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division, said in a statement on Monday that the recent discovery reveals the suffering of women fighters under the control of the armed rebels. 
“The anti-pregnancy pills are proof of the situation of women under the unbearable control of the NPA terrorists. Women fighters could have been compelled to take anti-pregnancy pills and they might have been forced to become sex objects of some NPA leaders,” he said. 
He said the abuse of female NPA members is common in areas where they operate. Women have become subject to sexual exploitation by NPA leaders and other members, according to the official. 
“Former rebels said that some women end up as party wife of other NPAs while others end up only as sex objects of some leaders or senior members. Most often, pregnant NPAs are being abandoned by their leaders and companions in dire situations,” he added.
Birth control pills? Seems a little odd seeing as how the NPA trains child soldiers and last week it was noted that the AFP had seen children observing an encounter with the NPA. It would appear that some NPA soldiers drag their children around with them. Not all NPA ladies are taking birth control pills.


https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1268864/2-npa-members-one-of-them-pregnant-surrender-in-sarangani-province
He identified the pregnant woman as a certain Diane, resident of Barangay Lagao, General Santos City, who used to serve as a medical officer of the NPA’s FSMR. 
He also said Diane was “emotional” because she did not know how she would be able to give birth to her first-born child if she stayed with the rebel group. 
“For seven months, she said she had not seen a doctor for a check-up. She also said if not because of the military, she wouldn’t know she would be having a baby girl,” the official said. 
Valdez said Diane was also calling on her husband to surrender.
A husband and his pregnant wife battling the government together. How romantic. 

Sadly children are often collateral victims in the war against terrorism.


https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1268859/maguindanao-mayor-orders-probe-of-grenade-blast-that-killed-minors
Two grade school children Nash Utto and Edris Guiaman died of multiple shrapnel wounds after the grenade they found exploded on Saturday, police said. 
Mayor Ampatuan said the children were hunting for birds in the wetland when they found a fragmentation grenade. The children were playing with the item when it went off, he said, citing reports from the police. 
The victims were immediately buried by relatives on Saturday, following Islamic rites. 
Barangay Sampao has been the site of previous clashes between government forces and Islamic State-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). The grenade that the children found could have been a part of the unexploded ordnance that litter the clash site, Ampatuan said. 
The mayor said measures must be put in place to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future.
He said he would coordinate with military bomb experts to help locate other unexploded ordnance which might still be littering about in the former battlefront.
The best measure to prevent these incidents is for the Islamic and communist insurgencies to end. How much unexploded ordnance and grenades are littering the Philippines?

Sixteen labor leaders with links to the CPP-NPA have been arrested.  They claim that the CPP hired them to destabilize the industrial sector.


https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101688
Some 16 labor leaders, who admitted connections to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA), surrendered to the military and police during short ceremonies in Calamba, Laguna Friday. 
The surrenderers claimed that they are members of a labor union at a soft drinks plant in Sta. Rosa and were recruited by the communist rebels to join their underground movement as part of the efforts to destabilize the industrial sector which is known in CPP-NPA parlance as "white area operations".  
In a statement forwarded to the Philippine News Agency Saturday, Army’s 202nd Infantry Brigade commander Col. Alex Rillera, which has operational jurisdiction over the Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Quezon (CALABARZON) industrial areas, said four of the surrenderers are already full-time CPP members with the rest "kandidatong kasapi". 
Kandidatong kasapi are recruits who are just a few courses away from attaining full-time membership. 
Rillera said four of the surrenderers turned over four firearms and admitted to having already experienced joining the NPAs in the mountains and participating in the terrorist group’s operations. 
“This surrender supports the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and the PNP (Philippine National Police)'s earlier assessment that the NPA terrorists are infiltrating the industrial areas through the labor unions to force the companies to shut their operations down so that innocent employees will be agitated to go against the government,” he said.
What prompted them to surrender? More importantly will they qualify to receive E-CLIP benefits?

No birth controls pills have been found among the stuff of the Abu Sayyaf. Just marijuana plants.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101645
Joint government forces have discovered and destroyed a marijuana plantation maintained by an alleged supporter of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the province of Sulu, officials said Saturday. 
Lt. Col. Oliver Baylon, Marine Battalion Landing Team 7 (MBLT-7) commander, said the marijuana plantation was discovered in Sitio Mangal-Mangal, Barangay Masjid Punjungan, Kalingalang Caluang town on Friday. 
Baylon said the marijuana plantation was discovered when MBLT-7 troopers and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) operatives launched an operation against a drug personality identified as a certain Sahabi in Sitio Mangal-Mangal in Barangay Masjid Punjungan. 
“While scouring the reported haven, operating troops discovered six plantation sites of fully grown and two plantation sites of newly planted marijuana,” he said. 
Baylon said the marijuana plantation has a total land area of 2,100 square meters with more or less 22,000 fully-grown marijuana, estimated by the PDEA to be worth PHP5.1 million. 
Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan, Joint Task Force Sulu commander, said Sahabi is a supporter of the ASG and the marijuana plantation is another source of fund of the bandits and their supporters. 
The joint marines and PDEA operatives, in collaboration with barangay officials of Masjid Punjungan, uprooted and burned the marijuana plants.
Joint government forces destroy marijuana plantation. That's one source of funds destroyed. The AFP also continues engage the ASG in battle.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1266229/abu-sayyaf-gunman-killed-soldier-injured-in-sulu-clash
An Abu Sayyaf gunman was killed in a clash with government forces in Indanan, Sulu on Tuesday (April 28). 
Major General Corleto Vinluan, commander of Joint Task Force Sulu, said the brief encounter happened in Barangay Tumatangis of Indanan town around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The soldiers were on foot patrol when an undetermined number of bandits fired upon them. As government forces returned fire, an Abu gunman fell. 
A soldier also suffered slight injuries in the exchange of gunfire, Vinluan said. 
Vinluan added that an M16 assault rifle with M203 grenade launcher was recovered from the killed bandit.
One ASG dead and only one AFP soldier hurt is a much better outcome than the carnage from a few weeks ago when 12 AFP soldiers were killed in an encounter with the ASG. The MNLF also clashed with Abu Sayyaf.

https://www.kalinawnews.com/mnlf-clash-with-asg-in-sulu/
The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) clashed with the elements of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) at Sitio Bunga, Brgy. Buanza, Indanan, Sulu, around 9 o’clock in the morning on April 24, 2020. 
MNLF troops encountered more or less fifty (50) fully armed ASG in a firefight that lasted for about forty (40) minutes according to MNLF coordinator, Lieutenant Colonel Esnani Mai. 
Prior to the clash, troops under MNLF Commander Abraham Joel conducted patrol in response to the alleged presence of ASG hiding near the MNLF Community in Brgy. Kagay, Indanan, Sulu. 
Seven (7) MNLF members suffered minor injuries as result of the skirmish and were immediately brought to Kuta Heneral Teodulfo Bautista Station Hospital. One of the injured members was thereafter transported to Zamboanga City via helicopter for further treatment. 
Major General Corleto S. Vinluan Jr. AFP, Commander of Joint Task Force Sulu and 11th Infantry Division lauded the efforts of the MNLF in assisting the troops in maintaining peace in Sulu. “I appreciate the contributions of the MNLF as one of the peace-inclined groups in our efforts to secure the whole province for the betterment of every Suluanon,” he said. 
The MNLF are now in pursuit tracking down the confronted ASG.
Imagine the AFP thanking one group of terrorists for confronting another group of terrorists. You don't have to because it actually happened. They actually called the MNLF, a terrorist group, "peace-inclined." 

https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/04/30/son-of-mnlf-cotabato-chair-slain-6-others-hurt-in-ambush/
Gunmen shot dead the son of the chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and wounded six others in a daring attack at Purok Tagumpay-Dos, Barangay Kilada in Matalam, North Cotabato , a police official said on Thursday. 
Police Captain Junrel Amutan, chief of the Matalam municipal police station, identified the slain victim as Norodin Sulayman Ali Ambil, who was also a councilor of Barangay Kilada, Matalam. 
Others wounded in the attack were identified as Romeo Datu Ali Ambil, 54, kagawad of Barangay Kilada; Robert Datu Ali Ambil, 25; Alipin Onotin Ambil, 25; Datu Mauro Ambil Matalam, 15; and Hamarodin Datu Ali Indao, 17, all residents of Barangay Kilada. 
Reports from the police intelligence unit said Ambil was also the deputy chair of the MNLF Sebangan Kutawato State Revolutionary Committee (SKSRC). His father, Datu Dima Ambil, is chair of the MNLF-SKSRC based in Barangay Kilada, Matalam. 
The chief of police said Ambil was driving his Isuzu D’Max pickup truck on their way to his village when the suspects, armed with high-powered guns, pumped bullets into his head. He died instantly. One of the bullets allegedly hit De Leon who was seated next to the kagawad. 
Amutan said they have yet to find out if Ambil’s attack could be part of a ‘rido’ or clan war with another Moro family due to a long standing land feud. 
A year ago, reports said the rido between the Ambil clan and another Moro family led by a certain Naig Naga and Michael Imbong — both members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), was already settled by leaders in the community. 
The latest attack against the Ambil clan caused the displacement of at least 174 families from three puroks of Barangay Kilada.
There is nothing peaceful about the MNLF or the MILF. They use terror to get what they want. Right now what the MNLF wants is Sulu because Duterte has promised to give it to MNLF leader Misuari. To do that they have to get rid of the ASG. It's opportunism not peace.

The big name groups always grab the spotlight but this week a lesser-known ISIS affiliate launched a brazen daytime attack on the PNP.

Suspected members of the ISIS-inspired Ansar Al-Khilafah Philippines terror group killed on Wednesday two policemen while conducting patrol in an outskirt village in Polomolok, South Cotatabato. 
Lt. Col. Alex Joe Orcajada, Polomolok police chief, said the four policemen, aboard two motorcycles, were conducting patrol in Barangay Koronadal Proper, Polomolok when waylaid by seven heavily-armed gunmen believed to be AKP members led by Jeoffrey Nilong. 
Police said the suspects are also engaged in the illegal drugs trade, gun-for-hire, and carnapping activities as sources of their operational funds. 
“The attack was carried out against the police after local police authorities conducted law enforcement operations against the terror group in the locality,” Orcajada said. 
AKP is founded by Mohammad Jaafar Maguid, an estranged Moro Islamic Liberation Front leader who pledged allegiance to the ISIS until he was killed during a military operation in Kiamba, Sarangani in January, 2017. 
Nilong, also an MILF member, assumed the leadership of the AKP which operates in SOCSARGEN (South Cotabato, Sarangani and General Santos) area.
AKP may be lesser-known but they are managed by a MILF member. So how is it that MILF is all for peace and is decommissioning but one of their own runs this terrorist outfit? It's a tangled web of terrorism in Muslim Mindanao.

Everything about the Philippines war on terrorism and the mechanisms they use to fight it are upside down and backwards. Take martial law for instance. A tool to be used only as a last resort in times of rebellion or invasion.


https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/04/20/in-justifying-probable-martial-law-panelo-says-covid-19-can-be-considered-an-invasion
Panelo said the coronavirus pandemic threatens the whole country which means that there is an "actual invasion" happening.  
"May bago nang international meaning ang invasion...It can mean the entry of a disease and the transfer from one area to another," he said in his commentary program. 
"Ano bang meron ngayon (What do we have now)? There is an actual invasion of the coronavirus disease which is pandemic," he said. 
While the Constitution requires a rebellion or an invasion as a basis for declaring martial law, Panelo said the charter also states that public safety could require an extraordinary measure. 
The coronavirus pandemic falls into the classification of a threat to public safety, he said. 
"It threatens in fact the entire country yung lahat ng mga kababayan natin so may actual na invasion," he said. 
(In my view as a lawyer, all situations that can be likened to a rebellion or invasion and threatens or serves as an imminent danger to the public can be met with an extraordinary power under the constitution.)
"All situation which can be likened to" an invasion.  What a broad interpretation of the law that is. Marital law likely won't be declared because of the virus but at least we can see how those in Malacañang think.