Monday, February 14, 2022

Book Review: Marcos Legacy Revisited: Raiders of the Lost Gold

Marcos Legacy Revisited: Raiders of the Lost Gold reads like a collection of short stories with a similar theme more than a book with a coherent singular story. That's because each chapter focuses on a different account concerning the Marcos gold narrative. What this book ultimately reveals is that no one knows the truth about Marcos' gold. There are too many conflicting reports, eyewitness accounts, and documents. The majority of the stories in this book are based on unproven and unprovable speculation.

Even the editor of this book says she does not know if the author, Erick San Juan, is being factual.

How much of Erick's book is based on fact, and how much on conjecture, is difficult to say. What is easy to conclude is that if there is one single person who has looked at the gold from a wide range of angles and has accumulated wheel-barrow loads of documentation, that person is Erick.

p. xi

While looking at a subject from a "wide range of angles" is usually a strength, this approach ultimately only serves to cause a lot of doubt. This is because Erick San Juan is very clear about what is the source of the Marcos gold. It is not the Yamashita treasure as many claim. 

...the Marcos gold haul is separate and distinct from the Yamashita treasure. The former dwarfs the latter, in terms of the total amount involved.

A close friend, privileged to have read the contents of Marcos' last will and testament, swears that when he scanned the document about seven years ago, he realized he was actually looking at a few sheets of paper worth US$947 billion!

p. 2

Erick says the Yamashita treasure cannot be the Marcos gold because the Japanese successfully shipped all of that gold back to Tokyo and used it as a loan to the Illuminati in exchange for Western technology.

Moreover, the Japanese war booty was successfully shipped to Tokyo after the first route of Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, from Singapore to Mongolia, and the rest kept in the Philippines by officers of the Japanese imperial forces, after having been buried in 172 carefully selected sites within the Philippine archipelago, prior to 1945. It was largely made up of gold bars, assorted jewelry and religious artifacts seized from the ship Awa Maru, General Percival, and the defeated British forces of Malaya and Singapore.

Later, the Japanese government used a big chunk of it as an "investment loan" to the "Illuminati," in exchange for Anglo-Saxon technology which it badly needed to rebuild the ravaged Land of the Rising Sun.

p. 3

Erick does bring up the discovery of the golden Buddha by Rogelio Roxas in 1970 but he dismisses it saying no other evidence of the Yamashitsa treasure still being in the Philippines has ever been found.

Aside from the rare discovery by Roxas, no other evidence indicating that the treasure of Yamashita really existed was ever found. Clearly, the Japanese succeeded in shipping everything that was looted to Japan. It was to be Tokyo's solid investment and contribution to the all-powerful rulers of the world, the Illuminati, which helped transform Japan into a superpower despite its humiliating defeat in the hands of the Allied Forces.

p. 29

Because the author is certain that the Yamashita treasure is not the source of Marcos' gold hoard that makes every single story in this book which does revolve around that narrative false. Maybe. Again, nothing in this book is anywhere near being certain. So, where did Marcos get his gold? Ferdinand Marcos' gold fortune was actually stolen from the Vatican. 

In a recent communication to the Inquirer's editor-in-chief, Letty J. Magasanoc, Tagle revealed, among other things, that Marcos had obtained his wealth from Father Jose Antonio Diaz, the Vatican's Filipino-Spanish treasure, whose expertise in handling the Holy See's priceless possessions gained for him the complete trust of Pope Pius XII, a trust he would later betray.

Jsut before the outbreak of World War II, Tagle continued, Father Diaz returned to the Philippines to secretly carry out his Mose prized agenda. He changed his identity to "Colonel Severino Sta. Romana," to better carry out his devious plan to transfer the Vatican gold bullion and treasures to his personal accounts in various banks. He then befriended a young, brilliant lawyer in the person of Ferdinand E. Marcos, who willingly helped him carry out his clandestine activities. In exchange, Diaz taught the young Marcos everything he needed to master in the art of international gold trading. One proof of this special relationship is the fact that Marcos attended the inaugural ceremony of U.S. President Harry S. Truman as the official representative of J.A. Diaz & Company, a listed firm in the New York Stock Exchange.

p. 5

So, where is the proof that Marcos attended the inauguration of Harry Truman? Erick San Juan does not provide any proof for that claim. In fact despite the almost 200 pages of appendixes showing various documents most of the claims in this book are not sourced. One is left to go searching for proof but the only things that come up are quotes from this book! A Google search does show us a picture of Marcos on the website of the Truman Library.

https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/photograph-records/2013-3136

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos (standing) delivering a speech during the inaugural ceremony for the Pacific War Memorial. Seated behind him are United States Ambassador to the Philippines G. Mennen Williams (front row, third from the left), Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos (fourth from left), and Nancy (Mrs. G. Mennen) Williams (fifth from left). All others are unidentified. The memorial is located on the island of Corregidor, Philippines. June 22, 1968

It is not my job to fact check this book but many of the stories told are simply not possible. I am speaking of the amount of gold and amount of money allegedly owned by Marcos.

I have seen documents  saying that the gold under the control of the umbrella (there are smaller stocks not reported to or controlled by the umbrella) is in the neighborhood of 1.33 million metric tons (MT). Whether one believes this figure or a lessor figure is not material given the magnitude of the entire scenario. One metric ton of gold is worth about $11 million. The Phippines' annual gold production is estimated at between 40-60 metric tons. The world's "legal" annual gold production, which is regulated by the London gold cartel so as not to upset gold pricesas well as the value of currencies of the world, is estimated at between 1,200 to 1,400 metric tons.

p. 46

That is from a report by PTV4 given to Cory Aquino. The Umbrella is 54 people tasked by Marcos to manage his assets in the event of his death. Who are they? We are never told. This report also says that the Yamashita treasure

...appears to be the basis for the Marcos' hidden wealth.

p. 43

That effectively makes this story a lie from the author's viewpoint. There are also not 1.33 million metric tons of gold in the world. The total amount of gold ever mined in the entire world is 166,500 tonnes. Of course there is no official figure on the total amount of gold ever mined and estimates vary. But it is simply not believable that Marcos had in his possession 1.33 million metric tons of gold in various accounts.

One man, Larry Henares, claims he got a figure of 400,000 tonnes!

Just how much gold are we talking here? No one knows exactly. But Hilarion (Larry) Henares, the national economic adviser of the Macapagal, administration has given us something slightly better than a ballpark figure.

"At thee time I was appointed chairman of the Gold Commission, I inspected three sites in Metro Manila where the gold was stored. The highest authority told me that the total gold amounted to 400,000 metric tons. One metric ton of gold is equal 32.151 troy ounces,  is worth at $400 per ounce, $12,860,400. Multiply 400,000 tons of gold, we get $53,144,160,000,000 or more than $5 Trillion." These figures, which appeared in Henares' regular Inquirer column (Make My Day), have probably reached the $15 Trillion mark interests included and compounded. 

'This gold can transform this country into a prosperous and powerful nation, with the right kind of leaders," Henares added. "But I do not trust the Cory government, I do not trust her economic advisers, the Council of Trent who will only steal the gold for themselves. I do not trust the Americans who need our gold to save their floundering economy."

p. 91

That figure is not believable in the slightest yet we are to believe he got it from an official government source.

As for the value of Marcos' wealth, it varies. The highest amount given in this book is $50 trillion.

During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on October 14, 1997, Tagle claimed that his findings are the result of 10 long years of research which brought him to places like Hong Kong, Switzerland, Singapore, the Bahamas, London, New York and Canada, among other countries. 

"It is very difficult to uncover the Marcos assets or estates, because it is tied to many accounts linked to the Sta. Romana Estates,” says Tagle. “Through intricate maneuvers and appointment of many nominees, trustees, and coded accounts, President Marcos, acting as legal counsel and chief trustee of Col. Severino Sta. Romana had succeeded in isolating the nominees or trustees of the gold certificates from the physical assets, so much so, that it is almost impossible to recover them without collecting the various pieces (of the puzzle).” Tagle likewise disclosed that foundations were used to hide the accounts amounting to a whopping “$50 Trillion.” 

p. 16

If that is all true then why did Tagle, just two years later, claim the Marcos gold was worth only $10 trillion?

A former Catholic priest here claims to have evidence that the alleged Marcos gold horde is composed of World War II “Yamashita gold and Vatican gold.’ Ex-priest Marcelino Tagle of Bataan, a former director of Caritas Manila and one of the nation’s “Ten Outstanding Young Men’ in 1967, said in a recent interview that the nation “should benefit’ from the Marcos gold, which he estimated at “10 trillion dollars.’

https://falconbase2008.wordpress.com/2015/06/23/the-secret-history-of-marcos-wealth/

None of the figures in this book are believable. They are out of all proportion. And they all contradict one another. The fact is no one knows how much Marcos was ever worth or how much gold he had or the state of all that alleged wealth now. Erick makes it clear that Marcos told lies as a smokescreen to hide his wealth.

But the tales about the huge treasure purportedly given to USAFFE Major Ferdinand E. Marcos during the dark days of the Second World War which became the basis of his fortune (then estimated to be $35 billion) are nothing more than a cleverly concocted diversionary tactic floated by Marcos himself, a smokescreen to confuse the “raiders of the lost gold”, so that none of them would know exactly where the lost bullion is deposited. 

There is, however, one thing which Marcos overlooked: The Swiss banks are booby traps used by the Elite to trap the unwary. Four years ago, The SPOTLIGHT ran an article on how the Rothschild Bank in Zurich, owned by Baron Elie de Rothschild of London, had been charged with embezzling money from an estate. The article warned of possible trouble when leaving an estate in Switzerland. I couldn’t agree more. However, those who are foolish enough to choose a bank owned by international rip-off artists can expect to have trouble. 

p. 3-4

The entire book can be summed up on page 97:

The mystery of the Marcos gold remains a mystery, incurring heavy losses on those who dare to uncover it.
Well, the curse of Marcos gold is not stopping the Raiders from attempting to retrieve it. And just who are the Raiders of the Lost Gold? Jewish Bankers and the Illuminati.

Who will get the Marcos Gold Haul in the end? Will it be the Philippine government acting on behalf of the Filipino people and the Marcos heirs? Or, will it be the Raiders [Khazarian-Bolshevik-Zionist-Bankster Jews] and their One-World apparatus

The odds, of course, are very much stacked against us, simply because we have a natural knack for “not getting our act together”. The wily opposition is exploiting this chink in our armor to the hilt, to compound the problem. Can anyone count the number of paid CIA and U.S. State Department hacks operating in and out of our government? 

We are facing an extremely powerful group of counter-claimants. Very few people are aware that the Bank Secrecy Act of 1936 was enacted expressly to protect this group’s assets from being taken over by the Nazis. The same law also made it impossible to trace Jewish money in flight from Germany to Switzerland—something the Germans regarded as “an unfriendly gesture on the part of the Swiss against them”. In short, nothing ever happens, neither in international banking nor in geopolitics, without the knowledge of this group of financial oligarchs. 

p. 11

That bit in brackets about the Bankster Jews is not in the book. It is in the September 2, 2006 edition of the Phoenix Journal Review on page 5. Parts of the book were printed in that magazine. Basically it's the Philippines vs the Illuminati. Who will win? Apparently Marcos.

The aborted deal of  The Corporation International with the late Pres. Ferdinand Marcos (better known as the Trilateral Commission) involved an agreement in which the president was promised power for life and a guarantee of an Investment Loan to be coursed through a Mini-Marshal plan to save the failing Philippine economy. All this in exchange for his gold bullion.

p. 147

Unbelievably the Illuminati, under the branch of the Trilateral Commission, wrote a nice letter to Marcos asking for his entire stash of gold. In exchange they would give him an investment loan and he would be in power for life. 

https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/secretgoldtreaty/trilat_appendix6.4.htm

This official Trilateral Commission stationery not only has the all seeing eye and pyramid at the top of the page but there are also three addresses on the side margin

Fifth Avenue at 55th Street, New York, NY 10022 212 753 4500 

Lancaster Gate - Hyde Park - London W23NZ Telephone: 61-2525090 Telex:291655 Prestel 3441100

Weinbergstrasse 45, CH 8006 Zurich (the book has 8008 but that is clearly wrong)

The first address is for the St. Regis Hotel. The other address turn up private residences. Are we really supposed to believe that the Illuminati, the group that controls the world, wrote a polite letter to Marcos rather than stealing his gold outright when it is they who own the Swiss banks in which that gold is deposited? It does not make sense and this story contradicts much of what Erick has to say about the banks being designed to steal people's money. 

To conclude here, everyone has their own version of the Marcos gold. 

Frank Pasion, an outstanding labor leader and the author of a thesis entitled The Incomparable Achievements of President Ferdinand E. Marcos, offers simple computation which will prove that Marcos had done many good things for the country: "Just add the loans Marcos inherited in 1965 ($13.5 Billion) to those incurred by the private sector ($7 Billion), together with the amount of reserves left by Marcos ($2.5 Billion), and you gel $23 Billion. Since the outstanding loan obligations of the country at the time of Marcos' departure from the political scene totaled only $24 Billion, it follows that the dreaded Marcos regime—in its twenty years of absolute rule—incurred only a measly loan of $1 Billion, not $24 Billion as attested by his detractors."  

Pasion also reminds the political opponents of Marcos that it was during the later's incumbency that the price of imported crude oil rose from $2 to $24 per barrel. Yet in the same period, the Philippine economy managed to weather the scams despite the worldwide recession, compounded by the growing Muslim insurgency in the south. The situation became unmanageable only when Senator Benign° Aquino Jr. was shot to death by an unlmown gunman.  

Marcos knew that the only key to Philippine progress would be the establishment of an industrial base, or a "machine-tool" industry. But his effort to implement a heavy industrial program "was opposed at every tum by his technocrats, by spokesmen of the Opus Dei, and the Makati business community, all of whom echoed the position of the IMF-World Bank opposing the eleven major industrial projects," Lichauco claims. 


When Cory Aquino took over whew Marcos left off, the situation became worm. "Prices of prime or essential commodities soared from 50 percent to 200 percent as compared to January 1986," wrote Pasion. "Laborers, on the other hand, were given a miserable PIO additional daily, despite the fact that the average laborer had to pay for daily expenses which increased 100 percent. And this figure excluded rental payments." 


How then did Marcos accomplish so much with so little? We can only conclude that he used part of his gold haul to support the govemment's garganman projects. 


p. 120

Erick San Juan believes that Marcos used the stolen Vatican gold to build all of his projects in the Philippines.  But if that were true then the paper trail left behind should shed some light on that. "The Incomparable Achievements of President Ferdinand E. Marcos" is not available online. A search for it turns up nothing but references to this book. Because this is a persistent claim Rappler has a whole article devoted to proving the math of Frank Pasion is wrong. 

But aside from erroneous economic analysis, many red flags are also in the references included. 

First, it appears that many of the arguments in the post are derived (almost word-for-word) from the book Marcos Legacy Revisited: Raiders of the Lost Gold (title only, questionable) written by Marcos supporter Erick San Juan in 1998. 

The book cited the thesis “The Incomparable Achievements of President Ferdinand E. Marcos,” which was used to say that Marcos owed only $ 1 billion. But that thesis had no hits on Google, other than an apparent conspiracy theory periodical published in 2001 in Las Vegas.

[Analysis] Marcos Debt: What is The Truth?

This book and its fanciful claims have bounced all around the internet being used by revisionists to paint a picture of Marcos as an awesome dude who gave his all for the betterment of the country but who has subsequently been unjustly demonized by his detractors. Unsurprisingly Get Real Philippines has been bamboozled by the claims made in this book.

It is indeed this preconceived opinion or prejudice perpetuated by the yellows that Marcos has pilfered the people’s money that is more effective for their purposes than it is to reveal that Marcos’ wealth was rooted in gold transaction schemes (gold that was not the government’s to begin with).

Granted that article does not cite this book but the same claims are made about the gold and Tagle's testimony is taken as gospel truth. 

If Marcos would have wanted to benefit the Philippines with his gold he would have done so. But history shows that he did not. This book certainly does not show he did so. Everything here is conjecture which would not stand in a court of law. It does not even stand in light of reading. Everything in this book concerning Marcos' gold is transparently false.

Friday, February 11, 2022

Retards in the Government 245

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



 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1549814/sorsogon-city-councilor-bet-nabbed-for-alleged-election-gun-ban-violation

A candidate for councilor in Sorsogon City, Sorsogon province was arrested for allegedly violating the election gun ban early Friday.

Lt. Col. Virgil Bibat, chief of Sorsogon City police, said in a report that Angeles Laroga Apin, 49, was traveling aboard his motorcycle when he was flagged down at a police checkpoint at Barangay (village) Bulabog in the West District of the said city at 3:10 a.m.

Police said they recovered a Smith & Wesson 9mm with a magazine loaded with 11 bullets and a black sling bag containing 10 live bullets for the same gun from Apin.

A political candidate has been arrested for violating the gun ban.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/423725/romblon-town-mayor-200-others-arrested-for-attending-illegal-cockfight

Police on Sunday morning arrested a town chief executive and around 200 individuals while inside a cockpit arena in Ferrol town in Romblon province. 

Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) police said the arrested suspects included Jovencio Li Mayor Jr., mayor of Ferrol town. 

The report said Criminal Investigation Detection Group (CIDG) – Romblon Provincial Field Unit (CIDG-PFU) received information that cockfighting was ongoing at Tubigon Square Garden in Barangay Tubigon despite Romblon province being under Alert Level 3 to curb the spread of COVID-19 and its variants. 

Mayor, in a text message to Inquirer Monday, admitted that he allowed the conduct of the cockfight after constituents requested permission from him. 

“Ferrol has attained her immunity, the only municipality in the province of Romblon, i.e., more than 70 percent of the total population have been fully vaccinated [against COVID-19]. Our COVID-19 case transmission rate, healthcare utilization rate and bed utilization rate are very low, thus, our municipality is considered a low risk municipality and in accord with the IATF resolution, should be classified as alert level 2. This is the reason why I allowed the request of my constituents as it is the only recreation of our farmers, fishers, and construction workers during Sundays with strict observance of minimum health protocols,” Mayor said.

Not only was the Mayor of a small town arrested for cockfighting but he also allowed to happen because his constituents requested it as it is the only recreation they have. But why not coordinate with the IATF first?

Three men were shot dead in a remote village of Santa Margarita town in Samar at past 10 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 6.

The victims were identified as Pedie Deborbon, Junjun Deborbon, and Ernesto Doinog — all residents of Barangay Roxas which is more than two kilometers away from the town proper.

The three victims were on their way to attend a cockfight when the suspects appeared and suddenly shot them to death, said Patrolwoman Maria Margiline Caandoy.

“Our investigators are still conducting a probe on this incident. We have yet to determine the identities of the suspects and their motive,” she said in a phone interview.

But in a post on his social media, retired Colonel Emil Zosa, who is running for mayor of the town, claimed that the victims were his political supporters.

He said one of those killed had met and informed him that his tarpaulin was destroyed.

Three men were shot dead on the way to a cockfight and a candidate for Mayor claims they were his supporters and that the killing was thus politically motivated.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/regions/821285/cop-shot-navy-vehicle-hurting-two-personnel-in-palawan-pnp/story/

The Philippine National Police on Wednesday said that a cop allegedly shot a vehicle and injured two personnel of the Philippine Navy in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan on February 7.

In a statement, the PNP identified the cop as Corporal John Vincent Ugalde.

Ugalde aboard his Black Toyota Wigo vehicle was traversing the North National Highway when a Philippine Navy-owned multicab pulled ahead of him, the PNP said.

Christian Bustillo, a seaman apprentice who was driving the multicab, claimed that he heard continuous blowing of horn from Ugalde. Then, he heard a gunshot that hit the right rear wheel of the multicab.

The Navy vehicle ran out of control and flipped over, hurting the two personnel who sustained minor injuries.

Ugalde surrendered to Police Station 2 of Puerto Princesa Police Office (PPCPO) and turned over his issued firearm, a-9mm Glock 17 with ammunition, according to the PNP.

It appears that a cop shot a car that bypassed him in a fit of road rage. The car then flipped over causing undisclosed injuries to the men inside the vehicle.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1552545/ex-bohol-exec-pleads-guilty-to-killing-wife

A former provincial board member of Bohol has pleaded guilty to killing his wife who remains missing after her body was thrown into the sea off Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu province in June 2017.

Niño Rey Boniel made the admission during a hearing at the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 70 in Lapu-Lapu City on Tuesday.

Niño Rey, 42, who was initially charged with parricide, agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of homicide through a plea bargaining agreement, five years after he was arrested for killing his wife, Gisela Bendong-Boniel.

Gisela, 40, was the mayor of Bien Unido town, Bohol at the time of her disappearance and death.

Niño Rey’s co-accused — Allan de los Reyes Jr., Wilfredo Hoylar, and Restituto Magoncia Jr. — also pleaded guilty to homicide.

RTC Judge Christine Muga-Abad sentenced them to eight to 14 years of imprisonment. Had they been convicted of parricide and murder without a plea bargain, Niño Rey and his coaccused would have been meted a penalty of reclusion perpetua, or 20 to 40 years in prison.

Niño Rey and the other accused are still facing separate cases of serious illegal detention and kidnapping which were filed by Gisela’s friend, Angela Leyson.

A former politician has pleaded guilty to killing his wife. He still faces kidnapping charges.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1551811/sk-councilor-shot-dead-in-samar

A Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) councilor from Calbayog City in Samar province was shot dead by a still unidentified assailant at around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 8.

Gerald Casaljay, 25, and a resident of P-6 Barangay Migara, suffered gunshot wounds on his lower left chest and right cheek.

His companion, Brandel Yrigon, managed to escape.

Based on the initial report from the Calbayog City police, the victim was on his way home after attending the fiesta celebration in Barangay Osmeña when the lone assailant approached and shot him.

A councilor was assassinated by unknown men for unknown reasons as he was on his way home from a fiesta.

Thursday, February 10, 2022

Coronavirus Lockdown: Party-Themed Vax Sites for Kids, Good Riddance, and More!

More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.

The government is now aiming to vaccinate children aged 5-11 which is a group that is not at risk for COVID.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/02/02/party-themed-vax-sites-for-kids-aged-5-11-in-muntinlupa/

The Muntinlupa City government will be decorating the vaccination sites for five to 11 years old with a children’s party-themed design to make the atmosphere appealing and relaxing for the kids. 

This is one of the strategies of the city government to encourage more kids to get vaccinated. According to the Public Information Office, the vaccination of minors aged five to 11 in Muntinlupa will start on Feb. 7.

Muntinlupa City Health Office chief Dr. Juancho Bunyi earlier said the two vaccination sites for the age group are the Laguerta Health Center in Barangay Tunasan and Ospital ng Muntinlupa in Barangay Alabang.

The target population under the 5-11 age group in Muntinlupa is 68,000. The national government will roll out the vaccination of five to 11 years old on Feb. 4 in select areas in Metro Manila.

One of the strategies to get children vaccinated is to create a fun atmosphere. What about printing pamphlets detailing exactly why young children should be vaccinated? Some parents are trying to stop this program because its implementing rules takes away their authority.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1549495/court-asked-to-stop-covid-19-vaccination-of-children-aged-5-to-11

A petition has been filed before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court to stop the Department of Health (DOH) from vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 against COVID-19.

The petitioners are parents whose children are within the 5 to 11 bracket are represented by the Public Attorneys’ Office (PAO).

In the petition, the parents urge the court to uphold “their right to consent (and necessarily, right to refuse consent to COVID-19 vaccination) in behalf of their children; and ultimately, protect life and health of the latter and other children similarly threatened of exposure to undue risks to their life and health.”

The petition stated that the parents are concerned that they will be deprived of their right to decide on matters affecting their children citing a Department of Health (DOH) memorandum which states that: “in case the parent/guardian refuses to give consent to the vaccination despite the desire and willingness of the minor child to have himself/herself vaccinated, or there are no persons that may legally exercise parental authority over the child, the State may act as parens patriae and give the necessary consent.”

The petition pointed out that with the DOH memorandum, the government is “indirectly forcing” children to get vaccinated despite the fact that Republic Act 11525 states that the COVID-19 vaccines are experimental.

If a child wants to get vaccinated but his parents refuse then the state can step in and override the authority of the parent. That is wrong on so many levels. What else does one call it when the state forces parents to sit down and acts in their place except tyranny?

A few days later the DOH revoked this policy.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/02/07/2159166/doh-takes-back-assailed-policy-vaccinate-kids-vs-covid-19-even-if-parents-object

The Department of Health has amended its memorandum to remove the contested policy that allows the State to give consent for the vaccination of children aged five to 11 years old, if parents refuse inoculation for them.

The DOH issued a memorandum dated February 4 that "rescinded" part of its January 24 guidelines for administration of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for aged five to 11 years old.

This part of the memo was assailed in a petition filed by two parents with children in the five to 11 years old age group before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.

The petitioners said that they do not intend to vilify government efforts in the pandemic, but seeks protection of "very vulnerable population from undue health risks and fatal consequences,” as COVID-19 vaccines are "fairly new" and seeks "respect towards parents’/guardians’ parental authority over their children on matters affecting the latter’s interest, well-being, health and safety, and life."

The vaccinations for children are of course ongoing. In one case Ironman showed up.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1167181

The Taguig City government turned some of its coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination hubs into a "superhero carnival" center as it officially rolled out the jabs for children aged 5 to 11 years old on Monday.

Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano said this is part of the efforts to reduce fear or vaccine hesitancy among the age group.

"To complement the pediatric vaccination initiative, the city added new vaccination sites at the SM Aura SMX Convention Center and Lakeshore Vaccination Hub, which specifically turned to a children's party-like venue. Vaccinees are greeted by cosplayers and delighted with different attractions like a puppet show. As a simple token for their bravery, every minor vaccinee is given a loot bag after inoculation," Cayetano said.

"(If you see what we have done on our vaccination centers, we made it attractive and colorful for the parents and the minors they are accompanying so that the fear and apprehension of these children over vaccination will be allayed and that they will be more than excited to be inoculated)," she added.

A token for their bravery or for their foolhardiness for receiving an experimental drug for a virus which poses little to no risk to them? 

Guess how much waste is being generated every day just from face masks. Quite a lot.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/820581/waste-from-face-masks-fill-166-six-tonner-trucks-daily-denr/story/

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said Thursday the waste from face masks fills 166 six-tonner trucks every day.

At the Laging Handa public briefing, DENR Undersecretary Julius Leonen said that around 1,000 metric tons of waste from face masks are being collected daily.

“Ibig sabihin kung six-tonner yung ating truck, 166 na trucks ang lumalabas kada araw para kolektahin ang mga waste na ito" (It means if we use six-tonner trucks, 166 of them go out every day to collect this waste), he said.

The DENR has been coordinating with local government units especially in the barangay level to make sure they are strictly following the Solid Waste Management Act.

Barangay governments are in charge of collecting waste from households and taking them to “transfer station”, where the municipal governments will pick them up.

And that's only the waste that has been collected. There are a lot of stray face masks from litterbugs floating around the streets and fields of the Philippines.

At one hospital in Quezon garbage has been backed up for months!

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1550801/quezon-hospital-starts-disposing-of-hazardous-waste-after-flak

The Quezon Medical Center (QMC) here has started disposing of medical waste piled up inside its compound on Friday amid complaints of nearby residents.

“The contractors will clear the waste storage facility of all uncollected waste within two weeks of continuous operations,” assured Dr. Rolando Padre, QMC director, in a statement late on Friday.

Padre also publicly apologized to the affected residents who aired their complaints through media outlets here.

He said they were still processing the payment for their waste disposal contractor when the complaints were reported in the media.

Padre explained that the piles of hospital waste at the back of the QMC compound were “the result of the hospital’s inability to sustain the disposal process amid increased hazardous hospital waste generation during the peak of COVID-19 admissions in the third quarter of last year.”

He said QMC collected about 400 kilograms of hospital waste every day. The hospital engaged licensed contractors to transport the waste to a treatment facility.

Padre said they had difficulties in paying fees for the contractors during the last quarter of last year because of the non-passage of the 2021 annual budget of the provincial government.

“As a result, they temporarily stopped collecting from our temporary storage facility. Waste collected from the different areas of the hospital were instead packed directly in secured plastic drums and kept in the [storage] area,” he explained.

Padre also assured that pathologic waste was not stored nor mixed with hazardous hospital waste.

“There is a separate procedure to dispose of placentas, amputated limbs, surgical specimens, and the like, and they cannot be the cause of the foul odor in the area,” he stressed.

Just goes to show how important it is to pass the budget. There is simply no excuse for the budget to ever be delayed.

In Davao cremation remains free for those who have died and tested positive for COVID.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1167021

The Davao City Crematorium continues to exclusively serve bodies of those who died from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Since it started operating in February last year, the city’s crematorium has granted free services to a total of 291 Covid-19-infected bodies.

Vice presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, during her online show "Sana All For You" on Thursday, said the crematorium was built for the city to meet the requirement in the proper disposal of Covid-19-infected cadavers within 12 hours to reduce the number of bodies in hospital morgues.

Dondee Eralino, head of City Economic Enterprise, cited its importance for the city as it provides a safer and more efficient compliance with the provision of the Sanitation Code of the Philippines.

“This is for free. Wala itong bayad kahit one peso (This does not cost a single peso). From hospitals to the cremation facility, libre lahat (everything is free),” Eralino said.

“At talagang malaking tulong ito sa lahat ng mga kababayan natin dito sa Davao (This is really a big help to all Davao residents),” he added.

Does this include those who died WITH the virus but not FROM the virus? The distinction matters. The government is using this distinction to confuse people and scare them into taking the vaccine. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1167120

About 90 percent of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) deaths in Negros Oriental were unvaccinated individuals, a health official said.

There were also deaths among vaccinated individuals but they had comorbidities like cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and other illnesses, Assistant Provincial Health Officer Dr. Liland Estacion said during a virtual presser on Friday afternoon.

See what they did here? They dismissed the deaths of the fully vaccinated by noting that they had comorbidites. But how many of the unvaccinated also had comorbidites? Death from COVID alone is not the norm. It is comorbidites that exacerbate the virus. These statistics are disingenuous.

Remember, vaccination and not making sure people are actually healthy and have a strong immune system  is the government's plan to exit the pandemic.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1166988

A more intensified Covid-19 vaccination program is crucial to the country's smooth transition from pandemic to an endemic approach to Covid-19, vaccine czar, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., said Thursday.

"We cannot have [safe] transition from pandemic to endemic kung hindi tayo mababakunahan lahat (if not everyone is vaccinated)," Galvez, also the chief of the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19, said during the rollout of "Resbakuna sa Botika" in Bacolod City.

Galvez cited a recent analysis of some health experts worldwide that unvaccinated persons are prone to carrying virus mutations.

Based on the advice of the Israeli experts, Galvez said those who have availed of the booster doses have gained added protection against the dreaded disease, even with the presence of new Covid-19 variants.

"Based on science, as experts said, we need the third dose or boosters so that we can have an added protection, and that any mutation or any variants that are coming in, ay talaga pong ligtas tayo (we are really safe)," he said.

Actually Israel is recommending a fourth shot. There will never be enough vaccines administered to fight against COVID because the vaccines DO NOT PREVENT infection.

The pandemic health protocols have caused a lot of harm one would not even think of. Apparently some people have stopped brushing their teeth because they are wearing face masks.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1167016

The Department of Health - Northern Mindanao (DOH-10) on Thursday said around 87 percent of Filipinos have oral health problems such as tooth decay and gum diseases.


Mosende said most children begin developing dental caries at age five and when parents do not occasionally monitor the dental health of their children. 

At this time of the pandemic, oral health is also a point of concern for Filipinos as some tend to ignore brushing their teeth because they are wearing face masks anyway.


"Some will say they no longer have to brush their teeth because they are wearing face masks, but that is not good," Mosende said. 

That is pretty gross. 

Don't want to get vaccinated? Duterte has a message for you.


https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1551289/duterte-tells-unvaccinated-people-pag-kayo-namatay-good-riddance

“I’m warning you. Don’t be complacent. If you die, and you’re not vaccinated, I will tell you: Good riddance,’” President Rodrigo Duterte, speaking in a mix of English and Filipino, said in his weekly taped address, “Talk to the People,” that aired late on Monday.

He addressed the warning to those who refuse to get vaccinated as he stressed the Philippines was not yet “over the hump” in its battle against COVID-19.

“If you don’t want it [vaccination], you want to die. OK then. Walk around, and if you get contaminated, you will feel very, very sorry for yourself and your family,” Duterte added.

Does this mean the unvaccinated are no longer to be confined to their homes and can freely go about their business? I hope so. That would be a win for freedom.

Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Smoky Piles 9

Smoky piles are back! Actually they never went away. A few weeks ago with all the typhoon clean up it was smokier than ever outside. But the following pics are much older. It's always awful when you're trying to relax with the windows wide open for some fresh air and your neighbor fires up a smoky pile which stinks up the neighborhood including inside your house.










Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Insurgency: Ka Leody vs the CPP-NPA

A few weeks ago the top rated presidential candidates, when asked how they would deal with the insurgency, brought up the specter of reviving the peace talks. Ka Leody Guzman, who ranks at the bottom of all the polls, says he would also push for land reform.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/04/22/ka-leody-npa-will-lay-down-arms-if-social-services-injustices-addressed

The New People's Army (NPA) will lay down its arms if social services and injustices in the country are addressed, Partido Lakas ng Masa presidential aspirant Leody De Guzman said Friday. 

Asked how will he address the communist insurgency in the country, De Guzman said that one of his top priorities is to push for a genuine land reform based on the armed rebel group's proposal.

(I will respond to all the demands of the New People’s Army that are written in their document and I have read them all, it is very reasonable.) 

(Their demand for real land reform, all of that was recognized by Ferdinand Marcos, by Cory Aquino, by all the presidents but not implemented in reality. I will implement real agrarian reform.)

The document is he is talking about is the CASER (Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms.) This document is 173 pages of broad and general calls for reform in industry, culture, agriculture, and other areas of the government and Philippine life. The one thing lacking is there are no methods of implementing these reforms. There is nothing exact. It's as vague as the term "social and economic reform." After listing the various reforms sought for a particular area there is a schedule of implementation that gives a timeframe of three months which is impossible for such a sweeping program.

The CASER is a non-starter. The government claims it is highly flawed and calls for a surrender of the Philippines' sovereignty.

The Philippines’ sovereignty would be put at a disadvantage if the government gives its nod to the communist movement’s “flawed” Comprehensive Agreement on Social Economic Reforms (CASER), Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Friday.  
Galvez said there is no need for CASER, as it would only benefit the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) since the proposed deal is “irrelevant” and simply a “copycat of the programs” of the communist insurgents. 
“CASER is based on an obsolete framework and is no longer relevant since it is largely based on the pre-industrialization and pre-globalization era. It is a formula for the surrender of the national government’s integrity, as well as the state’s sovereignty,” he said in a press statement. 

“The CASER insists that the Philippine government surrenders its sovereignty and tramples on its own integrity by forcing upon the state outmoded and erroneous concepts that were conceived more than half a century ago,” Galvez added. 

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2020/01/insurgency-not-worth-it.html 

But if wanting to implement an irrelevant and outmoded program of social reform is not bad enough how about repeating Duterte's mistake of welcoming the CPP into the cabinet?

https://www-philstar-com.translate.goog/pilipino-star-ngayon/bansa/2022/01/27/2156734/de-guzman-nais-ituloy-peace-talks-sa-cpp-npa-bukas-na-ilagay-sila-sa-gabinete?_x_tr_sl=tl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

Presidential candidate Ka Leody de Guzman will push for "Genuine" peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) if they are to win in 2022-apart from being open to include them. in his Cabinet. 

The labor leader and Partido Lakas ng Masa standard bearer shared that in "Bakit Ikaw?" DZRH presidential job interview this Wednesday. 

"I will hold peace talks. I agree to talk to resolve the long-term problem of insurgency," De Guzman said yesterday about the communist rebels. 

"I believe that those who are armed ... they are not just happy to be armed ... There is a historical request that has not been resolved like the injustice happening in our country like [lack of] land reform. " 

"I think real peace talks and an end to armed conflict will take place when the problem is resolved, the problem is addressed, which is very legitimate," said Ka Leody, stressing that it did not happen before because of the collusion of previous presidents with the rich and oligarchs. 

It will be recalled that President Rodrigo Duterte also posed as a "socialist" when he was still running for the presidency in 2016 and talked to the CPP-NPA-National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDF). 

Although Digong was friendly with communist leaders such as Luis Jalandoni and then CPP leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, the president permanently suspended peace talks in March 2019 due to "terrorism" he said by revolutionaries and land confiscation. . 

When De Guzman was asked yesterday if he would include CPP-NPA members in his Cabinet, his answer was brief: "It depends on whether they want to be in our Cabinet." 

Some of those he is pushing to be part of his possible Cabinet are economic expert and IBON Foundation executive director Sonny Africa, Dr. Tony Leachon for the Department of Health, PLM chair Sonny Melencio for the Department of Defense, University of the Philippines Prof. Ed Tadem of the Freedom from Debt Coalition, etc. 

"I will make sure ... these are the people I have been with and have a track record of unquestionably serving the people," he added. 

Duterte has previously placed some progressive activists in his Cabinet such as Judy Taguiwalo in the Department of Social Welfare and Development, former Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano of the Department of Agrarian Reform, etc. but also deleted.

It should also not be forgotten that Congress ultimately rejected his appointments of leftists into the cabinet.

https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2018/9/27/Rodrigo-Duterte-Left-CPP-NPA-Congress-Cabinet.html

President Rodrigo Duterte expressed relief that Congress rejected the appointments of leftist leaders to his Cabinet.

Duterte said the widespread presence of communist insurgents in society enabled them to enter government.

[Translation: For me, in my desire really to just extend a helping hand maybe I can succeed talking to them, I was able to let them in. It's good that Congress rejected their appointments.]

He said the communist rebels did not want to pursue peace negotiations, adding that he is also not ready to talk to the Reds right now.

"For as long as there is an objection from the military and the police na they called — pinag-ipon nila lahat 'yung mga [They gathered]various agreements:  JASIG (Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees) , humanitarian rights, it would now appear that more or less there is a sharing — hindi [and not a] coalition — but sharing of governmental powers which we cannot concede, I cannot give because we do not own sovereignty," he said.

Last year, Congress rejected the appointments of Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo and Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano. Both were activists and leftist leaders, and were appointed after Duterte had offered government posts to members of the Communist Party of the Philippines - National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF) in 2016.

Imagine being so stupid as promising to commit the same mistakes as Duterte did when it comes to the insurgency. At least Ka Leody does not have a track record of giving the CPP-NPA millions in cash or in telling others to pay their extortion taxes. 

If elected Guzman also promises to abolish the NTF-ELCAC.

Labor leader and progressive presidential aspirant Ka Leody de Guzman said he would push for the scrapping of the government's anti-insurgency task force and the Anti-Terrorism Act if elected into office.

Since President Rodrigo Duterte created it through Executive Order No. 70 signed in 2018, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict has repeatedly accused people of links to communist rebels.

Over the coronavirus pandemic, its targets have ranged from activist groups, universities, media organizations, to celebrities. It has also been documented to have spread disinformation, prompting the Presidential Communications Operations Office to review its procedure for vetting ang reposting social media content.

Speaking at the Pandesal Forum sa Veritas on Monday, De Guzman said that the P28.1 billion budget that the Duterte administration proposed for the task force's 2022 budget would instead be reallocated to afford medical frontliners better benefits.

His 25-point program with the Partido Lakas ng Masa also aims to cut the size of the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines by half, along with "radically [raising] recruitment standards [and punishing] all who have engaged in extrajudicial killings."

He also vowed to "turn over President [Rodrigo] Duterte, Sen. [Ronald] Dela Rosa, [Former NTF-ELCAC spokesperson] Gen. Antonio Parlade, and all authors and key enforcers of the war on drugs and the red-tagging campaign" to the International Criminal Court "while also prosecuting them in the national judicial system."

How exactly does abolishing the NTF-ELCAC or cutting in half the PNP and AFP benefit the working class which is who Ka Lady claims to represent? Do working class people, the poor, or anyone else want less cops and soldiers or do they want less corrupt cops and soldiers? Who authored this stupid platform?

Meanwhile the AFP is pulling out all the stops in a bid to quell the insurgency within the next four months.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief, Gen. Andres Centino, urged all military units in Northern Mindanao to exert all possible efforts in defeating the communist insurgency before President Rodrigo R. Duterte ends his term this June.

"Give your best. We will make sure you have resources. We want to end this insurgency, to capture its top leaders here. More importantly, we want to honor the heroism of our comrades who made the ultimate sacrifices in this decades-old fighting," he said during his visit to the Cagayan De Oro-based 4th Infantry Division on Wednesday.

These resources include the necessary equipment, aside from the enhancement of skills of the soldiers so that they are prepared for the challenges of fighting and neutralizing these threats.

Centino also lauded the 4th Infantry Division for its successes against the communist terrorist group (CTG) in the past months.

The 4th Infantry Division was responsible for neutralizing high-ranking communist terrorist group personalities in Northern Mindanao and Caraga regions, including the head of the New People's Army (NPA) National Operations Command Jorge "Ka Oris" Madlos.

He said this feat demoralized the NPA nationwide, resulting in the mass surrender of communist rebels.

"I am confident that we can comply with the deadline of President Rodrigo Duterte. I take confidence in my experience here at 4th Infantry Division and its recent accomplishments that saw the demise of the CTG's top leaders in Northern Mindanao," he added.

Elsewhere the AFP claim that the NPA is now insignificant on the island of Panay.

The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) is no longer significant in Panay with two of its top leaders being among the 12 ranking officials in Western and Central Visayas neutralized by government troops in 2021.

“When neutralized it could be killed, it could be surrendered, it could be apprehended or captured. They could no longer go back to their movement,” said Capt. Kim L. Apitong, officer-in-charge of the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) Public Affairs Office, in an interview Wednesday.

The spokesperson credited the support from the community which provide relevant information for their successful anti-insurgency.

He said that the terrorist group could no longer find an ally in Panay as it has lost control of barangays where they used to have sympathizers.

“We have already cleared the barangays. There are only some sitios (zones) and parts of some barangays where they threatened and harassed residents,” he added.

If it is support from the community which is making the NPA irrelevant on Panay Island then there is no way Ka Leody's plans are representative of the working class who he claims to represent. So who is behind his platform to welcome the CPP-NPA into his cabinet?