Retards in the Government 324

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

 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1818060/government-employee-nabbed-in-pagadian-city-drug-ops

Authorities arrested a local government employee in a drug buy-bust operation Tuesday afternoon inside a travelers’ inn at San Pedro District here.

Police Capt. Dominic Dalena of the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit-IX identified the alleged drug peddler as Wahab Acob aka Benzar, an employee of the City Engineer’s Office and a resident of Muricay village.

Dalena said they have been monitoring Acob before they conducted the operation along with the city police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Recovered during the operation were one medium-sized transparent heat- sealed plastic sachet containing white crystalline substance believed to be shabu with estimated market value of P20,000, the buy- bust money and other personal items.

The confiscated drug items were brought to the Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Forensic Unit for examination while the suspect was temporarily detained at the lock-up cell of the city police station. 

A local government employee has been busted for drugs.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1208140

Nine officials at the Philippine Ports Authority’s (PPA) Port Management Office Bohol ((PMO Bohol) have been sacked after they were caught having a party and drinking alcohol inside the port’s multi-purpose hall on Wednesday.

In a statement on Friday, the PPA said an investigation of the office’s surveillance video revealed PMO Bohol employees, officials, members of the port police, and a guest band joining the party led by Acting Port Manager Lord Tyrone Agaton.

Those sacked include Agaton, PMO Bohol Port Services Division Manager Julius Jumangit, lawyer Sherlito Columnas Jr. from the legal department, Safety Officer Romeo Cabading II, and port police officers Edcel Epan, Victor Cagulada, Mary Maricka Aguirre, Meljann Oronan, and Emily Ross Tubio.

PPA General Manager Jay Santiago said the individuals failed to show respect to office facilities and abused their power as government officials.

“There is no place in the government for officials who hold drinking sessions at the office, whether for birthdays or any other occasions,” Santiago said.

He emphasized the PPA’s resolve in ensuring proper monitoring of the 130 PPA ports nationwide.

“This proves that we are committed to our responsibility of putting our ports and its personnel in order” he said.

9 Bohol Port officials have been fired for holding a party in the office. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1818447/village-official-nabbed-in-anti-drug-ops-in-zamboanga-del-sur-town

A 55-year-old village official in Salauagan of Dimataling town in Zamboanga del Sur was nabbed by authorities in a buy-bust operation on Friday afternoon.

Police Capt. Dominic Dalena of the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit-IX identified the village official as Abdul Mama Musa aka “Dol.”

Dalena revealed that Musa was listed as a “high-value individual” on the agency’s top priority targets for illegal drugs at the regional level.

The operatives recovered 13 small sachets of a substance suspected to be crystal meth with an estimated P15,000 market value, buy-bust money, and other personal items.

The suspect is temporarily detained at the Dimataling municipal police station’s lock-up cell while charges for violation of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 are being prepared against him.

A village official has been busted for drugs. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1208203

The Supreme Court has ordered the forfeiture of the retirement and other benefits of a court worker and perpetually disqualified her from reemployment in government after her conviction in criminal cases for issuing bad checks.

The SC said former Makati Metropolitan Trial Court clerk  Edith Haboc, having been already convicted of a crime of moral turpitude, would have been dismissed from service had she not been earlier dropped from the rolls.

"We reiterate that court employees, from the presiding judge to the lowliest clerk, being public servants in an office dispensing justice, should always act with a high degree of professionalism and responsibility. Their conduct must not only be characterized by propriety and decorum, but must also be in accordance with the law and court regulations," read the Aug. 14 decision shared online over the weekend.

A Supreme Court employee has had her retirement benefits forfeited and has been preptually disqualified from office for bouncing checks. 

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2023/08/21/2290298/motorcycle-riding-cop-dead-lanao-del-norte-road-mishap

A motorcycle-riding policeman died instantly after hitting a dump truck parked along an unlit stretch of a highway in an interior barangay in Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte before dawn Sunday.

Col. Sandy S. Vales, Lanao del Norte provincial police director, said Monday that the fatality, Patrolman Jhon Ryan Guardaquivil Baylan, belonged to the 1005th Mobile Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion under the Police Regional Office-10.

In an initial statement dispatched late Sunday the Kapatagan Municipal Police Station said Baylan was riding his motorcycle without a crash helmet when he rammed a dump truck parked ahead in a portion of the highway in Purok 2 in Barangay Taguitic at past 2 a.m. Sunday.

A cop who was not wearing a motorcycle helmet died in a motorcycle crash. 

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/523353/barangay-councilor-caught-with-p20400-worth-of-shabu-in-bohol

A barangay councilor, who is a former drug surrenderer, in Barangay Alegria Norte, Bohol landed in jail after getting caught with P20,400 worth of suspected shabu during a buy-bust operation on Tuesday evening, August 22, 2023.

The alleged suspect was identified by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) in a press release, as 45-year-old Jonardo Gamil Apduhan Sr., a resident of Barangay Alegria Sur.

The suspect is an incumbent barangay councilor of said village.

The buy-bust was a joint operation by personnel from PDEA Bohol Provincial Office, Philippine National Police (PNP) Bohol Maritime Police Station (MARPSTA), Naval Forces Central (NAVFORCEN), and the Loay Municipal Police Station.

The operatives conducted the anti-illegal drugs operation along the road in Purok 3, Barangay Alegria Sur at around 7:26 p.m. and apprehended the suspect who is the subject of the operation. 

According to PDEA-7, the buy-bust operation was the result of a one-month case buildup.

Leia Alcantara, spokesperson of PDEA-7, told CDN Digital in a phone interview, that the alleged suspect was a drug user who surrendered to police in 2016.

She added that Apduhan completed the Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation Program (CBDRP) in 2021.

However, she also said that Apduhan allegedly started selling illegal drugs this year based on their monitoring. The alleged suspect disposes of around 10 grams of illegal drugs per week, she added.

Apduhan has already submitted his certificate of candidacy to run for barangay captain in the upcoming elections, according to Alcantara.

The operatives seized a total of six packs of suspected shabu weighing around three grams from the suspect.

The confiscated suspected shabu had a Standard Drug Price (SDP) of P20,400.

Also confiscated were buy-bust money, one mobile phone, and a motorcycle during the buy-bust operation.

The pieces of drug evidence have been submitted for chemical analysis.

The authorities will conduct a follow-up investigation to determine the alleged suspect’s supplier of shabu and illegal drugs, said Alcantara.

She also said that the suspect is now detained at the Loay Municipal Police Station and that he will be facing charges of possession and selling of illegal drugs.

Alcantara added that as part of their protocol, they will also be filing an administrative case against Apduhan for his disqualification from running for any position in the government in the future.

A barangay councilor has been busted for selling drugs. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1208397

The Police Regional Office-5 (Bicol) has started to dig deeper into the killings of a barangay official and her husband in Libon, Albay on Tuesday night.

Relly Saraba Mata, councilor of Barangay Nogpo in the said municipality, and her husband Alfredo Bazar Mata were gunned down while onboard a motorcycle on their way home after attending a wake in Bariw village of the same town.

In a message to reporters, Lt. Col. Malu Calubaquib, PRO-5 spokesperson, said, "The victims sustained multiple gunshots in the different parts of their body, resulting in their untimely demise."

She said Bicol regional director Brig. Gen. Westrimundo Obinque has issued directives to all concerned units to conduct a comprehensive investigation on the shooting incident.

Calubaquib said assigned investigators have been deployed to the scene of the crime to gather the necessary information that will help identify the perpetrators and determine the motive behind the crime.

She also said PRO-5 condoled with the families of the victims as they denounced the killings.

"The organization is committed to extending necessary assistance to the bereaved family and ensuring that justice will be served," she added.

A barangay councilor and her husband have both been assassinated. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/879920/ombudsman-orders-filing-of-graft-raps-vs-lao-ex-dbm-officials-pharmally-execs/story

The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of three counts of graft charges against former Budget undersecretary Christopher Lao, two other former Budget executives, and Pharmally officials in connection with the government’s purchase of P4 billion worth of RT-PCR test kits.

“There is no doubt that without the individual acts of the aforementioned respondents, the procurement of the test kits would not have materialized. Respondents concerted and conspirational acts enabled the award of the multi-billion worth of contract to Pharmally, notwithstanding the existence of other corporations that are financially and technically capable to supply and deliver test kits at lower prices,” the Ombudsman said in its 37-page resolution.

Aside from Lao, also ordered indicted for three counts of graft were former DBM procurement director Warren Liong, DBM procurement management officer Paul Jasper de Guzman, and Pharmally officials Twinkle Dargani, Linconn Ong, Justine Garado, and Huang Tzu Yen.

The Ombudsman said Pharmally got the huge P4 billion government contract even if its paid up capital is only P625,000.

“Said award to Pharmally was a complete disregard of the provision that the procuring entity should directly negotiate or procure from a legally, technically and financially capable supplier, distributor, manufacturer, contractor or consultant as embodies in the Government Procurement Policy Board and the Procurement law,” it added.

Likewise, the Ombudsman said that public officials accused in this case allowed the further delay of delivery of test kits, even though they alleged of its urgent need to ramp up the testing capacity due to the spread of COVID-19 throughout the country.

“Allowing the several delays of delivery provided Pharmally an excuse and additional period to comply with its obligation. This act is clear evidence of public respondents’ manifest partiality toward said company,” it further said.

Finally, the anti-graft body said the public respondents favored Pharmally over One Top Medical Systems Resources which offered the same prices as the former and Biosite Medical Instruments, Inc., one of the suppliers included in the suppliers directory of the government.

“They apparently acted with manifest partiality and in bad faith for unlawfully and willingly awarding the contracts to a newly incorporated corporation and without any business experience with the government,” it said.

In response to the Ombudsman’s decision, the camp of Pharmally officials maintained that they are not liable for graft or any form of corruption.

Several officials have been charged with graft over the procurement of RT-PCR test kits. 

Coronavirus Lockdown: Tourism Resurgence, Shipping Industry, and More!

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

Tourism continues to make a resurgence in aftermath of the pandemic. 

https://www.traveldailynews.asia/organizations/philippines-tourisms-resurgence-elevates-economic-development-rankings-under-marcos-administration/

Discover how the Philippines’ Department of Tourism, led by Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, attributes tourism’s impressive ascent to a top economic driver to the visionary policies of the Marcos Administration. Learn how strategic measures, from easing pandemic restrictions to fostering partnerships, have revitalized the industry, resulting in remarkable growth and contributions to the country’s progress.

Philippines Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco says the ascendance of tourism as among the top drivers of economic development, ranking second for the first 6 months of 2023 is a result of the Marcos Administration’s prioritization of the industry, noting its vital contribution to the country’s progress. 

Government economic data reveals that from January to June 2023, the rebound of tourism in growth areas emerged as the second driver of economic development in the country. 

The number one driver of growth is the registered high employment rate since the start of the year, followed by the resurgence of tourism, increase in investment registration activities, and students coming back to school. 

Speaking before some 300 members of the PHILTOA’s 4th General Membership Meeting held at the Crimson Hotel in Alabang, Muntinlupa on Thursday (10 Aug), Secretary Frasco reiterated the pro-tourism policies implemented by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. provided the impetus needed to reinvigorate the industry badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.   

“Philippine tourism is back and it’s back with a vengeance. The robust growth and recovery of Philippine tourism is consistent with what we have seen since the start of the Marcos administration,” said Secretary Frasco in her extemporaneous keynote address. 

“The effort of our President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos, Jr. at the very beginning, was to send the unequivocal message that tourism is a priority. And therefore, he mobilized the entire national government to come together to assist the Department of Tourism to open up the Philippines once again to travel,” the tourism chief added. 

Frasco cited the efforts of the government to ease pandemic restrictions such as the lifting of the mandatory mask mandate, the use of the One Health Pass, the approval of e-visa for select tourism source markets, the reintroduction of the Philippines’ cultural and natural assets, the directive to provide tax refund to foreign visitors which is now in the process of legislation, and recently, the Presidential Proclamation 297 that lifted the state of public health emergency throughout the Philippines, among others, which according to Frasco, greatly helped in mobilizing our tourists to come into and go around the country. 

In Baguio faster recovery in the tourism industry is seen as hotel occupancy rates are up. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1207863

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB) on Tuesday said the hotel industry here is now expected to recover from the effects of the pandemic at a much faster rate thanks to the continuous spike in hotel occupancy.

Andrew Pinero, spokesperson of the HRAB and client relations manager of the only five-star resort in the city, the Baguio Country Club, said accommodation establishments are experiencing high occupancy rates as the city becomes an attractive destination for "revenge tourists" due to its accessibility and cooler climate.

"We are on the road to recovery but now shorter. If we projected at least five years before we can fully recover, now we can say at least three years," said Pinero in an interview.

He said they noticed a 15- to 20-percent increase in the average monthly tourist arrivals based on hotel bookings.

Currently, the average monthly hotel occupancy in the city is 80 percent, even higher than the 60 to 65 percent before the pandemic, he said.

"We are seeing a high tourist arrival rate, especially on weekends which we hope will continue to allow us to recover in full," he said.

During the quarantine period in 2020, the tourism industry posted an estimated PHP1.46 billion in losses. The amount is based on the 540,373 local tourist arrivals from February to May 2019, computed on a daily expenditure of PHP2,700 per person per day.

Pinero added that when the city started a slow but safe opening to tourists, the arrivals started to show an uptrend that continues to this day.

"If this showing will continue, the projection of five years will be cut short," he said.

He said no accomodation establishment has yet reported any recent losses or having a hard time with their businesses. Even transient houses are also experiencing an increase in bookings, he added.

The Niyogyugan Festival is back after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1208167

The Niyogyugan Festival, Quezon province’s annual event to celebrate its coconut farmers, resumed after a three-year halt, bringing in an average of 20,000 tourists daily.

The 11-day long festival that ended Saturday is part of the province’s commemoration of the birth anniversary of President Manuel L. Quezon.

It was the first to be held since its last staging in 2019, after which the Covid-19 pandemic canceled all events.

Data from the Quezon provincial government showed that between 18,000 and 24,000 tourists participated in the daily activities.

So, overall tourism is on the uptick throughout the Philippines. 

The DOH's budget for 2024 has been slashed by 10 billion pesos. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1819337/recto-flags-p10-billion-slash-in-2024-budget-for-doh

The allotment next year for the Department of Health (DOH), an agency that used to be front and center in the government’s budgeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been slashed by some P10 billion, House Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto said on Sunday.

The Batangas representative noted that, under the proposed National Expenditure Program (NEP) of P5.768 trillion for 2024, the government has set aside only P199 billion for DOH, compared with its approved allocation of P209 billion this year.

Among the biggest casualties of the lower budget for the DOH, according to Recto, were the country’s four major specialty health facilities — the Lung Center of the Philippines, Kidney Center of the Philippines, Heart Center of the Philippines, and Philippine Children’s Medical Center.

The recommended funding for the four health institutions which poor Filipinos heavily depend on dropped by a total of P818 million, the veteran lawmaker lamented.

Even the proposed allocation for the Medical Assistance for Indigents Fund was slashed by more than P10 billion, leaving it to just P22.2 billion compared with the present allotment of P32.6 billion, Recto said.

He noted that the budget for social services had been taken over by spending for the “big payroll and overhead [expenses] in maintaining a large bureaucracy [and] the rising debt service.”

But he also said that “Congress and the Executive [branch], in the spirit of cooperation, will find ways on how to increase the health budget,” as they had done in the past.

“If the budget were a sculpture, then revenues are the clay from which it is made from. You cannot make a big sculpture if you don’t have enough materials,” he said in a statement on Sunday.

“Budget-wise,” Recto said, “the DOH is still reeling from the effects of long COVID-19 as shown by the proposed P20-billion allocation for ‘Public Health Emergency Benefits’ for health workers.”

The DOH still as 20 billion pesos allocated for health workers due to the pandemic. 

The shipping industry is still struggling post-pandemic.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/08/21/news/national/challenges-hound-shipping-industry/1906322

THE shipping industry faces unprecedented challenges, including the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, high fuel costs and global economic slowdown, the head of a shippers organization said.

Interviewed at SMNI's "Business and Politics" program, Patrick Ronas, president of the Association of International Shipping Lines, said that during the pandemic, there was a sudden drop in demand for goods, disruptions in supply chains and closures of businesses that affected shipping volumes and operations.

"All of us were affected by the pandemic, which has caused a significant volume drop in shipping. Everything was closed down, but we were one of those essential people like terminal operators, truckers and those in the logistic sector who remain on the ground, ensuring that cargoes or containers will be delivered," Ronas told the program host, The Manila Times CEO Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd.

He said the shipping industry had hoped that cargo volume would rebound to pre-pandemic levels.

In mid-September 2022, the industry hit its 2019 volume. And in the first half of 2023, imports were up by 1.15 percent, which Ronas sees as a good sign.

But they too are gradually recovering.

COVID-9 cases continue to drop across the nation.

https://mb.com.ph/2023/8/23/muntinlupa-tallies-1-active-covid-19-case-in-a-week

The Muntinlupa City government recorded only one active Covid-19 case in one week as the country also registered a decrease in the weekly tally of new cases. 

Data from the Muntinlupa City Health Office (CHO) showed that from Aug. 15 to 21, one active Covid-19 case was recorded, down from two cases tallied from Aug. 8 to 14. 

The lone case is registered in Barangay Alabang while the rest of the eight Muntinlupa barangays have zero active cases. 

From Aug 15 to 21, only one new Covid-19 was recorded, rising from 47,310 to 47,311. Recoveries totaled two in the past week from 46,644 to 46,646 and there were zero deaths in the past week. 

The Department of Health (DOH) reported that nationwide, a total of 789 new Covid-19 cases were recorded from Aug. 14 to 20 or a daily average of 113 cases. The total is 15 percent lower compared to the tally from Aug. 7 to 13. 

There are 11 severe and critical cases nationwide and 10 deaths recorded from Aug. 7 to 20. 

15% lower. And how much lower next week? 

The God Culture: Blaspheming the Holy Spirit

Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture has been a busy man of late. He has begun once more holding conferences around the nation to delude Filipinos into thinking they are Israelites and that the Philippines is actually Ophir, Tarshish, and Sheba. He has also published a new book in two volumes about the Apocrypha. But before all that he began a new series called "Restoring Creation."

Restoring Creation Series

This series purports to be restoring the truth about the creation narrative in Genesis 1 and 2. However, far from restoring knowledge Tim is actually vomiting forth enormous falsehoods. In this article will detail Tim's blasphemous statements against the Holy Ghost. 

The fact is Tim believes the Holy Spirit is not God but a creation and had no role in creation as a creator. This is utter anti-trinitarian blasphemy. I will not be explaining the Trinity or divinity of the Holy Spirit here. This will be a catalogue of Timothy Jay Schwab's blasphemous statements against the Holy Spirit in this series. Remember what Jesus said about such blasphemy:

Matthew 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture is past the point of redemption and if you follow him so are you.  

Restoring Creation: Part 2: Continued... Did Moses Write the First Chapters of Genesis?

35:40 Elohim is the Father and the Son it's plural and it's used because the Father and the Son created.

36:22 Moses wrote Genesis and he wrote Elohim in the beginning because the Elohim he refers to is two, the Father and the Son. 

Restoring Creation: Part 3: What Is the Origin of Genesis? Not Sumer or the Occult!

1:27:47 Yahusha said Moses wrote of me. Hello? He did so in Genesis and Jubilees first and actually if we went back even further uh, when it says "In the beginning Elohim said", right, Elohim created the heavens and the earth, well, that word Elohim is there, not God, by the way. It's Elohim in Hebrew and it's plural. It's two. It's the Father and the Son. Some throw in the Holy Spirit uh, we can't find any Scriptures where the Holy Spirit is a creator, but whatever. 

Restoring Creation: Part 4: Before Creation? What and When Was "In The Beginning?"

2:13 The Holy Spirit as well was there but we just don't have a defined role for Him at that time. Uh, He's not called Elohim. He's not known to be a creator

13:23 Elohim is plural which means it's more than one. So, there's at least two Elohim at creation in the beginning. But see the angels weren't created yet so this is the Father and the Son specifically. Some try to fit the Holy Spirit into that formula and actually we don't have a problem with that, uh, we just never see that in Scripture He's never equated as Elohim in Scripture, uh, so why would we add something that's just plain not there. We're not gonna do that to placate Church doctrine of men. We don't.

33:19 That's a power reserved for Elohim from the beginning which is plural, it is two. 

36:52 When Genesis says in the beginning Elohim, at least two, created the heaven and the earth it means the Father and the Son, John 1 says so. Again, this isn't the only place go to Jubilees and actually Paul also affirms this as well we've covered in other videos. There is no debating that. Again, there are no others even there that would classify as Elohim other than the Holy Spirit who, by the way, is not classified as such. Uh, if that's somehow an oversight in Scripture fine. Uh, He is absolutely a wonderful, beautiful part of this whole formula no doubt. But we don't know what his role was at creation. There's just nothing there for Him. It just says he upon the waters or the face of the deep. That doesn't really tell us anything. Maybe He did something and we're just not seeing it but we're just not seeing it. It's just not there and we're not gonna stretch something that's just not there. 

40:02 Again the world was made by Yahusha with Yahuah, Elohim, plural, defined right here again. That's why it's plural. It is a class of only two at that time. So there's not a lot of research that needs to be done to figure out who it was.   

Restoring Creation: Part 5: Before Creation? The Occult Narrative Scholars Are Following In Error

23:30 There's nothing except for the Father and the Son perhaps the Holy Spirit though there is no Scripture that says He had no beginning such as Melchizedek, Messiah, or the Father. 

26:08 No angels created any of that. No. It didn't happen. It was the Father and the Son. Yes the Holy Spirit was there, too, there's no doubting that. We've never said otherwise. But He's not assigned a role as a Creator nor as Elohim in Scripture. It's just not there. 

Restoring Creation: Part 9: Is Darkness Evil? Or Good?

5:24 Again we already proved there is no time period known as before creation. It's just not there. It's fiction. It is occult fiction we proved. And all that was there previously that we know of is the Father and the Son and perhaps the Holy Spirit. We don't know. Scripture doesn't say. It never identifies Him as having no beginning like as the Father and the Son which it does very clearly.   

6:18 No Scripture identifies the Holy Spirit though in that vein. It just doesn't. I mean do we follow scripture or do we, do we, like to propagate the doctrines of men and beat people up as anti-trinitarians or whatever stupid word they can come up with? What dumb, you know, illiterate ignorance when the word Trinity doesn't even exist in the Bible so who cares about it. When you see the word, the, the word that is you, you do understand that, right? Yeah I'm pretty sure our viewers do. When you see the word Eternal that does not mean they don't have a beginning understand that as well our Spirits are Eternal right but most certainly have beginning. We were created right? Uh, angels are Eternal but they have a creation point. We're actually going to cover that very clearly on the first day. Uh, it's just not there, uh, you know so trying to take, again, a word, uh, out of its own definition, I mean Eternal doesn't mean they've lived forever it means they will live forever. Um, it does not mean they don't have a beginning. So they see that word Eternal, uh, used in terms of the The Ruach and then they assume oh well that means the Holy Spirit is also from, you know, from before, uh, creation. Right? It actually, no, no it doesn't mean that and it doesn't say that. 

Restoring Creation: Part 10: Did Creation Begin In Gen. 1:2? Powerful Revelation!

9:56 So, what elements of creation are present in Genesis? Well, Elohim of course, the Father and the Son really. 

10:51 And the Holy Spirit was present and you will notice He is always on the surface of the earth throughout Scripture. Notice that. A lot of times they say oh well the Holy Spirit in Heaven. Woah, woah, wait, wait. The Holy Spirit's not in heaven. That's not Bible. The Holy Spirit generally is on earth. Now we got no role for him at creation, uh, no Scripture calling Him Elohim, it's just not there. Uh, but we'll get there soon too. We are gonna address one, uh, that could be used to try to bolster such although we actually haven't seen anybody figure that out but we figured it out and already we'll show you how that would not be an accurate reading.   

Restoring Creation: Part 12: Who Is Elohim? Gen. 1:1 Understood. First Day.

1:39 Well, who then are the Elohim of Genesis 1:1 before the angels were even created? Yes they are called Elohim as well because Elohim is a general term for  heavenly being. However, there are no other heavenly beings there is two here actually. There's another being on earth, uh, and there you go, that's it, at creation in the very beginning.  

18:59 But who is Elohim? Well, the word is plural at least two in the Hebrew, the "im" on the end makes it plural. Plural means not one but two. 

37:37 So, in the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth. That Elohim is two. The Father and the Son. Again, the Holy Spirit's there but there's no Scripture that ever attributes the Holy Spirit as a creator. It's just not there. You can try to add it. You can try to say, you know, it's equated in some context somewhere. That's fine go ahead and do that but we don't. We just don't placate those kinds of thinkings. We, we go with what the Bible says. So, that's not His role it just isn't in scripture. If it was His role then show us the Scripture. Well you won't because it's not there.  

39:05 But here basically the word Elohim is a generic term for heavenly being. But again, the only beings in heaven at the tome of Genesis 1:1 are the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is hovering on the waters. He's on earth which is where he is throughout Scripture. His role is on earth.  

51:53 So, Yahusha, the Son, is part of Elohim which is plural for two at creation, the Father and the Son. That is the only who qualify as creators. In the beginning Elohim created, right? Again we'll cover this more but the Holy Spirit is not known as Elohim nor a Creator. It's just not there. He is incredibly important and physically present at creation indeed not in heaven but on Earth where he is found throughout scripture in the Old and New Testaments alike but still that doesn't make him what the Bible never calls Him. He is not the Elohim of Creation in the sense of creating. He just doesn't do that that the text says at all. In the beginning Elohim created does not include Him as such though He is present indeed. We aren't going to force something this important because of, well, illiterate ridicule using an anti-trinitarian label or whatever. Who cares? Which also is a word that, well, never exists in scripture. Oh how about that? Talk about the dumbest of false paradigms. Such inept fools don't even realize the words they use aren't even in the Bible yet they beat people over the head for not using their unbiblical words and doctrines for that matter. Now that's pretty dumb. Wow.

Restoring Creation: Part 13: Where Did the Water and Deep Come From? Gen. 1:2 Understood in Job 26

6:10 And the Spirit of Elohim moved upon the face of the waters. That's the Holy Spirit no doubt. This is definitely Him, His first mention, He was there. He just wasn't a creator according to Scripture. It doesn't attribute that role which is ok, He doesn't have to be. Not sure why they claim that He does. That's ridiculous.  

13:08 There's no mention in Jubilees of the Holy Spirit specifically. Uh, Moses doesn't separate him out there, uh, and that may be telling, uh, but we're, we're not sure on that though we'll keep researching. Uh, he mentions all the spirits that serve before Him, uh, which are indisputably angels. Uh, whether the Holy Spirit is included in that we don't know. Uh, that's a topic for another series requiring a lot of research we're not going to touch yet but we will eventually. We'd like to get to that, anyway. We know He was there though and that the Angels weren't yet, uh, at that point on Genesis 1:2. Uh, so if if He was created per se He would have been created before, uh, the Angels not at the same time and certainly not lumped in with them. So, not sure that, that that's the case and He very well may be. Uh, yes he's the Eternal Holy Spirit but Eternal, uh, the angels are Eternal, man is eternal so that doesn't mean that He existed prior to being created if he was a creation like other Spirits. There's just no mention of Him as existing prior and the word Eternal does not denote no beginning, again. So, there's no scripture that really says, okay, and that may actually tell us much.

Restoring Creation: Part 14: Who Is The Light of Creation? Light and Darkness.

14:47 Basically this is a creation miracle from the Light of the World who created all things He and the Father together demonstrating such now. 

18:45 I mean how can we read all these things that Yahusha was in the beginning and created and all things were created by Him as well as the Father, uh, nothing was created without Him, and not realize that He's injected into all of this? Of course He is. Has to be because Elohim is the Father and the Son. 

20:01 For the glory of Elohim did lighten it. Wow! Ok so you have the Father or the Father and Son, Elohim's plural, right, and that would be the proper Hebrew there even though this is written in Greek. And the Lamb, who is the Lamb? We all know that's Yahusha. And the Lamb is the light thereof. Specifically out of Elohim, the Father and the Son, the light comes from Yahusha.

24:17 Yahuah says, Elohim, really the Father and the Son. 

29:48 An era the Bible, by the way, never mentions before creation we've made that clear, uh, except for Yahuah and Yahusha existed, uh, and we're not given a narrative prior to these first six days of creation because we don't need one.  

Restoring Creation: Part 17: What Is The Firmament? Second Day

13:09 Genesis 1:6 and Elohim the Father and the Son together

23:49 On the first day Yahuah and Yahusha, Elohim, created seven great works.

Restoring Creation: Part 19: The Flood: Eyewitnesses of the Firmament Second Day

2:54 There is no such thing as concept of before creation other than the fact that Yahuah and Yahusha existed prior. That's it. That's all we find in Scripture. Not even the Holy Spirit for that matter. We don't find that. Doesn't mean that He wasn't we just don't know because it doesn't say. 

17:49 It's amazing what Yahuah and Yahusha did in the first days of time. 

Restoring Creation: Part 28: Sun, Moon, & Stars. Fourth Day

51:15 The heavens declare the glory of Elohim. Indeed they are the creators and they created the heavens therefore that's how that works. The Father and the Son and yes the Holy Spirit was there present hovering over the face of the great deep, over the earth basically. Uh, we just aren't given a role for Him in creation itself. Doesn't say that He was a creator. Just doesn't.

For the moment Timothy Jay Schwab has paused his creation series so this list is incomplete. But it is more than enough to convict The God Culture of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. He may not think he is blaspheming the Holy Ghost but what else do you call denying God's Spirit divinity, eternity, and being a creator? The Bible tells us that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption. 

Are we sealed with a creature? The idea is preposterous. 

Paul says we are to pray at all times in the Spirit. 

Jude says we are to pray in the Holy Ghost!

Are we to pray to a creature? Of course not!

All the functions of the Holy Spirit as laid out in the Scriptures are that of God and not a creature. To deny His divinity and suggest He is a creation is to commit blasphemy. Timothy Jay Schwab of the God Culture is a blasphemer. 

Insurgency: Voters Reject CPP-NPA Affiliates

The local BSKE elections are almost upon us and the AFP has some advice for voters.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1207813

The top Army official in the Visayas reminded voters not to support candidates affiliated with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE).

Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, Visayas Command (Viscom) chief, said in a statement Tuesday that they need all the help they could get in preventing the CPP-NPA from regaining their foothold in the region.

“As the Barangay and SK elections are fast approaching, we encourage our people to cast their vote wisely by not supporting individuals who are affiliated with the terrorist group,” Arevalo said.

Arevalo cited the vibrant partnership of the military in the region with the local government units and private stakeholders in drumming up dialogues through localized peace engagements that led to the piling of losses in the communist side.

Note that at no time does the AFP say exactly which parties are affiliated with the CPP-NPA. That makes this worthless advice. And it's not as if they haven't warned against certain parties in the past. So, why not this time?

Northern Samar remains one of the most NPA ridden areas and 900 PNP officers have now been deployed to ensure peace. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1208106

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has deployed at least 900 cops to help sustain anti-insurgency efforts in 14 villages of Northern Samar.

Police officers assigned for “confidence-building” mission under the Revitalized “Pulis sa Barangay” (R-PSB) Program will stay for six months in the villages of Palapag, San Roque, and Mapanas towns earlier cleared from the threats of the New People’s Army (NPA).

PNP Eastern Visayas regional director Brig. Gen. Vincent Calanoga said in an interview Friday that 318 personnel were deployed late Thursday in Osmeña, Bagacay, Capacujan, Sangay, and Cabatuan villages in Palapag town; and Naparasan and Quezon village in Mapanas town.

In mid-July, the PNP also deployed 583 police personnel to Coroconog, Balnasan, Balud, Pagsang-an, Malobago, Lawaan, and Bantayan villages in San Roque town.

“We selected the best policemen for deployment since this is a sensitive operation. This is about confidence-building in communities previously influenced and are vulnerable to the persuasion of NPA,” Calanoga said.

These police personnel in 14 teams are skilled in farming, nursing, engineering, teaching, plumbing, electrical, and healthcare since their mission is to develop communities, he said.

How can anyone have confidence in the PNP? Let's hope the locals don't read the news. 

More NPA leaders have died this week. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1207753

A political instructor and finance officer of the Southern Front Committee of the Komiteng Rehiyon Panay of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) was killed after sustaining injuries in a three-minute firefight with government troops in Barangay Cananaman in Leon, Iloilo past noon of Sunday.

“As a result of the firefight a female member was killed in action later identified as Rebecca Aliparo alias Mara. She has gunshot wounds on her left arm, right face, and right chest,” said Leon Municipal Police Station officer-in-charge Lt. Danilo L. Noca, in an interview on Monday.

Members of the Philippine Army’s 61st Infantry Battalion (61IB) were unhurt while the two companions of Aliparo escaped.

The body of 56-year-old Aliparo, a resident of Barangay Bagacay in the municipality of Tigbauan, was claimed by her siblings on Monday.

Noca said according to her siblings, Aliparo started as a student activist when she was around 18 to 19 years old.

She did not graduate from college because she already joined the movement. The last time they saw her was in 1994, during the wake of their father.

“She was convinced by her family to return to the government but because of her principle, they were not able to persuade her,” Noca said, adding that after 38 years in the movement, she returned home already dead.

Brig. Gen. Michael Samson, 301st Infantry Brigade commander, said the incident was a major blow to the Southern Front.

“A political instructor is an important position because they are the ones indoctrinating on policies and other ideologies and policies by the central committee. So very important,” he said in a media interview.

Samson said they have been receiving information from the community regarding NPA presence, a sign that they are no longer welcome.

“Their presence means the place is not peaceful, investors and projects got affected. It is our legitimate mandate to pursue them and pressure them not to fight the government, usually, the result is death,” he added.

Another "major blow" says the AFP which they say rather often while the NPA continues as ever. 

In S. Kudarat an NPA leader was slain during a confrontation with troops. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1207853

A middle-level commander of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) was killed during an encounter with government forces in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat, the military here said Tuesday.

Joseph Longan, leader of Beijing Platoon of the NPA Far South Mindanao Region Command, was killed in a clash with Army troopers in Barangay Badiangon, Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat on Sunday, said Lt. Col. John Paul Baldomar, commander of the Philippine Army’s 37th Infantry Battalion (37IB).

Baldomar said the troops were sent to the area after several residents alerted the Army about the NPA recruitment activities among high school students of the village.

The communist guerrillas fired on the responding soldiers, triggering a 10-minute gun battle.

Brig. Gen. Michael Santos, the Army’s 603rd Infantry Brigade commander based in Palimbang, said soldiers recovered a hand grenade, food supplies, and personal items beside the body of Longan.

“The rebels have nowhere to go. There’s no letup in our operation against them in the mountains of Palimbang, Kalamansig and nearby areas,” Santos said.

No word on if this is also a big blow. The AFP says there is no let up in their operations in Mindanao and that certainly includes operations agains the Muslim insurgency. After lifting the emergency in Mindanao the AFP claims total victory against the Muslims should happen very soon. By the end of the year in fact. 

https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/military-chief-victory-over-militants-by-year-end-07312023121229.html

The Philippines can achieve “total victory” against Muslim militants in the volatile south by year’s end, the country’s new military chief said, after the president last week lifted an emergency enforced across Mindanao since 2016. 

Armed Forces commander Gen. Romeo Brawner said there had been no kidnap-for-ransom activities during the past two years in Mindanao, the country’s southern third where Filipino extremist factions linked with the Islamic State group are known to operate.

“[F]or more than two years now, there [have been] no more such incidents because of the military operations we are conducting. Many of them were neutralized. Many of them died but more of them surrendered,” Brawner said on Sunday during a program on DZBB radio, transcripts of which were released Monday.

“That is why we are very optimistic that by the end of the year, we are going to defeat them, we will achieve total victory against all of these terrorist groups.”

Abu Sayyaf, Maute, and the BIFF might be on the wane but he is forgetting about the MILF which remains a terrorist group and has been given control of a large part of Mindanao. They still pose a threat. 

https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/south-deadly-ambush-08142023113724.html

The Philippine military on Monday accused members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a former guerrilla group, of killing a soldier and a policeman during an attack in the south that left seven government troops wounded. 

In Sunday’s incident in Ungkaya Pukan, a remote town in the island province of Basilan, officials said that 10 gunmen ambushed a security convoy guarding a Joint Peace and Security Team. The team is tasked with overseeing the decommissioning and disarming of former MILF combatants as agreed in a 2014 peace agreement with Manila. 

The team members were riding in two vehicles after inspecting the area – a former MILF stronghold – when they were attacked, said Maj. Andrew Linao, a regional military spokesman.

“Our troops fought back, resulting in a firefight which lasted for five minutes,” Linao said. 

He said the soldier died on the spot, while the policeman died later while being treated for his injuries. The seven other wounded soldiers were recuperating at a military hospital in Zamboanga City.

“This act is a clear manifestation of the perpetrators’ disrespect to their local government officials, the military, and their fellow Basileños, hence, we will not stop until these heartless individuals are identified and neutralized,” Linao said.

BenarNews contacted local MILF authorities but did not immediately hear back.

Brig. Gen. Alvin Luzon, commander of 101st Brigade and Joint Task Force Basilan (JTFB), said the MILF leadership “appears to have no control over its members,” although he added that they had denied their members were involved in the ambush.

“Right now, the pressure is on the MILF side to show their sincerity,” Luzon told reporters.

The fact is the MILF cannot be trusted no matter what promises they have made.  The MILF have literally said that decommissioning does not mean surrender. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1162067/milfs-murad-decommissioning-is-not-surrender

“We have not given up on our struggle.” 

“We are not surrendering. Decommissioning is not tantamount to surrendering,” said Ebrahim, who is also Chief Minister of the interim Bangsamoro government. 

“I would like to emphasize that the decommissioning doesn’t mean we have given up on what we used to fight for,” Ebrahim emphasized.

What the MILF used to fight for, the reason the group broke away from the MNLF, is the formation of an independent Muslim Mindanao. Will they continue to pursue this goal? According to Murad the answer is yes. How they continue this fight remains to be seen.

The DOLE Says Construction Sites Remain Unsafe in the Philippines

I have written at length about how construction sites in the Philippines are very unsafe. From not wearing harnesses to wearing flip flops instead of boots a premium is not put on safety. A recent DOLE report says more than half of 100 construction sites inspected in Manila are violating safety rules.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1207975

More than half of close to 100 construction projects inspected in Metro Manila are not compliant with occupational safety and health (OSH) standards, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported on Wednesday.

Based on the report of the Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC), the DOLE said 52 of 95 construction projects it has inspected since from Aug. 1 to 15 were found to have violations.

Among the top violations recorded are non-submission or no copy of the Construction Safety and Health Program in the workplace and the absence of or inadequate designated OSH personnel, such as safety officers and first aiders.

Other top violations are non-conduct of mandatory OSH training for all workers, including toolbox meetings; absence of a safety and health committee; and non-issuance of personal protective equipment (PPE) to workers and inadequate or improper use of PPE.

The 20 construction sites that are found to have violations of PPE are advised to implement immediate correction.

Furthermore, an authority to inspect will be issued immediately for a complete inspection of the said sites, while the remaining sites will be continuously monitored by the team.

Those with findings on OSH personnel are referred to appropriate training, such as the 40-hour Construction Occupational Safety and Health Training provided by OSHC or any DOLE-accredited safety training organization and the Standard First Aid and Basic Life Support Training provided by any first aid training provider for first aid certification.

The site visits by the DOLE team, composed of personnel from the BWC and Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC), and labor inspectors from the DOLE-National Capital Region on ongoing construction projects in the region started on the first week of August.

On the other hand, the DOLE reminded construction sites to strictly comply with OSH standards to ensure safe and healthful working conditions.

It noted that major accidents resulting in disability or death, or major illnesses are likely to occur among high-risk establishments if no preventive or control measures are in place, the guidelines further state.

Safety violations have consequences. A day after this report was published a wall at Quezon City hall collapsed. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/8/18/1-dead-4-hurt-as-wall-collapse-in-qc-hall-construction-site

A construction worker died while four others were hurt after a wall at a construction site at the Quezon City Hall compound collapsed on Thursday evening, Aug. 17.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said that rescuers responded to the area after the wall collapsed at the Civic Center B Building, Quezon City Hall at around 10:14 p.m.

The fatality was identified as Russel Guezo, 20, who was trapped under the collapsed wall.

The BFP said his body was retrieved at around 11:51 p.m.

The three injured victims were identified as Russel Erezo, 22, of Siargao Del Norte; Erwin Ramos, 32, and Joshua Garcia, 23, both from Novaliches, Quezon City; and Christian Mamposte, 20, of Barangay Krus Na Ligas, in the city.

"The local government has instructed the City Engineering Department to investigate the collapsed part of the wall this evening at the construction site at the Civic Center B Building of Quezon City Hall,"  the local government said in a statement.

"Based on the initial report, a part of the wall of the building collapsed where the private contractor was supposed to place a scenic elevator," it added.

The city government said that among the factors it will investigate are the system implemented by the contractor at the construction site and whether it gave importance to the aspect of occupational safety.

What a coincidence! Or is it? It's not clear why this wall collapsed. It could have been anything from lack of safety measures to using substandard materials. The fact is Philippine construction sites remain dangerous and that is a bona fide measurable fact acknowledged by no less than the DOLE.