Retards in the Government 339

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

 

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2023/11/15/2311713/newly-elected-kagawad-davao-del-norte-shot-dead

A suspected gun-for-hire shot dead a newly-elected barangay councilor in San Isidro town in Davao del Norte in an attack on Tuesday.

Reports by the Catholic Radio Station DXMS and DXMY-Radio Mindanao Network, both in Cotabato City, on Wednesday identified the fatality as Jay Glen Dela Rama, who was elected barangay councilman in Barangay Sawata in Davao del Norte.

Dela Rama, a businessman, was a retired member of the Philippine Army, according to radio reports. He died in a hospital while being treated for gunshot wounds. 

A security camera recording that circulated on Facebook showed an attacker approached Dela Rama inside his roadside store in Barangay Sawata and shot him repeatedly and finished him off as he fell on the floor.

The suspect reportedly escaped by riding a Yamaha Aerox motorcycle parked nearby, driven by an accomplice.

Another newly elected barangay councilor has been assassainated. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/11/18/newly-elected-village-chair-shot-dead-in-nueva-vizcaya

A newly elected barangay chairman was shot dead inside his house in Purok 3, Calitlitan, here on Friday evening, November 17.

Police identified the victim as Rolando Serapon, 76.

Serapon was inside his house when the suspect, wearing black short pants and T-shirt,  arrived and fired at the victim. 

The victim was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead. The suspect escaped onboard on a single motorcycle. 

Police are pursuing the suspect and the forensics investigators are combing evidence for clues.

Another newly elected barangay chairman has been assassinated.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2023/11/19/2312666/4-cops-p18-million-zamboanga-city-robbery-arrested

Four policemen, one of them a lieutenant, were arrested in police operations in Zamboanga City during a police operation on Saturday. This came four days after their suspected involvement in a robbery where a local Tausug trader was reportedly stripped of P1.8 million in cash.

Police Lt. Ariel Jolatoria, Patrolman Rayan Apostol, Senior Master Sgt. Alnajer Ynawat and Staff Sgt. Edcel Nicolas were first reported by authorities in Zamboanga City to have intruded into the residence of a Tausug merchant, Al-Ghabid Abdul, in the guise of serving him a fake warrant of arrest for a criminal offense, divested him of mobile phones and took with them his two portable safety vaults as they escaped on Wednesday last week.

Jalatoria belongs to the Regional Support Unit-Police Regional Office-9, while Apostol is a member of the Zamboanga City Police Office 2nd Mobile Force Company. Ynawat is under the Zamboanga City Police Office Mobile Patrol Unit and the fourth suspect, Nicolas, is assigned at the Zamboanga City Police Station 7.

Officials of the Zamboanga City Police Office and PRO-9 confirmed to reporters on Sunday that the four policemen are now detained. They will be prosecuted for armed robbery.

Four cops have been arrested for robbery.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1214049

A newly reelected village councilor in Maguindanao del Norte was killed in an ambush Monday afternoon in Sultan Mastura municipality, police said.

The slain village councilor was identified as Anwar Mamukan, 48, of Barangay Balut.

He sustained six gunshot wounds in various parts of his body and died on the spot.

“Mamukan was driving his white vehicle (MAV-4906) at about 4 p.m. Monday when two men onboard a motorbike fired at him several times along the crossroads in Barangay Balut and Sec. Narciso Ramos Highway,” Capt. Elmar Elarcosa, Sultan Mastura municipal police station chief, said in a report on Tuesday.

Responding police officers found empty shells of a .45-caliber pistol at the crime scene, he added.

A newly re-elected village councilor has been assassinated. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1214047

A former village councilor here and two others were arrested Monday afternoon for possession of three unlicensed firearms during a police entrapment.

Former Barangay Rosary Heights 7 village councilor Okan Salik was nabbed after completing the illegal transaction with an undercover agent near the village hall at about 3 p.m. Monday.

Operatives also arrested his cohorts, Alrajem Sansaluna, 23, from Koronadal City, South Cotabato; and Alinor Silongan, 21, of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, according to a report released Tuesday by Lt. Col. Ariel Huesca, chief of the police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (CIDG-BARMM).

Recovered from the suspects were a 5.56 mm rifle, two .45-caliber pistols, ammunition and magazines, mobile phones, a vehicle, and the PHP200,000 marked money.

Salik later denied personally knowing Sansaluna and Silongan and that he is a gunrunner.

CIDG agents likewise found a 5.56mm rifle in Salk’s car, which the suspect said was for "self-defense" following a gun attack a few years back.

The suspects, currently locked up at the CIDG-BARMM detention facility here, are facing charges for violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.

A former village councilor has been arrested for gunrunning. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1863431/negros-occidental-town-councilor-suspended-for-absences

The La Castellana town council suspended during a special session Monday, Nov. 20, a councilor linked to a police recruitment scam for a series of unexplained absences.

The council approved the immediate suspension of Councilor Donato “Natnat” Dumaguit for 15 days without remuneration and ordered him to pay a fine of P3,000 without prejudice to the filing of a case against him.

Councilor Leonardo Bacquian said the majority of the council members voted to expel Dumaguit from the town council, which would have to be decided and ordered by the court.

“They have instructed the council secretary to tap the services of their lawyer to file the charges seeking the expulsion of Dumaguit in court,” he said.

Dumaguit has had 13 unexplained absences from the council sessions.

Large scale estafa charges have been filed against Dumaguit at the Negros Occidental Prosecutor’s Office for alleged involvement in recruitment of 40 persons, most of whom were La Castellana residents, for jobs in the Philippine National Police, for a fee.

A town Councilor facing estate charges has been suspended for absenteeism. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1862967/coa-confirms-doh-ps-dbm-lapses-in-pharmally-deals

The Department of Health (DOH) and the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) committed several lapses in the handling of funds and purchase of COVID-19 supplies at the peak of the pandemic, a special audit by the Commission on Audit (COA) has confirmed.

Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara said the two agencies’ “shortcomings” were explained in detail in a nine-volume report on the COA’s audit of the government’s multibillion-peso deals with Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., the supplier at the center of an overpricing and corruption scandal in 2021.

Angara, chair of the Senate finance committee, made the disclosure as he defended the COA’s proposed P13.53-billion budget for 2024 during plenary deliberations.

Reading from a note handed to him by the COA officials, Angara said the special audit had determined, among other findings, that the DOH “failed to coordinate with PS-DBM on the timeliness of the procurement, schedule of deliveries and periodical consumption of supplies.”

He said the DOH was also found to have not “exert[ed] effort in monitoring liquidation of fund transfers to PS-DBM” amounting to P42 billion.

PS-DBM, the report found, had failed to “determine the availability and capability of the supplier (Pharmally) to provide the required quantity” and had made “no request for further negotiation from two entities who offered to supply the contracts.” Angara said his committee would release a copy of the COA findings.

The COA says the DOH and DBM committed several lapses in their deals with Pharmacy during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1214159

A gunman shot dead a former mayor of Cateel town, Davao Oriental, outside a fast food chain in Barangay Buhangin in this city on Wednesday morning.

Giselo Velasco Castillones, the mayor of Cateel from 1983 to 1986, was sitting in the passenger seat of his car and about to leave the fast food chain at around 10 a.m. when a still-unidentified attacker approached and shot him.

Based on the report of the Bajada Police Station, Castillones was with his driver Junie Castro, who was wounded, and a certain Alma Lozentes, who was unscathed, during the attack.

Five empty shells from a .45-caliber pistol were recovered from the crime scene.

Witnesses said the gunman boarded a motorcycle and sped off toward the Buhangin area.

Castillones was declared dead by responding Central 911 personnel, while Castro was brought to a nearby hospital for treatment and is now in stable condition.

Witnesses said the shooter was wearing a tube mask and maroon cap that concealed his face, police said.

A former mayor has been assassinated. 

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2023/11/23/2313660/teacher-husband-die-cotabato-gun-attack

Gunmen shot dead a public school teacher and her husband in a gun attack at a secluded area in the hinterland Banisilan town, Cotabato on Thursday morning.

The Bansilan Municipal Police Station, in an initial report to Cotabato provincial police director Col. Harold Ramos, said that Juanito Fuertes Romaguero Jr. and his teacher-spouse, Angelie, died from multiple gunshot wounds.

The couple were riding their family-owned tricycle on their way to the Pantar Elementary School in Banisilan, when men on motorcycles overtook, blocked their route and opened fire.

Their attackers had escaped even before responding barangay tanods could reach the scene.

Romelito Flores, superintendent of schools in Cotabato, has condemned the atrocity and called on the Banisilan MPS and the Cotabato Provincial Police Office to identify their killers for immediate prosecution.

The provincial director said that Romaguero died on the spot while his wife succumbed to bullet wounds while being treated in a hospital where she was brought by local government emergency responders.

Ramos said personnel of the Banisilan MPS have enlisted the support of local officials in putting closure to the incident.

A teacher and her husband have been assassinated. 

Coronavirus Lockdown: Selfless Service, Pilgrimage, and More!

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

50 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been wasted in the Philippines. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/11/15/2311670/nearly-50-million-covid-19-vaccine-doses-wasted

Nearly 50 million donated and procured COVID-19 vaccine doses have been wasted in the Philippines, a senator said Wednesday. 

Sen. Pia Cayetano, the sponsor of the Department of Health’s budget, said that the country’s COVID-19 vaccine wastage reached 49.73 million. A bulk of the wasted COVID-19 vaccines were “expired or beyond shelf life,” the senator said. 

More than half, or 26.2 million, of the wasted jabs were donated.

“We’d like to emphasize that the shelf life of COVID vaccines is really short, only six months. And those that have been donated have a shelf life of three months. Some even have a shelf life of just one month,” Cayetano said in Filipino during the Senate plenary deliberations on the proposed P353.2 billion budget for the health department. 

“I don’t know if it’s correct to say, but in a way, it does not surprise the experts because with a shelf life that short, we might see expiration like that,” she added. 

Cayetano also said that the government will not appropriate any funds for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines in 2024. However, the country will accept donations of bivalent COVID-19 jabs from the COVAX facility.

More than 78.4 million individuals in the Philippines have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 since 2021. Only 23.8 million Filipinos have received boosters. 

With such a short shelf life they say this wastage was a foregone conclusion. Of course without proper cold storage facilities and with people who do not want to be vaccinated wastage was also a no-brainer.

But not everyone is averse to getting the jab. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/15/23/doh-stops-giving-covid-jabs-due-to-depleted-stocks

The Department of Health (DOH) has stopped distributing COVID vaccines after the country’s government-procured and donated stocks were depleted, an official said on Tuesday. 

 

Health Assistant Secretary Beverly Ho said the government completed administering the bivalent COVID-19 jabs donated by Lithuania last August. 

The DOH previously said the government does not plan to purchase a new batch of bivalent COVID-19 vaccines.

 

“Kami sa DOH program, the last we rolled out was bivalent vaccines, which were just… a little less than 400,000, and that’s already consumed,” Ho told the House Committee on Public Order and Safety during a hearing on Tuesday. 

“Mayroon silang market authorization, pero it is already dependent on whether the private sector will import it,” she added.

 

“Because the (monovalent) vaccines are expiring or have expired and have not gotten extension permits, then technically, no one can vaccinate anyone using those vaccines."

DOH has monitored 9 COVID vaccine-associated deaths in the Philippines out of the over 78 million individuals inoculated, said Dr. Alethea de Guzman, director at the DOH's Epidemiology Bureau. 

 

"Ibig sabihin, siyam lang doon sa 78 million… ‘yung sigurado tayo na dahil sa bakuna ‘yung dahilan ng pagkamatay nila… Half of these deaths were because of anaphylactic reactions, meaning sudden and very severe allergic reactions,” de Guzman told a House panel.

 

The DOH also explained that while more deaths were reported following COVID immunization, not all could immediately be associated with the vaccine. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that of the 112,264 reported adverse events following immunization, 10,583 were considered serious, including 2,801 deaths.

"They are reported data. Ibang process ang causality assessment. Meaning, from the reports, ang ikinamatay ba niya ay bakuna o nakagat siya ng aso, o nabangga siya. Because that report does not differentiate it,” Ho said.
 
The DOH said data also showed a huge drop in deaths due to COVID-19 infection after the vaccination rollout. 

Wow! There have been 112,264 reports of adverse events after getting the jab and 2,801 of those adverse events have been death? Why don't we hear more about that?

Vaccines for certain disease is now near zero thanks to the pandemic. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1863441/high-zero-vax-rate-vs-certain-diseases-in-ph-worry-experts

Healthcare experts have expressed concern over reports that the Philippines is among the countries with the highest number of unvaccinated individuals against certain diseases.

They said the country needs to step up its campaign in preventing several diseases, including dengue and human papillomavirus (HPV).

“As physicians, we are sad and actually ashamed as Filipinos that we are one of the countries with the highest number of zero vaccination,” said Dr. Jonathan Lim, overall chairman of the 24th Philippine National Immunization Conference held in Cebu City last week.

The high rate of zero vaccination was blamed on the Dengvaxia controversy which resulted in hesitancy and the no-contact policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We all hear about post-pandemic recovery in light of the economy but what about in terms of health? 

Marcos has cited the selfless service to Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/888427/marcos-cites-filipinos-selfless-service-to-americans-amid-covid-19-pandemic/story/

President Ferdinand "Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Wednesday (PH time) highlighted the Filipinos' "selfless service'' to Americans during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a speech before the Filipino community here, Marcos mentioned that most nurses in the West Coast have been trained in the Philippines.

"Ngayon ang nangyari pa during COVID-19 [During the COVID-19 pandemic], Americans experienced first hand the Filipino way of caring and acting on the needs of others. One in every five nurses here in the West Coast are trained in the Philippines," Marcos said.

''Our Filipino nurses, doctors, our first responders, essential workers have all demonstrated the timeless Filipino virtues of malasakit, pakikipagkapwa at ang [ka]bayanihan [concern, companionship, heroism],'' he added.

He said that Filipinos and Filipino-Americans can be found in various sectors of American economy, society and media, as well as in politics and government.

Marcos expressed gratitude for the selfless service of Filipinos to humanity ''and we look up to you as role models for future generations of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans.''

Marcos encouraged the Filipino community in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Pacific Northwest for their full support ''as your government works to build a resilient, sustainable and inclusive future for our people back home.''

''Let us remain united and firm towards our common goal so that together we’ll be able to leave behind a new Philippines that our children and grandchildren deserve,'' Marcos said.

If he wants Filipinos in the bay Are to support the government building "a resilient, sustainable and inclusive future for our people back home" why doesn't he coax them to come back? Why is it government policy to support the brain drain? 

According to a study to assess COVID-19’s impact on people of color Filipinos in Long Beach do not have access to healthy food and are unhealthy as a result.

https://usa.inquirer.net/139722/new-study-shows-most-filipinos-in-long-beach-grapple-with-healthier-food-access

Even if everyone wishes to shift to a healthier lifestyle, not all can afford to do so just as how the Filipino community in Long Beach, California is struggling to access to healthier food.

New findings revealed on Oct. 30 by the city’s health department show that 38 percent of 219 participants out of 20,000 Filipino respondents were grappling with the affordability of healthy food in the past year—eight percent of which claimed it was “always” an issue while five percent expressed feeling “regularly” worried.

In response to the city’s initiative to know COVID-19’s impact on people of color, the Filipino Community Health Needs Assessment presented the aforementioned results.

Hit hard are the Filipinos in the Westside area where most of them reside. The area is historically known for having scarcity for healthier food options, making it a possible candidate for the food market program.

“We also have heard in our listening sessions the link between not having enough access to nutritious foods and being able to make better health decisions about the food we’re eating,” shared Filipino, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Health Equity coordinator Harold Dela Cruz.

At the Oct. 30 discussion, residents shared their thoughts: hoping for a break from red meat, white rice, fried goods, and having access to more affordable groceries. This is what exactly the report echoes where participants also expressed their needs for more farmer’s markets, parks, and grocery stores, in their neighborhoods.

In addition to the survey’s results are these health findings from the participating Filipinos in Long Beach:

• 36 percent had been diagnosed with high blood pressure
• 15 percent or survey respondents have a diabetes diagnosis
• 57 percent have diabetes in their family tree
• Younger generations are leaning more into mental health care needs than the older people

Meanwhile, even if doing more physical activities outside can be a solution to the health issues, walking isn’t an option for 22 percent of the respondents as they didn’t feel safe doing so.

Although Dela Cruz noted that it’s hard to make grand conclusions considering the small sample size, the Filipino Community Advisory Community is crafting programs and policies based on the results of the health report.

Hard to make grand conclusions? Filipinos on whole have higher blood pressure and diabetes is a top killer which is all due to their diet which is filled with white rice and fried foods. Funny that these Filipinos are tired of fried rice and fried foods when that is what everyone at home eats!

A group of Filipino priests on pilgrimage to Marian shrines have met with the Pope. They would have done this in 2021 if not for the pandemic. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/11/19/2312575/pope-says-pilgrimage-not-vacation

Instead of treating it as an opportunity for vacation, Pope Francis has appealed to the Roman Catholic faithful to view every pilgrimage as a sacred occasion.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church relayed the message at a meeting with priests and lay people from the Archdiocese of Ozamis in Misamis Occidental at the Clementine Hall in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican on Friday.

The contingent – led by Ozamis Bishop Martin Jumoad – was on a pilgrimage to churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary around Europe as part of the celebration of the archdiocese’s 50th anniversary, according to the news service of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

“It is important to keep in mind, however, that a pilgrimage is not like a vacation. In fact, making a pilgrimage to shrines is an eloquent expression of trust in God,” said the Roman Pontiff in his message posted on the Vatican website.

Pope Francis added he hoped the journey of the members of the Archdiocese of Ozamis would “help each of you to be like Mary: missionary disciples transformed by your encounter with the Lord and renewed in zeal for bearing witness to his presence, compassion and love.”

Also regarded as the 266th successor of St. Peter, to whom Jesus gave the “keys to the kingdom of heaven” according to the Bible, Francis called on the faithful in the archdiocese to “contribute to the advancement of God’s kingdom of justice, unity and peace.”

“It is my hope that your parishes and communities will be models in practicing the works of mercy and in being neighbors to all, especially families, young people, the sick, the elderly and the poor, with the charity that Jesus asks of us,” the Pope said.

He stressed in particular the need for Catholics to be “responsible stewards of creation, in the realization that our care for one another and for our common home are intimately bound together,” citing his apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum.

Francis gave his blessing to the visitors from Ozamis and also asked them to pray for him, which he has been asking the faithful since the start of his pontificate in 2013.

The Archdiocese of Ozamis – established in 1951 – was supposed to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2021, but festivities had to be held off due to pandemic-related health restrictions, the CBCP noted.

Elevated as an archdiocese in 1983, it currently covers the dioceses of Dipolog, Iligan, Pagadian and the Prelature of Marawi, it added.

So, in order to celebrate the founding of their diocese they leave it for a vacation? 

The Philippines has taken out a $400 million loan from the Asian Development Bank to assist with pandemic recovery. 

https://www.eco-business.com/press-releases/us400-million-adb-loan-to-boost-philippines-revenue-mobilisation/

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$400 million loan to help the Philippines achieve its medium-term fiscal strategy and finance its post-pandemic economic recovery through a stronger focus on revenue mobilisation, including modernizing tax administration, systems, and processes.

The Domestic Resource Mobilisation (DRM) Program Subprogram 1 is ADB’s first policy-based loan dedicated to DRM reform. It addresses the country’s need to tackle discrepancies in tax policy frameworks to boost tax compliance, reduce tax avoidance, and raise more revenues from activities and products that have a major impact on the environment or contribute to climate change.

“The program recognises that DRM reforms necessitate not only raising revenue, but also designing a revenue system that fosters inclusiveness, encourages good governance, promotes investments and job creation, reduces inequality, and tackles climate change,” said ADB Senior Economist for Public Finance Aekapol Chongvilaivan. “ADB supports the government’s DRM program, which will result in a higher tax-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio and ensure sustainable financing for the country as it sets out to achieve its goals under the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023‒2028.”

The government is going to use this money to modernize their tax collection system. That means more money from the people. 

The God Culture: 100 Lies About the Philippines: #14 Tome Pires Equates the Lequios and Lucoes

Welcome back to 100 lies the God Culture teaches about the Philippines. Today's lie once again concerns the identification of the Lequios and Lucoes. Last time we looked at Timothy Jay Schwab's misunderstanding of Pigafetta's journal.  Today we will look at his ignorance of Tome Pires' Summa Oriental.

 

Even though Tim does use Tome Pires as a source he does not have much to say about what he writes. 

The Lequios of Luzon: Key to Finding Ophir and Chryse. Clue #52

18:31 Tome Pires writes The Leqouis bring swords worth thirty cruzados each  and many of these. Many. Cool. It appears a cruzado is equal to that of a Spanish ducat. 30 ducats in today's value in gold would be about 4,500 US dollars. This is a serious sword and a serious amount of money and they had many of them? Wow. One must wonder if maybe these swords are gold plated perhaps like the daggers of the Ophirians.

The Lequios of Luzon: Key to Finding Ophir and Chryse. Clue #52

19:35 The island of Japan according to what all the Chinese say is larger than that of the LUCOES. Japan's largest island by the way, Honshu, is more  than twice as large as Luzon the largest island in the Philippines so that does fit. They do not often  trade in China because it is far off and they have no junks. What? They have no junks. Doesn't mean they don't have ships but they don't have junk ships but that's a key because junk ships are associated with the LUCOES  often in these quotes in court even Pigafetta as we shared  already. Nor are they seafaring men. See Lequois have junks and they are seafaring men. Japan is not. The Leqouis, LUCOES, go to Japan in seven or eight days and take the said merchandise and trade it  for copper, gold and copper. Now, again, two resources that fit the Philippines and also the trip in days also fits the trip from the Philippines. So very reasonable that all of this comes together and this just affirms everything else we've covered.

When Tim is reading from Tome Pires several times he says Lucoes instead of Lequios. He is reading his own interpretation into the text. In his book Solomon's Treasure Tim only cites Pires twice. 

The Search for King Solomon's Treasure, pg. 162

In fact, Japan is recorded as having “no junks” and are not Lequios according to Tome Pires [166]

The Search for King Solomon's Treasure, pg. 165-166

This word Lequios or Lucoes became a general term used by many for Luzon Island thus, not a mystery to history in the slightest but only to the British it appears as Portugal, France and India certainly knew.

“Called Philippines “Lucoes” from its largest and north western-most island–Luzon.” – Pyrard De Laval, French (1578-1623) [166] Indians referred to the biggest island as “Lucon.” [166]

In 1545, a Portuguese, Pero Fidalgo referred to Philippines as “Lucoes” [166] –Tome Pires

It's not true that Lequios became a general term for Luzon Island. As I have established in the article about Ferdinand Pinto the Lequios islands were known and charted at 29 North. The problem is Tim continues to conflate the two words and people groups Lequios and Lucoes. These two citations are the only references to Tome Pires in Tim's book. Here is the exact source he uses.

That is unbelievable. Tim cites from page 131 about Japan and from the footnotes on pages 133-134. Why didn't he cite anything from the chapters on the Lequios and the Lucoes?  Tome Pires has two chapters devoted to each group!

Did Tim flip through this book and miss those chapters or did he decide to not mention them because they destroy his case for the Lequios and Lucoes being the same people group? Here are the two brief chapters in full.

The Lequeos are called Guores-they are known by either of these names. Lequios is the chief one. The king is a heathen and all the people too. He is a tributary vassal of the king of the Chinese. His island is large and has many people; they have small ships of their own type; they have three or four junks which are continuously buying in China, and they have no more. They trade in China and Malacca, and sometimes in company with the Chinese, sometimes on their own. In China they trade in the port of Foqem which is in the land of China near Canton—a day and a night's sail away. The Malays say to the people of Malacca that there is no difference between Portuguese and Llequjos, except that the Portuguese buy women, which the Lequos do not. 

The Lequjos have only wheat in their country, and rice and wines after their fashion, meat, and fish in great abundance. They are great draftsmen and armourers. They make gilt coffers, very rich and well-made fans, swords, many arms of all kinds after their fashion. Just as we in our kingdoms speak of Milan, so do the Chinese and all the other races speak of the Lequjos. They are very truthful men. They do not buy slaves, nor would they sell one of their own men for the whole world, and they would die over this. 

The Lequjos are idolators; if they are sailing and find themselves in danger, they say that if they escape they buy a beautiful maiden to be sacrificed and behead her on the prow of the junk, and other things like these. They are white men, well dressed, better than the Chinese, more dignified. They sail to China and take the merchandise that goes from Malacca to China, and go to Japan, which is an island seven or eight days' sail distant, and take the gold and copper in the said island in exchange for their merchandise. The Leqios are men who sell their merchandise freely for credit, and if they are lied to when they collect payment, they collect it sword in hand.

The chief is gold, copper, and arms of all kinds, coffers, boxes (caxonjas) with gold leaf veneer, fans, wheat, and their things are well made. They bring a great deal of gold. They are truthful men—more so than the Chinese—and feared. They bring a great store of paper and silk in colours; they bring musk, porce-lain, damask; they bring onions and many vegetables. They take the same merchandise as the Chinese take. They leave here in [blank], and one, two or three junks come to Malacca every year, and they take a great deal of Bengal clothing. 

Among the Lequjos Malacca wine is greatly esteemed. They load large quantities of one kind which is like brandy, with which the Malays make themselves [so drunk as to run] amuck. The Lequjos bring swords worth thirty cruzados each, and many of these. 

Pires, pg, 128-131

That is everything Pires has to say about the Lequios. Was Luzon ever a tributary of China? Was there one king of the Ilocanos? Of course not. Here is what Pires has to say about the Lucoes.

The Lucoes are about ten days' sail beyond Borneo. They are nearly all heathen; they have no king, but they are ruled by groups of elders. They are a robust people, little thought of in Malacca. They have two or three junks, at the most. They take the merchandise to Borneo and from there they come to Malacca.

The Borneans go to the lands of the Lucoes to buy gold, and foodstuffs as well, and the gold which they bring to Malacca is from the Lucoes and from the surrounding islands which are countless; and they all have more or less trade with one another. And the gold of these islands where they trade is of a low quality —indeed very low quality. 

The Lucoes have in their country plenty of foodstuffs, and wax and honey; and they take the same merchandise from here as the Borneans take. They are almost one people; and in Malacca there is no division between them. They never used to be in Malacca as they are now; but the Tamaqua whom the Governor of India appointed here was already beginning to gather many of them together, and they were already building many houses and shops. They are a useful people; they are hard-working. 

Of this family there are now the sons of the Tumunguo and his wife in Malacca, as well as his mother-in-law, and Curia Raja and Tuam Brajy who married the Tumunguo's wife. In Minjam there must be five hundred Lucoes, some of them important men and good merchants, who want to come to Malacca, and the people of Mjjm will not grant them permission, because now they have gone over to the side of the former king of Malacca, not very openly. The people of Mjmjam are Malays.

Pires, pg. 133-134

The Lucoes do not have a king while the Lequios do. They also have gold of a very low quality. They also only have two or three junks. How much more clearer could it be that Pires differentiates these peoples? They are not the same. If Tim had bothered to do any research and actually read the Summa Oriental of Tome Pires he would know that. Instead he has used another lie to build his monumental case for the Philippines no one can disprove. 

Insurgency: Insurgnecy-Cleared Villages as Tourism Hub

The AFP is big on compelling NPA fighters to surrender. Many have and have availed of the myriad of benefits awaiting them. But there is a problem. They need to first be deradicalized before reintegrating back into society. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1213532

Former rebels (FRs) need to undergo deradicalization first before they are reintegrated into mainstream society, a Negros Oriental official said on Monday.

Hilton Edrial, chief of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO), said FRs must be prepared physically, emotionally, mentally, and psychologically to avoid culture shock once they return to their communities.

Edrial said it was one of the issues that surfaced during a benchmarking activity in Davao City recently, where a multi-agency team visited the Happy Home halfway house there.

The team included representatives of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) - Negros Oriental, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the PSWDO, and the Provincial Engineer’s Office, among others.

Edrial said they learned from the Happy Home management that many FRs who returned to their communities without undergoing deradicalization usually turned “violent.”

However, the halfway house lacks qualified personnel who can conduct deradicalization.

Other setbacks in the delayed occupancy of the facility include the absence of an administrative office, electricity and water connections, and an operational plan.

“We need a re-entry plan to recalibrate how the halfway house can be fully operational,” he added.

What an amazing revelation. This half-way house is simply not equipped to handle reintegrating and deradicalizing former rebels. As a result some of them have turned violent. One wonders what the situation is like in other half-way homes built to house former rebels.

How many former rebels have turned violent? They don't say but this week a former rebel was sentenced to 10 years in prison for assassinating a mining executive. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1860746/ex-rebel-gets-10-years-in-jail-for-agusan-sur-mining-exec-slay

The confessed killer of a mining executive in Agusan del Sur was meted a 10-year prison term by a court in this town on Wednesday, Nov. 15, two years after the victim’s death.

Provincial prosecutor Ceferino Dino Paredes said Jeffrey Mamerto, a former New People’s Army guerrilla, pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of homicide, instead of murder, as he entered into a plea bargaining agreement during a pre-trial hearing at the Regional Trial Court Branch 6.

As a result, the court sent Mamerto to prison for 10 years, Paredes added.

Several weeks before Wednesday’s pre-trial hearing, Mamerto executed a judicial affidavit owning-up to the kill job against Afdal for a promised reward of P50,000.

In his confession, Mamerto also pointed to three more co-conspirators, one of whom he tagged as the mastermind. This became the basis for filing a complaint for murder against three more suspects at the provincial prosecutor’s office in October.

The PNP says Mamerto surrendered in 2019. 

The PNP added that Mamerto is also a former member of the New People’s Army but return to the fold back in 2019 as part of “Task Force Balik-Loob” of the government.

https://www.facebook.com/110089817183818/photos/a.110114937181306/434619504730846/?type=3

An official of the DSWD says they cannot help these former rebels if they do not help themselves and sustain their transformation into good citizens. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1213767

A Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) official on Thursday said the agency is all set to provide social protection packages to former rebels (FRs) and former violent extremists (FVEs) who are undergoing reintegration to mainstream society.

Alan Tanjusay, DSWD undersecretary for Inclusive-Sustainable Peace and Special Concerns (ISPSC), assured the FRs and FVEs more opportunities to sustain their reintegration await them along and after the process.

During an interview with "Balik-Loob sa Pagbabago" on DWDD (1134kHz) AFP Radio, Tanjusay called on FRs and FVEs to think “beyond” the immediate assistance they have received under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) to fully sustain their transformation.

“If they are business-minded, if they have the entrepreneurial drive to make their products more attractive, these will have longer effects on their SLP),” Tanjusay said.

Once they qualify to the existing program guidelines, the DSWD would be offering them comprehensive support, such as debriefing, psychosocial assistance, transportation, food provisions, and social welfare programs such as the SLP, the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program, and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

Tanjusay also underscored the importance of the participation of FRs and FVEs in the reintegration process.

“You cannot help our countrymen who are in need if they lack self-realization to strive and persevere. True change comes when you empower an individual and develop their potential,” he said.

E-CLIP is the holistic package of benefits that FRs and FVEs can avail of, such as livelihood, medical, education, housing, and legal assistance to help them reintegrate and live normal lives in the mainstream society.

The program is part of the government’s efforts to end communist insurgency in the country through the attainment of just and lasting peace using the whole-of-nation approach as envisioned by Executive Order No. 70, series of 2018.

Has anyone in the government thought that maybe they surrendered just for the money? Maybe they heard about the government's bribery program, the NTF-ELCAC, and decided to avail of the free housing and other benefits without realizing it meant they would have to reintegrate back into society and be good citizens? 

This week Ian Fry, the UN Special Rapporteur, visited the Philippines and gave his recommendation that the NTF-ELCAC be abolished and the anti-terror law overturned. 

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/222679/un-rapporteur-to-govt-repeal-antiterror-law-abolish-anti-red-task-force

United Nations Special Rapporteur Ian Fry urged the government on Wednesday to revoke the Anti-Terrorism Act and abolish its anticommunist task force, noting how both were facilitating human rights violations and the harassment of environmental defenders.

“The government needs to create a clean slate around its approach to antiterrorism and revise the laws to make them appropriate for the circumstances occurring now, and not to use the laws to harass, vilify and kill environmental human rights defenders,” Fry said in a press briefing.

The international environmental law and policy expert spoke on the last day of his 10-day visit to the country to study and identify how the adverse impacts of climate change were affecting the “full and effective enjoyment of human rights.”

Citing “horrific stories” from civil society groups and indigenous peoples (IPs) organizations who were subjected to attacks, he suggested that the government disband the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) “because it … is operating beyond its original mandate and is Red-tagging people from the community.”

Fry said that during his consultations, he heard testimonies from civil society organizations and even church leaders who were attacked, Red-tagged and their assets ordered frozen—actions by the military which the UN expert said were “totally unreasonable.”

He stressed the need to investigate previous NTF-Elcac operations in addition to reported cases of extrajudicial killings.

Fry also recommended the formulation of a truth and reconciliation process, noting that “there [were] clearly people who suffered dramatically as a consequence of the persecution of environmental rights defenders and there needs to be a process to properly review the effects of the actions of the military.”

Fry will present his formal report to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2024, which will provide feedback to the government through communication or exchange of letters.

He added that while it was still up to the government to heed the recommendations, failure to do so would have its “biggest impact” on the country’s international image.

Several officials have spoken out against these proposals saying his report is incomplete because he did not even consult with he NTF-ELCAC to get their side. 

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/222786/ph-officials-call-out-un-rapporteur-who-wants-ntf-elcac-abolished

Speaking at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon news briefing aired on state television, Malaya, who is also NTF-Elcac spokesperson, said task force officials were “surprised and alarmed” at Fry’s recommendations and also accused the rapporteur of interfering in the country’s domestic policies and allowing himself to be manipulated by the “enemies of the government.”

Remulla argued that the establishment of NTF-Elcac is among the solutions to address communist insurgency in the country.

“We think this is the solution to end the proliferation of communism in our country and the sowing of fear and terror around us,” Remulla maintained.

“This is an effective internal mechanism of the government. The enemies of the government have been reduced,” he added.

Malaya supported Remulla’s statement. “The communist insurgency in our country is already ending with only one remaining active guerrilla front of the New People’s Army with 1,400 armed troops left. We are winning the war against the communist-terrorist groups,” he claimed.

“UN special rapporteur Fry is allowing himself to be used by the enemies of the government,” Malaya added.Open to suggestions

Remulla, however, acknowledged that Fry is free to air his opinion.“If they want to talk … freedom of speech, fine. But do I have to follow? Do we have to follow them?” the justice secretary said.

Malaya said National Security Adviser Secretary Eduardo Año has already extended an invitation to Fry so that they could talk about the latter’s recommendations.

“If you haven’t left [the country] yet, drop by our place, at the NTF-Elcac, so that we can talk and we can give our side before you make a recommendation that has no basis and interferes in the internal policy-making process of our country,” he said.

Malaya claimed Fry was biased as he failed to accord the government due process before coming out with his recommendations.

Pretty much all the criticism of Ian Fry falls into two camps: he is either simply misinformed or a meddling foreigner. Certainly he should have talked to officials of the NTF-ELCAC to get their side of things. But the NTF-ELCAC should also take seriously the allegations made against them. It seems NTF-ELCAC spokesman Malaya does that here by brushing off this critics as "enemies of the government."

What is interesting to note though is that we are told the NPA is now down to 1,400 armed troops. That is down 400 from the figure of 1,800 given back in July. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1799676/fwd-afp-npa-has-around-1800-members-left

From around 2,000 members reported in 2022, the communist New People’s Army (NPA) is now down to around 1,800 fighters, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said on Monday.

That means 400 NPA fighters, not supporters or hangers on, have been killed or have surrendered in the past 4 months. But there is nothing to indicate that is the case unless the AFP has not been reporting all the numbers to the media. 

NTF-ELCAC spokesman Malaya claims the government is winning the war against the communist insurgency. What come next? For Antique it's making insurgency-cleared villages as a tourism hub.  

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1213821

The provincial government of Antique will develop the two contiguous insurgency-cleared barangays of Sibalom and San Remigio towns as a tourism hub to activate the economy and provide livelihood to residents. 

Vice Governor Edgar Denosta made the remark during the turnover of the PHP40 million worth of projects to Barangay Aningalan, San Remigio, and Barangay Cabladan, Sibalom, funded under the Barangay Support Development Program of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) on Thursday.

The projects in Cabladan consisted of a farm-to-market road (FMR), an improvement of the water system, an electrification project, and the construction of a school building, all worth PHP20 million.

The PHP20 million fund of Aningalan went to the construction of FMR from Aningalan to Barangay Bulan-bulan, also in San Remigio.

He said he would file a resolution during their regular session on Monday requesting a PHP30 million fund under the Local Government Support Program (LGSP) of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to complete the road network between the two barangays.

“With the completion of the farm-to-market (FMR) road in Barangay Cabladan, there is only a remaining of little more than a kilometer for the barangay to connect with Aningalan,” he said.

With the completion of the road network, tourists could visit the Cabladan, which has a cool climate and beautiful upland scenery similar to Aningalan.

Aningalan, known as the “Little Baguio” in Antique for its cool climate, has been experiencing an influx of tourists.

“Barangay Cabladan is part of the Sibalom Natural Park (SNP) that covers 6,778.44 hectares,” he said.

The SNP was declared a natural park through Republic Act 11038 in 2018 and opened to tourists on March 1, 2022.

It hosts the world’s largest flower Rafflesia, century-old trees such as the Laua-an species, Visayan Warty Pig, Visayan Tarictic Hornbill, and Visayan Spotted Deer.

Antique DILG provincial director John Ace Azarcon said he would endorse the request for PHP30 million fund, once it is available, to their regional office in Iloilo City.

“Barangays could access the LGSF if they have specific projects,” he said during the turnover ceremony.

Punong Barangays Arnulfo Marcos of Angingalan and Elias Fabillo of Cabladan said their projects are beneficial to their communities because they would ensure sustained peace and order in their areas. 

Don't forget that according to the AFP insurgency cleared does not mean there are no insurgents but only an irrelevant number of insurgents. 

The Philippine Post Office Still Sucks

The Philippine post office, PHLPost, still sucks. At the beginning of April I ordered a book from the United Kingdom. By August it had still not arrived so I emailed the seller asking if they had tracking information. They replied by saying it had been more than sixty days so they were unable to replace the book. As if that was my question! I just wanted to know where it was.

Turns out it was sitting in Manila the whole time!

This package arrived in Manila on June 12th. However the local post office did not receive it until exactly four months later on October 12th. 

A second book I ordered around the same time was also taking an unusually long time to arrive. In August I emailed the seller asking for tracking information and they said they would send another copy. That means I had potentially two packages to be on the look out for assuming the first one had not gotten lost in the mail.

In an odd twist they both arrived on the same date at my local post office, November 11th, and I received them both on November 15th. Like the first package they had both been sitting in Manila for months. 

Arrived in Manila August 14th

Arrived in Manila September 15th

How is it that these packages arrived within a month of each other, sat collecting dust, and then arrived at the local post office on the same day? That's the magic of the incompetent and inept Philippine postal system. 

It's sad that I have to be thankful they even arrived. Here's what I ordered in case you are wondering. 

What am I going to do with two editions of The Faerie Queen? Thanks PHLPost!