Despite the fact that the AFP, Duterte, and the NTF-ELCAC would rather have every terrorist surrender this has been a rather bloody week. In Eastern Samar one clash with the NPA resulted in 19 dead rebels.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1150939 |
The Philippine Army has recovered three more bodies of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels after an intense firefight with soldiers on Aug. 16 at the outskirts of Dolores, Eastern Samar, bringing the number of fatalities to 19, a top military official said on Thursday.
Maj. Gen. Pio Diñoso, commander of the 8th Infantry Division, said two more bodies were found on Tuesday while another body was retrieved on Wednesday through the help of K9 units.
“After scouring the encounter site for days, we don’t expect to find more dead bodies, but we are sure that some of those wounded NPA fighters fleeing from government troops also died along the escape route,” Diñoso said in a phone interview.
At least 18 corpses were airlifted and brought to the headquarters of the 52nd Infantry Battalion in Dau village, Oras, Eastern Samar for proper disposition.
Soldiers also recovered three more firearms in the past two days, bringing to 32 the total weapons seized after the clash.
The armed confrontation on Aug. 16 is considered one of the most successful operations of government forces against the communist terrorist group.
About 50 rebels were hiding in a big lair in Osmeña village in Dolores town when the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) launched an attack early Monday.
The AFP used its air assets as the rebels set up anti-personnel mines near the lair that serves as a hideout for its leaders and fighters.
The firefight started at 4 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m. before the rebels abandoned the lair.
The military described the lair as a big encampment, which had been maintained by rebels for several months. It has a multi-purpose hall for training and a bomb-making facility.
Government troops launched an intense attack acting on tips from villagers about the existence of NPA lair in the jungles, located just three kilometers away from the community.
In what is being considered one of the most successful operations against the NPA the AFP fought 50 rebels holed up in a lair for 13 hours. This lair was also a bomb making facility. They were alerted to its presence by the local villagers. It was also local villagers whose tips led to successful operations against the NPA in Agusan del Sur.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1150683 |
The Army’s 65th Infantry Battalion (65IB) has recognized the vital support of civilians in military operations in the hinterlands of Sibagat, Agusan del Sur and in remote areas here.
In a press statement issued on Tuesday, 65IB commander, Lt. Col. Emerson de Vera, said they have engaged the New People’s Army (NPA) in four armed encounters this month.
“The series of encounters are the results of the persistent reports from the residents in the area who are being terrorized by the communist NPA terrorists,” De Vera stated.
On Aug. 8, the 65IB troopers were dispatched to the boundary of Barangay Anticala here and Barangay Kulambogan in Sibagat after civilians reported the presence of NPA insurgents.
The AFP needs the help of civilians in fighting the insurgency. That is why they are urging villagers to help them dismantle the NPA.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151061 |
The local government of Dolores in Eastern Samar has called on residents to help put an end to the insurgency problem after the recent fierce encounter in their town with 19 New People's Army (NPA) rebels killed.
Mayor Shonny Niño Carpeso said in a statement on Thursday the locals play a very important role in driving out the communist terrorist group from their villages.
“The successful operation of the military is of big help to our town, making our people more alert and conscious on (the) movement of these communist groups and ensure (the) safety of communities,” Carpeso said.
Earlier, Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone lauded the military and villagers of Dolores who provided information about the presence of rebel groups near a community.
“Had it not (been) for the close cooperation between the military and the local population, the campaign against the communists would not have been successful. I hope that this kind of close collaboration will continue so that we can attain peace and development in our province and country,” Evardone said in a statement.
The AFP says the success of this recent operation in E. Samar is a big blow to the NPA.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1150695 |
The death of 16 armed rebels and recovery of several firearms in Dolores, Eastern Samar on Aug. 16 is a “big blow” to the New People’s Army (NPA) in Eastern Samar, a top military official said on Tuesday.
Maj. Gen. Pio Diñoso III, commander of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division, said the intense firefight that destroyed a major NPA lair and a bomb-making facility is the biggest accomplishment of the government since the creation of the national and local task forces on ending local communist armed conflict in 2019.
“The recovery of several firearms means that many fighters were wounded as they abandoned their firearms to flee from our troops. This will further weaken the NPA organization in Samar Island,” Diñoso said in a virtual press briefing.
“Maybe the NPA stayed as they fought to protect their leader. They kept coming back to the encampment probably to secure their laptops and other sensitive materials,” he added.
Diñoso described the lair as a big encampment, which had been maintained by rebels for several months. It has a multi-purpose hall for training and a bomb-making facility.
“We verified if it’s really accurate. We planned carefully and involved all AFP assets available,” he added.
The military official is optimistic that more rebels will surrender after the incident as they would realize that the government has all the resources needed to dismantle the communist terrorist group.
“If they won’t choose the path for peace, they will face the same plight. This is to show that the Philippine Army is strong and has the capability to end this armed conflict,” Diñoso told reporters.
It's good that the AFP has disabled this bomb making facility but why was it able to operate for months? How many bombs were made which ended up killing people? It's funny that despite knowing that there are terrorists out there making bombs and planning mischief and some who have actually killed people the government hopes more rebels will surrender to avail of the nice bribery package being offered. The government claims that the NPA is collapsing in Caraga due to all the surrenders.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151067 |
As more members of the communist terrorist New People’s Army (NPA) in Caraga return to the fold of the law, the rebel stronghold in the region begins to collapse, a ranking police official said Friday.
“The NPA in Caraga is now collapsing and are looming their total destruction, as more of their members realize the deceptions and manipulative schemes of their leaders who recruited them and used them to further their personal agenda,” said Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr., the director of Police Regional Office in Caraga (PRO-13).
Records from the police regional office showed that from January until July this year, a total of 624 NPA fighters and supporters have surrendered to the different units and police stations in the region.
In the same period, 201 NPA insurgents and supporters also surrendered to PRO-13.
A total of 243 high-powered firearms were also seized and surrendered during the period.
“The surrender of the three former rebels is due to the relentless anti-insurgency drive of the government with the goal of achieving peaceful and more prosperous communities in the region,” Caramat said.
He said the three wanted to end their violent lives and go back to their families and communities.
“The lies, hardship, and hunger inflicted on these former rebels were the reasons they shunned the NPA movement,” he said.
He urged the remaining insurgents in the region to abandon their false beliefs and doctrines and to return to the fold of the law.
How are NPA fighters supposed to "abandon their false beliefs and doctrines" when the AFP says they have no ideology? They have labelled the NPA as basically robbers with no redeeming qualities such as having a concern for the people. In another clash this week the AFP laid out two "notorious extortionists."
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151255 |
The Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) described as “notorious terrorists” the two Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) rebels killed during a clash with government troops in Silay City, Negros Occidental on Aug. 20.
They were identified as Kerima Lorena Tariman (alias Ella/Em-em), 42, and a certain Pabling, who both belonged to the Northern Negros Front (NNF) of the NPA’s Komite Rehiyon-Negros, Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor.
“[They] are not just headaches of the people. They are responsible for the fear and terror that ordinary people are experiencing in Negros,” said Maj. Cenon Pancito III, 3ID public affairs chief, in a statement on Sunday.
“No matter who they are in their personal capacity, they are enemies of the state. They are notorious terrorists operating in northern Negros,” he added.
Pancito said the duo were part of the group “responsible for a series of extortion and intimidation activities” in the area, including the burning of construction equipment in a community between Silay City and E.B. Magalona in April.
"NO matter who they are in their personal capacity, there are enemies of the state." What an admission. And not just enemies of the sate but enemies of the people too. If only EVERY terrorist were thought of and treated in that same way instead of the state of which they are enemies bribing them to surrender with enormous benefits packages paid for by the people.
Titling an article about Timothy Jay Schwab and The God Culture "Little Lies" is an understatement. Basically everything they say is a lie. From big lies like Greeks and Filipinos were trading with one another by circumnavigating Africa as far back 800 B.C. to little lies like, well isn't every lie ultimately a big lie? Nevertheless, in this article I want to take a look at a few of Timothy's smaller lies. That is, things that don't affect the foundation of his case positively or negatively but which are wholly untrue.
Let's start this off with a little lie Tim has recently spewed forth against two high-schoolers. It concerns a map of the pre-colonial Philippines which was drawn up by two friends, posted to Reddit, and then profiled in Esquire.
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| https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/pre-colonial-map-philippines-a00225-20210809-lfrm |
The map was posted on Reddit by Maharlikan_, who has just graduated from senior high school and will be taking a history-related course in college. He and his friend DeliriumMaps—an incoming Grade 12 student—have been working together on the map since February. While still young, the two have a passion for history and did the legwork of researching on their own.
“Pre-colonial history is something that has interested both me and Delirium as so much of it is not even taught in our schools,” Maharlikan_ explains. “It is what drove me to become a ‘cartographer’ in the first place. On the other hand, Delirium just told me that he was bored because of quarantine so he decided to do some reading.”
Part of Maharlikan_’s motivation for making a pre-colonial map is to dispel hoaxes and myths like the kingdoms of Maharlika and Ophir. The former involves claims by Marcos loyalists that before the arrival of the Spaniards, Filipinos were already united under a nation called Maharlika. Marcos’s ill-gotten wealth was supposedly earned when he provided legal services for the royal family of this fictional country.
“There’s a document in a Spanish archive in Sevilla, Mexico that describes how to get to the land of Ophir. Surprise surprise, it leads to the Philippine Islands (despite going through the islands towards China then back for some bizarre reason),” Maharlikan_ explains. “Certain groups of Filipinos discovered this and somehow located it in Northern Samar and [it] was called the ‘Lakanate of Lawan.’ At this point, the myth starts diverging into several versions, from the Lakanate somehow unifying the islands under the guidance of God/Bathala/Yahweh (enforcing the idea that we are God’s Chosen people) or that the Lakanate was established by Jews, which makes Judaism the first religion to ever land in the islands.”
“Of course, all of these are made up,” he continues. “There’s no archaeological [or] historical records ever mentioning some large unified kingdom in the islands, let alone a Jewish one. Although, there is a ‘Lakanate’ in Northern Samar named the Lakanate of Makarato, and they’re not some superpower empire that was worth coveting by the Kingdom of Solomon. Delirium’s grandmother even said she has never heard of this story despite being a Samar native, which shows that ‘Ophir’ is a modern conspiracy theory.”
While making the map, Maharlikan_ and DeliriumMaps referred to JSTOR and Academia articles, Wikipedia article sources, and government and municipal websites and archives. However, they do note on the map itself that new information has come to light that shows that some parts of the map may be inaccurate.
In this day and age in which facts are often twisted and social media users would rather dig in their heels than admit that they’re wrong, it’s nice to see senior high students practicing intellectual honesty and humility. Even if it’s not 100 percent accurate, the map makes a good jump-off point for learning more about pre-colonial Philippine society.
28:15 Esquire magazine in the Philippines just did a hit piece, in fact, on the Philippines as well because, well, a senior in high school, uh, created a map. Oh, that's historical right? I mean he's the source of all history don't you know? And he says well, the Philippines cannot be Ophir. Oop it's settled, that's it folks. It's over! Based on nothing credible not a single fact. Written by likely a Chinese uh Filipina or at least sympathizing communist if nothing else yet, an unacademic unscholarly article. It's trash. They just keep coming and we will keep coming back.
This is a project that me and a user named DeliriumMaps worked on since February of this year. It is meant to somewhat create an accurate depiction to counter the pseudohistorical myths such as the Kingdom of Maharlika, Ophir, and some cases like polities being larger than they really are.
Many seek this architecture in demand to prove this narrative and they are stuck in a false paradigm. There is none to be expected nor has any other nation on earth produced such nor will they.Ancient Ophir is never described as having temples at all whether alone ones of gold, it is never recored to have great infrastructure in any sense just a mega-abundance of resources. The humble lifestyle of the Filipino even fits the oath of a Rechabite as Farrisol said.
Tim is also very reactionary which makes his knee-jerk responses quite dumb. Here is his response to a comment he did not like:
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| This comment is now deleted! |
The God Culture So where did Noah's wives come from? The Bible says only 1 wife was with him on the ark. Illiterate as usual. Would you look at that? These idiots at the communist channel dare set up a troll name as Amon one because they illiterately claim Native Americans descend from Amon because they can't read nor reason. After having their illiterate nonsense obliterated, they actually comment using the Epic of Gilgamesh as scripture above Genesis and Jubilees. Noah has 1 wife and only 1. Her name was Emzara. Certainly not Namaah the Nephilim breeder from Cain. They even throw in Waala which in Tagalog means not or NOT Noah's wife. Indeed Noah's supposed 2nd wife was NOT. He did not have one. See the way they just agitate and agitate in demonic form. They are the dumbest channel on YouTube and they mix the occult and the profane with the Word. They are liars. Of course, any can watch Nephilim Heritage Conservatory if they wish. What illiterate trash... No thank you.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6xzz3IkRVs&lc=UgwcfzMD-3tRPpp04xt4AaABAg
Someone comments that Noah had three wives and gives their names sending Tim into a real hissy fit. If Tim had bothered to take the time to look up the names this commenter mentioned he would see that they come from the Holy Tablets.
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| https://archive.org/details/HolyTablets/page/n1209/mode/2up?q=waala |
He would also have learned that the Holy Tablets is the Holy Book of strange cult called the Nuwaubian Nation. But instead of taking the time to learn what this commenter meant he accuses the man of being a Communist and an agent of the Ophirian Heritage Conservatory. "Waala" is also not a Tagalog word meaning "not." Wala is but waala is not and that extra "a" makes all the difference because in Tagalog there are no silent letters. It's more fake etymology from a guy who falsely claims there is residual ancient Hebrew in Tagalog and in Philippine place names. Again there are multiple lies here just as in his criticism of the Esquire article and map. But Tim's ignorant response in the comment section is not enough because he actually mentions this in a newer video:
2:49 There were eight total on the ark, right? Isn't that what the bible says multiple times actually? Or, well, if you watch a certain communist channel who counts somehow uh ten well, because they claimed Noah had three wives on the ark. Illiterate! One, by the way, named Waala and that one they they actually are right on. Yep they sure are because “Waala” in Tagalog means NOOOOOT! Indeed, for Noah's second wife was not,
Listen closely and you will hear that Tim does not even pronounce the second "a" in "Waala." Yet we are supposed to buy that it's a Tagalog word. What an idiot. I think we all know by now that Tim is no linguist. HE himself admits it! Listen to him butcher the meaning of Sherpa.
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| First Cities After Flood. First Wives Club. Answers In Jubilees: Part 27 |
20:58 While we're here another observation. There are a people who live on Mount Everest. Let's just go there. And, around the area, called the Sherpa people. Very famous today. Uh, it was actually a Sherpa with Hillary who first climbed Mount Everest though you hardly hear his name you always hear, you know the, the white dudes, right? Looking at the Hebrew word "shir" means to sing. That's interesting. And "paam" means beat also perhaps music like a drum beat perhaps. In fact when you look at their music, so let's just go there, oh, wait what do they call it? Shebru. Now that is interesting. Can't connect it but again fascinating and something to think about.
The term sherpa or sherwa derives from the Sherpa language words ཤར shar ("east") and པ pa ("people"), which refer to their geographical origin of eastern Tibet.
It's just more fake Hebrew etymology from a man who admits he is not a linguist. In this video Tim also says that he cannot prove anything he is saying but it "makes sense and that's what we're going for." What an admission! He is not going for something that is actually true but only what SEEMS to be true.
Let's continue with the video, WIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS. There is one more little lie Tim makes that is very noteworthy. Now, the subject of this video is the name of Noahs's wife. Since Genesis does not tell us her name there has been much speculation over the years. In fact there are 103 recorded names of Noah's wife. Here are the first 9:
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| WIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS. No Cain There. Answers In Jubilees Part 26 |
14:42 So what is the origin of this claim many of you may have heard that Noah married someone from Cain? Well once again it's illiterate. It comes from the writings of the Pharisees who, well, made it up. The Midrash Rabbah on Genesis, Rabbi Abba Kahana said, well who really cares because that ain’t scripture is it? I mean that's that's the Midrash, that's the talmud. Well Rabbi ho ho says… so what? So what? They weren't prophets they weren't even serving the same god. Now, he said “Naamah was Noah's wife.” Based on? Well, fiction of course! He made it up. It's rabbi babel. See, that's what rabbis do, they just say whatever comes to mind and it gets printed and oh, that's called the Talmud and it's illiterate, absolutely complete nonsense many times. They lead you in directions away from scripture.
In the Bible it is not unusual for wives not to be mentioned and, if mentioned, not to be named. By contrast, Jubilees commonly gives the names of the wives of biblical personalities: one of the characteristics of Jubilees is the large number of proper names it supplies, particularly of women. In the case of Noah's wife, in Jubilees it is given as Emzara, his cousin (Jub. 4:33).
Genesis Rabbah 23:3 identifies Naamah, the daughter of Lemech and sister of Tubal-cain (Gen. 4:22), as Noah's wife. This is consistent with the rabbinic approach to identify unnamed biblical characters with pre-existing, named biblical characters. Since it is rare for the Bible to mention daughters by name, it was understood that Naamah must be significant. Additionally, since her name implies "pleasantness", and perhaps because her father had the same name as Noah's father Lemech, she was deemed an appropriate wife for Noah. Identifying Naamah as Noah's wife also serves to give purpose to the detailed list of Cain's offspring in Genesis 4:17-22, particularly since Naamah is the very last person mentioned in the genealogy, hinting that in some sense she is the culmination of the offspring of Cain. Also, it was important to find a name for Noah's wife to parallel the original first man and woman, Adam and Eve, who were both named.
Based on the different identifications of Noah's wife, we have two different views of the current ancestry of mankind. According to Jubilees, all of humanity is now descended only from Seth, Cain's offspring having been completely obliterated in the Flood. From the rabbinic perspective, humanity is descended from both Seth (on Noah's side) and Cain (his wife's side), and some Cain element still exists in the world. R. Naftali Zvi Yehudah Berlin, in his commentary Ha'amek Davar (Gen. 4:22), states that Naamah represents any good attributes in Cain that were considered important to preserve and contribute to the future of humanity. It is also worth noting that in the older amoraic literature of the Midrash (Gen. Rabbah 22:13, Lev. Rabbah 10:5) Cain is portrayed as a penitent, who then inspired his father Adam to repent as well. Thus, in the rabbinic view, there was some redemptive feature in Cain which may have been preserved through Naamah as Noah's wife.
https://jbqnew.jewishbible.org/assets/Uploads/422/jbq_422_5_zvironjubileesnoach.pdf
Here we see that the Rabbis did in fact NOT simply make up their interpretation that Naamah is Noah's wife. There is a very good reason for it. But Tim does not care. He does not care to actually interact with and understand the information he "researches." Instead he mocks and ridicules the Midrash without actually comprehending what it means. His critique is therefore ill-informed, illiterate, and ignorant. There is actually a lot more commentary about why Naamah is identified as Noah's wife but this is no place for that. However, I will leave this here:
The extraneous information about the family of Cain, and the missing information about that of Noah raise a question. If all the descendants of Cain perished in the flood why do we need to know their names? In contrast, the wife of Noah is the mother of mankind - a second Eve - mother of all who live - surely, we, her descendants should learn who she was and why she deserved to be saved from the curse of the flood ? Is she mentioned in the flood narrative and saved solely because she was "a part of the body" of Noah and therefore remains anonymous, without identity?
The identification of Na'amah, a descendant of Cain, as the wife of Noah, solves the structural flaw in Genesis as well as the above mentioned theological problem. The family of Cain is described at length in order to reveal the identity of the second mother of mankind.
http://web.archive.org/web/20040221180454/https://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/noah/enoach1.html
Again, the point is not that the Rabbis are right and that Noah's wife name is Naamah. I don't know what her name is. No one does. The point is Tim has no idea what he is talking about. It is also Tim who is making up stuff when he claims that Naamah was a "Nephilim breeder" and that the whole of Cain's lineage was evil. The text simply does not tell us that.
As you can see each lie leads into other lies and creates a tangled web. While these lies do not affect his overall thesis they do indicate a pattern of how Timothy Jay Schwab works. In his books and his videos we see an unwillingness to thoroughly interact with the sources he cites. He will either twist them to fit his views or ignore them altogether except to dismiss them with ridicule. Anyone who comes to a different conclusion than him is either illiterate, stupid, a communist, or all those and more. Timothy Jay Schwab, the adman, is a horrible and dishonest researcher. The fact that he has a 300 page sourcebook is meaningless in light of the way he conducts his research. His sourcebook is also riddled with errors and lies as I have proven elsewhere.
However, there is one final lie from the comments of this video that I must bring up and I am sorry to say that at the time of this writing The God Culture has deleted it. Perhaps Tim realized how stupid it was. Someone posted a comment asking how Noah built the ark without using metal and Timothy responded with the comment that he could have used fire to cut the wood. That is an OUTRAGEOUS lie and I regret I did not take a screenshot before he deleted it. But he knows it was there.
You could possibly fell a tree using fire but you can't plane the wood and make precise measurements using fire. You need a sharp metal instrument to cut wood and build a ship. And pray tell if Noah did not use metal then how does its use survive the flood? Tim is on record many times saying Noah used no metal (this includes rivets as well as any sharp cutting instruments) in building the ark because the instructions from God mention only gopher word and pitch. It is such a ridiculous lie and bad argument but I will have to leave it here for now.
It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/13/21/coa-flags-dswd-over-unused-p780m-intended-for-cash-aid |
A total of P780.71 million in funds given to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for cash assistance to pandemic-hit Filipinos was not utilized because of "insufficient validation process," denying aid to 139,300 qualified beneficiaries, a new Commission on Audit (COA) report showed.
Government auditors noted in the 2020 report on the DSWD that its field offices in Regions 2, 7, 8 and the Cordillera Administrative Region reported unutilized amounts for the program intended for individuals whose livelihood and income sources were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The total amount could have been given instead to an estimated 139,300 beneficiaries who could have qualified under the government's social amelioration program (SAP).
“Given the scarcity of government resources for COVID-19 expenses, there is a dire need to properly evaluate targeted beneficiaries through proper coordination and monitoring, and proper and efficient validation that could maximize the number of qualified beneficiaries who could benefit from the SAP,” the audit report said.
In the same audit report, unliquidated SAP fund transfers from local government units amounted to P4.363 billion.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/799093/coa-flags-ltfrb-over-using-only-1-of-p5-5b-funds-for-drivers-assistance/story/ |
The Commission on Audit called out the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board for using only 1 percent of the P5.58 billion funds allocated to the benefit program for drivers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In its 2020 report, COA said the LTFRB only used around P59 million of the P5.58 billion funds of the agency’s Service Contracting Program.
“Delays in the implementation of the Service Contracting Program ranging from two to 10 weeks as at December 31, 2020 resulted in the minimal fund utilization of only P59,720, 089 or 1.07% of the total project fund,” the COA said.
It added that this also delayed the intended benefits to the PUV drivers and operators, who are the beneficiaries of the program.
Also, the state auditor also pointed out that only over 29,800 drivers or 49.79 percent of the 60,000 targeted driver participants were registered in the program as of the end of the year.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1473088/coa-also-scores-doh-wastage-of-meds-supplies |
The Commission on Audit (COA) has found that the Department of Health (DOH) had procured P95.15 million worth of medicines and medical supplies that were not being used because they were either expired, soon to expire or were just held in warehouses.This is a “recurring problem” that is resulting in “indiscriminate wastage of government funds and resources,” the COA said in its Aug. 11 audit report.
The latest COA report dealt another blow to the DOH which has come under criticism and scrutiny due to deficiencies in its use of a P67.323-billion fund for pandemic response.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1473706/dole-flagged-for-poor-covid-19-fund-control |
“Insufficient internal control measures” in granting aid to workers affected by the pandemic have led to excessive payments, denied claims, and unclaimed cash aid in money remittance centers.
These were among the issues raised in the 2020 report of the Commission on Audit (COA) on the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole).
The COA looked into the Dole’s COVID-19 programs under Republic Act No. 11469, or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, such as the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (Camp), Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers #Barangay ko, Bahay ko (Tupad #BKBK), and Abot-Kamay ang Pagtulong (Akap).
Camp and Akap involved the grant of P5,000 and P10,000 financial assistance to affected workers and displaced overseas Filipino workers, respectively. On the other hand, Tupad #BKBK provided a 10-day emergency employment for displaced workers.
The Dole utilized P7.267 billion of its P7.310-billion allotment for the three aid programs, but state auditors observed several deficiencies, such as P1.023 million in multiple payments of cash aid.
The excessive payments were given to 213 Camp, Akap and Tupad #BKBK beneficiaries in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Regions 1, 2, 3, 4A, 8 and 9, and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in South Korea.
“The above excessive payments to the beneficiaries were mainly due to the lack of control measures in the processing of claims,” the COA said.
It added: “The noted deficiencies could have been avoided had there been an available master list or database of beneficiaries with data of prior availments that can be accessed by the offices concerned and/or other control measures that could prevent such occurrence.”
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1474846/coa-to-owwa-why-purchase-napkins-from-construction-firm-not-drug-stores |
The Commission on Audit (COA) has asked an Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) deputy administrator to explain why sanitary napkins were purchased from a construction and trading company and not drug stores near the Central Office.
COA mentioned during its audit report of OWWA for 2020 that the regularity of the expenditures made by a certain deputy administrator worth P1.269 million is doubtful as the items were neither procured from reputable shops nor were they properly itemized.
Part of the P1.269 million expenditures are hygiene kits, sanitary napkins, and thermal scanners worth P969,920, which were purchased from MRCJP Construction and Trading. COA said that the company’s establishment or office cannot be found in the address stated in the Collection Receipt (CR) provided.
COA stressed that a major drug store just sits near the vicinity of OWWA’s Central Office in Pasay City.
“It is unlikely that these items were bought from a store which deals with construction supplies or hardware, considering that the Mercury Drugstore is just around the vicinity of the OWWA,” the Commission said.
But aside from that, COA hinted at overpriced and too vague items: for example, the contents of the hygiene kits which was priced at P160 per kit was not indicated. Also, COA noted that the napkins purchased — at around P10, P20, and P30 per piece — “are too costly” because small sari-sari stores sell these items at P8 to P10 each.
“Out of the P2,011,441.90 covered by LR No. FM-OWWA 07-10.4, the propriety and regularity of the expenditures charged to the CA of a Deputy Administrator totaling ₱1,269,920.00 is doubtful due to the awarding of the procurement transactions not to reputable drugstores and supermarkets,” COA said.
“This is an indication that OWWA’s resources were not expended in accordance with rules and regulations and is contrary to Section 2, PD No. 1445,” it added.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/799834/coa-flags-dbm-procurement-service-over-p95-46m-covid-19-supplies/story/ |
State auditors have flagged the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) over its lack of a clear policy on handling inventories that led to P95.46 million worth of "slow-moving" COVID-19 supplies.
In its 2020 audit report, the Commission on Audit (COA) said PS-DBM placed orders for 113.95 million pieces of surgical masks and 1.32 million pieces of face shields on April and May 2020, a period when prices were “so high” because of high demand.
The masks were purchased from various suppliers for P13.50 to P27.72 per piece, while the face shields were bought for P120 each.
PS-DBM’s market surveys for the procurement were based on a Department of Health (DOH) circular dated March 2020 that stated the suggested retail price (SRP) was P28 for face masks and P120 for face shields.
COA said it requested and received a copy of a September 2020 DOH memorandum indicating that the updated SRP per piece was P2 to P4 for face masks and P26 to P50 for face shields.
In contrast, PS-DBM’s selling price per piece was P14.04 for face masks and P124.80 for face shields.
“There is a wide gap between the PS-DBM selling prices and DOH SRPs. As a result, surgical face masks and face shields are now slow-moving items in the warehouses of the RDs,” COA said.
The DBM bought face masks and face shields but was selling them at too high a price which meant many of the items remained unsold at the end of the year. This was a los of P99.7 million to the government.State auditors also said many client agencies opted not to purchase from the PS-DBM due to its high selling price.
“If PS-DBM had delivered all of the items when the demand was high, these items could have been sold immediately at a selling price at par in the market in the total amount of P99.27 million,” COA said.
“It was only in September 2020 that DOH implemented the updated SRPs. From May 2020 to September 2020, the PS had the opportunity to sell items at par in the market, yet these items remained unsold at the end of the year,” it added.
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/17/21/coa-flags-ppa-for-unnecessary-infinity-pool |
The Commission on Audit has flagged the construction of a P10.835-million infinity pool and additional room in the Ports Management Office-Northern Luzon of the Philippine Ports Authority in San Fernando City, La Union.
This as the PPA said Monday it has finished the renovation of its training facility in the city with "capacity-building initiatives to reduce cost" and with potential to earn revenue from rental fees.
In COA's 2020 audit report on the PPA, government auditors said that the construction of the infinity pool and additional room in the Training Center Compound of the PPA was “unnecessary” as it had caused the demolition of a newly built canopy and perimeter fence, resulting in “improper and wasteful” spending of public funds.
The auditors noted that the PPA is mandated to develop and operate a rationalized national port system in support of trade and national development.
“If the construction of the said structures was a prerequisite for at least the PMO-NL to realize the institutional vision, prudence and diligence would dictate that these expenditures and structures were unnecessary as these seem neither justifiable nor responsive to the exigencies of the service,” the auditors said.
The PPA management, as quoted in the audit report, justified to the auditors that the improvements were undertaken to increase customer influx that would result in higher non-traditional income.
“During the exit conference, management reiterated the need for such structures to avoid incurring higher costs of conducting Port Executive Conference and health and wellness programs, meetings, trainings and conference in expensive hotels. It also restated the possible increase in income by raising the rental fees of its facilities,” the auditors said.
The auditors however insisted that the TCC, while generating a gross income of around P700,000 for 2018, also incurred around P750,000 in electricity costs alone.
The audit team stressed that it recognizes the purpose of having and maintaining a training center but that existing structures as well as other improvements done were deemed more than sufficient for the needs of the agency.
“Despite the adequacy of the facilities and amenities, management still pursued the construction of new structures without any supporting feasibility study, and seemingly, without regard for value-for-money,” the auditor said.
State auditors have flagged the Department of Education (DepEd) over deficiencies amounting to P8.136 billion in its Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP) amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Commission on Audit noted alleged lapses in budget utilization, flawed or delayed procurement and delivery of self-learning modules, and the non-compliance with Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.
According to COA, the DepEd CO management explained that the processing of requesting sub-allotment release orders was prolonged due to delays of the program owners in requesting the downloading of funds.
“Besides, the process was also hampered because of the challenges brought up by the work arrangements adopted during this time of the pandemic,” it said.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1475087/coa-doubts-if-winning-dict-bidder-can-legally-provide-laptops-as-it-is-a-construction-firm |
The Commission on Audit (COA) doubts that a general construction company will be able to legally supply the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) with laptops and other computer gadgets.
The company, Lex-Mar General Merchandise and Contractor, is the winning bidder in the procurement of various ICT gadgets totaling P170.2 million.
The firm has no documents to show that it is engaged in the business of supplying information and communications technology gadgets, the COA pointed out in its Consolidated Management Letter addressed to DICT Secretary Gregorio Honasan II.
There is no information about this in Lex-Mar’s Certificate of Registration with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and its Permit to Operate, according to the COA letter.
Citing Lex-Mar’s financial statements, the COA letter to Honasan said the “primary purpose of the company is to engage in the business of general construction.”
“Hence, it is doubtful whether the herein supplier has the legal capacity to engage in this kind of business,” it added.
On top of this, the letter also pointed out that Lex-Mar was a sole proprietorship with current assets of around P44.57 million — way below the P170.2 million contract it signed with DICT.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar believes that it might be better for the Commission on Audit (COA) to “revert” to old ways — when audit reports were not released to the media for reportage.During Wednesday’s Kapihan sa Manila Bay, Eleazar made the comment in light of the recent deluge of COA reports that have allegedly tainted the reputation of various government agencies, especially the beleaguered Department of Health (DOH).
This also came a day after COA itself clarified that they are not making any press releases of audit reports; rather, such documents are made available on their website in compliance with existing laws.
(Recently we have observed that it really comes out in media outlets, and well we can say that if it really comes out, even though the intention of the COA is very good, but if you write it down in a story — we cannot blame our peers in the media — but if it is written down it seems the agencies already committed a sin.)
(But still, we think it would be best if we no longer have it aired to the media, like the previous situation where the reports would go straight to us.)
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/08/19/2121106/pnp-chief-takes-back-coa-remarks-orders-cops-comply-audit-findings |
The chief of the Philippine National Police took back his earlier remarks accusing the Commission on Audit of releasing audit reports to the media, and instead urged local police offices to cooperate with resident auditors.
"It was made clear to me that the COA does not issue press statements and instead, posts its audit reports on its website as part of its Constitutional mandate for transparency," Police Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, PNP chief, said in a statement sent to reporters on Thursday.
"In a forum I attended yesterday, August 18, I categorically suggested that the Commission on Audit should stop releasing its audit reports to the media and instead revert to the old ways when all observations on budget spending are internally directed to the government agencies concerned...I stand corrected," Eleazar added.
Eleazar said he "learned" that the COA actually sent its observations to the PNP offices and "[gave] them enough time to review and correct" any observations before a report is published.
This comes after President Rodrigo Duterte, whose statements are routinely backed by the PNP, instructed government offices not to ignore audit findings by the COA after the latter flagged a number of government departments over unspent funds and other "deficiencies."
Amon one Noah(Untafishtim) had three wives Naama, Waala, and Mubiyna. When Noah was 500 Naama, he went into Naama, his wife, and she bore him three sons at once triplets Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Waala gave birth to a son named Raya, and they both died in flood. Mubiyna was killed by the ruler Zuhaks men; they were looking for Noah and found her in a field, and they tried to rape her; she killed 2 of them before she died.