I haven't posted any jeepney art in a long time because I lost all the pictures when my old hard drive crashed. I also stopped taking pictures because I did want to risk having duplicates and I hope one day to be able to recover the old pictures. But recently I saw some interesting jeepney art I know I had never seen.
It's a Dragonball Z joke in case you don't know. The operator of this jeepney named his company after Goku who is also known as Kakarot. I bet he's had over 9,000 passengers!
One of the tactics used by the AFP to fight the insurgency is education. Specifically going to college campuses and, not just removing subversive books, but educating college students on the dangers of being recruited by the communists.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1172622 |
The Philippine Army’s 91st Infantry “Sinagtala” Battalion (91IB) has warned students anew against the deceptive recruitment of communist terrorist groups (CTGs).
In an interview on Thursday, Lt. Col. Julito B. Recto Jr., acting 91IB commanding officer, said the youth must take extra caution against the different strategies being used by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) to lure them to join their organization.
Recto said the troops have been conducting lectures at different schools and universities in this province to boost the youth's awareness of the infiltration of the CTGs into their sector.
“We will continue to intensify the information drive and dialogues with the youth to make them aware of the implementation of the goals of the National Task Force-Provincial Task Force-Municipal Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-PTF-MTF ELCAC). Also, we encourage the remnants of the Komiteng Larangang Guerrilla Sierra Madre (KLG-SM) to lay down their arms and surrender to the government,” Recto said.
Meanwhile, Capt. Roberto G. Apelado, acting civil-military operation officer of the 91IB, said it is their mandate to protect the students against the deceptive scheme of the CTGs.
On Wednesday, Apelado led the conduct of lectures to some 350 Criminology students of the Wesleyan University-Philippines in Maria Aurora town, this province to avoid being recruited by the CTGs.
He said the 91IB wants to create awareness among the youth and their parents regarding the indoctrination by the CTGs that tend to draw teenagers and young adults into activism and radicalism.
“Communist agents were showing videos of human rights atrocities to students in order to incite them to rebel against the government, including lectures on the issues of poverty, tuition fee increases, and among others, to agitate students and even those youth living in depressed and isolated areas who are vulnerable to false ideologies due to their innocence,” Apelado said.
He said the youth must not be swayed by the propaganda of the terrorists who only tell bunches of lies and deceptions.
Communist agents, we are not told who, were showing videos of human rights atrocities and lecturing on poverty in order to students in order to agitate them. The goal is to get them to join activism and radicalism. Note that these videos of human rights atrocities are not said to be fake. But from the sound of it the AFP is downplaying the seriousness of what is in those videos as well as the seriousness of poverty in the Philippines. They certainly have nothing to say about the US State Department reporting on numerous abuses by PH security forces.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2022/04/15/dnd-reacts-afp-mum-on-us-report-citing-numerous-human-rights-abuses-by-ph-security-forces/ |
Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana challenged the United States government on Good Friday, April 15, to provide the details of the reports of human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by state security forces in the Philippines.
In its 2021 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, the US State Department confirmed that “there were credible reports that members of the security forces committed numerous abuses.”
“We question the State Department’s report of abuses by security forces. But since the State Department seems so sure of its facts, we challenge it to provide us with details so our Commission on Human Rights (CHR), a constitutional and independent body, can verify them, and if proven accurate, the perpetrators will be punished,” Lorenzana said in a statement.
“Absent these data, the accusations are nothing but innuendos and witch hunt. At worst, the State has become a gullible victim of black propaganda,” he added.
The report said that among the significant human rights issues include credible reports of unlawful or arbitrary killings including extrajudicial killings “by and on behalf of the government and non-state actors.”
You know, if the US continues to accuse the Philippines of numerous human rights abuses and it's all a lie and a witch hunt meant to smear the nation then why does the Philippines remain a firm ally of the USA? It does not make much sense to allow one of your best friends to slander you ever year. The report is long and comprehensive. I will not cite it here. It is a laundry list of the same problems everyone knows including unsanitary prisons, a corrupt judicial system, and encroachment on free speech. It can be read here.
Who would not get upset and think something must be done when confronted with the long list of abuses by the AFP and PNP. Here is such a list. It is a fact that activists are routinely targeted and snuffed out by the PNP and AFP. Just last week two soldiers were convicted of the murder of an activist in Negros Occidental.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1584536/bacolod-court-finds-2-army-personnel-guilty-for-death-of-bayan-muna-coordinator |
A Bacolod Court has found two Army soldiers guilty of the murder of Benjamin Bayles, Bayan Muna coordinator and a member of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente.
In a decision made public Monday, the Bacolod City Regional Trial Court Branch 42 meted the penalty of up to 40 years imprisonment against Rafael Cordova a.k.a. Roger Bajon, and Reygine G. Laus a.k.a. Ronnie Caurino.
Bajon and Caurino were also ordered to pay the heirs of Bayles a total of P300,000 for civil, moral, and exemplary damages.
Bayles was shot to death on June 14, 2010, in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, by two men wearing helmets and sweatshirts on board a black motorcycle.
One of the witnesses, John Rey Mayongue, said they were on their way home when they noticed a motorcycle stopped by on the side of the road where they were supposed to pass.
He positively identified Bajon as the first who shot Bayles.
His testimony was corroborated by another witness, a tricycle driver who was also in the area when the incident happened.
As it turned out, as early as April, there were soldiers inquiring about Bayles and the witness also identified both Bajon and Caurino.
Both the accused, who admitted being members of the Intelligence Division of the Philippine Army denied involvement in the killing.
In a not-so-stunning twist the original prosecutor on this cases, Benjamin Ramos, was red-tagged and assassinated in 2018 while having a smoke break.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/11/07/1866774/murdered-nupl-lawyer-was-red-tagged-earlier-2018 |
Lawyer Benjamin Ramos, who was killed in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental on Tuesday night had been red-tagged—labelled as a communist—earlier in the year, rights group Karapatan stressed Wednesday night.
In a statement, it said Ramos, secretary general of the National Union of People's Lawyers-Negros, was included "in what can only be described as a poster-hitlist" that was reportedly put up by police in Moises Padilla town, also in Negros Occidental.
According to a report on independent news site Bulatlat.com in April, the poster included the faces and names of supposed "CNN" — a government abbreviation for Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front — personalities.
The president's spokesman said, however, that "putting the blame of the slaying on the government by a group or by a member of Congress not only is reckless, (but) irresponsible and baseless as well."
Contrary to what the President's spokesman said not blaming the government, specifically the AFP or PNP, for this man's death is naive to the utmost extreme. How many times have we seen a list of alleged bad guys bandied about and then people on that list end up dead? Is that a coincidence?
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| https://www.bulatlat.com/2018/04/16/city-councilor-lawyer-activists-included-negros-town-polices-poster-reds/ |
A councilor of the northern Negros Occidental city of Escalante, a lawyer who has longed worked with peasant and human rights groups, and a number of current and former leaders of activist groups were among more than 60 supposed communist rebels whose faces were printed on a police poster.
The National Federation of Sugar Workers issued an alert with a copy of the poster it said was being pinned up by the police force of the central Negros town of Moises Padilla.
The alert was released Monday, the same day human rights groups reported the arrest in Tarlac of Australian nun Patricia Fox, NDS, a volunteer with the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura, by Immigration officers.
At the top of the poster is the message, “CNN PERSONALITIES, if seen in the area, please text 09099191720.”
CNN is the acronym used by state security forces to refer to members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
Among the legal personalities whose faces are on the poster are Karapatan-Negros secretary general Clarizza Singson, Zara Alvarez of the Negros Island Health Integrated Program, UMA secretary general John Lozande,NFSW secretary general Christian Tuayon, National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers-Negros secretary general Benjamin Ramos, Escalante Councilor Bernardino Patigas, Julius Dagatan, Ronald Evidente, Ma Rina Amacio, Rogina Quilop, Lary Ocena and Anecita Rojo.
Out of the names listed here Zara Alvarez was assassinated, John Lozande was arrested but later had the warrant tossed for being faulty, Benjamin Ramos was assassinated, and Bernardino Patigas was assassinated while all the others have been harassed with death threats among others.
In 2020 the LA Times even put out an article about the systematic killing of human rights activists.
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| https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-08-27/philippines-zara-alvarez-human-rights |
By accusing human rights defenders of being communists, authorities are trying to equate advocacy work with terrorism — a process known as red-tagging that invites harassment and assassination. Calls for justice in the deaths of Ramos and other activists have gone nowhere.
“The key problem here is that state security forces do not make the distinction between loudmouthed activists in the streets and guerrilla fighters in the mountains,” said Carlos Conde, Philippines researcher for Human Rights Watch. “They know there’s a distinction, but they choose to blur it because they are convinced support for the [New People’s Army] comes from the cities and that people are being recruited and brainwashed by activists.
“These people targeted are not combatants,” Conde added. “They are not directly involved in the armed struggle in the countryside. Targeting them is a violation of human rights. They’re being pulled into this vortex of violence.”
Carlos Conde hits the nail right on the head. The PNP and AFP do not distinguish between "activists in the streets and guerrilla fighters in the mountains." The above cited education the AFP is giving to college students is proof positive. Caring about human rights violations and the poor is not only bad but it is coded language to signal that one is part of the communist movement to overthrow the government.
It's a lie. Just like the numbers given of those who have surrendered since 2016 are, maybe not a lie per se, but not exactly truthful either.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1172443 |
Getting more communist rebels to surrender is among the greatest legacies under the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, MalacaƱang said Tuesday.
In a Palace press briefing, acting presidential spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar announced that over 22,000 people linked to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) have surrendered and abandoned the local armed struggle since 2016.
“Kasama sa Duterte legacy ang pagbalik loob ng mahigit22,000 rebel returnees (Getting 22,000 rebels to return to government fold is among Duterte’s legacies),” he said.
I have analyzed this overblown number before and it's still ridiculous. The fact is in January 2016 there were an estimated 3,900 NPA rebels left. So, who are these 22,000 rebels which have surrendered over the past 6 years? In November 21, 2021 the AFP estimated there were about 3,500 actual NPA fighters remaining.
The NPA strength reached more than 20,000 in the 1980s. While the number has dwindled over the years, various administrations failed to realize their pronounced goals of crushing the armed movement. The military currently estimates the number of armed communist rebels at 3,500.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/11/29/21/43-npa-guerrilla-fronts-remain-active-says-afp
The Asian Sentinel nicely sums up the purpose of the inflated surrender numbers: propaganda.
A steady stream of new recruits has also been key to the NPA sustaining its campaign. Despite the NTF-ELCAC reporting the surrender of 20,500 rebels since Duterte came to office in 2016 – a figure overstated for propaganda purposes, which likely includes mostly family members of NPA fighters and ‘supporters’ of the movement rather than armed rebels – the AFP acknowledges that the NPA still has 3,500 fighters across at least 43 rebel fronts, with around 1,000 fighters based in the rebel stronghold of eastern Mindanao.These estimates are broadly in line with the NPA’s strength over recent decades, which since the early-2000s the military has reported annually to be around 3,000–4,000. After suffering losses, the NPA retains the ability to replenish its ranks from the impoverished rural areas in which it operates, which economically lag far behind Manila and main provincial cities.
https://www.asiasentinel.com/p/maoist-rebellion-outlast-duterte?s=r
While eastern Mindanao may remain a rebel strong hold Zamboanga del Norte has now been declared insurgency free.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1172653 |
Zamboanga del Norte is now insurgency-free after state forces successfully dismantled the last guerrilla front of the New People’s Army (NPA) operating in the area, officials said Thursday.
Brig. Gen. Leonel Nicolas, the Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade commander, said the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC) of Zamboanga del Norte declared the province as such through a resolution approved Wednesday.
Nicolas said the last NPA guerrilla unit in the province, Guerrilla Front Big Beautiful Country, was officially dismantled on April 4.
“We have no more guerilla fronts or any entity in the province that is affecting our peace and security. The bulk of communist group forces had surrendered and are with us now,” Nicolas said.
On Wednesday, a peace rally participated by former rebels was held here in support of the 44th and 97th Infantry Battalions (IBs) under the 102nd Infantry Brigade.
Highlights of the activity were the mass parade, burning of NPA flags, sharing of testimonies by selected former rebels, and a pledge of allegiance to the flag and country.
Burning of NPA flags is how you know this activity was nothing but propaganda.
We also have another pronouncement this week that the war against the insurgency is on track to be finished real soon. By mid 2022 in fact.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1507944/afp-chief-says-military-on-target-to-crush-npa-by-mid-2022 |
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Jose C. Faustino Jr. has said that the military is on track in its mission to crush the communist movement by the middle of next year, citing the significant gains of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
Faustino, who is set to retire next month, visited troops of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division (4ID) here on Wednesday, and led the demilitarization of 316 firearms seized from New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in various operations from February to December last year.
“Right now, we are on target,” Faustino said, referring to their self-imposed deadline of crushing the NPA by the time President Duterte bows out of office on June 30, 2022.
Faustino particularly pointed to the dwindling strength of the rebels in the eastern Mindanao region where he used to hold command as an Army official.
“Our enemies are getting weaker,” he said, adding that a similar trend is observed in other parts of the country that have the presence of NPA guerrillas.
It appears that Faustino is only talking about actual NPA guerrillas and not about the thousands of activists including the 300,000 to 400,000 the NICA claims have infiltrated the government. Even Duterte has not expressed confidence that the NPA will be crushed by July when he leaves office, calling the government's anti-insurgency efforts a work in progress. Even so, good luck.
Did the three wisemen or magi in the Gospel account of Matthew sail all the way from the Philippines to visit baby Jesus? Timothy Jay Schwab of the God Culture says so. Let's take a closer look at the evidence Tim offers. Then we will take a look at scripture and see what it has to say. Tim has a few videos on this subject but we will be concentrating on his book Solomon's Treasure which he claims is "the monumental case for the Philippines no one can disprove."
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| The Search for King Solomon's Treasure pg. 229 |
Psalm 72:10-15 KJVThe kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.This is King David’s prophetic prayer of his coming lineage but he is far more detailed than given credit if one simply reads the passage. When you read this chapter in the Catholic Bible, it begins with brackets boxing in a false paradigm from the start reading “[Of Solomon].” We take major issue with such thinking as it is proven wrong multiple times in context easily. King Solomon never had all kings nor all nations serve him. Only the Kings of Arabia paid him tribute (1 Kings 10:15) not the whole world in any sense even the known world of his day. Solomon could not “save the souls” of the needy nor could he “redeem their soul,” those are Messianic qualities reserved exclusively for the Son of Yahuah God. Prayer is not being made for Solomon continually as he’s dead but Messiah and only Messiah is praised daily not Solomon. In other words, there is absolutely nothing about the passage which identifies Solomon. This is Jesus(Yahusha).
Where do these kings originate who will bring Messiah gifts after His birth? Tarshish, the isles (Ophir, isles of the East), Sheba and Seba. Seba has a derivative in Hebrew in Saba or Sabah now in Malaysia but formerly part of the Philippines or really, Sheba. By definition, Seba is assimilated as a territory, in this context, by Sheba. We now know where these lands are as all of them identify the modern Philippines. Ophir is Luzon, Sheba is Visayas with Seba as it’s territory or Sabah, and Tarshish is Mindanao. It was the Land of Creation named Elda, rebranded Havilah after Havah’s curse of childbirth and after the Flood, the land of gold. They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh just as the Queen of Sheba brought the same when she gave to the Temple project and these are the ancient elements used in Adam’s very first sacrifice which is why they matter specifically.
pg. 230-231
Tim's thesis is that the Philippines is Tarshish, Sheba, and Seba. Therefore the kings in Psalm 72 came from the Philippines. But because the Psalm is a prophecy of Jesus Christ that means this is a prophecy of the three wisemen in Matthew 2 who brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the young Jesus. According to this Psalm there were actually six kings who visited Jesus and not the traditional three.
This passage also addresses the number of Wise Kings, yes kings, who came after Messiah’s birth. With the list provided in David’s prophecy in Psalm 72, we know that there were more than three kings however. There were at least six kings total. So, why would Hopkins narrow that down to three in his song? Actually, this fits the precedent established in scripture as ancient Ophir was divided into three territories just as it is today – Ophir as Luzon, Sheba as Visayas with Seba/Sabah and thirdly, Tarshish as Mindanao.
pg. 239-240
Because these visitors were from the Philippines that means they brought back knowledge of Jesus Christ and thus Filipinos knew about Him before the arrival of the Spaniards.
Certainly, the lines sounded good as Magellan explained Jesus because the ancient Ophirian well- knew it was their ancestors who brought Messiah gifts after His birth. However, follow this through logically a little further and you will realize the Philippines already knew Jesus(Yahusha) long before the Roman Catholics or really, Holy Roman Empire came.
p. 242
That the magi came from the Philippines also explains why the focus of the Christmas season in the Philippines is not a tree but a star.
In fact, has anyone ever wondered why the Philippines has the longest Christmas celebration on earth at over three months? That, too, predates Catholicism as we already established Ophirians knew Jesus(Yahusha) personally and directly from the time He was two years of age as the Kings brought Him offerings. When one looks at the actual birthdate of Messiah which we prove to be the Feast of Shavuot/Pentecost known as the Day of Covenant Renewal in basically early June, you will notice a pattern here. That is the culmination of the Spring Feasts of the Bible which begin in the first Hebrew month with the Passover season and end in the Feast of Shavuot, the birth of Messiah. Though they are celebrating the wrong time of year thanks to Catholicism, Filipinos appear to continue this tradition of a three-month celebration ending with the Birth of Messiah when their ancestors observed the sign in the sky of the Star of Bethlehem.
This is also why we believe this practice is likely rooted in the Spring Feast celebration of three months. Further support for this comes from the parol, a giant five-pointed star, which is the center of the Filipino celebration and not the Christmas Tree which Jeremiah 10 rebukes as pagan along with it’s six or eight-pointed star of Remphan. It would be no surprise the land of the Wise Kings would have the longest celebration of Messiah’s birth even commemorating the three kings in the very end.
This celebration may have been Catholicized over the years but it is not Catholic in origin and actually appears to have truly Biblical ancient roots.
pg. 242-243
There is absolutely no evidence that Filipinos were celebrating a 4 month long celebration at the end of the year to honor the birth of Jesus Christ before the Spanish arrived. Notice that Tim makes that claim but offers no proof. Likewise the tradition of the parol does not pre-date the Spanish.
The word parĆ³l is the modern Filipino spelling of the original Spanish name farol, meaning "lantern". In the native languages, parol and lanterns in general are also known as paritaan.
The tradition of the parol dates back to the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. It is a local adaptation of the Hispanic tradition of carrying small light sources (like torches, candles, or braziers) during the nine-day Christmas Novena procession leading up to the midnight mass (called Simbang Gabi in the Philippines).
All of this is dependent on Tim's interpretation of Psalm 72. Right away we can see that Tim has a wrong analysis of this Psalm. First of all the heading on the Psalm, For Solomon, is not an addition by the Catholic Church. It is an original part of the Psalm which is found even in the Septuagint. This is indeed a prayer by David for his son Solomon. It is also a prophecy of Christ. Solomon is a type of Christ. In fact the Catholic Church does teach that this Psalm is a prophecy of the 3 wise men.
It is unnecessary here to remark how foolishly this passage has been wrested in the Church of Rome. They chant this verse as referring to the philosophers or wise men who came to worship Christ; as if, indeed, it were in their power of philosophers to make kings all upon a sudden; and in addition to this, to change the quarters of the world, to make of the east the south or the west.
https://www.studylight.org/commentary/psalms/72-10.html#verse-cal
Writing in the mid-1500's Calvin tells us that the Church of Rome taught the same thing Tim is teaching. The one exception being that no mention of the Philippines is made. Calvin says they, along with Tim, are wrong because Tarshish, Sheba, and Seba are not to the East which is where the three wisemen came from.
If it could be proven definitively that Tarshish is not the Philippines then Timothy Jay Schwab's system will come crashing down. Tim offers a lot of proofs that Tarshish is to the East and is identified as the same as Ophir.
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| The Search for King Solomon's Treasure pg. 118 |
2 Chronicles 9:21 KJVFor the king’s ships (Solomon’s) went to Tarshish (Ophir) with the servants of Huram (Hiram King of Tyre) EVERY 3 YEARS, once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, silver, Ivory and apes and peacocks.Solomon’s navy traversed far to reach these precious isles of gold – Ophir. One of the other names for this same region of Ophir is Tarshish which is fully and indisputably equated with Ophir in many passages. Is this because the writers of Kings and Chronicles disagree with each other? Not at all for they are the same place generally. In addition to 2 Chronicles 9, there are several scriptures which identify Tarshish especially the ships of Tarshish and they equate it to Ophir. The ships of Tarshish go to Ophir for gold and Tarshish for silver but both in the same area.
pg. 118
It is factually wrong that Ophir and Tarshish are equated as being the same region. Let's compare two passages which seem to make that equation.
1 Kings 22:48 KJVJehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.
2 Chronicles 20:36 KJVAnd he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongeber.
p. 118-119
The same story is being told in both chapters. But they are each radically different. Before we analyze these verses let's see what the scripture has to say about the location of Tarshish. The book of Jonah establishes that the route to Tarshish lay west of Israel. Here is what Tim has to say about that.
One of the first objections we hear from Pastors and scholars is that Jonah travelled West to go to Tarshish. However, they are lacking the full context of the time. The Red Sea port was broken by Yahuah just before Jonah’s time in the days of King Jehoshaphat who attempted to replicate Solomon’s trip to Ophir. No such trip occurred and with the port destroyed by Yahuah, there was only one route left for the Ships of Tarshish to return to Ophir from Israel – through the Mediterranean Sea. A much longer journey indeed, they were there and not Eziongeber none-the-less according to Jonah.
1 Kings 22:48 KJVJehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.Psalm 48:7 KJVThou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.Now with proper context we can read the story of Jonah and understand it. Jonah is very direct in supporting that Tarshish is in the East ultimately certainly not in Spain nor Britain which do not fit Tarshish on many levels. Tarshish is in the same place as Ophir, a 3-year round trip journey from the Red Sea to the East and they would both have to prove they are Ophir as well. Notice how deliberate Jonah is in this account. It will make one realize just how brilliantly the Bible is written in fact and how foolish man’s attempts at interpretation can be at times.
Jonah 1:1-3 KJVNow the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.It is true Joppa is on the West Coast of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea and Jonah boarded a ship there which was headed to the Biblical Tarshish. However, since when does the Bible ever disagree with itself? We have found never. All such supposed contradictions are from those who are challenged in their understanding so let us not blame that on the Bible. They are all easily explained. This is one of those cases. Was Jonah seeking the most efficient route here? Was he a merchant? No. Jonah was running from Yahuah and he wanted to go as far as possible. So, he chose a ship heading to the Far East. Notice, he is going to a physical Tarshish as well and also remember, there is no Red Sea Port option in this era as it was destroyed.
pg. 119-121
Tim's solution is that the port in Eziongeber was destroyed therefore the only route east was to sail from Joppa. Now, this presupposes that this ship was going to circumnavigate Africa to get to the Philippines. But that is impossible because there is no record of anyone ever making that trip. Ancient maps don't show a Southern Africa. There is one and only one account of such a voyage. It is recorded by Herodotus and they went the other way from east to west. I wrote to Frank Romer, whose translation of Pomponius Mela Tim uses, and asked him whether there was any proof that the Greeks circumnavigated Africa to trade in the east. Here is his response:
As to your question 2: I know of no such evidence on this question either. The earliest info about the circumnavigation of Africa indicates that the Egyptians under Necho II did it from East to West, but that’s it, with no indication that any kind of trade followed. There is no evidence, material or literary, known to me that the Greeks themselves circumnavigated Africa and traded directly with the Philippines.
There simply is no record of anyone, let alone Filipinos in their balangays, circumnavigating Africa to trade with Tyre.
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| This is a lie |
Both Isaiah and Ezekiel tell us that Tarshish traded with Tyre.
Isaiah 23:1 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
Ezekiel 27: 1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,2 Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;3 And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.12 Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs
To make ships to go to Tarshish.—In 1Kings 22:48-49, we read: “Jehoshaphat made ships (i.e., a fleet) of Tarshish, to go to Ophir for gold; and it went not; for the ships were broken (i.e., wrecked) in Ezion-geber. Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships; and Jehoshaphat consented not.” There is no mention of a previous alliance and partnership in the ship-building with Ahaziah. Moreover, the expression of our text, “ships to go to Tarshish,” appears to be an erroneous paraphrase of “ships of Tarshish,” or “Tarshish-men,” as we might say; a phrase which really means, vessels built for long sea-voyages. According to Kings, the ships were built “to go to Ophir for gold;” in other words, to renew Solomon’s traffic with India from the port on the Red Sea.To go to Tarshish. This clause, even if the text is not corrupt, yet cannot mean what it seems to say; but in the word "to go" (Hebrew, ×ָ×ֶ×ֶ×Ŗ) must mean, of the sort that were wont to go to Tarshish, i.e. that were used for the Tarshish trade. We are guided to some such explanation by 1 Kings 22:48, where it is said the ships were "ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir" (1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chronicles 8:18). That the ships could not be to go to Tarshish is plain from the fact of the place, Ezion-geber (2 Chronicles 8:17, 18; 1 Kings 9:26), on the Red Sea, where they were built.
The kings of Tharsis, and the isles, shall bring presents: the kings of the Arabians and Saba shall offer gifts.
The Septuagint is Egyptian, uh, frauds. They were not temple priests. There were no temple priests in Egypt at that time.
The discovery among the scrolls of Hebrew biblical texts that agreed closely with the Septuagint Greek also changed the way scholars viewed that translation. Certain books of the Old Testament, notably Jeremiah and 1 Samuel, had long been known to have some significant differences from the Hebrew Masoretic Text. Many suspected the Septuagint translators as being responsible for these differences. The Scrolls clarified, however, that the Septuagint translators had, for the most part, translated the Hebrew in front of them straightforwardly. The more significant differences between portions of the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text were due to differences in different Hebrew editions of the biblical books, not the activity of the translators.
Isaiah 45:14 Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.
Job 1:15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Seba is mentioned with Egypt and Ethiopia, and must therefore have been a southern people. In Isaiah 45:14 we meet with the gentilic form, (csebha'im) (Sabaeim), rendered "Sabaeans," who are described as "men of stature" (i.e. tall), and were to come over to Cyrus in chains, and acknowledge that God was in him-their merchandise, and that of the Ethiopians, and the labor of Egypt, were to be his.
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| https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h7614/kjv/wlc/0-1/ |
A nation in southern Arabia? No kidding! Sheba is not in the Philippines. This pretty much seals the deal. And guess what? In Solomon's Gold Timothy Jay Schwab never investigates the meaning of H7614!
Well you know the amazing thing was is my wife is Filipina and we travel to the Philippines rather often and being here I was looking into different channels on Youtube I believe is where I saw this first. There was a video "Philippines is Ophir" and I thought wow I know what Ophir is and but I've never seen anybody prove the location of Ophir. So I look at it and of course it's like most videos. It's a good video, it's a great claim but you leave the video thinking, maybe. And we're at a point, because we're a research group it's not just me, and we're at a point in our lives where we want to prove things. We want to see things proven out completely. And that's what we set out to do.
It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2022/04/15/bgy-councilman-6-others-nabbed-over-illegal-cockfighting-in-pangasinan/ |
A barangay councilman and six others were apprehended for their alleged involvement in ‘tupada’ (Illegal cock fighting )in Brgy Pangalangan, San Carlos City on Thursday.Virgilio Mondares, 61, councilman of Brgy Pangalangan, San Carlos City, along with Romy Ventura, 50, Ernesto Benitez, 63, pot maker; Dionisio De Guzman, 69, Marlon Soriano, 43, a construction worker, and Elmar Jimenez, 20, vendor, were arrested for taking part in the illegal cockfighting.The Pangasinan Provincial Police Office reported it had confiscated one live fighting cock, four dead fighting cocks, one gaff and money bets of different denominations amounting to P1750.
A barangay councilor has been arrested for illegal cockfighting.
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| https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1926484/cebu/local-news/dismissed-malabuyoc-village-chief-to-appeal-ombud-decision-to-continue-running-for-mayor |
THE village chief of Sto. Nino, Malabuyoc vows to continue her campaign for the town's top post even as she is facing dismissal and perpetual disqualification from holding public office.In a statement posted on her Facebook page, Sto. Nino village chief and Malabuyoc mayoral candidate Erlinda Piedad said the dismissal order against her is not yet final, as she recently filed an appeal before the anti-graft office.
(I will accept every criticism imposed on me. But for the people of Malabuyoc, Edang is still here to accept it. But it does not mean that I will no longer seek the mayorship. We will continue to fight to defend the poor)
Piedad, however, accused her political rivals of orchestrating her dismissal.
Piedad is running for mayor against town councilor Daisy "Daya" Lim-Creus, the wife of Malabuyoc Mayor Lito Narciso Creus.
Piedad, incumbent barangay councilor Luz QuiƱones and former councilor Randy QuiƱones were found guilty by the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas for illegally disbursing around P50,000 of their village funds supposedly for the conduct of socio-cultural activities including the holding of games and dance and singing contests in 2014.
A mayoralty candidate and incumbent vice mayor of Rizal, Cagayan was arrested by agents of Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and Philippine National Police ( PNP ) in Quezon City Monday afternoon, April 18, in connection with the murder of a town councilor in 2018.The Cagayan Provincial Information Office reported Tuesday that incumbent vice mayor Joel Ruma has been charged in connection with the murder of Sangguniang Bayan Member Alfredo Alvarez who was shot dead in Tuguegarao City in 2018.Aside from Ruma, other suspects in the killing who are objects of manhunt operation are Simeon Baloran, Jessie Labang, Dalden Guiwayan, Jose Batang and Jocel Sacayle .Based on the information obtained by the CPIO at the PNP Kamuning Police Station (PS 10), the said official was cornered near the El Jardin 2 President Condominium, Sgt. Esguerra, Brgy South Triangle, Quezon City at around 4:00 p.m. last Monday.Ruma’s arrest was based on the murder case he is facing (case number 23026) and also on the validity of the Warrant of Arrest issued by Judge Vilma Pauig of the RTC Second Judicial Region in Tuguegarao.No bail was recommended for Ruma who is temporarily detained at CIDG Camp Crame .Among the basis of his alleged involvement in the crime was the security camera footage near the crime scene that Labang and Baloran were responsible for the murder of SB Alvarez. The two were then serving as security aides of then Mayor Joel Ruma.
A candidate for mayor has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the murder of a town councilor.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1584911/breaking-shots-fired-in-ka-leodys-visit-to-manobo-tribe-ancestral-land-in-bukidnon |
Several gunshots were fired against the camp of presidential candidate and labor leader Ka Leody de Guzman when they visited the ancestral land of the Manobo tribe in Quezon, Bukidnon on Tuesday, the Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) confirmed.
In a statement, PLM said that the meeting of De Guzman and his slate with the leaders of the Manobo-Pulangiyon tribe in Barangay Butong were disturbed by gunshots.
There were injured individuals during the shooting incident, PLM said. In a tweet, De Guzman said that two individuals sustained gunshot wounds — farmer group organizer Nanie Abela who was just beside the presidential bet when the shooting happened, and a leader of the Manobo-Pulangiyon tribe.
It seems there was an assassination attempt against Ka Leody while out on the campaign trail.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1584536/bacolod-court-finds-2-army-personnel-guilty-for-death-of-bayan-muna-coordinator |
A Bacolod Court has found two Army soldiers guilty of the murder of Benjamin Bayles, Bayan Muna coordinator and a member of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente.
In a decision made public Monday, the Bacolod City Regional Trial Court Branch 42 meted the penalty of up to 40 years imprisonment against Rafael Cordova a.k.a. Roger Bajon, and Reygine G. Laus a.k.a. Ronnie Caurino.
Bajon and Caurino were also ordered to pay the heirs of Bayles a total of P300,000 for civil, moral, and exemplary damages.
Bayles was shot to death on June 14, 2010, in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, by two men wearing helmets and sweatshirts on board a black motorcycle.
One of the witnesses, John Rey Mayongue, said they were on their way home when they noticed a motorcycle stopped by on the side of the road where they were supposed to pass.
He positively identified Bajon as the first who shot Bayles.
“I saw Benie jerking, falling in the canal…He just continues firing,” the witness said adding that Caurino followed Bajon and also started shooting at Bayles.
His testimony was corroborated by another witness, a tricycle driver who was also in the area when the incident happened.
As it turned out, as early as April, there were soldiers inquiring about Bayles and the witness also identified both Bajon and Caurino.
Both the accused, who admitted being members of the Intelligence Division of the Philippine Army denied involvement in the killing.
They said they were on leave from June 11 t 14, 2010, and were passing along Kabankalan City when they were stopped and arrested by the police.
Two soldiers have been convicted of killing a coordinator of Bayan Muna. It appears he was the target of a months long manhunt and was taken out. It seems impossible that the top brass of the AFP would have no knowledge of this operation.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1585172/nbi-files-graft-raps-vs-ex-philhealth-prez-10-other-execs |
The National Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday filed a graft complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman against the former president and 10 other executives of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) over alleged irregularities in its accreditation process.
Among the respondents was former PhilHealth president and CEO Dr. Celestina Ma. Jude dela Serna, who was sacked by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2018 for her lavish travel expenses and allowances.
Also included in the complaint were PhilHealth National Capital Region vice president Dennis Mas and officers Dr. Nenita Epifania Balbuena, Dr. Imelda Trinidad de Vera-Pe, Dr. Janice Gem Perlas, Dr. Rofien Ison, Diode Lantora, Yasser Ismail Abbas, Allan de Villa, Dr. Alejandro Perez and Jeffrey Pe.
They were charged with violating of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and Republic Act No. 6713, more known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
The NBI’s Anti-Graft Division said the case was based on a complaint filed in May 2017 by Dr. Leilani Mercado-Asis, who accused the officials of the corruption-plagued state health agency of arbitrarily disapproving the renewal of her accreditation as a “health-care provider.”
It said Asis claimed that she was not given due process when PhilHealth rejected her application supposedly based on an administrative case filed against her before the state insurer’s prosecution department.
The NBI said it later discovered that there was no pending complaint against Asis.
The NBI has filed charges against the former president of PhilHealth and 10 other executives over irregularities in their accreditation process.
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| https://www-remate-ph.translate.goog/ex-mayor-nanlaban-patay/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ex-mayor-nanlaban-patay&_x_tr_sl=tl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc |
The former mayor of Wao town died after allegedly fighting with the authorities.
The deceased was identified as William Comayog who is also the current barangay chairman of Inudaran Tagoloan II.
Based on the investigation, the National Bureau of Investigation filed an arrest warrant against Comayog for violating the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulations Act.
When they entered the suspect's residence, they allegedly fired at the authorities with an M79 grenade launcher and M-16 rifle.
It was here that authorities retaliated resulting in the death of the suspect, while a member of the operative was wounded.
Various types of high-powered firearms and ammunition were recovered from the suspect's residence.
Comayog is also the alleged leader of the Gandawali group that was allegedly behind the ambush on seven PDEA-BARMM agents in October 2018.
An ex-mayor who was behind the killing of 5 PDEA agents in 2018 died after engaging in a firefight with the NBI.
