Insurgency: NPA Turns to Spotify to Recruit Members

With a new administration peace talks are again be flouted by both the government and the CPP. The NTF-ELCAC says the only acceptable peace talks are of the localized variety.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1628589/ntf-elcac-to-focus-on-localized-peace-talks-with-reds

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) said Friday it would focus on localized peace talks with communist rebels, with one of its officials saying “nothing good came out” of negotiations on a national scale.

Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity Charlie Galvez said localized peace talks with communist rebels are still ongoing.

He said the government had tried a national approach in peace talks in the past, but it “ended up to nothing” compared to local peace engagements.

(We are still waiting for guidance. Now, peace talks are still ongoing, but we localized it.)

(Based on our assessment, within the more than 50 years of our negotiations, nothing good came out of national peace talks.)

In explaining the choice of NTF-Elcac to focus on localized peace talks, Galvez stressed that the “dynamic of conflicts is different in different areas.”

(It’s different. It’s different for Bangsamoro, the Visayas, and Central Mindanao and Southern Mindanao.)

(Localized peace engagement is better. We can see the interest and issues addressed by our local agencies.)

Asked if this means the NTF-Elcac does not have a recommendation on the national peace talks, National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos, who serves as the vice chairperson of the task force, said: “They are all localized.”

The CPP has rejected this method calling it " a smokescreen for psywar."

“The Party … reject[s] the ‘localized peace talks’ of the NTF-Elcac,” said CPP spokesperson Marco Valbuena in a statement.

Valbuena added that the proposal is nothing but “a smokescreen for psywar (psychological warfare), pacification and suppression operations” of the military.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1629059/cpp-rejects-ntf-elcac-backed-localized-peace-talks

PNP Chief Danao is against peace talks altogether because the NPA assassinated a PNP officer recently.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/838492/danao-frowns-on-possible-peace-talks-with-reds-after-supposed-attack-vs-pro8-cops/story/

Philippine National Police (PNP) Officer-in-Charge Police Lieutenant General Vicente Danao Jr. on Monday expressed disapproval of peace talks between the government and the communist rebel group.

In his speech after a flag-raising ceremony at Camp Crame, he hit the “leftist group” after it allegedly ambushed cops of Police Regional Office 8 who were distributing aid to poor communities on Saturday.

“They are there to give assistance to the poorest of the poor. Pero (But) unfortunately you ambushed them. O tapos (and then) now you are talking peace talks. Anong klaseng peace talks 'yan (What kind of peace talks is that)?” Danao said.

A police patrolman died in the incident, according to Danao. The PRO8 identified the fatality as Police Patrolman Mark Monge.

According to PRO8, the police were conducting humanitarian activity in the towns of San Jose de Buan and Gandara in Samar province when around 10 communist rebels allegedly fired at them.

Danao threatened to ambush communist rebels himself if the situation could be reversed.

(If the government can be reversed, I myself would ambush you, to be honest. It hurts.)

Ambushing the NPA is exactly what the AFP and PNP should be doing. But instead they are attempting to bribe them to surrender. 

The NPA continues to set off landmines. The AFP says they are doing this as a show of strength to force the government into peace talks.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179328

The recent attack by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) insurgents against soldiers in Northern Samar are part of their efforts to project strength through terror in a bid to force the government to return to the negotiating table.

"The violent actions of the CPP-NPA are expected. They are meant to strengthen the CPP’s hold on their dwindling and demoralized fighters and increase the pressure to the government to resume the peace talk according to their terms. They will not succeed in their underhanded scheme," said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) acting spokesperson, Col. Medel Aguilar, in a message to reporters Wednesday.

This came after a soldier from the 20th Infantry Battalion was killed while five others were wounded after the NPAs detonated anti-personnel mines in the remote Osang village in Catubig, Northern Samar on Tuesday.

The fatality and injured soldiers were among the 24 troopers patrolling the vicinity belonging to the Community Support Program (CSP) team assigned to Osang and Nagoocan villages.

The CSP is a flagship program of the AFP used to clear communities of NPA infestation and to bring the government closer to the people through faster delivery of basic services.

The AFP gave as another reason that the NPA uses landmines is because they want to hinder development.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179321

The detonation of anti-personnel mines in Northern Samar is a manifestation of the New People’s Army’s (NPA) opposition to the implementation of the Barangay Development Program (BDP), an official of the Philippine Army said on Wednesday.

Lt. Col. Joemar Buban, commander of the Philippine Army’s 20th Infantry Battalion, on Wednesday said the attack of the communist group on the soldiers belonging to the Community Support Program (CSP) was a strategy to delay projects since these soldiers are tasked to secure BDP projects.

BDP projects are socioeconomic development undertakings geared towards the provision of farm-to-market roads, health centers, electrification, water and sanitation facilities, schools, and livelihood.

Buban said Osang village in Catubig town, Northern Samar where the NPA planted the mines is a recipient of a PHP20-million BDP funded by the central government.

Among these projects are infrastructure, agriculture, livelihood programs, and handicraft training.

Goodness knows what their real motivation is since the NPA has been using landmines for quite sometime now and show no signs of stopping. One former NPA rebel says resumption of peace talks would be a betrayal of Filipinos.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179331

Resuming peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) is a betrayal to the Filipino people and a disgrace to the government's success in dismantling the group, an ex-NPA cadre said Wednesday.

“The goal of 'negotiation' is to buy time to buttress a position—military, political, social, or economic—and to wear down, frustrate, and harass the state and its security forces,” Arian Jane Ramos, known as Ka Marikit, when she was secretary of the Guerrilla Front 55 under the NPA's Southern Mindanao Regional Command.

Ramos’s reaction came following a statement issued by CPP founding chairman Jose Maria “Joma” Sison that he was always open to peace negotiations with the Government of the Philippines (GPH), whoever the president is.

Ramos, also former chairperson of Gabriela Youth–University of the Philippines Mindanao, said such negotiations served only the rebels' propaganda objectives and are not to reach peaceful agreements.

“The CPP-NPA-NDF will never compromise, concessions are only made to advance its strategic plan,” she said in an interview.

If the CPP-NPA-NDF is successful in capitalizing on the momentum in their favor, Ramos said the rebel group will continue to “commit acts of terror across the entire nation.”

Being an ex-rebel she should know what she is talking about right? Surely she doesn't harbour any grudges or wish to sow disinformation about her ex-comrades right? Who knows but some of these ex-rebels seem to sure know what the NPA is doing despite no longer being a part of the group.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179144

Communist rebel recruiters have turned to other online platforms such as the popular digital music and podcast service Spotify after their websites were blocked by the National Telecommunications Commission.

Joy James Saguino, a former high-ranking leader of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) turned anti-rebel advocate, said the group is being actively assisted by its umbrella organization, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), to explore and use online platforms to “dupe” potential recruits.

“They are exploiting all information platforms to expand their machinery of indoctrination and radicalization, especially that Spotify is widely used by the youth,” Saguino, a former secretary of the New People's Army (NPA) Guerrilla Front 20, said in a phone interview Monday.

Saguino said CPP-NPA-linked organizations are using Spotify to create podcasts to disseminate propaganda and recruit young people into Asia's longest-running insurgency.

The government, she said, must take action “on removing such content on social media platforms. This is plain rebellion taught in online platforms and must be dealt with seriously by the government.”

The blocking of several websites happened only recently and many of those websites are still accessible yet we are supposed to believe that these organizations, in a quick turnaround, began podcasts directed at the youth? That is not believable. Is Spotify going to be red-tagged next? Perhaps.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179549

Children should be spared from digitalized recruitment schemes of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) and its front organizations, the leader of a parents’ group said Friday.

The League of Parents of the Philippines (LPP) appealed to the national government to investigate the use by the CPP-NPA of Spotify, an audio streaming and media services provider, and other social media platforms to entice more children to join the communist armed struggle.

“We strongly condemn the deception of our children by these communist terrorist groups and its sympathizers using the Spotify platform,” said Remy Rosadio, LPP president, in a text message on Friday.

Rosadio said the government must probe the infiltration of communist groups in various social media platforms.

“I am appealing to President Bongbong Marcos, Vice President Sara Duterte, and all the concerned government agencies to look into this matter and to restrict all CPP-NPA accounts and investigate the other outlets being used by their front organization for deception and recruitment,” she said.

Rosadio said Duterte, as Education Secretary, can do something about the reported recruitment.

“Innocent children are their easy preys in online videos. Almost all children staying at home are relying on YouTube and other online entertainment like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Spotify to ease their boredom while staying at home,” she said.

Rosario added that other groups like Anakbayan, League of Filipino Students, and Kabataan are similarly invading Spotify to attract the attention of children.

She said even former CPP-NPA rebels attest that there is massive exploitation of children by spreading communist ideologies online, even if the National Telecommunications Commission has already blocked websites connected with the CPP-NPA-NDF.

She said the course on Maikling Kurso sa Lipunan at Rebolusyong Pilipino (MKLRP, loosely translated as Short Course on Society and the Revolutionary Filipino) is being played on Spotify as an educational podcast under the “History” category.

The first chapter of the audiobook became available to the public in October last year while the latest episode was aired just on Wednesday.

Other communist-related audiobooks on Spotify are Rakenrol: Salaysayan sa Araling Pilipino with 26 episodes and Aling Aktibista (The Activist), popularly known as ARAK, reportedly a required course for activists.

While Spotify itself is not hosting podcasts, any user with an account can upload a podcast by providing the link to the RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed and hosting partner.

Hard to believe that someone would listen to a history lecture and then abandon society for the mountains with the NPA. What are the stats for these shows and how have they actually influenced people to join the NPA? None of the podcasts listed are new which voids the idea that they have anything to do with recently blocked websites. This particular lecture series is being hosted by Mon Sy who is a professor at UP-Diliman and he has been doing so since 2020. What are the implications of this? Will he be charged or arrested or red-tagged? Here is a tweet he retweeted praising the nurses of the NPA.

https://twitter.com/YearoftheMonSy/status/1479445621551484929

What's a surrendered rebel to do? You got your money, you got your free housing, you got your job assistance, what now?  There is one thing The State cannot give you and that is your soul.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179424

Ten former communist New People's Army (NPA) rebels decided to restore their Christian faith through baptism and vowed to abandon the communist ideology.

In an interview Thursday, Davao Oriental information officer Karen Lou Deloso said the rebels were baptized by a team of volunteers from the Lighthouse Church on July 18, the same day they graduated on July 18 from the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).

A surrenderer only known as "Red", 29, said he was thankful for being allowed to change as he vowed not to waste such a “rare opportunity” for them.

“We are grateful for being taught about goodness and transformation. The hatred and grudges in our hearts are now gone, and I am truly thankful I have changed,” he said.

"Dodong", another surrenderer who used to work in the “white areas“ of the communist movement, urged his former comrades to “genuinely transform and embrace the life of peace.”

Deloso said the former rebels are also thankful for the Happy Home, the provincial government-run halfway house and processing center for former rebels, which was conceptualized and initiated by Governor Corazon Malanyaon in 2013.

“They said that if it weren’t for the Happy Home, they would not have gone through spiritual processing because it’s different from the ideology they were taught in the communist movement,” she said.

Since then, services and facilities have evolved and become the E-CLIP implementation model in the country.

Currently, Deloso said hundreds of former rebels are "living their best lives" after receiving scores of benefits from Happy Home, including financial assistance, educational services, livelihood assistance, skills training, housing, spiritual services, and moral recovery activities.

There is so much here that is unsaid. It is deserving of a documentary or at least a full write up. If these killers can redeem their souls then that is a good thing. In fact it is the only thing that matters.

The DILG and DOJ Admit the Duterte Drug War is an Abysmal Failure

The war on drugs, wherever it has taken place, has always been a failure. Now we have concrete evidence that this is the case in the Philippines. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1632340/pnp-record-1-conviction-per-5-drug-cases-filed

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have ordered a review of the qualifications of police investigators in the country, citing the dismal conviction rate of crime suspects arrested.

In a press conference on Thursday at the Philippine National Policeheadquarters in Camp Crame, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla cited the need for capable police investigators as one of the requisites for criminal cases lodged in court to lead into conviction, and improve the criminal justice system in the country.

According to Remulla, the current conviction rate for criminal cases filed in courts stood at “less than 25 percent.”

“This means that we are not really getting a passing grade. This is not a standard that we can live with for the next few years, so we have to change it drastically,” the justice secretary said.

“When the conviction rate is very low, the certainty of punishment goes down. Then the criminals have a heyday, [because they have an] easy time with the law,” Remulla added.

Citing data from 2016 to July 2022, Abalos said that only 21 percent or 62,061 of the 291,393 drug-related cases led to conviction. The majority of these cases at 223,579 or 77 percent remained pending before different courts, while the rest were dismissed or led to acquittal.

He attributed this dismal performance to the lack of training in the judicial process of investigators-on-case, particularly on the police’s failure to follow the chain of custody of evidence under the law due to lack of witnesses.

Drugs are bad m'kay? But look at those stats!! During Duterte's term only 21 percent of drug cases led to a conviction. 77 percent remain pending and the rest have been acquitted due to chain of custody issues. That is abysmal. There is no other word to describe it. The new DILG Secretary wants to reassess training for police investigators. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/07/21/2197010/dilg-push-reassessment-training-police-investigators

The Department of the Interior and Local Government said Thursday that it would advocate for a reassessment of the training and qualification for police investigators, especially those participating in the government's anti-drug efforts. 

At a joint press briefing Thursday morning between the Justice and Interior Departments, DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos questioned the training of the country's cops, pointing out as an example that only 123 of the 22,774 police investigators in the country are graduates of law. 

Citing data from 2016 to July 2022, Abalos said that only 62,000 or just 21% of the some 291,000 drug cases filed by the Philippine National Police have landed convictions. Abalos pointed to lack of training in the judicial process. 

"Whatever they have, we will supplement it...There should be a reassessment of those who were chosen. What were their qualifications? What seminar did they undergo?" Abalos said in mixed Filipino and English. 

"What is important is not the quantity of the cases filed but their quality. So we will discuss this with our people and we will have to review it. How do we get our investigators? Is there a volunteer system or an examination they have to take?"

Abalos lamented what he said was the high volume of cases being dismissed on technicalities under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. 

In particular, he pointed to Section 21 of the law, which requires anti-drug personnel to immediately conduct an inventory of seized drugs, while all anti-drug operations should be carried out in the presence of members of the media, officials of the barangay, or a representative of the Department of Justice.

"It's a waste to do all that work only to have cases dismissed on technicalities."

Is this only coming to light now?  Did no one in the Duterte administration fail to recognize these kind of failures? It's hard to believe. Look at this number "123 of the 22,774 police investigators in the country are graduates of law." That means less than 1% of all police investigators are law graduates!

How can anyone look at these numbers and claim that the Philippines justice system is not only functional but world class?? You would have to be stupid to say such a thing.

Drugs are a scourge and need to be eradicated  but you cannot just go in guns blazing and that has been the modus operandi for the past six years. If the majority of these cases do not stand the scrutiny of the law then there is a real problem. Perhaps this new administration can fix it. But I won't hold my breath.

Retards in the Government 268

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

  

https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/15/jail-guard-in-laguna-nabbed-for-illegal-drug-activities/

A 35-year-old Bureau of Management and Penology (BJMP) member was arrested in a buy-bust operation in Sitio 5, Barangay Bagumbayan, this town, Thursday, July 14.

The suspect was identified as Eugene Bactad, a resident of Barangay Bagumbayan, and listed by the police as a high-value individual in the illegal drugs trade.

Police received a report that Bactad is involved in illegal drug activities. The report was validated and a buy-bust operation was conducted leading to the arrest of the suspect.

Seized from Bactad were three sachets of suspected shabu with an estimated weight of 10 grams and marked money.

A jail guard was arrested for selling drugs.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/15/drunk-trigger-happy-cop-in-gensan-charged/

A happy-trigger policeman is facing administrative and criminal charges after he indiscriminately fired his firearm while drunk in Barangay Lagao here Tuesday, July 12.

Police Lt. Col. Aldrin Gonzales, spokesperson of the General Santos City Police Office, said charges for illegal discharge of firearm and grave misconduct have been filed against Police Corporal Grecar Paras, assigned to the Mobile Patrol Unit, after he, together with several companions, figured in a shooting spree in Barangay Lagao.

Gonzales said Paras surrendered to this superior, Police Lt. Col. Ramon Gencianos, Wednesday, July 13, in Camp Fermin Lira here after he was positively identified through a closed-circuit television camera footage as one of two persons who indiscriminately fired a gun in front of a convenience store in Pioneer Village, Barangay Lagao.

The store owner, Mark Anthony Lansangan, reported the incident to Police Station 3 which immediately dispatched responding policemen to the scene.

Police Capt. Miguel Angelo Quidilla, Police Station 3 chief, said the suspects had fled the area when responding policemen arrived at the scene.

Gonzales said the Philippine National Police-Internal Affairs Service is set to probe the administrative case of grave misconduct against the erring cop while that of the criminal case of indiscriminate firing will be conducted by Police Station 3.

A police officer is being charged for indiscriminately firing his weapon while being drunk.

https://www.panaynews.net/sc-upholds-graft-conviction-of-iloilo-medical-supplier/

The president of a medical supply company has been found guilty by the Supreme Court of violating Republic Act (RA) No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for conniving with local public officials by participating in a flawed bidding, resulting in unwarranted benefits and advantages in his favor.

This case is related to the February 2015 Sandiganbayan conviction – affirmed with finality also by the Supreme Court in March 2019 – of former Janiuay, Iloilo mayor Frankie Locsin for graft regarding the purchase of medicines from two companies that were owned by one person.

Villanueva and several local government officials of Janiuay, Iloilo were charged by the Office of the Ombudsman with violation of RA 3019 for allegedly conniving with each other for the purchase of medicines worth P13,191,223 from Europharma, notwithstanding the fact its accreditation was still pending with the Department of Health (DOH) when it was awarded the contract, thus disqualifying it from bidding.

It was also alleged that Villanueva was the sole proprietor of Mallix Drug Center (Mallix), a supplier which participated in the same public bidding and was awarded P1,744,926.  

The Sandiganbayan held that all the accused conspired with each other and were guilty of violating Section 3 (e) of RA 3019 for awarding the contracts for the purchase of medicines to the business entities of petitioner.

The president of a medical supply company who conspired with local officials for a no-bid purchase has had his graft conviction upheld.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/15/22/coa-flags-dpwh-over-delay-defects-in-thousands-of-infra-projects

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) failed to establish the viability of 3,440 infrastructure projects worth P245.021 billion which resulted in either delayed completion or non-implementation of the projects, a report from the Commission on Audit (COA) showed.

In their 2021 audit report, state auditors said the DPWH's projects were contrary to the provisions of Republic Act No. 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

The projects include school buildings and farm-to-market road projects across the country, including 437 projects amounting to P10.939 billion which have not been started at all. 

Several reasons were cited in the report, such as typhoons, prolonged acquisition of road right-of-way, permits and clearances from other government agencies, unsatisfactory performance of contractors, revisions in feasibility studies, and engineering plans. 

“Except for the COVID-19 pandemic and adverse weather conditions, the other identified causes of the delay in the implementation of infrastructure projects reflect the inadequacy of planning, supervision and monitoring of management relative to the project implementation,” the audit team commented. 

Unsupported expenditures amounting to P11.538 billion were also made by the DPWH without proper and complete supporting documentary requirements, contrary to Presidential Decree No. 1445 or the Auditing Code of the Philippines. 

The disbursements include payments of advances to contractors, fuel oil and lubricants payments, COVID-19 hazard pay, as well as salaries and wages of job order, contractual, and budgetary personnel. 

“The above disbursements/payments made without proper or complete documentation rendered the transactions of doubtful legality, propriety, or regularity; hence, the same shall be suspended in audit until the requirements are duly complied with,” the audit team said.

The audit team also noted technical defects in 369 infrastructure projects with total contract cost of P11.860 billion, resulting in deficiencies of at least P508.581 million. 

Among the cited defects were major scaling and multiple cracks on concrete pavement as well as defects in masonry, structural concrete and painting works and curbs and gutters in the Cordillera Administrative Region. 

The DPWH has been flagged by the COA over a number of issues. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1629569/coa-flags-delays-in-14-dotr-projects-worth-p1-6-trillion

Fourteen foreign-assisted projects of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) worth P1.61 trillion suffered “setbacks” in implementation last year, forcing the government to pay P128.42 million in additional fees to several lenders financing them, according to the Commission on Audit (COA).

State auditors reviewed the projects’ status as of the end of 2021 and found common problems in implementation, among them issues in procurement, and financial and technical concerns. In a 2021 audit report on the DOTr, the COA said these led to prolonged implementation and changes in project cost and scope, and caused some to be restructured.

“It bears stressing that the issues encountered in the implementation of the projects should be immediately addressed to prevent further extension of services/project’s completion/implementation period, and consequently incurrence of additional commitment fees/charges in case of extension of the loan validity period,” the COA said.

The COA report said the 14 projects faced similar issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project site’s condition or availability, and design, scope, and technical concerns.

State auditors lamented that issues in the implementation of the projects, which included the improvement of rail systems, replacement of license plates, and the public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program, affected “the timely usage and enjoyment by the public of the benefits that could be derived therefrom.”

The COA has flagged the COA for delays in projects which cost the government millions in extra fees. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1630213/coa-flags-robredos-ovp-for-hiring-lawyer-without-approval

The Commission on Audit (COA) may have an unmodified opinion of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) under Leni Robredo, but it still flagged the OVP for hiring a private lawyer, supposedly without adhering to COA rules.

According to the 2021 COA report,  the OVP engaged the services of a private lawyer as a legal consultant without the prior approval of the COA and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).

Without such approval, public funds used to pay the private lawyer may be disallowed or ordered returned, as stated in a circular that COA released in April 1986.

According to the 2021 COA report, the payments “are considered irregular and unnecessary expenditures” and “shall be the personal liability of the officials concerned.”

The COA audit team also found out that there was no valid reason for hiring a legal consultant necessary. It noted that the OVP created its own Legal Affairs Division in 2020 with two legal officers employed “as part of its institutional strengthening efforts.”

“It is believed that the contracted legal services can be handled by OVP’s legal officers. As such the hiring of a legal consultant is not justifiable,” the COA report said.

COA urged OVP to hold accountable those who approved the contract and the payments and have them refund the money paid to the private lawyer.

It also advised the current OVP to appoint someone to head the Legal Affairs Division.

The COA has flagged the OVP for hiring a lawyer without the approval of the OSG. The OVP has since said that they have appealed this decision to the COA.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179293

An election official was shot to death in Isabela City, Basilan, while supervising the ongoing registration of voters for Al-Barka municipality in the province Tuesday.

Lt. Col. Junpikar Sitin, Isabela police chief, identified the victim as Ruayna Sayyadi, the election officer of Al-Barka town.

Sitin said Sayyadi was in front of the Al-Barka satellite municipal election office in Barangay Doña Ramona, Isabela City, when a gunman approached and shot her around 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Sayyadi was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician.

Sitin said the suspect fled on a motorcycle towards the city proper of Isabela, based on information gathered from witnesses.

Lawyer Roberto Dela Peña, the Basilan provincial election supervisor, strongly condemned Sayadi's killing and urged the police to  investigate and solve the crime.

An election official has been shot dead.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179327

The Sandiganbayan has sentenced a former Samar town mayor to up to eight years in prison on graft charges filed by a municipal employee who exposed anomalies in the local government unit (LGU).

In a decision dated July 18 penned by Associate Justice Alex Quiroz, the anti-graft court convicted former San Sebastian town mayor Arnold Abalos for removing municipal planning and development coordinator Robert O. Rebosura from his post, after he shed light on unremitted workers' contributions to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) in 2012.

The mayor had been earlier convicted on separate graft charges.

The accused claimed he decided to relieve Rebosura, citing absenteeism where the complainant was allegedly reporting to work only thrice a week.

Rebosura, meanwhile, said his replacement stemmed from his and other municipal employees’ previous filing of cases against the mayor, including a complaint for the non-remittance of GSIS contributions.

In convicting Abalos, the court, among other things, said the complainant was denied the opportunity to explain his side and that the manner of his removal from the post was "attended by irregularity" as it was only done "by means of a mere memorandum, unsupported by any complaint, investigation or formal charge”.

A former mayor has been convicted of graft in connection with firing an employee who exposed his financial shenanigans.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1631135/cotabato-village-chief-killed-in-gun-attack

Unidentified gunmen ambushed and killed a village official in Pikit town, Cotabato province on Wednesday morning.

Maj. Maxim Peralta, Pikit police chief, said Datu Jalandoni Matalam Akas, 58, village chief of Barangay Macabual, was on a motorbike with his wife when they were attacked by still unidentified gunmen along the national highway in Barangay Nalapaan.

Akas died on the spot while his wife was unharmed in the gun attack that happened around 8 a.m.

The gunmen on board separate motorbikes then fled after the shooting, heading for the town proper.

It was the second daylight shooting in Pikit in two days.

“Hot pursuit operation is still ongoing,” Peralta told a local radio station in an interview.

Matalam’s relatives claimed that the victim had no known enemies and roamed around without firearms or armed escorts.

On Tuesday afternoon, unidentified gunmen also ambushed and killed Alex Salcedo, 58, an employee of Pikit Water District.

He was on motorbike when the suspect shot him from behind in Barangay (village) Batulawan at around 2 p.m.

Unidentified gunmen killed both a village chief and a water district employee in Cotobato province.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179270

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Erwin Tulfo proved once more that he won’t tolerate abuses after two erring employees were meted out disciplinary actions.

The DSWD said on Tuesday that one employee assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and another at the satellite office in Tagbilaran City, Bohol were relieved from their posts for inappropriate behavior.

They were also reprimanded and made to undergo retraining on proper treatment of clients, according to a news release on Tuesday.

"Instead of assisting them to make them comfortable from their travel abroad, the action of the said (NAIA) employee toward the mother and child was not in accordance with the health standards set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases for arriving minors," Tulfo reported, without specifying what the employee violated.

The Tagbilaran City employee, on the other hand, “rudely” talked to a client who inquired about inclusion in the “Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program”, the conditional cash transfer program.

On July 7, Tulfo posted an apology on Facebook and vowed to investigate the incident. 

Five other employees assigned at the hotline center were reprimanded and duly warned for not responding to calls.

“(Five employees assigned to our hotline operations were reprimanded and warned for not answering calls. What is the use of hotline numbers if no one will answer the calls)?" Tulfo said in a statement. 

Two DSWD employees have been relived and 5 warned for unprofessional behavior.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179426

The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan has fined four Sipalay City, Negros Occidental town officials for “frauds against the public treasury” in connection with anomalies in equipment lease contract with a private firm in 2008.

 

In its three-page decision written by Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang and promulgated July 15, the court found former city treasurer Renato Manilla, budget officer Fernando Balbin, engineer Porferio Calderon Jr., and general services officer Elizer Balbin guilty and sentenced them to a fine of PHP40,000 each.

 

Two accused, former mayor Soledad Montilla and executive assistant Alfredo Lim, had died while the case remained pending. 

 

Montilla and the other accused were originally charged with violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019) on June 29, 2018 for alleged anomalies in a deal with the city government in 2008 where they were accused of giving unwarranted benefits and preference to D.K. Jocson Construction.

 

The irregularities allegedly occurred when the firm’s contract for the lease of heavy equipment used in the rehabilitation of a dike and graveling of farm-to-market roads in the city was renewed from March to December 2008.

Four town executives have been fined for irregularities in giving a contract for road construction.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/453909/coa-questions-talisay-citys-purchase-of-high-end-pcs-laptops

The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the decision of the Talisay City Government to purchase high-end laptops and personal computers (PC) used for engineering and video editing purposes. 

In its 2021 Annual Audit Report for Talisay City, the state auditing body called the city government’s attention to justify its procurement of five PC sets, and two high-end laptops amounting to a total of P610,750.

COA described the cost incurred by the local government as ‘imprudent use of government funds’ since the latter was unable to sufficiently defend the necessity to buy high-end consumer electronics. 

Citing COA Circular No. 2012-003, state auditors said ‘high-end or expensive models/brands of electronic gadgets such as mobile phones, desktops, and laptops, are considered unnecessary expenditures’ unless they are properly justified.  

The five PC sets and one of the high-end laptops were intended for the City Engineering Office. Another high-end laptop was charged under the Office of the City Mayor.

The purchases were made between May and June of 2021, the report showed. 

“While the procurement of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Equipment such as laptops and desktops are necessary for effectively discharging the two Offices’ duties and responsibilities, prudence in the use of funds must be always taken into consideration so that public procurement is done in the most judicious and economical manner,” portions of the COA report stated.

Talisay City has been flagged by the COA for high-end electronics purchases.

Coronavirus Lockdown: Small Waves, OCD Cases Rise, and More!

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

In the face of rising COVID-19 cases the DOH says not to panic but remain cautious.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1625598/no-need-to-panic-but-be-cautious-doh-says-as-daily-average-climb-to-1535-cases

With COVID-19 cases in the country on the rise again, the Department of Health (DOH) reminded the public Monday to not panic, but be cautious.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the average new daily infections have risen to 1,535 cases, which is higher than the 1,009 cases recorded the previous week.

(Just from these numbers, we can see that the cases are rising and we should be careful.)

According to Vergeire, the public must understand that “the virus is here to stay” and that new infections should be expected.

(The most important thing is that severe and critical cases are kept at a minimum.)

(Another important thing is we minimize the number of deaths and that our hospitals are not full.)

Deaths have been minimized throughout the pandemic and many of those who died were sick already.  There have been 3.7 million cases with only 60 thousand deaths. Not even half of the population has been infected! What is this lady talking about? 

This same person has been appointed the DOH Officer-in-Charge.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/07/14/2195379/vergeire-designated-dohs-officer-charge

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has designated Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire as the officer-in-charge of the department.

In a briefing Thursday, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said Vergeire’s designation as officer-in-charge can be extended if the chief executive cannot appoint a DOH secretary by July 31.

According to Marcos’ first memorandum circular, officers-in-charge shall perform the duties of a top official until July 31, or until a replacement has been designated, whichever comes first.

Why hasn't Marcos appointed a DOH Secretary yet? He's had plenty of time and one would think that if we are int he midst of a serious pandemic that he would have made it a priority. Maybe there is no pandemic??

One expert says the worst is over.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/14/worst-of-covid-19-pandemic-over-due-to-vaccination-salvana/

An infectious disease expert believes that the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic is already over as several people are now vaccinated against the viral disease.

Dr. Edsel Salvana said that even though coronavirus cases currently has “tripled” because of the Omicron and its subvariants, the number of deaths is “nowhere near” than what was recorded during the surge last year which was driven by the Delta variant.

“In terms of death and severe disease, I think that the worst is over because of vaccination,” said Salvana on Thursday, July 14.

Salvana said that during the Delta surge, the country’s vaccination rate was still low.

“All things taken into consideration, the worst variant is really Delta. Lalong-lalo na doon sa Pilipinas, doon talaga pinakamaraming namatay and muntik nang bumagsak yung ating healthcare system (Especially in the Philippines, wherein several people died and our healthcare system almost collapsed),” he said.

At present, a large number of Filipinos are already vaccinated against the disease, said Salvana.

“Mataas na yung antas ng ating pagbabakuna bagama’t kinakailangan talaga natin habulin yung boosting (The level of our vaccination is already high although there is a need for our booster coverage to catch up),” said Salvana.

“Because of vaccination, we don’t expect it to cause us much destruction and death as Delta did,” he added.

Despite this, Salvana said that the threat of Covid-19 still remains. This is because of the ability of the Covid-19 virus to mutate.

Is this person kidding? Are we reading the same statistics? Only 3.7 million have been infected and 60 thousand died and those deaths cannot be attributed solely to COVID-19 with comorbidites being factored in. The destruction that came from the pandemic was when the government shut down the entire nation. 

We have been inundated with news about a surge coming but now one expert says there will be many tiny surges or "small waves" throughout the year.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/07/18/22/small-waves-of-covid-19-cases-possible-until-end-2022

‘Small waves’ of increases in COVID-19 cases are possible in the Philippines until the last quarter of 2022, an expert said Monday. 

Professor Jomar Rabajante of the University of the Philippines (UP) Pandemic Response Team said this is due to waning immunity and the increasing mobility of Filipinos.

The Philippines on Sunday recorded 2,560 new COVID-19 cases, the fourth straight day that new cases breached the 2,000-mark.

(If, for example, we see a decline in new cases next week, we must not be complacent, because based on our projections and simulations, this increasing-decreasing pattern, these small ripples may continue until the last quarter of 2022.)

(We see small waves like this in the coming months. That's because our population is now more mobile and borders are open. Some Filipinos are leaving, some are coming back, and immunity is waning because some have not gotten their booster shots yet.)

The professor said government must not resort to lockdowns in order to curb these small spikes in COVID-19 cases.

(We must not go back to the ways we fought COVID in 2020. It's 2020, going on 2023, we must apply the lessons we have learned.)

Instead, schools and workplaces must be made safe for students and employees, he said.

(We need to have healthy and safe schools, because schools and universities are opening. We need to have healthy and safe workplaces, we need to have proper ventilation and isolation facilities for the sick.)

(This is not just about COVID, we also have dengue now. If other diseases emerge in the future, we need to maintain our healthy practices.)

If this is normal and is to be expected then why all the hand wringing? Maybe because of mutations?

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1630508/for-posting-edited-unending-mutation-of-the-covid-virus-brings-a-new-creature-ba-2-75

Over three years into the pandemic, cases of COVID-19 continue to ramp up globally as SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes it, continues to mutate and evolve with the newest strain: BA.2.75.

Based on records by World Health Organization (WHO), BA.2.75, BA.2 sub-lineage or a sub-variant of the Omicron variant, was first documented in India in May this year and has been spreading quickly ever since.

The newly-discovered sub-variant, according to WHO, has so far been detected in 10 countries and is categorized by the WHO as a sub-variant under monitoring, along with six other Omicron sub-variants.

These mutations make the current vaccines worthless. Why bother getting vaccinated when it won't protect against mutations, the efficacy wanes, and infection is still possible? Now wonder millions of doses are about to expire.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1630501/1-6-million-covid-19-vaccines-to-expire-in-august-concepcion

Some 1.6 million vaccines against COVID-19 purchased by the private sector are set to expire in August, resulting in hundreds of millions of pesos being thrown away, Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said Tuesday.

At about $10 per dose, Concepcion said AstraZeneca and Moderna are among the vaccines included in the batch.

“By mid-August, about 1.6 million private-sector vaccines will expire. [Therefore,] we’re looking at hundreds of millions of pesos that the private sector will lose because these vaccines are expiring,” Concepcion said in a Pandesal forum.

To prevent the wastage, Concepcion renewed his appeal to the Health Technical Advisory Council (HTAC) to allow the general public to receive a second booster shot.

“The sense of urgency is quite not there. The private sector and the government is trying to do their best, but there’s a body that is somehow moving quite slow,” he said.

He noted how the vaccines were bought from the United States, which is already giving the second booster to their residents.

“If the Americans are the ones who invented these vaccines and then we bought [these] from them, shouldn’t we follow what CDC (Center for Disease Control) is doing? It’s the same thing,” Concepcion said.

Second booster? Millions have not even received their first booster!

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1630212/doh-aims-for-23m-booster-shots-in-bongbong-marcos-first-100-days

The Department of Health (DOH) aims to administer at least 23 million COVID-19 booster shots within President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first 100 days in office, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, the officer in charge of the department, said on Monday.

President Ferdinand Marcos himself said in a meeting with Vergeire that he would want the DOH to make the booster shots more accessible, the DOH OIC said on Monday in an interview on ABS-CBN’s “TeleRadyo.”

According to Vergeire, the president “values the evidence that the first booster will really up the immunity of the population.”

“So throughout the conversation or the meeting, he was also really trying to relate our condition; how moving forward as a country we will respond [to the pandemic]; if and when we can be able to improve our booster coverage and [how] we’ll be able to confidently say: We can loosen or remove restrictions,” Vergeire said in Filipino.

“If we’re able to achieve that in these 100 days, then that’s when we can talk if we can have new or further easing of restrictions,”  she said.

The aim of the DOH is to give booster shots to only half of the 55 million full-vaccinated individuals – not to the entire eligible population.

“It’s not really realistic for the first 100 days, but at least we’re targeting 50 percent,” Vergeire said.

That means that, for 100 days, there should be 397,000 to 400,000 people vaccinated each day.

So far, only 15 million people have been given booster shots.

With the public being hesitant to get a first booster are these numbers even realistic? Not only is theft on the rise now that COVID restrictions have been eased but all this worrying about a virus with a 99% survival rate has caused the spread of OCD.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/19/22/disinfecting-until-it-hurts-ocd-cases-rise-as-covid-19-lingers

People have gotten more observant of COVID-19 protocols like the 20-second hand washing rule, but those with OCD do more than what is required because avoiding their compulsive hand washing or sanitation would consequently make them spiral into thoughts of death and the possibility of contaminating their loved ones. 

People without OCD have also started developing symptoms of the illness during the onset of the pandemic, said Dr. Rucelle Zuniega, a psychiatrist from In-touch, a private psychiatric service provider in the Philippines.

“Aside from the people with OCD experiencing exacerbation of their symptoms, many also experience emergence of new symptoms focused on COVID-19. So, health-related yung symptoms nila and particularly health related sa Covid,” she said. 

This was affirmed by a March 2022 systematic review published by the Frontiers in Psychiatry where it was stated that “people both with and without diagnosed OCD prior to the pandemic generally experienced a worsened landscape of symptoms of OCD during the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Bongbong has decided to retain the current alert level restrictions until new ones can be written.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/838596/marcos-retains-covid-19-alert-level-system-eyes-new-restrictions-classifications/story/

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. retained the COVID-19 Alert Level System for now, Malacañang said in a statement released Tuesday.

Marcos however is seeking the reclassification of restrictions which would be more compatible with the current milder strains of the coronavirus, it added.

The President also said the alert level could be adjusted or improved if more people receive COVID-19 vaccine booster shots.

“To avoid confusion, we will retain the alert level system for now. We are however thinking, we are studying very closely, and we’ll come to a decision very soon as to decoupling the restrictions from the alert levels,” he said when he met with Department of Health (DOH) Officer-In-Charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

Marcos met with DOH officials on Monday to discuss COVID-19 and the government's response to the disease.

The DOH can craft new classifications by the second week of August, Vergeire said.

Mid-August is a suitable time to loosen up classifications as this would give the medical community time to make COVID-19 cases more manageable, at the same time allaying their fears, Vergeire said.

There is no word on what those restrictions might look like but perhaps they should do away with them altogether seeing as the death rate remains spectacularly low.

When the next session of Congress opens the Senate hopes to address the real problems facing the nation. They are of course pandemic related. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/07/14/2195377/surge-wears-on-senate-urged-look-pending-covid-19-concerns

The Senate may need to convene the Committee of the Whole once the 19th Congress opens to discuss pending concerns on the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, Sen. Nancy Binay said Thursday morning. 

"When the 19th Congress opens, we can convene the Committee of the Whole just to go back to pending issues and concerns regarding COVID-19, like vaccination programs, access to boosters, status of our healthcare workers, health and pandemic statistics, level of preparedness, [and] exit plans,” Binay said in mixed Filipino and English in a statement sent to reporters.

This comes as calls to require Filipinos, especially the general popultion, to get booster shots continue to resound amid another surge in COVID-19 cases, with the country recording an average of 1,467 cases daily from the week of July 4 to 10.

The Department of Health has warned that the ongoing surge could hit its peak of up to 11,000 new infections by the end of July, with increased hospital admissions by August to September.

"Right now, everyone's experiencing pandemic fatigue and vaccine complacency. Because of the recent decrease in cases, people have become less vigilant,” the senator said.

"I support the recommendation for the third shot (booster), but the DOH should be more aggressive in reaching those in priority groups and intensify the vaccination campaign in isolated and remote areas. What is important is that we all agree that the paramount concern is to be fully protected from the virus."

The senator also asserted the need to continue revisiting and reviewing the country’s public health policies to ensure these are up-to-date and in line with international standards.

"The way I see it, at the end of the day, we need to always revisit the science behind our every decision on matters of public health like having a common index and definition of what 'fully vaccinated' is or should be na compliant and aligned sa World Health Organization or similar internationally-recognized and respected organizations,” said Binay. 

From the sounds of it I would not be surprised if they passed a mandatory vaccination law. Marcos has already said no law is needed making booster shots mandatory so if such a law was passed hopefully it would get his veto.