The Philippines Is the World's Biggest Contributor to Plastic Pollution

The Philippines is a land of deception. The Department of Tourism tells the world "It's More Fun in the Philippines"and shows enticing pictures of impossibly beautiful and pristine places. But those places are not representative of the Philippines over all. They are anomalies. The sad fact is that so much of this nation is ugly and polluted. The air, the waterways, and the land are all covered in garbage of various kinds. Now the Rotterdam-based Ocean Clean Up has laid bare the truth for all the world to see.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/06/10/news/national/pasig-river-worlds-top-plastic-polluter/1802635

The Pasig River as well as 18 other rivers in the Philippines were identified as among the top 50 polluting rivers in the world, a study released by the Rotterdam-based Ocean Cleanup said.

Ocean Cleanup is a nonprofit engineering environmental organization based in the Netherlands that develops technology to extract plastic pollution from the oceans and intercept it in rivers before it can reach the ocean. It also conducts scientific research into oceanic plastic pollution.

The study found that a quarter of the rivers that were found to be responsible for 80 percent of ocean plastic pollution are found in the Philippines.

The study found the Philippines as the biggest contributor to plastic pollution. Of the 1,656 rivers monitored worldwide, 466 were in the Philippines. Together, the rivers dumped more than 356,371 metric tons of plastic waste annually.

The 27-kilometer Pasig River, which runs through Metro Manila, accounts for 63,000 tons of plastic entering oceans from rivers per year.

The study also said that coastal countries like the Philippines have a relatively high probability of plastic entering the ocean due to various factors, including short distances from land-based sources to rivers and much shorter distances to oceans.

Plastic also flows more easily into rivers from paved urban areas than it does in rivers from forests and travels farther in rainy climates than dry ones.

The researchers also considered the proximity of landfills and dumpsites to riverbanks, finding out that those within 10 kilometers of rivers are likely to spill into them.

The Ocean Cleanup study was released as San Miguel Corp. (SMC), in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), other national government agencies, and Metro Manila mayors, launched its ambitious, five-year plan to clean up and rehabilitate the Pasig River.

The project is set to become the largest river rehabilitation project in the country, with SMC President Ramon Ang announcing that the company's budget for the undertaking is being doubled to P2 billion.

"There have been many cleanup efforts in the past, and government has successfully implemented a number of programs these past few years," Ang said. "But decades of pollution and compounding problems that have rendered the river biologically dead since the 1990s are too significant and complex to overcome - even for the best-intentioned advocates and organizations."

It is rather astonishing that 466 rivers, 25% of those surveyed, on this list are all in the Philippines. You could call it the Philippines' dirty little secret except it's not so secret anymore. It is interesting that the San Miguel Corporation's five-year plan to clean up the Pasig River is mentioned in this article. Why is a private company taking on this task? Becasue Duterte abolished the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, transferring it's powers to the DENR, the Manila Bay Task Force, the DHSUD, the MMDA, and the DPWH. Do you see the problem? Instead of one agency overseeing everything the task was divided up over several agencies who have other jobs to complete than cleaning the Pasig River. Duterte did this because he declared the river uncleanable.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1182766/duterte-to-congress-abolish-pasig-river-rehab-agency

“If Congress is listening, abolish that [PRRC]. There is nothing to clean in the Pasig River. It’s already clean. That’s (already) the state of the art of Pasig,” Duterte said Monday during the oath-taking of newly appointed government officials at Malacañang.

The President lamented that the government is just wasting time and resources with the PRRC which he said “cannot do anything” to revive Pasig River.

“Unless we require every building not only along the river but everybody who has a waste to dump in a sewage or sewerage, nothing will happen. You’re wasting time. You’re paying people for nothing. They cannot do anything,” he said.

This was another one of Duterte's many rash and misinformed decisions. If the river is uncleanable then why would he divide the task to clean it among several agencies? The fact is the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission was formed in 1999 and worked for two decades to clean the river. In 2018 their labor was recognized.

https://interaksyon.philstar.com/trends-spotlights/2018/10/22/136383/award-winning-rehab-of-biologically-dead-pasig-river-how-it-happened/

It took years of cleanup and follow through not often seen in government projects.

On October 16, Australia-based International RiverFoundation recognized the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission’s efforts to restore the notoriously polluted Pasig River, which runs across the national capital Metro Manila.

The foundation rewards “exceptional efforts in the protection, restoration and sustainable management of the world’s rivers.”

The inaugural Asia RiverPrize for the Pasig River beat the Asian Development Bank and Chinese government’s Yangtze River initiatives.

For almost two decades across administrations, the agency launched “quality projects, programs, activities and advocacies in easement recovery, riverbank development, waste and water quality management, and public awareness,” according to a brief released by the RiverFoundation.

The work is far from over, but the PRRC and its partners believe a complete rehabilitation can be achieved, estero by estero.

The commission projects 14 more years for the Pasig River to be alive again. Its 2017 master plan aims to make the river capable of sustaining biodiverse ecosystems by 2032. It should also become a source of livelihood and recreation.

After 20 years of hard work the PRRC believed they could clean up the river, estero by estero.  That means cleaning the river up one area at a time. They also believed this could be done by 2032. Too bad they had no idea that Duterte destroy their work by shutting them down. 

The fact that the PRRC won an award for their hard work in cleaning up the river shows that Presidential Spokesman Roque is a lair.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1143250

Malacañang is saddened that Pasig River has been named as the world’s most polluting river when it comes to plastic waste.

“Nakakalungkot po iyan (That is saddening). That’s not something that we should be proud of,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a virtual presser on Thursday when sought for reaction. “Dati nga po, meron pa tayong commission just on Pasig River pero wala ring nangyari (There was a commission just on Pasig River before but nothing happened).”

"There was a commission just on Pasig River before but nothing happened." What an outrageous lie. I just showed you that after 20 years the commission's work was recognized. They had a plan and were cleaning up the river piecemeal. Now Roque blusters out "nothing happened." What a profoundly ignorant buffoon he is. And not just Roque. Duterte, the DENR, all of them are deceptive buffoons who think the appearance of cleanliness equals cleanliness.  That is why they are dumping dolomite all over the shores of Manila Bay.

The public has been fooled into thinking that Duterte cares about cleaning up the waterways in Manila because the DENR spent millions to dump crushed dolomite on the shore of Manila Bay. Meanwhile the one body that actually was accomplishing real change, the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, was disbanded. It's simply more lies and deceit form the government with the people being the victims. It is because of the deceit and laxity of this administration and past administrations, as well as the nonchalant attitude of the people, that the Philippines has the infamous distinction of being the world's biggest contributor to plastic pollution.

Retards in the Government 210

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

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1441994/cop-4-traffic-regulators-nabbed-for-extortion-in-pampanga

A police officer and four members of the local traffic management office were arrested for alleged extortion in Apalit town in Pampanga province on Friday, a police report said Saturday.

Operatives of the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group-Luzon Field Unit (IMEG-LFU) arrested Police Corporal Leomar Calegan, 37; Marlon De Guzman, 39; Menard Mendoza, 32; Michael Maniulit, 50; and Noel Manarang, 23. Calegan’s companions were members of Apalit’s Truck Ban Traffic Management Office.

The five were arrested after an undercover operative of the IMEG-LFU boarded a cargo truck and pretended to be a member of a truck crew. Upon reaching the San Simon North Luzon Expressway access road-MacArthur Highway intersection where the suspects were flagging down trucks, the operative handed over two pieces of marked P500 bills to the group. The suspects were then immediately placed under arrest.

Operatives confiscated P804,170 from the suspects, believed to be the group’s “collection” from truck drivers who passed through the “checkpoint” that day.

A cop and four traffic enforcers have been arrested for extorting truck drivers.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1142801

Three people, including a former policewoman, were arrested while close to PHP100,000 worth of illegal drugs seized in separate anti-drug operations in this city and in nearby Zamboanga Sibugay province, a top police official announced Monday.

Brig. Gen. Ronaldo Genaro Ylagan, Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) director, identified the arrested former policewoman as Charlotte Reyes Foncardas, 39.

Ylagan said Foncardas was arrested by operatives of the Zamboanga City Police Office’s (ZCPO) Station 11 in a buy-bust operation around 5:50 p.m. Sunday in Barangay Pasobolong, this city.

Confiscated from Foncardas were more or less 10 grams of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu packed in 22 heat-sealed plastic sachets worth PHP68,000 and PHP500 marked money.

A former policewoman has been arrested on drug charges.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1142981

Three aspiring police officers lost their chance to join the force for submitting fake swab test results in the ongoing recruitment of the Police Regional Office- Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said on Tuesday. 

“I have already issued an order to delist the names of all the applicants who deliberately submitted fake RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) tests in PRO-BAR. This order extends to other PROs and PNP units to do the same. We will not give a second chance for this year’s recruitment to those who would dare bastardize our recruitment process,” Eleazar said in a statement. 

The three applicants, who are set to face criminal charges, were among 66 applicants who were probed over the incident. 

Meanwhile, nine applicants were already cleared while the remaining 54 are still undergoing investigation.

Nipping corruption in the bud. But there could be 54 more recruits who also get the boot for fake COVID tests!

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1143246

The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the dismissal of a worker who tested positive for illegal drug use in January.

In a resolution promulagated in March and published online on Wednesday, the High Court en banc found storekeeper Mark de Guzman guilty of grave misconduct due to the use of a prohibited drug and ordered his dismissal from the service.

The SC Medical and Dental Services likewise directed the referral of de Guzman to a suitable drug rehabilitation facility at his own expense.

The respondent smoked marijuana inside SC premises and cigarettes at the stockroom of the Property Division in the Old SC Building.

Fellow employees also found out he would go to blind spots not covered by security cameras during office hours to smoke. He covered windows with plastic sheets to prevent smoke from coming out.

Supreme Court employee fired for smoking grass and cigarettes on the premises of the SC.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/06/09/2104254/charges-prepared-against-calbayog-mayors-son-cops-after-ambush-shootout

The Philippine National Police has filed charges against four cops and Ronald Mark Aquino for alleged involvement in the ambush-shooting of the latter's father, Calbayog City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino. 

This was confirmed by Police Maj. Gen. Alfred Corpuz at Wednesday morning's hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs on the incident. 

Corpuz said that the Police Regional Office 8 had already filed homicide and murder raps against those involved in the shootout, including the victim's son. 

Charges have been field against four cops who were involved in a shoot out with the Mayor of Calbayog City a few months ago. The NBI says the PNP fired first. The PNP continues to deny this.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1142960

Six village officials have been charged due to the occurrence of recent superspreader events in their areas as the government intensifies its crackdown on violators of health protocols amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

In a Cabinet meeting with President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday night, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said these superspreader events include the incidents at the Gubat sa Ciudad Resort, Barangay 171 in Caloocan City; Recreational Resort and Pool Operations in San Jose, Navotas City; boxing matches in Barangay 181 and 182 in Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila; the incident at the Bakas River in Barangay Matictic, Norzagaray, Bulacan; Barangay Balabag, Boracay Island and Barangay Sambiray, both in Malay, Aklan; and the Club Holic Bar and Restaurant in Barangay Kamputhaw, Cebu.

Six village officials charged with holding super spreader events and not following health protocols.

Coronavirus Lockdown: Possible Murder Raps, the Worst is Not Over, and More!

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

By know we all know the Philippines has had in place the longest running lockdown in the world. The worst thing about this lockdown is that it is not static. It rotates. So one day you might have to do business in a town and suddenly you can't because they have shut everything down. Iloilo City is the latest city to revert back to MECQ.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1142237

This highly urbanized city’s (HUC) modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) classification is extended until June 15, 2021 as cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) continue to climb.

Mayor Jerry P. Treñas on Tuesday signed Executive Order number 50 extending the MECQ status of Iloilo City in compliance to Resolution Number 118-A of the national Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases showing the new quarantine classification of provinces and cities on May 31.

In the EO, the observance of the curfew hours from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m. is extended.

The city-wide border control that restricts entry and exit points to and from the city except for purposes of work, medical needs, accessing government services, transport of goods and/or construction materials, humanitarian purposes also continues.

Se what they did? They extended what was supposed to be a one week restriction for 15 more days! This put a huge burden on everyone including those from without the city who need to do business in Iloilo as the mayor has asked the RIATF to halt all travel from Negros Occidental and has reimposed the quarantine pass system.

Cagayan de Oro has also reimposed quarantine passes.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1440744/quarantine-passes-required-anew-for-cagayan-de-oro-residents

The local government here has again required every resident going out of their homes to present a quarantine pass after the national government placed the city under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) from June 1 to 15.

Under the MECQ guidelines, only frontline health personnel and workers in government and private establishments who are deemed authorized persons outside of residence (APOR) are generally allowed outside of homes.

Others may go out for essential purposes as long as they have a Barangay Exit Pass issued by the city government and distributed through the village governments.

Like Iloilo City this measure is only until June 15th but these madmen, and they are madmen who have destroyed the economy and people's livelihoods in a way that no other country has done, will likely extend it just like MECQ has been extended in the NCR Plus area. Davao City is also seeking to return to the dreadful MECQ for 25 days.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1440889/davao-city-seeks-stricter-curbs-amid-virus-surge

In an announcement posted on its social media page on Wednesday, the city asked for the declaration of a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) from June 5 to June 30 to serve as “a circuit breaker in the surge of patients inside hospitals.”

It also advised residents and businesses to review the guidelines for the new classification while waiting for the approval of its appeal.

Davao City is under a general community quarantine (GCQ) status despite a spike in new COVID-19 cases, which on Tuesday, registered an all time high of 338 cases in a day, according to data from the Department of Health (DOH).

Dr. Ricardo Audan, Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) acting chief, on Monday compared the atmosphere at the hospital’s emergency section to a “midnight sale” at the mall because of the number of people swarming the section.

“Sobrang masikip (It’s too crammed),” Audan said, adding that the hospital already converted part of its outpatient department into an emergency section extension to deal with the problem.

Health-care workers are also suffering from fatigue as the demand for health services in both public and private hospitals continue to grow.

Total COVID-19 cases in the city reached 17,337 on Tuesday, with 1,912 classified as active, the DOH said. Five persons died of COVID-related complications on Tuesday, raising the total death toll here to 760.

Wow. Davao has really been hit hard. 760 people out of 17337 have died. That's a whole whopping 4.3%!!! And five realty died of "COVID-related complications" which means "NOT COVID ALONE." So what is the real death toll from COVID? The IATF has granted Davao's request to downgrade the city to MECQ from June 5th-25th.

The DICT says for sure a vaccine passport is going to be issued for foreign travelers. That should be no surprise. We all know that kind of thing is coming.  The Bureau of Immigration says they back the plan to allow fully vaccinated foreigners into he country to alleviate the country's tourism woes. It's funny because the science says being vaccinated is no guarantee one is not carrying the virus or that one cannot be infected. But the government seems to not care about science despite saying they do.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1142475

In a virtual presser, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said studies have shown that wearing a face shield on top of a face mask can help further reduce the transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the country.

“It is a scientific fact that the wearing of both masks and face shields contribute substantially to the reduction of Covid-19 cases,” said Roque, also acting as IATF-EID spokesperson.

It's always great how these people NEVER, EVER back up their "scientific facts" with any kind of studies. Here's a study for everyone to read:

https://today.wayne.edu/medicine/news/2021/03/03/plastic-face-shields-add-little-protection-to-face-masks-study-finds-41633

“Surprisingly, when assessing the combined protection of surgical mask and face shield, the level of protection was not enhanced in comparison to using surgical masks alone,” said Teena Chopra, M.D., M.P.H., professor of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, for the Wayne State University School of Medicine, and lead author of the study. “This result reinforces the fact that a surgical mask serves as an effective intervention, providing protection from aerosol droplets that spread COVID-19.”

When will the madness end? The mandated wearing of face shields must come to an end. It is unscientific, stupid, and a burden to all as we must pay dress up just to leave the house.

The government has done a bang up job when it comes to the pandemic. Specifically they have been adept at scaring the heck out of people.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1441422/more-filipinos-take-back-previous-belief-that-worst-of-covid-19-is-over-sws

Also, the number of those who believe that the worst is yet to come in this pandemic has increased — from just 31 percent in November 2020 to 49 percent in May 2021 — just eight percentage points shy of the 57 percent recorded in July 2020.

According to the SWS report, 89 percent of those surveyed are still worried about catching the disease, while 11 percent are either worried a little or not worried at all.

From confidence that the worst was over to fear that the worst is yet to come and that they might get infected! It's all because the government has been imposing crippling lockdowns wiping out economic gains on a random, rotating basis and imposing health protocols, like wearing face shields, which are not based on science. Add to that the government continually blaming the public for the increase in cases and threatening them with arrest and burdensome fines for not wearing masks and shields properly. No wonder people are scared. That's how the government wants them.

If you think the government's rules regarding COVID could get any more confusing and stupid well, here's something that fits both those categories.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/04/21/quarantine-fully-vaccinated-covid-filipinos-iatf

The inter-agency task force leading the country's COVID-19 response said on Friday travelers who are fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus are required to undergo a 7-day quarantine upon entering the Philippines.  

"All inbound fully vaccinated individuals shall be required to undergo a 7-day facility-based quarantine upon arrival. The BOQ (Bureau of Quarantine) shall ensure strict symptom monitoring while in the quarantine facility for 7 days," said IATF and Malacañang spokesman Harry Roque.  

The new rules will apply to travelers who were fully vaccinated in the Philippines, Roque said in a text message. 

The 7-day quarantine protocols do not cover overseas Filipinos workers who were fully vaccinated abroad and would go home to the Philippines. They have to stay 10 days at a quarantine facility upon returning to the Philippines, he said. 

This stupid and confusing rule only applies to those who were vaccinated here in the Philippines, choose to go abroad, and return. It does not apply to foreigners or anyone else who was vaccinated abroad. Totally dumb. And they still have to quarantine despite being vaccinated!  That's because the vaccine does not immunize anyone from the virus. So why even take it? 

The goal of the government is to vaccinate seniors, the indigent, and other vulnerable groups. But if you are a famous actor you can get your whole family vaccinated and the DILG will turn their head.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1441526/dilg-sees-no-violation-in-vaccination-of-muhlach-family-in-muntinlupa-city

In a statement on Friday, DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said that the Muntinlupa City local government unit told the department that the Mulach family are qualified to be vaccinated under the protocols set by the Department of Health. 

“They are bona-fide residents of Muntinlupa City. They enrolled at the MUNCOVAC registration portal under A3 category,” Malaya said. 

“Most importantly, they submitted medical certificates/clearance from their attending physician at Asian Hospital and Medical Center to prove that they have comorbidities. The medical certificate was verified by the Muntinlupa City Health Office with the said hospital,” he added.

Very, very interesting that this actor and his two children and wife all have "comorbidities" which allowed them to sneak to the head of the line to get a vaccine which does not immunize you from the virus. No word on what diseases they have. Could be anything from diabetes to hypertension to heart disease to obesity!

Bacolod City appears to have become a police state. The government now disallows home isolation. IF one refuses to go to a government quarantine facility they could face criminal charges.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1142631

The city’s Emergency Operations Center-Task Force (EOC) on Friday warned that they will file a police report against individuals refusing to be taken to the isolation facilities after testing positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

“We will file a police blotter for those refusing to be extracted,” said Executive Assistant Ernesto Pineda, extraction cluster head of the EOC-TF.

The concern was discussed during the EOC-TF’s virtual huddle where Pineda pointed out that the patient’s continued stay in his or her residence will cause exposure of the household members, resulting in the spread of infection to more people.

He cited Section 9 of the Republic Act 11332, otherwise known as the “Law on Reporting of Communicable Diseases” as the basis in addressing instances when the patient refuses to cooperate.

It refers to the non-cooperation of the person or entities identified as having the notifiable disease or health events of public concern.

"Those refusing to be extracted." That is totalitarian language. Now a man is not safe even in own house. How does that raise trust in the government or in the vaccine for that matter? 

The DILG says they recorded 50,000 face mask violations during the week of May 31st - June 6th. Duterte says because of this he might have to impose harsher measures. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1442987/i-cant-say-what-but-we-can-place-stricter-measures-to-curb-covid-19

“We might calibrate our response to the intransigence that you will show.  It’s up to you. Then we can go into… there are many things. I could — I just don’t want to say it, but we have the power to control it actually if we want to make it hard for people,” Duterte said, speaking partly in Filipino.

As always it's just a vague "we might" with absolutely no definite "we will." One thing he might do is charge health protocol violators, specifically those who shun quarantine after testing positive, with murder.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1443105/duterte-warns-of-possible-murder-imprudence-raps-vs-covid-positive-persons-who-would-shun-quarantine

President Rodrigo Duterte said it is “possible” to file murder charges against individuals who are fully aware that they are COVID-positive, yet still wandered around and gravely infected another person.

In a taped meeting aired Monday, Duterte’s chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo floated the idea of filing murder charges against these individuals, to which the President agreed.

(If the person knows he has coronavirus yet he still went out and managed to infect another individual which led to their death, that’s intentional killing. It is within the ambit of murder because it’s intentional.)

Duterte, in response, said reckless imprudence would still be the best complaint against these persons though he agreed that a murder case is “possible.”

(What you said about murder, this is far from what the people think, but it is possible. If he knows that he is sick with COVID-19 and he goes about nonchalant, going around here and there, if it is intentional, that’s far but it could be murder as what Sal said.)

(But if now, reckless imprudence would be the most fit for the situation.)

Panelo says a person who infects another should be charged with murder. Duterte does not scoff at this but says "it is possible." Has anyone else in the world spewed such nonsense? Forget about the impossibility of proving the case it is simply draconian talk meant to scare the people. For a virus that has a 90% recovery rate and that is generally asymptomatic.

Picture of the Week: Truck Blocks Crosswalk

I was waiting for the light to change so I could cross the street when then this happened: 

This is ridiculous. This trucker thought he could make it through a red light but then he realized he could not. So, he stopped well past the light and across the middle of the crosswalk practically into the intersection! This happens all the time. Truck drivers either barrel on through red lights or realize they can't make it and end up almost in the oncoming lane! Just more bad driving habits in the Philippines.

insurgency: Kill Terrorism

This week the name of the game is "surrender." No, not the Cheap Trick song. Though some would say this is cheap trick by the AFP. I'm talking about rebels laying down their arms.  The AFP claims that since Duterte took office, for some reason all statistics about the insurgency seem to start with when the current president took office rather than offer a wholistic analysis of the problem, is upwards of 18K.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1142270

A military official said July 2016 to May 2021 saw the return of close to 18,000 communist rebels and supporters to the government fold.

Navy Captain Ferdinand Buscato, executive director of the government’s Task Force Balik-Loob, said the 17,958 returnees from July 1, 2016 to May 28, 2021 include 3,684 New People's Army (NPA) regulars, 2,039 members of the Militia ng Bayan, 1,736 from underground mass organizations, 636 from Sangay ng Partido sa Lokalidad, and 7,074 communist mass supporters.

Some 2,789 supporters are still being validated and verified by the Joint Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) Intelligence Committee (JAPIC).

This report says 3,684 NPA regulars have surrendered since 2016. That sounds like great news. But NTF-ELCAC spokesman Esperon says there are 4,000 NPA regulars left.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1439527/esperon-sees-police-leading-counterinsurgency-if-npa-numbers-fall-by-1500-fighters

The police could take the lead role in dealing with communist insurgency once New People’s Army (NPA) strength has declined by 1,500 fighters, according to National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon on Monday (May 31).

There are still currently 4,000 regular NPA members, according to Esperon, who is also vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac).

“Personally, this is just personal, if we could reduce the strength by another 1,500 then they can become a concern for the police, like they are already bandits,” Esperson said at an online press briefing.

While police and military have reported the surrender of thousands of fighters and supporters of CPP-NPA since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in 2016, Esperon said rebels continued to be active in recruitment.

He said recruitment by members of NPA and underground communist groups continues among farmers, fishermen, workers and “very especially students.”

“So there’s resupply,” Esperon said. “Many people continue to be deceived of the promises of this long-running insurgency that seems to have no ending at all,” he said.

This article exemplifies everything that is wrong with how the AFP's handling the insurgency. First of all it should never be a police matter. Why would the AFP hand the reins over to the PNP just because the number of rebels falls to a certain level? There are far less Abu Sayyaf and BIFF fighters but the AFP has not handed that fight to the PNP.  The AFP actually did this very thing in 2011 when they turned over security operations in 23 provinces to LGUs because the NPA had become "so insignificant."

AFP public affairs chief  Colonel Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr. said the presence of NPA guerrillas in these provinces had become so insignificant that the military had turned over the job of maintaining security in these areas to the local government  units. 

“These are indicators that there is now unhampered progress in these provinces without major incidents of violence and extortion by the NPA rebels,” he said in a phone interview. 

“We can’t say there’s zero presence but we can say that it is no longer significant,” Burgos said. 

Only “less than 5,000” NPA rebels remain in the countryside waging their decadeslong revolution, he said.

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2019/09/martial-law-insurgent-free.html

In every single one of those provinces the NPA was able to regroup and reform because the AFP failed to go the distance and finish the job.

Second of all is that Esperon admits the NPA is actively recruiting members and that their ranks are growing. If there are 4,000 left and 3,000 have surrendered since 2016 that means beginning in 2016 they were at 7,000. But in 2010 the AFP estimated their numbers at less than 5,000. This on-going recruitment belies the AFP's assertions that the NPA is weakening and lays bare their repeated and baseless assertion that the NPA is irrelevant as a total lie. If they can attract recruits and grow their ranks then they are neither irrelevant nor desperate to recover their influence. It would seem they never lost their influence.

For instance, in a tragic act of violence a football player was killed when he and his friend encountered an IED planted by the NPA. The AFP says the use of IEDs, or anti-personnel mines, are a sign of weakness.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1142805

A ranking military official in the Bicol Region said the recent anti-personnel mine (APM) blast that killed two civilians and wounded another in Masbate is a manifestation of communist terrorist groups’ (CTGs) weakening capability as they can no longer face the security forces head-on.

Army Major Gen. Henry A. Robinson, Joint Task Force (JTF) Bicolandia commander, in a statement Sunday, strongly condemned the terrorist attack as he extended his condolences to the bereaved family of Kieth Absalon, 21, a promising football player of the Far Eastern University, and his cousin Nolven Absalon, 40. Kieth’s 16-year-ol nephew, Chrisbin Absalon sustained injuries.

The fact is the NPA has been using landmines for decades. IEDs are nothing new to them. Here is a report from 2006 about the NPA's use of landmines.

http://archives.the-monitor.org/index.php/publications/display?url=lm/2006/philippines.html

Key developments since May 2005:  The rebel New People’s Army stepped up its use of command-detonated improvised antivehicle mines, resulting in many more casualties. Landmine Monitor media analysis found 145 mine/IED casualties reported in 2005, a nearly 300 percent increase on the 47 casualties reported in 2004. The Armed Forces of the Philippines reported seizures of antipersonnel and antivehicle mines from the NPA. 

NPA admits that it produces explosive devices for use in warfare, claiming it has “strict standards in producing and employing” them. In November 2005, a spokesperson for the CPP-NPA-NDFP, Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal, said that the rebel group makes improvised explosives out of materials salvaged from World War II-vintage bombs that they buy from fishermen and treasure hunters. Soldiers of the 48th Infantry Battalion seized an NPA “training manual for making land mines” among the documents recovered from an NPA camp in Sitio Alasanay, Bgy. Dimanayat, San Luis, Aurora on 27-28 September 2005.

The NPA intensified its offensives against the government in 2005, including increased use of command-detonated improvised antivehicle explosive devices, resulting in a considerable increase in the number of casualties recorded. 

Based on this report it highly disingenuous for the AFP to say the use of landmines shows the NPA is weakening when this has been their modus operandi for decades. They have also certainly not lost their ability to face security forces head on as the ambush in Davao two weeks ago proves.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1142197

Davao Oriental Governor Nelson Dayanghirang said Tuesday the ambush perpetrated by the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in Mati City on Sunday was a desperate move aimed at recovering its influence over its lost mass base and supporters.

In a statement, Dayanghirang said the attack was the NPA’s desperate attempt to show strength despite the capture of comrades and the loss of members and mass supporters who have already surrendered to the government.

On Sunday, a soldier was wounded in a 10-minute firefight between government troops and rebels in Barangay Badas, Mati City, Davao Oriental.

Based on the report of the 10th Infantry Division (10ID), members of the Alpha Company of the 66th Infantry Battalion (66IB) were on board a military truck bound for Banaybanay town from Barangay Taguibo when they were ambushed by about 10 fighters of the NPA Guerrilla Front 18 near Punta Tagawisan.

“The Philippine Army reported that the NPA numbers are dwindling and only a few remain active. Our citizens don’t need to worry because our soldiers are spread all over the areas where they might hide or escape,” he said.

What does this governor mean by saying the army reported that "NPA numbers are dwindling and only a few remain active?" Perhaps in Davao that is the case but the NTF-ELCAC says there are still 4,000 left and that recruitment is on-going. Why is there so much contradictory information about the strength of the NPA? Perhaps the AFP has no idea what the real numbers are and are just guessing. And why lie about the NPA's strength or lack thereof based on the guerrilla tactics of ambushes and IEDs which the NPA has been using from the beginning of their fight? It smacks of propaganda.

In Davao the AFP claims the number of terrorists has decreased since 2018 when the ELCAC program was implemented.

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1076973

Besides winning the war thru combat operations, the 10th Infantry Division thru Assistant Chief of Staff of the Civil Military Operations Lt. Col. Louie Dema-ala bared in an interview over One Davao Virtual Virtual Presser that much of the efforts now of the military group is focused on community support programs.

“ Aside from the red area or where the CTGs are usually situated, we also focus on the white area. There is a symbiotic relationship between the red and the white areas. (The white area gives financial support to the CTGs in the red area, in the white areas, recruitments are made for the armed group),” Dema-ala explained.

He cited some gains of the military in weakening the CTG’s strength in the white area along with the initiative and support of the Regional and Provincial Task Force ELCAC.

 The closing of Salugpungan schools across Davao Region was considered a major win for the uniformed men.

Aside from the Salugpungan schools, the issuance of a freeze order by the Anti Money Laundering Council (AMLC) on united Church of Christ in the Philippines - Haran (UCCP- Haran) bank accounts was also a significant gain in the insurgency war.

The 10th Infantry Division reported to have organized 443 People’s Organizations (POs) composed of Underground Mass Organization (UGMOs) member.

Dema-ala explained that there is a need to sustain government’s efforts in engaging UGMO members by providing skills trainings and livelihood opportunities.

The AFP claims to be winning the fight via a combination of combat operations and social work. All of that comprises tasks that the public cannot do. Yet the AFP continues to chide the public as if fighting terrorism is their work too.

AFP Chief of Staff Sobejana says the public must "kill terrorism" to end the insurgency.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/790355/afp-s-sobejana-urges-families-academe-to-kill-terrorism-to-end-communist-conflict/story/

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief-of-Staff General Cirilito Sobejana Jr. appealed to families and the academe to join the effort to end the local communist armed conflict, urging them to "kill terrorism."

In a statement, Sobejana said parents and teachers have a role in ending the conflict, adding that good governance should also be practiced at home and in schools.

“While your soldiers kill terrorists, you in the academe should kill terrorism. If you are effective in countering terrorism, there are no terrorists. The Armed Forces will then serve as support in the development of our country, rather than going to war,” Sobejana said, partly in Filipino.

"We do not fight because we hate those who are in front of us; we fight because we love the people behind us,” Sobejana added.

He said the “formula” for ending this country's security problems was for citizens to do their part in the whole-of-nation approach to end the local communist armed conflict. This also includes non-government institutions and civil society organizations.

What does it mean to "kill terrorism?" How does one "kill terrorism?" Sobejana likely does not know as he does not offer an explanation. Or, if he did, GMA has neglected to include it. Fighting terrorism is not the job of the citizens. It is wholly the job of the AFP. There is a pattern here where the government constantly blames the public for the woes of the country. COVID cases are on the rise because the public won't follow safety protocols. The insurgency continues because the public won't do their part. Funny that no one blames the public for choosing lame duck and brain dead politicians to run the nation.

The preferred way to fight the insurgency these days is building roads and strengthening the infrastructure.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1142716

The Rizal town in Kalinga province has received around PHP20 million to fund its anti-insurgency projects in Balabag East village.

According to a report by Radio Mindanao Network (RMN), Rizal Mayor Karl Bugao Baac was thankful to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s (NTF ELCAC) Barangay Development Program (BDP) for allotting funds for Balabag East village that is now cleared of infestation of the New People’s Army (NPA).

Of the PHP20 million, around PHP15 million will be used for the rehabilitation of the Barroga-Baggas farm-to-market road, Bugac said.

Baac added that about PHP3 million will be used to improve the water system and the remaining PHP2 million will be allotted for the rehabilitation of the health center building in Balabag East village.

Balabag is one of the 822 villages initially identified by NTF ELCAC to have been cleared of NPA influence.

Imagine calling roads and clean water "anti-insurgency projects." That is insane. Those are projects that should have been completed long ago as the people pay taxes for that kind of infrastructure. Not to mention the area has already been cleared of NPA influence. So, how exactly will these projects fight the insurgency when it appears there is no insurgency in their village to fight?

Hanging the Wash Out to Dry

When you've washed your clothes they have to be hung out to dry somewhere. The best way is to hang them on a line in the sun but a line isn't always available which is what leads to the vaunted Filipino creativity. This is the same creativity that gave us tanks plated with wood armor to protect them from RPGs during the Marawi siege. Necessity is the mother of invention, they say.

A tree is not such a bad place to hang your clothes out to dry. A few hours in the sun and it will be harvest time for this strange fruit. 

If a tree is not readily available then perhaps the next best thing is some grass.

Like an egg these mats will have to be flipped after one side has been heated enough.  Thats actually problematic because you really want your clothes to have room to breathe so the air can dry them on all sides. Not to mention all the dirt and dry dog piss that is certainly in that grass.  That's why a wall might be a better place to hang them out to dry. Admittedly a wall is not the optimal place to hang your clothes because you still don't get the proper air flow.

There is no bird in that rooster hut and good thing. He might not appreciate his house being used to dry the laundry. He might foul them up!

Laying your clothes out on the roof might not be a good idea either because, like the wall, there is no room for them to breathe and dry out.  It's just as bad as tossing them on the bushes.

But you have to work with what you got. Even if it is just a roof. Or a car.

Whoever thought a car could also function as a laundry dryer? That's the genius of Filipino creativity. They can look at an object, imagine all the possibilities it holds, and then actuate all those possibilities.  Bricolage construction is a way of life in the Philippines and it separates the Filipino mind from all the rest of mankind. Like, have you ever considered using an old dirty refrigerator as a pond to breed your fish?

No, you say? Well, that's your problem bud. Start thinking outside the box and get creative like a Filipino. Embrace the art of bricolage.