In this edition of Retards in the Government, Duterte tells a joke, Bato gets a history lesson, the Philippines continues to not care about what China is doing in its sovereign territory, and the USA can't take a joke. Special guest appearance by Chinese businessman Jack Ma.
A barangay chairman in San Juan City was charged with grave misconduct before the Office of the Ombudsman on Wednesday for allegedly coercing five persons to sign the recall petition against Mayor Guia Gomez to retract.
In their 10-page complaint, Abegail de Asis, Danalyn de Asis, Evengeline Ferriol, Jonalyn Collado and Alma Dee claimed that Pardines forced them to sign a document supposedly containing their addresses and voter’s number.
Pretty sneaky. Why did he do it? 30,000 people signed the petition and he is now charged with grave misconduct for tricking 5 people into signing. At least it wasn't graft, plunder, or murder.
President Duterte has dared critics of his administration’s tax reform law to stop paying taxes if they object to it so much.
The TRAIN Act adjusted income taxes that led to increases in workers’ take home pay, but also imposed excise taxes on diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, and kerosene that led to price hikes.
“If you don’t like TRAIN, then don’t pay. It’s simple. You’re against the taxes? Do not pay,” he said.
The problem is not the income tax, it's the excise taxes on products which cost is passed on to the consumer and cannot be avoided. Next thing he will say, "If you don't like EJKs, then don't die when the police officer shoots you."
"A Rocky period"? It's this kind of wishy-washiness that emboldens the world to walk all over Filipinos. Yeah they are keeping the ban in place until they get concessions but it is long over due. OFW's in the Middle East are routinely abused. Remember when Duterte visited some of those countries last year? Did he bring it up once? No OFW should be allowed to work in the Middle East. The Muslims do not care about the kafir.
Who is ultimately responsible for the disgusting environmental hazard that is Boracay if not the local government? Build, build, build with no thought of how to sustain, sustain, sustain the problems that come with increasing amounts of tourists.
Speaking of tourism, remember last week when DOT Chief Wanda Teo was accused of bringing unnecessary personnel on foreign trips? She denied it all. But she also defended it all.
Teo added going on trips is part of the Tourism Department's mandate.
"Alam po ninyo, kung tutuusin lang [To be honest], I do not want to travel anymore because I have been to these places many many times," she said. "But because it is in our mandate, I have to go out...I have to see why our tourism arrivals is not at par with other tourism countries," she said.
She brought low level employees who have never been out of the country on a cruise which was comped to the government so no money was spent (please never mind about possible violations of the
provisions of Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, under which government officials and employees are prohibited from soliciting or accepting gifts, favors, loans or anything of monetary value in the course of their official duties.) Also the make-up artist is her Executive Assistant.
The biggest revelation of all is her justification for traveling abroad despite not wishing to do so. Why are Philippines tourism arrivals not on par with other countries? Could it be because of the high crime? The terrorism? The rudeness and backwardness of the people? The propensity for locals to squeeze all they can out of the foreigner? Could the problem be that the culture in the Philippines is so awful that a Filipino's biggest dream is to leave the country by hook or by crook? She would never consider such an opinion and so she must travel the world seeking the answer which is in her own backyard.
Bong Go is Huma Abedin to Duterte's Hillary Clinton.
Trillanes sure won't quit. Now that the investigation into Duterte's wealth has been dropped he wants an investigation into the lack of investigation. How about an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Marawi attack?
“Not being pro USA and anti-China, the presence of USS Carl Vinson in the West Philippine Sea is a breath of fresh air for those of us, pro Philippines,” Lacson tweeted Friday.
“It is called, balance of power,” he added.
It's more of show of force than a balance of power. But if that force were to get out of hand or the power to become unbalanced the Philippines would be paying the price for decades of a spineless policy towards China.
Duterte on Tuesday, February 13, said in an event with overseas Filipino workers from Kuwait, "'Wag 'yang condom kasi hindi masarap 'yang condom." (Avoid condoms because condoms aren't pleasurable."
"Kainin mo. 'Yan ang condom," Duterte added. (Eat it. That's the condom.)
They do come in different flavours.
Pagulayan, in a text message to SunStar Bacolod Friday, February 16, said, “it is alarming because there is huge losses of taxes.”
The BIR only cares about the loss of taxes and not that the fake cigarettes might be composed of even more dangerous substances than regular cigarettes.
“Anong state-sponsored? Sinong g*g*ng presidente ang magpapatay sa kaniyang sariling tao?” Dela Rosa said on Saturday during the sidelines of the annual alumni homecoming of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) here.
(What state-sponsored? Who is a fool of a president that would order the murder of his own people?)
“Mga Pilipino ‘yan and to think na ang Presidente ay talagang mahal na mahal niya yung mahirap na tao, papatayin mo lang ng ganun? Gusto mo ipapatay?”
(These are Filipinos and to think that the President really loves the poor, and you’ll just kill them like that? You want to have them killed?)
First of all the issue is not state sponsored killing or purges flat out based on nothing but political prejudice. Rather, it is Duterte's orders to kill drug suspects and criminals. Those are his very words. Kill them.
Very interesting. Jack Ma, the Jeff Bezos of China, has been recruited to help develop an e-commerce system in the Philippines. Problem is that without proper infrastructure or social capital you can't build such a system. That would mean well maintained roads and a reliable transportation apparatus to move goods as well as trust that they would be delivered and not stolen. More importantly for e-commerce to flourish in the Philippines would mean the development of a cashless economy.
Jack Ma's company Alibaba has been accused of fraud throughout the years for selling counterfeit goods.
http://fortune.com/2017/05/06/alibaba-jack-ma-donald-trump-owner-group-china/ The Philippines is awash in fake goods as it is without employing the assistance of Jack Ma. If American businesses have been shying away from Jack Ma and Alibaba why would Duterte snuggle up close to the man? Perhaps he should find a more honest businessman if he wants outside help building the Philippines economy.
Dela Rosa said Mr. Duterte’s “kill” speeches actually meant only two things: encourage police to continue the war on drugs and “give a strong warning to drug personalities that whey will die if they fight.”
“The President has no specific instruction for me to kill pushers, addicts or drug lords,” the PNP chief said in an interview with reporters at the Philippine Military Academy homecoming.
He said the PNP would cooperate with the ICC probe but be wary about “falling into a trap.” Requests for documents, he said, would have to go through a “proper process.”
The ICC investigation, Dela Rosa said, might have started from a “smear campaign.”
“We are not that stupid,” Mr. Duterte’s most trusted police official said. He said attempts to bring down Mr. Duterte would fail because the President’s trust rating was high, 83 percent.
“You want to bring down the Duterte administration? Over my dead body,” Dela Rosa said.
“I challenge you to a war. You want to launch a coup d’etat? Do that and let’s go to war. You do not scare me,” he said, addressing unidentified groups which the PNP said was plotting to unseat the President.
He repeated his promise to cooperate with the ICC probe “but not to the extent that we will fall into their trap.”
Bato is always a fun guy because every time he opens his mouth something stupid comes crawling out. I wonder if he remembers this:
Oh, my bad. It's just a joke or its just hyperbole. He didn't really mean it. That would mean practically every single time Duterte has addressed the drug war it has been in jest. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. It would mean his whole campaign was built on a joke.
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| Duterte 2015 |
In the Philippines all government officials must file their SALN which indicates whether or not they are corrupt!
Now for a story about helicopters.
It all started when a deal to buy helicopters from Canada became public. Canadians said Canada should not be selling helicopters to the Philippines which could use them to attack rebels. The Philippine government assured everyone that these helicopters were not for attacking rebels.
“You must understand that these are utility helicopters, not attack helicopters,” Padilla told AFP.
“Not at all. They are purely for utility purposes — ergo, transport purposes especially during HADR operations,” he said, using a military term for disaster response.
Unsurprisingly this turned out to be a half truth which is the same as a half lie. Though the helicopters are not attack helicopters fitted with machine guns they were indeed going to be used to combat the rebels.
“I’m buying helicopters because I want to finish them off,” said Duterte, referring to Muslim and communist rebels along with Islamic militants in the country’s volatile south.
The cancellation of this deal will ultimately retard the modernisation efforts of the AFP as well as hamper the war on terrorism and the ability to handle natural disasters. For a more in-depth analysis of the fallout from this cancelled deal read:
https://thediplomat.com/2018/02/what-a-dead-philippines-canada-military-helicopter-deal-would-mean/
Now that the deal is officially off the Philippines will have to look somewhere else for helicopters.
I am sure China will be more than willing to sell them.
The revelations about the militarisation of the SCS just keep getting worse as the days go by. While the USA and Japan and other watchers wring their hands in anguish about what this means for the region the Philippines does not care one bit. They actually welcome it all.
Duterte also admitted in his speech that China is building "military bases" in the West Philippine Sea but said it would be silly for anyone to think China will use such military assets against the Philippines.
"Military bases, I must admit it, but is it intended for us? You must be joking. It's not intended for us," he said.
China is building up its defense capability against just the United States, according to Duterte.
"It's really intended for those who China thinks will destroy them and that is America, hindi tayo kasali diyan (we aren't part of that)," said the President.
"There's negotiations for joint exploration. Can you beat that? Hayaan mo missile-missile diyan, hindi para sa atin 'yan (Just ignore the missiles there, it's not intended for us)," he added.
Oh man what a joker!
Hahaha! Hee-hee! I am laughing cause its so funny. Maybe they can rape the women first and shoot resisters in the vagina?! Hahaha so funny! So funny that he acknowledges
that China
is building military bases and installing missiles intended to destroy
longtime Philippine ally the United States. Hahahaha! What
a friend
the USA has in Duterte. I imagine the surveillance facilities are also for the USA and will in no way shape or form be used to spy on the Philippines.
The “women’s honor” doctrine was handed down in 1960 in the case of three armed robbers who took turns in raping a woman.
In that 1960 decision, the SC ruled: “It is a well-known fact that women, especially Filipinos, would not admit that they have been abused unless that abuse had actually happened” due to the women’s natural instinct to protect their honor.
But the SC, in the Martires decision handed down last month, said that that doctrine is no longer applicable today and that the High Court cannot be stuck to the “Maria Clara” stereotype of a demure and reserved Filipina.
“More often than not, where the alleged victim survives to tell her story of sexual depredation, rape cases are solely decided based on the credibility of the testimony of the private complainant. In doing so, we have hinged on the impression that no young Filipina of decent repute would publicly admit that she was sexually abused, unless that is the truth, for it is her natural instinct to protect her honor,” the SC said.
“We, should stay away from such mindset and accept the realities of a woman’s dynamic role in society today; she who has over the years transformed into a strong and confidently intelligent and beautiful person, willing to fight for her rights. In this way, we can evaluate the testimony of a private complainant of rape without gender bias or cultural misconception,” it said.
The SC pointed out that for the court to affirm a conviction of rape it should be based on credible, natural, convincing testimony of the victim which should also be consistent with human nature and not merely rely on the “women’s honor” doctrine.
Since 1960 rape cases have been decided solely on the woman's testimony and not on solid evidence. Even now the SC mentions nothing about the necessity of solid evidence like the presence of DNA. This is a good ruling that acknowledges women can be liars too and exposes a 58 year old travesty of justice.
“There are scoundrels, scalawags in every organization. That is why the PNP [chief] now who is supposed to retire on the 24th of April, and because he enjoys my trust and confidence, I will extend his term for a little bit longer,” Duterte said in a speech in Malacañang.
There were scoundrels before Bato became chief and there will be scoundrels once he finally quits his position as chief. I bet Duterte will extend his term again past the 24th of April. The SC approved of indefinite martial law extensions. Why not indefinite Bato extensions?
I'm happy and a little sad. Happy because of the trust and confidence of the president in me. I'm happy that I can still serve our country. Sad because this affects my retirements plans.
President Duterte announced the indefinite extension on Tuesday, February 20, saying that the Chief PNP still "enjoys his trust and confidence."
My children and wife understand this. Service first before family. Family is second priority, serivce is paramount.
Bato won't mind one bit.
A councilman buys drugs from an undercover and now he is dead after a gun battle.
“We like to be friends with the United States. But with declarations such as this, it is very difficult be friendly with the United States,” Roque said.
He noted that the administration would view the world threat assessment “with some concerns.”
“This is something that we’re taking very seriously. It’s coming from the intelligence community. It’s not even coming from the state department. It’s something that the president will take seriously as well,” he said.
The US intelligence community released a Worldwide Threat Assessment report and in this report they have this to say about Duterte and the Philippines:
The number and sophistication of government efforts to shape domestic views of politics have
increased dramatically in the past 10 years. In 2016, Freedom House identified 30 countries,
including the Philippines, Turkey, and Venezuela, whose governments used social media to
spread government views, to drive agendas, and to counter criticism of the government online.
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In the Philippines, President Duterte will continue to wage his signature campaign against drugs,
corruption, and crime. Duterte has suggested he could suspend the Constitution, declare a
“revolutionary government,” and impose nationwide martial law. His declaration of martial
law in Mindanao, responding to the ISIS-inspired siege of Marawi City, has been extended
through the end of 2018.
https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Testimonies/2018-ATA---Unclassified-SSCI.pdf
Now the Philippines is upset. But read that again. There is nothing specific in this report about what threat Duterte poses. In fact this report only quotes a previous assessment from Freedom House and recites things Duterte has done or threatened to do such as "declare a revolutionary government." The problem is that the US intelligence community doesn't understand that Duterte is always joking and speaking in hyperbole and never means it when he says things like that. If the US-Philippine relationship goes sour because the US can't take a joke then so be it.
The subway will help decongest traffic on EDSA and connect major business centers in Metro Manila to the NAIA, the Department of Finance said.
How did the traffic problem get so bad? Mismanagement. Bad driving. Non enforcement of traffic rules. People that just don't care. The MRT breaks down every single day. Multiple times a day. I would not put much confidence in a Manila subway.
In a radio interview on Tuesday morning, Roque said that Duterte got "irritated" with Ranada, whom the chief executive supposedly treated as his own granddaughter, and with Rapple. This led him to impose the ban, Roque said.
Rappler continued to have access to all Malacañang events while the SEC decision against them is pending on appeal as a matter of courtesy to Rappler and because the decision to revoke their license is not final. But instead of remaining courteous Duterte turned petty and now Rappler no longer has a reporter to cover Malacañang.
"Every military and security analyst I know here and abroad agree that those military structures are designed to enforce the nine-dash line as China's national boundary," Carpio said on CNN Philippines' The Source. "In other words, [they're] there to grab the (exclusive economic zone) of the Philippines."
Every once in a while someone in Philippine politics takes a few moments to speak sensibly. But alas! All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
Excellent post. You absolutely nailed it with this assessment:
ReplyDelete“Why are Philippines tourism arrivals not on par with other countries? Could it be because of the high crime? The terrorism? The rudeness and backwardness of the people? The propensity for locals to squeeze all they can out of the foreigner? Could the problem be that the culture in the Philippines is so awful that a Filipino's biggest dream is to leave the country by hook or by crook?"