Your weekly up to date source of all the corrupt and foolish goings on within Philippine politics.
Florece explained they were initially looking at 10 local chief executives but the number rose to 16 after further validation. He declined to name the officials pending completion of the DILG probe.
Six more mayors accused of dereliction of duty during the hurricane. Will there be more?
A police manhunt is underway for the suspects behind the murder of a village chair of Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat province in Tacurong City on Thursday.
Tasil, the number one village council member of Tambaloyong, assumed office after their village chief went on AWOL (absence without leave) when police launched a manhunt against him due to illegal drugs.
Siason said Tasil and his predecessor village chair, has been issued search warrants for violating Republic Act 9165 or the illegal drugs act. No pertinent evidence was found against Tasil for his alleged involvement in illegal drugs.
Tasil was riding a motorbike and was heading for home in Lambayong on Thursday afternoon when two gunmen, on board separate motorbikes, shot him in Purok Kayambanan, Barangay Griño, Tacurong City.
Another local political murdered by motorcycle riding gunmen. From the sounds of it this killing is probably drug related.
Filed before the Department of Justice on Thursday, the complaint stemmed from the death of one Restituto Sasuman and the burning of his house, which sat on land that the mayor had allegedly been asserting ownership over, in September 2016.
The dispute led to a court case which Sasuman lost in 2014, when a judge ruled the man could not prove prior physical possession of the lot, where he built a house only after it was leveled by the town government, the NBI said.
"The sworn statements of Ernie Lumocso and Roy Balayong clearly revealed that Mayor Flora Villarosa and Atty. Gepolongca planned and ordered the killing Restituto Sasuman because [of] the latter's vehement refusal to vacate the disputed land, [which] caused them difficulty to pursue the construction of the intended government projects thereat," the NBI said.
Lumucso and Balayong confessed to committing the crime.
The NBI's investigation found that Lumucso and Balayong, following instructions by the mayor and the ex-municipal administrator, abducted Sasuman, tied his hands, wrapped his head, brought him to a spillway and stabbed him to death.
Sasuman's corpse was found the following day, head wrapped in cloth, hands tied with electrical wire. He bore stab wounds on the chest and shoulders and a slash wound on the neck, the NBI said.
Very awful and all over a dispute about land. If the mayor had not had this man murdered how likely would it have been that the intended government projects would have been filled with anomalies?
In a resolution released yesterday, investigating prosecutors found probable cause to file six counts of homicide against Espenido and two subordinates – Senior Police Officer 4 Renato Martir Jr. and Police Officer 1 Sandra Nayag – after preliminary investigation conducted over a year ago.
“In this case, respondents Espenido, Martir Jr. and Nadayag do not deny that their police operation resulted in the death of herein victims. They admitted killing the said persons,” read the resolution of the panel chaired by Assistant State Prosecutor Loverhette Jeffrey Villordon.
“In their defense, though, they claim that they were just doing their jobs as policemen engaged in hot pursuit operation. In other words, they wish to avail of the justifying circumstance of fulfillment of duty or killing in the lawful exercise of a right or office,” the prosecutors said in their resolution.
“Unfortunately for respondents, their admission of killing the herein victims is, on its own, sufficient to establish probable cause for the crime of homicide,” the DOJ panel stressed.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Espenido and his co-accused may still file an appeal before the department and seek reversal of the findings of the prosecutors.
In his answer, Espenido insisted that it was a legitimate operation and that the robbery suspects were killed after they shot it out with the policemen.
The police official even received an award from President Duterte for his contribution to the government’s war on drugs as chief of the Ozamiz City Police Station and previously of Albuera, Leyte.
Seems like a strange case. There is no indication as to why these charges re being filed. If it was a legitimate police operation then what is the big deal? Cops kill people everyday but charges are not brought. Why these guys?
The decision of Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez of the Sandiganbayan’s Sixth Division in the case of Mayor Rufino Palabrica III was promulgated last August 13, but was released Thursday.
The court cited conflict of interest after Palabrica issued a business permit in 2014 to a drugstore despite a lease agreement which he signed as both as the store’s lessor and the lessee.
In 2016, Palabrica, who was then sitting as vice mayor, was ordered dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman in a separate conflict of interest case.
Conflict of interest? No kidding!
“I’m not the favorite of everybody and I don’t care. I was not elected by America; I was elected by the Filipino people. I answer only to Filipinos. Not to foreigner. And I don’t give a shit if you do not like it. That is my answer,” Mr. Duterte added.
Funny how Duterte makes it a point that he does not answer to Americans but then lauds the Americans' threats to the ICC in order to bolster his claims about the ICC being a useless body. Whatever Duterte's thoughts on the ICC the issue at hand is whether or not he can unilaterally withdraw from a treaty which was ratified by Congress. Logically the answer would seem to be, "No." However the Supreme Court has the case and soon they will issue a landmark decision which could end up strengthening the Office of the President.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu on Friday temporarily suspended all quarrying activities in the country, following the deadly landslide in Naga City, Cebu.
Activities to extract stones or construction materials from land will be stopped for 15 days.
Earlier this week, Cimatu also ordered a stop to all small-scale mining operations in the Cordillera Administrative Region following the dozens of landslides recorded in the region due to Typhoon Ompong.
The Department Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Friday relieved top officials of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in Central Visayas after a landslide in a quarry site in Naga City, Cebu killed at least 22 people.
Cimatu suspended MGB Region 7 Director Loreto Alburo, Assistant Regional Director Gerry Mahusay, Supervising Geologists Dennis Aleta and Chief Geologists Al Emil Berador from their posts effective Sept. 21.
DENR Undersecretary for Policy & Planning Jonathan Leones told DZMM radio that there were lapses in an earlier advisory released by the MGB, which stated that cracks in the quarry site in Naga City did not pose any threat to the community.
“Talagang may pagkukulang na ginawa diyan (There were lapses there). Kaya daliang sinuspinde ng ating kalihim ang mga officials na iyan na nagbigay ng may kakulangan at maling impormasyon sa ating lokal na pamahalaan (That's why the secretary immediately suspended the officials who gave insufficient and wrong information to the local government)," Leones said.
Mining, both illegal and legal, have posed many problems in the Philippines. Now with scores of people dead after landslides at mining operations will change come to the industry?
A complaint for plunder and graft has been filed against Cebu Rep. Jonas Cortes and other officials of Mandaue City at the Office of the Ombudsman over the allegedly anomalous sale of nearly 3.6 hectares of reclaimed land for only P1.8 million in 2015.
Citing official documents, they said Cortes signed a deed of absolute sale in September 2015 for the 35,821-square-meter property, which was sold at a “ridiculously low price” of P50 per sq m.
“As [a] clear manifestation of the grand conspiracy of respondents to ensure the sale of the reclaimed land to Ecodemcor … it is important to note that … [they] did not even bother to determine first if the subject land has been classified as alienable and disposable,” read a portion of the pair’s Sept. 18 complaint.
Quino and Espiritu said the foreshore property, located at Barangay Looc, was acquired by Ecodemcor way below its market value then of P12,000 per sq m.
Philippine politicians caught up in an anomalous land deal. Nothing new here.
Senior Superintendent Romeo Caramat Jr., CITF director, said the operation was conducted in response to a complaint of the brother of a drug suspect, who was arrested on Sept. 5.
De la Cruz reportedly demanded an iPhone X in exchange for the release of a Mitsubishi Montero seized from the suspect during a drug raid.
The drug suspect claimed De la Cruz had used the sport utility vehicle not only in police operations but also for personal reasons.
De la Cruz also allegedly took the motorcycle, shoes and other personal belongings of the drug suspect.
Caramat said De la Cruz had been under surveillance for two months.
Police said they also received reports that De la Cruz seized the vehicles and personal belongings of several other arrested drug suspects in exchange for their release. These vehicles and personal effects were reportedly not included on the list of items seized in drug raids.
Extortion is a common side job for PNP officers but they do end up getting caught eventually.
Naravy Duquiatan, regional director of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for Region 12, said Ruel Pilipinas, 47, a resident of Barangay Poblacion in Pikit, was arrested after he handed over a huge sachet of shabu with an estimated market value of P6,800 to a PDEA undercover agent.
Pilipinas, also known as “Weng-Weng,” did not resist arrest when PDEA operatives showed up in his home where the illegal transaction took place at 12:30 p.m.
A PNP officer invloed in drugs who's name is Pilpinas. Pure poetry.
The Sandiganbayan has allowed Davao del Norte second district Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr., who is facing graft charges over his alleged unlawful financial interests in a banana plantation doing business with the government, to travel abroad.
At a hearing on Friday, the Sandiganbayan’s Sixth Division granted Floirendo’s motion to travel to Hong Kong from Sept. 26 to 29.
The anti-graft court directed the congressman to submit his itinerary and flight details as well as a travel authority from the office of Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In his motion filed on Sept. 20, Floirendo said he intends to go to Hong Kong “for health and official business purposes.”
He said he needs “rest and recuperation,” noting that he had been “extremely busy” for the past months.
Floirendo said he would attend a business meeting on Sept. 28 “in relation to the family’s business.”
Floirendo said he is not a flight risk, citing his return to the country after his previous trips abroad.
Another politician charged with great allowed to leave the country for no good reason.
More than 300 policemen who tested positive for using illegal drugs have been dismissed from the force, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said Monday.
A total of 349 police officers have tested positive for using “shabu” based on the data of the PNP Crime Laboratory from January 2016 to September 2018.
“Lahat ‘yan dismissed,” Albayalde said in a press briefing. “Majority na-dismiss na (Majority have been dismissed already). I think over 300,” he said.
Only 349 testing positive for shabu? Seems pretty low. According to data the PNP released in August about 2,000 cops have been dismissed since 2016. 353 for testing positive for drug use with 498 for involvement in drugs over all whether selling or using. So this number of 349 seems rather paltry and one can only wonder why they are giving this revised number when the PNP gave a much higher number last month. See:
https://www.philstar.com/nation/2018/08/03/1839130/pnp-2181-cops-axed-under-duterte
A Maguindanaon councilor and two of his companions were arrested at a police checkpoint here Sunday for illegal possession of unlicensed firearms.
Rasco said police operatives, led by Supt. Joefil Siason, Tacurong City police chief, recovered from the Mamalo and Musaiden two caliber 45 pistols and a 9mm pistol from Lagawan, all unlicensed.
Tacurong City pops up a lot in the news because it is a very violent place. Perhaps these men were only packing heat to protect themselves?
This is a very good thing and hopefully it can extend to various government agencies which also underspend. Underspending is a problem within the Philippine government. See:
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/09/17/1740278/underspending-still-plagues-government
At least eight Cebu City Hall employees will be recommended for termination after they tested positive during the random drug test conducted by the Cebu City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (COSAP) last Friday.
COSAP chief Garry Lao said the employees are from the offices of parks and playground and peace and order. Lao said the results are still subject for confirmatory test but he is already recommending their termination from work.
Eight City Hall employees testing positive for drugs all from the same department. Is everyone getting high together?
The court finally relented and issued an order of arrest for Trillanes but also set a bail of P200,000. What remains now is a long fight which will ultimately end up at the Supreme Court. With both parties believing the law is on their side which way will it all go? At least he can sleep at home now instead of hiding in the Senate building. But if there really are strange, armed men casing his house why would he want to do that?
President Rodrigo Duterte hit some members of the military for allegedly conniving with his "enemies" — the Liberal Party (LP) and Magdalo Group.
Military officials claimed over the weekend that a coalition spearheaded by communist rebels is ironing a "Red October" plot to oust Duterte next month. Part of the plot involved engaging in an "aklasan" in which workers' unions are urged to go on strike, they added.
More ouster plot conspiracies. If they know who these people are they should arrest them. Plain and simple. Why have they not done that yet? And how will worker's strikes oust Duterte?
These men actually attribute the rice shortage to a conspiracy to oust Duterte calling it fabricated. In essence the ouster plot is economic and will involve nationwide strikes including Jollibee and PLDT. The video at this link is 10 minutes long but you must watch it. What these men say is very incredible and the interviewer does not seem to buy anything they are saying. They offer nothing specific but speak only in broad generalities. How they are exposing the ouster plot when they offer no specific information is a mystery.
Senators Panfilo Lacson and Francis “Chiz” Escudero, meanwhile, doubt that the reported destabilization plot would pose a serious threat to the President.
Escudero, for his part, believes that the destabilization plot was “unlikely” and “highly doubtful.”
“In the realm of possibilities, nothing is impossible,” Escudero said in another text message to reporters.
Not even these Senators believe in the existence of this alleged ouster plot. But here comes the plausible deniability:
The Philippine National Police (PNP) brushed aside claims that the Red October ouster plots were just fabricated, noting the “continuing efforts” of the communist rebels to destabilize and overthrow the government.
“And for 50 years, they have been very unsuccessful,” he added of the CPP-NPA or the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army.
Rebels committing rebellion? No kidding! They may have been unsuccessful for the past 50 years but the destabilisation and overthrowing of the government has always been and will always be their objective!
"Kung walang magfafile, ako mismo magfafile at hindi lang for technical malversation... graft and corruption din po, to set the record straight," Roque said in a media briefing on Tuesday.
[Translation: If nobody will file it, I'll do it myself — and not just for technical malversation... but for graft and corruption too, to set the record straight.]
Go for it. Why not? Someone has to do it. But if the rice shortage is fabricated as part of an ouster plot as the AFP claims...well then??
The Supreme Court’s P7.9-million worth of computer purchases violated several provisions of the procurement law, the Commission on Audit (COA) said.
“Management resorted to ‘Shopping’ or ‘Small Value Procurement’ as an alternative mode of purchasing computer sets and printers worth P7,987,495.00, instead of public bidding contrary to Section 10, Rule V of the IRR of Republic Act 9184 (Procurement Law),” state auditors said in their 2017 report on the Supreme Court released on September 24.
Not even the Supreme Court is free from financial corruption!
The PNP made a big deal about charging this dude but they messed it up by not filing the complaint properly! Not the first time either!
"We measure the amount of airtime and the amount of news that he gets. He gets 80 percent," the Palace official said.
"That's not persecution. He loves it because he's now in the limelight. This is not a political persecution, this is a political gift for him because we've given him the limelight," he added.
Roque said no one can question the amnesty revocation, as well as the Makati court's ruling, since these were done through "correct process."
"I don't think anyone can complain about persecution, especially since it went through the correct process," he said.
"It was decided by the courts, and no one can dispute the integrity and independence of the courts in the Philippines," he added.
Roque has got a sick and twisted sense of humour. How can anyone not laugh at his jokes?
What else can the Palace do? The ruling has been affirmed and now will they please hurry up and finish the recount?
Duterte earlier issued a statement that a Supreme Court aspirant is trying to curry her favor by asking complainants and witnesses to withdraw the disbarment case filed against her for punching a sheriff during a demolition in 2011.
“This person has been trying to spin my case to get a favorable ruling—hoping that I may get a favorable ruling—hoping that I may take notice of him,” Duterte said in her statement but did not identify the Supreme Court candidate.
Marquez said he has a lot of well-meaning friends and acquaintances who offered to help him.
“I cannot tell all these well-meaning friends that no, I do not need your help…I would just say thank you without me knowing what they are going to do and without me knowing the extent that they will be doing whatever,” Marquez said.
He said he believed that his qualifications will take him the high court seat.
“My credentials, my track record that for me, these qualifications will stand on their own merit,” Marquez said.
Marquez also denied using his influence to convince complainant and witnesses to withdraw the disbarment case against the young Duterte.
“I am not aware what information has reached the good Mayor but it seems and as borne by her affidavit, it appears that I spoke to the sheriff and convinced them to file a motion to withdraw the disbarment case they filed in 2011,” Marquez said.
A lot of drama happening here. Seems this guy might be trying to gain influence with Sara Duterte. Maybe not. Funny that Sara has a disbarment case against her for punching a sheriff. Just like her father who was almost kicked out of law school for actually shooting a fellow student.
Ejercito said the surname used by his father, former President and incumbent Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, in his screen name as an actor, had more recall.
"The Estrada factor is working against me this time. Since I am using Ejercito and not Estrada, I don’t have the benefit of the name recall. I will just have to work harder," he told reporters.
Ejercito believes his track record in his 5 years as senator would pay off come 2019, despite not having the benefit of name recall like his half-brother former Senator Jinggoy Estrada.
"More importantly I don’t have a blemish on my track record as a public servant. Malinis ang pangalan at konsensya ko. That is more important," he said.
To drumbeat his popularity and solidify his reelectionist bid, Ejercito had himself adopted by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio's party, "Hugpong ng pagbabago."
Did Ejerctio drop the Estrada surname to distance himself from the corruption of his Father? But now he has no brand-name recognition which is very important for a Pinoy politician. It's a catch-22. Ejercito has also joined hands with Sara Duterte which goes to show that she is not closed to offering political favours but only on her terms.
The Sandiganbayan has found a Quezon City assistant prosecutor guilty of direct bribery, after he reportedly demanded money from a complainant in exchange for a favorable decision for a case filed in 2014.
While Navales admitted that he indeed received money (P103,000) from the De Leon, it was a loan, not a bribe. He also cited that during the span of his career, he never gave favors in exchange for monetary gain.
So he was paid? Was the money returned? In all these bribery cases the money is always paid until it becomes too much and then the victims run for help. Why do they pay in the first place?
“And I dare say that the fact that [Trillanes] is the acknowledged leader of the Magdalo mutineers is a reasonable basis for singling him out,” Roque said on a cable news program.
“In effect what we are sending, the message the government is sending is, it’s enough that we punish the leaders, we will not bother the rank and file,” he said.
But Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra insisted that the administration was not singling out Trillanes, as it would review the amnesty granted to other military mutineers.
“We’re not saying the government is picking on him, no, and being selective,” Guevarra said.
“Just so happened that he’s the most vocal and he’s the leader of the pack, so to speak. So, it was just natural, if not logical, to start with him,” he added.
The Duterte administration cannot get its story straight with regard to Trillanes. First the issue was that he did not fill out an application. Then it was that the amnesty was improperly administered. The whole time the issue was painted as one of unbiased application of the law. Now Roque says Trillanes was targeted but everyone else is safe while DOJ Sec. Gueverra contradicts that.
Lourdes Mangaoang, Bureau of Customs (BOC) Deputy Collector for Operations, said x-ray operators must be trained by the suppliers since x-ray machines operate under various systems.
"Dapat may special skills and technical training sila from the supplier. Sa ngayon maraming walang training from the supplier," Mangaoang said.
[Translation: The operators must have special skills and training form the supplier. As of now, a lot of operators do not have training form the supplier.]
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, chaired by Senator Richard Gordon, questioned the marketing team of Nuctech, the company that supplied the x-ray machines that allegedly screened the drug shipment.
The manager, identified as Mr. Gaopeng, said their contract with the BOC stated that they provide training only upon request. Mangaoang declined to comment on this.
"According to the contract the training will be delivered after handover project...and if they ask to deliver training we will give that," he said.
It took a Senate investigation to ferret out this piece of information. Imagine what they would find out if they investigated the Marawi attack!
Another PNP officer, ex-PNP officer, caught selling drugs.
Solicitor General Jose Calida said on Wednesday that he would take Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV to court if the lawmaker would not apologize for his accusation that the solicitor general “stole” his amnesty papers.
In a statement, Calida threatened Trillanes with a libel suit unless the lawmaker apologizes for calling him a thief.
“The putschist Mr. Trillanes ranted to the media yesterday that I ‘stole’ his amnesty application document. In effect, Mr. Trillanes maliciously branded me as a thief, which I’m not,” the solicitor general said in a statement.
The embattled senator said in a press briefing on Wednesday: “I am calling for the leadership of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Department of National Defense... They know that I applied, they know that I have documents, why did they let Calida get them and lose them?”
Perhaps this can all be cleared up by Calida proving he did not steal the documents? Just more back and forth and name calling and blah blah blah Philippine Politics.
Parañaque City Councilor Brillante Inciong has filed a graft complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman against his fellow councilors, Ryan Yllana, and Edwin Benzon, for a supposed “paper mill” at the city council fast-tracking the release of business permits of offshore businesses.
Inciong alleged that the issuance of Letters of No Objection or LONO by the city council has been abused and at one point he was bribed by Rick Villanueva, the chief of staff of Yllana and is also a respondent in the complaint.
A LONO must be sought by businesses to ensure that the city council interposes no objection to the business operation through a legislative measure.
“He told me that his boss directed him to give to me the said bag containing money (LONO money) because of the approved LONO measures. I refused to take the bag and instead asked several questions before I told him that I recorded him,” Inciong said.
Shady dealings? Bags of money? That is Philippine politics for ya!
"With regards to my former DDGA, Director III Ismael Fajardo, he was relieved last September 14 as OIC DDGA of PDEA," Aquino said during the hearing.
Aquino said the PDEA had found out that Fajardo and resigned Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service officer Jimmy Guban knew that the hundreds of kilograms of shabu would be shipped to the country.
"It was found out that agents Guban and Ismael Fajardo had knowledge on the shipments," Aquino said.
Corruption in the Bureau of Customs is customary!
“We suspect that they are engaged in gun-for-hire activities. They were riding a motorcycle when they attacked the victims,” he said.
Investigation showed that around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, two men riding in tandem on a motorcycle opened fire at an Elf truck in Barangay Poblacion, Barotac Viejo, hitting businessman Joren Banas, who was the apparent target; and Pebe Barabona, the truck driver.
But Banas surprised the assailants when he pulled out a gun and fired back, hitting Ensilay.
Bulalacao said Banas was later declared dead at a nearby hospital.
Responding policemen arrested Mullot and the wounded Ensilay, who is now confined at the Barotac Viejo District Hospital under tight guard by police.
Seized from Ensilay were a .45 pistol, identification cards, mission orders, acknowledgement receipt of equipment (ARE), camouflage mask and cellphone.
Mullot, on the other hand, yielded a .45 pistol, a mission order, acknowledgement receipt of equipment (ARE) and assorted identification cards.
How many other truck drivers are packing heat? Good thing I guess. Even though he ended up dead. The Philippines is like the wild West! Didn't
Duterte double the pay of the AFP and didn't that include the Marines? Must not have been enough!
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, in a press briefing on Thursday, September 27, said the UK trip of at least 7 secretaries is "very well justified" since its intention was to boost the economy by encouraging foreign direct investments.
(In my view, their presence there is very well justified because they are marketing the Philippines, and if they get investors, Filipinos would get more jobs, more capital, and more earnings.)
The UK delegation, led by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, includes Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, and Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat. Also present was Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO Vince Dizon.
Roque said the UK trip could even help address inflation, though he did not explain how.
(We need to promote the Philippines as an investment destination. It's our way to fight, not only inflation, but other threats to our economy.)
Roque also brushed aside critics of the trip, branding all of them as people sympathetic to the opposition.
The highlight of the Cabinet delegation's "3-day" trip was a Philippine Economic Briefing where they sought to convince British company representatives to invest in the Philippines.
The forum, held on September 25 at London's Four Seasons Hotel, was "well-attended by members of the British business community," according to a Department of Finance (DOF) press release.
Dominguez delivered the keynote speech where he highlighted the Philippine government's new measures to ensure ease of doing business, tax reform, and the Duterte administration's Build, Build, Build infrastructure push.
The UK is among the Philippines' top 10 sources of foreign direct investments, said the DOF.
Aside from the forum, the Cabinet delegation also dropped by London's first Jollibee branch.
Ok let's go with Roque's reasoning and agree this trip was a good thing designed to promote investment in and tourism to the Philippines. This only means that the Philippines is such a beggar nation that they need other nations to invest in their economy in order to make the economy viable and "
fund basic services"! Never mind the fact that laws like TRAIN and the upcoming TRAIN 2 aka TRABAHO have both been criticised by foreign investors as bad for business, the Philippine government is dead set on keeping the one and making the other a law with two more in the pipeline. If the UK is already one of the top sources of FDI then who are they pleading with to invest? There are plenty of UK investments in the Philippines already. What more can the UK actually do for the Philippines in terms of investing in the country? They have their own problems and outsourcing won't employ the rising immigrant population.
The irony here is that while the Philippines is pleading for the UK to invest in their country Jollibee is set to open its first UK store next month! To be sure the nation is flooded with Jollibee and does not need another new store but why aren't other Philippine industries being invested in? What kind of homegrown heavy industries does the Philippines have that it can expand? Where is the domestic money? Is it all in San Miguel and SM? Is it all in food and service industries? Economically the Philippines wants to be a wealthy player but without a base of heavy manufacturing that will never happen. The industrial revolution is over and the Philippines has missed that boat by about 200 years. There are also other factors like raising the level of education and cultivating a culture where rules are respected and not flaunted with a little bribery.
No amount of FDIs will fix the culture of corruption.
"What are your sins? Me? I told the military 'what are my sins?' Did I steal money? Even just one peso? Did I prosecute somebody I sent to jail? Ang kasalanan ko lang yung mga extrajudicial killing (My only sin is extrajudicial killings)," Duterte said during the oath-taking of career government officials Thursday in Malacañang.
Duterte, whose controversial war on illegal drugs has left more than 4,000 people dead, went on to justify the killings, saying they were directed at "fools."
It was not certain whether Duterte was serious when he made the statement, which came months after his critics filed a complaint against him before the International Criminal Court over the death of thousands of drug suspects.
The president justified his controversial crackdown on illegal drugs, saying the problem has contaminated several Filipinos.
"There are things that I have to do because I have to do it. Who will do it? You know, the police them, they said, before you Duterte, there was really no killing, no extrajudicial (killings). Look what happened," Duterte said.
Wow! Why shouldn't we take him at his word? Duterte "jokes" too much and sometimes the truth lies behind a joke. In this instance a
Killing Joke.
