The Philippine Marine Corp was given new equipment this week and the President Duterte told them just what to do with it.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1090766 |
Among the equipment and firearms that were handed over include Barret Rifles, Glock Pistols, Rock Island .45 caliber pistols, .50 caliber sniper rifles, and 5W VHF hand-held radios and repeater systems.
“Binigyan ko naman kayo (I have given you new equipment and firearms). Use it to kill the enemies of the state. Ubusin ninyo, patayin ninyo ang mga p********** 'yan (Finish them off, kill them all),” Duterte said in a speech in Taguig City.
"Patayin ninyo ang kalaban. 'Pag nasa crosshair na, i-target mo 'yung puso pati ulo. Kasi kayo talagang papatayin kayo ng mga walang-hiya na 'yan. Mag-ambush pa (Kill the enemies. When they're in the crosshair, target their heart and head. Because they'll really kill you. They'll ambush you)," he added.
A nice enough pep talk from the president even if he is repeating himself. Just do search for "Duterte crush enemies of the state" without the quotes and plenty of results come back. He says it often enough.
The AFP is going through a modernization program that will take a few years to accomplish. The law was first signed back in 1995. That is 25 years now. Duterte has said he wants modernization to be fully implemented by the end of his term.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1074570 |
“I hope that Congress would tide us over to complete the instruments that we need in dealing, especially with terrorism,” Duterte said in his speech during the appreciation dinner for former President and outgoing House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the Manila Hotel on Tuesday (July 9) night.
Although he was not belittling the capabilities of the next President, Duterte said he simply wanted a completed modernization program before he exits.
“I hope that by the time I make my exit, nandiyan na lahat ‘yan(it’s all there) because I am not belittling the events to come or the person coming in to be the next president,” Duterte said.
“I’d rather that I leave with a strong military and police and equipped to challenge the enemies of the state, especially terrorism,” he added.
The AFP regularly announces that they are shopping for helicopters, jets, submarines, guns, and other weapons. For 25 years they have been on the market for big budget equipment but what do they have to show for it? Remember this from Marawi?
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| https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a26804/wooden-armor-tank-rockets/ |
You gotta do what you gotta do when you are in the heat of battle. But what is the navy supposed to do about their lack of ships?
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/722385/philippine-navy-short-of-ships-to-protect-waters-vs-intruders-chief/story/ |
Philippine Navy chief Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad has admitted that the country still lacks assets and ships that could help in safeguarding territorial waters from poachers and intruders.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday night, Empedrad shared an instance in which the Navy noticed a number of poachers in waters west of Luzon.
“I went to Northern Luzon a month ago tapos tiningnan namin ‘yung na-monitor nating poachers sa west of Luzon, ang daming poachers... poachers are coming from Vietnam and other countries in the Southeast Asia,” Empedrad said.
“Pag makuha natin ‘yung mga barko na pino-project natin sa modernization, I think it will take time, di mo naman kaagad makuha ‘yung barko,” he said.
("When we get the ships we are planning for modernization, I think it will take time, you will not get the ship immediately," he said.)
“I think what I can say is we were able to get the approval of our senior leaders and even the President na acquiring more ships for the Navy so that we can protect our maritime waters,” Empedrad said.
Of course it takes time to order ships and have them delivered but it has been 25 years already and the Philippine Navy still does not have enough ships to patrol their waters. Remember all the talk about the nation's porous borders? Poachers are not the only threat on the waters. There are Abu Sayyaf pirates as well as foreigners attempting to sneak in and join the jihad.
While the people of Marawi have complained that the Philippine government has forgotten them the US sure has not.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1214600/p260000-each-in-aid-to-displaced-marawi-folk-released-by-us |
USAID gave out micro-grants of P260,000 ($5,000) each to six community organizations and will support community learning facilities, including training spaces and daycare centers.
The micro-grants are part of USAID’s three-year P1.35 billion ($25 million) Marawi Response Project, which supports initiatives for economic recovery and social cohesion of displaced residents and communities hosting them in the cities of Marawi and Iligan and the provinces of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte.
Launched in 2018, the project is a partnership between USAID and international nongovernmental organization Plan International, with support from local organizations Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits and Maranao People Development Center.
“The US government, in partnership with the Philippine government, is committed to supporting Lanao communities in their journey to recovery,” said Jeffrey Lehrer, chief of USAID’s Office of Economic Development and Governance.
Nikki Macaraub, a beneficiary of the Marawi Response Project, said that by having a facility for teaching sewing and dressmaking, more displaced women will be aided in starting businesses which, in turn, would support efforts to rebuild their lives.
To date, the United States, through USAID, has committed more than P3.4 billion ($63.6 million) for humanitarian and recovery work in and around Marawi, according to the US Embassy.
USAID is no stranger to the Philippines. Plenty of NGO's take their CIA money. That does not necessarily mean that they are doing the bidding of the CIA. It's just part of a tangled web of charity and relief services which ultimately have strong connections to the deep state. Catholic Relief Services is also part of that web.
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| https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/09/16/us-govt-turns-over-80-transitional-houses-markets-for-marawi-residents/ |
Through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the program is part of the US government’s commitment of more than $63.6million (P3.4 billion) worth of humanitarian and recovery assistance to persons displaced by the siege.
According to a media handout provided by the US Embassy in Manila, a P4-million market is the first of four trading centers constructed by USAID to facilitate market linkages and help Marawi’s displaced population integrate into communities in Lanao Del Sur.
On top of that, USAID is also providing training, equipment, and commodities to entrepreneurs previously trading in Marawi’s Most Affected Area, so that they can restart their businesses in their new communities.
There are about 1,800 Maranao people currently living in transitional houses provided by the US government.
“The US government remains committed to improving the living, economic, and social conditions for vulnerable populations in Marawi and the surrounding areas,” US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires John C. Law said in his remarks during the 28th Mindanao Business Conference, an event which is part of his visit to the region.
Law underscored the long-standing partnership between the US and Mindanao.Though CRS is not mentioned in this article the caption on the photograph reads "On September 12, USAID, in partnership with Catholic Relief Services, handed transitional houses to communities displaced by the siege."
The United States has been involved in Mindanao since 1899 but partnership is definitely not the right word to describe their relationship. More like teacher and pupil or master and slave or Father and son?
Military occupation of Moroland was occasioned by American concern to secure Muslim Filipino acknowledgement of United States sovereignty in Mindanao and Sulu. The Americans also sought to keep the Muslims neutral in the Philippine-American War (1899-1901) which raged in the northern provinces. Since U.S. Army authorities in Manila could not spare many troops from operations in the north, they depended on garrisons at a few strategic points in Moroland and sought by diplomacy to win Muslim friendship and neutrality.
To this end, the Bates Agreement (signed August, 1899) was negotiated with the Sulu Sultanate. Similar, though unwritten, agreements were made with the Muslim chiefs of Mindanao and Basilan. By these agreements the Muslims seemingly acknowledged American sovereignty and agreed to help suppress piracy and apprehend persons charged with crimes against non-Muslims. In return, the United States pledged to respect the dignity and authority of the Sultan of Sulu and the other chiefs. Muslims were to be protected from foreign Impositions. The United States agreed not to interfere with the religion of the Muslims and, with respect to Sulu, to pay certain emoluments to the Sultan and his principal chiefs.
During the years of military occupation, the U.S. Army was related to the Muslim Filipinos in much the way it had long been related to the North American Indians. The Muslims, like the Indians, were regarded as living in "a state of pupilage" on territory owned by the United States. The Army's main task was to keep them peaceful. The Army was not to antagonize the Muslims by attempting to regulate their affairs except "to prevent barbarous practices".. Army activities were limited mainly to suppressing piracy, curtailing the slave trade (though-not abolishing slavery) and keeping Muslim internecine conflicts within bounds.
The American mandate in the Philippines was only mildly implemented in Moroland during the period of military occupation. The policy of non-interference in Moro internal affairs precluded any vigorous effort to develop, civilize, educate, and train the Muslim Filipinos in the science of democratic self-government. Army authorities were generally unhappy with the non-interference policy because certain features of Muslim Filipino society - judicial procedures, slavery, the "tyrannical'' relationship of the chiefs to their followers - offended their Occidental sense of justice and good order. Some officers were eager to take a direct hand in "civilizing" the Muslims.
Eager to take a direct hand in "civilizing" the Muslims. After 120 years of contact with the US Mindanao is still restless and uncivilized. But now the US takes an indirect role in their affairs via the military and handing out money to NGO's. Be sure that whatever the US is doing in Mindanao it is to promote their own goals and interests. Where is the anti-Americanism of Duterte now?
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