Monday, May 31, 2021

Burning Electrical Wires

I was out for an afternoon run when the sky darkened and I knew I had to return home quickly before the downpour began. On the way back I saw smoke emanating from the sugarcane fields ahead and I figured they were simply burning the fields as is normally done after a harvest. But the closer I got I could tell something was off.

For one thing the smoke was thick and black much unlike the smoke of a burning sugarcane field which is thin and gray. For another thing the smoke was concentrated in one area. It was obvious someone was burning something they should not be burning. When I finally got a look at the burn pile I was shocked beyond belief.

They were burning a jumble of electrical cords! 

There was a man sitting in a truck and a guy who seemed to be about 14 or 15 tending the fire. I asked him why he was burning electrical cords. He said because he was poor and his family did not have money to pay for his tuition. I asked if someone paid him to burn these cords. He said no. That did not make any sense so I pressed for more information but to no avail.

He also apologized profusely and killed the fire by tossing water on it. 

I was sure they would dump the charred wires in the field but when I returned a few hours later there was nothing but a pile of ash.

The guy in the truck never said a word to me as I talked to his son. I presume that is their relationship, unless he was the one paying the guy to burn the cords.

Anyway, this incident was very bizarre and I was completely disgusted. This is not just burning leaves or garbage at your house. These two people drove off to what they thought was a secluded area, it is not, and illegally and foolishly burned a huge mass of electrical wires. And it's really not about the law. No one in the Philippines cares about the law anyway. These people would not have been fined or jailed even if the PNP had witnessed their crime. The point is the ethics of it. You just don't do this. You do not burn electrical wires out in a sugar cane field. If you don't understand that then you are a lost cause. Allow me to present to you the shopping cart test of civilization which works on the same principles.


Can you pass this test?

Friday, May 28, 2021

Retards in the Government 208

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



https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=tl&tl=en&u=https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/21/21/barangay-kagawad-patay-sa-pamamaril-sa-davao-de-oro

A barangay councilor in Maco town, Davao de Oro died after he was shot by 7 armed men Thursday afternoon. 

The victim was identified as Oliver Bataluna Ripdos, 42, of Purok 1, Barangay Sangab of the said town. 

According to the victim's wife, they were on their way home to have lunch from their farm, when a man and other armed men suddenly shot the victim. 


The victim sustained four blows to the back of the body which resulted in his death. 

According to the police the perpetrators were members of the NPA and their motive remains unknown. But it's another LGU official shot dead.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1140960

The Supreme Court (SC) has warned a judge in Davao for texting parties in a pending case before his sala.

In a six-page resolution recently published online by the SC, the court's second division found Davao del Sur Regional Trial Court Branch 15 Judge Mario Duaves guilty of violating the New Code of Judicial Conduct.

Following the recommendation of the Office of Court Administrator (OCA), Duaves “is hereby reprimanded and sternly warned that a repetition of the same or similar act shall be dealt with more severely."

The judge admitted he exchanged text messages with the parties, who have pending property dispute cases.

The SC has time and again underscored the need to show not only the fact of propriety but the appearance of propriety itself.

“The standard of morality and decency required is exacting, so much so that a judge should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all his activities," the tribunal said.

A judge has been texting parties involved in an estate dispute. He denies the accusation but surely the accuser has proof? The judgement of the Supreme Court about avoiding impropriety and the appearance of impropriety is a lesson every single member of the Philippine government should learn.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1141045

A complaint has been filed against a party-list lawmaker who continues to cling onto his post as president of a local electric cooperative.

In a 15-page sworn complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman, the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (Nasecore), represented by its executive director, Rafael Acebedo, accused Rep. Presley de Jesus of the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, Inc. (Philreca) party-list, of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act 3019) for continuing to hold another office while already a member of Congress.

The complaint, filed on May 10, 2021, alleged that de Jesus has not relinquished his position as Isabela-I Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Iselco-I) president of the Board of Directors.

The group is asking the Ombudsman to hold de Jesus criminally and administratively liable for “grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, grave abuse of authority, prejudicial to the best interest of public service” as well as seeking his preventive suspension while the proceedings are ongoing.

De Jesus won in the 2019 elections as Philreca’s first nominee and took his oath of office on May 23, 2019.

In Congress, he is the vice chair of the Committee on Energy and is a member of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Energy.

Under the Constitution, no senator or member of the House of Representatives may hold any other office or employment in the government, including government-owned and controlled corporations, without forfeiting his seat.

It seems this Congressman is holding on to a job that he should have relinquished in 2019 when he won his seat.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1141280

A police officer was nabbed for extortion in Agusan del Norte on Monday.

In a report, Brig. Gen. Thomas Frias, chief of the Philippine National Police-Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (PNP-IMEG), identified the suspect as Staff Sgt. Ronelo Tering-tering, who is assigned to the Provincial Highway Patrol Team (PHPT) in Cabadbaran City.

He was arrested during an entrapment operation by joint elements of PNP IMEG- Mindanao Field Unit (MFU), Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC), and the local police.

Frias said the suspect demanded PHP10,000 from a complainant in exchange for the release of a mini dump truck impounded at the PHPT office. 

Another PNP officer arrested for extortion. PNA later deleted this story and rewrote it entirely

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1435659/coa-flags-housing-agency-over-unused-funds

The Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC) failed to utilize the P10.36 million it received from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in 2016 for the shelter needs of families whose houses were damaged by Tropical Storm Sendong, according to the Commission on Audit (COA).

The COA said the nonutilization of the fund resulted in the failure to address the immediate needs for decent housing of families affected by Sendong.

Under the memorandum of agreement between the DSWD and the SHFC on Oct. 5, 2015, P10.36 million would be given to the latter for the shelter assistance of 148 informal settler families displaced by Sendong in Cagayan de Oro City in 2011.

The SHFC told COA that only P7.7 million was used for the housing financial assistance to 110 families affected by Sendong. The remaining P2.6 million would be refunded to DSWD.

The SHFC failed to utilize all the fund allocated to provide housing for those affected by tropical storm Sending in 2016. This failed to address the needs of the people. Additionally it is only now at the proding of the COA that they will be sending a refund to the DSWD.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1141342

Authorities arrested on Monday the task force quarry head of Tarlac City in an entrapment operation, three days after a private citizen reported his alleged extortion activities to the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA).

After receiving the complaint, ARTA together with Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)-Tarlac and Tarlac City Police Station set up the joint entrapment operation that led to the arrest of Pedro Soliman II at the Tarlac City Hall at around 1 p.m.

Investigation showed that a private citizen sought help from ARTA on May 21.

Soliman asked the complainant to pay PHP240,000 in exchange for her quarry clearance.

The complainant asked if she can pay in three installments of PHP80,000 each. Soliman agreed and instructed her to make the initial payment on May 24.

After the victim handed the money, the suspect was immediately arrested by the combined elements of ARTA, CIDG-Tarlac and Tarlac CPS.

Another LGU official arrested for extortion. Money in exchange for a permit.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/788872/barangay-captain-shot-dead-in-davao-city/story/

A Davao City barangay captain was gunned down by a still unidentified assailant in his house on Tuesday evening. 

An initial report from the Davao Police identified the victim as Roderico Llubit, Barangay Captain of Barangay 9-A Davao City. 

Police said the victim was feeding his cat on the first floor of his house at Muslim Village in Barangay 9-A when the suspect entered the residence and shot Llubit twice in his face. 

The shooter fled in an unknown direction. 

"Motive of the incident is yet to be determined," read the police report, adding that investigation was ongoing. 

A barangay captain was killed in his home by an unknown assailant for an unknown reason as he was feeding his cat.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1141494

A former police officer who is wanted for a drug case was arrested in Malabon City, the anti-scalawag unit of the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Wednesday.

Brig. Gen. Thomas Frias, chief of the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG), identified the suspect as Regie Alilano, who was arrested on McArthur Highway corner Potrero St. shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Alilano, a former police corporal assigned at the Eastern Police District (EPD), has a standing warrant of arrest issued by the Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 67 for violation of Section 15, Article II of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

He was dismissed from the service after testing positive for illegal drugs during a random drug test administered to EPD personnel in January this year.

Former cop dismissed for drugs is now busted for drugs.

Thursday, May 27, 2021

Coronavirus Lockdown: Selling of Jab Slots, Admin Bets Will Win in 2022, and More!

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

The current administration has repeatedly wagged their fingers at the "opposition" warning them to not politicize COVID-19. It turns out they are hypocrites in this regard.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/05/18/admin-bets-will-win-in-2022-due-to-well-managed-pandemic-response-says-roque/

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque on Tuesday, May 18, claimed that the administration bets for the May 2022 polls will win because of the way the government has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During his virtual press briefing, the Palace official praised the government’s pandemic response. 

“(I am not saying that the candidates of the administration will win because of the pandemic, but they will win because of our response to the pandemic),” he said. 

“(That includes how we managed the COVID-19 cases and the successful vaccine rollout. I hope that is clear),” Roque added.

That is rather boastful seeing as how the Philippine government has failed in its response to the pandemic with heavy handed lockdowns. The Philippines has the longest running lockdown in the world. The vaccine rollout has not exactly been successful either. In order to get vaccine numbers up Duterte has directed the DOH to not tell people what brand they will be getting until just before they stick them.

It was President Rodrigo Duterte who ordered to no longer announce the vaccine brands to be administered in sites, Malacañang said Thursday.


Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the President made the order after he saw how people overcrowded vaccination sites that give the US-made Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

(The President ordered that [directive] after he saw the lack of social distancing in sites where the Pfizer vaccine were given.)

Despite the DOH reassuring the public that they will be told on-site which vaccine they will receive others note that this move will only destroy public confidence in the vaccines.

The local medical community on Twitter, however, opposed this new policy, saying that this promotes vaccine distrust instead. 

Physician Gideon Lasco stressed how “informed consent” to patients is important in medicine. 

“I am shocked that the DOH wants Filipinos to sign up for vaccination not knowing which brand they’ll get. If we are to build vaccine confidence and empower the people, they need more information, not less,” Lasco said. 

Dr. Gene Nisperos likewise noted that the lack of transparency will make the public more hesitant to receive the vaccination. 

“Dear DOH at IATF, naniniwala talaga kayo na mas magpapabakuna ang mga tao kapag hindi nila alam ang ibabakuna sa kanila?! Yun ngang alam ng tao yung ibabakuna sa kanila eh hirap kayo manghikayat, yun pa kayang hindi nila alam?” Nisperos wrote. 

YouTuber Doc Adam also echoed that the public has the right to know.

“This is just so wrong and will just cause even more vaccine hesitancy. Everyone has a right to know which vaccine ang makukuha nila,” he said.

The DOH has responded to this by saying that the right to know has not been taken away as people will be told on-site which vaccine they will be receiving and will have to sign an informed consent letter. But that is splitting hairs as the real issue is that people should know long beforehand so they can either sign up or not sign up.

There is talk about Robredo and Duterte doing an ad for the vaccines but the Palace says Robredo must clarify her position on Chinese made vaccines before that happens.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/21/21/duterte-robredo-covid-vaccine-infomercial

Vice President Leni Robredo must clarify her stand on COVID-19 vaccines developed by China, Malacañang said on Friday, in relation to a suggestion that she and President Rodrigo Duterte appear in an infomercial to boost public confidence in the jabs. 

Sen. Joel Villanueva on Thursday suggested that Robredo and Duterte work together on a public service announcement to encourage the public to get vaccinated against COVID-19 

(First of all, let us clarify if the Vice President will accept all vaccines because she had earlier declaration in which she seemed to disapprove of Chinese vaccines, and that issue was politicized. It was as if the WPS issue was exchanged for vaccines. Let us clarify VP Robredo's stand first.) 

Robredo is "open" to cooperate with the Palace to encourage more people to get vaccinated, said her spokesman Barry Gutierrez. 

(If Malacañang cannot set aside politicking even in this simple matter, that's on them. VP Leni has long been taking action, and she is always ready to help. If they are ready, too, she is just there.) 

If they did an infomercial would it be exclusively about the Chinese made vaccines? It seems it is the Palace who is politicizing this potential collaboration which once again proves them to be hypocrites.

It appears that some unscrupulous people are selling vaccination slots.


https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1435071/govt-to-probe-lgu-linked-online-selling-of-jab-slots

Authorities are investigating reports of clandestine online selling of COVID-19 vaccination slots by people who were reported to have connections with local government units (LGUs).

Entrepreneur Nina Dizon Cabrera shared with the Inquirer her exchange with a person offering to sell vaccination slots from San Juan and Mandaluyong local governments.

Each slot’s price depends on the vaccine brand: for the China-made Sinovac, P6,000 to P8,000 for two doses; US-developed Pfizer vaccine and British Swedish AstraZeneca fetch higher at P10,000 to P12,000 per slot.

The fee comes with a vaccination schedule and booklet.

Martin (not his real name) from Las Piñas said his college classmate offered to sell vaccination slots in Mandaluyong.

When he asked if there would be an issue since he is not a resident of that city and not among the priority groups to be vaccinated, his seller answered that it was an “under-the-table” deal, and he could do it because of “privilege.”

Price for two doses of Pfizer is pegged from P12,500 for those he was acquainted with, and up to P15,000 for those he did not know personally.

Both Cabrera’s and Martin’s sellers claim they were connected to people in their local governments.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only issued emergency use authorization (EUA) to seven COVID-19 vaccines, including the four brands currently being used—Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Sputnik V.

“The granting of the EUA is not a marketing authorization or a Certificate of Product Registration, hence this cannot be used to market the vaccine commercially,” the FDA said.

One suspect has surrendered but he denies the charges. The FDA's response is rather odd. Instead of outright condemning this action they note that the vaccines are not authorized but only approved for emergency use which means they cannot be sold. That may be something people are not aware of. There is no approved COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines. They also do not prevent infection of COVID-19.


https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1141070

"(Our appeal to the public is to take what's available because all the vaccines we have here have EUA and they have) very good ang resulta(results) in terms of preventing severe Covid and preventing you from dying from Covid," Dr. Karl Henson of the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Inc. said during the Laging Handa briefing.

How many times can it be said? The vaccine does not prevent infection. It only mitigates the effects of being infected. That is why allowing fully vaccinated foreign tourists into the nation is laughable. They can still carry the virus.

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/196463/ph-prepares-to-welcome-fully-vaccinated-foreign-travelers

Foreign travelers fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will soon be allowed entry into the Philippines.

A small working group with the heads of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as chair and vice chair, respectively, has been organized by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to study the matter and formulate protocols, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced on Friday.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said she had requested the IATF to consider establishing a “green lane” that would expedite the entry of foreigners fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Setting up such a special lane for fully inoculated foreign travelers may just do the trick for the Philippines’ pandemic-hit tourism industry, Puyat said in a statement issued on Friday.

“The green lane will pave the way for the reopening of our tourist destinations to leisure travelers who are now fully vaccinated,” Puyat said, adding:

“It will give the jobs back to many of our tourism workers and gradually revive the tourism industry under safe conditions.”

The comment section for this article is great becausae many commenters see the problem here. Why would any foreigners wish to come here when they would be subjected to all manner of nonsense including mandatory face masks, face shields, social distancing, and other protocols? Not to mention they would still likely have to quarantine for 7 days upon arrival just in case since the vaccine does not actually immunize anyone and even the vaccinated can carry the virus.

Iloilo City has seen a rise in cases and has reverted to MECQ until the end of May. Depiste this they cannot expand their hospital bed capacity because PhilHealth has failed to reimburse their claims.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/24/21/iloilo-city-hospitals-full-cant-expand-bed-capacity-due-to-philhealth-debt-mayor

Hospitals in Iloilo City are full and state insurer PhilHealth has yet to reimburse their claims, Mayor Jerry Treñas said Monday after the metro was placed under modified enhanced community quarantine to curb the rise in COVID-19 cases. 

The mayor said he was set to meet with PhilHealth president and CEO Dante Gierran on Tuesday. He added that he has met with the state insurer and hospitals for 3 times already. 
Medical facilities cannot expand their COVID-19 bed capacity as their personnel are also infected, Treñas said.

(Our problem right now is our hospitals are full and PhilHealth owes them a lot. They can't add more rooms because of 2 reasons: one because of PhilHealth.)

"Another reason is I think two or three of our hospitals, ang mga medical personnel nila infected na rin (their medical personnel are also infected)."

Like other municipalities Iloilo continues to vaccinate its citizens in order to fight the virus. Now local researchers are launching a real world study into the effects of the virus on the public.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/25/21/philippines-to-launch-p100-m-study-on-effects-of-covid-19-vaccines-on-filipinos

The Philippines is set to undertake a P100-million study on the effects of COVID-19 vaccines on Filipinos, an official from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said Tuesday. 

The research seeks to answer questions on the vaccines' effects as determined by ethnicity and how long their efficacy would last on Filipinos, DOST Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said in an online press conference. 

(While the Department of Health is vaccinating people, we will select participants we will follow for a year or so and see what happens to them.) 

"We expect that every quarter there will be milestones. Every quarter puwede kaming magreport (We can release reports every quarter)," she said. 

The study is expected to begin in June with 1,000 participants, but the number may change depending on the research design that would be approved.

They are going to determine "how long their efficacy would last on Filipinos" and "see what happens to them." This is the kind of stuff that is supposed to be done during the trial period. What more evidence do we need that this whole vaccine rollout is an experiment? Remember the vaccines are only approved for emergency use and are not authorized to fight the vaccine.

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Inmate Directed PNP-PDEA Operation From Inside His Cell Says NBI

Remember that PDEA-PNP misencounter back in February where both agencies end up firing at each other in public near a mall during what was supposed to be a regular buy-bust operation? Well, the NBI now has an answer as to why this happened. It wasn't the fault of either the PDEA or PNP but the fault of a sneaky drug lord who was directing the whole operation from inside his prison cell.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1436189/occidental-mindoro-inmate-dictated-tempo-of-drug-transaction-that-led-to-pnp-pdea-clash-nbi

An inmate at the Sablayan Penal Colony in Occidental Mindoro, right from inside his cell, “dictated the tempo” of the drug transaction that led to the deadly shootout between police officers and anti-drug operatives in Quezon City last Feb. 14, according to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Two police officers, a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) operative, and an informant were killed in the shootout between agents of the PDEA Special Enforcement Service (SES) and the District Special Operations Unit (DSOU) of the Quezon City Police District.

Police maintained that they were conducting a legitimate buy-bust operation. They tapped Jonaire Decena, who was later revealed to be a detainee, as a poseur buyer, transacting with a certain James Tan.

Calls, video chats, and online messages between them were presented during the hearing.

According to Bacani, the Philippine National Police (PNP) submitted to the NBI a copy of the video call conversation between Decena and Tan. The NBI traced the call to the Sablayan Penal Colony.

It was an inmate there named Melvin Magallon, also known as Pawpaw, who first talked with Decena.

“But the picture in the cellphone of Mama Jo [that is, Jonaire Decena] was not that of Pawpaw,” Bacani told the committee in Filipino.

Bacani said James Tan was only used as a cover, but it was Magallon who was “dictating the tempo” of the transaction.

“It appears that he [Tan] was put there, but the one dictating the tempo is Pawpaw or Magallon,” the NBI official said.

In reaction, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, the committee chair, pointed out that this was the reason why he was persistent in pushing for the reimposition of the death penalty — in order to stop drug dealers from operating even behind bars.

“If we had the death penalty, this Pawpaw who is imprisoned in Sablayan, would have been executed. Then there would have been no misencounter between PDEA and the PNP,” Dela Rosa said in Filipino

“We are being fooled by drug lords in prison. That’s why I appeal to my colleagues to reimpose the death penalty on high-level drug traffickers,” he added.

The gist of this tale is that a prisoner in Mindoro was running and directing a PNP-PDEA operation by using a fall guy. They even made video calls to each other. How was a prisoner allowed to make video calls when phones are not allowed inside prisons? Who cares!

Former PNP Chief and now Senator Bato sure does not care. Instead of rightly blaming corrupt BuCor officers and inept policemen he actually belittles the PNP by saying, "We are being fooled by drug lords in prison." Amazing. Is the PNP really so stupid as to be taken in by drug lords in prison? According to Bato they are. Who is running the show? It's like Con Air where the prisoners are actually dictating what is happening.

But it's not enough for Bato to belittle the PNP. He goes on to say, "If we had the death penalty, this Pawpaw who is imprisoned in Sablayan, would have been executed. Then there would have been no misencounter between PDEA and the PNP." He actually makes this instance of miscommunication between the PNP and PDEA, as well as obviously corrupt BuCor officials, into a case for the death penalty. That is a pure deflection from the issue of the incompetence and corruption of all agencies involved.

Instead of advocating getting rid of corrupt officials and making sure the PNP and PDEA are coordinating with one another regarding operations Bato's solution is to "Kill 'em all." And no wonder coming from the man who first directed Duterte's bloody war on drugs and said when a 3 year old during a drug bust, "Shit happens."

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/07/08/1933018/bato-sorry-shit-happens-remark-says-it-again-anyway

Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, former chief of the Philippine National Police, clarified that he made the wrong choice of words when he commented on the death of a three-year-old girl in a drug bust operation.

Last week, the neophyte senator said "shit happens" when asked about the demise of the girl, which drew criticism from rights groups.

"I will recall my word. Instead of 'shit' let us change it to 'unfortunate incident' (happens)," Dela Rosa told ANC' "Headstart" Monday.

What a sleight of hand from ol' Bato. He takes back the word "shit" and substitutes "unfortunate incident" without changing the meaning of his sentiment. It just looks better.  And that is what the PNP is all about when it comes to cleaning up corruption, looking good as opposed to being good

Will there be an investigation into exactly how Pawpaw was able to get a cellphone to make video calls and direct a PNP operation? Will there be real change within the BuCor, an agency Bato once headed and promised to clean up, or will there just be the status quo? I think we all know the answer.

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Insurgency: Brink of Victory

The Philippine Army has a new chief. Major General Andrres Centino is now in command. During his assumption-of-command ceremony he gave an interesting speech declaring that the Philippines is on the "brink of victory" against various security threats.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1140613

"The PA is the prime force provider in the campaign of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to address insurgency and terrorism. Today as we simultaneously wage war in different fronts working within a whole of-nation framework, the Army, all stakeholders, our country is on the brink of victory against the communist insurgency, secessionism, and terrorism," Maj. Gen. Andres Centino said in his speech during the assumption-of-command ceremony at the PA headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

Centino said this victory will come soon as the AFP is led by a Commander-in-Chief (President Rodrigo R. Duterte) whose "unflinching resolve" fuels their determination to finally put an end to the conflict that has plagued the country for years.

"With all the instrumentalities and agencies of government focused now on doing their respective mandate channeling all efforts towards the united front through the President's issuance of Executive Order 70 and the creation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC), we have been able to focus and execute our core functions as your Philippine military to ensure victory over the enemy," he added.

"Interagency cooperation and collaboration have enabled our Army units in the field to engage the enemy decisively, resulting in dismantled guerilla fronts, reduction in the enemy strength, and the liberation of communities from the clutches of the communist terrorist group," he added.

"Additionally, the Army (has) attained desired level of readiness for us to effectively support the AFP's campaign and the programs of the national government as such we are poised to provide a ready and disciplined force able to maneuver and employ capabilities to accomplish campaign objectives across a range of military operations," he added.

"We will sustain our endeavor to modernize. Acquisition of new equipment and technology shall be prioritized," he added. 
He added that he will remain focused on key thrusts of the service such as readiness improvement, personnel management, operations, intelligence, logistics, and training.

"This (will) provide our soldiers (with) the advantage in the fights that lie ahead. These priority areas will serve as (a) framework to build (and modernize) our Army anchored on the guidelines of the Army Transformation Roadmap," he added.

"With these thrusts achieved, we will have a PA that is built on genuine transformation, an Army with modern technology and capability, an army that is professional, well equipped, and an Army of world-class standard and the pride of the Filipino people," Centino said.

Maj. Gen. Centino says the Philippines is "on the brink of victory against the communist insurgency, secessionism, and terrorism." What's really interesting here is his inclusion of secessionism. The reason for the Islamic insurgency is because the Muslims want Mindanao. They see that island as their ancestral domain. The Islamic insurgency grew out of the Muslim Independence Movement. The culmination of this movement is the BARMM which is an autonomous Muslim governed region in the Philippines. 

 “We have not given up on our struggle.” 
“We are not surrendering. Decommissioning is not tantamount to surrendering,” said Ebrahim, who is also Chief Minister of the interim Bangsamoro government. 
“I would like to emphasize that the decommissioning doesn’t mean we have given up on what we used to fight for,” Ebrahim emphasized.

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

What the MILF used to fight for, the reason the group broke away from the MNLF, is the formation of an independent Muslim Mindanao. Will they continue to pursue this goal? According to Murad the answer is yes. How they continue this fight remains to be seen. So it's rather odd that the new Chief of the Army would say they are on the brink of victory against secessionism when the BARMM represents secessionism.


Another thing he mentions is "interagency cooperation and collaboration" in the field has led to the Army dismantling fronts, reducing enemy strength, and liberating communist controlled communities. This is a good thing and one hopes it can remain that way as this sort of cooperation was sorely lacking during the Marawi siege.

Instead of working together toward a common goal the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force were sometimes more concerned about their pride. Take the instance of one Air Force commander who ignored the requests of an Army commander to drop bombs until he was issued an apology for being shouted at.
Butler carried on with the immense duty of being the liaison, dispatching flights, choosing options, sometimes second guessing commanders. And sometimes, it felt as though he was the commanding general of the Air Force. Charlie got used to having him around, sige, alam mo na 'yan.  You know what to do.  
One of the battalion commanders gave him hell for delaying a flight when his troops were waiting for the bomb drop. Butler had to pull his phone away from his ears as the barrage of invectives came through; in retaliation he ignored the commander's bomb run requests in his sector for about a week until an apology was offered in a long and winding text message.

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2020/09/book-review-battle-of-marawi-reveals.html

The book "The Battle of Marawi" is quite revelatory as it peels back the layers showing the AFP to be inept and ill-prepared. They even lied in their reports to cover up what exactly happened. In four years has the Army really become "built on genuine transformation, an Army with modern technology and capability, an army that is professional, well equipped, and an Army of world-class standard?" And what does Maj. Gen. Centino mean by "the Army (has) attained desired level of readiness for us to effectively support the AFP's campaign." Is that really accurate when the AFP is engaged in modernizing the military forces?

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/787907/new-commander-promises-a-disciplined-philippine-army/story/

"Acquisition of new equipment and technology shall be prioritized," he said, adding the goal is for the country to have a "professional and well equipped" army.

If the goal is for the Philippines to have "a professional and well equipped army" that suggests that currently the Army is neither professional or well equipped.

The last thing to remark on in this speech is his lauding of Duterte's "unflinching resolve" inspires the Army to finally end the conflict. What exactly is this resolve? Is it a resolve to end the insurgency? He does not say and actually Duterte has waffled all over the place when it comes to the CPP-NPA. As Mayor of Davao and at the beginning of his term as President he was on friendly terms with the communists. He even released certain prisoners belonging to the NDFP for peace talks. 

It's also demeaning to past administrations who have been resolved to end the insurgency during their terms. Nearly every president since Cory Aquino has vowed to end the insurgency. The Philippines has been on the brink of ending the insurgency for two decades now. Remember this from 2018?

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1049059/afp-on-track-to-end-insurgency-by-mid-2019-says-lorenzana
The Department of National Defense (DND) believes that the military is on track to exterminate Philippine communist insurgency — the longest in Asia — by middle of 2019, as President Rodrigo Duterte has earlier predicted. 
DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in his keynote speech at the agency’s 79th founding anniversary on Wednesday that their recent “victories” are leading to the end of communist insurgency by second quarter of 2019. 
“With the influx of NPA (New People’s Army) surrenderers responding to the President’s sincere call for peace, the inter-agency Task Force Balik-Loob was created last April 2018 to centralize the government’s reintegration efforts for former rebels and oversee the enhanced comprehensive local integration program or e-clip,” Lorenzana noted. 
He then mentioned that as of September 2018, there were 3,443 rebel returnees based on records of the AFP Peace and Development Office. 
Obviously his prediction was wrong. But why was he so confident in the first place? He says 3,443 rebels had surrendered as of September 2018. So how many are left? Since the publication of this article hundreds more have surrendered. In 2010 the NPA was estimated at being less than 5,000.

Perhaps with Maj. Gen. Centino at the helm the Army can push the insurgency over the brink and get the final victory. Apparently Centino is an ardent communist hunter.

https://ptvnews.ph/northern-mindanaos-top-npa-hunter-named-as-new-army-chief/

The new chief served as the AFP deputy chief of staff for operations before his transfer to the 4ID, and was known to be big on hunting down communist rebels. 

There are several articles calling Centino a "Top NPA hunter" but they don't give any evidence or list of accomplishments. If he is big on hunting the NPA he does not seem to big on killing them. 

The identities of six in 10 communist New Peoples Army (NPA) combatants in Northern Mindanao are already known to government authorities, the chief of the Army's 4th Infantry Division (4ID) said.


In a report delivered during the Joint Meeting of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and Regional Task Force ELCAC with President Rodrigo R. Duterte on  Friday afternoon here, Maj. Gen. Andres Centino said the identification of NPA personalities in the region has assisted the military to convince combatants to surrender and pursue rebellion if they resist.


Since NTF-ELCAC was formed through Executive Order (EO 70) in 2018, Centino said 4ID managed to profile 478 of 820 active-duty NPA fighters.


He attributed this to an improved database, which also helped in the discovery of the burial sites of rebels slain by their own comrades so that their bodies could be exhumed and returned to their respective families.


"Before, most of these rebels are known through their aliases, but after (the creation of NTF-ELCAC), we were able to know their real names, and we were able to trace their whereabouts," Centino said.

Just like Duterte and the NTC-ELCAC, Centino wants these rebels to surrender and avail of the E-CLIP program which provides cash, housing, and job opportunities. But he is not averse to killing them if need be.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1139074

Maj. Gen. Andres Centino, commander of the Army's 4th Infantry Division, said the latest batch of surrenderers weakened further the communist rebel movement in Bukidnon.

“We will continue to press the fight against the CTG in our area of operations first to pressure them to surrender or decimate their forces through armed engagement if necessary,” he said.

If they all surrendered the insurgency would end quickly but with the NICA saying that there are 300,000 to 400,000 CPP-NPA allies in the government and the proliferation of many front groups, some of which have members in Congress, it's not going to be that easy.