Retards in the Government 217

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

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1463450/ex-mayor-files-plunder-case-vs-bohol-gov

A former mayor of Bohol has filed a plunder complaint against Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap and other provincial officials over alleged irregularities in various transactions. 

In a 28-page complaint, Dan Neri Lim requested the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate and hold Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap and other provincial officials liable for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. 

Lawyer Nilo Ahat, the Bohol legal officer, said they had yet to receive a copy of the complaint. 

“We won’t back down. We are ready to answer (the allegations) once we receive a hard copy of the complaint,” said Ahat. 

For Yap, the complaint against him was a strategy to destroy his name. 

“I am not surprised with that considering that the elections draw near. I will continue working for the people and face these challenges,” said Yap in a text message to the Inquirer. 

Lim claimed that from Sept. 22 to 24, 2020, the Bohol provincial government and the Department of Tourism held the National Philippine Tourism Expo 2020 (Phitex2020). 

To cover the live telecast and broadcasting of the entire event, the provincial government contracted the services of Active Events Equipment Rentals (AEER). 

Based on the bidding documents, the contract was made through negotiated canvass and was awarded on Nov. 6, 2020 and released on Nov. 11, 2020, way after the conduct of the event. 

“There was no contract yet when the provincial government used the services of the company,” Lim said. 

Another controversy, Lim said, was the conduct of the Ube Festival in January 2021 when the provincial government, through its BAC, contracted the services of Ompoi Disco Mobile (ODM). 

According to Lim, ODM was represented by the daughter-in-law of Larry Pamugas, a BAC member. 

Lim said the provincial government also purchased commercial rice instead of buying it from local farmers to support the agricultural sector during the pandemic. 

The former mayor said the provincial government of Bohol, through the Provincial Engineer’s Office, purchased fuel from Petrobest worth P5.5 million. 

It was shown that the prices of fuel were pegged at P61.48 or P62.49 per liter, which were higher than the prevailing prices of P46 to P48 per liter.

The ex-Mayor of Bohol has accused the current governor of plunder over irregular financial transactions. The governor says it's just a means to smear his name because of the upcoming election.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/390111/coa-to-toledo-city-justify-extravagant-travel-training-expenses

The Commission on Audit or COA has asked the officials of Toledo City in western Cebu to submit justification on their travel and training expenses which were classified as ‘extravagant’ expenditures.

This after COA, in its 2020 Audit Report, noted that Toledo City spent a total of P2,245,560 in travel expenses to various destinations for conducting year-end activities amid the call of the national government for austerity measures due to the emergency health situation.

The travel expenses ‘undermined the importance of the city’s capability in promoting efficient and effective governance in mitigating, responding and recovering from the impact of covid-19.’

COA also recommended the city to stop charging the travel expenses of job orders and employees of other government agencies to the city.

The COA has called out the government of Toldeo City over millions in travel expenses.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1148164

Anti-drug operatives arrested two former policemen in separate buy-busts here late Friday night.

Lt. Clarezel Perez, city police office spokesperson, on Saturday identified the suspects as Genovevo Abapo alias “Totoy Bibo,” 47, of Rosario Village Barangay Lagao, and Elliver Cablitas, 55, of Doña Soledad Subdivision in Barangay Labangal.

She said Abapo was arrested around 11 p.m. on Tangile Street in Barangay Lagao after selling a sachet of suspected shabu worth PHP500 to an undercover operative.

In a subsequent search, Perez said the suspect also yielded another sachet of shabu worth PHP1,200.

Around 11:50 p.m., authorities arrested Cablitas in a follow-up operation at a portion of Doña Soledad Subdivision.

The suspect sold a sachet of suspected shabu worth PHP500 to a police officer who posed as a buyer.

“They are included on our watchlist and considered as high-value targets,” Perez told reporters.

She said their personnel subjected the former policemen to close surveillance for several weeks after their names came up as among the alleged contacts of several pushers arrested in recent anti-drug operations.

Investigators are looking at the possible connections of the two suspects, who both joined the police service in 1995.

Two long-time members of the PNP were arrested for selling drugs.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1463641/cusi-charged-for-failure-to-stop-power-rate-hikes

The Power for People Coalition (P4P) and allied groups advocating consumer welfare on Friday filed with the Office of the Ombudsman a complaint against Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi for criminal and administrative liability for failing to stop electricity rate hikes while busy with party politics.

P4P, Sanlakas and Philippine Movement for Climate Justice argued that Cusi violated Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. They accused Cusi of “grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty, inefficiency and incompetence in the performance of official duties and conduct prejudicial to the best interests of service in connection with the power rate hikes in recent months while he was embroiled in the PDP-Laban (Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan) leadership fight.”

In their 62-page complaint, the three groups asked that Cusi be suspended for six months while under investigation.

“For the past five years in his term in office, respondent Cusi did not issue significant policies to address the pressing power issues, in complete disregard of his mandate to ensure the reliability, quality and supply of electric power,” they said.

A consumer advocate group has filed charges against DOE Secretary Cusi for graft for failing to stop electricity rate hikes.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/390543/councilor-amores-i-did-not-declare-war-on-mayor-chans-administration

Lapu-Lapu City Councilor Rico Amores has answered Mayor Junard Chan’s allegations against him, saying that he (Amores) did not declare war on the mayor and his administration.

Amores said that he had no capacity to go against the mayor and to declare war against him and his administration. 

He said that if there was someone, who was declaring war, then it would be the mayor after the latter allegedly terminated all of Amores’ 11 job order and casual employees.

Amores also denied the mayor’s allegations that he caused the delay of the projects of the city administration, which were discussed during last week’s City Council session. 

Amores was referring to Chan’s allegations that he posted on his Facebook page on Saturday, July 24, stating that the councilor had been blocking the mayor’s projects at the city council. 

These included the implementation of the socialized housing program; the purchase of an airconditioning unit for Lapu-Lapu City Hospital (LLCH); preventing his representative, City Legal Officer Lawyer Eugene Espedido, to participate in the discussions at the city council; and declaring war against Chan’s administration.

Infighting between the Mayor and a Councilor of Lapu Lapu City

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1148395

A police officer was arrested for allegedly offering to facilitate the application of an aspiring policeman in exchange for a sum of money in Quezon City.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar on Tuesday said the suspect M/Sgt. Edmund delos Reyes, was arrested by members of the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) in an entrapment operation inside a fast-food chain along Boni Serrano Ave. in Barangay Bagong Lipunan near Camp Crame on Monday night.

Eleazar said the suspect demanded from the victim PHP6,000 for her to be included in the final list of PNP recruits who will take their oath on July 30.

Brig. Gen. Flynn Dongbo, IMEG director, said the suspect was placed under arrest shortly after he received marked money from the complainant.

A cop attempted to extort money from a recruit to make sure she is o the final list of those who will take their oath.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1148512

Local police authorities strongly believed that the ambush-slay of a village official Tuesday afternoon was triggered by a clan war.

Maj. Radzak Musa, local police chief, identified the fatality as Badawi Kusain, 45, the chairperson of Barangay Ambadao, this town.

Musa said Kusain had just attended the wedding of one of his sons at a restaurant in Barangay Poblacion, Shariff Aguak and was heading for home together with his nephew, Rasul Sindi, when gunmen ambushed them around 1:30 p.m. near the town’s rotunda.

He said Kusain succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds while Sindi escaped unscathed.

Investigation will continue after the grieving family completes the seven-day mourning, Musa said.

A village executive was assassinated but the cops will wait a week to investigate so the family can mourn.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1466125/43-fired-for-pastillas-scam-back-from-suspension

Not one of the dozens of immigration officers allegedly involved in the so-called “pastillas” scheme had been fired for corruption by President Rodrigo Duterte, contrary to his claim during his State of the Nation Address (Sona), Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Wednesday. 

Corrupt Bureau of Immgration (BI) personnel have allegedly been pocketing an estimated P40 billion in grease money to facilitate the entry of thousands of Chinese nationals, many of them intending to work illegally in online gaming outfits in the country, since 2017. 

The pastillas scheme, which was so called as the bribe money was rolled up in a manner that made it look like the popular Filipino milk-based candy, was exposed during Senate hearings led by Sen. Risa Hontiveros in February 2020. 

“There were 43 personnel involved. I fired them all. I really dismissed them from the government,” Duterte reported to the nation on Monday. 

Guevarra on Wednesday said the 43 BI agents that the president was referring to, along with 40 others, had already returned to work after a six-month suspension without pay. 

“No, they were not fired or dismissed precisely because the investigation of their cases is still going on,” Guevarra told reporters in a Viber message. 

“These BI personnel have returned to the main office, but most of them have not been given assignments while their cases remain pending,” he said.

Duterte lies to the nation during his SONA about firing these men. Instead they were put on preventive suspension and allowed to return to work after six months. And rightly so since everyone deserves a fair trial.

Coronavirus Lockdown: Stricter Quarantine, Mandatory Vaccination, and More!

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

The public is eager to get vaccinated which is why many in Manila braved floods to get jabbed.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1462735/for-covid-jab-manila-folk-brave-flood-added-health-risks

Neither rain nor flood dampened the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Manila on Wednesday, indicating Filipinos’ willingness to get the jab, but also presented a potential health risk from waterborne diseases.

Thousands waded through ankle- to knee-high floodwaters to get into San Andres Sports Complex, one of many vaccination hubs in the capital city.

Ana Michelle Malonzo, an employee of a fast-food restaurant, said she had no choice but to await her turn, even in the flood, because getting jabbed was a requirement for work.

Philip Tuliao queued for a CoronaVac shot in the rain. “I don’t mind getting wet as long as I can get a vaccine. I have this raincoat, anyway,” he told Inquirer Radio.

The city government allocated 2,997 doses of various vaccine brands to the San Andres hub for seniors, persons with health issues, workers and members of indigent communities.

“Rain and flooding will not stop us, just as COVID-19 doesn’t … rest,” Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said. “We can assess [the situation] later but rest assured the city government of Manila will not stop [the vaccination].”

But Dr. Rontgene Solante, an infectious diseases expert at Manila’s San Lazaro Hospital and a government adviser on COVID-19 vaccines, said local governments could suspend the rollout for a day if the situation warranted it.

“You can’t risk lives just to get vaccinated. With the ‘habagat’ and flooding, the next problem could be leptospirosis,” Solante said in a Viber message, warning of an increase in such cases in the next weeks due to the wet season.

Why didn't they postpone this event? You can't have people standing out in flood waters. Pretty ridiculous and dangerous. What this shows is that the people are not adverse to getting the vaccine. Why does the government think they are?

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1148027

There is a need to encourage more Filipinos to avail themselves of the Covid-19 vaccine amid the threat of the highly contagious Delta variant, National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 medical adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa said Friday.

Herbosa cited the necessity to vaccinate more people "so the country could stand up against the risks posed by the Delta variant" as health authorities detected 12 more local transmissions that raised the total cases to 47.

"Basta may coordination lang ang national at lokal, tuluy-tuloy itong vaccination drive natin, then we can fight ‘yung Delta (As long as there is a coordination between the national and local governments in the vaccination drive then, we can fight the Delta variant)," Herbosa said during the arrival of another shipment of Sinovac vaccines at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City.

Is there really a need to encourage people to get vaccinated when they are standing in floodwaters to get the jab? What's really needed are more vaccines to fill the need. And yet forced vaccinations are already being discussed it seems. The DOJ says they have to discuss this matter further.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1147900

Coercive vaccination measures, similar to the policies of other countries, will need thorough scrutiny before they can be implemented.

Department of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra issued the reaction on Thursday following a Twitter message of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., asking about the legal implications of schools requiring their teachers to be inoculated against Covid-19.

“(T)ough policy questions like these will most likely be discussed at the Cabinet meeting first,” Guevarra told newsmen.

“@DOJPH Help please. Need your opinion. Is it legal for schools to require teachers to vaccinate before letting them in the classroom when face to face allowed? Can they fire teachers who refuse for cock and bull conscientious reasons? I’m serious,” Locsin tweeted on Thursday.

Guevarra said Locsin’s question may have been triggered by the new policy in France that will require a vaccination pass for anyone entering a café, restaurant, shopping center, or hospital, or taking a long-distance train.

Mandatory vaccines are happening all over the world. Soon one might not even be able to enter a store without being jabbed. But hopefully that will not happen here.

The delta variant has the government scared. The IATF has decreed children are no longer allowed to go outside and some areas are going back under strict quarantine again.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1147871

The city of Batac and eight other towns in Ilocos Norte will be under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) starting Friday (July 23) until further notice to address its increasing cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

The return of more than half of Ilocos Norte’s population to stricter quarantine measures has been imposed to limit the movement of people particularly in areas with high risk of infection such as in Batac and the towns of Bangui, Dingras, Dumalneg, Marcos, Pagudpud, Paoay, Pasuquin and Solsona.

“The Philippine National Police is hereby directed to lead in strictly monitoring compliance of the foregoing provisions, to be assisted by barangay personnel and other law enforcement agencies,” Manotoc said.

“The MECQ will only work when all residents will make it work also. It is not only quarantine that is important. It goes down to the grassroots, to the people, and to its implementation,” the governor said in a press conference.

It's absolute nonsense that the government keeps imposing and reimposing restrictive quarantines and then  lays all responsibility on the public. People need to work and buy necessities. They can't keep locking people up inside their homes, restrict their movement with passes and checkpoints, and expect everything to go well.

Duterte has said that LGUs need to come up with better schemes to vaccinate people and not allow walk-ins.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/25/21/duterte-denies-covid-19-vaccine-shortage-in-ph-shuns-walk-ins

President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday denied that there is a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines in the Philippines, saying local government units should instead improve systems in inoculation sites. 

Duterte did not mention a specific area, but said that several local government units have been implementing "bull****" policies in vaccination sites. 

(It seems that we do not lack vaccines.) 

"The problem is for local government units to come up with a more sane process of vaccination than allowing people to queue as early as 4 in the morning and getting their shots at 9 in the morning," he said 

Local governments should not entertain walk-in vaccinations, or cater to individuals who wish to be jabbed against COVID-19 but do not have a prior schedule for it, the President said. 

(This setup, waiting as early as 4 in the morning, to me is bull**** actually when you do that to Filipinos.) 

"I'd like to have a rule to encourage them to not use that kind of set up even if it is numbered or if it is just given to anybody who wants it," he said.

It's odd that Duterte did not call out any specific LGUs who are making people wait inline from 4am. Perhaps he is making it up. Having people sign up for specific times instead of walking in may be more orderly but in the Philippines it offers another opportunity for corruption.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1148173

Four persons, including a former government witness, were arrested and sued by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for selling AstraZeneca vaccination slots to Chinese nationals in Pasay City.

In a statement on Saturday, the NBI said it filed criminal charges against Mary Rose “Rosebud” Ong; her brother, Peter Ong, of Kawit, Cavite; Warlito Dabuet Mabanan of Pasay; and Ferdinand Madrid Mabalo, a village secretary, also in Pasay.

Rosebud had testified in the infamous Kuratong Baleleng rubout case in the mid-1990s against then-Philippine National Police chief and now Senator Panfilo Lacson.

The Ongs and their cohorts were arrested in a sting operation on Friday.

It sounds like some Chinese were trying to take advantage of other Chinese. 

How long do you think the lockdown will last? Until the end of the year? The whole world is opening back up with the vaccines and the Philippine government is saying they have funds for the pandemic for beyond 2022.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/796711/philippines-has-enough-money-for-covid-19-war-chest-beyond-2022-dof-claims/story/

The Philippines has enough funds for its COVID-19 war chest even after the term of President Rodrigo Duterte ends next year, the Department of Finance (DOF) said. 

According to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, the government has exercised “fiscal prudence,” and the country will have enough buffers to sustain efforts moving forward. 

“I don’t think we’re good only until six months. I think we are good beyond 2022,” Dominguez was quoted as saying to Duterte in an emailed statement from the DOF on Sunday.

Pushing the lockdowns beyond 2021 is crazy enough but still being locked down beyond 2022 would be absolutely nuts. As it is new lockdowns are certainly coming. Not only is Duterte warning of them but the OCTA is recommending them.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/07/27/2115600/we-are-surge-octa-calls-lockdowns-metro-manila-cases-rise

OCTA Research on Tuesday called for "circuit-breaking" lockdowns as it said a surge in COVID-19 infections has begun in Metro Manila where the highly transmissible Delta variant may be playing a factor. 

The call came as authorities detect more cases of the Delta with local transmission and as President Rodrigo Duterte warned Monday a return to the lockdowns of 2020 is possible. 

"Right now, it's official: we are in a surge here in the National Capital Region," OCTA fellow Ranjit Rye told a government briefing. "We can't disregard or not pay attention to this increase."

He said Metro Manila's reproduction rate is now at 1.33 from the 0.6 just last month. The figure refers to the number of persons a COVID-19 positive individual can infect. 

The Department of Health on Monday acknowledged that the capital region is seeing an increase in cases, but cautioned against using the term "surge" as it maintained this has not been observed yet.

"We need to have anticipatory, preventive, [and] circuit-breaking lockdowns," Rye continued in mixed English and Filipino. "If we do this in the next two weeks, we will not only bring down cases and deaths but also save the economy."

A preventive lockdown won't save lives or save the economy. The economy is already screwed and the virus has an over 90% survival rate. It is not clear what the fatality rate for the Delta variant is but with many getting vaccinated it is going to be low. But the vaccination program in the Philippines has been relying heavily on Sinovac and a new study shows that Sinovac antibodies reduce drastically after 6 months.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/antibodies-sinovacs-covid-19-shot-fade-after-about-6-months-booster-helps-study-2021-07-26/

Antibodies triggered by Sinovac Biotech's (SVA.O) COVID-19 vaccine declined below a key threshold from around six months after a second dose for most recipients, although a third shot had a strong booster effect, according to a lab study.

Chinese researchers reported the findings from a study of blood samples from healthy adults aged between 18-59 in a paper published on Sunday, which has not been peer reviewed.

Among participants who received two doses, two or four weeks apart, only 16.9% and 35.2% respectively still had neutralising antibodies above what researchers regard as a detectable threshold level six months after the second shot, the paper said.

Those readings were based on data from two cohorts involving more than 50 participants each, while the study gave third doses of the vaccine or placebo to a total of 540 participants.

Researchers said it was unclear how the decrease in antibodies would affect the shot's effectiveness, since scientists have yet to figure out precisely the threshold of antibody levels for a vaccine to be able to prevent the disease.

It would appear that foisting Sinovac on the population was a really bad idea. There are so many problems with the vaccine program. For one thing you can still get the virus. 82 cops who were vaccinated are now infected. For another there are not enough vaccines in the nation to vaccinate everyone and yet the city of Lapu Lapu will be requiring a vaccination card to enter public markets and stores starting August 25th.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1148451

Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan on Tuesday said his executive order requiring residents to present a vaccination card in entering public and private markets and other establishments is meant to entice them to get inoculated against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Chan admitted in a radio interview that the city has a low vaccination turnout and he sees the need to bolster efforts to reach the 70 percent population protection.

On Monday, he issued Executive Order 2021-040 imposing stricter measures amid a surge in coronavirus cases and placing the entire city under month-long modified general community quarantine until Aug. 25.

He, however, said the executive order that will require residents entering markets, convenience and department stores to present their vaccination card, will take effect on August 25.

“We will wait until August 25. Let’s balance if the number of our residents who will get vaccinated. Let’s us wait and see, it’s not yet final as we will evaluate the turnout in our vaccination centers,” Chan said.

The mayor was reacting to netizens' social media comments on the new measure, saying it will bring them hardship in accessing basic and essential goods amid the pandemic.

Don't think this kind of law will not be implemented nationwide soon. DILG Secretary Año's response is quite telling:

(The time is not yet right for this kind of policy because it's still discriminatory and very prescriptive for those not vaccinated.) 

Año stressed that the country still lacks enough vaccine supply and has yet to attain "population protection" as it is focusing vaccinations in specific areas and inoculating the most vulnerable.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/28/21/lapu-lapu-city-no-vaccine-no-entry-discriminatory-dilg

The time is not YET right for this kind of policy. But it's time will sure come and soon.

Duterte's Unconstitutional Legislative Agenda

The clock is ticking, counting down the remaining months in Duterte's final term as President of the Philippines. His final State of the Nation Address received high marks from LGUs and nationally elected officials. For their part the House of Representatives says they are ready to pursue Duterte's legislative agenda.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1148432

The leadership of the House of Representatives has expressed readiness to pass the priority legislative measures mentioned in President Rodrigo Duterte’s final State of the Nation Address.

In a statement Monday, Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said the chamber is committed to pursue the remaining measures in the President’s legislative agenda with focus on strengthening the country’s health care system and restoring jobs lost to the pandemic.

“The House of Representatives is ready to help and cooperate with President Duterte in pushing for pieces of legislation that will help navigate the country and the economy amid the ongoing pandemic,” he said.

Velasco said the government must not only ensure that it is ready to reopen the economy, but also prepare the people for this reopening.

“We must heed the call of the President in order to bring back normalcy in the lives of our countrymen and help our economy recover and flourish again following a severe beating from the global health crisis,” he said.

Duterte asked the 18th Congress during his SONA to pass several priority bills, some of which are aimed at helping the country recover and build resilience from crises such as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The priority bills are the proposed amendments to the Public Service Act, Foreign Investments Act, and Retail Trade Liberalization Act; e-Governance bill; bills creating the Center for Disease Prevention and Control and the Virology Institute of the Philippines; Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) modernization bill; bill establishing evacuation centers; bills creating the department for overseas Filipinos and disaster resilience department; military and uniformed personnel pension reform; and measure providing free legal assistance to any officer or enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.

Now, most people might read this and not think twice about it. But there are many problems here. What should be glaringly obvious is that the President is head of the Executive branch while the House is one branch of the Legislature. The President should have no legislative agenda. His only job is to execute the laws the land.

Article 7 SECTION 17. The President shall have control of all the executive departments, bureaus, and offices. He shall ensure that the laws be faithfully executed.

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/1987-constitution/

There is nothing in Article 7 of the Constitution, which delineates the powers of the executive branch, about him being able to craft legislation. That power lies solely with the Legislative branch, House and Senate.

Some might ask, "What's the problem here? The executive and the legislative work together."

The problem is this confuses the branches of government and grants authority to the President which is not his. It transforms him into an autocrat because instead of the House and Senate checking the President, the President is leading the House and the Senate and they are essentially doing his bidding. We have seen this all throughout the Duterte administration as the House and Senate have effectively been a rubber stamp for his pet projects. The shutting down of ABS-CBN comes to mind as well as the selection of the House Speaker. In the latter matter not only does Duterte have an influence on who will be the Speaker of the House but so does his daughter.

This problem is not confined to the Philippines. In the USA the presidency has also been compromised. Every four years each candidate gives his plans for the nation which include tax programs and immigration reforms. Those are not his job. His job is only to execute he laws of the land, not craft them. In the Philippines we will see this same thing next year as every candidate will go around touting what they want to do for the country and how they will improve it through implementing various legislative programs. Whoever is elected the House and Senate will defer to the executive and thus the cycle of confused government will continue.

Insurgency: NDF Terror Tag

The big news this week is that the Anti-Terror Council has decreed that the NDF is a terrorist organization. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1147538

The National Democratic Front (NDF) has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC).

In the five-page Resolution No. 21 dated June 23, 2021, ATC Chair and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea cited the NDF as “an integral and separate part” of the CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army) created in April 1973.

“Article IX of the 2016 CPP Constitution shows the command, lead and guidance of the CPP over the NPA, while Article X shows that the NDF (a.k.a. NDF of the Philippines) is the core and most consolidated group that provides support to the armed and organizational expansion of the CPP-NPA,” the resolution read.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra previously said the principal effect of the designation by ATC is the freezing of bank accounts and other financial assets of the designated person/entity, not immediate arrest.

The resolution also said the “direct and indispensable role of the NDF in armed operations“ has been repeatedly confirmed by CPP founder Jose Maria Sison, including the latest when he identified the CPP-NPA as allied organizations of the NDF in his message for the NDF’s 48th anniversary in April 2021.

"To the Anti-Terrorism Council designation of the NDF of the Philippines, let us remember by nature, the CPP-NPA-NDF has open organizations or what they call legal fronts, but in truth, it has underground mass organizations and officers that control these open organizations," he said during Monday's episode of the "Tagged: Debunking Lies by Telling the Truth" online briefing organized by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

The fall out from this designation stands to be far reaching. For one thing, the bank accounts and other financial assets of this group will now be frozen. This means that and money the NDF uses to finance the NPA will no longer be available. The PNP says now the NDF will not be able to take advantage of the law.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1147766

The designation of the National Democratic Front (NDF) as a terrorist group will prevent its members from circumventing the law to evade arrest, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Wednesday.

“(There are already too many CPP-NPA members and leaders who claim that they are peace talks consultants when they are arrested. With the declaration of the NDF as a terrorist group, these people will no longer have an excuse and our operations will be further strengthened to put an end to these groups that are sowing violence in the country),” said PNP chief, Gen. Gullermo Eleazar in a statement.

Does claiming that you are a peace talk consultant give you an automatic get out of jail free card? Eleazar is not clear on the matter. With the designation of the NDF as a terrorist organization peace talks are effectively over.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1463477/groups-say-ndfp-terror-tag-closes-door-for-peace-with-reds

The designation of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) has shut any chance of reviving the peace process between the government and communist rebels.

“This designation tragically closes the door to what is truly called for: a peaceful resolution of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and NDFP conflict,” said a statement of the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP), a group of religious leaders from various denominations pushing for a negotiated settlement to the communist rebellion in the country.

The statement was signed by Archbishop Emeritus Antonio Ledesma, Rt. Rev. Rex B. Reyes Jr., Bishop Reuel Norman O. Marigza, Rev. Aldrin Penamora, Sr. Mary John D. Mananzan, and Bishop Emeritus Degracias S. Iniguez Jr.

“The ATC buried 29 years of laborious and painstaking agreements and gradual steps toward peace. The government seems to be ignoring that peace is a sacred right of all people and guaranteed as a fundamental duty of the state,” the PEPP lamented.

The recent actions of the ATC, the PEPP noted, “confirms that the Anti-Terrorism Law is a huge hurdle to the promise of peace for everyone as it is being used as a weapon in a total war against so-called terrorists.”

As the political arm of the CPP, the NDFP has been involved in on-and-off peace negotiations with the government since 1987.

What this article fails to mention is that peace talks are dead because of the CASER which is non-negotiable for the CPP. I wrote about this document before which can be read here. The Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) can be read here:

https://ndfp.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/FINAL-Jan-17-2018-NDFP-CASER-2017-Web-version-Ver2.0.pdf

This document is 173 pages of broad and general calls for reform in industry, culture, agriculture, and other areas of the government and Philippine life. The one thing lacking is there are no methods of implementing these reforms. There is nothing exact. It's as vague as the term "social and economic reform." After listing the various reforms sought for a particular area there is a schedule of implementation like the following:

Section 1. The Parties shall create a mechanism to ensure that the Agreement on Financial, Monetary and Fiscal Policies (FMF) is respected and effectively implemented. 

Section 4. The Parties shall, within three (3) months from signing this Agreement, agree on the composition, functions, mechanics and logistics of the JMC-FMF and on the implementation schedule and work plan containing the dates and time frame for undertaking their respective commitments under the Agreement on FMF.

These terms are too vague and the time frame for designing a method of implementation, 3 months for each section, is too short. The danger in signing such an over broad agreement is that the CPP will undoubtedly accuse the government of not keeping it's word when all these reforms are not implemented due to disagreement on the methods of implementation. These are not reforms that can happen over night or in 3 months. The CPP is not taking into account the slow nature of government especially the corrupt Philippine government.

So, who's next after the NDF? How about the various party-lists?

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1147873

The cancellation of party-list organizations that are identified with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) will not only save the youth from being recruited into the armed struggle but will also save government funds.

This, according to members of the League of Parents of the Philippines (LPP) and Liga Independencia Pilipinas (LIPI) during a rally in front of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) main office in Intramuros, Manila on Thursday.

The groups called on the poll body to bar the Kabataan and Gabriela party-lists from joining the May 2022 elections, saying it is about time that it corrects its past mistake by delisting them.

They insisted both are legal fronts of the CPP-NPA-NDF and deceptively lure minors to fight the government.

There have been calls to delist these two parties for a while no so it would seem to be the logical next step in the government's plan to fight the insurgency. Declaring various groups as terrorist organizations is actually part of the holistic approach of the government.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1148041

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) headed by President Rodrigo Duterte has accomplished more than any other administrations in neutralizing the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

In his message on the success of the NTF-ELCAC, President Duterte said: “Our past experiences have shown us that a purely military-centric approach to the problem will not achieve the desired results. Assessing on our past practices, we have come to the conclusion that solving the insurgency requires a holistic and inclusive process which responds to the basic needs of our communities.”

At a recent virtual presscon, National Security Adviser Sec. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the “whole-of-nation” approach under Executive Order 70 (EO 70) that created the NTF-ELCAC has been very effective and decisive in addressing the root causes of the 52-year-old insurgency that will finally bring an end to the senseless armed conflict and attain an inclusive and sustainable peace all over the country.

 The CPP-NPA-NDF seeks the violent overthrow of the democratically-elected government and replaces it with an autocratic and tyrannical communist regime.

The NTF-ELCAC’s latest triumphs include the NDF being designated by the Anti-Terrorist Council (ATC) as a terrorist group. This designation, which was described as long overdue, empowered the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to issue a freeze order on all the accounts and assets related to the NDF.

Esperon pointed out that this monumental achievement, under the leadership of President Duterte is designed to weaken and finally limit the movement of the whole CPP-NPA-NDF and its many front organizations.

No doubt another one of these milestones is the surrender of 491 CPP-NPA members since the beginning of the year.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1148059

A total of 491 members of the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) operating in Northern and Central Luzon returned to the fold of the law in the first six months of the year.

Records of the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) showed the figures are higher compared to the same period last year with 198 rebel-surrenderers.

Lt. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo B. Burgos Jr., Nolcom commander, said Friday from January to the present, an average of two NPA rebels with one firearm returned to the government’s fold every day, “a clear manifestation of the terrorist group’s imminent collapse in Northern and Central Luzon.”

These are apart from the 767 party members of the different NPA-affiliated mass organizations who have withdrawn their support from the terrorist group and pledged their allegiance to the government.

Burgos attributed the surge of surrenders and withdrawal of support to their unrelenting internal security operations and sustained community engagement through their community support program.

Added to the 767 other surrenderees that is 1,258 CPP affiliated people who have abandoned the revolution. Many of them are doing it for the money. Hopefully the government delivers on time or they might rejoin the revolution..

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1462980/npa-rebel-surrenders-twice-in-pampanga

A rebel returnee, who rejoined the New People’s Army (NPA) after failing to receive the cash and related benefits from the government, surrendered again on Tuesday, July 20.

The 30-year-old rebel initially surrendered to authorities in November last year. But he returned to the underground communist movement sometime last May because he did not receive the P186,000 financial and livelihood assistance from the government under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP).

In a statement, the Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) identified the rebel returnee only as “Boknoy/Mia,” a resident of Porac, Pampanga.

The PRO3 said Boknoy decided to just rejoin the NPA after waiting unsuccessfully for his ECLIP benefits for six months.

But while his re-integration with the NPA was still under “observation status,” Boknoy decided to surrender again to authorities, hoping to receive his ECLIP benefits this time.

The benefits include P186,000 in cash and livelihood assistance, payment for surrendered firearms, and housing, legal, medical, educational, and related assistance.

PRO3 director Brigadier General Valeriano de Leon said Boknoy turned over a caliber .38 revolver with one live bullet when he surrendered for the second time to the military and police.

He said the former rebel, who allegedly used to operate in Bataan, Pampanga, and Zambales under the NPA, is eligible to receive his ECLAC benefits.

If he is eligible for all those benefits then the government had better give him those benefits. You can't promise someone a bribe and then not deliver.