Coronavirus Lockdown: Vindication, 4th COVID-19 Vac Shot, and More!

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

All areas of the Philippines are not at low risk for COVID-19.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1170341

All regions in the country remain at minimal risk case classification with health systems capacity at low risk, a health official said Tuesday.

The Covid-19 cases nationwide is on a slow decline with an average of 490 cases reported daily for the period of March 15 to 21, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during an online media forum.

The current average of infections is 13 percent lower than the previous week which recorded 564 cases.

“Batay sa ating datos, bumaba sa 805 cases ang severe and critical cases mula (Based on our data, the severe and critical cases went down to 805) 1,874 since mid-January,” Vergeire said.

The government says these low numbers are a vindication of the authoritarian response to the pandemic.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1170550

“Yes, we are on the right track, definitely. The fact that we are one of the third lowest in Covid mortality (and our hospital bed utilization rate is low, there are few patients. It means everything is going smoothly),” acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar said in an interview on Daily Tribune’s “Straight Talk” program on Tuesday.

Andanar described the country’s improved Covid-19 response as a “vindication” of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and his administration.

“We have a Covid policy unlike some of our neighbors in Southeast Asia. (And now we see there are surges there, but we're reopening our economy). So this is a vindication to all of the tough policies that we followed during the last two years,” he added.

In a prerecorded Talk to the People aired on March 7, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Duterte's leadership coupled with Filipinos' compliance to health protocols have led to the Philippines having fewer Covid-19 infections compared to other Southeast Asian countries.

Who knew that all the unnecessary checkpoints, military patrol vehicles, and cops beating quarantine violators was actually all for the best?

Despite the low numbers face masks are here to stay. 

https://mb.com.ph/2022/03/23/duterte-not-ready-to-lift-face-mask-mandate-new-covid-19-variant-looms/

Despite low Covid-19 cases in the country, President Duterte said the existing face mask mandate would remain to help contain the spread of the virus, especially with the discovery of the new strain in Israel.

“The numbers are now very low compared to the population… But you know itong mask na ano maraming nagtatanong, alam mo (many have been asking and you know) I am not ready to order the removal of the mask,” Duterte said during his “Talk to the People” address aired Tuesday, March 22.

“Pero siguro ‘yung plastic na ano cover puwede na ‘yun pero (Maybe the cover made of plastic we can remove it but) as I said, it has done a lot of good that prevented the contamination from spreading,” he added.

Duterte noted that the ongoing pandemic may stay for long as new Covid-19 variants have been detected in other countries and may eventually reach the Philippines.

“So matagal pa ito (This will stay for long). And there are reports that I don’t know if it’s — subject to confirmation — that there is a new COVID [variant] found in Israel. So whether we like it or not, kung totoo ‘yan (if it is true), it will reach again the shores of our country,” he added

Be sure to wear your mask in public or face steep fines.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1170462

The city’s coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) prevention and enforcement cluster has recorded 426 face mask violators from March 14 to 18 who have been required to pay appropriate fines.

This came about despite the city’s current Alert Level 1 status, in which restrictions have been eased.

In a statement Wednesday, Dr. Michelle Schlosser, spokesperson of the Davao City Covid-19 Task Force, said the public may have assumed that the wearing of face masks had been lifted after some information campaign signages on the minimum public health standards in the city were taken down.

Schlosser said the signages were probably removed because social distancing was lifted, but clarified that Executive Order 11 noted the wearing of face masks as mandatory.

“I would like to reiterate to Dabawenyos that only the social distancing protocol was lifted but the mandatory wearing of face mask remains. People might have thought that the non-wearing of face mask is okay since the signages were removed," Schlosser said.

She reiterated that individuals caught not wearing a face mask in public places will still be issued citation tickets.

Violators will get a PHP500 fine for the first offense; PHP2,000 for the second offense, and PHP5,000 or one-month imprisonment for the third offense.

Face masks do not prevent the spread of COVID-19 but not wearing them will certainly add to the government's coffers.

The safety protocols businesses were required to follow during the pandemic are now going to become permanent. One will not be able to obtain a business permit unless one can get a Safety Seal.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1924324/manila/local-news/safety-seals-now-a-requirement-in-getting-business-permits

THE Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases has approved the recommendation to include Safety Seals in the requirements for obtaining business permits, a Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) official said on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.

DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing said they will issue a memorandum circular to the local government units (LGUs) for the implementation of the measure.

“That has been approved during the IATF [meeting] that we will issue a memorandum circular to all our LGUs to require Safety Seals in specific identified industries lalo na 'yung mga negosyo na closed door (especially closed door businesses),” Densing said during a Laging Handa public briefing.

He said so far, six percent of the businesses in the country have Safety Seals.

Safety Seals are being issued by the Department of Trade and Industry to establishments that comply with the safety standard set by the government amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

It's just another burden on would-be small business owners. Also quite silly as none of the health protocols like wearing face masks, taking ones temperature, or signing in to enter a store will stop the spread of any disease.

Were you expecting the new normal soon? Well, think again. We will be in a transition period for some time. And it's your fault if you have not had a booster shot.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1574588/new-normal-by-april-not-likely-says-presidential-adviser

The “new normal” is unlikely to be implemented by April owing to the low rate of booster vaccination, presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said on Monday.

During the Laging Handa public briefing, Concepcion said that while the National Capital Region and other regions have a high vaccination rate, especially for primary doses, the rest the country still has a low booster vaccination rate, making the race for the new normal a difficult task.

(Yes, because our challenge now—the number of our primary doses is not a problem in NCR and other areas, it is increasing but booster shot coverage is low.)

(I was all for Alert Level Zero but the percentage of boosting of LGUs must be high.)

Hurry and go get your booster shot if you are so inclined. And then after that get your fourth shot.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/03/26/govt-eyeing-4th-covid-19-vax-shot-rollout-last-week-of-april-nvoc/

The government is considering to start in April the administration of a fourth Covid-19 vaccine shot in selected individuals once the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves the said measure.

The Department of Health (DOH) has already submitted its application to the FDA for the amendment of the emergency use authorization (EUA) of Covid-19 vaccines to include a fourth shot for people considered as “vulnerable” to the disease, said Health Undersecretary and National Vaccination Operations Center Chief Myrna Cabotaje. 

“(This will start once the EUA and guidelines are approved. So, maybe we can start this last week of April),” said Cabotaje on Saturday, March 26, during a public briefing.

The DOH is currently crafting the guidelines for this measure, said Cabotaje. 

“(The set of guidelines is now being prepared. We continue to discuss with our experts…This is recommended for high risk or vulnerable groups such as the A1:) health workers/ frontliner services, seniors, and immunocompromised individuals,” said Cabotaje. 

The DOH is seeking FDA approval for a 4th COVID shot but the DOH also says four shots can be dangerous.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/826656/doh-warns-vs-taking-4-or-more-covid-19-vaccine-doses/story/

The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday warned the public against taking four or more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine saying it could be dangerous for their health as it is yet to be approved by health experts.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire stressed that while COVID-19 jabs are proven safe and effective, people still need to be wary in receiving doses more than what was approved by experts.

She said they have received reports that several individuals have taken four, five, and even six doses of the anti-COVID vaccine.

“What I can say is it would be dangerous. We have to understand that these vaccines are only in their Phase 3 trials so although it has been approved already, has been studied that it is safe and effective, but we need to monitor for long-term effects of these vaccines,” Vergeire said in an ANC interview.

"It could be dangerous for their health as it is yet to be approved by health experts." So, once its approved by experts then it's not dangerous anymore? Is that how science works? Amazing.

Another Late Delivery From PhilPost

On July 13th, 2021 I ordered two books from the Book Depository which is in London. For some unknown reason the packages did not arrive in the Philippines until January. I understand it takes a long time for mail to reach this backwater in Southeast Asia but during that same timeframe I ordered a book from the USA in September which arrived a month later. A seven month wait for a package to enter the Philippines is ridiculous. Did it get stuck in China? 

Even more ridiculous is that it took a month and a half for PhilPost to send these books my way and then a further two weeks until I finally received them on March 22, 2022. That is completely unacceptable. What is up with PhilPost? Why are they so slow? 

If you are wondering what the books I ordered are, well here you go:

I would say these are the last books I will ever order again but that's not likely. How much longer will it take for them to be delivered next time?

Insurgency: There is No Such Thing as Red-Tagging

This week the spokesperson for Haran surrendered and laid bare the NPA's links to the IP community.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1169859

A communist rebel who was once the face of the controversial UCCP-Haran "bakwit" (evacuee) saga in this city has surrendered to the government.

Jong Monzon, former secretary-general of the "Pasakaday Salugpongan Kalimodan" (PASAKA), confirmed suspicions that the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) was behind the ploy to use the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in a public campaign to demonize the military.

Several military officials have accused the rebels of exploiting tribe members to pressure government troops in abandoning hinterland areas under the influence of the CPP-NPA.

In a virtual press conference organized by the Army's 701st Brigade (701Bde) Tuesday afternoon, Monzon--whose real name is Cristoni "Jun" Latiban Monzon--said the Haran evacuees were also "exploited" by the CPP-NPA to gain financing for their anti-government activities.

"I think the media can still remember my name: I was assigned in UCCP-Haran (in Davao City) where the IPs were gathered to pose as evacuees (bakwits in local dialect). We were there, as mandated by the leaders of the CPP-NPA, to act as their best defense. We were told to cry for human rights violation," Monzon, 29, said. 

"The role of IPs in the CPP is to pose as their "proof" that there is indeed harassment against them by military troops. In truth, this is only being used...to show to the potential sponsors or partners. The CPP profits a lot by asking support from the international community, universities, and hospitals here," Monzon alleged.

It's rather interesting that Monzon did not say who exactly is sending money to the CPP. If he knows its being done then he should know who some of these donors are. Of course it could be that he did name them but the reporter censored it.

One ex-NPA leader says his surrender will cause a domino effect spelling the end of the NPA in Mindanao.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1170313

With the surrender of the face of the controversial UCCP-Haran "bakwit" (evacuee) group recently, a former rebel leader said the New People’s Army’s (NPA) "urban parliamentary struggle" is heading for collapse.

In an interview, Ariane Jane Ramos, former secretary of the NPA Guerrilla Front (GF) 55, Sub-Regional Committee 5 (SRC)-Southern Mindanao Regional Command (SMRC), said the surrender of Jong Monzon has caused a massive blow to the “bakwit” school.

Monzon is the former secretary-general of the "Pasakaday Salugpongan Kalimodan" (PASAKA), the Indigenous People's group behind the "bakwit" controversy that the military said was a front for the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA (CPP-NPA).

“The Haran will now protect its legality. As we all know, Jong is the legal face of Haran. However, they are now exposed, and they are now left with two options: to surrender or become members of the NPA,” she told the Philippine News Agency Monday night.

Ramos said the collapse of the Haran group would create a domino effect on the entire SMRC.

“The stronghold of SMRC in the entire region is Haran. With what happens, they will find it hard to recruit and organize as other organizations are also affected,” she said.

The NPA’s urban parliamentary struggle, Ramos, is primarily conducted through protests and rallies involving members of the rebel group's unarmed legal fronts.

These legal fronts are likely what Monzon meant by the CPP soliciting money from the international community and universities. Despite the AFP's assertion that these groups are fronts for the CPP they remain legal while the CPP is listed as a terrorist group. If these groups operated the way as claimed why have they been allowed to exist for so long? Rather than shutting them down all the government can do is red-tag them. A former rebel claims the charge of red-tagging is just a cover by the communists to protect their legal fronts.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1170297

A former rebel has revealed that "red tagging" is a term concocted and being used by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) to protect their so-called "legal fronts" such as Party-list groups Kabataan, Anak Bayan, Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Karapatan and ACT-Teachers from culpability.

“Red tagging is a word used by the communist group to cover and protect its legal fronts which the Commission on Election has unwittingly accredited via the party-list system. We can see them in Congress," Cristoni “Jong” Latiban Monzon alias Ka-Franco said during Monday’s virtual press briefing of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

Monzon, who had just recently surrendered to government forces along with two other rebels, served as a former political instructor of the CPP-NPA-NDF’s Regional Operations Command, Southern Mindanao Regional Committee.

He confirmed that Kabataan, Anakbayan, Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Karapatan and ACT-Teachers are part and parcel of the CPP-NPA-NDF, and cautioned students and other young voters not to be swayed by the deceitful propaganda of the communist movement's so-called legal fronts.

This guy is being completely disingenuous. If only those alleged fronts were labeled as such by the AFP then he might have a point. But the fact is many people and groups are maliciously red-tagged by the PNP and AFP who later on have to issue an apology. This week two bookstores were vandalized and red-tagged.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1572750/__trashed-105

Solidaridad Bookshop in Manila was vandalized on Tuesday, the same day that the Quezon City-based Popular Bookstore’s metal gate and signage were sprayed with red graffiti.

According to Solidaridad employee Cesar Quinagan, he and his coworkers discovered the signboard sprayed with red paint as they were preparing to open the store around 7 a.m.

“There were no words written,” he told the Inquirer. In the case of Popular Bookstore, the words “NPA Terorista” were spray-painted, referring to the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

Groups expressed alarm on Wednesday over the vandalism of the two bookstores, with progressive faculty and academic staff at the University of the Philippines saying it was “no doubt another attack on academic freedom and critical thinking.”

“The hostile environment against learning appears to be the handiwork of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), the same state entity that instigated the pullout of progressive books in some libraries since 2021,” the Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy said in a statement.

The management of Popular Bookstore, founded by Joaquin Po in 1945 and carrying works by authors from both the Left and the Right, said the NTF-Elcac and its allied groups might have been behind the vandalism.

Asked to comment, NTF-Elcac spokesperson Lorraine Badoy expressed ignorance of Popular Bookstore’s existence, saying: “I don’t even know [it].”

She added: “I will not dignify this obvious CPP-NPA-NDF (National Democratic Front of the Philippines) hogwash with an intelligent response.”

Last Oct. 21, Demetrio Anduyan Jr., director of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) in the Cordillera, issued Regional Memorandum No. 113 calling on colleges and universities to take part in the “regionwide removal of subversive materials both in libraries and online platforms.”

These materials were described as “literatures, references, publications, resources and items that contain pervasive ideologies of the communist-terrorist groups.”

Anduyan said the CHEd was supportive of the Duterte administration’s “whole of nation” approach in establishing the NTF-Elcac.

The NTF-ELCAC may not be behind the vandalizing of these bookstores but Lorraine Badoy's comment is quite telling. Is she insisting that the Reds vandalized these bookstores to make the NTF-ELCAC look bad? They already look bad by their constant red-tagging. Of course Badoy claims there is no such thing as red-tagging.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1170503

No one is “red-tagging,” National Task Force to end Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson for sectoral concerns and Presidential Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy said on Wednesday.

In a statement, Badoy said “the term red-tagging is just a tool” of front organizations of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), to silence those who speak against them “to blow their cover.”

“There is no such thing as ‘red-tagging’. No less than the Supreme Court has ruled that there is no danger to life, liberty, and security when one is identified as a member of the CPP-NPA-NDF,” Badoy said.

She noted the NTF-ELCAC is standing firm in its duty of telling the truth to the Filipino people.

“The time for silencing us is long past. It is now time for the CPP-NPA-NDF to shut up,” she added

It's incredible how much of a liar Lorraine Badoy is. Did she take an oath to lie every time she speaks? The fact is she and the NTF-ELCAC have repeatedly red-tagged groups and individuals placing them in harms way.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1573277/badoy-says-red-tagging-not-dangerous-but-427-slain-activists-show-otherwise

While Lorraine Badoy said that red-tagging is not dangerous, at least 427 activists—slain after they were red-tagged—could show otherwise, according to the human rights group Karapatan, which itself had been red-tagged.

The “Danger in Dissent: Counterterrorism and Human Rights in the Philippines” report by the International Commission of Jurists stressed that red-tagging often has deadly consequences, saying that there were people who were killed after they were red-tagged.

This, however, did not stop Badoy, one of the spokespersons of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) from saying that Vice President Leni Robredo is conspiring with communist rebels.

Last March 14, Badoy said that since Joma Sison, the founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), endorsed Robredo on Twitter, it was proof “that this marriage made in the bowels of hell has been consummated.”

Even without evidence, Badoy said that the Makabayan bloc’s endorsement of Robredo was an endorsement of the Central Committee of the CPP, New People’s Army (NPA) and the National Democratic Front (NDF).

Robredo and the CPP dismissed Badoy’s “new low”. The Vice President, who is running for president, said no coalition government is being contemplated while the CPP said it has not made any agreement with anyone.

The trail of those left in the wake of being red-tagged is very long and includes even a young lady who set up a community pantry. Lorraine Badoy is also wrong about the Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court has never issued any ruling saying red-tagging does not endanger a person or that red-tagging does not exist.

https://verafiles.org/articles/vera-files-fact-check-badoy-wrong-ph-courts-did-not-say-red

Although the CA decision, penned by Associate Justice Mario Lopez, indeed said there is lack of “substantial evidence to establish the petitioners’ allegations” against the government’s violation and threat to their rights to life, liberty, security, and privacy, among others, nowhere in the ruling does it assert there is no red-tagging.

National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) Secretary General Edre Olalia, in an April 7 Facebook (FB) post, said Badoy was taking the decision out of context. He said:

“She got it all wrong and mixed up. SC never said that. CA ruling was pro hac vice and is in fact pending review by the SC … If she was a lawyer, she would have been disciplined for wrong attribution and erroneous citation for cherry picking out of context.”

Lorraine Badoy is a disgrace. She should never have been appointed to the NTF-ELCAC.

The Mayor of Baguio was maliciously red-tagged because he ordered the take down of anti-terrorism posters.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1567759/baguio-mayor-bans-red-tagging-posters-tarps

Mayor Benjamin Magalong has directed the police in Baguio City to take down any tarpaulin or poster that imply or explicitly tie local activists to the communist movement and its military arm, the New People’s Army.

Magalong, who chairs the Cordillera Regional Peace and Order Council, gave this order to Col. Glenn Lonogan, the city’s police director, on Saturday during a dialogue with activists, including students, who said they felt unsafe in the city after they were harassed online because they were falsely linked to communist rebels.

Members of the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA) and its affiliate organizations met Magalong, after these groups were declared persona non grata by two Baguio villages and labeled as “communist front organizations” in several other towns and provinces in the Cordillera.

Magalong said he would also ask for a review of how the Cordillera’s anti-insurgency program had been executed.

He acknowledged the “evil” that red-tagging does to the psyche of young people, adding it robbed “people of their dignity, especially if [these actions] are designed to destroy the reputation of people.”

“If you don’t feel safe in Baguio, that means I have problems as the chief executive,” Magalong told the group

Louise Montenegro, a student of the University of the Philippines Baguio, said she had been “humiliated” and threatened with rape or physical assault online because of social media posts identifying her as a “communist terrorist” that could have been generated or shared by the police and some government agencies.

Montenegro was among the students who petitioned a local court for a writ of amparo in March 2021, which required the police to track and shut down 24 Facebook accounts responsible for a smear campaign targeting the youths, said their counsel, human rights lawyer Francesca Macli-ing Claver.

Six of these accounts turned out to have emerged from official social media pages of police offices in the Cordillera, which were eventually taken down, she said.

“We are not communists [and] we are not rebel combatants,” said Jeoff Larua, secretary general of Tongtongan ti Umili, but were labeled as such even by the police, endangering their lives and their families.

If the PNP or AFP have any evidence that a group or person is a terrorist then the right course of action is to take them down and arrest them. Hanging up posters or sharing Facebook posts condemning them will not solve the problem.

Funnily enough Senator Lacson, who baselessly claimed that Leni Robredo had formed an alliance with the CPP-NPA, says it's unfair to accuse Mayor Magalong of protecting terrorists.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2022/03/23/2169347/lacson-unfair-accuse-baguios-magalong-protecting-communist-rebels

"It is very unfair to accuse Mayor Magalong of protecting the CPP/NPA/NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front)," Lacson told Philstar.com in an online exchange on Wednesday.

"He risked his life so many times when he was still an AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and PNP (Philippine National Police) officer fighting the communist rebels and urban insurgents and the worst that anyone can do is to accuse him of protecting them," Lacson, a former chief of the PNP, said.

The hypocrisy of Lacson knows no bounds. He was willing to red-tag Robredo based on unsubstantiated claims but is not willing to do the same with this guy. Why? Because Lacson is just another politically motivated hack.

The NTF-ELCAC has not stayed silent about this matter. They have publicly condemned the Mayor and linked him with the Reds.

https://www.ntfelcac.org/post/on-mayor-benjie-magalong-s-directives-that-give-cover-to-the-cpp-npa-ndf-front-kabataan-partylist

Mayor Magalong’s recent directive to the police force of Baguio to forbid the posting of tarpaulins that speak the truth about KABATAAN- that it is a front of the CPP NPA NDF is in direct violation of our President’s directive and when posted in private property is a violation of the freedom of expression.

And so are his orders for them to take down these tarpaulins that educate our children about these deceitful partylist that asks our trust in the coming elections while at the same time lying to us about who it is they truly are. 

Magalong also uses the term, redtagging, a weapon he fully knows is used by the CPP NPA NDF to silence anyone who speaks the truth about their deceitful fronts and that our courts including the Supreme Court have already clearly ruled: “there is no danger to life, liberty and security when one is identified as a member of the CPP NPA NDF”. 

Mayor Magalong claims he is doing all that because he cares for our children- while at the same time lending his powerful protection to the terrorist CPP NPA NDF front, KABATAAN Partylist- the top recruiter of our children into the criminal NPA for which an UNBEARABLE number of them have died while fighting government troops and an even more UNBEARABLE number of them now lie in shallow unmarked graves across the country, lost to the mothers and fathers who, doubtless, searched the ends of the earth for them. 

The tragedy to all these is Mayor Magalong is fully cognizant of all these. 

The only silver lining to this betrayal by Mayor Magalong of not just the people of Baguio but the Republic of the Philippines is that he has made it exceedingly clear to our people why this communist terrorist scourge has lasted as long as it has: it’s not just because of the tenacious deceit of the terrorist CPP NPA NDF but also because of politicians like Mayor Magalong who participate in the deceit and who would put our children in harm’s way and who think nothing of continuing the grief, the bloodbath and the destruction of our country for their own selfish political gains.

Clearly Mayor Benjie Magalong is no Mayor Digong Duterte whose love for country can never be questioned and whose courage to defend and protect us from these terrorists is legendary and unparalleled. 

The author of this statement is Lorraine Badoy who is the red-tagging queen and is being sued for being such. Is she so stupid and unaware that Duterte, while Mayor of Davao gave his full support to the CPP-NPA? He told people to pay the NPA taxes, he personally gave them millions of pesos, he welcomed them and agreed with their cause (though not their methods), and he publicly thanked them for voting him into office. 

I would disagree whole heartedly with Badoy's assessment of why the Communist Revolution has lasted for 53 years. A lot of the blame must be assigned to the bungling AFP. I have written extensively about the insurgency and the fact that the AFP have no idea what they are doing. They have declared areas insurgency free only for them to flare back up again! When Duterte leaves office if the NPA gains strength people will blame the President. Even more so if the winner is not Marcos. But the cold hard fact is the AFP will be to blame. 

The Shameful Legacy of the Duterte Administration

When we talk about Duterte's legacy we cannot simply refer to Duterte alone. He is one man who ultimately does nothing but give orders. He does not control the economy or the military or the police or any other group. He gives directions and the men who run the various organizations do their best to follow his directions. But what if there were no President? Would the PNP and AFP then be left without a mission? It seems that is the case. 

If Duterte's legacy is that the drug problem was finally squashed that is a shameful condemnation of the PNP, PDEA, and other groups tasked with enforcing drug laws.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1145584

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar on Thursday acknowledged that the anti-illegal drug campaign is one of the main achievements of the Duterte Administration.

Eleazar's statement came following Presidential Spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque’s assessment that the anti-illegal drugs campaign is among the administration's achievements.

"Out of 42,045 barangays, 21,891 barangays have been cleared. Ngayon lang nangyari ito sa kapanahunan ng Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte (This only happened during the term of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte)," Eleazar said.

Latest government data also showed that during 200,632 anti-illegal drug operations by the different law enforcement agencies since 2016, a total of 289,622 suspects were arrested while 6,117 suspects were killed.

The total value of illegal drugs and laboratory equipment confiscated in these anti-illegal drug operations was placed at PHP59.14 billion. Eleazar vowed that the PNP would remain relentless in its anti-illegal drug operations and in its drive to put a stop to the illegal drug trade.

"This only happened during the term of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte." Do these people even stop to think about what they are saying? Why is it that only during Duterte's time as president that the PNP have focused so heavily on the drug problem? What were they doing before 2016??  

It's not Duterte who is fighting the war on drugs. He never arrested anyone or busted a lab or engaged in a shootout or done any of the leg work required in that war. He merely told the PNP what to do and they did it. Are we to suppose that unless they are specifically told to do something the PNP will sit back and twiddle their thumbs? That seems to be the case. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1561488/fwd-duterte-hopes-his-successor-will-continue-war-on-drugs

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday expressed hope that his successor would continue his controversial war against illegal drugs, saying he is worried that the drug problem would make a resurgence.

“Itong drugs, I hope that whoever would sit as President, would continue this — if not the ferocity that I did, and I accept it, maski man lang ‘yung a little lower than my standard,” he said in a taped public address aired on Tuesday morning.

(I hope that whoever sits as President would continue the initiative — if not the ferocity that I did, maybe just a little lower than my standard.)

(Because it will destroy our country. I am very worried about the resurgence of the drug problem.)

He said the continuation of the campaign against illegal drugs would protect the next generation because “they will have a serious problem in their hands” if the drug problem is not mitigated.

(If the drug problem is so serious now, if you don’t meet it with as much intensity, you will lose.)

Is there really a Presidential candidate who is pro-drugs? Brain-dead morons would say Leni but I digress. The fact is this headline should read "Duterte hopes the PNP will continue the war on drugs" because it is the PNP along with the PDEA who is tasked with implementing and enforcing those laws. 

This is not to say there was no enforcement of the drug laws before Duterte. There certainly were big busts under the Aquino administration. But there was no drug war as it exists under Duterte. Why is that? Perhaps the PNP simply did not care to really squash the problem especially since there are many drug dealers and users within their ranks. 

The fact of criminality within the PNP is another issue. The latest number has the number of dismissed cops since 2016 at over 5,000.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/01/19/2154963/pnp-over-5000-cops-dismissed-service-under-internal-cleansing

Over 5,000 errant cops have been sacked after motu proprio investigations on alleged abuses and illicit activities as part of the Philippine National Police's regular audit of line units, it said in its latest update on its internal cleansing program.

In a statement sent to reporters Tuesday, Police Gen. Dionardo Carlos, PNP chief disclosed that of 37,124 administrative cases being handled by the Internal Affairs Service, 35,297 have been tagged as closed from July 2016 to Jan. 12, 2022.

“It is with deep sadness to know that the PNP is stained with erring cops. These undesirable members of the organization must face the consequences of their actions,” Carlos said.

“Public service means embracing scrutiny [but] we will let the numbers speak for themselves," he also said. 

This, while the PNP added that "more than 20,000 personnel" have been meted with penalties on the gravity of the offense committed, mostly faced suspension while "some 5,000 police officers" were slapped with dismissal from service, from July 2016 to December 2021.

The PNP's public information office did not respond to requests for a breakdown of the exact figures. As of August 2021, 5,151 officers were dismissed from service while 18,664 cops were also penalized for various offenses.

I suppose they use July 2016 as a marker to show that Duterte has been hard on crime especially within the ranks of the PNP. But really Duterte has nothing to do with it. Once again the onus falls on the PNP to cleanse its ranks but even to this day they are filled with good-for-nothing-lollygaggers, criminals, and idiots. I document this every week in my Retards in the Government series. When Duterte leaves office are we to believe that criminality within the ranks of the PNP will increase? 

The fact is too much blame or praise is given to the President when he is merely a figurehead. He does not make laws or actually enforce them. His underlings do that. Rather than heap praise or blame on Duterte for the war on drugs what we should be asking is what is the problem with the PNP, PDEA, and NBI? Why have they let the drug problem get out of control? Why did they not tackle this issue with gusto long before Duterte?  Why do they need to be reminded to enforce the drug laws when that is part of their job? Will they once again go slack when Duterte leaves office?

Duterte's legacy is a complex thing to navigate. A lot has happened in six years and we still need the distance of time to see the bigger picture. But in the case of the drug war Duterte's legacy can be distilled more easily. Duterte's legacy is that he has exposed the shamefulness of the PNP, PDEA, and NBI in their lax stance about enforcing the drug laws. 

Filipina Sells Baby to Pay Off Online Cockfighting Debt

Cockfighting is the scourge of the Philippines. Billions are wasted every year on raising fighting cocks. Land which could be used for more productive purposes is devoted to housing these birds. Due to the nature of gambling cockfighting attracts criminals and breeds crime. Recently the Senate held hearings concerning the more then 30 sabungeros or cockfighters who have disappeared over the past few months. They have probably been murdered over gambling debts. 

Debt is a natural byproduct of cockfighting. People lay wager after wager and lose big. One lady owed P45,000 in gambling debts. Of course she paid that debt off the only way she knew how, by selling her baby.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/familyandrelationships/825588/woman-sells-her-9-month-old-baby-to-pay-for-e-sabong-debt/story/

A woman sold her nine-month-old baby for P45,000 to pay for the debt she incurred while betting on e-sabong and for other living expenses.

According to “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho,” the woman, “Carla,” served as an agent of online sabong for extra income but she eventually got hooked into placing her own bets.

It reached a point where she was unable to pay the money she borrowed, so she thought about selling one of her kidneys.

[“Someone posted about buying kidneys, I commented. They offered 1.5 [million]. The 500,000 will go to the agent and I will receive the P1 million. But it didn’t go through.”]

Where was she looking online for selling kidneys? Facebook? Is it safe to say that cockfighting debts plays a role in the blackmarket organ trade?

As the lenders kept asking for their money back, Carla became stressed and felt cornered. She couldn’t think of any other way to get some cash, so she thought about selling her own baby.

She posted about it in a closed group online, where she eventually met a buyer who initially offered P20,000.

[“I said I have another buyer who has a bigger offer. [We negotiated] up to 45,000. [The buyer said] that they will make the adoption legal and hire a lawyer.”]

Asked whether she had second thoughts about pushing through with the transaction, Carla said doubts did cross her mind. But she couldn’t think of anything else to do.

Who did this lady borrow money from in order to gamble? Obviously it was not from a bank. Doubtful it was from a legal private lender. More likely it was from a 5-6 lender which is 100% illegal. Is it safe to say that cockfighting plays a role in the blackmarket lending economy?

Pretty sad that this lady could think of no better way to pay her debt than to sell her baby.

She went to a fast food restaurant in Quezon City and met with someone, but it was not the person she spoke to online.

[“She was not wearing a face mask. She has light skin, slightly chubby, small eyes, and a tall nose. She had me sign something so I would not ask for my child back.”]

The baby was sleeping when Carla handed her over. After the transaction, however, the mother had a change of heart.

[“After I hailed a taxi, I sent a chat to the buyer, asking for my child back. I told her that I will return the money. But she had already blocked me.”]

Carla used P7,000 of the money she received to buy a cellphone. She then paid for her debt and gave P30,000 to her aunt for safekeeping.

Some change of heart. Seems it was not enough of a change of heart to not use the money.  The money does not add up either. If her debt was P45,000 then she spent P82,000. But she said she negotiated to P45,000. The numbers don't add up but that is the least of the problems with this story.

She left her live-in partner, “Ben,” in the dark about the transaction. She made an excuse about leaving their baby with her mother, and then said she bought the phone for P2,000 from a friend. She also deleted her chat messages with the buyer.

Ben felt something was off about Carla’s excuses. When he asked her to video call her mother so he could see their child, she burst into tears and confessed everything.

After learning the truth, it was Ben’s turn to break down.

[“I cried. I asked her, ‘Why did you do that?’ I couldn’t accept it. I told her, ‘You might be the only woman who would do that to her own child!’”]

This lady is stupid. Stupid beyond belief. Did she really think her boyfriend would never find out? Did she really think she could just sell her baby and no one would care? 

The NBI got on the case right away and in just a little over a week they found the baby.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1572342/nbi-rescues-baby-sold-by-mother-to-pay-off-debt

An 8-month-old baby girl was rescued by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Laguna after being sold by her mother to pay off her debt.

The baby’s father said his daughter was rescued by NBI operatives in Laguna on Tuesday after they received information that the child was in Calamba City.

(We went there and we saw the house. We tailed the vehicle that left the house.)

(We followed the vehicle that left the house of those who took my child until we reached Sta. Cruz, Laguna. We cornered the woman when he alighted the vehicle to buy fruits, then we saw my daughter.)

The baby is currently in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, according to her father.

He said the DSWD has promised to later return the baby to him.

Earlier reports said that the baby’s mother pleaded for help to recover her daughter after she regretted having sold the baby for P45,000 to pay off her e-sabong (online cockfighting) debt.

But in her Teleradyo interview, she said her debt was not because of e-sabong and that she only owes P10,000.

“(I had a debt but it was not due to e-sabong),” she said.

However, she admitted to having participated in online cockfighting.

Unbelievable. This lady's debt was only P10,000 and now she claims is was not related to cockfighting. She sold her baby for $200! Well, at least the NBI was able to rescue the baby. ABS-CBN is reporting that one of those involved is a Nigerian who has overstayed his visa. I find it rather amazing at how many African criminals are operating in the Philippines. Now even shabu is being shipped to the Philippines from Africa!

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1170339

Online cockfighting exploded in 2020 during the nationwide lockdowns. People wanted to watch roosters fight to the death even if they could not be there in person. A rise in crimes has accompanied the growth of e-sabong. There have been calls to shut it down but Duterte says he will not issue such an order because of all the revenue it generates for the government.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1170051

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Thursday said e-sabong or online cockfighting in the country contributes to revenue that can be used to fund the government’s Universal Health Care (UHC) program.

In a speech in Palo, Leyte, Duterte reiterated that the government has earned over PHP640 million monthly since January from the online gambling activity.

“E-sabong gives the government PHP642 million a month. In one year, it gives the government billions,” he said.

Aside from providing funding for hospitals and medicine, he said revenues generated from e-sabong can also be used for education and infrastructure.

Duterte said temporarily closing down the businesses of operators without any violations would be unfair.

“It's not the fault of the management...it's the fault of evil men doing something wrong,” he added.

Duterte should ask himself why evil men are attracted to cockfighting. It's because the nature of cockfighting is evil. Gambling compromises men and presses them to do unspeakable acts like selling their baby or organs. In the case of one cop he resorted to robbery to pay his debts. In essence Duterte is saying ruined lives pay for universal healthcare and infrastructure and he is fine with that. How charming.

The Philippines needs to end cockfighting. The civilized world long ago outlawed animal fighting. The Philippines may think they are in the modern world with all the Western comforts of tennis shoes, McDonald's, and the internet but that is just a sheen to cover the truth. The truth is that the Philippines remains backwards and there is no better symbol of that than the fighting cock strutting his stuff over the internet. It's like using a fridge for tool storage.