Martial Law: No Live Target

The first big event of the 14th week of martial law in Mindanao was that the AFP recaptured the police station.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/623073/gov-t-troops-regains-control-of-marawi-city-police-station/story/

Government forces have already regained control of the police station in Marawi City, GMA News' Sandra Aguinaldo reported on "24 Oras," Wednesday. 

The military remains mum on the buildings that they were able to take back from the terrorist group. But officials said there are several important buildings under their control, including some mosques. 

"We have taken over strategic locations within the main battle area. In fact 'yung mga locations po na ito ay areas where we can launch further assault into the area," said Col. Romeo Brawner, deputy commander of Joint Task Group Ranao.

Creeping ever closer to victory the AFP also captured several other important buildings within the main battle zone.  But it was not until a few days later that the second biggest event of the week occurred when they captured the most symbolic of all the buildings in Marawi: The Grand Mosque.  Coincidently President Duterte showed up a few hours later.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/925414/marawi-city-maute-group-islamic-state-president-duterte-mosque-eduardo-ano

President Rodrigo Duterte traveled Thursday to the main battle zone in southern Marawi after Philippine troops finally recaptured a main mosque where Islamic State-linked militants had taken cover with their hostages in the three-month siege of the city, the military said.

Clad in a combat uniform, protective vest and helmet, Duterte congratulated the troops for regaining control of the Islamic Center, an indication they are nearing the final stage in ending the disastrous uprising. It was Duterte’s third known trip to the embattled city.

“I need to be with you to show my solidarity,” Duterte was quoted by officials as telling the troops.

How did Duterte show his solidarity with the troops? In the most characteristic way possible. By dressing up in a costume and staging a photo-op.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/925705/marawi-maute-group-islamic-state-president-duterte-terrorism-2

On his third visit to war-ravaged Marawi City, President Duterte fired a sniper rifle at positions held by Islamic State (IS)-linked gunmen to show solidarity with government troops who have been fighting the terrorists for the past three months, officials said on Friday. 

During his visit on Thursday, Mr. Duterte inspected a devastated community where he spoke with troops and fired the rifle twice from a military sniper’s nest, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said. 

“The President wanted to be at the front line, so he went to the main battle area,” Padilla told reporters in Malacañang. 

The President was in a combat uniform, wore a helmet and bulletproof vest and carried his own rifle. A collector of guns, including many sniper rifles, Mr. Duterte knew what he was doing, Padilla said.

This was of course all fake.  Every bit of it a piece of carefully crafted propaganda.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/623355/duterte-had-no-live-target-when-he-fired-sniper-rifle-in-marawi-palace/story/

President Rodrigo Duterte did not have a live target when he used a sniper rifle fired at enemy positions on his third visit in Marawi City, Malacañang said on Friday.

Nothing says solidarity with the troops like showing up in battle gear and firing a rifle at nothing. 

Don't think for a moment this is not propaganda. Ex-sexy dancer turned sexy blogger turned sexy propagandist for the Duterte administration Mocha Uson also visited Marawi  with the President and she did not wear full battle gear. If the danger is so high that there was a requirement for protective gear to be worn why wasn't she wearing any protection of any kind? Because it is better propaganda to see the Commander-in-Chief dressed in full combat gear and firing a weapon (this instills patriotism and confidence in Duterte) and to allow Mocha Uson to cavort with the troops in such a way that does not cover up her "sexiness" (this allows her followers and the AFP to gawk at the pretty lady for her body and her bravery in coming to Marawi).

Propaganda

After retaking the Grand Mosque the big question is: Where did everybody go?  Where are the hostages?  Where are the Maute Group fighters? They moved to other buildings!

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/25/17/fighting-reignites-near-marawi-mosque

The firefight was 100 meters away from the mosque, an ABS-CBN News source said 

The source added that the Maute group transferred to nearby buildings after state forces retook the mosque.

No hostages. No Maute fighters.  No anybody.  Not even dead bodies. How is picking off 40 fighters proving to be so difficult? Imagine if the region was flooded with ISIS fighters.  Would the AFP be able to handle them all?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/25/islamic-state-urges-muslim-extremists-wage-war-inphilippine/ 

In the seven-minute long video, produced by Isil’s Al Hayat media centre, a fighter identified as Abul-Yaman from Marawi, appeals to Muslim brothers in East Asia, particularly those in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand and Singapore to migrate to the city “to perform jihad.”

The terrorist group then turns its ire on Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, for running to “his masters, the defenders of the cross, America, along with their regional guard dog Australia” to beg them for help.

What's ironic is that ISIS thinks Duterte is running to the USA for help even calling them one of his masters.  While it may appear that way from the outside,

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/159985/president-duterte-north-korea-admiral-harry-harris-jr-nuclear-attacks-guam

Duterte doesn't think so.

Earlier this week, the president said that he will not invoke the defense treaty with the US if the Philippines confronts China in its violations in the South China Sea, and if the latter chooses the aggressive path. 

"I will not call on America. I have lost trust in the Americans," Duterte said, known for his personal stance against the US.

"Everyone knows that President Duterte doesn’t like or trust the United States, and perhaps this was always his position on the MDT, but why say it publicly?" Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, told Philstar.com.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/08/24/1732267/analyst-dutertes-stance-puts-defense-capability-risk

More ISIS fighters in Mindanao would propel the humanitarian crisis, which the government denies exists, to spiral out of control. 

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/623327/after-int-l-aid-groups-sound-alarm-ocd-denies-humanitarian-crisis-in-marawi-city/story/

If there is one thing the Philippine government is good at it's denial.  Denying ISIS is in the region. Denying that China is encroaching on Philippine territory. And now denying that there is a humanitarian crisis in Marawi. The fact is the humanitarian crisis in Marawi started long ago.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/08/21/17/shattered-lives-marawis-refugees

"On the first day, we weren't too bothered because it was just gunshots. Marawi has always been very chaotic: family feuds or fights over women and money. They're called 'rido' (honour killings). When it's a 'rido', the police don't bother following up." 

"But on the second day, when the bombing started, it was really scary. We knew we had to leave. There were brownouts so we couldn't charge our hand-phones. We had no food. Then, the Maute sent people out to look for men to fight. I hid. They even sent their women door-to-door to search for fighters. 

"Finally, on the third day, we escaped. I couldn't fit them all (he gestures to his kids) on my motorbike, so I had to leave it behind. We piled onto my brother-in-law's Hilux truck along with my wife's family. We could only bring the clothes we were wearing at the time.” 

“We didn't have much. But we've lost it all—at least PHP13000. The house was right in the centre of town in the Barangay Marinaut and that's been burnt down! I saw it on TV. I curse Marawi. I don't want to go back. I just want my children to go to school. I sell some of the canned foods they give us every day at the shelter to pay for their schooling."

When you live in an area where the sound of gunfire doesn't bother you because it's "just gunshots" and police don't even care to investigate murders because they are only honour killings then you are living in the midst of a humanitarian crisis.  The way this man talks about his life as if such chaos is completely normal is a tragedy. It's hard to imagine what could be done to change such a horrible situation. If everything were to go back to normal tomorrow all the degeneracy of life in Marawi would surely reappear.

For those who say that Mindanao is safe, they should think twice.

Mindanao is a patchwork of local magnates: the former Davao Mayor and now President Rodrigo Duterte is a classic example. For nearly two decades, he ruled his city firmly, creating a rare haven of peace and prosperity. As Manila's authority fluctuated; men (and women) such as Duterte were literally the law in their respective bailiwicks. However, if you were to drive just a few miles from Davao, the "Pax Duterte” totally evaporates.  

On the one hand, there is an “alphabet soup” of Muslim groups –from the MNLF to the MILF. Indeed, the Maute were an MILF splinter group led by Abdullah Maute, founder of a so-called “Islamic State” in Lanao. If that wasn't complicated enough, Mindanao is also a major theatre of operations for the Communist fighters, the NPA. It's a confusing blur of religion, ideology, separatism and criminality.  

http://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/08/21/17/shattered-lives-marawis-refugees

As the AFP prepares for the final assault on Marawi,

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/08/28/1733447/troops-preparing-final-assault-vs-maute

it must be remembered that there is more work to be done in the area after the city is retaken and the Maute Group is defeated.

As long as terrorism and the ideologies which foster terrorism are allowed to thrive in Mindanao making the island "a confusing blur of religion, ideology, separatism and criminality," and this has been the case for decades, the whole island will remain in the midst of a humanitarian crisis.  The fight will never be over until the Philippines can take off its blinders and stop living in denial of the threats that face the country from within and from without.

Let's Pretend

Last week President Duterte admitted that he cannot control the drug problem. Now he is repeating that admission seemingly to make him seem human after the recent spat of killings in the drug war.  It's the admission of a mistake. And see how brave it makes Duterte because he is only human after all and it takes a real man to own up to his mistakes. Never mind that his whole campaign was built on the promise of ridding the Philippines of drugs.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/08/26/1732881/rody-admits-i-cant-end-shabu-menace

“Nangako ako that I will do away with the shabu. Ngayon, alam ko na na hindi ito matutupad, na hindi talaga matapos ‘to (I promised that I will do away with shabu. Now I know it won’t be fulfilled, that this really will not end),” Duterte told soldiers in Marawi on Thursday afternoon. 

But he vowed to pursue his campaign against drugs despite the seeming hopelessness of the effort.

What is the public supposed to do in the face of this admission?  Duterte has broken his promise. Now what? Is it time for his ouster?  Time for another revolution?

He appealed to the public that he be given another chance to work in the remaining five years of his administration to make life more comfortable for Filipinos. 

Duterte admitted his administration is facing a host of problems, but he said with the cooperation of the people, it would be able to surmount all the challenges and make the country progressive.

Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 

“Pretend that I am doing well. Just give me the remaining years. Five years pa naman. And we will build a strong country and a strong Armed Forces and police,” he said.

The public is now supposed to ignore all the problems Duterte admits exists and the fact that he cannot make good on his keystone promise and simply pretend that everything is fine. As if pretending will make everything bad go away.

It's not as if this is an outrageous thing to ask. The entire nation is living in a pretend world. Pinoy pride infects everyone to the point that the state of the nation is exalted to such a degree that none of the Philippines' many faults are recognised and when those faults are pointed out the response is outrage that they have been revealed rather then introspection and a questioning of how to remedy those faults. Foreigners and natives both make excuses for the Philippines' many failings.

So let's play pretend.

Let's pretend the Philippines cares about the environment.

https://www.rappler.com/science-nature/environment/108276-philippines-plastic-pollution-ocean-conservancy-study

Let's pretend that when Duterte was mayor of Davao everyone was safe.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2016/04/02/1568394/murder-rate-highest-davao-city-pnp

Let's pretend that Manny Pacquiao lost unfairly to Jeff Horn.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-06/manny-pacquiao-backs-calls-to-review-loss-to-jeff-horn/8682708

Let's pretend that Chidren are safe in the Philippines.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4507338/Children-forced-sex-mothers-money.html

https://www.rappler.com/nation/171641-philippines-worst-place-children-growing-up

Let's pretend that anyone in the Philippines cares about the rule of law.

https://hrdmemorial.org/fr/philippines-legal-system-under-attack-as-7th-lawyer-shot-dead/

Let's pretend that banning smoking will make the air safer to breathe. 

https://www.untvweb.com/news/vehicles-top-contributor-air-pollution-philippines-denr/

Let's pretend the peso is doing is doing fine and that any depreciation is wonderful.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/171641-philippines-worst-place-children-growing-up

Let's pretend that Filipinos are healthy and beautiful.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/obese-filipinos-now-ballooning/

Let's pretend that the Philippines economy is booming!

http://www.philstar.com/business/2017/03/14/1681058/unemployment-rate-increases-january-2017

This list could go on but let's end it with the most stunning game of pretend happening in the Philippines.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/ted-mcdonnell/poverty-malnutrition-and-disease-make-manilas-happyland-a-ve_a_23033108/

What is "Happyland?"

Happyland is literally built around a dump, or many dumps -- each day people wade through the rubbish looking for anything of value. Tons of chicken scraps are collected from takeaway's garbage bins then recycled by boiling. It's called 'pagpag', and it's sold to hungry families in the slums for a few pesos.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/ted-mcdonnell/poverty-malnutrition-and-disease-make-manilas-happyland-a-ve_a_23033108/

A deteriorating highly congested “refugee camp” surrounded by mini garbage dumpsites is now also known as “Happyland” — a name derived from the Visayan dialect’s name for smelly garbage: Hapilan.

http://www.rutialon.com/2013/02/philippines-happyland/

Happyland started as a toxic landfill called Hapilan, or "smelly garbage" in the local dialect, and was renamed by the locals in hope of better times. It's located about 20 minutes away from the capital city of Manila in the Philippines and photography is usually prohibited.

https://www.cnet.com/news/take-a-360-degree-virtual-journey-through-the-happyland-slum-in-the-philippines/

These people with no hope are living, eating, and playing in a literal garbage dump and with a linguist sleight of hand this awful shambles which should not exist is magically transformed into "Happyland" "in hope of better times." And despite the name change they are still dining on garbage scavenged from the rubbish which is then sold to them to eat.

In "Happyland" they are paying to eat garbage!

Such is the false magic of pretend and such is the game that Duterte is asking the public to play.

Rock-a-bye Pinoy

Rock-a-bye Pinoy in the hammock,

Safe and secure between two trucks.

When the trucks move, 

The hammock will fall.

And down will come Pinoy,

Hammock and all.

Street Tattoo Parlour

Anywhere else in the world this would not be tolerated.  But this is is the Philippines.  In the Philippines you can set up a business of any kind anywhere on a sidewalk and no one bats an eye.

You can even set up your own unregulated, unlicensed, and unsanitary tattoo parlour! Who in their right mind would risk their health by getting a tattoo from some dude on the sidewalk?

Look at that little battery which powers his needle. So cute! No way that poster is indicative of his talent. It could be but I highly doubt it.  Does he change needles?  Are the needles clean? Is he going to set out a little chair or do you have to sit on the curb? It's simply insane that this is allowed. 

And the PNP station is right around the corner!

Joke Lang!

Ever wonder what happens to a rich Philippine Senator when he dies?  Read on!

A Filipino senator is driving his Pajero down EDSA in Manila, wangwang blaring, when he gets broadsided by a jeepney with failed brakes and a drunk Pinoy driver at the wheel. As soon as emergency personnel arrive, they see the senator so they ignore the other victims and rush the senator to a hospital, but he dies because of substandard medications and incompetent doctors who got their degrees and licenses through cheating and bribes. So the senator finds himself at the Pearly Gates before St. Peter.

“Ahh, Senator Dingdong,” says St. Peter, “We have quite a file on you. So here is the plan: You will spend a day and a night in Hell, then a day and a night in Heaven, then we will let you decide where you will spend eternity.”

“It’s OK, po,” says the senator, “I made my decision na. I want to be in Heaven sirrr. I’m a proud Pinoy. I’ve been a good person. I was baptized, I had my confirmation in the church, I always went to Sunday mass. And I did many great things for my people.”

“Sorry,” replies St. Peter, “I have direct orders from the Boss Himself.”

So before the senator has a chance to respond, he is placed in an elevator and goes down…down…down…down…to Hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a beautiful tropical resort–similar to the upscale tropical resort he received as a gift from his rich friend Lucido Tan in return for political favors. He walks alongside a babbling brook and a lush green meadow with birds chirping softly all around him. Looking ahead, he sees a group of people walking toward him. 


As he gets closer he sees that they are Filipino politicians, party bosses, and rich business owners who passed away before him, with his old friend and hero Ferdinand Marcos leading the group. They greet him with big smiles, big handshakes, big hugs, and big backslaps. They then walk to a championship-grade golf course where they play a friendly game of golf.

After the game, they head to the clubhouse where they dine on filet mingon, lobster, caviar, and Dom Peringon while bragging about how they all got rich and powerful at the expense of the poor and the gullible fools in their country.

Following dinner, they relax poolside at a tiki bar where the Devil comes to greet him with a frosty drink.

“Have a margarita and relax, Senator Dingdong!” says the Devil.

“Wow, sir!” replies the senator, I never expected this in Hell!”

“Don’t believe any of that stuff they told you in church! This is the REAL Hell, the best is yet to come, and you will live like this for all of eternity!

“I promise!”

So the senator relaxes on a lounge chair, enjoys his margarita, and puffs on a fine cigar, all the while noticing how much he and the devil have in common. Then, as if things could not get better for the proud Pinoy, Ferdinand Marcos comes to escort him to a cottage where he finds 18 of the most beautiful young ladies he had ever seen–one for each of the 18 mistresses he had in his life–waiting inside. He spends the night in the cottage enjoying the best sex he ever experienced.

Morning comes, and after feasting on a sumptuous breakfast, his friends escort him to the elevator and, after bidding a hearty adieu, the happy and prideful senator goes up…up…up…up…back to the Pearly Gates.

“Now then, Senator Dingdong,” says St. Peter, “Time for you to experience Heaven.”

So the senator enters Heaven, and as soon as he passes through the gates, he finds that his pride–the one thing that defined him as a Pinoy–immediately disappears, making him feel very uncomfortable. The first person he meets is a Catholic priest, and something within the senator makes him realize that this is the priest he arranged to have murdered because the priest supported a rival political candidate. He felt really uncomfortable as soon as he noticed who he was, but the priest greeted him with a hearty “Welcome!” and a big hug as if the senator never did anything bad to him.

Then the senator recognizes an Australian missionary who he had thrown in prison because the missionary hurt the senator’s pride by calling him out on his corrupt activities; that missionary eventually died from food poisoning while in prison. He also meets a young German humanitarian worker/environmental activist who was killed when she tried to block the expansion of one of the senator’s illegal mines. After greeting him and showing abounding love and forgiveness toward him, they escort the senator to an area where he sees multitudes of young Filipino children. Suddenly, something within the senator makes him realize that many of these children died from illnesses that could have been prevented or cured if they had access to affordable health care, vitamins, clean drinking water, and nutritious food, but instead of helping these poor children he squandered government money and contributions from humanitarian organizations on pet projects to get him re-elected, vote buying schemes, kickbacks to contractors, and free circumcisions.

Others standing before him died because of complications associated with botched circumcisions at the “Operation free tuli” events he sponsored. Many others were killed in landslides or mudslides due to the illegal logging and illegal mining operations he unofficially permitted. He becomes extremely uncomfortable at the sight of all of these people whose deaths he was directly or indirectly responsible for, but to his surprise, they show no animosity toward him–instead they all extend unconditional forgiveness and abundant love–a love he was never familiar with as a Filipino. The group then escorts him to a huge banquet table where they enjoy a fabulous meal with Jesus at the head of the table showing the same love and forgiveness that everyone else showed. He enjoys it all, but he felt it lacked the party atmosphere he experienced in Hell.

There is no darkness in Heaven, but he still rests comfortably through the night on a cloud with angels all around him singing softly–something that he feels is quite boring compared to his experience in the cottage in Hell.

The next day, an angel escorts him back to the Pearly Gates. “Now then, Senator Dingdong,” says St. Peter, “You experienced Hell and you experienced Heaven. Time for you to make your decision.”

The senator mulls it over for a brief moment then says, “Well, sir, Heaven is very nice…but I really fell I should be in Hell with all my friends.”

“You made the right decision, Senator” says St. Peter, as an angel escorts him to the elevator where he goes down…down…down…down..to Hell.

The elevator doors open and he is suddenly knocked off his feet by an overwhelming stench of stale urine, much like the stench in the streets and alleyways in any city in his country. He stumbles back on his feet, steps out of the elevator, and finds himself in the middle of a disgusting slum–just like Tondo. The only light comes from the many fires burning all around him. He looks ahead in the dim light and sees a river filled with garbage, toxic waste, and raw sewage–just like the Pasig River. All around him is thick smog and an acrid stench of burning trash–just like Smoky Mountain–which fills his lungs and makes him gag and vomit. In near disbelief over what he sees, he trudges through the mud and sludge and finds his friends, all carrying red hot coals of burning sulfur, slumped over, moaning in great agony, as venomous serpents, surrounding each of them, bite them relentlessly.

He continues on, hoping to find the resort that he enjoyed so much on his last visit, and he comes upon the young ladies who so passionately “serviced” him in the cottage, but the ladies now have disfigured faces, scars and burns on their skin, and worms crawling in and out of their nostrils, eyes, mouths, ears, and nether parts. Each of them let out blood-curdling, ear-piercing screams–just like the screams he used to hear from young boys as they were senselessly circumcised at the many “Operation free tuli” events he once proudly sponsored.

In desperation, he searches for the Devil, who he finds a short distance away, looking at the senator with an evil grin. “Please, sir!” cries the senator with a pathetic cry similar to the cries of the child beggars on the streets of Manila, “Where is the resort, sir? I’m a proud Pinoy and I deserve the resort! Please take me to the resort, sir! Please, sirrrr!”

The Devil, with a look of Pinoy-style pride on his face, places his hand on the senator’s shoulder. “Ahhh, Ssssenator Dingdong!” says the Devil with a serpent’s hiss, “Do you not remember anything from your days in Philippine politicssss?

“Two days ago, we were campaigning…

“Today, you voted for us!

Original here

PNP Conducting Illegal House-to-House Drug Testing

"Knock, knock."

"Who's there?"

"Police it's time to take your random illegal drug test.  Now piss in the cup."

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/08/23/1731621/police-do-house-house-drug-testing-no-law-allows-it

What would you do if a group of policemen showed up at your doorstep and asked you to pee into a plastic cup for an on-the-spot drug test that could reveal whether or not you had taken shabu or marijuana in the last seven days? 

That is the question residents of Lupang Pangako in Barangay Payatas have been grappling with since June when groups of policemen started going house-to-house, armed with do-it-yourself drug testing kits that show, within seconds, that a person is either positive or negative for the use of those banned substances. 

Officials call it a “massive drug clearing operation,” with police conducting surveys of occupants of all houses, mapping the village, and then showing up unannounced and making people take drugs tests or be called “uncooperative” if they say no. 

It is the approach local leaders prefer, because it does not involve killing and the barangay is taking an active part in it, with support from the police.

Pretty messed up right?  Cops going door to door making people pee in a cup to see if they have been using drugs instead of simply killing suspects point blank. But what if they test positive?

“When found positive, a person’s name is placed on a watch list,” said Barangay Kagawad Alejandro Adan, chairman of the barangay’s peace and order committee.

Watch list? Sure they didn't mean kill list? The suspects are already on a watch list anyway.  That's why the cops are at the door conducting an illegal drug test.

And it's not just suspected drug users being tested.  It's everyone they live with as well.

The policemen explained that the test covered those on their list as well as relatives who might be home when the police come visiting. 

It's also illegal.  The PNP has no authority be doing these tests.

Actually, Republic Act 9165 or the Dangerous Drugs Acts also specifies that drug tests must be done by “government forensic laboratories or by any of the drug testing laboratories accredited and monitored by the DOH to safeguard the quality of test results.” 

Besides, the law lists only those who should be subjected to drug tests: 

• applicants for drivers’ licenses

• applicants for firearms licenses

• high school and college students

• officers and employees of public and private offices

• members of the police, military and other law enforcement agencies

• those charged with crimes whose penalties are more than six years

• and all candidates for public office, whether appointed or elected 

The law says nothing about policemen conducting community drug tests.

But who cares about the law? When did anyone care about the law in the Philippines?  The law is rarely enforced in the Philippines unless it means reaping huge fines or bribes. 

Police going door to door taking drug tests is like something straight out of a dystopian sci-fi film like Gattaca.  This is something that would never ever happen in the West.  It is unthinkable.  Literally the cops in the West would never even think of going door to door to do drug tests of suspected users and their families. The Philippines needs to realise that being first world means more than just economics. Unless the philosophies of individual rights such as the right to be secure from unlawful searches and seizures can be embraced the Philippines will remain backwards and stuck in the third world.

Police doing door to door drug testing is beyond a Philippine fail.

It is a Philippine nightmare!

The Case For A Senate Investigation Into Prior Knowledge of the Marawi Attack

"A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic" is a quote attributed to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.  We see the truth of these words played out before our eyes in the media as the drug war and the battle in Marawi both rage on. Hundreds have died in Marawi and thousands have died in the drug war but only one death, that of Kian de los Santos, is causing the public any grief. 

So great has been the public outcry that a Senate investigation has been called for and will convene only a week after Kian's death.

http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2017/08/21/senate-seeks-probe-on-17-year-old-boy-killing.html

Why so soon? Why not let the PNP and NBI handle the investigation before the Senate meddles?  What is the point?  To pacify the public outrage over what appear to be police abuses? To score political brownie points?

The real travesty here is that the Senate has moved so fast to investigate the death of a single boy while they have let the Duterte administration off the hook for their handling of the Marawi siege. Statements made by Calida, Lorenzada, and Duterte all warrant a Senate investigation into what really happened in the days leading up to the siege of Marawi. The public deserves to know the truth.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2017/06/14/government-says-it-learned-marawi-siege-plans-advance-547391

Solicitor General Jose Calida said in a report that the government received intelligence information at least five days before the terrorists prematurely launched their bloody assault on Marawi City on May 23 after government forces raided the hideout of terrorist leaders led by Isnilon Hapilon.   

"Specifically, on 18 May 2017, intelligence reports revealed that the Isis (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria)-inspired local rebel groups were planning to occupy Marawi city, and to raise the Isis flag at the provincial capitol," Calida said in a report to the Supreme Court, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.   

"The said attack would have served as the precursor for other rebel groups to stage their own uprisings across Mindanao in a bid to simultaneously establish a wilayah in the region," Calida said, referring to the southern Philippine region and the Islamic State province the terrorists aimed to create there.   

Asked why the government failed to stop the Marawi siege despite its advance knowledge of the plot, Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the intelligence information was still being vetted, but the military nevertheless planned a raid on the hideout of Hapilon and other terrorists behind the plot.   

"From our point of view, we were able to stop something that could have been much, much bigger," Abella told a news conference.   

Abella was also asked why top security officials led by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. joined Duterte in a trip to Russia around the time the government received information about the planned Marawi attack.   

"They were all on top of the situation. They were actually monitoring everything," Abella said.   

When the military managed to verify some of the details of the plot, it staged the raid on Hapilon's hideout, military spokesman Brigade General Restituto Padilla said. He acknowledged, however, that the military was unaware of the number of armed fighters the plotters could muster.

These answers taken at face value are good enough to pacify the general public but on closer examination they are unsatisfactory and leave a lot of questions unanswered. The government has men all throughout Mindanao monitoring the situation and it is not credible that they only received information 5 days beforehand. ISIS has been a known threat in the area since 2015. For almost two years now ISIS has been building up a presence in the area. The stated goal of ISIS is to establish a wilayah, Islamic State, in the region. It is impossible that the government did not know about this goal since they knew about the presence of ISIS in Mindanao and had publicly declared they were working with the Australians to combat ISIS. Maute would have been planning this attack since December 2016 after their failed siege of Butig in November. They raised the flag of ISIS during that siege.

Did the AFP really not know what the Maute Group was doing for six months? Did the AFP really not know that Maute was planning on establishing a wilayah starting with Marawi? Even after what happened in Butig? And even after Duterte egged them on to burn Marawi?

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/612582/duterte-revealed-maute-s-plan-to-burn-marawi-in-december-speech/story/ 

Such assertions are not credible and deserve to be investigated by the Senate.

Duterte admitted that the government knew all about the weapons flowing into Marawi and did nothing about it.

Duterte said the government was aware that firearms were being stockpiled in Mindanao but took it for granted because of the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).  

“We have adopted a very soft policy towards the rebels and this came about because they were bringing firearms. Since we are thinking of getting peace with the MNLF and MILF. The game there involves firearms. We took it for granted. We just allowed it to happen because we never knew until that time who was really the enemy,” Duterte told the troops in Butuan City. 

“When they see firearms and they were told that it’s for MILF or MNLF, the standing order was maybe we can talk to our brothers so there will be no trouble (but) it turned out that the Maute were bringing the firearms surreptitiously and we did not know how much ammunition and firearms were stockpiled, and besides it was not a failure of intelligence,” he added. 

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/06/18/1711130/no-failure-intelligence-marawi

Duterte explained the bandits, who seemed to have been prepared in launching attacks in Marawi City, may have taken advantage on the government’s soft-leaning approach to other Moro groups, such as Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).    

“Now, it appeared that Maute [members] were bringing the firearms surreptitiously and we were unable to determine how many ammunitions and guns they have,” Duterte said.  

“It was not a failure of intelligence because if they [government forces] see armed men claiming to be MI[LF], MN[LF], the standing order is not to touch them because it might have been resolved through peace negotiations.” 

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2017/06/18/duterte-no-failure-intelligence-marawi-siege-548013

The Senate must inquire about the "very soft policy towards the rebels" which the Duterte administration had adopted. Why was this an excuse to let arms flow into the city? How does the government entering into peace negotiations with terrorist groups justify allowing those groups to stock up on firearms? What kind of order is "if they [government forces] see armed men claiming to be MI[LF], MN[LF], the standing order is not to touch them because it might have been resolved through peace negotiations?" Who gave it and why?  This order is what led to allowing the arms to pass in freely and for Maute to stockpile them. How was the AFP supposed to distinguish between who was MILF, MNLF, and Maute? 

And it's not just the government forces on the ground who were a problem.  There were other men in the area gathering intelligence for their own ends. Specifically Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia all warned the Philippine government about ISIS building up in the area but the Philippines ignored their reports.  Why?

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/07/27/1722033/dnd-admits-lack-intel-validation-marawi-siege

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana admitted that there was a lack of validation on the government side regarding intelligence reports on the siege in Marawi City. 

Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have earlier warned the Philippines of the possible presence of ISIS-inspired local terror groups in the country, according to a report from UNTV. 

Lorenzana said that the incident in Marawi City would serve as a lesson for the Department of National Defense and the military to validate intelligence reports. 

"Maybe what we can do in the future is restudy what we are doing [in the] intelligence sector... so that we can be better prepared if something like this happens again," Lorenzana said. 

The Defense chief noted that the forces on the ground monitoring Marawi failed to identify unfamiliar faces entering the city.

Due to the lack of validation of such reports, the Maute group was able to prepare its attack on the city and were able to bring in high-powered firearms. 

Lorenzana, however, said that the government is more focused on fighting against the Maute-ISIS group to start the rehabilitation in Marawi. 

"The time of blaming somebody or pointing somebody is past that, ito na nga nangyari. We can no longer bring back the lives of those 110 people killed, 900 wounded," Lorenzana said.

Whose job was it to validate these reports and why weren't they validated? Lorenzana says that AFP forces failed to identify unfamiliar faces but Duterte says they were not to touch anyone claiming to be MILF or MNLF.  Does the AFP have a facebook for these groups that they can match up names and faces to determine who is MNLF and MILF and who is not? If they had been able to identify unfamiliar faces what was the protocol? 

Reports of ISIS in Mindanao stem all the way back to December 2015.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-11/australia-philippines-vow-cooperation-against-islamic-state/7020372 

At least five Islamist militant groups in the southern Philippines have pledged allegiance to IS, a militant group that has taken control of swathes of Iraq and Syria.  

Manila tightened its surveillance over suspected militants, after eight Filipino men believed to be IS sympathisers were killed by security forces on Mindanao island.   

Around 1,000 residents in Mindanao have reportedly allied themselves with the Islamist extremist group.  

"We always consider the potential threat posed by radicalised Filipinos supporting the ISIS," said a senior Philippine police official, who asked not to be identified. 

"We are concerned with the risk of ISIS elements travelling to the country to promote violent extremism and, worse, to seek haven or use the country as a transit point in going to conflict zones.

The Philippines government has known since 2015 that ISIS was a growing threat in the region. Any claim that there was no intelligence or a lack of intelligence regarding ISIS in Mindanao is a lie.  The question that the Senate needs to ask is, "Why was nothing done?"

The death of Kian is tragic.  So are the deaths of the others killed by the PNP during drug raids.  So are the deaths of 129 (so far) AFP soldiers fighting in Marawi along with 45 (so far) civilians. So is the displacement of thousands of Marawi residents.  So is the destruction of the city of Marawi. And all of that was preventable if the Duterte administration had not adopted a soft policy towards terrorists which allowed the weapons to flow into Marawi and if the Philippines government and the AFP had acted on the intelligence they had gathered and which was given to them.  What sense does it make to adopt a soft policy towards towards terrorists when it is known that some of them are ISIS fighters? What sense does it make to continue this policy after one group, Maute, had already attempted to establish a wilayat in November 2016? Those are questions the Senate must ask.

The people of the Philippines deserve to know:

WHAT was known?

WHO knew it?

WHEN did they know it?

WHY was nothing done about it?

https://www.rappler.com/nation/172777-isis-military-marawi-crisis-martial-law-calida

Contrary to Lorenzana's statement, "The time of blaming somebody or pointing somebody is past," there must be a Senate investigation into the prior knowledge the government had of the attack on Marawi. It must be brought to light who is to blame for allowing the weapons to flow and why nothing was done to prevent an attack which the AFP knew was inevitable. No doubt Lorenzana does not want a blaming and finger pointing investigation because he knows, as Defense Secretary, much of the blame lies squarely on his shoulders.

Let us hope such an investigation will be held and the truth will prevail.