The numbers this week: 1 assassinated village official, P5 million as a bounty on "ninja cops", and 9 PCOO officials seeking the dismissal of Mocha Uson.
As the party that propelled him to the presidency struggles with disunity, President Duterte takes his oath today as a member of what is being branded as a regional party organized by his daughter Sara.
President Duterte, chairman of the PDP-Laban, is taking his oath today as member of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) at the SMX Convention Center here at SM Lanang Premiere.
The President’s joining HNP is expected to strengthen the regional grouping, which on Monday forged alliances with three major national political parties and six local groups.
His party in shambles Duterte has decided to split and head over to his daughter's party for some peace and quiet. While technically he has not abandoned his party, joining another party while being the party chairman is a move signalling no confidence in PDP-Laban. Duterte knows his time is short. Perhaps he is doing this for Sara. Her star is rising.
The national budget is still packed with pork—more than P130 billion this year and “hundreds of billions” of pesos for 2019—contrary to the claim of Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, according to Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
Lacson said on Thursday that the graft-ridden pork allotments for members of the House of Representatives alone ran into billions of pesos.
“If you think the pork has left, no, it hasn’t left,” said the senator, who renounced pork years ago.
“Pork is a waste of taxpayers’ money,” he stressed.
Reacting to Lacson’s statement, Malacañang insisted there was no pork in the proposed 2019 national budget.
“Yes, we can guarantee you [the proposed 2019 budget] is pork-free,” said presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
It's a war of words. If Lacson is right he should point out where the pork is.
The ascension of Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay Jr. and Bohol Rep. Arthur Yap as deputy speakers virtually turned the 292-member chamber into a postcard of Arroyo’s tumultuous nine-year presidency, which was rocked by corruption scandals involving her and some of her senior officials.
Both had been indicted for a string of graft and corruption charges in the Sandiganbayan after their boss stepped down from power in 2010.
But eight years went by too fast as Arroyo and her loyal allies were able to claw their way back to the top of the political spectrum via the House, which is still dominated by President Duterte’s supporters in the supermajority.
Corruption is the House rule.
Ninja cops? Apparently so in 2017.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday filed with the Department of Justice (DOJ) several criminal complaints against 11 police officers for their alleged involvement in kidnapping, drugs and robbery.
They must still be around because Duterte has upped the bounty on ninja cops.
“Ang pulis maraming atraso. P**ang ina kayo. Ang sabi ko sa inyo, tama na [These policemen have done a lot of offenses. You son of a b*tch. I told you this already to stop it],” the Chief Executive said in his speech.
“Sa ninja cops, I will now raise the amount to P5 million per ninja cop,” he said. “If you bring him to me dead, P5 million, pag buhay, bigyan kita ng P10,000 [If alive i will give you P10,000],” Duterte added.
It's the wild west in the Philippines. Somebody call Yojimbo!
Sara Duterte is going to launch a branch of her "regional only" political party in Luzon! So much for being "regional only." With a nine party alliance, her father joining, and now this it's undeniable she is building political capital for a bid at a national office. There are some who would like to see her as president.
Former San Remigio, Cebu mayor Jay Olivar has been charged for his failure to liquidate cash advances worth over P500,000 in 2011.
The Office of the Ombudsman filed before the Sandiganbayan four counts of failure to render accounts under the Revised Penal Code against Olivar
The case stemmed from the cash advances he received totaling P585,000.
Another case that will take years to resolve.
Caluya, Antique Mayor Genevieve Gumban Lim-Reyes has been ordered suspended for 90 days concerning a graft case over her decision to cut down coconut trees in 2014.
The complainant, property owner Juliet Ramos, alleged that the operation was done without compliance with the legal processes of a prior public consultation and judicial recovery of possession as well as lacked permit to cut from the Philippine Coconut Authority.
90 days for cutting down coconut trees without a permit! Silly and stupid is better than evil and plunderous.
The antigraft court Sandiganbayan has ordered two former Cabinet officials of the Arroyo administration to face trial for P46 million in fertilizer deals that they entered into in 2003.
Members of the Arroyo administration! See how justice flows like molasses in the Philippines.
Almost two months ago, Pagapang was locked up in jail after he was implicated in the attempt on the life of Joemy Gelacio and his wife, Janet, in Barangay Libas.
Sound like this was a revenge killing.
The Leonardo Panaligan Command-Central Negros Guerrilla Front, in a statement released to the local media on Monday night, said the 38-year-old barangay captain was a “military asset”.
Through their spokesperson JB Regalado, the rebel group said they have been warning Pagapang for his actions since they included him on their target list in 2016.
They added that Pagapang defied them by continuing to report NPA activities to the intelligence officer of the Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade.
And so it was.
What goes through the mind of DOT officials? There are so many other problems with the Philippines like kidnapping and terrorism to keep people away that a plane skidding off the runway during a heavy rain is nothing.
Medialdea was supposedly sympathetic to those behind the letter, even telling them he "understands" where they are coming from and that he too was angered by Uson's video. Duterte himself has been informed of the request.
Her PCOO colleague, Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy, admitted the video was a violation of the government code of ethics. Another official, Philippine Information Agency Director General Harold Clavite, called on Uson to apologize and go on leave.
"If there is public outcry, she can be held liable.... It now depends on the head of the agency if he saw nothing wrong," said former CSC chairperson Corazon Alma de Leon.
Officials sensing a breach in code of ethics can file a complaint with Duterte.
"There should be a formal complaint to the appointing authority, who will determine if there is prima facie case. The appointing authority decides on an investigation with possible suspension," said former CSC commissioner Mary Ann Mendoza.
Duterte himself was not bothered by Uson's video, according to Malacañang.
All 9 of these people can expect to be drug through the mud on Mocha's blog. Why does there have to be a public outcry before someone is held responsible for violating the code of ethics? Since Duterte "was not bothered" don't expect Mocha to be going anywhere.
President Rodrigo Duterte says the country needs more citizens like Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., as the nation marks the former senator's 35th death anniversary.
"In this time of real and lasting change, we need more citizens like him so we can steer our country towards the direction where a brighter and better future awaits us all," Duterte said in his message Tuesday.
The President also said change can only be achieved if Filipinos work together to implement reforms to remedy what he calls "many social ills."
"Let us take this opportunity to reflect on his sacrifice as we honor the courage and patriotism that Ninoy demonstrated during his struggle," he said.
Kind of a strange thing for Duterte to say. At least DDS won't like it since they take every opportunity they get to malign Aquino and blame him and his followers and family for the nation's ills.
In a statement, Maza bared that the termination of peace talks between the government and the communist rebels had been a factor in her decision to step down from office.
(However, the biggest reason behind my resignation is the cancellation of President Duterte of the peace talks between the GRP and the NDFP which he said last August 14.)
(This extinguished my hopes that the talks would bear meaningful socio-economic and political reforms that would end widespread poverty and war in our country.)
Maza was recently ordered arrested along with three former leftist lawmakers for double murder charges in connection with election-related violence in 2006. However, a trial court in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija junked the charges due to weak evidence.
Did Duterte really appoint a CPP sympathiser to his administration? Yes he did. Because, as he is said, he is sympathetic towards their struggle and he is friends with them.
Still no word or hint of a "full-blown" probe on the Marawi attack!
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte does not need to prove his claim that Naga was a hotbed of illegal drugs, Malacañang said Monday, August 20.
Speaking to Palace reporters, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. maintained that the President has access to all "available" information on the supposed prevalence of illegal drugs in Naga.
"He doesn’t have to do that. He already has access to information. He said it, let it be," Roque said, when asked if Duterte will present a proof that Naga is indeed a hotbed of shabu.
"I can only say that he has access to all available information that only a President has access to," he added.
The burden of proof always lies with the accuser. How did these people pass the bar exam and become lawyers?
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) clarified on Monday, August 20, that there is no order to kill "ninja cops" and that police officers are not entitled to receive the P5-million bounty on the head of a dead "ninja cop."
PNP chief Oscar Albayalde said the reward will go to the person who provided information that led to the neutralization of a "ninja cop," or police officers who protect drug personalities or recycle recovered illegal drugs for their own business.
(The reward goes to the person who provided the information that led to the neutralization of a ninja cop. Usually a civilian or police asset provides that information. The police officers involved in the operation do no get the reward.)
He made the statement after President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he was increasing the bounty on the head of a “ninja cop” to P5 million from P3 million.
Albayalde said over 1,700 police personnel who were allegedly involved in various illegal activities are included in their counter-intelligence watchlist.
1,700 cops on the watchlist! 1,700 cops! If they know who they are they should
go get them. Police reform is bunk. They
have
been making the same promises at eradicating so-called rogue policemen for years. Read my report on the history of PNP reform here.
Friday:
Tuesday:
“I know ang nakikinig sa akin is United States siguro, yan ang CIA. ‘Yan ang papatay sa akin, ang ulol na yan e,” Duterte said in a speech during the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Visayas Island Cluster Conference in Cebu City.
Seems a little paranoid. If he dies from a sudden natural heart attack it's likely DDS will be flooding the internet with CIA conspiracy theories.
SPEAKING before Cebu mayors, President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday labeled Cebu’s policemen and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 agents as “drug addicts.”
“Pulis ninyo diri sa Cebu, puro adik. Halos tanan, hasta inyong mga opisyal, hasta inyong mga PDEA. Imbes nagtaas nang rango, p***** i** niya... (Your policemen in Cebu are all addicts, almost everybody, even your officials and your PDEA. To think that you were promoted to a higher rank),” the President said in his speech during the League of Municipalities of the Philippines Visayas Island Cluster Conference at the Radisson Blu Hotel yesterday.
Duterte did not mention names, but he addressed a certain official: “Mga Cebuano, tingnan niyo kung anong nangyari. P***** i**, opisyal ka na. (Cebuanos, look what happened to... You are an official already.) That’s treason. If you are PDEA, or with the military and the police, nandiyan ka (you engage in illegal drugs), that is treason. It’s the highest infidelity that you can commit,” he said.
“If you use your office as a platform for crime...do not ever think that because you are with PDEA, or the police, or you are a general (that I will not go after you),” he added.
Other than this statement, the President said nothing more about the Cebu policemen and the PDEA.
The President, however, did not mention accused drug lord Peter Go Lim, who has a standing warrant of arrest for conspiracy to commit illegal drugs trading.
What a thing to say. To berate and belittle cops he suspects are involved in drugs while making no mention of the man who is supposed to be the biggest drug lord in Cebu, Peter Lim. After the president made these remarks the PNP made two conflicting statements. First from the PNP chief.
And secondly from the local PNP office.
Why does there have to be allegations coming from the president if these allegations are known truths in the LEO community? Why does he have to stand up on stage and curse bad cops if the PNP Chief knows all about it? Why not just arrest those men and have done with it? What is stopping the PNP from really and truly cleansing their ranks?
Yeah why can't people just move on. Like get over it already.
“Rewards aren’t anything new. It’s just that this is big,” he said.
Albayalde said the bounty should go to the person who gave information leading to a “positive operation” and not to police “because they might end up as bounty hunters, and that would be dangerous.”
If Duterte was not sincere he said: “Sa ninja cops, I will now raise the amount to P5 million per ninja cop,” he said. “If you bring him to me dead, P5 million, pag buhay, bigyan kita ng P10,000 [If alive i will give you P10,000]," then why did he say it at all?
Arresting alleged Cebu drug lord Peter Lim is a “big challenge” for the police force, considering his wealth and influence, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Oscar Albayalde said on Wednesday.
The Philippines’ judiciary has already proven its independence to the world, Roque said, adding that Lim has “nothing to fear by way of being a victim of injustice.”
“I’m just saying surrender. I’m not appealing. I’m just saying if you don’t surrender, we will still get you. But if you’re innocent, then, we guarantee that you will be given your day in court,” Roque assured.
“We have competent courts so I think he should surrender,” he added.
Three things.
1. Didn't the PNP have a tail on Peter Lim? How did this high profile man get away? How is his wealth and connections a hindrance to good police work?
2. Harry Roque's assertions about the fairness of the Philippine judicial system fall flat on their face in the fact that the charges against Lim were dropped by the DOJ only to be reinstated after being practically ordered to do do by the president and after much public outrage. No one in their right mind would trust the justice system or consider them competent after such blatant incompetence.
3. Roque also appeals to Kim to surrender in order to prove his innocence when a cornerstone of criminal law is that all men are innocent until proven guilty. The State must prove Kim's guilt and not Kim prove his innocence. With Harry Roque being a lawyer one wonders what they are teaching in Philippine law schools.
Look at the thickness of those petitions! This is petty revenge politics plain and simple.
A daughter’s wedding is a “significant milestone to be cherished and remembered,” the Quezon City Regional Trial Court said in its order that allowed former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Zaldy Ampatuan to attend his eldest daughter’s wedding.
“It is a momentous family occasion which must be witnessed and attended by the couple’s loved-ones, especially the accused-movant who will personally bring his eldest daughter to the altar,” the court’s order stated.
Zaldy Ampatuan is a suspect in the Maguindanao massacre in which 58 people were brutally slaughtered. And yet he was allowed to attend his daughter's wedding "for humanitarian considerations" according to court documents. These same documents note that "this is not the first time that a Court will be granting furlough to a detention prisoner for the same reason, for humanitarian considerations." What a a joke.
By lodging a protest. Sooner later the Philippines' appeasement policy towards China will bite them hard.
