Coronavirus Lockdown: Online Gambling Allowed to Boost COVID Response Funds, 3rd Wave, and More!

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

The government has borrowed millions to pay for their COVID-19 response but funds have either been unspent or run out. What better way to raise more funds than to promote online gambling?

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1146320

Despite previously being against online gambling in the country, President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said he was forced to allow the activity to boost the country’s Covid-19 response funds.

In a pre-recorded meeting with his political party officials, Duterte said allowing gambling operations was the most “sensible” thing to do, considering the government is running short of funds.

“Itong sugal, bakit ko pinayagan? Wala tayong pera eh. Ngayon kasi kailangan natin ng pera (Why did I allow gambling? We don’t have money…Now that we need money), the most sensible thing is really just to encourage those activities. Though it may sound not really repulsive but maybe repugnant to some, eh magdusa na muna kayo kasi kailangan ko talaga ang pera para sa bayan(you have to deal with it because we need money for the country),” he said.

He said the prevailing pandemic has forced the government to tap reserved funds from gambling operations.

He said it was the only way to prevent Covid-19 from infecting more people in the country.

“Pagdating ng pandemic, naubos ang pera natin. May reserba natin nagamit natin lahat (When it comes to the pandemic, we’re running out of money. We used up all our reserved funds) to contain the viral virus from rampaging all throughout the country,” he added.

It's not an unprecedented move as the DOH gets much of its money from and the Universal Healthcare law is to be funded by the PCSO which runs the lottery and other games of chance. But to say he HAD to do it opens the doors to a slippery slope. If it generates money then why not allow it no matter how repugnant the activity?

If you live in Bulacan and have a Tik-Tok account the government wants you to propagandist the nation.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1146264

Governor Daniel R. Fernando on Wednesday urged "TikTok" users, particularly the Bulakenyo youth, to help promote the implementation of the minimum public health protocols, particularly the wearing of face masks and face shields as a measure against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

He encouraged the students of BPC-Pandi to enjoin netizens in following the measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 through short-form videos circulated in the internet using the social media platform.

Through this, he said the youth or the TikTok users will be able to help the government in its implementation of the guidelines set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

"(We are facing a global health crisis so I believe that you, the youth, will have a great participation in preventing the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the country, so do not waste your time on TikTok that does not make sense, make it meaningful)," Fernando said in an official social media post.

There are actually a lot of videos like that on every social media platform. What's really needed is people to make anti-face shield videos in the hopes that perhaps the people will be better educated on the issue and that  DOH will finally come to reason and abandon that unnecessary requirement.

Do you run a tricycle franchise? Are you hesitant to get vaccinated? Do you live in Dumaguete? If so you might be out of a job soon.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1146248

City officials are eyeing the possibility of requiring the vaccination of motorcab-for-hire (MCH ) drivers against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as a requisite in the issuance of a franchise to operate units.

This was one of the salient points discussed Tuesday during a meeting between Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo, the Committee on Transportation and Traffic, and other key city officials to formulate guidelines of an ordinance granting MCH franchises to operators from outside of Dumaguete, a media release on Wednesday said.

Vice Mayor Karissa Tolentino said there are inquiries on how to implement the ordinance.

One of the many reasons this would be a bad policy is that the Philippines is facing a shortage of vaccines. How can one get vaccinated if there are no vaccines? Also the vaccines don't actually immunize anyone. In order to fix the shortage problem Pinoy scientists must work overtime to formulate their own vaccine.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1146305

“Our scientists must work double the time…Mag-isip talaga kayo.If you have to pour your, ano, matutunaw yung utak ninyo (You really have to think. If you have to pour your, your brain will melt). You must come up with something to help the Filipino,” he said in a pre-recorded meeting with Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) executives and other government officials at Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang, Manila on Monday night.

He said he believes the Filipino scientists have the capability to be Covid-19 vaccine self-reliant, noting that the government has allotted enough funds for the purpose.

“We cannot be dependent, ill-afford to just sabihin doon sa ibang tao na ‘Bigyan mo kami, bigyan mo dito (and tell other nations ‘Give us supply’).’ That cannot go on. We must develop,” he added.

Seeing as it takes almost two decades to make a viable vaccine it would probably be better for the Philippines to either reverse engineer the current unapproved yet emergency-authorised vaccines or just manufacture them here.

DND Secretary and Chairman of the National Task Force Against COVID-19 says there is no timeline yet to lifting restrictions. However Dr. Ted Herbosa, an adviser to the NTFA-COVID 19 says once 50 million people have been vaccinated face masks and face shields can come off.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1457561/face-masks-shields-off-once-50m-get-shots-says-govt-task-force-adviser

If Filipinos want to end the inconvenience of wearing face shields and masks, about 50 million of them must first be fully inoculated against the coronavirus, meaning about half of the Philippine population should have received two doses of the vaccine against COVID-19.

Dr. Ted Herbosa, adviser to the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF), said Filipinos still have a long way to go before they could get rid of those face coverings because only 3 million had been fully vaccinated as of Thursday.

“The target to advise the removal of the face mask and face shield is 50 percent of the target population, which is about 50 million, between 40 to 50 million,” Herbosa said at Thursday’s Laging Handa briefing.

Meanwhile, everyone has to continue complying with the prescribed health protocols, such as frequent handwashing and avoiding crowded places, Herbosa said.

It was unclear whether the 50-million mark was set by the NTF or the country’s pandemic managers as an official target.

They will surely move this goalpost. The problem is of course getting vaccines into the country and into the provinces. But once vaccines are administered there is the problem of proving that one has been vaccinated if they want to travel.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/07/09/21/no-signal-weak-internet-hampers-move-to-digitize-vaccination-proof

Here's one challenge facing local government units seeking to allow domestic travel for fully vaccinated residents: weak internet signal can sometimes hamper verification of QR codes or digital vaccination certificates.  

"Kasi kung minsan yang mga QR code, lalo na sa mga boundary ng checkpoint sa land travel ay hindi naman lahat ng lugar sa kalsada ay may signal. So ang hirap nung QR Code na mangangailangan ng internet,” Quirino Gov. Dakila Cua, president of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, said in an interview on TeleRadyo. 

(Sometimes the use of QR code is difficult especially in checkpoint boundaries for land travel as not all areas have signal. So QR codes that need internet is a challenge.)

According to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, the Philippine government is working on a common digital ID that would serve as proof of an individual's vaccination against COVID-19.

Why does it have to be digital? IT seems that it the problem here. 

How will you know if your neighbor has taken the vaccine? One barangay has the solution.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/12/21/davao-village-puts-stickers-on-homes-of-vaccinated-residents

Workers in Barangay Lasang, Davao City are visiting homes of vaccinated residents since Thursday to put stickers on their gates and houses. 

This is part of the barangay’s initiative called household tagging and mapping to encourage other residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19. 

Barangay Lasang chairman Allan Simo-ag said the barangay prepared 1,000 stickers. Indicated in each sticker is the name of the household and a checkbox if he or she is already vaccinated with first or second dose. 

As of the latest count, there are 274 residents that have already received anti-COVID-19 vaccines in Barangay Lasang.

How would these stickers encourage anyone to get vaccinated the authorities do not say. Probably they think peer pressure will do them in but there is also the problem of availability and the tiered system. Some folks may not be able to get vaccinated.

Don't think COVID-19 is anywhere near being over. The DOH says cases are high among those 15-19 and below 2.  This is odd because all relevant data says those under 18 are not at high risk for COVID-19 infection. They also say there is a third wave happening.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/794983/central-visayas-on-3rd-wave-of-covid-19-pandemic-doh-resu-7/story/

Central Visayas is now on the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic, Unang Balita reported on Monday, citing Dr. Eugenia Mercedes Caña, chief of the Department of Health Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (DOH RESU-7). 

"Yes. We are in a third wave now. We have been monitoring the cases for the last 4 weeks in Central Visayas, not just Cebu City and our epidemic curve shows an upward trend," Caña said in a message. 

Caña said the main reason for the upward trend is the more transmissible variants of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. 

"The virus keeps on evolving as it is its nature to mutate resulting to different variants which increases the virus' transmissibility," she said. 

Also seen as likely reason for the trend is the gatherings held by some residents like weddings, fiesta and birthday celebrations. 

"These events drive the transmission because you bring people together without observing the public health measures," Caña said. 

Other reasons cited by Caña were inappropriate use of public health and social measures and inequitable and uneven distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. 

Despite this, DOH Region VII said the region is better off now than it was during the second wave of the pandemic in February and March.

It's really hard to judge what they mean by these "waves" as life goes on. Where are all the dead? There aren't many because the virus has an over 90% survival rate.

The government is upset that social influencers were caught partying and ignoring health protocols.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/12/social-media-influencers-caught-partying-violating-health-protocols-inside-qc-bar/

Several social media “influencers” are now in hot water after they were caught in a video partying and drinking alcoholic beverages without social distancing despite threats of COVID-19 inside a bar in Quezon City over the weekend.

Rannie Ludovica, Quezon City’s Task Force Disiplina head, said they will consult with their legal department to ask about how to hold accountable those who were caught violating health protocols inside Ciso Bar in San Francisco Del Monte.

The local government has yet to identify those caught in the video flouting health protocols, but Ludovica said some of them were “sad to say, influencers.” 

He said the establishment violated various COVID-19-related measures, such as by allowing its guests to sit close to each other and without plastic barriers and serving alcoholic beverages without food.

This is actually a good thing. These influencers are showing there is nothing to be scared of. 

Remember when they found a new COVID variant in the Philippines and labelled it the Philippine variant and the DOH got mad about that? Well, now the WHO says don't worry about it.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/795137/who-downgrades-classification-of-coronavirus-variant-from-philippines/story/

The World Health Organization (WHO) has downgraded the classification of P.3, a coronavirus variant first detected in the Philippines, from a variant of interest (VOI) to an “alert for further monitoring.” 

The WHO website indicates that P.3 was categorized as a VOI on March 24 this year but was downgraded on July 6.  

“The reason for this is its reported detection has decreased over time,” National Institutes of Health executive director Dr. Eva Maria Cutiongco-de la Paz explained in a Department of Health forum.

Perhaps the Philippine variant will disappear altogether.

Two Studies Show the Philippines' Education System Stinks

On June 21, 2021 the World Bank released a report assessing the state of education in the Philippines. Overall the report was bleak and concluded that 80% of Filipino students in grades 4-9  did not meet basic skills levels for their grade. Naturally the Department of Education was furious saying that the report shamed the nation by using old data to paint an inaccurate picture and that the World Bank broke protocol by not notifying the DepEd before the report was released. An apology was demanded and the World Bank acquiesced.

President Duterte welcomed the apology.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1458818/duterte-welcomes-world-banks-apology-expects-more-accurate-report

President Rodrigo Duterte has welcomed the World Bank’s apology over the early publication of its assessment on the sorry state of Philippine education, expressing hope the financial institution would soon publish a “more accurate” report.

“I would not want to begrudge the World Bank. These international bodies working on the problems of the world should be very careful about their statistics. It is not good to commit a wrong internationally. But we welcome their apology,” Duterte said in his taped weekly briefing that aired Monday night.

The president said the Department of Education (DepEd) would do what it could to correct misconceptions about Filipino students’ performance.

“I commend [DepEd] Secretary Leonor Briones for calling out the World Bank on this issue. I hope a more accurate report based on the latest data will be made,” Duterte said.

It's not clear how much more accurate a report can be made than one which was made from the latest data. In fact the World Bank did not apologize over the data they used but over the technicality of not informing the DepEd before it was released.

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/statement/2021/07/08/world-bank-philippines-on-education-report-july-8-2021

We deeply regret that the report on education was inadvertently published earlier than scheduled and before the Department of Education had enough chance to provide inputs. This was an oversight on our part, and we conveyed our personal apologies in our communication with the government. Recognizing the inadvertent release of the report, we have taken steps to temporarily remove it from the website. We are aware of the Department’s various efforts and programs to address the challenge of education quality. We agree with the Department that the issue of quality has a long historical context, and support its demonstrated commitment to resolve it decisively. We have reached out to Secretary Briones on this matter and look forward to continuing our dialogue with the Department of Education on the opportunities and challenges in the education sector.

There is nothing in this apology "deeply regretting" the statistics used to compile the report or the report's conclusions. Since the report has now been scrubbed from the internet we can only rely on what others have written about it.

The World Bank report, dated June 21, is available on the World Bank Philippines web page, both in its 86-page complete form and in a user-friendly, presentation format. The report clearly states, in the first two paragraphs of its introduction, what its basis and objective is: It is a synthesis of results from the most recent (2018 and 2019) rounds of three international education assessments in which the Philippines has participated. These are the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which the Philippines took part in for the first time in 2018; the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (Timss) in 2019, which the Philippines hasn't participated in since 2003; and the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) in 2019, which was the first and so far, only time that assessment has been conducted. Far from being "old data," the data specified by the report is the newest data available, and its synthesis of the results of those three assessments "represent the pre-Covid baseline," the report explains.

The picture it paints of the state of Philippine education is shockingly dark. Overall, about 80 percent of Filipino students in Grades 4 through 9 "are unable to meet learning standards expected for their grade."

This is not the opinion of the World Bank researchers but the unalloyed scores of the three assessments. In reading, 90 percent of Grade 5 students in the SEA-PLM and 81 percent of Grade 9 students in the PISA were "below minimum proficiency." In mathematics, the "below minimum proficiency" levels were 81 percent for Grade 4 students in the Timss, 83 percent for Grade 5 students in the SEA-PLM, and 81 percent for Grade 9 students in the PISA. In science, 87 percent of Grade 4 students in the Timss assessment were below the minimum standard, as were 78 percent of Grade 9 students in the PISA.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/07/08/opinion/columns/briones-is-an-embarrassment/1806126

DepEd Secretary Briones complianed that the data from 2019 was old and therefore outdated but the World Bank says it is the latest available information. Briones completely misrepresents the World Bank when she writes:

The use of 2019 old PISA data was admitted by the Senior Economist of the World Bank in a note to an Undersecretary of Education, thus: “Please know that the full report contents are derived from published PISA scores and I hope this can be useful in your response to those asking questions, these are not new findings but data that have been previously published when PISA was published.” 

The World Bank admits to one error: the release of old data based on 2019 PISA scores to the public without informing DepEd. Thus, DepEd and the Philippine government were subjected to public censure and criticism. Even if done inadvertently, the World Bank has inflicted harm on DepEd and the government.

https://www.deped.gov.ph/2021/07/05/world-bank-uses-old-data-in-report-on-education-in-the-philippines-new-initiatives-and-up-to-date-data-not-included/

The use of this data was not an error nor did the World Bank admit it was such but rather they only admitted they erred in not informing the DepEd of the report before its publication. Perhaps Briones should apologize to the World Bank for her blatant mischaracterization of both the report and the apology. She also laments that the World Bank neglected the historical context of education in the Philippines.

The report also lacked historical context. The quality of education, at all levels, is a product of a long historical process. The World Bank itself is a party to this historical evolution, being a lender for major reform programs, such as the USD100 million Program for Decentralized Educational Development (PRODED) from 1981 to 1986, the USD113 million Third Elementary Education Project (TEEDP) from 1997 to 2006, the USD200 million National Program Support for Basic Education (NPSBE) from 2006 to 2011, and more recently, the USD300 million Learning Equity and Accountability Program Support (LEAPS) from 2014 to 2018. Giving a snapshot of the current situation without its historical context can easily give the impression that it is the present administration that is to blame, and not mentioning current initiatives can further give the impression that we are not doing anything about it.

If we must look at the broad picture as viewed across time rather than particular measurements to gain a proper assessment of the Philippines' education system then the question we must ask is, "Why hasn't Philippine education improved over time?" Where has all that money gone? What does the Philippines have to show for it? According to the most recent assessment tests, nothing. And it is not just the World Bank that is reporting that fact.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1457973/wb-apologizes-for-ph-education-report-adbi-echoes-findings

Acquiescing to the demand of two senior members of President Duterte’s Cabinet, the World Bank (WB) has publicly apologized for the publication of its report highlighting the sorry state of Philippine education.

But the Washington-based multilateral lender did not retract its findings that indicated “a crisis in education” and that are based on the latest global assessments in which the Philippines took part before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, a report of the Tokyo-based think tank Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) also lamented the “low” amount of learning—especially in mathematics when taught in local dialects—in the Philippines, despite gains from the K-12 basic education program since 2012, which narrowed the reading skills gap between students in rich and poor households.

ADBI said that “considering the Philippines’ status as a low-middle-income country, improving the quality of the education system must remain a matter of national priority.”

ADBI cited the same problems in the Philippines’ education sector.

It based its working paper titled “Foundational Mathematics and Reading Skills of Filipino Students Over a Generation” on the results of the Functional Literacy, Education, Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), a national household survey that the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) had been conducting nationwide every five years since 1998.

The FLEMMS microdata collected by the PSA in 2003, 2013 and 2019 and that were used by the ADBI paper showed that “the share of students with foundational skills increases between grades, indicating that schooling improves learning,” specifically referring to math and reading skills.

“However, we find that a substantial share of Grade 10 students still do not have foundational mathematics or reading skills. This shows that like many countries, the amount of learning produced for each year of schooling in the Philippines is very low,” ADBI said.

It said the FLEMMS-based math learning profile showed a decline of 5 percentage points in 2019 from 2013 levels. “Among Grade 10 students, 93 percent of students in the 2013 cohort answered the mathematics questions correctly. In 2019, the share was 88 percent,” ADBI noted.

It said the decline “corroborated the TIMSS results.” But “different from TIMSS, … we determined that the decline between 2013 and 2019 was four times as severe compared to the decline between 2003 and 2013,” ADBI said, referring to the math results.

This paper from the Asian Development Bank Institute was based on the PSA's own data which it has been collecting every five years since 1998. The results show that "the amount of learning produced for each year of schooling in the Philippines is very low." This paper appears to have been scrubbed from the web but a web cache shows the abstract which is as follows:

Children around the world largely rely on the formal educational system to teach them foundational mathematics and reading skills. The inability of an educational system to do so may indicate it has structural constraints. In this paper, we take advantage of three rounds of a nationally representative household survey on education and functional literacy implemented by the Philippine Statistics Authority to examine mastery of foundational mathematics and reading skills among students in grades 4–10 students. The three rounds enable us to examine trends in these skills from the turn of the millennium to 2019. We find that a significant proportion of higher-grade students have not yet mastered these foundational skills. We also find that the difference in foundational skills between grade 10 and grade 4 students is small. Based on a comparison between cohorts, we find that foundational mathematics skills continued to decline between the 2003 and 2019 cohorts. Foundational reading skills, however, trended up between 2013 and 2019 after stagnating between 2003 and 2013. The latter is suggestive evidence that major educational reforms implemented by the Philippine government since 2012 may have successfully improved reading skills but not mathematics skills. Overall, the Philippine basic education system, building on its success in increasing access to education for virtually all children, still has ample room to significantly improve its effectiveness.

Math skills have decreased while reading skills have slightly increased. But overall there is ample room for improvement. After all, there is not much difference between the foundational skills of a 10th grader and a 4th grader. 

This paper takes into account the historical context of which Briones says is necessary to understand the Philippine education system. Over two decades the Philippines has not seen much improvement in the education system. Filipino students remain behind their peers. One has to ask why. Why, after all the programs implemented and money spent on improving the education system, do Filipinos lag behind the rest of the world? That is not a question I am going to answer but it is a problem the DepEd must solve. Otherwise the DepEd will only continue to inflict harm on Filipino children by giving them a worthless education. Too bad the government prefers to huff and puff in a vain effort to save face before the international community. Everyone can see the egg on this country's face.

Insurgency: Oplan Delta

Those dastardly terrorists who make up the CPP-NPA-NDF have a new operation in the works. It is so unbelievably wicked that NTF-ELCAC spokeswoman cannot actually give the proof though she swears she has it. The operation is called Oplan Delta. The goal? To smear members of the NTF-ELCAC.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1146048

Knowing their early demise is inevitable, the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) created ‘Oplan Delta’, a series of slanderous attacks targeting National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokespersons.

During the NTF-ELCAC regular virtual press conference, Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy, NTF-ELCAC spokesperson on Social Media and Sectoral Concerns, said an intelligence report indicates Oplan Delta was hatched recently in Quezon City by National United Front Commission (NUFC) head Nathaniel Santiago of the CPP-NPA-NDF.

Other high ranking party members of the communist terrorist groups (CTGs) like Maria Sol Taule who acts as a lawyer for NPAs and the party-list group KARAPATAN participated in the meeting according to the intel report.

Badoy added that a committee was formed against each NTF ELCAC spokesperson to spread propaganda and “to create the most outrageous lies with the goal of inflicting the most damage on the spokesperson assigned to that committee in a bid to destroy our credibility”.

“The committees in charge of me, Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., Undersecretary Joel Egco and Atty. Marlon Bosantog were under special instructions to intensify their black propaganda and demolition jobs on us because they suspect we will be running for public office in next year’s elections,” Badoy said.

Esperon said all the NTF-ELCAC spokesperson and personnel are ready for any slanderous attacks.

“They have run out of reasons, and therefore, ang masasabi ko lang ay merong sense of desperation sa parte nila (I can sense of desperation on their part). Let it be, let it be. Nakahanda naman tayo diyan (We are ready),” he added.

Jeffrey Celiz, a former CPP-NPA-NDF official for 21 years who goes by the name of Ka Eric Almendras, also confirmed that the plot by the CPP-NPA-NDF to demonize the NTF ELCAC spokespersons -- as revealed by Badoy -- is true.

Celiz said this is based on the terrorists’ history and capability to destroy government leaders, as well as the entire government.

Badoy, meanwhile, said among the agreements reached were the “gathering and dissemination of information by all front organizations -- particularly the law firm of terrorists -- KARAPATAN, about NTF- ELCAC officials with the express goal of besmirching our reputations in order to discredit the Task Force.”

“All these poisons emanate from the CPP-NPA-NDF Central Committee that issued a memo entitled ‘PADUGUIN SA LIBONG SUGAT ANG PASISTANG REHIMENG DUTERTE! ILUNSAD SA BUONG BANSA ANG PARAMING TAKTIKAL NA OPENSIBA” calling for an intensified tactical offensive across the country to specifically target the NTF-ELCAC and its officials. Hand in hand with that memo is the deployment of their murder squads -- sparrow units targeting NTF-ELCAC officials,” Badoy said.

“And if you think that the threats on our lives are going to stop us from shining the glaring light of truth on each of you, you are so wrong on so many levels and ways that I don’t even know where to begin telling you how wrong you are. We have married our destinies with the job of putting an end to the grievous harm and suffering you have caused our people. Death is a small price to pay to seeing our country finally free of this 52-year terrorist scourge,” she added.

Badoy said the task force has evidence to prove the existence of the Oplan Delta.

“If the other side, the CPP-NPA-NDF, deny the existence of this ‘Oplan Delta,’ I challenge them. I challenge Maria Sol Taule and Nathaniel Santiago, to deny the existence of this plan, because we have incontrovertible proof about it,” she said.

So, the CPP-NPA-NDF, "knowing their early demise is inevitable," is going to waste its time slandering government officials instead of, you know, making one last push for power by launching a series of deadly attacks against important infrastructure or officials? Badoy claims she has "incontrovertible proof about it" but refuses to show us. She claims this new plan stems from a memo titled, "PADUGUIN SA LIBONG SUGAT ANG PASISTANG REHIMENG DUTERTE! ILUNSAD SA BUONG BANSA ANG PARAMING TAKTIKAL NA OPENSIBA" which specifically targets "the NTF-ELCAC and its officials." But that is not true. Here is the document in English.

https://cpp.ph/statements/make-the-duterte-fascist-regime-bleed-from-a-thousand-cuts-mount-more-tactical-offensives-nationwide/

The Party calls on all NPA units to vigorously wage revolutionary armed struggle in all parts of the country by way of response to the brazen fascism, massive corruption and squandering of people’s money and national treachery of the tyrannical Duterte regime. The NPA must heed the Filipino people’s clamor for justice. The Party leadership has directed all commands of the NPA to mount more frequent tactical offensives, and mobilize its companies, platoons and squads. Use all possible types of weapons—from rifles and command-detonated explosives, to spears and punji sticks—against the enemy. The NPA must make the tyrant bleed from a thousand cuts and punish the fascists for all their crimes.

All NPA units should mount ambushes, harassments, demolitions, raids, sniping operations and other tactical offensives against the most notorious units of the AFP, counterguerrilla units of the PNP and their paramilitary groups. They must avoid hitting at hard targets and aim at the weak and isolated units of the enemy, and at all times, avoid situations that could put civilians at risk of getting caught in the crossfire. The NPA must also temporarily dispatch partisan teams in the cities and town centers to strike at military transport and communication systems, ;and carry out the orders of duly-authorized people’s courts to arrest or punish fascist officers, plunderers and despotic bureaucrat capitalists and landlords who are wanted for crimes against the people.

The NPA must also intensify armed resistance against the expansion of anti-people mining, logging, plantation, energy and tourism operations which dispossess and displace the peasant and minority masses.

In particular, the revolutionary movement must take effort to frustrate plans of the Duterte regime to allow the further expansion of Chinese companies, especially those involved in the construction of seven Chinese military bases and in the plunder and destruction of Philippine marine resources in the West Philippine Sea in violation of Philippine sovereignty. Some of these same Chinese companies are involved in some big-ticket infrastructure projects for the construction of mining roads and dams that are encroaching deeper and deeper into the ancestral lands of the national minorities and forests in various parts of the country. These infrastructure projects not only displace thousands of peasants and minorities from their lands, they also wreak havoc to the natural ecosystem of the country’s remaining forests.

There is absolutely nothing in this document about smearing government officials. Not one word of that but plenty about launching tactical offensives against various military targets. Badoy says that Oplan Delta emanates from this document. But where is the genesis of it and what would the CPP-NPA gain by smearing NTF-ELCAC officials? 

Former CPP-NPA member Jeffery Celiz says he knows the plan is true "based on the terrorists’ history and capability to destroy government leaders, as well as the entire government." But hold on! First of all the man claims to have left the CPP-NPA in either 2008 or 2015. So how does he know anything about what is currently going on within the CPP-NPA?

Second of all Celiz contradicts the government narrative about the demise of the CPP-NPA-NDF being imminent by saying that they have the "capability to destroy government leaders, as well as the entire government." According to Celiz not only do they have the capability to destroy the entire government but they have a whole network embedded within society to make this happen.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1146171

The operations of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) to recruit and radicalize more members is "comparable to an octopus with many tentacles", a former rebel said.

Jeffrey Celiz, also known as Ka Eric Almendras in the communist terrorist group (CTG), said the CTGs put up the National Organizations Department (NOD) to infiltrate and radicalize various sectors such as the youth, women, industry workers, urban poor, transport, and even the government.

"NOD is a central committee staff organ of the Communist Party of the Philippines at dyan po nagmumula ang (and that's the start of) organizing and recruitment, infiltration, radicalization both above ground and underground," Celiz said during Monday's regular press conference "Debunking lies by telling the truth" of the National Task Force To End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

Celiz said the NOD is responsible for luring people from rural areas, central towns, universities, religious groups, media, and other professionals to join the communist revolution.

The CPP-NPA-NDF also has an international department which is maneuvered by CPP founding chair Jose Maria "Joma" Sison himself, he said.

"Iyan ay mayroong humigit-kumulang 47 years of existence abroad. Diyan nagtatago sila Joma Sison at iyan din po ang kumukumpas ng mga peace talks sa (It has been more or less 47 years of existence abroad. That's where Joma Sison is hiding at and it's the one demanding for peace talks) abroad and infiltrating overseas Filipino workers and Filipino communities," he added.

The National Military Commission (NMC), he said, is responsible for the operational command and attacks by NPA rebels across the country.

The NMC organizes mass actions and stages rallies in urban and far-flung communities while the national propaganda and cultural commission is handled directly by the Communist Party Central Committee.

"Nandirito po ang kanilang mga pagmi-maintain ng pangalan na (It involves maintaining the name) Marco Valbuena. In fact, Marco Valbuena is just a name, it’s not a person. Marami pong gumagamit ng pangalan na iyan sa ilalim ng (Several individuals are using that name under the) CPP information bureau. It’s an alias being used by at least three (persons)," Celiz said, noting that Sison himself is hiding under the name to communicate with CTGs.

"So, they are very organized like a big criminal syndicate. This is a national finance extortionist unit. The NPA also has a unit involved in burning, explosions, attacking businesses and politicians, and even targeting big companies such as telecommunications firms," he said.

The CTGs likewise established the national tax implementing group and the national peasant commission that conspire with the land grabbers.

There is also the National United Front Commission responsible for mass actions involving the middle class, media operations infiltration, lawyers, campaign for party-list groups, and non-governmental organization operations.

Celiz said the CPP-NPA-NDF is expanding toward infiltrating "government rank and file workers, the academe, teachers, and even health professionals in public hospitals.

"We are confronting an enemy no matter how maybe small their numbers, compared to our government bureaucracy organization, but they have the capability to sabotage, subvert, and undermine our way of life in a democratic system, even able to maximize legal processes and democratic processes such as elections," he said.

Celiz is describing an organization that is far from "knowing their early demise is inevitable." This is the man the NTF-ELCAC has touted as an expert in all things CPP-NPA-NDF as he was allegedly a member for 27 years. And he is painting a very different picture from that of the NTF-ELCAC and the AFP. Why does he say one thing and the government another? Who is correct? Why should the public trust any of these people?

It is the AFP who has been caught spreading propaganda and fake news with their red-tagging. AFP intel Chief Maj. Gen. Alex Luna was axed for this very thing. NTF-ELCAC spokesman Lorraine Badoy is no stranger to fake news having sowed much online against Sen. Pacquiao and VP Robredo. Badoy accused Robredo of spreading fake news but when asked for specifics she could not give an answer.

At the same hearing, Badoy said Vice President Leni Robredo was one of the “primary purveyors of fake news,” painting a gloomy picture of the country to reflect poorly on President Rodrigo Duterte.

When pressed to give an example, however, Badoy could not cite a specific instance, saying only that she painted “a gloomy picture” of the country when she spoke before an international audience.

Badoy later qualified that what she said about Robredo was her “personal opinion.”

https://manilastandard.net/news/national/257569/pcoo-usec-owns-up-to-fake-news-on-pacquiao.html

Badoy has a proven track record of being a liar. Why on earth would anyone trust her? 

But perhaps she is right about this. Perhaps there is a coordinated campaign by the CPP-NPA-NDF to smear the NTF-ELCAC and government officials. Could this article in the Inquirer be a part of that smear campaign?

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1457763/p9-7b-for-npa-free-villages-pouring-in-regions-with-most-ejks

The Duterte administration has opened the valve to a gush of taxpayer money to fund villages supposedly successful in keeping communist rebels out but in regions where a human rights group said cases of extrajudicial killings and other rights violations were highest.

In a recent announcement, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the agency in charge of implementing so-called barangay development projects designed to beat the insurgency, said at least 99 percent, or P16.24 billion, of P16.44 billion had already been released.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano, a former military general, said 822 villages, or barangays, received the funds for at least 2,276 projects.

The villages, he said, had already been “cleared of communist terrorist groups,” the government’s term of endearment for New People’s Army (NPA) and its political arm Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

But a closer look by the human rights group Karapatan showed that the bigger allocations went to areas in regions where cases of rights violations were highest.

Data shared by Karapatan, which had been red-tagged by officials led by President Rodrigo Duterte himself, five regions with the biggest funding from the so-called barangay development program were those with the highest number of killings and legally infirm arrests.

According to Ano, the top five regions in terms of amounts of taxpayer money received were Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccskargen and Caraga.

These regions also happen to have the highest cases of EJKs and legally infirm arrests of activists from July 2016 to March 2021:

• Davao—56 EJKs, 84 legally infirm arrests
• Northern Mindanao—24 EJKs, 58 legally infirm arrests
• Western Visayas—51 EJKs, 56 legally infirm arrests
• Soccskargen—38 EJKs, 34 legally infirm arrests
• Caraga—30 EJKs, 30 legally infirm arrests

According to Marco Valbuena, information officer of Communist Party of the Philippines, out of the 822 villages, or barangays, that have been declared by the government as cleared of insurgents, 50 were sites of clashes between guerrillas and government forces from January 2020 to middle of June 2021.

In the Ilocos region, two villages that had been declared as clear of insurgents were places where communist rebels never operated, Valbuena said.

At least 52 villages out of the 822 might have been wrongly reported as insurgency-free just to access at least P1 billion in funds from the counterinsurgency program being supervised by the NTF-Elcac, he said.

“The AFP’s cleared category is problematic,” Valbuena said. “The people’s war is a fluid war,” he said.

“The NPA is a guerrilla army which can move in and out of areas,” the rebel spokesperson said.

Is this all propaganda or is this factual? Is it factual but misinterpreted? The government will say EJKs do not exist and that those whom government forces detained or killed did so in legitimate operations as well as accuse Karaptan of being a CPP-NPA front. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1146609

“The selection of 822 barangays to receive BDP funds underwent a thorough validation process participated by different stakeholders, particularly the people from the concerned barangays. These barangays share a common history, being exploited or subjected to abuses and deception by the CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines - New People’s Army),” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in a message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

“The claims of Karapatan are mere allegations and speculations that had never been substantiated in any judicial court or in any official investigation. This so-called EJK has never been a policy of this government. It is not surprising for Karapatan to make these unfounded allegations because everyone knows the true color of Karapatan,” he added.

This is a typical response from the government. They don't actually rebut any of the data Karapatan actually presented. Instead of discussing the alleged EJKs he brushes it off saying such a thing has never been proven in a court of law as if a thing has to be proven in a court of law for it to be true. Año also does not discuss that allegation that 50 of the allegedly cleared villages were sites of clashes between the NPA and AFP.

Karapatan's data that 50 out of 822 allegedly cleared villages were sites of clashes between January 2020 and June 2021is the most interesting thing here. Two of the 822 villages never had NPA influence to begin with. If true that is certainly problematic. But I have reported here in several articles that the AFP's method of declaring areas as insurgent free is problematic and that areas once declared cleared have seen a resurgence of NPA fighters.

“Insurgency-free”, according to Luga, means that they have received no more reports of armed men in the province. 

“Insignificant level. Wala na rito ang mga armed groups,” Luga said during the recent meeting of the Regional Peace and Order Council held at the Capitol Social Ha

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

Perhaps this article is part of Oplan Delta.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/10/21/rights-group-wants-chr-to-block-parlade-retirement

In a letter to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), human rights alliance Karapatan urged the government body to withhold clearances for the retirement of Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. 

According to Karapatan, Parlade "deserves no graceful exit" for his "rabid" red tagging that endangered the lives of several individuals.

"A rabid red-tagger like Antonio Parlade Jr. deserves no graceful exit... Allowing Parlade to walk away scot-free amid the pending cases against him... would be tantamount to impunity. We ask the CHR to withhold clearances for Parlade," Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said in a statement.  

Karapatan on Friday said it submitted a letter to CHR chairperson Chito Gascon asking the body "to withhold clearances for Parlade," citing a provision in the CHR’s Citizen’s Handbook. 

"[A]ccording to the CHR’s Citizen’s Handbook, the Commission holds the function and mandate to issue clearances to military or police officers, among others, regarding their records of human rights violations or those with pending resolution of human rights violations," the letter said.  

In a statement sent to ABS-CBN News, CHR deputy spokesperson Marc Louis Siapno explained that their capacity to issue clearances to security personnel is limited to "purposes of training, schooling or deployment overseas with international partners, as well as for promotions and confirmation within the armed services."  

"[T]he CHR clearance procedure has not thus far been included as a mandatory requirement by the security sector for retirement purposes," Siapno said.  

Page 11 of the CHR's Citizen's Charter said "[c]ertifications are issued for their promotions, nominations, confirmations, schooling (both local and abroad), as requirement for their United Nations Mission, travel abroad, retirement and other similar purposes." 

Siapno said the CHR now wants to expand the coverage of their clearance powers. 

"For this purpose, we encourage expansion of the clearance procedure to cover areas that will ensure compliance with the highest human rights standards for all duty-bearers." 

This could very well be evidence of Oplan Delta. Karapatan says they want the CHR to withhold any clearance certificate from Paralde upon his retirement because he has engaged in red-tagging. But the CHR says such a certificate is not mandatory. That means Karapatan's request is pointless and just for show. But not to be outdone the CHR says they are requesting that their powers be expanded so that such a clearance becomes mandatory.

Even if Oplan Delta is real slandering officials of the NTF-ELCAC is hardly something they should be worrying about. Instead the AFP should be focused on countering the many tactical offenses planned in  last year's CPP memo.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1458640/pnp-places-northern-samar-on-high-alert-after-separate-npa-attacks

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday placed local authorities in Northern Samar on high alert following alleged members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) carried out separate attacks.

This order came after suspected NPA rebels killed a soldier and barangay captain in separate incidents in northern Samar.

Meanwhile, PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar condemned the attacks, even described the perpetrators as terrorists.

(These terrorists will definitely stop at nothing to sow chaos and violence in our communities in their desire to show that their force is still strong. They try to cover up the fact that they are weak and have no support for their futile efforts to advance their armed struggle.)

(It is infuriating that the CPP-NPA is targeting innocent civilians in their attacks. Because no one believes in their deception and propaganda anymore.)

The PNP is looking at this all wrong. As Jeffery Celiz says the NPA has "the capability to destroy government leaders, as well as the entire government." Perhaps the AFP and PNP should stop dismissing the NPA as being weak and focus on destroying them.

Political Dynasties, Nuisance Candidates, and the Illusion of Choice

What can be said about political dynasties that has not already been said? Political dynasties are the bane of Philippine politics. What you end up with is families lording it over their territories for generations which imbues a sense of entitlement. See the Marcoses in Ilocos Norte. Simply because one family runs an area does not mean that that family is corrupt. But it certainly paints a picture of corruption. There is a reason why nepotism has been rejected in many other nations. Filipinos seem to not understand the appearance of  impropriety is just as important to avoid as impropriety itself.

This latest story exemplifies dynastic politics in the Philippines. Its import is that it involves a family that is not well known, at least at the national level. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1143204

Vice Mayor Lino Montilla has officially assumed as the city mayor here on Wednesday afternoon.

Montilla filled the vacancy left by his elder brother, Mayor Angelo, who passed away on June 6.

Vice Mayor Montilla’s assumption to the mayoralty post complies with Section 44 of the Local Government Code stating that “if a permanent vacancy occurs in the office of the governor or mayor, the vice governor or vice mayor concerned shall become the governor or mayor.”

Meanwhile, based on the same provision, Sangguniang Panlungsod Member Lalaine Montilla, Lino's wife, being the councilor with the highest number of votes in the 2019 elections, subsequently took her oath of office as the new vice mayor.

The couple vowed to pursue the primary dream of the late mayor for Tacurong City, which is improving the lives of all its constituents.

While their appointment is legal one has to ask if this acceptable. First it was two brothers ruling a city now its husband-wife duo. Isko Moreno got a lot of slack for saying that government positions are not inherited.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1441516/another-duterte-for-president-i-dont-believe-govt-position-is-inherited-isko

(In a democracy, it is the people who choose. You cannot force your relatives to succeed you. I do not believe that and I am not going to vote for that as a voter and I disagree as a citizen of this country.)

Moreno's sentiment is right but practically speaking he is dead wrong. The fact is that the parties choose who will run for every office be it barangay captain or president. Not just anyone can run. Candidates submit their candidacy to the COMELEC and they weed out those who they think should not be running. These people are called "nuisance candidates."

https://www.manilatimes.net/2015/10/18/news/top-stories/comelec-starts-weeding-out-nuisance-candidates/224483

The arduous task of weeding out nuisance candidates will be the next focus of the commission, two days after it stopped accepting certificates of candidacy (COC) from thousands of candidates aspiring for the more than 18,000 elective posts nationwide.

As of Friday, there were 130 presidential wannabes. Nineteen filed their COC for Vice President while 172 others were seeking a Senate seat.

Imagine 130 people running for president. And why shouldn't they? If they can pay the fees and file the paper work why shouldn't they? Don't we hear time and again about how this is a Democracy (it's actually a Republic)? Can you guess what determines who is and who is not a nuisance candidate?

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/731218/comelec-reiterates-rules-on-nuisance-candidates

Citing the Omnibus Election Code, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez told the media that the poll body has the authority to reject the certificates of candidacy (COC) of individuals who fall under three categories:

1. Those who make a mockery of the election system;
2. Those who seek to confuse voters through similarity of names between candidates; and
3. Those who have no bona fide or good faith in running for office.

(These would include candidates who, I suppose, fall outside of reasonableness.) 

“There are also some questions to the ability of the candidates to conduct national campaigns. Nuisance refers to the candidacy, not the individual—’yung kandidatura na makakagulo lamang sa kabuuang proseso (the candidacy that would disrupt the whole process),” Jimenez said.

Sorry, but it is impossible to separate the candidacy from the individual. Number one on this list is a catch-all that should disqualify practically every single person in the government, espeically the House and Senate. I am looking at Bato, Go, Pacquiao, Sotto, and every other entertainer and dynasty candidate such as the Cayetanos.  All of those people make a mockery of the Philippine election system as they run on pure vanity and name recognition not on statesmanship. Are there any statesmen left in this world? Not in the Philippines, thats for sure.

So, what's the point here? The problem is that Filipinos are left with the illusion of choice. Since the parties choose their candidates and the COMELEC decides who is and who is not a worthy candidate, the public lies at the whims of the parties and the COMELEC. It's all good and well to descry political dynasties but the public is really impotent to do anything about them. They go to the voting booth and have to choose between the names on the list they are given. This why Senator Lacson's advice to Filipinos to choose firm and fair leaders is disingenuous.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1458038/most-serious-polls-voters-must-choose-leader-whos-not-selective-vs-corruption-lacson

In selecting the country’s next leaders wisely, the senator said voters must consider current problems and issues hounding the country.

“This is serious, very serious especially because of the pandemic. I think the decision we will make in 2022 is the most serious and important decision we all have to make and we should really think carefully,” Lacson said.

As voters have no say in the matter of who is on the ballot Lacson should address his remarks to the parties who actually choose the candidates. Lacson knows how the system works yet he chooses to push the line about choice despite Filipinos having no real choice at all. But the parties don't care about the people. They only care about their agenda while wrapping it all in the guise of being for the people.

Political dynasties are entrenched in the fabric of public and political life. These families have large networks and access to funds that no-namers do not. This gives them the advantage. What's the solution? I am of the opinion that there is no solution. To unwind dynasties from public life would take several generations and a public will that just does not exist in the Philippines. There is a lot of talk against political dynasties but honestly there is nothing practical that can be done to combat them as long as the parties continue to choose them as their candidates.