Retards in the Government 244

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

https://www.panaynews.net/cop-dismissed-from-service/

A police officer formerly assigned at the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) and faced a string of administrative charges was dismissed from the service. 

Police Staff Sergeant Marvin Seasol was ordered axed by the National Police Commission (Napolcom) for grave misconduct. 

Napolcom issued the order on March 16, 2021 yet but was made known only this Friday.

The order was signed by Police Major General Rolando Hinanay, director for Personnel and Records Management, Camp Crame. This was for Seasol’s 2018 case.

According to Napolcom Region 6 director Joseph Celis, however, there is yet another dismissal order against Seasol for another grave misconduct complaint – this was regarding the mauling and shooting of his neighbor in Oton, Iloilo on July 5, 2018. 

Just last year, March 24, 2021, Seasol was tagged in the shooting of a pedicab driver, Normando Estrebor, on Recto Street. Barangay Poblacion West, Oton. 

An incident report from the Oton police station stated that a drunk Seasol allegedly pelted with stones the house of the Estrebor family

A cop has been dismissed for grave misconduct.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1546959/ex-councilor-in-samar-in-stable-condition-after-getting-shot

A former councilor in Jiabong town, Samar province is now in stable condition after he was shot and wounded by still unidentified assailants on Friday afternoon.

Rolando Cabadsan, 56, was working at his car shop located in Barangay Tigbago-an, around 8 kilometers away from the town proper, when the assailants, who were wearing helmet and facemask, approached and shot him on his head and back, said Lt. Elbest Taping, officer-in-charge of the Jiabong municipal police station.

Cabadsan was rushed to a hospital in Tacloban City for treatment while the perpetrators immediately fled onboard a motorcycle.

“There was a lone witness but he could not provide as to the identities of the suspects as both were wearing helmets and facemasks. The area where the incident happened is isolated and there is no mobile phone signal there,” Taping said in a phone interview.

A former councilor was shot by unknown men for unknown reasons.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1548464/ex-soldier-nabbed-in-drug-buy-bust-operation-in-camarines-sur

A former member of the Philippine Army and now a barangay tanod (village watchman) was arrested in a buy-bust operation in Del Gallego town in Camarines Sur on Tuesday morning.

The suspect, Homer Suarilla, 42, was arrested in Barangay Poblacion at around 11:20 a.m., according to a report by Cotton Yuson, information officer of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Bicol.

Suarilla was included in the illegal drugs watch list of the PDEA.

Authorities confiscated from the suspect 50 grams of crystal meth, more commonly known locally as shabu, worth P340,000.

Yuson said that the suspect reportedly got his supply from a source in Quezon province.

He was declared “absent without official leave” from the military in 2007.

A soldier who went AWOL in 2007 has been busted for drugs.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1166826

Police investigators are looking into family feud or "rido" as a possible motive for the ambush that killed two, including the chief of the Lanao del Norte - Highway Patrol Group (HPG), and wounded another companion in Sultan Dumalondong, Lanao del Sur.

A report from Lanao del Sur police stated that Major Omar Tago, the Lanao del Norte - HPG chief, was on his way to Barangay Pagalungan on Monday to attend the vigil of a family member who died four days before the incident when the suspects fired upon the vehicle of the police official.

In an update Tuesday, Lt. Col. Cristio Lagyop Jr., chief of the Regional Public Information Office of the Police Regional Office in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, confirmed that four assailants on motorcycles carried out the attack.

Tago was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead while being revived.

Tago, who heads the HPG Lanao del Norte, was on his 20th year in the service this year.

A cop who was head of the HPG Lanao del Norte was assassinated in a possible rido or family feud.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/423016/senate-panel-finds-duterte-accountable-for-complicity-in-plunder

The Senate blue ribbon committee on Tuesday accused President Rodrigo Duterte of complicity in “one of the biggest plunders of the Philippines’ coffers in recent history” that involved his friends and appointees in the government’s multibillion-peso pandemic supply deals with Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. in 2020 and 2021.

The panel chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon said Duterte “must be held accountable” for betrayal of public trust, a ground for impeachment that was not specifically recommended in his committee’s report.

Gordon’s committee released its partial report recommending criminal charges, such as graft and plunder, against several people, including Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, the president’s close Chinese friend and former Presidential Economic Adviser Michael Yang, former Budget Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao, and several Pharmally executives.

“The nation has been betrayed. While millions are unemployed, have become poorer and hungrier, are desperate even for just a glimmer of hope, what this administration has done is to exacerbate the already execrable and hopeless state the people are all in. None can be more unforgivable,” the report said.

The committee said the acts of “malfeasance, misfeasance, and/or non-feasance” by government officials in cahoots with Pharmally officers were consummated “under the nose of the President.”

“The amounts involved in the dirty transactions were enormous, producing a stench that would have been impossible to ignore in Malacañang,” it said.

“The President as Chief Executive should have known what his appointees and friends were doing,” the Gordon panel said.

“If he did not know prior to the Senate investigation, then it certainly came to his attention when the hearings were underway, and instead of investigating the matter or supporting any such investigation, he chose to defend and protect those closest to him who had dipped their fingers into the coffers of the nation,” it added.

It endorsed plunder cases against Duque, Lao, and Overall Deputy Ombudsman Warren Rex Liong, who used to be a director at the PS-DBM.

Plunder charges were also recommended against Pharmally executives led by its Singaporean president and chair Huang Tzu Yen and Filipino executives Linconn Ong, Mohit Dargani, Twinkle Dargani, and Krizle Grace Mago; Yang, who is based in Davao City and was said to be Pharmally’s guarantor and financier; and his close associate Lin Weixiong.

The panel recommended graft and corruption charges against all of them.

“The most troubling question remains—why was the President so quick to defend those closest to him once their names were linked to the anomaly and then so eager to discredit the Senate investigation, prevent his appointees from cooperating, and absolve them of any liability?” the report said.

“Unfortunately, based on the President’s own behavior, one cannot help but conclude that he was aware of, allowed, and condoned the misdeeds of his closest associates and appointees,” it said. “For this, he must be held accountable.”

The Senate has recommends charges against several officials over the Pharmally scandal. The same report also says Duterte is not without blame in this matter and must be held accountable.

Coronavirus Lockdown: Worst is Over, Barred From Vaccine Trials, and More!

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

The pandemic is not going to last forever which is why some are urging the government to make an exit plan.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/27/22/ph-govt-urged-to-begin-pandemic-exit-plan

Some experts have called on the Philippine government to come up with a pandemic exit strategy that would relax restrictions in the country.

Presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion and OCTA Research fellow Fr. Nicanor Austriaco urged the government's pandemic task force to take initial steps in taking the Philippines out of a "pandemic mindset."

"It is time for the national government to transition our people from a pandemic to an endemic mindset," they said in a letter issued Jan. 26.

Opening up the country to the world by easing and simplifying travel restrictions will redound to many downstream benefits to the economy, they said.

To date, only the Philippines, Myanmar, and Japan have the strictest travel restrictions, Concepcion said. 

“The rest have either lifted curfews and stay-at-home orders, opened their borders to non-citizens and non-residents, and have allowed all or most commercial flights to the country," he added.

Concepcion said the country’s travel restrictions could be further relaxed without compromising safety by scrapping facility-based quarantines and instead requiring only home quarantines.

“The next few months will be critical in how the country will move on from the pandemic,” Concepcion said. 

“I believe the government should set an example and start opening the country to the world. This will instill confidence in the vaccines and encourage more of our countrymen to take them.”

For the government there is only one way out of the pandemic, vaccination.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1166460

Vaccination is the key to the exit of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. an official of the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 said Wednesday night.

Head of the NTF Strategic Communications sub-task group on current operations, Assistant Secretary Wilben Mayor, urged anew unvaccinated Filipinos to avail of Covid-19 jabs to get enough protection against the dreaded disease.

"(Once again, the government is encouraging you, the vaccine is the answer so we can fight and get out – exit this pandemic)," Mayor said shortly after the arrival of 1,023,750 doses of Pfizer vaccine at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 via an Air Hong Kong cargo flight.

The government has urged those with complete shots to avail of booster shots for added protection.

Mayor likewise reiterated that all Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective against severe and critical symptoms of the disease and help prevent the hospitalization of coronavirus patients.

If the vaccines do not prevent infection but only negate the effects of the virus then how exactly is this an exit plan when it seems they have a zero-COVID policy?

So, the economy is booming which means the Philippines has been resilient during the pandemic.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1166486

Malacañang sees the growth of the Philippine economy as proof of the country's strength and resilience amid facing various challenges, acting presidential spokesperson, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, said Thursday.

The latest data from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the Philippine economy expanded by 5.6 percent after recording 7.7 percent growth in the fourth quarter, despite struggling with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic and natural disasters such as typhoons.

"We commend our Economic Team for deftly managing the economy through these turbulent times, and thank our people for their sacrifices, hard work, and faith in the leadership of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during this challenging period," Nograles said in a statement.

Based on the report, the country's annual performance slightly exceeded the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s target range of 5 percent to 5.5 percent, with a full-year 2021 gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.6 percent.

Ok, but how does this growth trickle down? Apparently it doesn't!

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1545616/covids-other-debilitating-impact-whole-families-lose-income

“Whether it is a mild or severe case, the rule in the workforce is that when you are COVID-19 positive, you can’t report for work,” he said.

“It can be mild, but the impact is destructive since the family can’t work,” he added. 

Some workers, who tested positive for COVID, can get paid sick leaves, meaning they can still receive their salaries or benefits despite being unable to work as they isolate for many days or weeks after contracting the disease. 

But some employees—as well as workers like public utility drivers, street vendors, and the like—who rely on day-to-day income or salary and have no paid sick leave, face the specter of income loss as they battle against COVID-19. 

National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa, at a recent briefing, said the employment picture was improving. In October 2021, Mapa said at least 43.83 million Filipinos have jobs. In November 2021, the figure jumped to 45.48 million.

And the vaccines aren't helping this situation at all because the vaccinated can still get infected meaning they will be forced to stay home and lose income. 

Despite the uselessness of vaccines in stopping the spread of the virus vaccine hesitancy has been decreasing.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1166496

The latest survey that showed dropped in Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy means the government's pandemic response is in the "right direction" to restore normalcy, acting presidential spokesperson Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, said Thursday.

The latest data from the OCTA Research Group's Tugon ng Masa national poll conducted on Dec. 7 to 12 last year, showed that only 5 percent of adult Filipinos said they do not want to get vaccinated against Covid-19, down from 22 percent in September 2021.

The OCTA survey also showed that only 2 percent of adult Filipinos have contracted Covid-19 infection after being fully vaccinated.

"This is incontrovertible evidence that Covid-19 vaccines protect us, our loved ones, and our communities from the virus," Nograles said in a statement.

"It also emphasizes that vaccination is a step towards the right direction in our efforts to restore normalcy," he added.

They really know how to twist the meaning of these numbers. How does the vaccine protect anyone for the virus when even the government admits that the vaccines do not prevent infection but only mitigate the symptoms?

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a massive increase in garbage, specifically medical waste. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/29/22/7-kids-who-played-with-used-syringes-positive-for-covid

Seven children in Virac town, Catanduanes who played with medical waste found in the vicinity of their village tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.  

Authorities antigen-tested the children, ages 3 to 11, after they played with used syringes disposed in the coast of Barangay Concepcion.  

A woman who was seen scolding the children for playing with medical waste was also infected. 

Concepcion barangay chief Anthony Arcilla said the children have been isolated, and given vitamins and medicine.  

They are set to undergo RT-PCR testing on Monday.  

The medical waste was first spotted along Concepcion's coast this month. 

According to barangay officials, the laboratory where the waste came from claimed responsibility for the incident and apologized at a village council session. 

So, a laboratory dumped its medical waste along the coast? And all they had to do was apologize? This sounds criminal.

Here is something else that sounds rather suspicious. 

https://www.panaynews.net/calinog-residents-barred-from-vaccine-trials/

The local government of the municipality of Calinog has prohibited its residents from taking part in clinical trials for vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Reports reached the local government that some residents joined clinical trials for Wantai, WestVac and other coronavirus vaccines being developed without proper coordination with it.

According to Mayor Francisco Calvo, Calinog had not received any advisory from any government agency about the clinical trials.

He heard that each participant was promised between P2,500 to P5,000; that at night they were hauled to hospitals in Iloilo City for swabbing then released on their own to go home.

“Allegedly, those monitored by swab tests are just sent home to commute which is a violation of the protocols on swab testing,” according to Calvo.

The mayor also said some of those who participated in the trials became positive for COVID-19.

Residents in one Iloilo municipality are participating in COVID-19 vaccine trials without coordinating with the government. This is not news as the local government urged the matter be looked into last October.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1910127/cebu/local-news/official-seeks-probe-on-clinical-trial-of-westvac-covid-vaccine-in-cebu-city

The south district councilor said he got wind of the clinical trial of the vaccine developed in China after residents inquired with him on the efficacy of the WestVac vaccine.

He said some residents were vaccinated on Oct. 9, and then were given not a vaccination card authorized by the City Government, but a card showing that they were participants in a study or trial for the “recombinant Covid-19 vaccine.”

Among those convinced to participate in the clinical trial were residents living in coastal barangays and including Cogon Pardo and Labangon.

Tumulak, along with the City Council, urged the Department of Health (DOH) as well as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to verify this information, saying Cebu City Government officials were unaware of what the manufacturer of the vaccine had done.

The council also asked the City Health Department to conduct an investigation especially in the city’s coastal barangays.

The City Council through Tumulak also asked Cebu City residents to wait for the DOH and FDA to explain the vaccination allegedly administered by a Chinese Medical Group so the public could be apprised of the safety and risks of the vaccine.

Did anyone care to look into this situation? It seems not. Could that be becasue China is involved and Duterte does not want to upset Xi?

Metro Manila is going back to Alert Level 2 which means the "no tax, no ride" policy will be done away with.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/01/30/2157427/dotr-lift-no-vaccination-no-ride-policy-under-alert-level-2

With Metro Manila reverting back to Alert Level 2 starting February 1, the Department of Transportation said it would also be lifting its controversial and highly-contested "no vaccination, no ride" policy in public transportation starting that same day. 

"Once we de-escalate to Alert Level 2, the no vaxx, no ride policy shall automatically be lifted," Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Libiran said in a Viber message to reporters on Sunday afternoon. 

To recall, the DOTr announced the policy in early January "to prevent a repeat of the public transport shut down [and] safeguard those that are most at risk." 

Well, that was short and pointless and caused a lot of useless grief. If this measure is so effective at stopping the spread of the virus and protecting "those that are most at risk" then why scrap it? We are still wearing ineffective face masks after all.

The OCTA says the worst of the pandemic is over.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1547712/worst-is-over-in-most-parts-of-ph-as-covid-19-cases-decline-octa

The “worst is over” in “most” parts of the country with COVID-19 cases having already peaked or is peaking, OCTA Research fellow Guido David said.

“We believe that the worst is over in most parts of the country,” David said during Monday’s Pandesal Forum. 

“We could imagine that the worst is probably over for most of the country because cases have peaked or peaking,” he added. 

“It doesn’t mean of course that it’s all clear, we should still follow health protocols as we go out. There’s still a significant number of cases…We still have to self-isolate if we’re feeling symptoms, we have to wear face masks,” he said.

They are basically admitting that the worse is not over because we still must follow the ineffective health protocols. Harry Roque said last September that he thought the worst was over and the BSP said last November that the worst was over for the economy. And then every thing came crashing down again as strict health protocols were once again enacted in January. So, I do not believe any of these prognostications about the worst being over and neither should you.

More Coronavirus Signs and Situations Again

The Pandemic is winding down which means less bizarre coronavirus signs and situations will be seen in public. Thankfully I have a few leftovers to share with you.

With the vaccination program in full swing one of the most common signs to be seen is one letting customers know all employees are fully vaccinated.

"All-vaxxed to take care of you." Do these people not realize that despite being fully vaccinated and boosted that they can still transmit the virus to me? Maybe the "to take care of you" is a euphemism. But the virus has a 97% survival rate so even if these workers at Greenwich did infect me I'd probably not be "taken care of."

If you are out and about but forgot your cloth face mask then why not take tip from this guy.

Improvise with a plastic bag!

With the new virus comes new fashion. 

A hat with a face shield looks silly but what do I know? I'm no fashion designer. Too bad face shields are now out of fashion. But with new variants and an overbearing government they could come back at any time.

Remember in 2020 the long lines at every single store? A lot of that was because management was limiting the number of customers. Here is a reminder of that nonsense

It's not like one could "social distance" while shopping. The aisles are narrow and frankly I have never seen any one enforcing social distancing at any store.

Along with the coronavirus came warnings to wash your hands and sanitize everything with alcohol. Cleanliness got a little high tech in some sectors with UV sterilizers being given away with the purchase of a brand new phone.

Believe it or not UV radiation can kill germs including COVID-19. But that is not to say that his particular device is effective at anything except getting to you buy an expensive new phone.

Remember when your neighbors got the COVID and were branded by the local health department for all to see?

Yeah, I don't think that was ever a good idea. All it did was instill fear in the community. Apparently the family being quarantined in this particular house were the subject of rumors regarding their COVID status which is why they hung up this sign shortly after their quarantine period ended:

What news was being spread about these people that they had to resort to hanging up this sign? People do have a tendency to talk and start rumors but that would not have happened if the government had not branded the infected with a huge yellow Star of David, I mean red tarp, for all to see.

Here is one coronavirus sign that is a sign for all seasons. Digital eye strain has been an increasing problem over the years as everyone stares at screens for hours every day.

All of that is very good advice in our computer age.

What is one of the best ways to stop the spread of the coronavirus? Reducing bank hours of course!

In view of the COVID-19 situation, our new banking schedule is as follows

What is the science behind this? There is none! They could stay open for an hour more or less and the virus would still continue to spread.

Most coronavirus signs make sense even if they are silly but this one is beyond me.

Why was this posted? What does it have to do with stopping the spread of the virus? Who the heck would walk around with concealed gasoline?  It makes no sense. Is it even a coronavirus sign? It was posted next to one so I think it is. It's a ridiculous sign nonetheless.

The next picture is just as nonsensical.

This is a coronavirus scene from SM Supermarket. Is infectious waste really going in that trash can? No. Just hand wipes and paper towels. This is not the only SM Supermarket with an "Infectious Waste" trash can.

Here is another!!

So why place the fake label on the can? What's the point? Scaremongering? Well, keeping people afraid is integral to what these coronavirus signs and situations are all about.

Insurgency: It's Insane to Talk Peace

The Army is really going all out to make sure they meet the goal of defeating the CPP-NPA by Duterte leaves office. One official says it will be done before the deadline.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1166033

A top-ranking military official has vowed an intensified drive against insurgency along with his counterparts in the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) in Region 3 (Central Luzon) to finish its mission and objectives "within the time frame".

Maj. Gen. Andrew D. Costelo, commander of the Philippine Army's 7th Infantry Division (7ID), cited the need to intensify efforts in the conduct of collaborative activities with national government agencies and engaging more with the communities to defeat local communist armed conflict.

“We are already in the stage of this campaign that we have to be more aggressive in our efforts because six months from now, President Rodrigo Duterte will step down from presidency and also signals the end of our timeline to defeat and eradicate the local communist armed conflict in our area of responsibility,” he said in a social media post on Friday.

The new AFP Chief has reiterated this same promise. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1166358

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief, Gen. Andres Centino, has directed all military commanders to ensure that the local communist insurgency threat is eliminated before President Rodrigo R. Duterte's term ends in June.

Centino issued the directive during Tuesday's command conference at the AFP headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City attended by all chiefs of major services and unified commands.

“As your Chief of Staff, I am taking the lead in this final push of our campaign. I enjoin everyone to maintain our momentum, sustain our gains, and remain victorious. Let us finish the local armed conflict within the President’s term. As the Armed Forces of the Filipino people, we shall not fail them in their desire of having a peaceful and secure society,” he said in a statement Tuesday night.

Centino also directed all AFP commanders to intensify their operations with a sense of urgency and focus on defeating the remaining local threat groups through intelligence-driven combat operations.

He particularly ordered the redeployment of AFP forces to where the communist group is based, launch decisive engagements aimed at destroying the enemies’ will to fight, cut off their source of funds and logistics support, and hit the enemy leadership, which is considered their center of gravity, hard.

Citing the AFP's accomplishments for 2021, he said the military had neutralized 43 top New People's Army (NPA) leaders and Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Central Committee members.

These are Jorge Madlos, Menandro Villanueva, Pedro Codaste, Eddie Genelsa, and Maria Loida Tuso Magpatoc – all members of the CPP Politburo Committee.

Likewise, 10 CPP-NPA guerilla fronts have been dismantled while more than 3,000 party and underground organization members and supporters have withdrawn their membership from the CPP and the National Democratic Front.

Not only did Centino "direct all AFP commanders to intensify their operations with a sense of urgency" but he also cited some of their recent achievements against the NPA. In Bukidnon the NPA is leaving for greener pastures as more communities have labelled them as persona non grata.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1166125

The Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) said the remaining combatants of the New People's Army (NPA) in Bukidnon province have moved to the borders of Lanao del Sur.

In a statement Saturday, Lt. Gen. Greg T. Almerol, Eastmincom commander, said they noticed the movement after members of the rebel group figured in an encounter with Army soldiers in the towns of Amai Manabilang, Lumba-Bayabao, and Maguing, all in Lanao del Sur.

The skirmish came after concerned citizens reported the presence of some 30 armed men to the troops on January 20, under the 403rd Brigade's 1st Special Forces Battalion (1SFBn), who have been pursuing the remnants of North Central Mindanao Regional Committee’s (NCMRC) Sub-Regional Committee 4 (SRC4) and SRC5 in the area.

"These clashes send a strong manifestation that the people are already fed up with the CTG's (communist terrorist group) continued atrocities in their communities, therefore making them more participative in the military's campaign to end the communist insurgency by reporting suspicious armed groups and activities," he said.

Almirola said the NPA rebels in Bukidnon have been running away from the government forces toward unfamiliar terrain such as in Lanao del Sur as communities in their former mass bases have already declared them persona-non-grata.

"Although their remnants are still on the run, lack of familiarity in the new terrain and support from communities made them easier to be pursued and engaged by our troops," he said.

In fact the AFP says the NPA in Bukidnon is losing its footing.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/01/25/npas-losing-foothold-in-bukidnon-another-rebel-leader-killed-in-clash/

As top the leadership of the communist rebels in Mindanao fell one by one, the military claimed that communist rebels are apparently losing foothold in Bukidnon as the rebels are believed to be seeking refuge in the neighboring Lanao del Sur province.

Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Eastern Mindanao Command chief Lt.Gen. Greg Almerol described the rebel group like “running like a headless monster” with the recent death of yet another alleged ranking rebel leader.

“We are seeing a snowball of surrender in the coming days with the successful neutralization of another CTG head. This is possible as the operational balance of the CTG continues to crumble while the morale of their followers depletes after a series of engagements with our troops,” Almerol added. 

Meanwhile in Luzon the AFP says the NPA is crumbling.

https://www.kalinawnews.com/communist-insurgency-crumbling-in-northern-luzon-following-the-surrender-of-3-ctg-members/

“Communist Insurgency is crumbling in Northern Luzon,” said Maj. Gen. Andrew Costelo, Acting Commander of the Northern Luzon Command, following the surrender of three (3) Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) members with their firearms to the troops of the 86th Infantry Battalion of the Joint Task Force (JTF) Tala at Sitio Jet, Barangay Rizal, San Guillermo, Isabela on January 22, 2022.

Maj. Gen. Costelo disclosed that “In a report submitted by the Joint Task Group (JTG) Liberator Commander, Brig. Gen. Danilo Benavides, the surrendered personalities were members of the Regional Sentro de Gravidad (RSDG) and are residents of Barangay Villagracia, Maddela, Quirino. Their names are being withheld for the meantime pending results of their initial debriefing.”

“With their willingness to yield to the government and chose the path for peace, they also brought alongside with them two (2) m16 rifles with two (2) short magazines, three (3) long magazine and 26 live 5.56 ammunition which manifests their complete abandonment of the armed movement of the communist terrorists,” Maj. Gen. Costelo said.

“It will only be a matter of time before Communist Insurgency will be totally decimated in this part of the country, ” said Maj. Gen. Mina.

“If the trend of those CTG members going back to the folds of the law complemented by our successes in the civil-military cooperation continue, there is no doubt that we attain to end the local communist armed conflict by the end of President Duterte’s term,” Maj. Gen Costelo added.

In the Visayas the AFP says the NPA is becoming increasingly irrelevant.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1166643

The Visayas Command (Viscom) on Saturday said communist rebels in the regions are fast becoming irrelevant due to dwindling support from the residents, sustained community engagement of soldiers, and the Barangay Development Program (BDP) of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

In a statement, Lt. Gen. Robert Dauz, Viscom commander, said the Community Support Program (CSP) has amplified the direct engagement of the government forces to the communities which led the people to detach from the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA).

CSP, a flagship program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), is being credited for the many successful clearing of the presence of NPA in the communities.

“With our sustained community engagements, the people in the region started to break free from the clutches of the communist terrorists while embracing an active role in the government’s peace and development initiatives,” Dauz said.

The evidence is pretty clear. The NPA is on the run and is close to being defeated. The AFP claims that the job will be done by the end of Duterte's term which is June 2022. So, why are the Presidential candidates discussing reviving peace talks?

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1544541/nica-chief-its-insane-to-talk-peace-again-with-reds

The head of the government’s intelligence agency criticized as “insanity” the recent remarks by four presidential candidates expressing their intention to pursue peace negotiations with communist rebels.

National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica) Director General Alex Paul Monteagudo said reviving the talks with the rebels would only fail as it did in the past.

With their stance to resume the talks, he said, Vice President Leni Robredo, Senators Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao and Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso were just trying to “gain votes… [s]o that they would seem like statesmen.”

Monteagudo was reacting to remarks made by these candidates in broadcast journalist Jessica Soho’s “Presidential Interviews” which aired on GMA 7 on Saturday.

“Mr. Albert Einstein, the genius, said, ‘Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is insanity,’” Monteagudo said at Monday’s online press briefing by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac).

He added: “How many times have we had peace talks with the rebels? All administrations since 1986 held peace talks with the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines)-NPA (New People’s Army)-National Democratic Front of the Philippines, speaking with the same persons.”

What's really insane is that NICA Chief Monteagudo did not mention any of the accomplishments of the AFP. He did not say that the defeat of the NPA is imminent therefore peace talks are impertinent. Does he not believe that sentiment is true? It seems the Palace does not believe the NPA will be defeated by the end of Duterte's term either. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1166338

Malacañang hopes the next administration will sustain the gains of the government against the communist insurgency, through the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

Executive Order 70 signed in December 2018 created the NTF-ELCAC that institutionalizes a whole-of-nation approach in obtaining exclusive and sustainable peace, giving the government an effective solution against communist terrorists.

"(We hope the next President, whoever that is, will continue the successful accomplishments of the) NTF-ELCAC," acting presidential spokesperson, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday.

Again, there is no mention of the AFP's successes against the CPP-NPA. There is no hope that the insurgency will be over by June. It seems they think the NPA will still be operating after Duterte is gone. But who knows? Maybe the AFP will finally succeed in ending the insurgency within the next four months.