Retards in the Government 247

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

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1556483/councilor-bet-in-sto-tomas-city-in-batangas-shot-dead

A lawyer aspiring to be a councilor in Sto. Tomas City in Batangas province was shot dead Thursday, Feb. 17, inside his office, police said.

The Calabarzon police reported Friday that Reginald Michael Manito, 42, and his secretary, Aira Vargas, 20, were inside the law office at Governor Malvar Avenue in Barangay Poblacion 1 when two still-unidentified men barged inside at 11:20 a.m.

One assailant with a 9-mm pistol shot the lawyer twice on his head and right shoulder.

The gunman and his cohort fled on foot after the shooting and left Vargas unhurt.

 A lawyer running for office was assassinated by unknown men for unknown reasons.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1168179

A member of the Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG) was arrested in Laguna Sunday night for driving a stolen vehicle, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported on Monday.

PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos identified the arrested officer as Chief Master Sgt. Allan Casañas, who was nabbed by members of the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) Calabarzon office and the PNP Highway Patrol Group (HPG).

Casañas was driving a stolen silver Toyota Innova when he was apprehended along Chipeco Ave. in Barangay Halang, Calamba City at around 7:20 p.m.

Carlos said that based on the report, IMEG undercover officers placed the PSPG member under surveillance amid information that he was using a stolen motor vehicle.

IMEG and PNP-HPG officials stopped Casañas and placed him under arrest after a check with the HPG Vehicle Information Management System showed that he was in possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

A cop has been arrested for driving a stolen vehicle. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1168194

The mayor of Iligan City was found guilty of usurpation of public functions by the Sandiganbayan, committed while he was in jail for murder charges.

The anti-graft court’s Seventh Division sentenced Mayor Celso Regencia, 61, to up to 20 months in prison for usurpation of official functions.

In its February 11 decision, the Sandiganbayan said Regencia, among other things, issued directives and memoranda, signed checks and vouchers, and made appointments to various positions in the city government while jailed in Iligan City for murder charges from 2015 to 2017.

Regencia, a former town police chief who is in his third consecutive term as mayor, was suspended in 2015 on multiple murder and frustrated murder charges.

A mayor, who sin jail on murder charges, was found guilty of usurpation of public funds and sentence to 20 months in prison.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/02/21/sandiganbayan-affirms-graft-conviction-of-ex-dot-sec-joseph-durano-5-others/

The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the graft conviction of former Tourism Secretary Joseph Felix Mari “Ace” Hotchkiss Durano and five others due to the anomalous purchase of the P2.7 million Department of Tourism (DOT) Wall Calendar in 2008.

Durano and former Undersecretary Oscar Policarpio Palabyab, Financial Management Service Director Grace Reyes Yoro, bids and awards committee (BAC) members Eduardo Alvarez Jarque Jr. and Adriana Mesa Flor, and Legal Affairs Office Director IV Evelyn Respicio Cajigal were found guilty of violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

They were sentenced to six to 10 years imprisonment with perpetual disqualification from holding public office in a decision promulgated on Nov. 26, 2021.

The Sandiganbayan has upheld the conviction of a former DOT Secretary and 5 others for graft.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1921450/cebu/local-news/ex-sibonga-village-chief-shot-dead

A FORMER village chief of Barangay Candaguit, Sibonga town, southern Cebu died after she was gunned down by unidentified men on board a motorcycle on Saturday morning, Feb. 19, 2022.

Agnes Mendaros, 63, was watering the plants at her garden when two men onboard a purple motorcycle suddenly stopped in front of her home at around 7 a.m.

Staff Sgt. Leon Gesim of the Sibonga Police Station said witnesses told them the backrider suddenly disembarked from the vehicle, approached Mendaros then shot her several times.

Despite being wounded, Mendaros was able to run towards her house but the gunman reportedly chased her and continued shooting her until she collapsed.

The gunmen then hurriedly returned to his companion and the two fled from the crime scene.

A former barangay chief has been assassinated by unknown men for unknown reasons. The PNP is eyeing a land dispute as the possible cause. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/02/20/2162071/masungi-georeserve-deplores-attack-forest-rangers

Masungi Georeserve on Saturday asked for protection and support from the government following an attack on seven forest rangers.

"We deplore in the strongest terms yesterday’s horrific attack on our park rangers by people associated with illegal resorts in the Upper Marikina Watershed," Masungi Georeserve said in a statement.

What happened: On February 18, the park rangers based in the watershed were eating at a carinderia when they were attacked by about 30 people, according to Masungi.

• The mob "ganged up, clobbered and mauled" the seven rangers when they refused to get accosted without a warrant.
   
• Two rangers were injured and sent to the hospital after the mob of 30 people surrounded the rangers' vehicles. One of the vehicles of the rangers was smashed with a large rock.

Masungi, a conservation area in Baras, Rizal, said the harassment and attack on rangers likely stemmed from "underhanded moves" from the DENR to endorse clearances to the illegal resorts.

Forest rangers have been attacked by an unruly mob. This might be tied to the DENR endorsing clearances to illegal resorts.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/02/21/2162261/group-hits-da-over-vegetable-smuggling

Peasant group Anakpawis has slammed the Department of Agriculture (DA) over the supposed continuous smuggling of vegetables and other agricultural products.

“Whatever happened to the anti-smuggling measures of the government? It appears that almost a year after the creation of the anti-smuggling task force, the government’s efforts to prevent smuggled agricultural products from entering the country are still weak and insubstantial,” Anakpawis party-list national chairperson Rafael Mariano said.

Mariano was referring to the Sub-Task Group on Economic Intelligence created in May last year purportedly to curb rampant entry of agricultural contraband in the country.

The task group is co-chaired by the DA and the Department of Trade and Industry.

Mariano, former secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform, said farmers deserve an explanation from the government as “this rabid smuggling of vegetables is driving down the farm gate prices and forcing tens of thousands of farmers to bankruptcy.”

Last week, farmers from Benguet held a protest caravan to denounce the flooding of major local markets of supposedly smuggled vegetables from China.

A peasant group has accused the DA of not doing enough to stop vegetable smuggling from China.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/426197/16-mandaue-city-hall-employees-fail-surprise-drug-test

Sixteen employees of the Mandaue City Hall have tested positive for illegal drugs during a surprise drug test conducted last Wednesday, February 16, 2022.

Mandaue City Councilor Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, the focal person of the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC), on Monday, February 21, 2022, said the 16 employees were from the different offices.

Ruiz said these employees and their department heads were already notified of the results. 

“It is frustrating that we have been carrying out a drug-free workplace because we have an ordinance of a drug-free workplace for government offices. The role model should be Mandaue City but there are still those who test positive so I think we need to strengthen our program. We have gone through the barangays and yet here in our own yard, we still have those who test positive,” said Ruiz.

If proven positive for illegal drugs, contracts of job order employees will be immediately be terminated while regular employees will undergo due process based on the city’s drug-free workplace ordinance.

They would also undergo drug rehabilitation.

16 City Hall employees have tested positive for drugs.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1557687/10-cops-charged-for-slay-of-former-biliran-reps-bodyguard-yield-to-legazpi-police

Ten police officers wanted for the 2018 killing of a bodyguard of former Biliran representative Glenn Chong and a female companion in Cainta town in Rizal province surrendered Monday to the Legazpi City police.

Major Maria Luisa Calubaquib, Bicol police spokesperson, identified the police as Staff Sergeants Julius Villadarez of Quezon City, Richard Raagas, Corporal Arthur Gerard Ignacio, Patrolmen Napoleon Relox, Jordan Antonio, Marvin Santos, and Terry Anthony, members of Rizal police; and Corporals Merwin Macam, Diogenes Barrameda Jr., and Patrolman Efren Areola, members of the Highway Patrol Group of Region 4A (Calabarzon).

She said in a report that the police hid for the past three years after they were reportedly involved in the ambush-slaying of Richard Red Santillan, an aide of Chong, and Gessamyn “Minmin” Casing on Dec. 10, 2018.

The suspects, who sought refuge in this city, have decided to surrender and give their testimonies around 10:30 a.m. Monday regarding the case to the city police.

10 cops who have been hiding for the past three years and are wanted for murder decided to surrender.ree

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1557995/oriental-mindoro-cop-faces-attempted-robbery-gun-ban-violation-complaints

Criminal complaints have been filed before the provincial prosecutor’s office in Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro against a police officer tagged in a foiled robbery attempt and gun ban violation.

Police Corporal Leonell Maranan, 31, assigned at the Technical Support Company, Regional Mobile Force Battalion 4B, was arrested by village watchmen of Barangay (village) Sta. Maria in Gloria town on Friday, Feb. 18, at about 10 p.m. after he allegedly entered a hardware supply store and tried to rob it.

A cop has been arrested for trying to rob a hardware supply store.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1168359

The Sandiganbayan has convicted a former Cebu town mayor of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for using municipal funds to buy food items from a bakeshop owned by his family in 2010.

In a 38-page decision dated February 22, the anti-graft court’s third division found former Aloguinsan, Cebu Mayor Augustus Caesar Moreno guilty and sentenced him to up to 20 years in prison.

The same penalty was handed down by the court to Moreno's co-accused Evangeline Manigos, a member of the municipal government's Bids and Awards Committee (BAC).

Moreno’s wife, former Aloguinsan mayor Cynthia Moreno, and five other municipal officials were charged by the Ombudsman for allegedly buying a total of PHP287,725 worth of food supplies in a bakeshop owned by Cynthia.

“In fine, the Court finds that the prosecution has successfully proven all the elements of the crime,” the tribunal said.

A former Cebu mayor has been convicted of graft for using municipal funds to buy food from a bakeshop owned by his family.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/426564/5-policemen-linked-to-baringui-an-couple-killing

At least five policemen were linked to the killing of an aspiring councilor in San Fernando, Cebu and her husband.

Officials from the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, said they filed criminal cases against four police officers who voluntarily surrendered over the killing of Ma. Louela Baringui-an and her husband, Pedro. 

The suspects, identified as Police Staff Sergeants Rene Abella Catamora, Junrey Papaya Ypil, Junrey Batobalonos, and ex-police Esmeraldo Obleanda Quillosa, are facing charges of robbery with double homicide. 

“A criminal complaint for robbery with double homicide… dated February 23, 2022 has been filed against the four policemen and one dismissed officer by the San Fernando Municipal Police Station,” said Police Colonel Josefino Ligan, head of the Regional Police Investigation and Detective Management Division.

5 cops have been charged with murdering a barangay councilor. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1168400

A mayoralty aspirant in one of the towns in Zamboanga del Sur cheated death when a man with alleged mental disorder opened fire while the former was passing by, a top police official disclosed Wednesday.

Col. Diomarie Albarico, Zamboanga del Sur police director, identified the would-be victim as Leonard Mandeg Sindod, a mayoralty aspirant in the municipality of Lapuyan.

Albarico said the suspect was identified as Danilo Kehek Balabad, who is allegedly suffering from a mild mental disorder.

The incident happened around 10:50 a.m. Tuesday in Barangay Maruing, Lapuyan, Zamboanga del Sur, according to Albarico.

He said that Balabad, who was armed with a caliber .45 pistol, fired three successive shots in front of their house while Sindod was passing by driving a motorcycle.

A man running for mayor narrowly dodged his assassin's bullet.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1558852/court-orders-arrest-of-cagayan-town-vice-mayor-over-2018-murder-of-councilor

A regional trial court here has issued a warrant of arrest against Vice Mayor Joel Ruma of Rizal town, Cagayan province who was linked to the murder of a town councilor in 2018.

Judge Vilma Pauig of the Regional Trial Court Branch 2 ordered the arrest of Ruma and five other people who were implicated in the killing. Ruma is running for mayor in the upcoming elections.

Maj. Raymund Baggayan, Rizal town police chief, said a manhunt operation was already underway to arrest Ruma and some of his alleged cohorts who remained at large. They were identified as Simeon Baloran, Jessie Labang, Dalden Guiyawan, Jose Batang and Jocel Sacayle.

Ruma, who could not be reached for comment, was not present during the unity walk and peace rally for local candidates on Monday.

The vice mayor was tagged as the mastermind in the killing of 64-year-old Alfredo Alvarez, who was shot dead by riding-in-tandem assailants, in this city.

A Vice Mayor has been charged being the mastermind in the killing of a city councilor in 2018.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1558287/pnp-chief-confirms-crashed-chopper-bound-for-balesin-to-fetch-him-after-private-time

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Dionardo Carlos on Tuesday confirmed that the helicopter that crashed in Quezon province was on its way to Balesin Island to fetch him after spending some “private time” at the famous tropical island paradise.

Carlos said he regrets that the accident happened. He assured the public that a thorough investigation of the incident is underway.

“I regret that the accident happened and never wish harm to my personnel nor losses to the organization,” said Carlos in a statement.

“Rest assured that a thorough investigation is being undertaken,” he added.

According to Carlos, he traveled to Balesin Island – an exclusive, members-only, world-class recreational destination off the east coast of the Philippines – for private time on Sunday afternoon and was scheduled to return to Manila on Monday via private transport.

“However, I was informed that due to unforeseen circumstances, said private transport would only be available in the evening of Monday,” he explained.

Because of this, Carlos said he requested an “admin flight” so he could return to the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City, on Monday morning.

“The flight directive was allowed and issued following PNP rules and regulations,” he said.

But the PNP helicopter – an H125 Airbus – that was assigned to fetch Carlos on Monday morning crashed in the vicinity of Purok (zone) Mayaog in the mountain village of Pandan in Real town, according to the initial report.

Meanwhile, Interior Secretary and National Police Commission chairperson Eduardo Año assured in a separate statement to reporters that Carlos’ supposed trip was legal even if it was for a personal function.

“He’s the CPNP (chief PNP) and as the CPNP attending to official functions, it is just rightful for him to use the PNP chopper,” Año told reporters.

(You cannot separate private time from an official time. As CPNP, it’s included in his privileges as head of the organization.)

The PNP Chief went to an exclusive island resort for private time on Sunday. He was scheduled to return Monday but his transport was delayed so he decided to call in a flight using an official PNP chopper. On the way to pick him up it crashed killing one officer.

Even though his use of a government helicopter for private travel may be above board and legal it sure does not look good at all. The PNP Chief really travelled to a resort by himself for one day for private time? It sounds odd. That is why some are saying he travelled there to meet the Ongpin family to discuss the case of Julian Ongpin who has been charged in the death of his girlfriend last year. The PNP Chief says there is no truth to that rumor. Perhaps he is telling the truth. Either way something about this all stinks.

Coronavirus Lockdown: House-to-House Vaccination, Full Authorization, and More!

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

The government says they will once again fail to meet their vaccination targets the third time around.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/17/22/bakunahan-3-may-not-meet-target-doh

Down to its last 2 days, the Philippines' third nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive may fail to reach its target, due in part to low public urgency for booster jabs, the Department of Health said on Thursday. 

Extended until Friday, the "Bayanihan, Bakunahan" program has so far vaccinated around 2.6 million of its 5 million target, said Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje. 

(It's still slacking a bit... It needs to be sped up. We might not reach the 5 million target.) 

(The uptick is not yet that quick, especially for the booster. They see this as important, but the so-called urgency is lacking. They do not see that they should get the booster immediately.) 

The Philippines has so far fully vaccinated about 61.9 million of its 109 million population. At least 9.3 million have received booster jabs, Cabotaje said. 

What is the use of getting a booster when its effectivity does not last?

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/scitech/science/821633/covid-19-booster-efficacy-wanes-significantly-by-fourth-month-us-study/story/

The efficacy of third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines wanes substantially by the fourth month after administration, a new study by the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday.

Though it's now well documented that vaccine efficacy goes down after two doses, relatively little has been published on the duration of protection after a booster.

"The finding that protection conferred by mRNA vaccines waned in the months after receipt of a third vaccine dose reinforces the importance of further consideration of additional doses to sustain or improve protection," the authors concluded.

"Additional doses." It will never end. It will be booster after booster. Face masks are not going away either. Not until the pandemic is officially over.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/822191/face-mask-policy-to-stay-until-covid-19-pandemic-is-over-galvez/story/

The wearing of face mask will remain mandatory until the COVID-19 pandemic is over, National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. said Thursday.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Galvez, who is also the country's vaccine czar, said there are no discussions yet regarding the dropping of the face mask policy as it would be the last policy to be lifted.

(So far we have not discussed the dropping of the face mask policy. We have not discussed anything like that. As I've told the media, the last thing we will remove is the face mask because that is our last defense against COVID-19.)

(So our recommendation is that as long as the pandemic is not yet over and we can't say that COVID-19 is totally eliminated, we can't remove the face mask policy.)

This is a crazy policy. COVID is never going away. It will never be totally eliminated. That means masks will be staying on forever in the Philippines while in the rest of the world people can walk around freely.

Did you know that the vaccines are still not fully authorized but only emergency use authorized?

https://mb.com.ph/2022/02/21/full-authorization-of-covid-19-vaccines-may-alleviate-vaccine-hesitancy-expert/

The skepticism among Filipinos may be alleviated if the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines in the country are given full authorization, a health expert said on Monday, Feb. 21.

Health reform advocate and former National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 medical adviser Dr. Anthony “Tony” Leachon said that it is now the time to give “full authorization” to the COVID-19 vaccines being used in the country’s inoculation drives.

(We call the attention of DOH and FDA. Giving full authorization to the vaccines will remove the vaccine hesitancy and it will assure the people that it is no longer an experimental jab because of its full approval),” said Leachon in an interview over DZRH on Monday, Feb. 21.

Leachon added that the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) status of COVID-19 vaccines is one of the reasons why vaccine hesitancy persists.

(Vaccine hesitancy persists because we are still in the EUA. In America, Pfizer and Moderna were already given full product certificates. We should do that in the Philippines as well),” he added.

Giving the vaccine full authorization would not make it any more effective or safe. It would be just another dirty trick to get the public to take an experimental drug for a virus that is hardly deadly unless one is already very sick.

The National Task Force Against COVID-19 wants to take vaccination to the people.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/02/22/2162588/task-force-focus-house-house-mobile-covid-19-vaccination-jab-more-people

The Philippines will shift its focus to conducting house-to-house and mobile COVID-19 immunization drives as fewer are going to centers to get jabbed, the government’s vaccine czar said.

Carlito Galvez, who also heads the National Task Force Against COVID-19 and is the presidential peace adviser, said the vaccine uptake in the country has dropped to less than 500,000 doses daily from one million.

He also mentioned the low turnout during the third round of the government’s massive COVID-19 vaccination push. Authorities were able to vaccinate around 3.44 million individuals from February 10 to 18, failing to meet the target of inoculating five million people.

"We have reached the saturation point or what we call the inflection point for our vaccination centers. We now need to visit barangays and go house-to-house to raise our daily output," Galvez said during a briefing aired late Monday.

No doubt this is where the list of unvaccinated residents every barangay was ordered to submit to the DILG will come in handy.

The number of COVID cases continues to drop and along with it the number of areas under lockdown.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1551995/dilg-12-out-of-17-regions-submit-list-of-unvaxxed

Only 226 areas were under granular lockdown as of Monday, significantly fewer than in the past two weeks, as COVID-19 cases continued to decrease nationwide, according to Interior Secretary Eduardo Año.

Of the total, only 28 are in Metro Manila. Most of the other areas, a total of 129, are in the Cordillera Administrative Region, and 61 are in. the Ilocos Region.

“It’s good news to see the decrease in our cases. And we can also see the decrease in the number of places that are being put under granular lockdown,” Año said in Filipino during the taped weekly “Talk to the People” briefing with President Rodrigo Duterte.

“Currently, only 14 cities and municipalities — or 109 barangays — are under granular lockdown,” he added.

In all, 267 households and 343 individuals are affected by the lockdowns.

Cases are decreasing and so are lockdowns. But face masks will remain until there is zero COVID.

The no vaccination, no ride policy in Manila did not last long but one group decided to sue and that case is still making its way through the courts.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/02/23/no-vaccination-no-ride-policy-challenged-before-sc-by-pasahero-partlist-2-others/

While the “no vaccination, no ride” policy was implemented by the government when the National Capital Region (NCR) was under COVID-19 Alert Level 3 last January and subsequently lifted last Feb. 1 when NCR was deescalated to Alert Level 2, a partylist group still challenged before the Supreme Court (SC) the constitutionality of the policy.

In a petition filed on Wednesday, Feb. 23, the PASAHERO partylist told the SC that the policy and other government measures allegedly discriminate Filipinos who are unvaccinated against COVID-19.

It told the SC that “the ban on unvaccinated passengers from using public transportation was effective for a period of less than a month, a duration too short for the issues subject of this Petition to be fully litigated.”

It also said: “Moreover, there is a reasonable expectation that the Petitioners will again be subjected to the same ban of using public transportation. The nature of COVID-19 as a disease which constantly evolves has compelled the Philippine Government to revert back to a more stringent Alert Level 3, as shown by the government’s actions in the past three months.”

On legal grounds, the petitioners told the SC that the measures “violate their most basic right to life, liberty and property, and to their right to travel.”

“No person should be denied their fundamental rights by reason of their personal choice to not get the COVID-19 vaccine,” they said.

Thus, they said, the measures are “patent nullity and unconstitutional” for they violate Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution “in that the Filipinos were deprived of their right to life and liberty without due process of law.”

Also, they said the “no vaccination, no ride” policy “caused serious and grave hardships to Filipino who are unvaccinated.”

“This case involving the most basic right to refuse any invasive form of medical treatment, including the introduction of a vaccine, poses serious questions for the public welfare and is demanded by the broader interest of justice,” they said.

“Even though one can argue that vaccines are safe and will aid in preventing serious symptoms on the part of the vaccinee, a greater principle involving the right to choose which medicines to take or inject, takes precedence over such policy,” it added.

Hopefully the court will not toss out this petition as "moot" but will issue a definitive ruling on the constitutionality of this measure.

Picture of the Week: Precariously Perched Pooch

 Just look at this:

Who would do something so cruel as to place their dog's cage on stilts! One strong typhoon gust of wind or some hungry termites and he's a goner. Sure it makes it easier to clean up the mess because it all falls to the ground and is washed away. But isn't the safety and security of your animal more important than your ease from work?

Insurgency: Hamas Recruiting for Terror Attacks in Philippines

The PNP and AFP continue to tell the public that operations have been so successful against the NPA that they are no longer relevant and will soon be eliminated. They are confident that they can defeat the insurgency by June when Duterte's term ends.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1167708

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said its relentless efforts to encourage members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) to return to the government's fold is slowly reaping gains, with the surrender of a high-ranking communist couple to the Caraga police on Feb. 12.

“This is an example that the PNP has always been open for diplomatic communication projecting a peaceful resolution gearing towards ending any form of conflict that may trigger violence,” said PNP chief, Gen. Dionardo Carlos, in a statement.

Elsewhere the AFP has successfully dismantled another NPA stronghold in Mindanao.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1168058

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Andres Centino visited and congratulated members of the 1003rd Infantry “Raptor” Brigade for dismantling a sub-regional committee of the communist New People’s Army (NPA), the 10th Infantry Division (10ID) said Friday.

Last month, the Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) confirmed that they have dismantled the Sub-Regional Committee 5, Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SRC 5, SMRC), after 12 of its top-ranking leaders surrendered on January 13.

In a statement, the 10ID said Centino visited the 1003rd Brigade on February 16 and congratulated the units under the Eastmincom for their campaign of dismantling SRC 5 and the neutralization of NPA leaders Jorge Madlos alias Ka Oris and Menardo Villanueva alias Bok, among others.

"I make it a point to reach out, to see for myself the situation of our troops. As a commander and Chief of Staff, I take it upon myself to personally rally our troops and lead from the front," Centino said.

He also encouraged the troops not to let their guard down to produce a decisive result in defeating the communist group as only five months left before President Rodrigo Duterte steps down in June.

"Don't let your guard down." In Negros guards are going up as the NPA has been in attack mode recently. This time they wounded two cops with a landmine.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1167856

All stations and units under the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) have strengthened security operations after two policemen were wounded in a roadside blast perpetrated by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in the southern town of Binalbagan on February 13.

“After the incident, we have switched to full alert status. We don’t want any incident like that to happen again in our police stations especially those in vulnerable areas,” said Lt. Abegael Donasco, the NOCPPO spokesperson, in a virtual press conference on Tuesday.

During the encounter in Barangay Bi-ao, Lt. Charles Richard Casalan, deputy chief of Binalbagan Municipal Police Station, and Cpl. Julius Tranquillero were injured when the NPA rebels detonated an anti-personnel mine by the roadside.

The rebels fired at the team while responding to a call for police assistance in a sitio where a man was found dead.

When the police fired back, the enemy set off the landmine.

It was not only two PNP officers who were wounded in this attack but also a 15-year old boy was struck by a stray bullet. It's strange there is not an outcry about the 15-year old like there was about the two boys in Samar who were killed by the NPA as they accompanied a few troops. Both of these incidents in Negros and Samar show that the NPA is still active and remain a very real threat. But there is another threat facing the Philippines. Hamas.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/02/15/2160985/pnp-says-hamas-recruiting-terror-attacks-philippines

The Philippine National Police said it uncovered a terror plot by militant Islamic organization Hamas against Israelis and Arabs in the country to wage a proxy war in the country by recruiting Filipino affiliates to carry out terrorist activities against Westerners and Middle Eastern nationals.

According to a report by Police Brig. Gen. Neil Alinsangan, PNP Intelligence Group director, the conspiracy was uncovered from information disclosed by a local contact of Hamas. The plots were meant to "establish a foothold" in the Philippines by inciting violence that targets Israelis in the country, the PNP said.

The report was sent to Police Maj. Gen. Michael John Dubria, PNP director for intelligence, the PNP public information office said in a statement sent to media. 

"Our Filipino source identified the Hamas operative as 'Bashir' who was reportedly attempting to establish a foothold in the Philippines with pledges of financial support to some local threat groups including militant extremists with links to the international terrorist organizations," Alinsangan said.

"Coordination and information sharing with foreign and local counterparts disclosed that Bashir’s real name is 'Fares Al Shikli' who, allegedly, is the head of Hamas’s Foreign Liaison Section. He has also an Interpol Red Notice and is charged with an Offense of Terrorism Logistic Support," he also said. 

How many Israelis are in the country to warrant such a plan? And what about the Islamic insurgency? Are there enough BIFF, ASG, Maute or other Muslim groups that would go along with this plan? They also continue to surrender.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1167813

Tired of fighting for a futile cause, 14 members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) yielded to the Army’s 34th Infantry Battalion (IB) here, officials reported Tuesday.

Lt. Col. Edgardo Vilchez Jr., 34IB commander, said the BIFF members surrendered to his unit in two batches on Monday.

Vilchez said a BIFF field commander under the Kagui Karialan faction, identified as alias Malayo, was among those who surrendered along with his 12 followers and were accompanied by Norodin Akis and Dong Bantas, who are members of the Council of Elders of Midsayap.

It was followed by the surrender of another BIFF combatant identified as alias Nick Taro coming from Northern Kabuntalan, Maguindanao on the same day.

The 14 former BIFF extremists brought along high-powered firearms and various war materiel that included eight M1 Garand rifles, a Springfield .30-caliber sniper rifle, an M14 rifle, an M16 rifle, a rocket-propelled grenade, three .45-caliber pistols, and ammunition.

It could be that Hamas would seek to partner with the MNLF or the MILF. The MILF is still very active and they are still out to kill. At least they are killing each other.

https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/deadly-ambush-02122022083620.html

Armed men ambushed a two-vehicle convoy carrying a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commander traveling through a southern Philippine village on Saturday, killing nine and injuring three others, authorities said.

The men attacked the convoy of Peges Mamasainged, also known as Commander Black Magic, around 8:30 a.m. in Tambunan village in Maguindanao province, according to provincial police commander Col. Jibin Bongcayao.

“The motive of the incident is the long-standing family feud of the involved parties,” the police official said.

Mamasainged, a member of the MILF’s inner guard base command, was traveling to a nearby village when he was killed along with five relatives and three unidentified individuals. Authorities did not release details on those who were injured.

Bongcayao identified MILF members Jordan Mama Lintang and his son, Morsid, as the alleged leaders of the attack. He did not say if any of the attackers were injured or if members of the convoy fired back.

MILF spokesman Von Al Haq, meanwhile, said the father and son were not members of the organization. The MILF signed a peace agreement with the government in 2014, ending its long-running separatist insurgency in the region.

There will probably never be peace in Mindanao. Not until all the Muslims are gone anyway. As for Hamas, one operative was arrested in the Philippines in 2018, subsequently deported, and nothing has been herd of them until now. It seems highly unlikely that Hamas would establish any kind of operations here. But who knows? Osama bin Laden had contacts in the Philippines and the 9/11 plot was basically hatched in an apartment in Manila by Ramzi Yousef and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Anything is possible.