Insurgency: NPA's Terrorist Tag Justified

After President Marcos inked a deal with the USA to allow more EDCA sites there was been outrage from several quarters. His sister, Senator Imee Marcos, brought up her father's old self-reliant program.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195080

Senator Imee Marcos suggested on Monday to revive the Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) Program initiated in 1974 by her father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Senator Marcos made the statement after a consultation over the weekend with the Western Mindanao Command about the idea of reviving the SRDP which she said enabled the country’s self-reliance in national defense.

This, after the announcement of the Department of National Defense and the United States' Department of Defense of establishing four new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites and another agreement for stronger defense cooperation with Japan.

“Scale down our dependence on foreign goodwill in the sticky web of geopolitics,” Marcos said in her statement.

“Thailand now customizes rifles that are slimmer and lighter for its soldiers, while Vietnam can now manufacture anti-surface warfare missiles. How far have we gone?” she added.

During its time, Marcos recalled the country's SRDP was already producing M-16 rifles under license, steel helmets, hand grenades and other ammunition, handheld radios, and Jiffy jeeps.

"It also created jobs and minimized foreign spending. There’s no question about Filipino capability, but we must revive the SRDP now,” the senator said.

This proposal sounds patriotic and obvious but just goes to show how bereft of sense and naive Imee Marcos really is. Like it or not the Philippines is a firm part of the world order so there is no getting out of "the sticky web of geopolitics." That means military alliances with neighboring nations are necessary especially when China has been courting war for the past decade. 

Let's face it, the Philippine military is not the best it can be. After all there is a 53 year communist insurgency taking place.  

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195167

The 94th Infantry Battalion (94IB) of the Philippine Army is keeping a close watch on at least four towns in Negros Oriental that are still affected by communist insurgency with relentless operations underway, a military official said on Tuesday.

Lt. Col. Van Donald Almonte, commanding officer of the 94IB, told the Philippine News Agency that the four municipalities are Tayasan, Ayungon, Bindoy and Manjuyod.

“Bindoy and Manjuyod have the strongest supporters of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) that is why we have to sustain our operations there without let-up,” he said in mixed English and Cebuano.

Almonte said some of their activities include visiting former rebels and former supporters to ensure that they will not be influenced and recruited back into the underground movement.

The Army commander also noted that one of the three rebels who died in the Feb. 4 and 5 encounters with NPAs in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental province was from Barangay Tanglad, Tayasan town.

Barangay Tanglad is known to have some residents still active in the NPA, he noted.

He said this is an indication that there are still members of the NPA’s guerrilla front operating in central Negros that come from the Oriental side of the island.

Three barangays in Ayungon, one in Bindoy, and one in Manjuyod are listed as priority areas under the Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (TF-ELCAC) under the government’s whole-of-nation approach.

Meanwhile, Almonte said NPA forces in his area of jurisdiction are “dwindling”, meaning, “their strength is negligible and their firepower suffered successive setbacks” following encounters with government troops since last year.

If the NPA are dwindling in Negros they are still active elsewhere. In Capiz City the army foiled an extortion attempt. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195509

The timely information provided by concerned citizens from the municipality of Dumalag in Capiz has prevented the alleged extortion activities of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in the mountainous barangay of Duran on Friday.

Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, commander of the Philippine Army’s Visayas Command, said the vigilance exercised by residents in providing information was very helpful in their anti-insurgency efforts.

“Their fervent desire for a CPP-NPA-free community drives us to employ legitimate military force against these communist-terrorists to stop them from threatening our people's safety and well-being," he said in a statement released by the 3rd Division Public Affairs Office of the 3rd Infantry Division.

The Division Public Affairs Office, in the same statement, showed the 12th Infantry Battalion has received information about the presence of the armed group in the area prompting them to conduct a security patrol together with the Philippine National Police.

“Upon reaching the area, the troops encountered more or less five fully-armed members of the CPP-NPA terrorist believed to be members of Central Front,” it said.

A five-minute firefight ensued before the rebels fled toward the southeast. No one was hurt in the brief gun battle among the government troopers but bloodstains were found along the NPAs' withdrawal route.

A homemade 12-gauge shotgun, one .45-caliber pistol, two anti-personnel mines with detonator switches, one hand grenade, five magazines for M16 rifle, two magazines for .45 caliber, assorted live ammunition, personal belongings, assorted medicine and subversive documents were recovered in the encounter site after the estimated five-minute exchange of fire.

In Albay reports of NPA extortion activities lead to a 30 minute firefight and a soldier dead from a land mine. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195349

A soldier died while three others were wounded on Wednesday when the New People's Army (NPA) detonated anti-personnel mines in Barangay Ramay in Oas, Albay.

Capt. Frank Roldan, 9th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office (DPAO) chief, said the incident occurred around 9 a.m. after the 49th Infantry Battalion received a report regarding an extortion activity.

"The report said the terrorist group was conducting extortion in a construction project. Upon reaching the area, there was a blast of anti-personnel mine (APM) from the communist terrorist group (CTG) that caused the immediate demise of 2Lt. Nico Malcampo and injured three other soldiers," Roldan said in a message to the Philippine News Agency on Thursday.

He said after the explosion, a 30-minute firefight ensued between the government troops and the rebels, resulting in the killing of a CTG member and the recovery of three high-powered firearms.

"As to the three injured soldiers, one of them is in stable condition while the two soldiers need to go for medical operations," Roldan added.

The AFP says the NPA's continued use of landmines justifies them being tagged as terrorists. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195443

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the New People's Army’s (NPA) continued use of anti-personnel mines (APMs), which recently killed a young soldier and wounded three others in Albay, justifies their tagging as a terrorist organization.

"The CTG’s (communist terrorist group) persistent use of APM that is banned under the International Humanitarian Law cements their status as a terrorist organization," AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said in a statement late Thursday.

The NPA’s continued use of APMs poses a huge security threat to everyone as it could cause crippling injuries or even death, Aguilar said.

"The CTG use of APM poses a threat to the limbs and lives of people. With this incident, the AFP, in partnership with other government agencies through the NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict), will not stop until we have eliminated this threat," he added.

Eliminating the threat of the NPA includes arresting them. 62 were arrested during the past 3 months  in Caraga. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195140

Sixty-two New People’s Army (NPA) rebels and 1,118 wanted persons—206 of whom are classified as most wanted—were arrested during intensified police operations from Nov. 2, 2022 to Feb. 13 this year.

Data provided by the Police Regional Office in the Caraga Region (PRO-13) on Tuesday indicated that aside from the arrest of 62 NPA insurgents, 148 other guerrillas also surrendered to the different police field units in the region.

“The period also marked the first 100 days in the office of PRO-13 Director Brig. Gen. Pablo Labra II who assumed his post last Nov. 2,” said Maj. Jennifer Ometer,“ PRO-13 information office chief, in an interview.

In the same period, 319 firearms were also surrendered to the police while 34 others were confiscated in the intensified campaign against loose firearms.

Fighting the insurgency also means providing basic government services in insurgency affected areas.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195493

The Negros Oriental Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NOTF-ELCAC) will resume holding the "Dagyawan Sa Barangay: Talakayan sa Mamamayan" and Caravan on Basic Services (Serbisyo Caravan) in seven villages in Negros Oriental tagged as still affected by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Provincial Director Farah Diba Gentuya said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency that the Dagyawan/Serbisyo Caravan will bring together all government agencies in a whole-of-nation approach to listen to and address the needs of these barangays.

“This is part of government’s efforts to sustain programs and projects to alleviate the plight of villagers who are still confronted with the communist insurgency problem and this year, we will be going to the barangays instead of the usual town hall meetings,” Gentuya said.

The Philippine Army has cleared these new barangays for inclusion in the RCSP, one of the government’s mechanisms in the national TF-ELCAC program implementation in conflict-affected areas.

Negros Oriental now has a total of 46 barangays listed under the ELCAC program.

If providing basic government services will end the insurgency then it's a safe bet to assume that if those services had been provided before the insurgency began then it could have been prevented. 

This is Why the PNP will NEVER win the War on Corrupt Cops

The PNP will never win the war on corrupt cops. The problem is manifold and does not rest on the shoulders of corrupt cops alone. How would they be able to operate without the PNP being as it is? Here are two stories that exemplify this fact. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1193512

A former regional director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) accused of being involved in illegal drugs surrendered on Wednesday to the Philippine National Police regional office here.

Tagged as a high-value target, Erwin Ogario, former PDEA-National Capital Region (NCR) head, showed up at the office of PNP regional director Brig. Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil after receiving death threats.

“He showed up since he has been getting death threats. We just found out that he has a warrant of arrest issued by a court in Quezon City. His voluntary surrender manifests his trust and confidence in our system and leadership,” Marbil told reporters.

Marbil handcuffed Ogario after the reading of his warrant of arrest. After booking procedures, he will be turned over to the Quezon City court.

Ogario is facing charges over the importation of dangerous drugs violating Section 4, Article II of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

Judge Elvira Panganiban of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 227 issued an arrest warrant against Ogario on Jan. 3, 2019.

Marbil said Ogario recently stayed with his family in Eastern Samar province.

Marbil had a meeting with Ogario between 2014 and 2015 when the latter was the PDEA Region 13 director and the former was the Agusan del Norte police provincial director.

Ogario was the PDEA regional director of NCR when he was dismissed from service in 2017 as part of the agency’s internal cleansing efforts.

He was held liable for obstruction of justice for facilitating the release of an arrested drug importer after claiming a parcel containing 1,358 ecstasy tablets at a post office in Pasay on June 29, 2015, without filing any criminal charge against the suspect.

In 2021, former President Rodrigo Duterte tagged Ogario as one of the PDEA officials who accepted bribes from arrested drug personalities to facilitate their release from detention and the dismissal of cases filed against them. 

Erwin Ogario, former PDEA-National Capital Region (NCR) head, is undoubtedly a bad dude. He has been involved in the drug trade. In 2021 he was tagged by Duterte. In 2019 an arrest warrant was set against him by Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 227.

Yet we are to believe the PNP just now found out about this warrant of arrest when the man surrendered? And where has he been all this time? Living safe and sound with his family in Eastern Samar! The only reason he surrendered is because he, allegedly, received death threats. But by whom? Normal citizens? Or perhaps cops in the know whom he worked with in the illegal drug trade? Either way this story is not believable. It is not believable that the PNP did not know he had a warrant of arrest until he showed up UNLESS the court system is that incompetent or someone hid the information. 

This second story is directly related to the recent call for top PNP brass to submit courtesy resignations. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1193551

The Philippine National Police-Internal Affairs Service (PNP-IAS) has recommended the dismissal from the service of a police sergeant who was arrested in an operation that yielded PHP6.7 billion worth of shabu in Manila in October last year.

IAS Inspector General Alfegar Triambulo said they have submitted to the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management on Jan. 9 the recommendation to dismiss Master Sgt. Rodolfo Mayo Jr., a member of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group Special Operations Unit in the National Capital Region.

"It is now upon the discretion of the Chief PNP (Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr.), whether he will uphold or reverse the decision. We respect that," he said in a phone interview with reporters.

Triambulo said Mayo's benefits would be forfeited, his eligibility will be revoked and he will be perpetually disqualified from holding any other government posts once he is dismissed from the service.

Azurin, meanwhile, said he has yet to read the copy of the IAS' recommendation.

"For as long as they (IAS) have the recommendation, the result of the investigation is already for my approval. We will still have to check if the recommended punishment is appropriate for the supposed offense he (May) had committed," Azurin said on the sidelines of the National Day of Remembrance for the 44 PNP-Special Action Force (SAF) police commandos at Camp Crame.

Reacting to the report that Mayo did not submit a counter-affidavit during the IAS probe, Azurin said it was tantamount to waiving all his rights in the investigation.

"So we cannot fault whatever the recommendation of the IAS because they are investigating an administrative case. I think it is Sgt. Mayo's fault that he did not submit any counter-affidavit," he said.

He said the investigation as to who ordered the return of Mayo to PDEG is ongoing.

Mayo was arrested on Oct. 8 a few hours after the discovery of 990 kilos of shabu inside a lending company in Quiapo, Manila which he allegedly owns.

Mayo’s arrest prompted an investigation which, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said, revealed that some high-ranking police officials were involved in the illegal drugs trade.

This prompted Abalos to call on police colonels and generals to submit their courtesy resignations.

So, this cop was arrested on October 8th "after the discovery of 990 kilos of shabu inside a lending company in Quiapo, Manila which he allegedly owns" and yet somebody allowed him to return to the PDEG. Meanwhile his arrest is what prompted DILG Secretary Abalos to demand, no mistake it was a demand, all the PNP top brass to submit their courtesy resignations. 

EXECPT no less than President Marcos said this was his plan all along since the campaign!

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1713392/weeding-out-ninja-cops-part-of-new-drug-war-approach

Marcos was first asked if he had greenlighted the appeal of Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. for all police colonels and generals to tender their courtesy resignation in a bid to purge the Philippine National Police (PNP) of any link to the illegal drug syndicates.

“We have been planning this for a while. Let me be very clear. Remember, during the campaign, when I was being asked about what I will do for the drug war or the drug problem. This is it. We approach it in an entirely different way,” he told reporters.

Marcos said this was part of their efforts to cleanse the police ranks and ensure that the officers who remain in service are not involved with criminal drug syndicates.

"We know that the drugs will not be a problem if syndicates are not allied with some people in the police force. That’s why we must thoroughly look into who is good and involved. Who are really involved? And who will no longer be allowed to return to the service because of their association with drug lords?" he added.

Marcos reiterated that a committee will be formed to review the records of the police officers, and those cleared will be “slowly reinstated.”

“And maybe, we’ll have to decide: What do we do with those implicated to be involved in the drug trade? So we’ll see first. Maybe we’ll file cases against those with severe cases. We’re not yet there,” he added.

Marcos underscored the need to mount sufficient evidence against drug-involved PNP officers before filing a case before the court.

"Speculations and gossip about who is involved here and who is involved there, we’ve gone through that. It didn’t work, so we need to make sure that if we’re going to be filing cases, we’ll win them and really put those proven to be involved in the drug trade behind bars."

While an investigation is underway into whether police personnel have ties with illegal drug syndicates, Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. and PNP director General Abalos have said that all PNP colonels and generals are expected to perform their duties and responsibilities as usual.

Why will the PNP never end the war on corrupt cops? Because the system is set up to protect them. Remember the cop who pulled his gun on some students and the parents wanted to press charges? Remember the PNP told them he was a good man and they should drop the charges in the spirit of Christmas? They did that because the PNP does not take corruption seriously enough. 

Retards in the Government 297

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

  

 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1728498/another-cop-2-others-fall-in-calamba-city-drug-bust

Another policeman was collared early Saturday, Feb. 11, along with his two associates in a drug buy-bust operation in Calamba City, Laguna.

Police arrested at 12:37 a.m. Staff Sergeant Benhur Verdera, chief warrant officer at Liliw town police station; Kevin John Ballos; and Alejandro Mane, after they sold shabu worth P1,000 to a poseur buyer in Barangay 1.

Authorities confiscated from the suspects three plastic sachets of shabu with an estimated Dangerous Drugs Board value of P40,800. Also seized were Verdera’s police identification card and loaded service firearm.

The police classified Verdera as a “high-value individual” in the government’s anti-illegal drug campaign, while Balllos and Mane were identified drug pushers in the city.

The suspects were detained and are facing a complaint for violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. 

Another cop has been busted for drugs. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1194975

A village official was killed while two others, including his wife, were injured in an attack in an upland village here, the police reported on Saturday.

Col. Alexander Lorenzo, Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) director, identified the fatality as Barangay Tolosa Councilor Mark Ryan Rodriguez, 29.

Tolosa’s wife, Anni, 32, and their driver, Jomel Mendoza, were hurt.

Lorenzo said the incident took place around 9:30 p.m. Friday in the village located 23 kilometers east of the city hall.

Police investigation showed Rodriguez and his family were having dinner outside their house when two unidentified gunmen on separate motorcycles repeatedly shot the victims and sped off.

Rodriguez was pronounced dead at around 10:07 p.m.

Another village councilor has been assassinated. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1194985

A soldier ran amok and shot four of his fellow soldiers dead inside the 4th Infantry Division headquarters in Barangay Patag here early Saturday.

Police identified the fatalities as Private Joseph Tamayo, Patrolman First Class Prince Kevin Balaba, Sgt. Rogelio Rojo, Cpl. Bernardo Rodrigo, as well as the suspected shooter, Private Johmar Villabito.

Another soldier identified as Staff Sgt. Braulio Macalos Jr. was also wounded in the shooting but is now out of danger.

Initial reports said Villabito “shot the victims without any apparent and justifiable reason using an M16”. The incident happened at around 1:10 a.m. when the victims were asleep inside their barracks at the Service Support Battalion (SSBN) unit.

A certain Pvt. Mark Anthony Aguined and Pfc Joseph Estrada engaged the suspect and shot him dead, said Maj. Francisco Garello Jr., 4ID spokesperson.

Garello said the suspect initially attacked his roommate and went to five other rooms and started shooting.

The 4ID is still currently gathering other information from the witnesses to establish the motive of the shooting.

A solider ran amok and killed several of his colleagues. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1729100/town-councilor-in-nueva-ecija-found-dead-inside-car

A member of the Sangguniang Bayan (municipal council) in Sto. Domingo town was found dead early Sunday, Feb. 12, inside her vehicle in Barangay Maturanoc in this town, police said.

The police identified the victim as Councilor Angelique Alexis “Angge” Paulino, 33, a resident of Sto. Domingo’s Barangay Sto. Rosario.

Paulino was Sto. Domingo’s number one councilor and chaired the committees on ways and means and the market.

Initial investigations showed that the victim suffered multiple bullet wounds. She was heading to a high school reunion at the time of her death.

Paulino was a language and literature graduate of the University of the Philippines-Baguio.

Policemen were running after the culprit, who was reportedly “close” to the victim, sources said. 

A town councilor has been assassinated. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195117

A municipal election officer in Maguindanao del Sur died in an ambush Monday in Lambayong town, Sultan Kudarat province, police said.

Capt. Jetro Doligas, Lambayong municipal police chief, said Haviv Macabangen Maindan, municipal election officer of Sultan sa Barongis in Maguindanao del Sur province, was driving his vehicle when ambushed in Barangay Pingguiaman, Lambayong, by motorcycle-riding gunmen at around 2 p.m.

“He was going home on board his silver gray Toyota Fortuner (LFX-553) going to Lambayong from his office in Sultan sa Barongis when fired upon,” Doligas said in a radio interview, adding that the victim died on the spot.

He said the victim’s vehicle then swerved towards a swampy section of the roadside just beside an irrigation canal following the ambush.

Sultan sa Barongis Mayor Allandatu Angas said he was saddened by the death of the election official, whom he described as a dedicated servant.

Doligas said the investigation is still ongoing.

A municipal election officer has been assassinated. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1729725/cop-nabbed-over-killing-of-town-councilor-in-nueva-ecija

A policeman in La Union province was arrested after he was tagged in the killing of a councilor of Sto. Domingo town in this province, authorities said Tuesday, Feb. 14.

Patrolman Saddam Pascual, 32, was arrested around 1 a.m. on Monday in Barangay Sicsican, Talavera town, also in Nueva Ecija, according to Lt. Col. Reynold Macabitas, Guimba police chief.

Pascual was arrested during a hot pursuit operation following the killing of Councilor Angelique Alexis Paulino, 33, a resident of Barangay Sto. Rosario in Sto. Domingo.

While there was no security camera on the crime scene, Macabitas said footage from other security cameras near the place and up to Rosales town in Pangasinan province, corroborated the testimonies of eyewitnesses that the suspect was spotted in the vicinity of the victim’s residence prior to the incident.

Paulino was shot dead while driving her gray sedan on Sunday, investigators said. Her bullet-riddled body was found inside the car that was recovered in Barangay Maturanoc here.

According to the authorities, the suspect was on board a red hatchback car at the time of the killing.

“May mga testigo na bago mangyari ang pamamaril. Nakita mismo yung suspek doon sa vicinity ng bahay ng biktima inside his private car [There are witnesses prior to the shooting. The suspect inside a car was seen in the vicinity of the victim’s house],” Macabitas told the Inquirer.

“Nakita naman namin sa mga CCTV after the incident, nakita namin po yung sasakyan na ginamit mismong yung sasakyan ng suspect [We saw the incident in the CCTV, we saw the suspect’s car],” he added.

An investigation revealed that Pascual and Paulino had been in a relationship for more than five years.

At one point, the suspect allegedly turned jealous, which led to the couple’s split, an initial investigation showed.

Macabitas said they recovered the murder weapon, a .9-mm service pistol.

Apart from the criminal case filed by the local police here, the La Union provincial police office will also file administrative cases against Pascual, Macabitas said. 

A cop has been arrested for killing a town councilor with whom he used to be in a relationship.

https://mb.com.ph/2023/02/15/three-philippine-police-officers-surrender-over-killing-of-spanish-man/

Three Philippine police officers wanted for the alleged murder of a Spanish businessman in 2020 have turned themselves in to the authorities, the justice ministry said Wednesday. 

Diego Lafuente was shot dead during a police drug operation in General Luna municipality on the southern island of Siargao, a popular surfing and holiday destination.

He was among the many thousands of people killed during the drug war launched by former president Rodrigo Duterte and continued by his successor Ferdinand Marcos. 

Most victims were poor, Filipino men, according to rights groups. The International Criminal Court is investigating the brutal crackdown for possible crimes against humanity.

Arrest warrants had been issued for the three officers, but they were “nowhere to be found”, the justice ministry said in a statement issued Wednesday.

The officers handed themselves in to authorities on February 9.

State prosecutors had filed charges of murder and planting of evidence against them last March after a review of the case cast doubt on their version of events.

The officers claimed they shot Lafuente in self-defence after he fired a gun at them during a buy-bust operation. 

They were initially given a 60-day suspension from duty over the killing, according to the justice department’s review panel.

Three cops charged with killing a Spanish businessman have turned themselves in.

Corovonavirus Lockdown: Continuous Monitoring, Cases Plateauing in All Areas, and More!

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

A new sub-variant of the coronavirus has been detected in the Philippines but don't worry because the DOH is on top of the situation. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/02/08/doh-assures-continuous-monitoring-of-covid-19-variants/

The Department of Health (DOH) assured the public that it is constantly monitoring the emergence of new Covid-19 variants in light of the detection of omicron subvariants XBB.1.5 and CH.1.1.

In a statement, the DOH said it is in constant coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO) to determine the abilities of the current coronavirus variants circulating globally.

“The DOH is continuously monitoring these variants and coordinating with WHO for more guidance,” the health agency said.

The DOH also lauded the initiatives of both the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC) and Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) for the detection of new variants.

It also assured “continuous surveillance at borders and communities and genome sequencing of Covid-19 variants.”

Meanwhile, the country’s hospital utilization rate remains at manageable levels, the DOH said.

“Even with these detections of these variants and subvariants, the important indicator is that our hospitals remain to have manageable number of Covid-19 admissions and severe/critical cases are manageable,” it said.

It's not as if the new variants have caused more deaths but it's good to keep us afraid. Why else would they tell us what the new dominant variant might be?

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1194827

The XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron, which is a mutation of the BA.2, could be a dominant variant in the country, a health official said Thursday.  

“I think it will be especially now that during the first month of January, the WHO [World Health Organization] reports that the top three fast rising variants or subvariant of Omicron one of that is XBB.1.5,” said infectious disease expert, Dr. Rontgene Solante, in a televised public briefing.

On Tuesday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported the first case of XBB.1.5 and three cases of CH.1.1 which were part of the 1,078 samples sequenced by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center on Jan. 28 to Feb. 3.

The DOH is yet to disclose any definite information if the cases are local transmission or from an exposure abroad.

However, the XBB.1.5 is less likely to cause “a significant spike of the increase in cases”, Solante said.

“We need to monitor this subvariant of the Omicron because of those, it may cause severe cases, but we don’t know yet, that would be possible, but it is important that we monitor the cases that we will be having,” Solante said.

So this variant is "less likely" to cause an increase in cases which is good news but it could cause severe cases which is bad news. If the past is any measure it won't cause any more deaths than usual. 

School sports are making a comeback now that the pandemic is over. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1194619

The Department of Education (DepEd) said Tuesday the Palarong Pambansa would resume this year after an almost three-year halt due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. 

In a statement, the DepEd said the Division Schools of Marikina would host the sports competition. 

“The Department of Education announced the conduct of the 2023 Palarong Pambansa from July 29 to Aug. 5, 2023 in Marikina City, nearly three years since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic forced its cancellation,” it said. 

Meanwhile, the DepEd began the division meets on Monday, which will run until Friday. 

This will be followed by the regional meets on April 24 to 28, under DepEd Memorandum 5, series of 2023. 

The department said Filipino student-athletes abroad may also join the nationwide event. 

“Aside from student-athletes from the 17 DepEd regional athletic associations, Filipino athletes enrolled in recognized schools overseas will also be allowed to compete in individual sports under the banner of Philippine Schools Overseas,” it added. 

And so are cruise ships. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1728090/ppa-says-cruise-ships-now-back-in-ph-after-3-year-hiatus

Cruise ships made their grand return to Philippine shores after a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

On Thursday, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) announced cruise ships returned to boost the tourism industry again, reviving its operations to reach various regions of the nation.

“It is about time that we live with the new normal and the PPA is proud to welcome again these international luxury ships to our shores as we bounce back from the effects of the pandemic,” PPA General Manager Jay Santiago said in a statement.

Among the provinces that will be visited by cruise ships from Feb. 9 to 14 are:

• Ilocos Sur
• Palawan
• Bohol

In 2019, the Ports of Salomague, Palawan, and Tagbilaran could accommodate 48,100 tourists.

But in 2020 and 2021, cruise ships canceled their voyages due to the COVID-19 threat to the tourists and locals.

That's good for tourism cruise ships have more important worries than COVID-19 such as norovirus outbreaks. 

The vaccine program is going strong amongst children. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1194899

The Agusan del Sur town of Loreto has obtained a 102.82 percent vaccination rate for coronavirus disease 2019 among children aged 5 to 11-years-old.

The achievement is the first so far in the Caraga Region based on data from the regional Department of Health (DOH) office as of Feb. 4.

“The DOH-13, working with the different LGUs, will continue to conduct information and dissemination activities to motivate and encourage parents to have their children vaccinated for protection against Covid-19,” DOH-13 said in a statement Friday.

As of Feb. 4, at least 5,290 children aged 5 to 11 are fully-vaccinated against Covid-19 in Loreto, equivalent to 102.82 percent of its goal of 5,145 children in this age group.

Four other local government units (LGUs) in the region also achieved over 90 percent vaccination rate among the 5 to 11-year-old children.

How many of these children will still be alive in ten years and how many more will have developed severe heart problems? We shall have to wait and see. 

The nation has seen a slight uptick in cases and even registered a few new deaths. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195124

The country’s daily average of new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases increased by 9 percent from Feb. 6 to 12, the Department of Health (DOH) reported Monday.

In the latest DOH case bulletin, daily infections increased to 157 in the recent week from 145 infections from Jan. 30 to Feb. 5.

The DOH also reported 1,101 new cases and 98 verified deaths.

Of the additional deaths, six occurred from Jan. 30 to Feb. 12.

To date, the country has logged over 4.07 million coronavirus cases and more than 65,949 fatalities.

During the same week, no cases were added to the tally of severe and critical infections, which also went up to 426 from the previous week’s 388.

Without knowing the status of the individuals who died, such as age and whether or not they had comorbidities, that information is useless. 

Across the nation COVID cases are plateauing.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/860742/doh-covid-19-cases-plateauing-in-all-areas/story/

The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday said COVID-19 cases in all areas of the country have recently started plateauing.

At a press briefing, DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire presented the COVID-19 cases monitored in the National Capital Region, the rest of Luzon, in Mindanao, and the Visayas.

She added that while the decline in ICU admissions had slowed down, admissions of severe and critical cases continued to trend downwards.

However, Vergeire cautioned that there were still risks from COVID-19 due to mutations, new subvariants in other countries, open borders, and ongoing transmissions.

“We cannot say na wala tayong risk sa ngayon dahil (that there is no longer a risk because) the risk of the virus is still here,” she said.

Furthermore, Vergeire could not say if the Philippines could be placed under the lowest level of restriction - an Alert Level 0 -adding that authorities may discuss possible ways to “move forward” with safety precautions still in place.

What exactly is the risk? It's not death. So what is it? 

People who lost their jobs during the pandemic and were forced to move back to the provinces are being helped out by the government.  

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195045

Breadwinners of families who lost their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic have benefited from the PHP16.9 million worth of poverty alleviation projects implemented in Bohol’s coastal town of Lila, a social welfare official said Monday.

Shalaine Marie Lucero, regional director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Central Visayas, said Lila’s municipal government received a community grant of PHP7.6 million from the Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay (KKB) funding.

KKB is a modality of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) program which aims to help the poor localities improve their livelihood as well as address the lack of access to basic social services.

Lucero said the amount helped family beneficiaries of the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program (BP2P) organized by the government to assist people who wanted to go back home to their home provinces at the height of the global public health crisis.

A total of 653 households benefited from the program. They were from the villages of Calvario (184); Bonkokan Ilaya (140); Macalingan (122); Lomanoy (111)and Candulang (96).

“The program provides holistic interventions to families affected by the pandemic. Municipalities that availed of these funds must have at least 25 families working in the highly urbanized cities who lost their jobs from pandemics and opted to return to their respective provinces for good,” she told the Philippine News Agency.

Through the fund, Lila put a health station in the village of Macalingan and concreted four farm-to-market roads totaling 0.655 kilometers in Barangays Bonkokan Ilaya, Candulang, Lomanoy, and Calvario.

Apart from the PHP7.6 million development grant, Lucero said the town also received a 14-unit isolation facility worth PHP9.3 million through the additional financing (AF) modality of the program to support and augment its resources for health as the 5th-class agricultural municipality is still reeling from the effects of the pandemic.

One of the beneficiaries, Marla Flor Biangcong, cited the project for helping her and other workers displaced by lockdowns and border restrictions.

“As a beneficiary of the Balik Probinsiya Program, I am thankful because not only did I receive assistance for my family but my return to my hometown contributed to projects for the community,” Biangcong said, referring to the small-scale infrastructure project where she played an important role as a volunteer.

This sounds like the public works administration implemented during the Great Depression in the USA,

The God Culture: Kalinga Hebrew Youth Ministry Conference

Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture, recently gave another secret conference talk in conjunction with Baguio's Sabbath Believer's Congregation. It was not strictly secret but he sure did not bother to advertise it which means he did not want his audience to know he was going to be giving a lecture.  

https://www.facebook.com/sabbathbc.congregation/videos/848713996196488

Tim only has a few basic messages: faith in Christ is not enough the Law is what redeems us, the Philippines is Ophir and every other mysterious Bible locale including Sheba and Tarshish, and the restoration of true Philippine history combined with the restoration of the Law which was abolished once Christ came and fulfilled it will lead to the Philippines rising against the New World Order and condemning it. This same message was repeated at this conference. 

2:13:51  Because Jesus, Yahusha, said Himself that the Philippines will rise in the last days and stand against the New World Order, the one world government. The Philippines! Can you imagine that? Start. Because it's coming soon. His prophecies never return unto him void. 

That lie is based on Luke 11:31 which reads:

“The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” 

Tim's false interpretation of this verse is that because Cebu is the Biblical land of Sheba from whence the Queen of the South came to visit Solomon therefore this is a prophecy about the Philippines. It's total nonsense but his audience eats it up. Practically everything Tim says is a continual praising of the Philippines and Filipinos as the most favored land and people on the face of the earth. 

3:03:52 Now, this place Ophir, that's just the Bible name for the land of gold and it is the ancient name of the Philippines. Specifically Luzon. You're from Kalinga. No. You're from Ophir! Your from the land of gold. The greatest land in all of history literally in every way. 

4:51:16 These are things that scholars should have figured out a long time ago and they're not. And they only reason they're not is because they live in a box and in their box Filipinos don't exist. In their box you are noting. In His you have no box and you are the most important people of the end times.

But of course you won't learn this stuff in high school or college. 

4:56:27 You didn't learn this in high school did you? You didn't learn this in college did you? Why not?

Well thank goodness Timothy Jay Schwab, aka The God Culture, is here.

2:30:58 But we're working on a textbook. A real textbook. A four year course that will teach, especially Filipinos but people all over the world, the foundation of the Bible which includes the Philippines. Because it includes the Garden of Eden which is here. You don't get a more significant land than that of the Garden of Eden, the very land of creation itself. So, we're working on that project right now and we hope to get that out in time. 

A real textbook? One can only wonder if it will include the noted contributions of the supposed God Culture Team or if it will only bear Tim's name as the author. Will we ever see evidence The God Culture is anything but a one man show? Just imagine what nonsense will be in that textbook. It will be nothing but lies. Lying comes so easy to Tim. In this first lecture he expounds on his lie about Pigafetta seeing elephants in the Philippines. Now Pigafetta saw elephants on three islands in the Philippines. 

4:13:19 Even Pigafetta in his journal when Magellan came in 1521 tells you he saw elephants in at least three different islands.

That statement is such an incredible lie. Pigafetta saw elephants on Borneo. He did not see them in the Philippines. 

There are two more sessions for the afternoon but I don't really care enough to listen to them. It will undoubtedly be the same old nonsense which, contrary to Tim's claims, I have shown to be false time and time again.

2:39:08 We don't have a single person who can go toe-to-toe with these facts and prove to us the Philippines is not Ophir nor can they prove that it's anywhere else. That's a problem because if you want to say "oh well that can't be the Philippines" ok what is it? Come on. Where is it? You don't know? Then you can't say "nu-uh." You can just say "duh, I don't know." 

One does not have to give proof for an alternate location of Ophir in order to show that Tim's entire system is 100% wrong. He misuses sources, does not understand them, and quite often gives bogus interpretations like the City of Manila being mentioned on a map from 1492. His standard of proof is quite low and includes Greek mythology to prove that Filipinos circumnavigated Africa to trade with Greece and vice versa. I have gone toe-to-toe with his "facts" in depth. It is Tim who cannot go toe-to-toe with the  actual facts I bring up. Nor can his audience who, judging by the comments they leave on my YouTube page, are some of the most ignorant people on the face of the earth. 

One last thing to mention here and that is Tim does not appear in any of these videos except for when he briefly walks into frame. 

The whole time the camera is focused on this tarp which means anyone watching the live stream would not have been able to see Tim's presentation. Why is that? Why does Tim not want to appear on camera anymore? Whatever the reason it's a genuine disservice for those watching from home because they do not get to see Tim's entire media presentation.