Coronavirus Lockdown: NAIA Near Pre-Pandemic Passenger Levels, No More Face Masks in the Senate, and More!

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

The Supreme Court has junked three petitions against the government's COVID-19 policies.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/13/23/supreme-court-junks-petitions-vs-covid-policies

The Supreme Court has junked 3 petitions that sought to question various regulations issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), local government units and other agencies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a press briefer, the high court’s Public Information Office said the magistrates, during its session on Tuesday, July 11, voted to dismiss separate petitions all filed in February and May 2022 by former presidential candidate Dr. Jose Montemayor, Jr., a group of passengers’ and riders’ advocates, and civic groups. 

“The Court held that petitions were dismissible for violating the doctrine of hierarchy of courts as the resolution of the issues raised therein required the determination and adjudication of extremely technical and scientific facts that necessitates the conduct of a full-blown proceeding before a court of first instance,” it said.

The court of first instance refers to the regional trial courts which are in a position to receive evidence.

The Supreme Court, on the other hand, is not a “triers of facts,” which means only issues on the interpretation of a law or its constitutionality are brought before it.

The COVID policies questioned by the petitions included a policy that required all public and private establishments to order their employees doing on-site work to either get vaccinated against COVID-19 or be subjected to an RT-PCR test every 2 weeks, shouldering their own costs.

According to petitioners, the various policies violated their right to due process, impaired their right to travel and infringed upon the equal protection clause because they apply only to those who do not have private vehicles and discriminated against the unvaccinated. 

“They averred that the impugned measures embody a mandatory vaccination policy considering that the use of public transportation is an essential part of Filipino life,” the briefer said.

The briefer did not say if the Supreme Court, in its resolution, still addressed the constitutional issues raised by the petitioners. Under a long-standing doctrine, the high court will not resolve constitutional issues if petitions have already been dismissed on other grounds.

In an interview with the media, Department of Health spokesperson Dr. Eric Tayag said they welcomed the ruling but expressed concern that new petitions would be filed. 

(But if you read the briefer, it seems there’s still a chance that they will bring the complaint to a court, not the Supreme Court. So that’s what we’re expecting that petitioners will do.)

(But I hope they understand that everything we do has basis and the court sided with us.)

If the Supreme Court had moved immediately to dismiss these petitions because they had not gone through the lower courts then petitioners still could have had time to refile them appropriately and be heard. As it is the SC did not side with the DOH as spokesperson Dr. Eric Tayag claims. They sided with precedent that cases must go through the lower courts first. 

Stil the DOH is claiming a victory saying that their policies served the public good. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1801686/doh-on-sc-dismissal-of-petitions-vs-covid-19-efforts-govt-policies-are-for-common-good

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court’s dismissal of three petitions against the constitutionality of government measures during the coronavirus lockdown.

In a statement, DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa asserted that the government’s COVID-19 rules were implemented for the public’s good.

“The DOH, as the leading agency overseeing the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Diseases (IATF/ED), takes this opportunity to reaffirm that all regulations and policies implemented during the pandemic were enacted with the utmost consideration for the common good,” he said.

If curtailing civli liberties is for the public good then I suppose they are right. But really it's a case for the Supreme Court to decide. 

NAIA is nearing pre-pandemic passenger flight levels..

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1801830/miaa-records-78-percent-increase-in-intl-domestic-passengers-in-first-half-of-2023

A higher volume of passenger and flight movement was recorded at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) from January to June 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said Friday.

In a statement, MIAA reported a total of 22,221,933 international and domestic passengers in the first half of 2023, marking a 78% increase from 2022 and just an 8% decrease from the pre-pandemic level in 2019.

Flight movements tallied at 135,883 — a 42% increase for the same period in 2022 and equivalent to 100% of the flights handled at NAIA in the first half of 2019.

“We are pleased to experience these surges in statistics — a strong indication that passengers have regained the confidence to travel again. The double-digit surge in our flight movements and passenger volume is enough ground for optimism that the aviation industry is steadily heading towards full recovery,” said MIAA Officer-in-Charge Bryan Co.

People have been traveling for a while now but the problem is with the airlines cutting back on flights. Will they increase service? 

With more passengers going through NAIA perhaps Duty Free Philipines will be able to meet its goals once again. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/7/15/covid-19-blamed-for-failure-of-duty-free-philippines-to-remit-p174-m-to-gov-t

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic that caused “plummeting sales and sustained net losses,” Duty Free Philippines Corporation (DFPC) had not remitted the P174.32 million share of the government from its operations for several years.

In its report, the Commission on Audit (COA) said of the P174.32 million, a total of P52 million is for the Department of Tourism (DOT) while P122 million is for the Tourism Promotion Board.

COA said the amount had remained uncollected as of Dec. 31, 2022 contrary to the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 9593, the Tourism Act of 2009.

In noted that RA 9593 mandates that a variable percentage of DFPC's net profit should be remitted to the office of the Tourism Secretary at the end of every fiscal year in order to fund tourism programs and projects in lieu of its statutory remittance to the national government.

"Inquiry with the accounting division staff and review of accounting records showed that no subsequent remittances were made nor accrual of share from the earnings of DFPC in the years 2020 and 2021 due to the net loss incurred by DFPC on both years," COA said in its report.

But COA recognized the financial difficulties of the DFPC from 2020 to 2022 with less travelers and tourism activities because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It also pointed out DFPC Board Resolution No. 5-9-24-20 dated Sept. 24, 2020 which has no validity period of the deferment of DFPC's remittance and no alternative schedule of payments nor proposed measures or action plan taken on the remittance of amounts due from DFPC.

Thus, COA, recommended that the DOT should coordinate with the DFPC and take necessary measures to collect its P52 million share "within a reasonable period" and ensure that its shares moving forward is regularly and promptly accrued.

It lamented that had the share been remitted timely, the funds could have been used to implement more programs and projects that could attract more tourists in the country, therefore helping the DFPC increase its sales and obtain more profits.

The DOT claims more tourists are arriving so it's only a matter of time before revenues are up again. 

The Senate has finally abolished its mandatory face mask rule.

https://mb.com.ph/2023/7/16/zubiri-no-more-face-mask-health-protocols-when-senate-resumes-session-on-july-24

The Senate will do away with the mandatory use of health masks at the opening day of the Second Regular Session of the 19th Congress on Monday, July 24.

Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri announced this during a DWIZ radio interview on Saturday, July 15, where he said he has done away with Covid-19 health protocols.

"We will just practice precautionary checks, if have coughs or colds…If one does not feel well, he or she has to self-isolate and not go to the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA on July 24),’’ he said.

At the opening session at the Senate in the morning of July 24, Zubiri said the Senate would not ask for RT-PCR and antigen tests.

"But at the House of Representatives, one has to show his vaccination card. That is what they would ask for,’’ he pointed out.

The Covid-19 pandemic hit the country in early 2020 leading to the restriction of the movement of Senate personnel.

Zubiri emphasized that there would be no new rules "but it will be business as usual, we need to hit the ground running."

If a member of the House is not vaccinated will they have to submit to testing? 

The DOH has ordered more money released for health workers for their COVID allowance. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1802226/doh-orders-release-of-p1-3b-for-health-workers

The Department of Health (DOH) ordered early this month the release of around P1.3 billion in health emergency allowances (HEA) for private and public healthcare workers who handled COVID-19 patients.

Based on a department order dated July 5, a copy of which was furnished to the Inquirer on Saturday, P457.1 million was set aside for public hospitals and private health facilities, which will be coursed through the regional Center for Health Development (CHD), in 10 regions. This covers the COVID-19 allowances that should have been given for their work since January this year.

Another P802.3 million was allotted for the distribution of HEA to private hospitals in Metro Manila and Calabarzon, through its respective CHDs. The amount covers the delayed benefits for the period July to December 2021 and July to December 2022.

However, even with the latest allotment for the COVID-19 benefits, delayed payment for around eight to 10 months of hospital duty has remained unfunded, according to the United Private Hospital Unions of the Philippines.

Better late than never? No wonder nurses are leaving the Philippines in droves. 

COVID cases are down again.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1205818

The country’s daily average of new Covid-19 cases declined by 23 percent from July 10 to 16, the Department of Health (DOH) reported Monday.

In its latest case bulletin, the agency recorded 277 daily infections, a decline of 82 cases from the 359 recorded between July 3 to 9.

A total of 1,938 new cases were recorded in the recent week.

The tally of severe and critical infections also decreased to 324 from the previous week’s 382.

No deaths were verified during the past week.

This is a trend that continues with no stopping in sight. 

The God Culture: Start your own Church

Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture never stops delivering wonderful material to work with. Just when you think he has said something too outrageous he tops himself again. The fall feasts are coming up so what better time to produce a series of videos about those feasts?

The Day Of Trumpets: Yom Teruah, A Shadow Of Things To Come. Feasts of YHWH Series

This video is, obviously, about the Feast of Trumpets and how to celebrate it. Tim repeats his same old arguments for continuing to keep the law while not sacrificing and thus not actually keeping the law. Here's a cute little gem:

58:45 So, Yahuah said use silver or metal trumpets. Now, that's what he said. It's okay and it's okay for you two thousand years or more later, uh, even still. Actually we're about almost four thousand years later now. So, uh, let them have their fun, uh, especially the children. Uh, do so with discipline of course. Uh, do things decently in order but, uh, you know not during scripture reading, prayer, worship, etc. But you know what Yahuah enjoys it. Get them the plastic trumpets and let them have at it for a, one day a year and only one you don't have to do it anymore. Then take that trumpet away if you want. You don't have to tolerate it but for one day let's teach our children to enjoy this day and all of these feasts because this will entrench this.

Isn't that cute? Buy your children a plastic trumpet and let them blow it to celebrate the Feast of Trumpets. He even doubles down on this in the comments. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrCDt3beGhE&lc=UgzK2LQQCs8lO0cDXrJ4AaABAg

Carlo Gamilla: Do we have to use a metal trumpet or toy trumpet will be ok ? Thank you guys YAH bless to all

The God Culture: Toy is fine. The point is to make noise in celebration commemorating the future day when the Trump sounds at Yahusha's return. Have fun with it as well with the kids. Yah Bless.

Have fun with the kids on the Feast of Trumpets by making a lot of noise. I do not have the vocabulary to convey how stupid, sacrilegious, and antinomian this is. And yet his audience is eating up this vomit. 

If that is not adding to the scripture and giving your own interpretation then I don't know what is. Absolutely incredible that he could seriously offer this ridiculous advice for something so serious. Leave it to Timothy Jay Schwab to turn a solemn festival and convocation which is actually ten days of preparation and repentance for the Day of Atonement into a joke!

It is the question of celebration that perplexed one commenter. Specifically how does one celebrate the Feast of Trumpets if one is all alone? Timothy Jay Schwab's answer is stunning. Just start your own Church!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrCDt3beGhE&lc=UgzV8C4gvbMezhxHJ9t4AaABAg

Rose Silvio: can one celebrate dfeasts alone if u have no one to cel with

The God Culture: Sure but in time you should consider starting an ekklesia of your own and including others at least. Yah Bless.

The God Culture: Understand. Many have that same circumstance. In this case, we encourage you to start your own ekklesia beginning with 2 or more as Yahusha said He will be there in your midst.Yah Bless.

"You should consider starting an ekklesia of your own!" Incredible! Starting your own Church is exactly what cults do. There is already a Church and it was founded 2,000 years ago by Jesus Christ.

This absolutely insane and blasphemous advice sheds light on what Tim is likely doing up in San Fernando. Has he founded his own Church with his wife and a few friends? To understand what this means one must understand his definition of the Church. First of all he believes Church is the wrong word as it comes from the word for circus, it does not it actually comes from the Greek word kuriakos, and that the Church is diffuse and disorganized consisting of only a handful of people meeting in a garage or living room.

So how then do we govern ourselves? Who do we follow? What church do we attend? Is there a denomination that gets this right?

You will never find denominations in scripture. His ekklesia cannot be broken into such. In our age, there are a Remnant of believers only. It is not 1.5 billion but a few in terms of the population of the world. They are one and defined as keeping His commandments. Those come from the Bible as should all of our doctrine.

Any organization one enters is a creation of men. You will notice just about all of them attempt to boil down their theology into a Statement of Faith or Mission Statement of sort. These are meaningless as any Statement of Faith that does not include every letter of the Word is no such. The origin of such practice is freemasonry as the Bible never says to create a Statement of Faith. You will find every False Prophet comes from the church within and has a great resume and great sounding Mission Statement. That is Pharisaism not Bible. If one can whittle their faith down to a sentence or paragraph, they are extremely shallow.

Rest: The Case for Sabbath, pg. 416

One thing Tim really hates is the organized Church. Despite the Bible saying the Church has an organizational hierarchy with Bishops, Deacons, and Pastors Tim says the true Church is not an organization but is disorganized and diffused throughout the world.

45:36 We have no problem rebuking especially scholars who have screwed up the Bible for so long. That is almost eery denomination out there. It includes the cults calling themselves, "We're the only true church." No you're not! There is no such. His Ekklesia is not an organization and that money doesn't go in your pocket. It is believers everywhere and there is only one group, there's only one classification. It is not based on race. It doesn't matter what color you are. It doesn't matter if you are Hebrew or Greek, Jew or Gentile. Doesn't matter. It's certainly not about religion because the only established relationship the creator of the universe wants to know you. Imagine that. Is that not enough? 

The Final World Power in the 7 Ekklesias of Revelation. The Key. Answers In 2nd Esdras Part 7

So, there you have it. Timothy Jay Schwab says start your own Church, excuse me, ekklesia. But it is the same thing. It is a rejection of the true Church which is the Body of Christ which Jesus Christ founded and said the gates of hell would never overcome. Tim's doctrine of the Church is that it is the Synagogue of Satan and was completely taken over by the time of Constantine. It is unbiblical, faithless, and Christless nonsense. 

Insurgency: NPA Membership Down to 1,800

After almost a whole year the AFP has released a new estimate on how many NPA fighters remain. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1799676/fwd-afp-npa-has-around-1800-members-left

From around 2,000 members reported in 2022, the communist New People’s Army (NPA) is now down to around 1,800 fighters, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said on Monday.

“The CPP-NPA is down to 1,800 plus members,” Aguilar said in an online press conference. CPP stands for the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Aguilar, however, declined to divulge the primary locations of the insurgents.

“Let the military worry about the breakdown. These are tactical information we cannot divulge,” he said.

Aguilar added around 400 NPA rebels have pending cases.

“As we look at the data right now, with 1,800 plus remaining, around 400 plus of them … are facing cases,” Aguilar said.

“Also, based on the revelation of former rebels who have surrendered already, these cases are obstructing them because what their commanders and leaders are saying [is] when they go back when they return to the folds of the law, they will not be reunited with their family; instead they will go directly to jail,” he added.

Hence, Aguilar said he believes granting amnesty to the rebels is one of the ways to solve the dilemma.

“As far as the Armed Forces are concerned, I think amnesty is one way to end the communist insurgency,” he said.

“This is one consideration we should look into because, after all, the President wants to unify the country.”

The NPA’s leadership has rejected the repeated calls of the AFP for amnesty.

CPP spokesperson Marco Valbuena called the proposed amnesty a “sugar-coated bullet.”

Because the NPA has been reduced to 1,800 members the AFP has declared a strategic victory. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1205263

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Monday said that "strategic victory" has been achieved over the New People's Army (NPA) as the insurgents only have 1,800 members as of this time, compared to the 24,000 during its peak in the 1980s.

During the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC)'s "Tagged Reloaded" press conference Monday, Aguilar said of the remaining 1,800 NPA members, 400 of them are already identified and facing criminal charges.

He added that all of them are the subject of "focused military operations".

"They should think of getting back to their families and to the folds of the law,"  he added.

"Because of that, we have reduced the number of guerilla fronts. When before there were five active guerilla fronts, this is now reduced to one, with the dismantling of two guerilla fronts, and weakening of two. That one active guerilla front is located, operating somewhere in (the) northern part of Samar," Aguilar said.

The AFP spokesperson also said that they are now focusing the necessary forces there to prevent and suppress violence that could come from this guerilla front.

Dismantling the politico-military structure of the CPP-NPA-NDF is the key objective of the AFP to achieve a total victory.

This can only be achieved "when the CPP is no longer capable of mounting atrocities or violent activities that will harm our community and disrupt our progress."

"Now, this also calls for the clearing of all affected barangays or even those threatened to make sure that when this shift is focused on territorial defense operation (TDO), there will be no ISO (internal security operation) problem to look back, and by that... we expect that with the guidance and direction given by the President, we will be moving for you will be shifting to TDO. All of us are united towards that purpose," Aguilar said.

The AFP already declared a strategic victory back in September, 2022. 

According to the AFP there is only one active guerrilla front left in the nation and it is in Northern Samar.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/10/23/afp-only-one-active-npa-guerrilla-front-remaining-in-ph

Only one out of 89 known guerrilla fronts of the New People's Army (NPA) remains active in the Philippines, the military said Monday.

“When before there were 5 active guerrilla fronts, these are now reduced to 1. We had the dismantling of 2 guerrilla fronts and weakening of 2,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar told reporters.

While the military was still pursuing 2 more fronts, they have already been classified as "weakened" and "unable to implement programs" of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

The remaining active guerrilla front is located in the northern part of Samar, Aguilar said, adding that the AFP expects it to be dismantled at the soonest possible time as NPA rebel forces continue to decrease.

As of July, only some 1,800 communist rebels are still bearing arms.

“If we are talking about the 2,008 members of the CPP-NPA in the end of 2022, now, the strength of the CPP has been reduced to 1,800. We have accounted more than 600 neutralizations but some of these are not listed because many belong to what we call legal organizations. When they found out that there was no way out, they surrendered,” Aguilar said.

Let's do the math in that last paragraph. There were 2,008 members at the end of 2022 and now there are 1,800. In between 600 NPA fighters were neutralized but really more than that because not all are listed since they surrendered. That math makes no sense at all. If there were 600 neutralizations since the beginning of the year then their would have been 2,400 NPA fighters and not 2,008 at the end of 2022. How do they know there are exactly 1,800 NPA fighters left? They don't. It's an estimate.

Northern Samar may have the only active guerrilla front in the nation but it's not the only island where there is fighting. There are still clashes in Bohol.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1205361

The military on Tuesday vowed to continue without letup its offensive operations against the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Bohol after the clash in Bilar town over the weekend.

Brig. Gen. Joey Escanillas, the Army’s 302nd Infantry Brigade (302Bde) commander based in Tanjay City, Negros Oriental, said that while the NPA’s Bohol Party Committee (BPC) is already dismantled, there are still remnants who must be prevented from recruiting new members.

“These (rebels) will not cease from recovering their lost ground and from organizing, so we are closely monitoring them so that they could no longer recover,” Escanillas told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) here in an interview.

He said the dismantled BPC front now has about seven to nine remaining members who are “on the run” as government troops continue to pursue them.

On July 8, troopers of the Army’s 47th Infantry Battalion (47IB) figured in a 10-minute encounter with the remnants of the BPC in the hinterlands of Barangay Dagohoy in Bilar.

Lt. Col. Magno Mapalad, the 47IB commander, said the clash took place after civilians reported the presence of armed men in the area.

Recovered from the encounter site were a loaded .45-caliber pistol, assorted ammunition for an AK-47 rifle, an M16 rifle, and a .45-caliber pistol, personal belongings, tents, medical paraphernalia, food packs, and subversive documents.

The encounter site is described as a temporary encampment of the BPC remnants as they no longer stay in one place for longer periods.

“We cannot be complacent because they still can reorganize and recover, and actually, we are focusing on some white areas or urban works where the NPA is conducting resource generation operations,” Escanillas said.

He noted that so long as the rebels are allowed to continue generating resources, its armed component would continue to exist.

In October 2022 The AFP declared the Bohol CTGs to be dismantled with only ten members left. 

  

https://pia.gov.ph/news/2022/10/03/army-pnp-npa-ctgs-dismantled-in-bohol

The communist terrorist group (CTG) of the New People’s Army (NPA) have been dismantled in Bohol. 

This forms the gist of the report which the 47th Infantry Battalion shared to the media during the weekly Capitol Reports featuring Bohol’s peace and order situation.

Speaking for Lt. Col. Allysion Depayso, commanding officer of the 47th Infantry Brigade (IB) based in Camp Rajah Silatuna in Katipunan Carmen, 47IB Executive Officer Major Jason Torino reported on the dwindling number of armed terrorist group members in the province. 

“Based on the periodic reports status which the Army and police joint task force receive, from 18 members of the armed terrorist group in Bohol, there are now only 10,” Torino said. 

“They cannot conduct anymore offensives against the government,” he continued, adding that they have also recently recovered the harbor site of the communist terrorist guerillas.

“They are not anymore considered a threat.  They now have 10 men and some 11 firearms,” the top police chief said.

How do they even know this? What information are they using to make these estimates? In the most recent encounter The AFP recovered three weapons. In a clash in May the AFP killed one man, wounded several others, and recovered 2 weapons. So, now there are 7 men and 6 weapons? It seems there are more NPA fighters in Bohol than the AFP is admitting or even knows about. 

The fight also continues in Negros. 

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2023/07/09/2279767/hundreds-displaced-negros-occidental-afp-npa-clashes

Eighty families or 318 people evacuated their homes as New People’s Army (NPA) rebels clashed with soldiers in Barangay Carabalan in Himamaylan City in Negros Occidental on Friday.

The displaced families are taking shelter at a covered court in the barangay.

Lt. Col. Van Donald Almonte, 94th Infantry Battalion (IB) commander, said an NPA rebel, who has yet to be identified, was killed in the gunfights.

The military said a rifle, two backpacks containing extortion letters and personal belongings were recovered at the scene.

Almonte said the clash occurred after soldiers belonging to the 94th IB responded to a report on the presence of the rebels in the area.

Meanwhile, an NPA rebel identified only by his alias of Pepe surrendered to the 94th IB and turned over his rifle.

The AFP says they are stepping up efforts to recover stashed firearms in Negros. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1205267

The Philippine Army is intensifying efforts to locate more firearms stashed by the New People’s Army (NPA) to prevent the communist rebels from making up lost ground in Negros Island.

Maj. Gen. Marion Sison, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID), gave the assurance as he commended the joint police and military forces for the recovery of a cache of firearms in the hinterlands of Calatrava, Negros Occidental over the weekend.

“We will carry on in stepping up our military and non-military operations to recuperate more loose firearms and defuse the remnants of the communist-terrorist group in Negros Island,” Sison said in a statement on Monday.

The operation on July 8 was conducted by troops of the 79th Infantry Battalion together with personnel of the Philippine National Police’s Regional Mobile Force Battalion-Western Visayas, 1st Negros Occidental Provincial Mobile Force, and 6th Special Action Battalion, Special Action Force upon receiving information from the locals that led them to the location in Sitio Bandol, Barangay Maaslob.

They recovered an M14 rifle with a magazine containing live ammunition, M16 rifle magazines, clips for Garand rifle, commercial radios, and subversive documents believed to have been hidden by the remnants of the dismantled NPA Northern Negros Front.

Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, said the recovery of the arms cache is “a significant blow to the NPA’s capacity to carry out its destructive acts”.

“It also serves as a clear warning that law enforcement agencies in Negros Occidental remain committed to ensuring the safety and security of the people, and are relentless in the pursuit of those who seek to sow terror and disorder,” he added.

And for North Samar the Marcos administration hopes to declare the region insurgency free by the end of 2023. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1802098/bongbong-marcos-admin-targets-to-declare-n-samar-clear-of-ctgs-by-end-2023

The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is eyeing to make Northern Samar free from so-called communist terrorist groups (CTGs) by the end of this year.

Marcos was briefed about the military’s success rate in its efforts to dismantle CTGs in Northern Samar during his visit to Camp Juan Ponce in Sumuroy, Northern Samar on Friday, July 14.

“And I was also given a very encouraging deadline that….we will have dismantled all of the communist terrorist groups (CTG) fronts by the end of the year and that is the result of your good work,” the President said in a speech.

“From the progress being made in Northern Samar, we are looking forward to declaring that province clear of CTGs by the end of the year,” he added.

According to Marcos, he “is very impatient” to revisit the province to declare that it already is free from all forms of insurgencies. But he likewise advised the 803rd Infantry Brigade to remain cautious as dangers on the frontline still exist.

“You are still now in Northern Samar, on the frontline. Do not let your guard down. Continue to do what you have been doing [because], as I said, it has been successful, it has been effective and we can see that from the weakening of the enemy forces,” he said.

Never forget that insurgency free or CTGs dismantled does not mean there are no NPA fighters in the area. 

Banning the Barbie Movie: A Work of Fiction

When the new Barbie movie was banned in Vietnam for purportedly showing a map with China's 9-dash line eyebrows were raised in the Philippines as everyone expected the MTRCB to follow suit. One Senator, without having seen the film, said it was a matter of national prestige. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1204936

A senator urged the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) on Wednesday to block the upcoming screening of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Barbie" movie after the film’s digital illustration of a scene with the so-called "nine-dash line" claim of the Chinese government of their supposed militaristic expansion in the entire South China Sea (SCS) region, including the zone along the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Senator Francis Tolentino warned that allowing the local screening of the film will only lead to "injurious" consequences to the prestige of the Philippines.

“This will not just be an injurious to the Republic of the Philippines but would be contrary to what our country fought for and achieved under that Arbitral Ruling in 2016,” Tolentino said.

“What the effect would be? Something that would dilute our sovereignty,” he added.

Is this guy for real? All the problems in the nation and he thinks one picture in a movie will be injurious the prestige of the Philippines? How about all the people killed in the drug war? Duterte's foul mouth? Troubles at NAIA? Crimes committed against tourists? Corrupt politicians and police? Pollution? Poverty? 

Is he also aware that Duterte called the arbitral ruling a piece of paper that could be thrown away? 

https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/5/6/Duterte-PH-arbitral-win-vs.-China-a-piece-of-paper.html

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday called the country's arbitral victory against China's claims in the West Philippine Sea a piece of paper that he can throw away in a trash bin.

In his second late-night address this week, Duterte said the ruling affirming the Philippines' sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone is just a piece of paper that led to nothing.

"Nag-file sila ng kaso nanalo tayo... Sa totoong buhay, between nation, 'yang papel wala iyan...Actually... bigay mo sakin iyan sabihin ko 'P*t*ng-ina papel lang iyan'. Itatapon ko iyan sa waste basket," he said.

[Translation: They filed a case and we won. In real life, between nations, that paper is noting. Actually, if you give that to me, I will tell you 'Son of a ***** that is only a paper.' I will throw that in a waste basket.]

And it's not as if Marcos has been pressing China to abide by the ruling either. He is very chummy with Xi Jinping. 

Well, it turns out the MTRCB gave the movie a viewing and decided that it did in fact NOT depict China's 9-dash line. 

https://entertainment.inquirer.net/508818/mtrcb-approves-ph-screening-of-barbie-with-pg-rating

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) has allowed the local screening of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” saying that the cartoonish map does not depict China’s nine-dash line but the route of the make-believe journey of Barbie.

“Having conducted two review sessions, thorough deliberations, and consultations with relevant government agencies, including a legal expert on the West Philippine Sea, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) has given the film ‘Barbie’ a Parental Guidance (‘PG’) rating, which means viewers below thirteen (13) years old must be accompanied by a parent or supervising adult,” MTRCB said in a statement released on Wednesday, July 12.

“Considering the context by which the cartoonish map of the character ‘Weird Barbie’ was portrayed in the film, the Review Committee is convinced that the contentious scene does not depict the ‘nine-dash line,'” it further read. “Instead, the map portrayed the route of the make-believe journey of Barbie from Barbie Land to the ‘real world,’ as an integral part of the story.”

MTRCB said it “exhausted all possible resources” before it decided on the matter, stressing that the board did not show hesitation in sanctioning previous “filmmakers/producers/distributors for exhibiting the fictitious ‘nine-dash line’ in their materials.”

“The Board sternly warns all filmmakers, producers, and distributors that it will not hesitate to sanction and/or ban films that exhibit the ‘nine-dash line’ for being contrary to law, pursuant to Section 3(c)(d) of Presidential Decree No. 1986, the Republic Act No. 9522, otherwise known as the Philippine Baselines Law, and the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s South China Sea Arbitration Award, whose anniversary we, as a nation, are celebrating today,” it added.

This was not good enough for Senator Tolentino who fired back with:

Tolentino  lamented the board’s decision to screen the full movie, particularly in light of the seventh anniversary of the landmark judgment from The Hague disproved China's claim that it has historical sovereignty over the waters within its "nine-dash line" boundary.

[Translation: We respect the MTRCB whether it is an eight-dash line, seven-dash line, or nine-dash line - what we see here is China's continued encroachment on Philippine waters. And this is a clear violation of the rights of our fishermen, even of the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard.]

Tolentino further said that the MTRCB should have just removed the controversial scene that led Vietnam to ban the live-action adaptation.

https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2023/7/11/MTRCB-allows-Barbie-screening-in-PH.html

It also wasn't good enough for Congressman Rufus Rodrigues who is demanding that the entire MTRCB resign. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/7/13/rodriguez-calls-for-resignation-of-mtrcb-execs-for-green-lighting-offensive-movie-1

A ranking congressman wants officials of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to resign following their decision to allow the commercial release of the movie “Barbie” starting July 19.

Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez is up in arms over the board's decision, since the film reportedly contains a depiction or reference to China’s expansive nine-dash line territorial claim over the South China Sea, including parts of the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“I am dismayed and disappointed by MRTCB’s decision. The inclusion in the movie of China’s illegal nine-dash line claim is against our national interest, which the board apparently does not appreciate. Those officials should not stay in government any minute longer,” Rodriguez said Thursday, July 13.

Rodriguez said the MRTCB members’ vote to allow the commercial showing of the controversial movie “embarrasses and demeans the country and the administration of President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. before the international community.”

“I have no doubt that President BBM Jr. supports the July 12, 2016 arbitral ruling. He has repeatedly stated so. We should be the first country and people to assert it and to insist that China complies with it because it was our victory in the international tribunal,” said the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments chairman.

He further noted that Vietnam--a country that has also butted heads with China over maritime claims--didn't allow the local release of Barbie.

“If its Vietnam counterpart has found it offensive, why can’t MTRCB? asked Rodriguez.

The MTRCB justified its decision by saying, "The Board believes that, all things considered, it has no basis to ban the film 'Barbie' as there is no clear nor outright depiction of the 'nine-dash line' in the subject of the film.”

Rodriguez said the board’s statement “is an admission that there is a portrayal of China’s claim in the movie, though it was not, to use the agency’s own language, ‘clear nor outright’".

“A direct or indirect insult is still an insult. If you don’t get that, MTRCB, shame on you!” he said the Mindanaoan, who has been a consistent critic of China’s encroachment and aggressive activities in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and the country’s EEZ.

How ridiculous. Vietnam found it offensive so the Philippines should too. Top logic there! And look at how Rep. Rodriguez twists the statement to the MTRCB so that "there is no clear nor outright depiction of the 'nine-dash line'" means there actually is a depiction of the 9-dash line just indirectly. How can one even respond to such stupidity? 

It's funny how these people get all twisted up over a movie but in real life they don't care about the 9-dash line at all. If they did they would be protecting fisherman and not cozying up to China. Philippine fishermen know.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1798133/ph-govt-told-to-popularize-2016-pca-ruling-on-south-china-sea-than-pick-on-barbie

A Filipino fishermen’s group has called on the government to “popularize in different venues” the Philippines’ 2016 arbitral victory in the South China Sea than nitpick on the “Barbie” movie.

The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) believed that the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should strongly assert the country’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity instead of yielding to suggestions to ban the fictional film over its depiction of China’s nine-dash line claim.

“A single scene in a film doesn’t have any bearing [on] what the Filipino fishers believe and stand for – that the West Philippine Sea is indisputably ours and ours alone. The Philippine government should instead popularize in different venues the 2016 arbitral ruling, as a way to uphold our national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Pamalakaya chair Fernando Hicap said in a statement.

The group added that the administration “would appear much tougher if it confronts China” about its trespasses in the West Philippine Sea.

Several senators were outraged by the depiction of China’s nine-dash line claim in the Barbie movie, with some calling for a ban on its screening in the Philippines.

“The Marcos administration would appear much tougher if it directly confronts China every time the latter causes an untoward incident in our territorial waters, rather than picking on a fictional film. For instance, Marcos should protest the recent harassment of Chinese vessel against Philippine Coast Guard in Ayungin Shoal,” Hicap said.

The Pamalakaya leader refers to an incident when Chinese vessels maneuvered dangerously close to Philippine Coast Guard ships last week.

“As for the Filipino fishers, we won’t be spending even a minute nitpicking on a detail in a fictional film. We’re too busy walking our talk and safeguarding our fishing grounds,” Hicap said.

But let's listen to President Marcos who apparently had a moment of clarity. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1205676

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. assuaged public worries on the controversial foreign movie “Barbie,” saying it is a “work of fiction.”

In a chance interview on the sidelines of his official engagements in Northern Samar on Friday, including the inauguration of the 11.607-kilometer Samar Pacific Coastal Road project in Laoang town, Marcos echoed the earlier expert opinion of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that a scene in the movie has nothing to do with nine-dash line claim of China in the disputed South China Sea.

In 2016, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled as illegal the so-called nine-dash line, which Beijing uses to illustrate its claims on at least 80 percent of the South China Sea, and that the invisible demarcation overlaps with the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

“Maganda raw eh, sabi nila (It’s a good one, according to them),” Marcos said of the film.

In response to concerns regarding the alleged tackling of China’s territorial claims, Marcos said the depiction of the boundary line is part of the movie.

“Ang sagot ko doon (My reply to that), what do you expect? It’s a work of fiction,” he said.

The MTRCB thinks the Barbie movie is a good film? It doesn't matter anyway because we all know the black market will be flooded with bootleg cam versions of this film.