Coronavirus Lockdown: Filipinos Hopeful For 2024, WHO Pandemic Policy, and More!

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

Face masks have not been madnatory for almost two years. Quezon City has decided to reimpose on the public.  

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/12/30/2322239/quezon-province-imposes-mandatory-masking

Citing an increase in COVID-19 and other influenza-like illnesses, the provincial government of Quezon yesterday imposed mandatory wearing of face masks.

The policy is contained in Executive Order DHT-60, signed by Gov. Angelina Tan.

Tan, who is a medical doctor, said she issued the order to prevent COVID-19 cases, as well as other flu-like illnesses in the province, from increasing.

“Mandatory wearing of face masks shall continue for indoor settings and in outdoor settings where physical distancing cannot be maintained,” Tan said.

Among these are public spaces, hospitals and clinics.

She said people with flu-like symptoms such as cough, colds, sore throat and fever must isolate themselves from the rest of the population.

Meanwhile, the testing of suspected cases with mild symptoms shall be optional.

Tan did not say up to when the mandatory face mask rule will last.

Testing is optional but masks are not. Never mind that the DOH is not recommending mandatory masking. What is the science behind this order?

Baguio is not imposing a mandate but is urging people to wear face masks. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/regions/892438/baguio-mayor-wear-face-masks-as-covid-19-cases-rise/story/

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Wednesday encouraged residents and visitors to the City of Pines to wear face masks especially in crowded areas due to rising COVID-19 cases across the country. 

Magalong said the number of COVID-19 infections and cases with flu-like symptoms are increasing in Baguio, whose population of almost 400,000 spiked with the annual influx of tourists during the holiday season.  

(We're already encouraging the use of face masks especially in crowded areas and while riding in public transport because we really anticipated that cases will increase because it's getting colder.)

Magalong thus advised the public to bring their jackets when they visit Baguio as the temperature in the city is now at 15 °C to 23 °C this month.

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa earlier encouraged the public to wear face masks amid increasing COVID-19 cases in the country. 

Despite the rise in COVID-19 infections, Department of Health spokesperson Undersecretary Enrique Tayag said that the agency is not recommending the return of mandatory wearing of face masks because the situation now is “expected.”

What science is there to back up the assertion that cold weather will cause an increase in COVD-19 cases? 

Rep. Dan Fernandez of change the Philippines' name to Ophir fame is pushing for a law that will require the Senate to approve of any future WHO pandemic policies. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1882075/house-rep-pushes-for-senate-approval-of-future-who-pandemic-policy

Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez wants the Senate’s approval for any future pandemic policy or regulation, which could result in “medical martial law,” that the World Health Organization (WHO) might impose on 194 member states including the Philippines.

Fernandez said that the process of adopting two WHO legal instruments for reforms in handling pandemics has been “shrouded in secrecy with the negotiations taking place behind closed doors and at tremendous speed and with their existence not being reported.”

Both documents, he claimed, would be finalized and voted on by the WHO member states in May 2024 and take effect in May 2025.

The lawmaker filed House Bill No. 9563, or the proposed No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act, which would require all international health agreements and regulations to be scrutinized and approved by the Senate before implementation.

Fernandez noted that negotiations among WHO member countries have been ongoing since 2021 for the crafting of a new Pandemic Treaty and amendments to International Health Regulations, which are intended to introduce reforms in the management of pandemics.

“Aiming for its advice to become legally ‘binding’ on the part of member states, the WHO is not only seeking the right to declare recommendations by several health experts as mandatory but also the power to impose on the people all kinds of access restrictions, lockdowns, surveillance, and experimental treatments,” he said.

“The WHO further reserves and assumes the right to define various health situations and to control all information related to health, including the right to censorship and interfere in social communications, with no provisions for a mechanism that will allow member states to challenge WHO’s assessments when it comes to public health emergencies of international concern and the measures to be undertaken,” the lawmaker said.

“Such recent developments do not bode well not only for health but also for democracy. Some sectors have observed that this ‘medical martial law’ is an uncanny characteristic of a possible dystopian dictatorial future and that such a ‘power grab’ by the WHO presents a clear and present danger to national sovereignty, the right to self-determination, and to our people’s right to informed consent,” he said.

According to Fernandez, several countries have been claiming WHO mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic including unjustified delay in informing member states about the potentially serious disease outbreak in Wuhan, China; and repeated grossly inaccurate or misleading claims on the transmission of the virus and on the Chinese government’s handling of the outbreak.

He stressed: “In view of the lingering doubts as to the competence or integrity of the WHO and of its recent drive to be granted almost unbridled authority or supranational power to handle future pandemics, there is a compelling need to require any and all international health covenants, agreements, or regulations to pass through the scrutiny of our Senate.”

As we all saw during the height of the pandemic all it takes is an overzealous President and trigger happy cops to erode the people's liberties. Did Dan Fernandez speak out against the unneccessary and economically crippling lockdowns? 

It's a new year and the people are feeling more optimistinc than ever. 

https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2023/12/28/96-percent-Filipinos-hopeful-for-2024.html

A national survey released four days ahead of the New Year found that the majority, or 96% of adult Filipinos, will be welcoming 2024 with hope rather than fear, the highest percentage since pre-pandemic 2019.

“This is a point above the 95% in 2022 and the highest since the pre-pandemic 96% in 2019,” the Social Weather Survey (SWS) said in its Thursday report.

According to the SWS, its survey with a primary question of ‘Ang darating na taon ba ay inyong sasalubungin nang may pag-asa o may pangamba?’ was conducted from Dec. 8 to 11 via face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults nationwide.

[Translation: Is it with hope or with fear that you enter the coming year?]

The findings also showed that only 3% of Filipinos would enter 2024 with fear.

Additionally, 73% of Filipinos expected to have a happy Christmas, the same figure in 2022, the SWS noted.

“The percentage of those who are entering the New Year with hope rather than fear is higher among those who expected a happy Christmas (98%) and those who expected neither a happy nor sad Christmas (95%) than those who expected a sad Christmas (84%),” it said.

The percentage of hopefuls in the National Capital Region (NCR) rose from 93% in 2022 to 97% this year, Mindanao also rose from 93% last year to 96% now.

On the other hand, Balance Luzon retained its percentage at 97%, while the Visayas dropped from 95% in 2022 to 93% this year.

The SWS also showed a rise in the New Year hope percentage among adults who attended school.

“Compared to the end of 2022, New Year hope rose slightly across educational levels: from 92% to 93% among non-elementary graduates, from 95% to 97% among elementary graduates, from 95% to 96% among junior high school graduates, and from 96% to 98% among college graduates,” it said.

Of course it remains to be seen if it will indeed be a Happy New Year. But with Filipino resiliency and resolve it will undoubtedly be so. 

The DOT is aiming to have even more tourist arrivals this year as the nation continues to recover from the pandemic. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/01/02/2322986/dot-sets-77-million-target-international-arrivals-2024

After surpassing its conservative target of international visitors in 2023, the Department of Tourism is increasing its target number of international arrivals to 7.7 million in 2024 — the highest target it has set since the COVID-19 pandemic paused global tourism.

In a release, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said that the country is aiming to reach at least 7.7 million international visitors in 2024, which is just half a million lower than the country’s pre-pandemic arrivals of 8.2 million in 2019.

In 2023, the Philippines recorded a total of 5.45 million international visitors, higher than the projected 4.8 million it set for the year. 

Lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 had put a brake in the tourism industry worldwide, and it was only in 2022 that the tourism department in the Philippines resumed setting their target number of foreign arrivals for the year. 

According to the DOT, the Philippines has recovered 66% of its record number of international arrivals in 2019. 

The local tourism industry is also "recovering faster than expected," according to the DOT, which noted that international tourism receipts have "surged" at an estimated P482 billion in 2023. This is 124% higher than the previous year.

Frasco previously said that the Philippines may once again breach the 8 million mark in terms of the number of tourists by 2025.

There are a lot of factors at play here which are out of the DOT's control. All those millions of new tourists will have a new destination to see, the Manila Post Office.  

Necrophilia is Legal in the Philippines

Did you know necrophilia is legal in the Philippines? That is to say it's not a crime. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/28/this-house-bill-could-finally-criminalize-necrophilia-in-ph

The Philippines currently has no law explicitly criminalizing necrophilia or sexual acts with a corpse, but a bill filed by North Cotabato 3rd district Rep. Ma. Alana Samantha Taliño Santos seeks to change that. 

Santos filed in the current 19th Congress House Bill (HB) No.9598, or the proposed Act defining the crime of cadaver desecration, providing penalties therefor and for other purposes. 

"This bill aims to impose criminal and civil liabiltiies on offenders guilty of desecrating cadavers," read HB No.9598. 

"The penalty of prision mayor shall be imposed upon any person who shall commit the crime of desecration of human cadaver as defined in this Act," it added. 

The measure defines desecration of cadavers as any act committed after the death of a human being, including, but not limited to dismemberment, disfigurement, mutilation, burning, or any act committed to cause the dead body to be devoured, scattered, or dissipated. 

It goes on to provide more specific language for the banned acts, one of them being "having sexual contact or activity with the dead", or necrophilia. 

The Santos bill further lists down the following prohibitions: dumping of cadavers, including infants and fetuses, with the intent of abandoning the cadaver; mutilating the cadaver, including infants and fetuses, except for embalming and medical purposes; destruction of tombs and other private or public burial sites; and taking from the grave the personal property buried with the dead including; but not limited to, the coffin, clothing, and jewelry. 

The bill is also seeking to outlaw the burying the dead, including infants and fetuses, without securing approval and appropriate permits from local health units; selling the cadaver onducting any medical study or experiment on the dead, including infants and fetuses without securing approval and appropriate permit from local health units. 

Santos stressed in her proposed stature that Congress is mandated to give the highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all people to human dignity. 

"The right to human dignity extends to the right of dignity of dead bodies. There have been instances in the past, some of which were highlighted in news reports, of dead bodies being dumped in inappropriate places," she said. 

"In keeping with our mandate to protect and promote human dignity, there is an imperative need to supplement the dearth in laws by penalizing the crime of cadaver desecration as a separate crime," added Santos. 

The measure is pending before the House Committee on Justice.

The quest to criminalize necrophilia extends back at least two decades. In 2006 Senator Manny Villar filed a bill criminalizing necrophilia. 

https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2006/1031_villar1.asp

Respect of the dead is the theme of the three bills filed by Senate President Manny Villar. These are Senate Bill (SB) 697 or the Desecration of the Dead Act; SB 2267 Criminalizing and Penalizing Necrophilia or Carnal Knowledge with the Dead; and SB 2298 or An Act Establishing National Cemeteries and Providing for their Administration and Maintenance.

According to Villar, Every year, on All Souls Day, Filipinos pay their respects to their loved ones who have passed on to show that the dead should never be forgotten and their memories should be preserved. However, there are not enough laws that promote respect for the dead. There are still reported incidents of desecration of the dead.

While many preserve the time-honored Filipino tradition of respecting the dead, there are still lawless elements out there who disrespect and desecrate the dead. We should put a stop to their detestable and heinous acts against our dearly departed, adds Villar.

Villar cites on his SB 697 that presently desecration of the dead is not defined and penalized as a crime under the Revised Penal Code. Anyone caught dumping a dead person, unless charged with murder or homicide, would only be guilty of violating the law on the burial of the dead person under the Code of Sanitation, which provides only a penalty of six months imprisonment or a fine of less than P1,000, further cites Villar.

Villars SB 697 proposes the penalty of prision mayor upon any person who shall commit the crime of desecration of the dead which include acts such as dumping of dead person including fetuses, mutilating of the dead, destruction of tombs or public burial sites, having sexual contact or activity with the dead or necrophilia, among others.

Villar recently modified through another bill, SB 2267, the penalty for necrophilia or the crime committed by a person who engages in sexual intercourse with a female corpse. Under the said bill, the penalty for necrophilia shall be reclusion perpetua to death and a fine of P100,000 to P500,000 at the discretion of the court.

Senator Villar refiled this bill in 2011. Senator Estrada also filed a similar bill. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/17260/senate-bill-to-criminalize-necrophilia

Anyone who sexually abuses a living person has at least a chance of being punished as the law provides for it. However, if that someone were to do it to the dead, he will probably get away with it. 

Two senators have filed separate bills criminalizing necrophilia to plug this apparent loophole in the country’s criminal justice system.

The condition is characterized by a “morbid desire to have sexual contact with a dead body, usually of men to perform a sexual act with a dead woman,” according to Mosby’s Medical Dictionary.

Sen. Manuel Villar said the “forcible imposition of manhood … directed against a lifeless female does not make the grisly act any less detestable and heinous.”

“In fact, this vicious bestiality is notoriously offensive and revolting to the feelings of the living even as it grossly desecrates the dead,” he said in explanatory note to his Senate Bill 1297.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who filed SB 505, noted that under the present Revised Penal Code, “only defamation to blacken the memory of one who is dead is criminalized.”

The two bills seek to amend the Revised Penal Code and introduce a provision against necrophilia.

The Senate committee on justice and human rights conducted a preliminary hearing on the bills last month. Sen. Francis Escudero, the committee chair, acknowledged the absence of penalties against necrophilia under existing laws.

He said this was also probably the reason why no such cases have been found to have been reported to the Philippine National Police or the National Bureau of Investigation.

In 2013 Gloria Arroyo revived filed a bill seeking to punish necrophilia.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/453145/arroyo-re-files-bill-seeking-to-punish-necrophilia

Former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo wants stiff penalties for persons who commit necrophilia, or deriving sexual gratification from copulating with corpses, an act that she describes as “grisly and heinous.”

Arroyo and son Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado Arroyo have re-filed their bill to criminalize necrophilia and to punish it with a prohibitive fine and imprisonment.

Necrophilia is not a criminal offense under present laws and at most, desecration of a corpse makes one liable for damages under the Civil Code, according to the Arroyos in an explanatory note.

They said necrophilia should be penalized under the Revised Penal Code.

Their bill defines necrophilia as committing sexual intercourse or anal and/or oral sex with a corpse.

But how often does necrophilia happen? Could Senator Escudero be right in saying the absence of a law criminalizing necrophilia is preventing cases of necrophilia from being reported to the PNP? Perhaps there are no cases of necrophilia to report. Escudero is not being very logical. 

According to funeral home directors in Manila, necrophilia never happens. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2006/11/02/366629/145necrophilia-mere-shop-talk146

Embalmers and funeral managers said yesterday that necrophilia — or the obsession of having sex with the dead — is just shop talk handed down from one generation to another but with no actual basis. 

"Kathang kutsero lang yan (That’s just shop talk)," said Jun Luzona, funeral director of Nacional Funeral homes in Quezon City. 

He was reacting to a bill filed by Senate President Manuel Villar, which seeks life imprisonment for any person who commits necrophilia. 

Luzona said the story about an embalmer raping a dead woman has been circulating since he was a young boy, but for the last 16 years as funeral director, he has never heard an actual case in Metro Manila. 

He said the practice was impossible in their funeral parlor since their embalmers are professionals who passed a licensure exam given by the Department of Health. 

"Siguro sa mga malayong lugar pero sa Metro Manila impossible mangyari yan (Maybe in faraway places it might happen but in Metro Manila it’s impossible)," he said. 

He said they have high respect for the dead and relatives are always on guard during the embalming process. 

"Kwentong kutsero, kathang isip lang yan," agreed Leah de la Cruz of the Cinco Estrella Memorial Chapel on Quirino highway in Quezon City. 

She said in her 20 years as funeral director, she has not heard of a single case of necrophilia in funeral parlors in Metro Manila. 

De la Cruz said the story about embalmers raping a dead woman was circulated as a smear campaign by rival funeral parlors to get more clients. 

"Paninira lang yan (That’s just part of a smear campaign)," she said. 

She said if such a thing happens, relatives would be up in arms against anyone who desecrates their dead. 

Other managers and embalmers who do not want to be named also said that a law penalizing necrophilia is not necessary because such case seldom, if ever, happens. 

They claimed necrophilia is popular in books and movies but in real life it’s just an urban legend –at least, in the Philippines. 

Laws need to address more urgent things than a mere figment of the imagination, a funeral manager lamented.

That article is 20 years old so it may be a bit dated. Has there been an increase in necrophilia throughout the Philippines during that time? Such data is not readily available. 

What if necrophilia is just one of many sexual orientations? One lawmaker suggested as much when the SOGIE bill was being debated. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/11/04/2054562/no-sogie-bill-wont-legalize-necrophilia-pedophilia

The proposed bill that would ban discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE) will not legalize necrophilia and pedophilia.

This is contrary to the suggestion of a resource person from religious group Coalition of Concerned Families during a House hearing on Wednesday that sexual orientation may also encompass necrophilia and pedophilia.

Lawyer Lyndon Caña from the group said that the anti-discrimination bill, also known as the SOGIE Equality Bill, does not put a limit to sexual orientations as it uses the term “LGBTQ+”

The plus is there to denote other sexual orientations and gender identities not encompassed under the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) acronym.

“When will this end? When will the orientation end?” Caña said. “For example, if an old man is attracted to very young children, that’s sexual orientation. That’s pedophilia. So included din ba yan sa fundamental human right? How about those who are sexually attracted to the dead? Necrophilia.”

Unlike being gay, straight or bisexual, necrophilia and pedophilia are not sexual orientations. Both are considered as paraphilic disorders under the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Rep. Geraldine Roman (Bataan) was also enraged at the absurdity of the suggestion linking the LGBTQ+ community to pedophilia and necrophilia.

“How dare you! We are here in the House of Representatives, you will seriously think that we will legislate something that would allow necrophilia and pedophilia?” Roman said.

The SOGIE Equality Bill does not contain any language that would legalize necrophilia or pedophilia.

The SOGIE does not need to legalize necrophilia because it is already legal. If Rep. Roman is incensed that anyone would think that the House would pass a bill legalizing necrophilia, then why can the Congress not pass a bill criminalizing it? And let's not forget that homosexuality was once considered a paraphilia so the arguments in this article and from Rep. Roman against necrophilia being a sexual orientation are quite illogical. The slippery slope is very real. 

Certainly necrophilia is disgusting and anyone who commits such an act would be rightly shunned from decent society. Filipinos make a big to-do over the dead every single year during Undas so they would not stand for such a desecration of the corpse of their loved one. Why then has this bill criminalizing necrophilia never been passed into law? Perhaps the funeral directors in Manila are right. It is a fictitious crime that never happens and there are more urgent things needing attention. 

But filing such a bill does get headlines so there is that.

Insurgency: Christmas Day Skirmishes

On Christmas Day the AFP engaged in a firefight with the NPA resulting in ten rebels killed. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1215943

Nine communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels were killed in a series of skirmishes in the hinterlands of Malaybalay City in Bukidnon province on Christmas Monday. 

The Army 4th Infantry Division (4ID) initial report said the series of encounters occurred in the villages of Can-ayan, Kibalabag, Kulaman, and Mapulo. 

Eight high-powered firearms, assorted ammunition, and personal belongings were recovered by government forces from the encounter sites. 

“The 4ID has sustained its military offensives against the communist terrorist groups on Christmas Day,” the 4ID said in a statement. 

The 4ID said three of its Army Battalions under the 403rd Infantry Brigade joined forces in the series of offensives, which started early morning. 

Three of the nine killed were females as the rebels battled it out against forces from the 8th and 88th Infantry Battalions and the 1st Special Forces Battalion. 

As of posting time, pursuit operations were ongoing in the affected villages

A few days later another body was found bringing the kill count to ten. On Christmas Eve the AFP and NPA clashed in Negros Occidental.

https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/24/army-npa-clash-on-christmas-eve

The military recovered a firearm in an encounter with the New People’s Army (NPA) in Sitio Tayubong, Barangay Puso, La Castellana, Negros Occidental on Christmas Eve.

The Army 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB) occurred after it responded to information from civilians regarding the presence of the NPA in the area.

The firefight ensued for about three minutes that resulted in the recovery of a .45 caliber pistol with live ammunition.

In a statement, the 62nd IB said that it is grateful for the cooperation and unwavering support of civilians in Barangay Puso.

These clashes occurred during a self-imposed two-day Christmas ceasefire by the CPP. The AFP says these clashes prove the CPP cannot be trusted and also expose the weakness of the reamaining rebels. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1215950

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the Christmas Day encounter in Malaybalay, Bukidnon that resulted in the death of nine New People's Army (NPA) insurgents highlights the communist movement's general weakness and lack of capability.

"It also signals an urgent need for the remaining NPAs to surrender and abandon their futile armed struggle. It is time for them to take advantage of the government's peace programs and spend time with their families during this holiday season, rather than facing the same fate as their fallen comrades," AFP public affairs office chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said in a statement late Monday.

He added that these losses further eroded the capability of the NPAs to carry out atrocities in Bukidnon and nearby provinces.

"We are thankful for the trust of every Filipino in the AFP for maintaining a peaceful environment. The AFP assures every Filipino that we will remain vigilant during this holiday season as we collectively work towards keeping our communities peaceful and secure," he added.

Nine NPA members were killed during the encounter with the 403rd Infantry Brigade, a field unit of the 4th Infantry Division.

The AFP said government troops initiated a "sustained military offensive against the NPAs" after receiving reports of their presence in the hinterlands of Barangays Can-ayan, Kibalabag, Kulaman and Mapulo.

"During the initial scouring, the operating troops captured eight firearms from the encounter site, with expectations of more to follow as the operation continues. Troops are coordinating with local communities for the identification of the nine deceased NPAs," Trinidad said.

Interestingly the AFP notes that all 13 remaining NPA guerrilla fronts are weakened which means they are no longer able to recruit. 

Aguilar made the pronouncement as he downplayed the current strength of the NPA.

NPA is only left with more than 1,000 members with 13 “weakened” guerrilla fronts, according to Aguilar.

(There were only a few of them in their group, more than a thousand; their guerilla fronts, which used to be almost 90, are now only at 13, and they are weakened at that.)

Previously, Aguilar said the NPA had 1,800 members with 15 weakened guerrilla fronts.

A weakened guerrilla front means it can no longer implement its programs like recruitment and generating resources for the armed struggle as opposed to active guerrilla fronts, according to Aguilar.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1879397/fwd-2-afp-shrugs-off-cpps-ceasefire-declaration

But isn't the public being told repeatedly to beware of NPA recruitment programs? Here we are told by the AFP that they are weakend and unable to recruit. What is the real story? 

According to the AFP there are 1,500 NPA fighters are left.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1879779/npa-down-to-around-1500-fighters-afp

The Maoist New People’s Army (NPA) is now down to more or less 1,500 fighters, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said on Tuesday.

(The strength of the NPA has weakened, more or less, they have 1,500 members left.)

Last July, Aguilar said that the NPA had around 1,800 fighters.

Aguilar said the current strength of the NPA meant that they could no longer generally stage tactical offensives or attacks against government forces.

(So, if we notice that while they are still capable of mounting terror actions, we could see that generally, they could not conduct tactical offensives.)

(Their central committee has no control, as far as we know, they are weak and disorganized.)

(We were surprised about their ceasefire declaration because we don’t take notice of their national leadership because, admittedly, they no longer have leadership.)

That is a very interesting number because in November, 2023 the AFP claimed there were 1,400 NPA fighters left.

Malaya supported Remulla’s statement. “The communist insurgency in our country is already ending with only one remaining active guerrilla front of the New People’s Army with 1,400 armed troops left. We are winning the war against the communist-terrorist groups,” he claimed.

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2023/11/insurgency-insurgnecy-cleared-villages.html

Even if the NPA has no leadership someone must still be in control as the CPP has issued a statement refuting these allegations of weakness. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1879860/cpp-refutes-afps-report-of-declining-npa-numbers

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) scoffed at the latest report by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on the allegedly dwindling strength and numbers of the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.

“The AFP keeps on saying that the NPA is diminishing, but they can’t wipe them out,” Marco Valbuena, CPP spokesman, said in an online interview Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 26).

He added, “They have a gunpowder mindset. The AFP thinks they can eliminate the NPA solely through their bombs and cannons, and by killing and intimidating the masses.”

Valbuena said the AFP has been making the same claims for years “they sound like a broken record.”

“The CPP is not just one or a few people. As the CPP stated its task goes beyond the lifetime of any one person, and way beyond the capacity of a few people to perform,” Valbuena argued.

In fact top NPA leaders were identified among the dead in Bukidnon. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1880758/top-npa-leadersamong-those-slainin-bukidnon-clash

Two leaders of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) and their daughter were among those killed in the Christmas Day operation launched by the military against rebels in the hinterlands of Malaybalay City in Bukidnon province.

The Army’s 4th Infantry Division on Thursday said they were able to identify seven of the 10 fatalities, based on profiles they had of the suspected rebels and with the help of rebel returnees who now work with the military’s counterinsurgency effort.

Among the seven, Beverly Sinunta, alias “Ayang,” was identified to have served as the secretary of the NPA’s subregional command (SRC) 2 which operates in Bukidnon while her husband, Alfredo Banawan, alias “Alab,” served as the deputy secretary, according to Lt. Col. Anthony Bacus, commanding officer of the Army’s 8th Infantry Battalion.

The SRC 2 is under the NPA’s North-Central Mindanao Regional Committee.

That means there NPA is not without leadershipr. Likewise despite saying the NPA is incapable of carrying out tactical offensives the AFP is on guard for retaliatory attacks. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1879820/army-on-guard-for-possible-npa-retaliation-after-10-killed-rebels-in-bukidnon-encounter

The Philippine Army is on guard for possible retaliation by the Maoist New People’s Army after the killing of ten alleged rebels during an encounter in Bukidnon.

The Army’s 4th Infantry Division (4ID) said 10 NPA fighters were killed in the Malaybalay City encounter on Monday, Dec. 25.

“We are prepared [for retaliations],” said Major General Jose Maria Cuerpo in a press briefing in 4ID headquarters in Cagayan de Oro City.

“My instruction to brigade commanders and combat units is to always be vigilant,” Cuerpo said. “Even if we are celebrating Christmas season this month doesn’t mean we have to lower our guards.”

Retaliation implies both organization and leadership. 

It seems the AFP is still caught up in contradictions. They warn about recruitment yet the NPA is weakened to the point where recruitment is not possible. They say the NPA is leaderless and cannot carry out tactical offensives yet warn against retaliatory attacks. They claim there are "more or less 1,500" NPA left while a month previous they claimed there were only 1,400 left.

In October the AFP claimed the insurgency would end this year. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/20/23/defense-official-says-insurgency-in-ph-to-end-this-year

Yet here we are another year gone and another promise to end the insurgency failed. Surely it will end next year. Right?

Assassinated Businessmen October to December 2023

This is a list of assassinated businessmen for the 4th quarter of 2023. And also some attempted assassinations.  

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/535465/kidnapped-chinese-businesswoman-rescued-in-bohol-6-men-nabbed

A Chinese businesswoman was rescued by authorities a day after she was allegedly kidnapped in Barangay Poblacion, Panglao town in Bohol on Tuesday morning, October 24, 2023.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office Central Visayas (PRO-7), told reporters that the victim was ‘safe and sound.’ 

Pelare said that the rescue operation also resulted to the arrest of her suspected kidnappers.

“Safe and sound ang atong biktima. Ug ang suspects pud, nadakpan,” he said.

(The victim is safe and sound. And the suspects were also arrested.)

Meanwhile, the police immediately formed a tracking team and conducted a deeper investigation after receiving the report to rescue the victim. 

“Naghimo dayon og tracking team pinangulohan sa atong Police Intelligence Unit (PIU) ug inabagan sa mga unit sa Bohol PPO,” said Pelare.

(A tracking team was then formed led by our Police Intelligence Unit (PIU) and supported by the unit of the Bohol PPO (Provincial Police Office).)

As part of their efforts to safely bring the victim home, the operatives also conducted intelligence monitoring and backtracking of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage in different areas. 

The operation was conducted at 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday, with the victim rescued and the suspected kidnappers apprehended.

According to Pelare, the victim is now safely in the custody of police and is being assessed for any effects of the incident to her health.

He said that the arrested persons were believed to be members of an organized kidnapping group.

Initial investigation showed that the arrested suspects were from Pasay City, Manila, who came to Bohol Province with the intention to commit kidnapping. 

Pelare said that the group, with the two Filipinos acting as the drivers, monitored the victim before allegedly kidnapping her and taking her somewhere else.

“Presumably, gi-studyhan ang iyahang lihok. Gitan-aw pud og unsay iyang assets. Mao nang kaning mga suspects, they were actually very organized,” he said.

(Presumably, they studied her movements. They also looked at what her assets are. That is what the suspects were, they were actually very organized.)

Police recovered from the suspects two .45 caliber pistols and two vehicles including the vehicle that was owned by the victim, said Pelare.

He said that the police were preparing to file appropriate charges against the alleged suspects.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2023/11/01/2308069/trader-shot-dead-zamboanga

A businessman was gunned down in Barangay Cabaluay in this city on Monday.

Rodolfo Castro, 59, who was engaged in gravel and sand business, died of a gunshot to the head, Col. Alexander Lorenzo, city police chief, said.

Police said Castro was on his motorcycle on his way to Barangay Lapakan, reportedly to cast his vote, when he was shot by unidentified motorcycle riders.

Lorenzo said responding policemen recovered three bullet shells for a 9mm pistol at the scene.

Probers are looking into land dispute as the motive for the killing.

https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/8/businesswoman-robbed-killed-in-baguio

A businesswoman was robbed and killed in Fairview Subdivision here on Wednesday, December 6.  

Police Col. Francisco Bulwayan Jr., Baguio police chief, personally visited the victim's house and told her family that justice will be served. 

Bulwayan said they will be able to identify the two suspects from the surveillance footages they gathered during the investigation. 

The body of the 29-year-old victim was discovered by their housekeeper. 

She was strangled with a shoelace and according to the police, the suspects inadvertently left behind pieces of evidence, prompting them to intensify efforts to track down and identify the perpetrators. 

Police urged people of Barangay Fairview and surrounding areas to remain vigilant and cooperate with them and provide relevant information to help solve the case.

https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/9/businessman-preparing-for-brother-s-wedding-shot

A 38-year-old businessman preparing for his brother’s wedding was shot and critically wounded on Friday night, December 8, in Sitio Pundano, Barangay Talisay, this town.

Police identified the victim as Monching Martinez, a resident of Barangay Paiisa, here.

The victim was walking at the parking area after helping in the preparations for his brother’s wedding when a man appeared and fired at him.

The suspect was wearing black cap, mint green jacket, and black cargo short pants.

He sustained bullet wounds in the head and body and was taken by his relatives to a hospital in Candelaria, this provincial.

The suspect fled on foot.

Three fired cartridge cases for a caliber 9mm pistol were recovered at the crime scene.

Police are conducting follow-up investigation.