Philippine Roman Catholic leader condemns president Duterte's tactics in drug war

President Rodrigo Deterte is continuing his aggressive tactics as part of his war on drug dealers. He has just put out a list of officials that he claims are linked to the drug trade.

The names include members of Congress, military officers, and judges. One of those named was former Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama. Rama said :

 "The news that my name was mentioned by President Duterte is saddening. Even how untrue this accusation is, should this be the way and the necessary step to win the war against drugs, I will fully cooperate with the authorities to immediately clear my name and we trust that we will be given the opportunity to present our side and prove our innocence. My unwavering support for President Duterte's campaign will continue.

Nevertheless Duterte claims that the names on the list had been validated and re-validated.

While police claim that more than 500,000 people have surrendered to local authorities and pledged to stop using illegal drugs many are extremely critical of Duterte's methods which involve an order to "shoot to kill." Duterte claims he is waging a war and is invoking the laws of war. In a statement Saturday Duterte said that he would keep his "shoot to kill order" until the last day of his term if he was still alive by then. He also said that he did not believe in human rights. In a recent meeting with the US Secretary of State John Kerry, he said he refused to discuss the issue of human rights with him. Instead he said he had a job to do and asked for financial assistance.

Rodrigo Duterte has plenty of experience in politics as he was a popular mayor of the city Davao in the far south of the island of Mindanao for more than 22 years. He is the first Phiippine president from Mindanao. Although he was infamous for supporting extra-judicial killing of drug dealers and habitual users, he also promoted other ways of controlling drug use:Though vocally supportive of the extra-judicial killings of habitual drug users and dealers, Duterte used city government funds to build a ₱12-million drug rehabilitation and treatment center which provides 24-hour services. In 2003, he offered a ₱2,000 monthly allowance to drug addicts who personally approached him and committed to kick the habit.Duterte won a landslide victory in the presidential election in May and took office for a term of six years. Among his supporters are the Maoist New People's Army who have been waging guerrilla warfare against Philippine governments for half a century now. They hope to reach some type of peace agreement with him.

However, the unbridled unabashed defence of extra-judicial killing of criminals by Duterte, especially those involved in the drug trade, has outraged many including the Archbishop Socrates Villegas of the Roman Catholic Church. Since Duterte took power about 800 people have been killed. In a homily this Sunday, Villegas condemned the latest killings he said:"I am in utter disbelief. If this is just a nightmare, wake me up and assure me it is not true. This is too much to swallow. From a generation of drug addicts, shall we become a generation of street murderers?"Villegas is president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. Executive director Yury Fedotov of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime also expressed concern about the extrajudicial killing of drug dealers in the Philippines.

By Sunday local television reported that five mayors and three vice mayors from Mindanao denied Duterte's allegations but surrendered to police. One of judges on the list has been dead for eight years.

Tim Horton's expanding into the Philippines and opening more US outlets

The parent company of Tim Hortons has reported a big increase in quarterly profits compared with the same quarter last year, in spite of the fact that revenue is flat.

The flat revenue was mainly the result of the negative impact of currency fluctuation in spite of growth in sales volume. Tim Hortons is owned by Restaurant Brands International(RBI). The result for the second quarter of 2016 ending on June 30th was a net income of $90.9 million US or 38 cents per share. In the second quarter of 2015 the net income was just $11.0 million or five cents a share. The revenue stream was $759.8 million from Tim Hortons and $280.4 million from Burger King. This has changed little since last year.

Last year's profits were reduced by one-time costs associated with the acquisition of the Tim Hortons chain. RBI was formed in December of 2014 by a merger of US fast-food chain Burger King and Tim Hortons. RBI is the third largest fast-food restaurant operator in the world. It has headquarters alongside Tim Hortons in Oakville Ontario, but there are also US headquarters in Miami Florida. Both companies retained their existing operations. In spite of the Canadian base of Tim Hortons, the majority owner of RBI is the Brazilian investment company 3G Capital. Tim Hortons began its business in Canada in 1964 with a single restaurant. It now has most of its 4,400 restaurants still in Canada.

RBI is intending to expand the Tim Hortons chain throughout the state of Minnesota in a 14-year partnership with Restaurant Development Partners (RDP.) Details of the agreement were not released. The new president of RDP, Mark Holly, has a decade of experience with Tim Hortons. In February, RBI signed on with the Luke Family of Brands to expand Tim Hortons in the state of Indiana.

RBI has partnered with a group of investors to establish a franchise joint venture company that will sell Tim Hortons coffee and donuts in the Philippines. The Philippines was picked as the first country to expand into because it has a strong economy and a growing quick-service market according to Daniel Schwartz, CEO of RBI. He said that after months of market research, the company determined that Filipinos had an affinity for coffee and baked goods. While the chief financial officer of the RBI Joshua Kobza did not reveal how many shops it would open in the Philippines, he said the company aimed to become a leader in the market. The stores will offer some of the staples one finds in Canadian locations such as timbits and iced capps but also some new products. He said he hopes the first shops will open soon. He expects to open more international shops in the future. The 2015 TIm Hortons annual report shows most restaurants are still in Canada with 14.7 percent in the US and 2.6 percent in the Middle East.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/business/tim-hortons-expanding-in-usa-and-into-the-philippines/article/471755#ixzz4H9LrtHp8

Up to 50 Special Action Force commandos killed in botched Philippine raid

The death toll is rising from the botched raid by commandos of the Philippine Special Action Force in the southern province of Maguindanao as the body count has risen from thirty after first reports to almost fifty or even more now.

Al Jazeera reports the death toll is at least 43 police commandos. The Inquirer put the death toll at 49. National Police Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina said 44 commandos were dead and 12 others wounded. Some Muslim rebels said as many as 56 of the commandos were killed. Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas told a news conference: "Out of 392 "special action force" policemen who took part in the mission, 44 were killed and 12 others wounded." However, a local source told Al Jazeera that 43 bodies of police officers had been recovered but as many as 64 had been killed according to local media. Earlier reports had put the death toll at around thirty commandos. These commandos are members of the elite Philippine Special Action Force(SAF) . They have in the past received training from 2 FBI groups, the French, and the Israelis: The SAF, over the years, has received training from the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) and Critical Incident Response Group, RAID and YAMAM.[2][3] The Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) of the PNP-SAF is responsible for nationwide Police Counter-terrorism (CT) operations nationwide. 

 After this disastrous raid now called the Mamasapano incident after a village where some of the clashes happened, Philippine president, Benigno Aquino III, has ordered an investigation into the clashes. The head of SAF has been relieved of his post pending completion of the inquiry. The ten thousand strong, Moro Islamic Liberation Front(MILF), claims that in making the raid, the Philippine government violated a ceasefire agreement. The commandos failed to coordinate with ceasefire observers. The commandos were apparently after a high value target: Local reports said police were going after Basit Usman, commander the MILF splinter group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), and Malaysian bombing suspect Zulkifli bin Hir, who was believed to be hiding in the area.The Malaysian national, also known as Marwan, has been identified as a leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, Southeast Asia's largest al-Qaeda affiliate. The US has offered $2 mln for the capture of Usman, and $5 mln for Marwan. 

MILF originally was part of the larger Moro National Liberation Front(MNLF). The Bangasamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) are in turn an offshoot of MILF who refuse to accept the peace deal with the Philippine government. Philippine officials claim there is a high likelihood that Marwan was killed during the battles but there has been no confirmation of this. MILF leaders said Marwan was not even in the area at the time of the raid. He has been reported killed before only to reappear. He is a suspect in the Bali bombings. The raid appears to have been based upon quite faulty intelligence that resulted in a raid on a MILF commander rather than the BIFF commander Basit Usman. The MILF is part of a peace agreement while BIFF has no such agreement. Subsequent to the attack on the MILF, BIFF fighters in the area seem to have ambushed the commandos resulting in the large number of casualties. BIFF spokesperson, Abu Misry Mama, said the firefight started when police attempted to raid the suspected hideout of Basit Usman that was actually the house of a certain Ustadz Manan, a sub-commander of MILF 105th base command under Zacaria Goma. Not only did the commandos not coordinate with ceasefire observers but they did not coordinate with the local authorities or even the Philippine armed forces and units in the area.

 Robert Alonto, a senior MILF leader said: "It is but a natural reaction on the part of the MILF forces to defend their areas when it is invaded by armed elements, especially in the wee hours of the morning or in the dead of the night." Alonto also said that the commandos may have wanted to take credit for capturing or killing the high-value target without involving the military. It may be too that they did not want anyone else to know so that the target would not be tipped off about the attack. The attack may put into question the peace deal signed by the government and MILF last year after years of fighting that has claimed at least 120,000 people, mostly civilians, innocent victims of clashes. Some Philippine lawmakers are withdrawing support for a bill that would implement the terms of the cease fire. The MILF and BIFF are both sending more fighters to the area to fend off any attempt by Philippine forces to pursue rebels after the clashes. 

President of the Senate Franklin Drilon said: “I condemn the unfortunate and unwarranted encounter between the members of our Philippine National Police and the Muslim rebels. I sympathize with the victims and their families. We are at a crucial point in our history as a nation where we are in the process of creating and embedding peace in Mindanao, that is why we denounce to the strongest terms any act that poses a grave risk of thwarting every success we have made so far in the peace process." He demanded an explanation of the clash. President Aquino has already ordered an investigation. Drilon said that the incident should strengthen the government's resolve to find a peaceful solution. 

Many Philippine lawmakers, blame the MILF for the incident, rather than the risky attack uncoordinated attack by their elite commandos based upon faulty intelligence. Some legislators have demanded that the MILF surrender those involved in the battle with the commandos to the authorities and to return the weapons and equipment seized. Many of those involved were not even the MILF but BIFF. The MILF may have little if any control over their actions. The peace process has already been sabotaged by the attack as the panel considering the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law has been suspended pending the completion of an inquiry into the clash with the commandos.

Manila traffic cops to wear diapers during Papal visit

Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the Philippines next week from January 15 to the 19th. The visit is expected to cause massive traffic jams in Manila, a city where traffic jams are the norm. + Add Image In preparation for the Papal visit and the gridlock on Manila streets, about 2,000 traffic controllers will be required to wear adult diapers as announced by Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chair, Francis Tolentino. The call of duty will take precedence over the call of nature. Tolentino advised those who might wait for hours to see the Pope also to be prepared by donning diapers. According to Tolentino, his order was well received by his employees.

 On January 9th 800 traffic workers will test out the diapers during the procession of the Black Nazarene that lasts nearly 24 hours. The Black Nazarene is a life-sized statue of Jesus. The skin color was reportedly darkened by a fire. There are a number of rituals involved in the Black Nazarene Festival which this year celebrates its 408th anniversary:" Its rituals include the Pahalik, in which devotees line up to touch and kiss the image of Señor Nazareno at the Quirino Grandstand; and the Traslacion, in which the image is carried by bare-footed devotees back to Quiapo Church." Many of the devotees who take part in the festival and procession believe the statue has the power to cure ailments and to bring health and fortune.

Tolentino warned those who will attend an open air mass given by the Pope at Rizal Park on the seaside January 18 that they should also come prepared: "If you attend an event that will last for 24 hours, you cannot go around looking for a (portable toilet)." Priest, nuns, seminarians, and the elderly should also consider wearing diapers Tolentino advised. When asked if he himself would wear a diaper Tolentino said: "I will try, but in my case, I have less hydration."

The devotees of the Nazarene wear maroon and yellow, the colors of the icon's garb, and also walk barefoot as a sign of penance and emulating the walk of Jesus on the way to Golgotha. In the 2013 procession there were an estimated 500,000 who took part. Traffic is often rerouted during the procession. In 2014 security and traffic control by the local authorities was supplemented by contingents of the Philippine National Police and even the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Church and local authorities see the Festival as a good practice run to prepare for the Papal visit later. Johnny Yu, chief of disaster management for Manila said:" "During the festivities, we will be able to test all our capabilities and security plans. This is a good preparation for Pope Francis’ visit. We can evaluate and improve our lapses.” "

No one convicted 5 years after Philippine massacre that killed 58 people

November 23 was the fifth anniversary of a slaughter allegedly committed by members of the Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao province in the large southern island of the Philippines Mindanao.

The Maguindanao massacre killed 58 people including 32 journalists and other media workers. The slaughter was allegedly the result of Andal Sr. and his sons plotting to prevent political rival Esmael Mangudadatu from running for governor of the province. A convoy led by Mangudadatu's wife, friends, and lawyers was en route to file papers for Mangudadatu's candidacy at the provincial capital along with 32 local media representatives. The patriarch's son Andal Ampatuan Jr. along with almost 200 militia and police officers stopped the convoy at gunpoint. The group then were marched to a grassy knoll where witnesses said that they were methodically gunned down. Another version of events is given in the appended video. Some of the women's bodies were mutilated. A backhoe was brought in to dig shallow graves into which they dumped the bodies and vehicles.The clan were supporters of former President Arroyo.
The new president Aquino vowed when he came to power that those responsible for the horrible massacre would be brought to justice. He has yet to deliver and his six year term ends in 2016. Only 110 of 194 people charged have been arrested, with the rest at large. At least four potential witnesses have been killed and others have been threatened. A defence attorney for the Ampatuan clan has entered not guilty pleas to all charges. Rights monitors claim that the Ampatuan clan is still quite influential in the local area. One lead prosecutor was taken off the case after being accused of taking bribes from the Ampatuan attorney. Relatives of the Ampatuans continue to be elected to local posts in Maguindinao province.
 Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said: "I am not going to deny that impunity still exists now." Nevertheless de Lima insisted that Aquino will not tolerate the killings. De Lima noted how important the case was for international perception of the Philippine justice system: "It's not acceptable [to have no convictions yet because] it adds to the culture of impunity. That is why this is the ultimate test, this is the litmus test, because if we do not get the right verdict, God forbid, in this case then what kind of justice system do we have? What kind of an image would the Philippine justice system have vis-a-vis the global community?"
 Harry Roque a prosecution lawyer, seen on the appended video, thinks that the odds are stacked against the prosecutors. He nevertheless was still hopeful that a verdict might be handed down on some of the key suspects. However, just days before the fifth anniversary of the massacre a former Ampatuan employee, about to turn state witness was gunned down and another potential witness wounded.
Phelim Kine from Human Rights Watch claims that the killing shows that the Philippine government is either unable or unwilling to protect key witnesses. He claims also that the killing "is a reminder to activists, journalists, and politicians of the vicious status quo in the Philippines, in which gunmen with powerful backers routinely get away with murder". The appended video gives a detailed account of the background of the massacre and Wikipedia does so as well..

US marine accused of murder in Philippines moved to Manila base

In a move meant to ease tensions over who should have custody of Pfc. Joseph Pemberton accused of murdering a transgender filipino, the US transferred him to the main Philippine military camp in Manila.

The Visiting Forces Agreement between the US and the Philippines allows for the prosecution of US service personnel in Philippine courts unlike some countries such as Afghanistan where the agreement grants immunity from prosecution in Afghan courts. However, the agreement also allows for US custody of the accused "from the commission of the offense until completion of all judicial proceedings". In 2009 the Philippine Supreme Court ruled that any sentence must be served in Philippine detention. Although many Filipinos are grateful for the US role in liberating the Philippines from Japanese occupation, they also want to protect their sovereignty after a long history of colonial rule by Spain, Japan, and the United States.
There have been protests at the US embassy in Manila, and at the wharf in Subic Bay where Pemberton had been kept in custody aboard the USS Peleliu. The protesters demanded that Pemberton be handed over to Philippine authorities. The Philippine president Benigno Aquino III defended the agreement. US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US sought no special privileges for Pemberton only the protection of his rights.
 The US and the Philippines agreed to the transfer of Pemberton to an air-conditioned van where he will be guarded directly by US marines. Philippine guards will be stationed outside the compound according to Philippine military chief of staff Gen. Gregorio Catapang. Voltaire Gazmin Philippine Secretary of Defense told AP: "They agreed to put him in a facility which will pass U.S. custodial standards. We're happy with this because he's a suspect in a crime that was committed in our country."
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario described what seems clearly a murder as tragic, and noted that there was strong cooperation between the two allies. In an earlier case, another US marine, Daniel Smith, was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison for raping a filipina in 2005. Although a Philippine court ordered him to be turned over to Philippine custody, he was kept in US custody. Eventually on appeal and a change in the testimony of the alleged victim, his conviction was overturned in 2009.
 Laude was a transgender woman who met Pemberton at a bar in Olongapo City near Subic Bay where his ship was anchored. Pemberton went with Laude and another transgender friend to a motel room. Laude urged the friend to leave before Pemberton found out that they were transgenders. The police claim Laude was apparently drowned in the toilet bowl.
 The Philippines closed down US bases some time ago including the base in Subic Bay but US troops regularly come to the Philippines on a rotating basis. Recently the two countries agreed to increase the number of troops involved. The Philippines is anxious to have US support for its claims to some islands in the South China Sea that are claimed also by China and other countries. That new agreement is being challenged in the Philippine Supreme Court and may not be signed for years yet.
  President Aquino said of the transfer of Pemberton to Camp Aquinaldo in Manila: “I think that’s a very healthy development. Previously, in the Daniel Smith case, he was in the U.S. Embassy not in our facility....Now, he [Mr. Pemberton] is in our camp. I think they are responding to our needs and our sensitivities.” Aquino said that there was no need to cancel the 1999 VFA agreement as some activists and politicians have been urging. Ramon Casiple, a political analyst said the "key question" was the Philippines exercising jurisdiction over the case which was obtianed by having Pemberton in the Philippine military camp. No doubt many activists will reply that the key question is jurisdiction. Not only did the Philippines allow the US to force them to find accomodation that was according to US standards but they also insist that it is US marines that directly guard Pemberton. In effect he remains in US custody: The U.S. Marine Corps issued a statement saying that Mr. Pemberton remains in U.S. custody and will stay “in the Philippines during the investigation and any potential judicial proceedings’’ under the terms of the Visiting Forces Agreement.
 This is mostly political games. The USS Peleliu where Pemberton was being held is not based in the Philippines and was there only for military exercises early this month. The ship can now leave the Philippines since Pemberton is being held elsewhere. Several witnesses gave written testimony and also have left the Philippines.The transfer off the ship is much more convenient for the US than keeping the ship docked in the Philippines. Moving Pemberton to a Philippine military base while retaining custody is designed to dampen down protests at the US military presence in the Philippines. However, Pemberton cannot expect to be spirited out of the Philippines out of reach of the courts as was a CIA operative Raymond Davis in Pakistan who shot two Pakistanis.

Philippines: Youth groups protest joint U.S. Philippine military exercises

Members of several student groups including the League of Filipino Students and the National Union of Students of the Philippines staged a rally before 6 AM Monday at the U.S. Embassy in Manila. They caught security guards by surprise.

The guards simply looked on as they were outnumbered by the approximately fifty youth involved. The group was protesting the Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) joint military exercises between Philippine and U.S. troops. The exercises were set to begin just hours after the demonstration.

The group claimed the exercises were simply a front for the establishment of new U.S. bases in the Philippines. At present there are no bases but there are U.S. troops who help train Philippine soldiers especially in anti-terrorism methods. Some claim that they are indirectly involved at the least in actual operations against some militant groups.

By the time police arrived on the scene the students had already splashed blue and red paint on the seal of the embassy on the main gate. They burned a U.S. flag and wrote: "U.S. troops out now" on the walls,

No arrests were made as the police were very much outnumbered and the protesters simply walked away. Thousands of U.S. and Filipino troops take part in the exercises.

The Philippine government seems anxious to cooperate with the U.S.extension of its military presence in the country in order to counter Chinese influence in South East Asia. Both China and the Philippines claim ownership of the Spratly Islands an area with oil resources under the sea. For more see this article.

Philippines: San Miguel Corp. takes over control of Philippine Airlines

 PAL Airbus landing at Narita (Japan)

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reports that San Miguel Corp. a huge conglomerate best known perhaps for its beer will invest at least half a billion U.S. in the main Philippine airline PAL (Philippine Airlines) and the smaller Air Philippines.

San Miguel will have control of management at both air lines. PAL is also known among some critics as Plane Always Late. However, my own experience has been that it is not all that bad!

Plans for renewing the fleet could cost anywhere from half to one billion dollars U.S. No doubt they will need to now serve San Miguel beer and snack foods exclusively! For more see this article. For San Miguel Corp. see here.

Philippines: U.S. to increase military presence

Almost two decades ago the Philippine government closed U.S. military bases in the country. However in 1999 an agreement allowed hundreds of U.S. troops to return to train Philippine soldiers to fight Islamic militants and Maoist insurgents.
  There are about 600 U.S. Special Forces in the Philippines mostly used to help target a militant Islamic group said to be linked to Al Qaeda. The former government of Gloria Arroyo was cited in leaked Wikileaks cables for extrajudicial killings and false arrests. The U.S. is to provide over 163 million in aid in 2012.
  The U.S. government is talking to the new Philippine government about establishing a larger military presence in the Philippines. These actions are all part of U.S. plans to extend its military power further into the area to counter Chinese influence. The U.S. is also expanding its military presence in Australia and Singapore with troops and bases. For more see this article. 

Philippines: Maoist rebels killed about 100 troops last year

  The figure includes not only troops but police as well. The insurgency by the New People's Army has been ongoing for 43 years now. According to the military report there were 447 attacks by the group in 2011.
    The NPA often taxes businesses in areas where it operates. Since these are not government taxes the military report simply classifies them as extortion. When businesses do not pay or fail to meet other demands they are often attacked. There were 31 attacks on mining enterprises, and other businesses last year.
    According to the report not only attacks have declined over the last year but so also have the number of fighters. The report says attacks were eleven per cent less than in 2010 and the number of fighters declined 7.8 per cent to 4,043. That the military could present such exact figures is amazing. Do the rebel fighters register each year so they can be counted by the military?
    The military spokesperson Col. Burgos said that the insurgency was losing support among the people because of the popularity of the new president Benigno Aquino III. However the former president was herself first brought into power by people power but over time became corrupt and disliked. Aquino is part of the Philippine ruling elite and it remains to be seen how his presidency develops over time.
    The president has been having peace talks with the rebels but they have not been successful so far. As well as the NPA insurgency the Philippines faces insurgency from a number of Muslim separatist groups in the south of the country. The NPA also has a number of related legal political groups associated with it. The number of attacks may be decreasing as a result of a shift towards political action. After 43 years one suspects that in some areas the NPA and the Philippine military have come to a kind of live and let live understanding in some areas. For more see this article.
   NOTE: The NPA is the armed wing of the Philippine Communist Party which is banned in the Philippines. The NPA and the party are listed by the US as a terrorist organization. This causes problems for peace negotiations. The leader of the party lives in Holland. For more about the NPA see this article.  For more about the Communist Party of the Philippines see here.

Philippine Peso Up Against U.S. Dollar

   Philippine currency the Philippine peso rose .2  per cent against the U.S. dollar from Dec. 29 to closing on the 30th of December. The peso ended at 43.76 to the U.S. dollar.
   During the holidays remittances from Filipinos working overseas increase and this is probably what has caused the rise in the peso. The central bank is considering an interest rate cut as as global growth slows and will also slow growth in exports.
   The Treasury Bureau is auctioning off 206 million(U.S.) in 5 per cent bonds that will mature in August 1918. The government is intending to sell further securities in the first quarter of  this year. Yield on 7.375 per cent bonds has increased over the last few days of trading in the year. For more see this article.

Philippine voting lists contains multiple and dead voters!

Every election in the Philippines seems to involve some form of cheating or alleged cheating. The level of corruption is such that usually nothing is done to remedy the situation. Even so voters often manage to toss out many incumbents. There are to elections this May. This is from the Tribune.

Opening wide the cheating doors


EDITORIAL



All signs of electronic election fraud that is to be committed in May are present, yet the Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioners continue to cast a blind eye on this.

Nothing, but nothing, is being done to cleanse the voters’ list of double and multiple registrants, a sure fire sign that ballots will be padded, especially as the ballots being printed are based on the number of voters, a sizable number of whom are double, multiple and dead voters.

It is hardly any secret to these commissioners that there exists the “Big Four” consisting of leaders of the poll cheating syndicate, that is known to the Comelec personnel to be at the top of the padding of votes. Yet the commissioners haven’t done anything to put a stop to this cheating syndicate. Why, when they have the power to throw the book at these executives who are said to be gang leaders?

The exposé on the double, multiple and dead voters, referred to as the “zombie” voters came sometime ago — with the poll body’s watchdog, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), submitting to the commissioners the list of zombie registrants. And from the list, it was very easy to spot these bogus voters, as the listing was alphabetical and the doubling and multiple names were evident.

The zombie voters could very easily have been delisted — and manually, too. Yet there were the commissioners, along with the executive director, Jose Tolentino, excusing this blatantly padded list as not being a deliberate ploy of these ghost voters to vote multiple times.

That really was a poor excuse. Deliberate or not, wouldn’t it be safer to purge these double and multiple entries from the list?

But no. They refused to do so, saying that purging the list is beyond their control, since it is the courts that have the jurisdiction on exclusion proceedings, even when this is a patently false claim.

If the cheating syndicate at the Comelec were not that influential, wouldn’t the commissioners then have insisted on purging the voters’ list of these multiple and dead voters, if only to prove that there will be clean, orderly and credible polls?

Court rules Ampatuan massacre not a rebellion: Philippines

The declaration of martial law did allow the government to collect considerable evidence of Ampatuan's involvement in the massacre last November. However from this article it seems only the one member of the clan was charged with murder whereas the others were all charged with rebellion. There does not seem to have been any rebellion as the article notes just a mass murder of political opponents! Surely more of the Ampatuan clan should be charged in the murders. The Ampatuans had close connections with the Arroyo government. Perhaps the new government after the May elections will deal more harshly with the Ampatuans. This is from the Tribune.

Rebellion rap vs Ampatuans a farce—solons


By Angie M. Rosales


The dismissal of the rebellion charges against the Ampatuans merely proves that the Arroyo administration filed the case with deceptive motives, two senators said yesterday.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III said they were no longer surprised to hear of the case dismissal as the Nov. 23 incident was “pure and simple multiple murders of innocent people.”

“By filing such crimes against them, they be detained without bail. But no. The government chose to charge them with rebellion just so it can be said that the government under (President) Arroyo and her minions were doing something to penalize the Ampatuans,” Pimentel said, adding that it was a “non-case, filed with deceptive motives, and pursued with hypocritical zeal that the Arroyo government chose to do in order to mislead the people that it was upholding the law even against the warlords it was coddling in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,” he added.

Aquino said the filing of rebellion charges was clearly questionable from the start, and part of the administration’s charade to justify the inexcusable declaration of martial law in Maguindanao.

“It was a sham declaration intended to protect, and not prosecute the allies of Mrs. Arroyo and to confuse the public as to the real crimes committed by the Ampatuans,” Aquino said.

“The fact that the charges were weak to begin with shows that the political alliance is still alive. Before you know it, it will be business as usual for the Mrs. Arroyo, the Ampatuans and other politicians who serve her ends.

Even if a lower court has ordered the dismissal of the rebellion charges, Pimentel said the Ampatuans should not be released yet.

Malacañang yesterday, thorugh Deputy Presidential Spokesman Gary Olivar, said the court’s decision focused simply on finding no probable cause for the charges of rebellion against the accused, thereby dismissing it but such move does not necessarily translate to the declaration of Martial Law in Maguindanao province being illegal.

“The court (that issued the ruling) did not speak for the broader issue of the appropriateness of declaring Martial Law at that time, at that place -- that’s a different issue,” Olivar stressed. “I don’t see how the public policy thinking that went into the declaration of Martial Law would be affected by the specific ruling of rebellion charges filed against specific individuals.”

Olivar added he does not believe this particular development in the case would affect that of the multiple murder charges filed against the accused because the two cases are being handled by two different magistrates under separate judicial processes.

He, however, admitted that given this dismissal of the rebellion charges against the Ampatuans, it would now be difficult for the government to assure that a resolution to the Maguindanao Massacre case would be achieved under the Arroyo administration.

Olivar suggested to the relatives of the victims affected or alarmed by the recent decision to remain vigilant while keeping track of the developments in the case to make sure that justice won’t be denied to them.

Olivar expressed that, right now, they are looking forward to an appeal through a motion for reconsideration to be filed by Justice Secretary Alberto Agra to ensure that the Ampatuans would not be able to escape scot-free from a political offense that they allegedly committed.

For its part, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) yesterday hinted at filing an appeal before the court after the dropping of the rebellion charges.

AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Delfin Bangit said that while the military organization honors the decision of Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Baclig, but stressed there are other legal remedies authorities can take to pursue the case.

Ampatuan Jr. is presently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) headquarters in Manila, facing 56 counts of murder charges while Ampatuan Sr., along with another son, suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, and other members of the clan, were charged with rebellion.With Aytch S. dela Cruz and Charlie V. Manalo

Philippines: Ugly Betty goes Global.

We have cable TV here in Legazpi and there are several Filipino stations. I was surprised to see a show called (translated): I love Ugly Betty.
Not only does Ugly Betty have glasses similar to her US namesake but she also has ugly braces on her teeth. The drama also imitates the US show in that there is a scheming older beauty -played by Vanessa Williams in the US show--and also a gay sidekick. Betty also has a more attractive sister and a similar father. She seemed to have similar problems with her boyfriends as well and with her boss. Even pop culture comedy dramas have gone global!

Philippines: Del Monte, Sulpicio swap raps

This is from the Inquirer.
Perhaps Sulpico has been transporting dangerous goods on passenger ferries for some time. I assume that is not legal. It still remains to be seen what the state of the pesticide is within the cargo van within the ship. As another post indicates the UN has sent experts. This shows the danger that may be involved.

Del Monte, Sulpicio swap raps at BMI hearing
By Katherine EvangelistaINQUIRER.netFirst Posted 15:37:00 07/11/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- The broker for the food conglomerate who owns the 10 tons of toxic cargo onboard the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars faced the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) during the resumption of the hearing Friday.
The BMI is the fact finding body investigating the cause of the sinking of the Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI)-owned Princess of the Stars which capsized and sank off the coast of Romblon during the onslaught of typhoon “Frank” (international codename: Fengshen), bringing down some 800 passengers and crew and endosulfan on board.
CEVA Philippines Country Manager Dante Macaisa, following orders from their client, Del Monte Philippines Inc. (DMPI), claimed that they solicited the services of SLI to transport the 40-foot container van loaded with 400 boxes of endosulfan pesticide to Cagayan de Oro.
Macaisa added that during the preparation for the domestic bill of loading, CEVA submitted 10 required documents -- the Material Safety Data Sheet, International Bill of Lading (BOL), Certificate of Insurance, and Transit Cargo Manifest to Sulpicio, which properly identifies the endosulfan cargo to be “toxic” and a “marine pollutant.”
However, Macaisa claimed that Sulpicio’s representative said that other documents “were not necessary” and gave them back to CEVA Philippines. Macaisa did not identify which documents were returned.
SLI legal counsel Arthur Lim asked for clarification on whether CEVA Philippines received an “acknowledgement receipt” from Sulpicio’s representative, verifying that the broker had submitted the documents.
In response to the query, Macaisa said that they were not issued the receipt.
In an interview, SLI spokesperson and legal counsel Ma. Victoria Lim-Florido asked whether CEVA could furnish a copy of the acknowledgement receipt that would prove that the pertinent documents were presented.
SLI usually issues acknowledgement receipts to their clients and shippers “especially if it involves dangerous cargo,” Florido added.
However, Florido maintained that their client did not receive the documents, which Macaisa claimed that they had submitted.
Macaisa added that the cargo van onto which the endosulfan was loaded was properly labeled with “uniform international codes for the transport of dangerous goods and is the reference for all ocean carriers for dangerous goods.”
CEVA Philippines and DMPI have been transacting with each other for more than 27 years and that this was the first time that they had encountered a problem like this, Macaisa said.

Death toll from Philippines storm at 37

This is from the Age. The storm in Burma, earthquake in China, and tornados in the U.S. have meant that this storm in the northern Philippines has been below the radar of the mainstream press in North America.

Death toll from Philippines storm now 37
May 21, 2008 - 5:08PM
The death toll in a tropical storm that pummelled the Philippines over the weekend rose to 37 as rescuers reached far-flung villages in the worst-hit areas.
The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said 16 more people were injured in the aftermath of storm Halong that brought heavy rains which triggered landslides and flash floods in several northern provinces.
The NDCC said more than one million people were adversely affected by Halong's fury and several roads have been rendered impassable and bridges swept away by swollen rivers.
Most of the fatalities were in the province of Pangasinan, 180km north of Manila, which was worst hit by Halong.
Many of the victims drowned in flash floods, died when struck by tin sheets torn off from roofs by Halong's strong winds or were buried in collapsed structures.
Damage to agriculture and infrastructure was estimated at 3.49 billion pesos ($A84.74 million

Malaysia prepares to withdraw ceasefire monitors from the Philippines

This is from Radio Australia. It remains to be seen if the withdrawal will result in renewed fighting. There have always been some incidents but most with Abu Sayyaf supporters.

Malaysia prepares for withdrawal from the Philippines
Updated Thu May 8, 2008 10:30pm AEST
Malaysia's foreign minister says his country's peace monitors in the southern Philippines province of Mindanao will begin a phased withdrawal in two days.Mr Rais Yatim, who is in Manila, says his government is unable to continue the mission.Earlier, he held talks with Philippine President Gloria Arroyo and foreign secretary Alberto Romulo.They have asked Malaysia to continue to support the peace process after the pullout.Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front struck a deal last November to create a Muslim homeland in the country's south but further talks have been unsuccessful.Malaysian troops have made up the bulk of an international team that has been monitoring the ceasefire since 2004.

Philippines hopes Malaysia will continue to mediate with Muslim Separatists

This is from rttn. I know little about this but surely unless the Philippines constitution is changed any agreement would have to be in accord with it. If it were not one would expect a messy legal challenge. Surely, however, a government as corrupt and devious as Arroyo's could find some way around this impasse!

Philippines Hopes Malaysia Will Continue To Mediate With Muslim Separatists []

4/30/2008 4:59:57 AM Despite Malaysia deciding to pull out its truce monitors from Manila, the Philippines government believes that Kuala Lumpur would continue mediating between the Manila government and Muslim rebels to help reach an agreement that would end decades of fighting.

Manila's chief negotiator, Rodolfo Garcia, said on Wednesday that the decision has disappointed the Philippine government but he hoped that Kuala Lumpur would hopefully continue its role as a mediator.

Calling Malaysia "brother Asians," Garcia said he did not think the neighboring country would condemn the peace process to failure, as they are very much concerned about what happens in the region.

Meanwhile, the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front has blamed the Philippine government for the Malaysian monitors' withdrawal and accused the Manila negotiators of dragging their feet in concluding an agreement.

Malaysian-brokered talks hit a roadblock in December when rebel negotiators walked out of a meeting to protest Manila's insistence that any accord should conform to the Philippine Constitution.

Philippines: Even ass holes have privacy rights

This is from the Boston Herald. They should have left the event unrecorded except in memory for reproduction as my funniest operation stories.

Laughter not best medicine

By Associated Press |MANILA, Philippines - It probably seemed like fun at the time. In surgery to remove a spray can from a patient’s rectum, the docs and a nurse were yukking it up.

The laugh riot was videotaped, and a nursing student observing the procedure was so impressed with their work that she posted the video on YouTube.

Now the joke’s on them.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III ordered an investigation and the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu, where the rowdy giggle-fest operation took place Jan. 3, recommended penalties ranging from reprimands to dismissals for violating ethical standards. Health officials will consider the recommendations.

The nearly 3-minute video of a noisy operating room shows doctors and nurses laughing, giggling and cheering. At one point, a hand appears with a cell phone camera taking a close-up picture of the surgery. As a doctor gingerly pulls out a 6-inch-long body spray canister from the male patient’s rectum, someone shouts, “Baby out!” amid loud cheers. The doctor then gleefully sprays a crowd of nurses and doctors.

A fourth doctor and three other nurses were “sternly warned,” and an instructor who supervised a group of observing nursing students is now banned from the hospital. A nursing student is suspected of posting the video on YouTube.

The patient went into surgery three days after a New Year’s drinking spree and a “one-night stand” with a male partner, but claimed to be too drunk to remember how the body spray canister was misplaced.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/international/asia_pacific/view.bg?articleid=1088160





© Copyright by the Boston Herald and Herald Media.

UN agency: High food prices may force Philippine ration cut.

There never seems enough money for aid programs but there is always enough money to fight trillion dollars wars. Worsening food supplies tends to feed the insurgency but not the people.


This is from the AFP.
High food prices may force Philippines ration cut: UN agency
17 hours ago

MANILA (AFP) — A UN agency may be forced to cut rations feeding more than a million people in the troubled southern Philippines because of soaring world food prices, it warned Tuesday.

The World Food Programme has just 4,000 tonnes of rice left in its warehouse in conflict-hit Mindanao, a supply which will only last about two months, said Alghassim Wurie, the agency's deputy country director.

If the WFP fails to get more funds it may be forced to "cut rations and the most affected would be women and children," Wurie said.

"We are appealing for the donor community, the governments and the private sector companies to help us raise enough money to enable us to deliver support," Wurie told AFP.

He said the World Food Program (WFP) will need 500 million dollars in extra worldwide funds this year due to rising food prices, with 19 million dollars needed in immediate "operational funding" for Mindanao.

The WFP fed some 1.6 million people in Mindanao last year, most of them women and children in five central Mindanao provinces wracked by a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency.

WFP runs a novel food-for-education program in Mindanao, where children are enticed to return to schools in exchange for rice rations to their families, and also helps feed families displaced by the insurgency.