Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Duterte

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #61


    Duterte Seeks Arms From China, Ends Joint Patrols With U.S.
    Norman P Aquino
    normanpaquino
    Andreo Calonzo
    September 13, 2016 — 5:57 AM EDT Updated on September 13, 2016 — 7:39 AM EDT
    Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
    Philippine leader says figher jets like F-16s of no use to him
    Ending joint patrols with U.S. in disputed South China Sea
    Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he’s considering buying weapons from Russia and China while also ending joint patrols with U.S. forces in the South China Sea.
    In a televised speech Tuesday before military officers in Manila, Duterte said that two countries -- which he didn’t identify -- had agreed to give the Philippines a 25-year soft loan to buy military equipment. Later, he said that Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and “technical people” in the armed forces would visit China and Russia “and see what’s best.”
    While Duterte said he didn’t want to cut the “umbilical cord” with his allies, the remarks were the latest to signal a shift away from the Philippine-U.S. defense treaty in place since 1951. Since engaging in a public spat with U.S. President Barack Obama last week, Duterte has denounced American military killings during the early days of colonial rule and called for U.S. forces to leave the southern island of Mindanao.

    “Duterte seems to be putting into action his latest remarks about trying to implement an independent foreign policy,” said Eduardo Tadem, a lecturer of Asian Studies at the University of the Philippines. “The problem is what’s the quid pro quo? What will the Chinese especially get in exchange?"
    ‘I Don’t Need Jets’
    On Tuesday, Duterte said the Philippines needs propeller-driven planes that it can use against insurgents and fight terrorists in Mindanao. He said he wanted to buy arms “where they are cheap and where there are no strings attached and it is transparent.”
    “I don’t need jets, F-16 -- that’s of no use to us,” Duterte said. “We don’t intend to fight any country.”
    Since 1950, the U.S. has accounted for about 75 percent of the Philippines’ arms imports, according to a database from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Russia and China haven’t supplied any weapons in that time, it showed.

    The U.S. would probably move diplomatically to prevent the Philippines from procuring a major defense system from China, according to Jon Grevatt, an defense industry analyst at IHS Jane’s in Bangkok. The Southeast Asian nation’s defense procurement budget climbed to 25 billion pesos ($524 million) this year, up more than 60 percent from 2015, according to IHS Janes data.
    ‘Rub Their Hands With Glee’
    “To suggest that they would move away from the U.S. -- their long traditional partner -- is quite a move if it actually happens," Grevatt said. “China and Russia would rub their hands with glee for any opportunity to enter the market."
    Duterte also said the Philippines won’t participate in expeditions patrolling South China Sea to avoid being involved in a “hostile act.” “I just want to patrol our territorial waters,” he said.
    The U.S. began joint patrols with the Philippines earlier this year prior to Duterte’s election win in May. The allies had sought to boost military cooperation to counter China’s claims to more than four-fifths of the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
    ‘Rock Solid’
    In an e-mailed statement on Tuesday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said that defense relations with the U.S. remain “rock solid” and activities planned this year would continue without interruption. The military had yet to receive a specific directive on how Duterte’s pronouncement on Mindanao would be carried out, it said.
    Reacting to Duterte’s pronouncement on Mindanao, Pentagon spokesman Commander Gary Ross said on Monday that the U.S.-Philippine relationship “has been a cornerstone of stability for over 70 years.”
    “We will continue to consult closely with our Filipino partners to appropriately tailor our assistance to whatever approach the new Administration adopts,” Ross said.
    Duterte spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a televised briefing earlier Tuesday that the president’s statement that American soldiers should leave Mindanao was not yet policy, but the basis for possible action.
    “Those statements are not policy set in stone, not policy yet,” Abella said.
    The move to end joint patrols in the South China Sea signals Duterte’s intention to improve ties with China, according to Shen Shishun, a senior researcher at the China Institute of International Studies under China’s Foreign Ministry.
    “The Philippines got little out of it, and it offended the Chinese, with whom they could have done more business with," Shen said. “Duterte saw this point and made a practical decision."


    Duterte can’t afford foreign enemies


    SHARES: 2092 VIEW COMMENTS
    The Nation/Asia News Network

    September 13th, 2016 02:06 PM


    ASEAN Laos Duterte 11
    President Rodrigo Roa Duterte listens to the discussions in the plenary session of the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos on September 6. KING RODRIGUEZ/PPD

    BANGKOK–In an ideal world, sovereign nations would maintain the unchallenged authority to implement any policy without other countries attempting to intervene, not even the superpowers on which so much depends in our interconnected world. In reality, however, no national leader has the freedom to pursue policies deemed inappropriate by the international community.

    Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was reminded of this at last week’s Asean summit in Vientiane. Using his characteristic gutter language, he had earlier warned his United States counterpart, Barack Obama – also attending the summit – that he would brook no lecturing about his “war on drugs”, which has seen nearly 3,000 users and dealers summarily executed in the two months he’s been in office.

    READ: Duterte: I’m no fan of US

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Obama promptly cancelled an appointment to meet Duterte privately on the sidelines of the Asean session. Gone abruptly was the chance to get the US more firmly on Manila’s side over the territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Presumably the presidential aides did some behind-the-scenes scrambling, though, and their bosses had a brief encounter after all. Both Obama, whose term of office ends in January, and Duterte, who can’t afford to anger such a powerful ally and trading partner, understood the importance of patching up their squabble.

    “If we’re working with a country – whether it’s on anti-terrorism, whether it’s on going after drug traffickers,” Obama told reporters after they met, “as despicable as these networks may be, as much damage as they do, it is important from our perspective to make sure that we do it the right way. Because the consequence of when you do it the wrong way is innocent people get hurt and you have a whole bunch of unintended consequences that don’t solve the problem.”

    Thus Obama won the duel. Duterte’s brashness achieved nothing. Words that might have reinforced his reputation as a maverick and a tough merely caused embarrassment for his government and countrymen. Stubborn to the end, he only made matters worse by lying to Filipino expatriates in Indonesia, after the Vientiane summit, that in fact he’d never called Obama a “son of a whore” as charged.

    President Duterte is going to have to adjust his style and rein in his rhetoric if he wants his country to maintain good relations with others. Better still, he should change course in his efforts to end the drug problem. As Obama pointed out, narcotics are a major problem for all nations, but efforts to suppress them must be conducted in accordance with democratic standards and the rule of law. Nowhere else in the world apart from in the Philippines, he might have added, are the police and vigilantes encouraged by the state to shoot dead people simply suspected of involvement.

    Under democracy – still the best form of government despite totalitarianism’s creeping revival – suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in court. If convicted, the law of the land prescribes the punishment or more humane treatment. Street justice, fraught with the possibility of haste and error, has no place in a civilised nation.

    As for the conflict over rival claims to territory in the South China Sea, which is of crucial importance not just to Philippine sovereignty but also to the stability of the whole region, Manila might gain credit in Beijing by moving outside Washington’s sphere of influence. But American support in this matter is a bargaining chip that Duterte cannot afford to lose. Smart leaders don’t limit their options in striking global deals.

    READ: Duterte and China

    Duterte’s blunder at his first international summit needn’t become a syndrome. He only has to reconsider policy, adopt more careful strategy and curb his bad manners./rga



    Read more: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/144...#ixzz4K8QEkSSj
    Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

    ....
    Last edited by troung; 13 Sep 16,, 12:42.
    To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

    Comment


    • #62
      Third time is a charm.


      Duterte: Third drug list already validated



      PRESIDENT Duterte on Tuesday said he had a third list of people with supposed links to the drug trade.

      When talking about the list in a speech, Mr. Duterte held his thumb and forefinger inches apart to indicate that it was a thick one.

      “I have the third round and final round. Validation…it’s been done,” he said as he addressed soldiers at the Villamor Air Base early Tuesday evening.


      He said that if he would be unable to go after all the people on the list, the troops would have to take care of them.

      “If it will outlast me, then I leave you a legacy of the list of persons you have to take care of,” he said.


      He said that if the drug suspects would not listen to reason, “you know what to do.”

      Mr. Duterte, in his speech, also tagged the Alcalas of Quezon while talking about the illegal drug problem.

      “The one in Quezon, with the Alcalas, publicly I will tell you, that’s true,” he said in apparent reference to allegations linking members of the clan to the narcotics trade.

      He said the family had connections in politics and were hard to pin down.

      Last month, Cerilo Alcala and son Sajid turned themselves over to police to try to clear their names after being linked to the illegal drug trade.

      Cerilo is the brother of Quezon Rep. Vicente Alcala and of former Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala.

      On Sunday, Cerilo’s wife Maria Fe and daughter Toni Ann were arrested in a drug bust.


      Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/815058/...#ixzz4K9KcDKlT
      Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
      To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

      Comment


      • #63
        Awaiting Squirrel's apology


        Duterte 'intentionally skipped' Obama meeting because he 'does not like the Americans'

        'It's simply a matter of principle for me,' the president of the Philippines said.


        Romil Patel
        By Romil Patel September 13, 2016 11:28 BST

        Obama attends ASEAN meeting in Laos


        Rodrigo Duterte purposely skipped a bilateral meeting between US President Barack Obama and leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Vientiane, Laos last week.

        The statement from the Filipino president contradicts the official statement from Malacanang, the presidential palace, which said he was unable to attend because he was under the weather. The fiery Duterte, however, said he snubbed the meeting by choice.



        Why advertise with us
        "I intentionally did skipped [those meetings]," Duterte said during the 2016 Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos awards ceremony on Monday (12 September) night. "I attended all others," he added.

        "The reason is not I am anti-West. The reason is not I do not like the Americans. It's simply a matter of principle for me," said Duterte.

        The former mayor of Davao City sparked outrage ahead of the gathering after labelling Obama a "son of a whore" following strong criticism from the US over extrajudicial killings in the bloody drugs war, which has claimed nearly 3,000 lives barely three months after it started in July.

        The personal attack led to Obama canceling a planned meeting with Duterte, calling him a "colourful guy". On 6 September, Duterte issued a statement expressing regret for his choice of words.

        Duterte's strong language during his maiden international foray was not limited to the US president. He also branded UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon a "fool" for raising concerns over human rights violations weeks before the summit in the Laotian capital.

        During last night's ceremony, Duterte presented awards to outstanding teachers, soldiers and police officers and reiterated his commitment to the war on drugs in the Philippines. "I did not declare a punitive police action, mind you, against drugs. I declared a war," he said.

        The president added that the crackdown will not cease "until the last addict is eliminated" and said he would "assume full responsibility" for law enforcement officials following his orders. "They have my blessings," he was quoted as saying by CNN Philippines. "I'm ready to be arrested."
        http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/duterte-int...ricans-1581084

        US says no official request from Duterte government to withdraw American troops from Philippines

        US says it will remain committed to its alliance with the Philippines until it receives any communication from Manila.

        By Nandini Krishnamoorthy
        September 13, 2016 08:29 BST


        Updated 5 hr ago

        http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-says-no-...ppines-1581018



        The US Department of State has said that it has not received any communication from Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte's government regarding the withdrawal of American troops from Mindanao, southern Philippines. Spokesperson John Kirby said Washington would remain committed to its alliance with Manila.

        Duterte, on Monday (12 September), had demanded that the US special forces leave the Philippines citing that they are in danger of being kidnapped by terror outfit Abu Sayyaf. The American troops have been providing military advice to Filipinos, who are fighting the Islamist extremists in the south-east Asian nation.

        Why advertise with us
        Kirby said that Washington will not take any action or respond to Duterte's comment until the US receives an official request for the troop's withdrawal.

        "I've seen the comments. I've seen them in press reporting, and what I can tell you is that we're not aware of any official communication by the Philippine Government to that effect and to seek that result. So we're going to stay in touch with our counterparts in the Philippine Government," he said.

        Speaking to reporters during the daily press briefing, Kirby cited the history between the two countries and stressed that the US is "committed to our alliance with the Philippines".

        When asked if the US would not respond to this specific comment by Duterte, he said that it would not be a wise choice for Obama administration to take a decision only based on media reports about the matter.

        Kirby also added that Washington shares the concerns of Duterte about the safety of American forces in Manila, the Philippines. "It's one of the prime considerations of American military leadership."

        However, to a question if he does not consider this a good enough reason to withdraw the troops, Kirby said: "I don't want to get ahead of decisions that, as far as we know, haven't actually been made or certainly communicated to the United State Government."

        He emphasised that if and when Duterte's government communicate its request to Pentagon, the matter needs to be decided by the defence department and not the state.

        Duterte kicks out US troops from Philippines
        Filipino President Rodrigo had demanded that US special forces leave the Philippines further raking up controversy and complicating his relationship with the US ~ File Photo(REUTERS/Ezra Acayan)

        Meanwhile, Filipino Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay has stated that Manila will continue to respect and honour its commitment to Washington, a day after the tough-talking Filipino president further complicated his relationship with the US by kicking out the American forces out of his country.

        "The president has said, even as a priority statement in his inaugural address, that we will respect and continue to honor our treaty obligations and commitments particularly even with the U.S.," Reuters quoted Yasay as saying on Tuesday.

        "His statements now are not intended and should not be taken as a signal that he will take back his previous statements insofar as respecting these agreements are concerned," Yasay added.
        To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

        Comment


        • #64


          Sara Duterte says she quarreled with pa over cop’s relief





          By: Allan Nawal

          @inquirerdotnet


          Inquirer Mindanao

          03:47 AM September 10th, 2016


          DAVAO CITY—Mayor Sara Duterte has disclosed that she and her father, President Duterte, had a quarrel over her decision to replace Task Force Davao chief Senior Supt. Henry Robinson after the deadly blast that killed 14 people and wounded 70 others at the night market on Roxas Avenue here on Sept. 2.

          Mayor Duterte said her father disliked her decision to replace Robinson but he eventually acceded.

          “Here comes Digong, mouthing again. He also texted me and he was saying many things. I answered him,” Sara said of her latest spat with her father, which took place a few hours after the blast.


          "I think it was 6 a.m. Saturday morning,” she said.

          “He passed the text to Bong Go. So I said, ‘Bong, are you still the mayor or is it already me?’ Because I’m willing to leave you alone, as in right this moment,” she recounted.

          Mayor Duterte repeated that she was indeed “very willing to resign” (if the President insisted on dictating on her).

          She said the President appeared to have acceded to her decision to have Robinson replaced when he suddenly burst into the song, “How Do I Live Without You” (a song popularized by Trisha Yearwood), after a moment of silence.

          “He gave way,” Mayor Duterte said.

          Aside from Robinson, Mayor Sara also announced that she wanted city police director, Senior Supt. Michael John Dubria, replaced.

          READ: Sara Duterte sacks Davao cop chief, task force head

          An Inquirer source said Philippine National Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa had already given her a list of senior police officials to choose from but she has yet to decide.

          Meanwhile, Dela Rosa said investigators already have the name of the suspected night market bomber but they were still withholding it pending his arrest.

          No shoot-to-kill order

          She also stressed to the police that she wanted the suspects arrested alive so she could talk to them and find out who their cohorts were, and their purpose in setting off the bomb.

          On Wednesday, police authorities released a computer-aided sketch of one of the suspects but his face was unrecognizable as he wore a mask.

          Director Benjamin Magalong, the deputy police chief for operations, said the sketch was produced based on description of witnesses.

          The reward money to any individual who can help authorities arrest suspect and three other persons—two of them women—has also increased to P3 million.

          Mayor Sara said on Thursday a Davao-City businessman and a law firm donated P500,000 each to the initial P2-million bounty that the city government has offered for the arrest of the suspects.

          She said the law firm coursed its donation through Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez.

          Duterte said those who have information on the suspects can either dial Central 911 or they can contact 0917-DUTERTE or 0917-3883783 if they live outside of Davao City.

          Dela Rosa said police authorities continue to hunt down the suspects.

          Meanwhile, authorities said they were taking all bomb-related statements seriously and individuals making jokes about bombs will be arrested and prosecuted.

          On Wednesday evening, a passenger of a Davao City-bound bus was arrested and jailed after he threatened to set off a bomb.

          PO2 Ean Burgos of the Magsaysay, Davao del Sur police, said the bus driver hurriedly pulled over when the passenger, Roland Engbino of Libungan, North Cotabato, warned that the bus was going to explode. The suspect’s statement caused panic among the passengers but none was seriously injured, Burgos said.

          A search of the bus did not turn up any bomb but the suspect was immediately arrested. Earlier this week, two women were also separately arrested but later freed in Davao City after making jokes they had bombs with them while being frisked by guards at the malls they were entering. With a report from Orlando Dinoy, Inquirer Mindanao/TVJ


          Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/814314/...#ixzz4K9tQ7V3J
          Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
          ...
          To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

          Comment


          • #65
            . Rodrigo Duterte forced to retract US military deal comments
            BY CALLUM PATON ON 9/13/16 AT 1:43 PM
            Philippines President Duterte expresses ‘regret’ for comments on Obama
            IBTIMES US
            Controversial Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte has been forced into an embarrassing U-turn over inflammatory comments he made saying US troops based in the country needed to leave.

            Duterte, who has made a series of rhetorical attacks against the US – the Philippines longest-standing military ally – has been forced to retract his statement that the southern Philippines "would never have peace" while allied with Washington.

            More from IBTimes UK
            US says no official request from Duterte government to withdraw American troops from Philippines
            Philippines denies claims that Duterte gave Indonesia 'go ahead' to execute Mary Jane Veloso on drug smuggling charges
            Shocking photos of the crystal meth epidemic sweeping South East Asia
            The firebrand leader has since said the Philippines would not "cut our umbilical cord" with allies. Political and military officials have scrambled to explain what Duterte meant by his remarks on 12 September.

            ADVERTISEMENT

            He attacked the US over atrocities under American colonial rule and said troops stationed in the south of the country have impeded counter-insurgency efforts against the Islamic-State linked group Aby Sayyaf.

            Filipino Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said Duterte's comments were not a signal that a pact between Washington and Manilla would end."The president has said ... that we will respect and continue to honour our treaty obligations and commitments," he was quoted as saying.

            "Philippine-US defence relations remain rock solid," armed forces spokesman Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla echoed.

            Duterte on Abu Sayyaf
            Philippines President Rodrigo Dutert eattacked the US over atrocities under American colonial rule and said troops stationed in the south of the country were impeding counter insurgency efforts
            ERIK DE CASTRO/REUTERS
            It is not the first time Duterte has had to explain his forceful invective. The Filipino leader called both US President Barack Obama and his ambassador to Manila a "son of a bitch" ahead of a scheduled summit between the two leaders. Obama cancelled the meeting.

            Duterte has also hit out at the United Nations, calling the international organisation a "son of a whore" and saying he would unilaterally withdraw the Philippines from the UN.

            ADVERTISEMENT

            In the end Duterte's foreign minister had to explain the Philippines had no intention of leaving the UN or start a parallel organisation with China and African nations
            ....
            To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

            Comment


            • #66
              Okay, I gotta ask. How long will his own military back this? As I recall the Philippine Armed Forces were glad to work with US Forces.

              Did I misread that or not tracking properly?
              “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
              Mark Twain

              Comment


              • #67
                Okay, I gotta ask. How long will his own military back this? As I recall the Philippine Armed Forces were glad to work with US Forces.
                Did I misread that or not tracking properly?
                They are glad to take our money. Since the 1980s there has been an undercurrent of sorts from them disliking the US, even to the point of being mad they were not getting more from us, and that American bases would document what we provided down to tires. There are other rumblings about elements currently being mad at our dealings with Muslim rebels and the push to wrap up the conflict with the Muslim "rebels" (not the terrorists).

                He promised a few months ago to double the AFP's salaries. The AFP has a dismal track record of launching coups, one muddled success (attempt to set up a dictatorship ended up as people power), a string of failures (to overturn said people power), and recent farces (anti-Arroyo mutinies). An Erap style soft coup with the elite stirring up massive street protests in Metro Manila and a soft nudge from the security services is possible in time; but he will need to shit the bed for considerably longer and/or go after the elite (which he is not). He has enough support, and support with violent people, that would make that sticky.

                There is a segment of people on the right who dislike the USA, and of course the far left. The anniversary of the ending of US basing was celebrated by political figures on the right, who were part of the Marcos clique, in addition to anti-Imperialists/Communists on the left.

                To be blunt it might be a good time to unhitch ourselves from a corpse, and change our relationship after 6 years (in theory) with whoever gets into power next.

                ====
                As they tend not to spend money on US equipment no big loss.
                Duterte to modernize AFP equipment

                By Kristian Javier (philstar.com) | Updated September 14, 2016 - 2:53pm


                http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/815325/...f-human-rights

                MANILA, Philippines - President Rodrigo Duterte has assured the people that he would continue the modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

                "It’s about time that we talk seriously about our sovereignty," Duterte said during his speech Tuesday evening at the Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base.

                He revealed that several countries offered to provide modern equipment for the military.

                According to him, he proposed buying weapons and armaments from suppliers which he finds more useful than fighter jets.

                "We can buy the arms where they are cheap and where there are no strings attached and it is transparent," Duterte said, directing military commanders to study first the equipment to be purchased.

                The president said there are two countries which agreed to provide the "softest" loan, payable in 2025.


                Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1




                Aside from military weapons, Duterte said he would also approve the extension of quarters for the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

                Funds would be provided for the repair of the barracks and the rotary door railing, including the establishment of new building with centralized medical facilities for AFP, PAF and the Philippine National Police.

                "All in all, I give you almost half a billion and I hope that it would improve the services to the soldiers," Duterte said.

                "Ibibigay ko sa lahat sa inyo ‘yung kailangan ninyo para talunin ‘yung kalaban. You can be sure of that," he added.


                Palace slams UN: Duterte ‘a respecter of human rights’




                “President Duterte is a respecter of human rights, but he has also been firm in saying that human rights cannot be used as an excuse to let the spread of drugs in the country run rampant,” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement on Wednesday.

                Abella said Duterte “knows the limits of the power and authority of the presidency” as a lawyer and former prosecutor.

                The Palace official quoted Duterte’s inaugural remarks as saying, “I know what is legal and what is not. My adherence to due process and the rule of law is uncompromising.”

                Abella said the administration did not promote extrajudicial killings, adding that no formal complaints had been filed against Duterte for his alleged human rights violations.

                “Notwithstanding the accusations hurled against him, no formal charge of human rights violations has been filed. Alleged EJKs are not the policy of his administration,” he said.

                Duterte was among those singled out on Tuesday by UN high commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein for his speaking against human rights institutions and investigations.

                “The President of the Philippines’s statements of scorn for international human rights law display a striking lack of understanding of our human rights institutions and the principles which keep societies safe,” said the high commissioner.


                Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/815325/...#ixzz4KEjIz4qP
                Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

                Recommended by




                Duterte never empowered cops to kill drug suspects–PH envoy to UN







                SHARES: 526

                VIEW COMMENTS


                By: Estrella Torres

                @inquirerdotnet


                Philippine Daily Inquirer

                08:04 PM September 14th, 2016



                Recommended


                BI subjects foreign pilots, crew members to inspection


                Duterte says he snubbed Obama too at Laos meet


                LA gun seizure drive inspired by murder of Fil-Am mail carrier


                SF-based dance troupe wows Portugal int’l folk dance fest


                Calif. guv signs historic domestic,farm worker bills


                Rising Fil-Am hoop star is from family of cagers


                Duterte lets Jakarta decide Veloso case


                Duterte: US forces must go


                A Filipino brings to life Bart Simpson’s antics


                US sex abuser of PH kids gets 60 years in prison










                Philippine permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva Cecilia Rebong said President Rodrigo Duterte had never empowered police authorities to “shoot to kill” any individual suspected of drug crimes after the UN high commissioner for human rights criticized the rising summary killings in the Philippines, which is backed by the administration’s war on drugs.

                READ: Duterte urges public to kill drug dealers

                The Department of Foreign Affairs said Ambassador Rebong delivered the Philippine statement on Wednesday at the second day of 33rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council in response to the speech of UN high commissioner for human rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.









                She said the Philippine leader’s marching order to police was that they have the right to defend themselves when their lives are endangered when drug suspects violently resist arrest.

                READ: UN hits Duterte for ‘lack of understanding’ of human rights bodies

                Rebong emphasized that the ongoing campaign against illegal drugs had the overwhelming support of the Filipino public.

                She said the war on drugs was “being waged under the leadership and direction of President Rodrigo Duterte, with a firm adherence to the rule of law, due process, and human rights principles.”

                Rebong also said the anti-illegal drug war was unparalleled in Philippine history for its level of tenacity.

                “The Chief Executive, in his inaugural speech, affirmed in no vague language his respect for human rights and the rule of law,” said Rebong in his speech before delegates at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. She pointed out that President Duterte has, in fact, urged civil rights organizations (NGOs and CSOs) to report any killings which were not in accordance with his pronouncements on the anti-illegal drug campaign.

                The Philippine statement, read by Rebong, argued that the recent increase in the number of killings include deaths resulting from legitimate police operations as well as killings carried out by vigilante elements, and drug syndicates undertaking a purge among their ranks.

                The DFA also said that the Philippine statement assured the international community that “the government is investigating these killings committed by vigilante groups and drug syndicates, and is committed to bring the perpetrators to justice.”

                Rebong said “the Philippines denounces and does not resort to extrajudicial or arbitrary executions, and is gravely concerned about accusations purporting that the administration tolerates such actions.”

                She emphasized that “police authorities take seriously allegations of its officers’ involvement in such activities, and follow established internal procedures for investigating and addressing such cases.”

                Rebong urged the international community to support the Philippine campaign against illegal drugs.

                RELATED STORIES


                Read more: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/144...#ixzz4KFbV93Ue
                Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
                Last edited by troung; 14 Sep 16,, 20:31.
                To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

                Comment


                • #68
                  He ran on his death squad (Davao still has a high murder rate), has called for violence but his proxies are now trying to disavow it.

                  Philippines President Duterte 'once killed man with Uzi'


                  4 hours ago

                  From the section Asia



                  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37370848

                  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte allegedly once shot dead a justice department agent with an Uzi submachine gun while serving as mayor of Davao.

                  The allegation was made by Edgar Matobato, a self-confessed former death squad member, before a Senate inquiry on extra-judicial killings.

                  Mr Duterte, he alleged, ordered him and others to kill about 1,000 criminals or political rivals over a 25-year period.

                  One government minister called the allegations "lies and fabrications"

                  Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said Mr Matobato was "obviously not telling the truth" while presidential spokesman Martin Andanar said investigations into the president's time as mayor had gone nowhere.

                  Mr Matobato, 57, said he had been a member of the Davao Death Squad, a notorious vigilante group allegedly responsible for hundreds of killings.

                  "Our job was to kill criminals like drug pushers, rapists, snatchers," he said.

                  But he also said that Mr Duterte's opponents had been targeted too, including four bodyguards of a local rival for mayor, Prospero Nograles.

                  In 1993, he said his group had injured a justice department agent after a confrontation at a road block.

                  "Mayor Duterte was the one who finished him off," he said.

                  "Jamisola [the justice department official] was still alive when he [Duterte] arrived. He emptied two Uzi magazines on him."

                  Mosque attack

                  Victims would be shot or strangled, he said, with some disembowelled and dumped into the sea so fish could eat them, or in one case fed to a crocodile.

                  He told the Senate panel he had gone from a witness protection programme into hiding when Mr Duterte became president, fearing for his life.


                  Edgar Matobato appears before the a Philippines senate committeeImage copyright AP
                  Image caption
                  Edgar Matobato made the comments before a Senate committee


                  A relative of an alleged drug dealer killed in the PhilippinesImage copyright EPA
                  Image caption
                  Mr Duterte has continued his hard-line policies on drugs into his presidency

                  Mr Matobato also alleged Mr Duterte had ordered the bombing of a mosque in retaliation for an attack on Davao Cathedral in 1993.

                  On this claim, Mr Duterte's spokesman, Martin Andanar, said "I don't think he is capable of giving those orders."

                  He said the country's Commission on Human Rights had failed to even prove the existence of the Davao Death Squad.

                  Prospero Nograles' son Karlo, a Davao city representative, challenged Mr Matobato's account relating to his father's bodyguards.

                  "I don't know what this guy is talking about," he wrote on Facebook.

                  "I can only suspect that this guy is being manipulated by some people to only serve their own selfish interests."

                  Clashes at inquiry

                  The woman leading the Senate inquiry into extra-judicial killings, Leila de Lima, is a strong critic of Mr Duterte and has been accused by him of having links to the illegal drug trade, something she denies.

                  At one point, she and an ally of Mr Duterte, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, clashed, with Mr Cayetano questioning Mr Matobato's credibility and accusing him of being part of a plot to unseat the Philippines' president.

                  Mr Duterte became mayor of Davao in 1988, and his tough stance saw crime rates plummet, an approach he has vowed to replicate at national level.

                  In June, after winning the presidency he effectively sanctioned the public killing of drug suspects, telling a rally "if you destroy my country, I will kill you".

                  Since his election more than 3,000 drug users and dealers have been killed in police operations or by vigilantes, according to the authorities, amid international alarm over human rights violations.

                  But Mr Duterte has dismissed concerns over his drugs policies, calling UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "a fool" and referring to US President Barack Obama as a "son of a whore", something he later said he regretted.


                  Not possible,’ Palace on Duterte ordering mosque bombing


                  By: Nestor Corrales

                  @NCorralesINQ


                  INQUIRER.net

                  12:01 PM September 15th, 2016


                  A Palace official on Thursday said President Rodrigo Duterte was not capable of ordering the bombing of a mosque in 1993 and the killing of Muslims.

                  “I don’t think he is capable of giving directive like that,” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar told reporters in a news briefing.

                  READ: Duterte ordered us to bomb mosque, kill Muslims — ‘DDS’ member

                  During the resumption of the hearing of the Senate committee on justice and human rights, witness Edgar Matobato, who claimed to be a former member of the Davao Death Squad (DDS), said Duterte was behind the extrajudicial killings in Davao.

                  “Ang trabaho namin ay pumatay ng mga kriminal katulad ng drug pusher, rapist, snatcher. Ganyan ang pinapatay namin araw araw,” he said.

                  Matobato claimed that after the Davao Cathedral was bombed in 1993, Duterte ordered the bombing of a mosque and the killing of Muslim suspects.

                  The DDS has long been believed to be the group responsible for extrajudicial killings in Davao City.

                  Andanar said the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) had failed to prove the existence of the DDS.

                  Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the Palace would have to await proper investigation on the alleged orders of Duterte.

                  “Whatever testimonies, whatever statements that the person is saying is his own statement and we have to await proper investigation regarding the matter,” Abella said./rga


                  Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/815496/...#ixzz4KLb0Ou00
                  Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook



                  SUMMARY: Allegations of ‘DDS’ member in Senate hearing







                  SHARES: 2865

                  VIEW COMMENTS


                  By: Yuji Vincent Gonzales

                  @YGonzalesINQ


                  INQUIRER.net

                  01:39 PM September 15th, 2016












































                  edgar matobato 2
                  Witness Edgar Matobato during the Senate probe on the alleged extrajudicial killings at the Senate in Pasay City.
                  INQUIRER PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

                  A witness who claimed to be a member of the Davao Death Squad, the notorious vigilante group allegedly behind the killings in the President’s hometown, appeared before the Senate on Thursday and made explosive accusations against President Rodrigo Duterte on his alleged orders to kill more than 1,000 individuals when he was still mayor.

                  READ: ‘DDS’ member bares alleged Duterte-ordered killings

                  Here’s a summary of the allegations of 57-year-old Edgar Matobato, who said he was hired by Duterte as one of the “Lambado Boys” in 1988, which eventually evolved into the infamous DDS:



                  ADVERTISEMENT





                  -Matobato said he was a “ghost employee” at the Davao City Hall for 24 years as part of the Civil Security Unit, whose job was only to kill criminals.

                  -Matobato said Duterte ordered to ambush Sen. Leila de Lima in 2009 when the Commission on Human Rights investigated the vigilante group in Davao City.

                  -The witness claimed Duterte ordered the abduction and killing of four bodyguards of his political rival, former House Speaker Prospero Nograles.

                  -Matobato said Duterte ordered to kill Muslims suspected in the 1993 bombing of the Davao cathedral. Matobato said he himself threw a grenade in a mosque, abducted Muslim suspects, and killed and buried them in the Laud quarry.

                  -Matobato said he and five others kidnapped suspected terrorist Sali Makdum in Samal in 2002 by hanging him and chopping his body.

                  -Matobato said Duterte’s son and Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo ordered to kill a man who overtook the latter’s vehicle in a traffic altercation

                  -The witness, who said he had worked with Davao police for 34 years, claimed that part of the cops’ modus was to plant guns on the crime scene. “Ang pulis laging may reserba na baril para ‘pag may mapatay, lalagyan (The police always had a reserved gun so that when a person is killed, the gun can be planted),” he said.

                  -In 2013, Matobato said Duterte ordered the killing of a fixer at the Land Transportation Office, whose body, he said, was dumped in San Rafael village in 2013

                  -Matobato said they abducted three women from their house in 2013 and dumped their bodies on a road in San Rafael village.

                  -On the orders of five mayors including Duterte, Matobato said they killed a member of a religious group named Jun Barsabal, who he said was killed because “he was squatting on lands.” Barsabal’s body, he said, was buried at Ma-A quarry.

                  -Matobato said Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte ordered the killing of billionaire hotelier Richard King in 2014 over a certain “Ochoa,” a woman they were both pursuing. He said rebel returnees Joel Tapales and Loloy Gabas were given P500,000 for King’s assassination.

                  -Matobato said they killed more than a thousand individuals from 1988 to 2013.

                  -Matobato said Duterte ordered the killing of radio broadcaster Jun Pala, a vocal critic of the longtime mayor.

                  -The alleged DDS member said Duterte also ordered the killing of a dance instructor, supposed boyfriend of Duterte’s sister Jocelyn, who was abducted in Jacinto street. Matobato said he and six others handcuffed the instructor and killed him at the Ma-A quarry.

                  -Matobato said he worked with National Bureau of Investigation director Dante Gierran for 15 years and tagged him in an operation in 2007, the target of which, he said, was fed to a crocodile.

                  -Matobato said a certain NBI agent named Jamisola was killed by Duterte some time in 2007. He said an altercation figured between a certain Col. Pabo and Jamisola, whose vehicle was blocking the way. Matobato said Duterte arrived at the scene and killed the agent himself.

                  -The witness said rebel returnees were responsible for the killing of those involved in gang wars by shooting them at close range.

                  -Matobato said a property in Gaisano was the extension of the Ma-A quarry, where a certain “Commander Toothpick” buried the bodies of victims. He added that they also dumped bodies at the Island Garden City of Samal.

                  -Matobato said he left the government’s Witness Protection Program after Duterte won the presidency.

                  -The witness claimed that Paolo Duterte, whom he said they had been escorting since the vice mayor was a child, had long been using drugs. JE/rga


                  Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/815550/...#ixzz4KLbXLPHN
                  Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
                  Last edited by troung; 15 Sep 16,, 19:42.
                  To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

                  Comment


                  • #69
                    Has Beijing put the soft word on Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte?



                    One of the victims of Rodrigo *Duterte’s war on suspected drug dealers is carted away in Manila yesterday.

                    The Australian
                    12:00AM September 16, 2016


                    Amanda Hodge


                    @hodgeamanda



                    Back in March, when Rodrigo *Duterte was just a southern *Philippines mayor with presidential ambitions and no party *machinery behind him, he boasted that his *biggest supporters were from the Chinese community and funding for his pre-campaign *advertising came from “an anonymous *Chinese donor”.

                    Little was made of Mr *Duterte’s anonymous Chinese backer at the time. He would not have been the only candidate to benefit from funds donated by a foreign interest with a dog in the presidential fight.


                    But the extent of possible *Chinese influence in The Philippines’ election has become an issue of greater interest in light of increasingly anti-American comments from the country’s combative new President.

                    In the past fortnight, Mr *Duterte has called US President Barack Obama “a son of a whore”, ordered US troops out of Mindanao, told Philippines naval patrols to *remain within 12 nautical miles of shore in the South China Sea and instructed his defence secretary to look to Russia and China for military hardware deals rather than its *traditional supplier, the US.

                    The Philippines is a vital interest to the US, which months *before the May elections cemented an Enhanced Defence Co-operation Agreement with then president Benigno Aquino granting US forces and contractors *access to “agreed areas”.

                    The deal was a triumph for Washington, allowing it to station more troops, ships and planes more frequently in The Philippines as part of its Asia-Pacific pivot.

                    The outcome of The Philippines’ elections was also critical to Beijing. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague was set to rule on the dispute between Man*ila and Beijing over the South China Sea. As expected, its July ruling went overwhelmingly in Manila’s favour.

                    The US-Philippines defence agreement, combined with an agreement to conduct joint *patrols of the South China Sea, was an enormous fillip in the US strategy to curb Chinese *expansionism.

                    “There was an awful lot of speculation around the time of the election that Chinese money was coming in and was going to be a factor,” said Euan Graham, director of the Lowy Institute’s Inter*national Security Program.

                    If the Chinese were going to back a strategic candidate it would most likely have been then vice-president Jejomar Binay, who had already indicated he would take a more moderate line on Beijing than Mr Aquino.

                    But, adds Dr Graham; “It would make sense for China to keep as many levers in the election as possible.”

                    Philippines political analyst Richard Javad Heydarian confirms the rumour mill over *Chinese election money was in overdrive during the campaign, though there has never been anything more than speculation about who might have received what money, and from where.

                    “Amid the scandals in Australia, the possibility Chinese money was involved in elections around the region cannot be discounted,” he said cautiously.

                    Mr Duterte’s hostility to the US — which this year will contribute $US120 million to Manila’s *defence budget — is all the more stark when *contrasted with his conciliatory approach to Beijing, although Mr Heydarian suggests that could change.

                    “Duterte is clearly going the extra mile to open communications channels with China by *signalling a very positive message, but if within a few months the *Chinese don’t give any meaningful concessions, he will be forced to adopt a much more robust *position,’’ he says.

                    China has a “reputational problem” with Filipinos, thanks to its aggression in Philippines territorial waters and a history of ill-fated investments mired in corruption and political scandal.

                    Following the devastating 2013 Typhoon Haiyan, China, the world’s second largest economy, pledged less than $US2 million in aid, far less than the US, Japan, Australia or even Swedish furniture giant IKEA.
                    Beijing’s parsimony was said to have been driven by anger over Manila’s insistence on seeking an international ruling on the South China Sea dispute, but it was an error in strategic thinking given its ongoing battle with Washington for regional *influence.

                    In the race for “soft power” in The Philippines, China is completely outgunned by the US and Japan, whose efforts are reflected in buoyant approval ratings, compared with China’s net trust rating of minus 24 per cent. Chinese investment in The Philippines is 0.01 per cent of all foreign direct investment — compared with 13 per cent from the US.
                    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...a684b51dfc493f...

                    Sceptred bile

                    The new president may undo the economic gains of recent years

                    Sep 17th 2016 | MANILA | From the print edition



                    Timekeeper



                    Rolex values your time. Timekeeper by Rolex.


                    ..




                    UNDER Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines since late June, things have a habit of spiralling out of control. First came his campaign against the drug trade, which has led to the killing of almost 3,000 suspected dealers by police and unknown assailants, without even a nod at due process. In less than three months, he has presided over three-quarters as many extrajudicial killings as there were lynchings of black people in America between 1877 and 1950.

                    When Barack Obama expressed concern about the killings, Mr Duterte called him a “son of a whore”. America’s president tried to shrug off the insult. But Mr Duterte took the row to a new level this week, calling for American special forces to leave the southern island of Mindanao, where they have been training Filipino troops fighting several long insurgencies. “For as long as we stay with America,” he said, brandishing a picture of an atrocity committed by American soldiers more than a century ago, “we will never have peace”.


                    In this section

                    Sceptred bile


                    Bangs and bucks


                    Can a leopard change its spots?


                    A kink in the hose


                    Knife-edge lives


                    On September 13th he told his defence secretary to buy weapons from Russia and China rather than America, hitherto the Philippines’ closest ally, and the source of hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid each year. He also said the navy would no longer patrol the South China Sea alongside American vessels. This reversal is all the more surprising given America’s huge popularity in the Philippines.


                    In other words, Mr Duterte is not just crass and brutal; he is alarmingly volatile. He has little experience of national politics, let alone international affairs, having been mayor of Davao, a city of 1.5m or so, since 1988 (apart from a brief stint as vice-mayor to his daughter and three years as a congressman). Since becoming president, he has threatened to withdraw from the United Nations and to declare martial law. He idolises Ferdinand Marcos, a former dictator who did impose martial law. He says he wants to give Marcos a hero’s burial in Manila. All this, naturally, frightens both local and foreign investors and threatens to undermine the Philippines’ newly acquired status as South-East Asia’s economic star.

                    The Philippine economy grew by 7% in the second quarter, year-on-year, roughly double the long-run rate, and faster than China, let alone most other countries in the region. Unemployment, at 5.4%, has been falling steadily. The population is young and English-speaking, and a booming service sector is keeping more educated Filipinos from seeking their fortunes abroad. This burgeoning middle class—along with growing remittances from Filipinos abroad—anchors strong domestic consumption. During the six-year term of Mr Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino, the Philippine stock market boomed. Foreign direct investment tripled between 2009, the year before Mr Aquino took office, and 2015 (see chart).

                    Mr Duterte thus took over a country that was doing very well economically. His campaign focused not on abstractions such as foreign investment and the proper strategic balance between China and America, but on quotidian concerns: crime, traffic, corruption. After admitting that economic policy was not his strong suit, he promised to “employ the economic minds of the country” and leave it to them. His advisers duly released a sensible ten-point plan for the economy: it emphasised macroeconomic stability, improved infrastructure, reduced red tape and a more straightforward and predictable system of land ownership. Mr Duterte has also promised to focus on rural development and tourism. Workers’ advocates are pleased with his promise to crack down on “contractualisation”, whereby employers hire labour from third-party suppliers on short-term contracts to avoid paying benefits. Internet in the Philippines is slow and expensive; Mr Duterte has warned the incumbent telecoms firms to improve service or face foreign competition.

                    Unfortunately, Mr Duterte’s love of lynching and his propensity to slander the mothers of foreign dignitaries are making investors nervous. This month the American Chamber of Commerce warned that the anti-drug campaign was calling into question the government’s commitment to the rule of law. One financial adviser says that since Mr Duterte took over, investors are demanding a higher risk premium to hold Philippine assets. As Guenter Taus, who heads the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, puts it, “A lot of people are hesitant to put their money into the Philippines at this point.”

                    Mr Duterte’s critics fear that the drug trade will only subside temporarily, but the damage done to democratic institutions will linger. The police freely admit that drug syndicates have taken advantage of Mr Duterte’s green light to kill rivals or potential informants. Police impunity makes many nervous: one longtime foreign resident of Manila says he has started to hear fellow expats talk about leaving. He worries that an off-duty policeman could take issue with something he did, shoot him and get away scot-free. “This didn’t happen under Aquino,” he says. “You didn’t feel there was a group of people who could kill someone and not go to jail.”

                    Local businessmen worry that the president might simply denounce their firms as transgressors in some respect, without producing any evidence. Mr Duterte, after all, did something similar when he published a list of officials he accused of being drug dealers. By the same token, Mr Duterte singled out Roberto Ongpin, the chairman of an online-gambling company, as an example of a businessman with undue political influence. Shares in Mr Ongpin’s company promptly plunged more than 50%; Mr Ongpin resigned a day later, and promised to sell his stake in the firm. “Everyone is scared,” says one corporate bigwig. “None of the big business groups will stand up to him. They’re all afraid their businesses will be taken away.”

                    A similar uncertainty hangs over Mr Duterte’s foreign policy. He seems to be inclined to strengthen the Philippines’ ties with China, at the expense of its alliance with America. During the campaign he criticised his predecessor’s frosty relations with China. The two governments are said to be preparing for bilateral talks—something that has not happened since 2013, when Mr Aquino’s government took a territorial dispute with China to an international tribunal. Shortly after Mr Duterte took office, the tribunal ruled in the Philippines’ favour, but he seems reluctant to press the point.

                    During the campaign Mr Duterte mused about the dispute with China over Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing ground in the South China Sea, “Build me a train around Mindanao, build me a train from Manila to Bicol…I’ll shut up.” He also admitted that an anonymous Chinese donor had paid for some of his political ads. His reticence with China is all the more striking given his otherwise belligerent rhetoric and swaggering persona.

                    Of course, it is not clear that Mr Duterte will be able to strike a deal with China, or even that he will continue to pursue the diplomatic volte-face he seems to be contemplating. The optimistic view sees Mr Duterte as more bluster than substance. His chief of police claimed this week that the anti-drug campaign had reduced the supply of illegal drugs by 90%. That claim may allow him to declare victory and stir up some new furore, even as his advisers soldier on with the mundane business of government. Optimists speculate that if he follows through on his pledges to improve infrastructure and boost rural development, he might even leave the Philippines in a better condition than he found it.

                    The pessimistic view sees Mr Duterte continuing to lose friends and alienate people. He picks fights with America, with business, with the other branches of government. China exploits his weakness, increasing its military presence around Scarborough Shoal without building any railway lines in Mindanao. Investors stay away, and growth declines. The strongman ends up weakening his country. In the Philippines, sadly, that is a familiar story.
                    http://www.economist.com/news/asia/2...-sceptred-bile
                    Last edited by troung; 15 Sep 16,, 22:43.
                    To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

                    Comment


                    • #70
                      Whether or not this guy is correct, how did his supporters think an extra-legal death squad operated by the mayor of a third world provincial city operated?


                      Duterte’s son linked to slays, drugs



                      By: Ador Vincent S. Mayol, Maila Ager, Tarra Quismundo

                      @inquirerdotnet


                      Inquirer Visayas, INQUIRER.net

                      12:29 AM September 16th, 2016












                      Whether it’s killings, drugs and smuggling, President Duterte’s son, Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte of Davao City, has done it all, according to confessed hit man Edgar Matobato, who detailed the family’s alleged involvement in murders in the city for over 20 years.

                      Reacting to Matobato’s allegation, Vice Mayor Duterte said he would not dignify with an answer “the accusations of a madman.”

                      “Paolo Duterte has ordered to have people killed. They are like sadists,” Matobato said, drawing a deep breath as he spoke.



                      ADVERTISEMENT





                      “He has ordered so many killings. He is like that, like he’s high. He goes to our office and orders us to kill people,” Matobato said at the Senate hearing on extrajudicial killings of drug suspects in the administration’s war on illegal drugs.

                      People were treated like chickens in Davao City, according to the witness, who was presented by Sen. Leila de Lima, chair of the committee on justice and human rights. “They are killed for no reason,” he said.

                      Matobato, a confessed member of the notorious Davao Death Squad (DDS) for two decades, said the younger Duterte ordered the executions of several people on a whim, including the June 2014 killing of businessman Richard King and others.

                      “They had a rivalry over a woman,” he said, referring to King and the younger Duterte. The woman is a franchisee of McDonald’s fastfood outlet in Cebu province.

                      “It was Paolo Duterte who ordered that (King’s murder). Rebel returnees were the ones who shot him. They were given P500,000, but they were double-crossed by the police officers in our group,” he said.

                      King, who owned real estate and hotel businesses in Cebu and other parts of the country, was shot dead in his office in Barrio Obrero, Davao City, on June 12, 2014. He was 56.

                      In Cebu, the lawyer of the King family said he was not inclined to believe claims that Vice Mayor Duterte was the mastermind in the killing of the businessman.

                      “Absolutely false. I am convinced that the accused who are facing the charge in court are the perpetrators and the statements of the gunman, the lookout and driver of the getaway vehicle pointing to the accused mastermind are true,” lawyer Deolito Alvarez said in a text message to the the Inquirer.

                      Matobato said police officers led by Senior Police Officer 4 Arthur Lascañas, whom he described as the DDS team leader, abducted two hit men and also took their lives after they had killed King.

                      2 other missions



                      Authorities later arrested Paul Dave Molina Labang and siblings Rommel and Rodel dela Cerna. Labang confessed to shooting King while the Dela Cernas served as lookouts.

                      The three men pointed to Senior Supt. Leonardo Felonia, then chief of the regional police intelligence unit in Southern Mindanao, as mastermind. Felonia denied the accusations.

                      Matobato recalled two other kill missions that the younger Duterte ordered, just because the President’s son had verbal tussles with the victims while on the road.

                      One victim allegedly got Paolo Duterte’s ire for saying unsavory words.

                      Matobato said his team of eight men went to the man’s house to kill him, and they ended up killing two others who tried to shield the man from them.

                      Gas station spat

                      In another incident, the younger Duterte allegedly ordered the killing of someone with whom he had a disagreement at a gas station.

                      “He just got angry and called us. We went there to kill the man. We didn’t know why. They usually order us to kill people and we don’t even know their names,” Matobato said.

                      He said a gun was planted on the man. “He didn’t have a gun. In Davao operations, we usually plant guns as evidence [to make it appear the victim resisted],” he added.

                      Matobato, who served as security escort for the vice mayor, also alleged that the President’s son took illegal drugs, and that he was friendly with Chinese drug traders in Davao City.

                      “He uses drugs but he does not do drug pushing,” the witness said, under questioning by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

                      Matobato claimed that Duterte’s drug of choice was “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride), one of the most prevalent illegal drugs in the country.

                      Trillanes noted the irony. “He is the son of a President who is waging a determined war on drugs …. Unfortunately, other addicts are immediately killed, but here is Paolo Duterte, the vice mayor of Davao City.”

                      Oil, rice smuggling

                      Matobato also tagged Paolo Duterte in smuggling operations in Davao City, saying he had once delivered P3 million in payola for customs officers for the vice mayor at Sasa Wharf in 2013.

                      “[President Duterte] is angry at smugglers but he doesn’t know that his son handles smuggling rice and oil in Davao City,” Matobato said.

                      A consolidated report by the Special Investigation Task Group said the Davao police had spoken with several individuals about a “squabble” between King and the son of a business partner over mismanagement of Crown Regency Resorts on Boracay Island in Aklan.

                      The suspect was heard arguing with King and making a verbal death threat: “You’re fortunate you are not in Davao or else I would have killed you.”

                      In July, President Duterte, in a news conference in Malacañang, said King was involved in the illegal drug trade. He alluded to King as one of the “connections” of Herbert Colangco, a big-time drug personality, who is detained at New Bilibid Prison.

                      King’s family has cried foul over the insinuations.


                      Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/815815/...#ixzz4KNCMGh2k
                      Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
                      To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

                      Comment


                      • #71
                        I can tell you right now that none of this stuff means anything to the average Filipino. My wife voted for him. In her mind the drug trade is out of control in the Philippines with manufactured drugs. She is of the belief that most of the drug lords are actually politicians and police. I'd have to say she is probably right. Organized crime in the Philippines is almost an impossibility. When Marcos was in power no one dared operate independently and to this day I believe that is still true. This country's organized crime is the politicians and they broach no competition. My wife firmly believes Benigno Aquino is as dirty as they come. She believes the major media outlets are controlled by him and therefore all press about Duterte is questionable.

                        I made the mistake of making a comment about this and boy did I ever get an earful. Took several days for the burn to wear off. So now I don't care what happens in the Philippines. They can all kill each other as it is none of my business. My wife says that is a good position for me since I am not Filipino. Basically mind my own business. Being a smart guy that is exactly what I will do.

                        Comment


                        • #72
                          lol, he's a right bastard but he's -their- right bastard, eh?

                          bottom-line, even if Duterte was supposed to be this great street-wise enforcer he sure as hell isn't demonstrating his smarts by insulting his one great power sponsor.
                          There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

                          Comment


                          • #73
                            My Facebook news feed us full of people calling for treason charges for the media outlets that report his statements.

                            The state of emergency proclamation was drafted before they failed to stop the bombing their Intel had warned them about.

                            ‘Constitutional dictatorship’ eyed
                            By Christina Mendez (The Philippine Star) | Updated September 17, 2016 - 12:00am
                            402 20.9K googleplus2 0

                            Apart from the declaration of a state of emergency that empowers President Rodrigo Duterte to call in the military to quell lawlessness, presidential legal adviser Salvador Panelo is toying with the idea of giving the Chief Executive expanded powers under a “constitutional dictatorship.” Ace Morandante
                            MANILA, Philippines - Apart from the declaration of a state of emergency that empowers President Duterte to call in the military to quell lawlessness, presidential legal adviser Salvador Panelo is toying with the idea of giving the Chief Executive expanded powers under a “constitutional dictatorship.”

                            Such a dictatorship, Panelo explained, would give Duterte powers over both the executive and legislative branches to speed up reforms.

                            “What I am saying is, it’s constitutional. You revise the Constitution, give the powers to the President, (the) legislative and executive powers. So in a sense it’s like dictatorship because he has two powers but all of them are constitutional,” Panelo told ANC Thursday.

                            Under Article 7, Section 18 of the 1987 Constitution, the President may declare martial law in case of invasion or rebellion, when public safety requires it. And in case of invasion or rebellion, he may suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus for a period not exceeding 60 days.

                            Within 48 hours of suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, the President is also mandated by law to submit a report to Congress in person or in writing.

                            Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its members in regular or special session, may revoke or suspend the proclamation.

                            Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1


                            Panelo said the reason he wanted to propose additional powers for the President is to allow him more leeway in pushing reforms in government.

                            “We need this power, we need that. So more often than not, there is no more excuse not to fail,” Panelo said.

                            Panelo dealt with the matter even as Duterte declared a state of emergency on the account of lawless violence nationwide after the Sept. 2 deadly blast in his hometown in Davao City where 15 people were killed while 70 others were injured.

                            Panelo explained that amending the Constitution to allow Duterte to have expanded powers may address clamor for additional authority invested in the president.

                            Knowing Duterte, Panelo is optimistic that he will not abuse the additional powers, knowing him to be “a man of integrity beyond corruption, who has a political will and he walks his talk.”

                            Panelo however was quick to douse fears that Duterte will be placing the country under martial law since the threat groups – except the Abu Sayyaf – remained under control.

                            In the same interview, Panelo criticized UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein
                            To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

                            Comment


                            • #74
                              These people, all of them, are just plain crooks. We now have Sen. de Lima who wants martial law. A senator wants it? Remember she is the one to conduct the investigation of Duterte's time as mayor with his death squad. The thread above with the hit man.

                              Then Panelo wants extra powers for the President as he says he can have them under the Constitution. Funny, as how my reading says only under invasion or rebellion, none of which I see.

                              Ok, this is how one needs to look at this country. All the Senators are crooks as well as the President. They all have their own crime syndicates to make money for them and their families. They are not interested in sharing that with the general population. In fact the poorer the better for them. They are like Mafia families all vying for control of the biggest office in the land, President. Right now Duterte, technically an outsider, is President. Some Senators will hook their wagon to him and some will want to see him dead.

                              The video below is a concise description of how the Senate works behind closed doors.

                              Comment


                              • #75
                                Two examples of how politics is for family only over there. My girlfriend in 1990 was Filipina, whose father, was in the Administration of Marcos as Information Minister. She had five sisters. One of the sisters was married to a movie star who commuted back and forth. Fast forward to 2001 and I am over in the Philippines for vacation visiting my new girlfriend and future wife. I'm up visiting retired military friends around the old Clark Air Base staying at the Clarkton Hotel which was there through the 80's. I walk into the restaurant and who do I see but Roy who I haven't seen since 1994 when he used me in one of his movies. I walk in while my girlfriend goes do you know who that is??? Of course, that is Roy. I tell her to control herself while I walk up and say hi. Asks me to sit down, he is divorced now so a new younger girlfriend, and tells me he was running for Lt. Governor when I asked what was new. He had to drop out when the Governor's representative told him to drop out if he wanted to stay alive. The office was reserved for the son and he is not going up against a movie star. Seeing my girlfriends reaction I could see why.

                                Now his former wife made it out to the East Bay, around 2005, and on some East Bay Recreation District. There she met her 2nd husband, a California State Senator. Given our serving restrictions he went to Senator, then to Representative. Well this November his wife is one of the two up for the Senate office. The oldest sister still comes to my office for exams after all these years. She says you are voting for my sister, right? I said I have a problem with family political businesses being handed down. You know as in your country.

                                If you do the research one would find that many of the people appointed by Marcos to positions after he instituted martial law are still involved in the politics of the country. Boy do I recognize a lot of them.

                                http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/51-...marcos-cabinet

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X