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  • #76
    i don't know why this isn't an internet meme already.

    Click image for larger version

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    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


    • #77
      Everyday I have more and more trouble telling the difference between the Onion and actual news.
      "Draft beer, not people."

      Comment


      • #78
        So he wants to have a new branch of service, based on the previous PC which covered themselves in glory in the 1970s and early 1980s.

        Maybe he can import Chinese small arms to arm his new service along with the 45 caliber Israeli-Glocks he wants to buy.

        Duterte to revive Philippine Constabulary
        http://www.rappler.com/nation/146824...e-constabulary
        The President says he needs more law enforcers to fight urban terrorism
        Pia Ranada
        @piaranada
        Published 7:35 PM, September 20, 2016
        Updated 8:07 PM, September 20, 2016

        MORE FORCES NEEDED? President Rodrigo Duterte arrives at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City to attend the 48th anniversary of the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing on September 13. File photo by King Rodriguez/PPD



        MORE FORCES NEEDED? President Rodrigo Duterte arrives at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City to attend the 48th anniversary of the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing on September 13. File photo by King Rodriguez/PPD

        MANILA, Philippines – In order to fight urban terrorism, President Rodrigo Duterte will revive the Philippine Constabulary (PC) and put it under the command of the military.

        "I will return the Philippine Constabulary under the 4 commands – army tapos Philippine Constabulary kasi kailangan ko ng tao sa urban terrorism like the SAF (Special Action Forces)," said Duterte on Tuesday, September 20, at a military camp in Mawab, Compostela Valley. (I will return the Philippine Constabulary under the 4 commands – army and the Philippine Constabulary because I need people in urban terrorism like the SAF.)

        The President was apparently referring to the old set-up in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), when the PC was a major service command of the military along with the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, and the Philippine Navy.

        The PC began as a police force of the American colonial government in 1901, and was eventually subsumed under the military.

        As part of the military, the PC took care of peace and order concerns while the other services fought national rebel movements. The PC, for instance, took the lead in the implementation of martial law in 1972 through the arrest of activists, the takeover of key private establishments, traffic control, and even garbage collection.

        No to 'militarized police'

        The 1987 Constitution that was crafted after the EDSA People Power Revolution, however, called for the creation of a national police force that is civilian in character. The sense was that the Philippines should do away with a "militarized police."

        Congress enacted a law to implement this constitutional mandate, giving birth in 1991 to the Philippine National Police – a merger of the PC with the Integrated National Police, the police force for cities and large towns.

        This came a year before the former PC chief, retired general Fidel Ramos, won the presidency.

        The transition has not been easy, as the PNP had to slowly let go of its military mindset, structure and training, to become an effective civilian police force. Its key leaders, for example, are still graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), such as the incumbent PNP chief, Director General Ronald dela Rosa, a 1986 graduate of the PMA.

        But on Tuesday, Duterte said he needs the PC – essentially a police force under the AFP command – to suppress urban terrorism which he says is the next big threat the country faces.

        To troops he said, "Most of all you, have to reinvent yourself from a soldier sa itong (in the face of this) terrorism. It will come," he said.

        He told the military to improve how they profile bombers or terrorists.

        "Start to profile a bomber or a terrorist. Naka cap, naka shades, ang buhok fake toupee. Malikot ang mata ng terorista (They wear caps, shades, their hair is fake, is a toupee. The eyes of a terrorist move around.)" said the President.

        To address terrorism, the Duterte administration has sent thousands of additional soldiers to Sulu, the stronghold of terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.

        Following the deadly Davao City bombing, Duterte declared a state of national emergency on account of lawless violence. Through the declaration, Duterte ordered that more police and military be deployed in public areas, especially in Mindanao.

        Duterte has warned that there will likely be more "explosions" in cities in Mindanao or other parts of the country.

        He also said that some terrorist groups in Mindanao have pledged allegiance to the Islamis State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). – Rappler.com

        Israeli made Glocks for every soldier...

        Duterte to give pistols to all 120,000 PH soldiers

        Over 120,000 new pistols will be purchased from Israel, says the President
        Pia Ranada
        @piaranada
        Published 11:13 AM, September 21, 2016
        Updated 11:13 AM, September 21, 2016

        PROMISES TO MILITARY. President Duterte visits the 10th Infantry Division in Mawab, Compostela Valley on September 20, 2016. Photo by Karl Normal Alonzo/PPD



        PROMISES TO MILITARY. President Duterte visits the 10th Infantry Division in Mawab, Compostela Valley on September 20, 2016. Photo by Karl Normal Alonzo/PPD

        MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte is giving additional guns to all 120,000 soldiers in the Philippine military.

        “I have decided to arm you all, all enlisted men and women, side arms. It’s the Glock caliber .45, Glock 30,” Duterte said on Tuesday, September 20, during a visit to a military camp in Mawab, Compostela Valley.

        His announcement was greeted with applause from his audience of soldiers.

        The Glock 30 .45 caliber pistols will be purchased from Israel, said Duterte. He did not explain where the funds for this will come from.

        “You should get it as fast as Israel can produce it. I am buying so ilan kayo? Almost 130…120,000 plus. So that’s 120,000. Bibilin ko ‘yan para sa inyo,” he said.

        (I am buying so how many are you? Almost 130…120,000 plus. So that’s 120,0000. I’ll buy them for you.)

        Duterte previously said he had instructed Department of National Defense officials to go to China and Russia to buy military equipment. This time, he added India and Israel as possible sources of defense assets.

        “Ngayon, lahat ng anti-terrorism equipment, marami na ang nagpunta: China, India, Israel. Sabi ko there will be only at least one or two source sa ating intelligence equipment,” he said.

        (Now, all our anti-terrorism equipment, many have gone to China, India, Israel. I said there will be only at least one or two sources of our intelligence equipment.)

        Duterte has been visiting military camps all over the country since his 3rd week in power. During these visits, he speaks to soldiers assuring them of his loyalty, explaining the need for the government to talk to communist and Moro rebels, and making promises to take care of the military.

        The President has promised to raise their salaries and add 20,000 more soldiers to the armed forces, to buy state-of-the-art military equipment, to improve military health facilities, and to protect soldiers from jail time should cases be filed against them for their actions while “performing their duty.”

        He has also visited military hospitals, giving cash assistance and medals to soldiers wounded in action. – Rappler.com
        Last edited by troung; 23 Sep 16,, 03:38.
        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


        • #79
          I wouldn't be surprised if some of those Glocks ended up on the black market. My father tells me they needed a strong 24 hour guard around the supply depots on Leyte after he landed there or they would have been pilfered blind in 1944.

          Comment


          • #80
            I wouldn't be surprised if some of those Glocks ended up on the black market. My father tells me they needed a strong 24 hour guard around the supply depots on Leyte after he landed there or they would have been pilfered blind in 1944.
            The AFP already sells small arms and ammo which ends up in the hands of rebels and private militias; assuming he contracted with an actual provider for Glock handguns private militias, militants, and drug dealers will have a new class of pistol.

            =========
            Now he denies every saying he was connected to death squads, despite running on that.
            'Killer' rep a ploy by political rivals, Duterte says

            By Kristian Javier (philstar.com) | Updated September 22, 2016 - 6:34pm

            http://www.philstar.com/headlines/20...s-duterte-says

            MANILA, Philippines - President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday addressed allegations that he was involved in summary executions while he was mayor of Davao City, saying political rivals used his tough stance on crime to try to discredit him.

            "You must have heard, because it's a popular issue, at that time and until now, that killer daw ako. That I kill men, and they want me in prison," Duterte said during a visit to the Philippine National Police's Camp Vicente Alagar in Cagayan de Oro.

            Edgar Matobato, a witness at the Senate inquiry into the drug-related killings said last week that Duterte, while mayor, formed the so-called Davao Death Squad vigilante group and ordered several killings of suspected criminals. Matobato said he carried out around 50 killings himself.

            Duterte, speaking to police officers on Thursday, said that Davao City was in chaos during the transition between the administrations of Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino. Duterte was appointed officer-in-charge vice mayor after the 1986 People Power revolution and was elected mayor in 1988.

            The president said that, at the time, the government gave guns to people who identified themselves as anti-communist.

            "A lot of tao sa Davao halos may armas. And it became an anarchy for everybody," Duterte said.



            He said that to maintain order in the city, he told criminals there to surrender peacefully and to not offer violent resistance or they would die.

            "Sabi ko sa pulis, just do your work. Arrest them, overcome the resistance and if there is violence, kill them."

            This, he said, was used against him by political rivals.

            "Every time may mamatay, aking kasalanan," Duterte said.

            In December 2015, Duterte said in an interview over DZMM that he had killed suspected criminals in the past, including three kidnappers who refused to surrender when he ordered them to put their hands up.

            He also previously admitted links to the DDS, but reversed himself and said that this was not true.

            "I always use the word. Walang DDS dyan. That is Davao Development System. That is my guiding principle," he said in May 2015. He also denied an earlier admission that he had people killed as mayor.



            Duterte also said Thursday that the government will invite officials of the United Nations and European Union, which have been voicing concerns on a rise in drug-related deaths in the country since June, to look into the situation in the Philippines.

            He said, however, that the representatives should be ready for a debate, saying the investigation would not be a "one-way street."

            Philippines: Playing dead to survive Duterte's drug war


            Al Jazeera speaks to a man who used an extreme tactic to survive a war on drugs that has killed more than 1,500 people.

            By Ted Regencia
            http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/0...173054835.html

            Manila, Philippines - He was left for dead for an hour, his bullet ridden body slumped face down in a dimly lit corner near Manila Bay, soaked in his own pool of blood dripping onto the concrete pavement.

            Police said that Francisco Santiago Jr and another man, George Huggins, were shot dead during an anti-drug operation in the early hours of September 13.

            But, as reporters arrived at the scene of the police shooting, Santiago, who had been shot multiple times, started showing signs of life.

            Stunned onlookers watched as his legs began twitching. Moments later, the 28-year-old sat upright, propping himself against a car and holding his bloodied arms in the air.

            Police officers at the scene surrounded Santiago - pistols ready - before putting him in a car and taking him to the hospital.


            Death toll rises as Philippines intensifies war on drugs




            Speaking from his hospital bed last weekend, Santiago told Al Jazeera that his rise from the dead was not a miracle, but a tactic to stay alive.

            He alleged police had shot him multiple times and tried to kill him.

            Breathing with the assistance of an oxygen tank and his bullet wounds bandaged, Santiago said he played dead "for about an hour" after being shot by a plain-clothes police officer.

            Lying on the street, he hoped he would not succumb to his wounds as he waited for anyone but the police to find out he was still alive.



            He denied the official police account he had sold methamphetamine, locally known as shabu, to an undercover anti-narcotics agent in the early hours of that morning. He also was not armed, he said, denying a police report that he had pointed a .22 Black Widow revolver at the undercover officer.

            The driver of a motorised rickshaw, Santiago claimed that he was the victim of a police buy-and-bust "set up", and that he had been picked up by police for questioning about 12 hours before being shot.

            Santiago also said that the officer who shot him that night was the same plain-clothes policeman who had boarded his rickshaw earlier that day and took him to the station for questioning.

            Twelve hours later, he was shot in the chest, upper abdomen and both arms. The second man shot at the scene, Huggins, died of his wounds.




            Francisco Santiago Jr. during the police operation [Ezra Acayan/Al Jazeera]

            3,541 drug-related killings

            Santiago is a rare survivor of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's all-out war on drugs, his mother and a human-rights worker said.

            Since June 30, when President Duterte took power and launched his war against drug traffickers and users, the police have reported over 3,100 drug-related killings, including 1,506 people killed in police operations up to September 16. Police revised that number down from 3,541.

            Despite mounting international condemnation as the death toll spirals upwards, Duterte told a gathering of troops near his home city of Davao on Tuesday that he had ordered authorities who are taking part in anti-drug operations, to "stick to your mandate and do no wrong".

            The drug problem in the Philippines was more serious than he expected, Duterte said, before offering some of his familiar advice: "If a suspect draws out a gun, kill him. If he doesn't, kill him anyway".

            "Duterte's frequent exhortations for extrajudicial violence against suspected drug users and drug dealers have effectively given Philippine police a 'license to kill' without any fear of accountability for their actions," said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch.

            The case also underscores the "dire need for an urgent, impartial investigation into the circumstances of the alarming surge in killings by police" since Duterte came to power, he said.

            Santiago was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday and is now detained at a Manila police station, his mother said.




            Santiago was taken to the hospital after 'rising from the dead' [Ezra Acayan/Al Jazeera]

            During his brief detention at the police station prior to being shot, Santiago was coerced into admitting he was a "tulak" - slang in the Philippines for a drug dealer - and was forced, though he refused, to "try out and hold" a pistol, his mother, Ligaya Santiago, told Al Jazeera.

            She also said police had pressured her son to fabricate a story to the media about the events on the night of shooting.

            Between his detention and the shooting, Santiago and Huggins were ordered to board the rickshaw and drive around the area near the station, before they were shot.

            Roy Candelario, the police investigator who first reported the double shooting to his station, insisted that the shooting of Santiago and Huggins was a legitimate police operation. If police had wanted to execute the men, both would have died, he assured.

            "If it was a summary execution, then the shooter would have already done the 'finishing' on the suspect," Candelario told Al Jazeera.

            "Do you know what 'finishing' is? It’s shooting someone in the head."

            Manila district police chief Joel Coronel was quoted in a newspaper as saying that Santiago was the "main target and was on the drug watch list".

            'Police poseur buyer'

            The official police report into the double shooting identified Huggins as a gang member, who previously surrendered to authorities after being linked to the illegal drugs trade.

            According to the report, an undercover police officer acted as a "police poseur buyer" and bought one sachet of shabu in the amount of P500 ($10.64)" from Santiago.

            "However, after having received the marked money", Santiago reportedly noticed "that their client was an undercover law enforcer who eventually pushed him hard outside" the motorised rickshaw.

            Huggins then "pulled out a caliber .38 revolver and fired successive shots" towards the undercover police officer "but missed".

            "Sensing that his life is in jeopardy" the undercover officer, Orlando Gonzales, "traded shots" with Huggins, "who sustained gunshot wounds and met his untimely death".

            Around the same time, Santiago also reportedly pulled out a .22 revolver "and level the same towards the police poseur buyer".

            Santiago "sustained gunshot wounds in the body and collapsed to the ground". He was later taken to a nearby hospital after "seeing sign of life", the report added.

            Santiago admitted to Al Jazeera that he had used drugs, but was adamant: "I am not a drug dealer".




            Francisco Santiago Jr. during the police operation [Ezra Acayan/Al Jazeera]

            On the night of the shooting, a man wearing a light-coloured shirt and dark jacket was in the area, according to a witness who could not see if Santiago and Huggins were armed or not because it was dark.

            "After the shooting, I saw police officers kick the bodies of the two suspects, as if to check if they were still alive or not," the witness said.

            "The police couldn't do anything because the reporters were already there. So, they just rushed the man to the hospital, while the reporters chased after them."

            Santiago is facing four charges, including violation of the Philippine drug law, assault on a police officer, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and frustrated murder, according to the Manila Police District report.

            His mother also said that he was being denied a lawyer.

            An organisation of lawyers in the Philippines, the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), has offered Santiago its assistance, and condemned Duterte's war on drugs as "an assault on the fundamental constitutional rights to life, due process and presumption of innocence".

            "By undertaking tactics ... such as killing rather than arresting suspects and bringing them before the bar of justice, law enforcement officials are betraying public trust," FLAG Secretary-General Maria Socorro I Diokno said in a statement sent to Al Jazeera.

            Law enforcement officials, Diokno said, must remember to perform their duties "with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice".
            Last edited by troung; 23 Sep 16,, 13:40.
            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


            • #81
              Mere rounding error.
              Duterte hikes drug use figure anew despite little evidence

              http://www.philstar.com/headlines/20...ittle-evidence

              By Camille Diola (philstar.com) | Updated September 23, 2016 - 2:48pm



              This article is a supplement to Philstar.com NewsLab's special report on Duterte's war on drugs.

              MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte again revised upward his estimate of illegal drug use in the Philippines, saying there will soon be 4 million drug "addicts." The number, however, comes from vague sources.

              Encouraging cops in Cagayan de Oro on Thursday to carry out the war on drugs, Duterte said "there are about 3 million addicts contaminated by drugs," citing a supposed estimate two to three years ago by former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Dionisio Santiago.

              "Sabi ni Santiago before, 2 (to) 3 years ago, there are already about 3 million addicts contaminated by drugs. The recent events would show that there are about, we're counting, it would hit 1 million by the end of the month," he said.

              "So, 3 million plus 1 million is 4 million," he added.

              Citing Indonesian President Joko Widodo, whom he met earlier this month, Duterte said Indonesia has about 4 million drug "addicts."


              "We're catching up with Indonesia," he said.

              The president made no distinction between drug users and drug addicts, but official numbers count the prevalence of drug use at 1.8 percent of the country's 101-million population .

              In this recent national survey, the Dangerous Drugs Board counted about 1.76 million illegal drug users in 2015. The board did not classify them as addicts, but only drug users in general.

              It also found at around 4.74 million Filipinos took illegal substances at least once in their lifetime.

              Both figures—whether the recent 1.8-percent prevalence or the 4.74-percent rate of once-in-their-lifetime users—are below the global average of 5.2 percent.



              The Philippine government, moreover, lumps drug users regardless of the type of substances these users consume. Six of 10 users surveyed admitted to using shabu, while marijuana has the lowest trial rate. Experts agree, however, that drug users use more than one type of illegal substance.

              Indemonstrable estimate

              In the past months, Duterte repeatedly said there are 3.4 million drug users in the country—a figure he uses to justify the stringent crackdown on illegal drugs, which led to the deaths of thousands in summary killings.

              The president then recently revised the number to 3.7 million, saying he is counting the 700,000 users and pushers who "surrendered" to authorities.

              Even PDEA's proposed computations, however, cannot demonstrate the number.

              In documents provided to Philstar.com, PDEA claims the figure is based on the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime's data that 5.2 percent of ages 15 to 64 used illegal drugs.


              Part of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Authority's document submitted to Philstar.com where the agency applies the global figure for drug prevalence to the Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte initially claimed that 3.4 million Filipinos use drugs.

              "Using the UN percentage on drug users, 65.1 million (ages 15 to 64) multiplied by 0.052 is equal to 3.4 million," PDEA's document shows.

              The 5.2-percent figure, however, is the global average of drug use that could not validly be applied to the Philippines.

              The campaign against illegal drugs has led to the deaths of more than 3,500 people in police operations and vigilante executions, condemned human rights groups as well as the United Nations, United States and European Union. — Philstar.com Newslab; Video report by Efigenio Toledo IV; Infographic by RP Ocampo

              .

              Click here to join the discussion
              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


              • #82
                Give it a few months and the world would cheer s Chinese push through the SCS.

                Duterte tasks PNP chief to probe black killings in US

                Friday, September 23, 2016
                By
                RUTH ABBEY GITA
                PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Friday that he had tasked Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa to send a team to the United States to investigate the series of killings of black men by American forces.
                “I told Bato (Dela Rosa), ‘Prepare a general who will be sent to America [as] rapporteur.’ Let him investigate and we are interested to the shooting of black people in America,” Duterte told police in a camp visit in General Santos City.
                Carolina Governor Pat McCrory called for a state of emergency in Charlotte on Wednesday night after violence escalated as residents continue to protest the shooting of an African-American man by police.
                Duterte hit the US for its intention to lecture him over human rights while "black" people in America are suffering.
                "I said, America [keeps on insisting to bring up] human rights. Now, Charlotte [has declared] state of emergency," he said.
                "Meaning, before you condemn, [make sure you have untainted reputation]. You know, men judge best when they condemn," Duterte added. (Sunnex)
                ......

                Duterte 'admitted complicity' in Davao killings – WikiLeaks

                This is based on a confidential cable by US ambassador Kristie Kenney, quoting statements from then CHR regional director Alberto Sipaco Jr

                Paterno Esmaquel II
                @paterno_ii
                Published 8:00 AM, September 25, 2016
                Updated 10:46 AM, September 25, 2016
                CHIEF EXECUTIVE. President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a message during his visit to the Police Regional Office-12 Headquarters in General Santos City on September 23, 2016. File photo by Karl Norman Alonzo/PPD


                CHIEF EXECUTIVE. President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a message during his visit to the Police Regional Office-12 Headquarters in General Santos City on September 23, 2016. File photo by Karl Norman Alonzo/PPD

                MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte dared Senator Leila de Lima on Tuesday, September 20, to prove that he was behind extrajudicial killings in Davao City when he was the mayor there.

                A confidential cable dated May 8, 2009, which was published by WikiLeaks, said that Duterte once "admitted complicity" in vigilante killings in Davao City.

                The cable, written by then-US ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney, quoted statements from then Commission on Human Rights (CHR) regional director Alberto Sipaco Jr.

                Kenney wrote: "Commission on Human Rights regional director Alberto Sipaco (strictly protect) at a private meeting affirmed that Mayor Duterte knows about the killings and permits them. Recounting a conversation he once had with Duterte, who is his close friend and former fraternity brother, Sipaco said he pleaded with the Mayor to stop vigilante killings and support other methods to reduce crime, like rehabilitation programs for offenders."

                "According to Sipaco, the Mayor responded, 'I'm not done yet,'" Kenney said.

                Sipaco reportedly said he "repeatedly attempted to reason with Duterte that the killings were unlawful and detrimental to society, but Duterte refused to broach the issue."

                "Sipaco expressed a sense of helplessness over the killings, as well as concern for his personal safety, but acknowledged that the CHR was taking its mission in Davao very seriously," Kenney said.

                The group that leaked the cable, WikiLeaks, is a giant library of more than 10 million documents and other papers. It was founded by Julian Assange, an Australian computer programmer, in 2006. While governments avoid confirming WikiLeaks documents, they rarely deny the authenticity of the leaked documents there.

                Sought for comment, the US embassy in the Philippines refused to confirm this cable from WikiLeaks.

                Molly Koscina, press attaché at the US embassy, said in an email to Rappler on September 20, "We do not comment on the substance or authenticity of materials, including allegedly classified documents, which may have been leaked."

                Rappler sought a comment, too, from Communications Secretary Martin Andanar on September 20 about this WikiLeaks cable. Andanar acknowledged our request on the same day, but has not sent a statement as of posting time.

                'Lex Talionis' brothers

                Rappler also emailed Sipaco on September 20 and September 21, using the email address provided by his former office, CHR Davao. Sipaco has not responded to our emails as of posting time.

                Sipaco was Duterte's schoolmate, having graduated from San Beda College, according to an article by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

                Sipaco also helped Duterte in establishing a chapter of their fraternity, Lex Talionis, at the Ateneo de Davao University, the same Inquirer article said.

                (Lex talionis refers to "the principle of retributive justice based on the Mosaic law of 'eye for eye, tooth for tooth,'" the Merriam-Webster Dictionary says.)

                Nearly 7 years after Kenney sent her confidential cable, the Ombudsman Field Investigation Office cited Sipaco in another document, this time advising the CHR under chairperson Jose Martin Gascon.

                In a letter dated January 15, 2016, Aileen Maqueda of the Ombudsman Field Investigation Office quoted from the "final disposition" of the complaint against Duterte over the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS).

                The final disposition states: "There being no evidence to support the 'killings attributed or attributable to the DDS,' much less the involvement of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and the local police officials of Davao to (sic) said acts, this Office tends to agree with the Commission’s Regional Director Sipaco that 'it would be unbecoming of the Commission if through chismis and other gossips, we would be relying on it as a fact already when there are no supporting justification (sic).'"

                Still, self-confessed killer Edgar Matobato, who was presented by De Lima, recently testified before the Senate that Duterte instructed the DDS to execute people.

                Critics have slammed Duterte for more than 1,400 extrajudicial killings in Davao City, which he led as mayor for more than two decades.

                Duterte has, however, denied ever ordering any extrajudicial killing when he was Davao City mayor, even as he had previously boasted of killing thousands of criminals.

                The term "Davao Death Squad", according to him, was invented by his political opponents in Davao City. – Rappler.com
                Last edited by troung; 25 Sep 16,, 16:10.
                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


                • #83
                  Filtered By: News
                  NEWS
                  SEEKS RUSSIA'S HELP
                  Duterte: I'm about 'to cross the Rubicon' with the United States
                  Published September 26, 2016 5:28pm
                  Updated September 26, 2016 9:29pm
                  President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday hinted that he's about to go past a point of no return in terms of the Philippines' relationship with the United States, revealing that he had sought help from Russia about the matter.

                  "I'm about to cross the Rubicon between me and the United States. At least for the next six years. I would need your help," he said, referring to his meeting earlier this month with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.

                  The Philippines and the US are treaty allies, having signed a mutual defense treaty in 1951 and a visiting forces agreement in 1998. The US is also the Philippines' biggest foreign investor and the country's second biggest export market next to Japan.

                  But the relationship has been frayed under Duterte, who has bristled at criticism about the rising death toll of his administration's drug war from the US and other institutions such as the United Nations and the European Union. He has repeatedly expressed his desire to rid Mindanao of American troops supposedly to pursue peace talks, while declaring earlier this month that he wanted to stop joint patrols with the US in the South China Sea amid a maritime dispute with Beijing.

                  Duterte, meanwhile, has expressed openness to welcome more investments from China and Russia. He has also raised the possibility of buying arms from the two nations.

                  Meanwhile, with trips to China and Japan also in the works, Duterte bared plans to visit Russia.

                  “After China, I think I’ll go to Japan and I’ll go to Russia,” Duterte said during his press conference after the oath-taking of the officers of the Malacanang press groups.

                  'US doesn't like me'

                  advertisement

                  When asked to clarify his statement, Duterte noted that United States needed to get the Congress' approval before its President can declare war to help an ally.

                  "There is a RP-US Pact that was in the ‘50s. It says that an attack on the Philippines would be an attack of the United States," Duterte said.

                  "But in the United States Constitution, it says that before a President can declare war, with anybody in defense of an ally, he has to Congress for permission to go to war. That’s the problem. So if Congress will not give him that authority, what will happen to us?"

                  Duterte said he is aware that the United States did not like him, comparing himself to deposed leaders such as Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.

                  “Iraq, Libya, Syria. It’s in turmoil, every day bomba nang bomba. Ano’ng gusto ninyo? Ayaw na ninyo kay Saddam. Ayaw na ninyo kay Gaddafi. Ayaw ninyo kay Assad. That’s the problem. Ayaw ninyo ako, tapos idale ninyo ang buong Pilipinas,” Duterte said.

                  In the same press conference, Duterte said he didn't have any plans to junk alliances.

                  "I am not really going to break ties but we are opening alliances with China," he said. —JST, GMA News

                  - See more at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story....cSvLAOrg.dpuf
                  ....
                  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


                  • #84
                    Saves us money in the long run.

                    TO APPEASE CHINA, NO MORE WAR GAMES
                    Duterte announces end to military exercises with US
                    Published September 28, 2016 11:41pm
                    Updated September 28, 2016 11:49pm
                    President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said he wants an end to the Philippines' joint military exercises with the United States, saying the upcoming scheduled war games will be the last under his term.

                    Duterte made the announcement in a speech before the Filipino community in Vietnam.

                    "You are scheduled to hold war games again, which China does not want. I will serve notice to you now that this will be the last military exercise. Jointly, Philippines, the US, the last one," Duterte said, while adding he will continue to uphold the Philippines' treaties with the US.

                    An amphibious landing exercise will be held on October 4 to 12 on multiple locations in Luzon and Palawan and will involve some 1,400 US troops and 500 Filipino soldiers. Military leaders from the two countries have also started preparing for a new set of exercises next year.

                    Duterte said he is only allowing the upcoming exercise to continue to allow Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to fulfill commitments.

                    "Ayoko lang mapahiya si Defense Sec," said Duterte.

                    The Philippines and the US last conducted joint exercises in April, before Duterte took office. The move infuriated Beijing, with Chinese state media warning against "outsiders" interfering in the South China Sea issue.

                    China and the Philippines are embroiled in a maritime row, with Manila securing a tribunal decision invalidating much of Beijing's historical claims last July. But Duterte has sought closer ties with China, in stark contrast to his predecessor Benigno Aquino III.

                    Treaty allies

                    The Philippines and the US are treaty allies, having signed a mutual defense treaty in 1951 and a visiting forces agreement in 1998. The US is also the Philippines' biggest foreign investor and the country's second biggest export market next to Japan.

                    But the relationship has been frayed under Duterte, who has bristled at criticism about the rising death toll of his administration's drug war from the US and other institutions such as the United Nations and the European Union.

                    On Monday, he said that he is about to "cross the Rubicon" in his relationship with the US.

                    Prior to that, Duterte expressed his desire to rid Mindanao of American troops supposedly to pursue peace talks.

                    He also declared earlier this month that he wanted to stop joint patrols with the US in the South China Sea amid the maritime dispute with China, which he again reiterated in his Hanoi address.

                    "There will never be an occasion that I will send a gray ship there. Not because I am afraid. Not because takot ako," said Duterte.

                    Washington and Manila agreed on joint patrols in the South China Sea before Duterte's election win this year, and a Pentagon spokesman said earlier this month three had been conducted from March until July.

                    Strained relations

                    Richard Jacobson, an American security expert, said Duterte's posturing could embolden China, which is expected to exploit what it perceives as a crack in the US-Philippines relationship.

                    "One could say that the U.S.-Philippines relationship might become strained and even shaken," Jacobson told Reuters, but he doubts if it will be broken.

                    "The U.S. geopolitical stakes in the region are much too high to react to his hyperbole. The current attitude in Washington is mature - more of patience than feeling provoked." —report from Tina Panganiban-Perez/JST, GMA News with Reuters

                    - See more at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story....SlBkhgdH.dpuf
                    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


                    • #85
                      he talks a lot but nothing's happening. well, other than a bunch of state-sanctioned murders.
                      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


                      • #86
                        He is moving as quickly as he can to scuttle relations with the USA while bullying local political dynasties into line.

                        It will be neat to see what China ends up giving him.

                        His anti American antics would have gotten better press 15 years ago than they do today

                        NEWS
                        Duterte in Hanoi: I heard CIA out to kill me
                        Published September 29, 2016 4:22pm
                        Updated September 29, 2016 4:32pm
                        By TRISHA MACAS, GMA News
                        President Rodrigo Duterte said he had received reports that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) wants him dead.

                        Duterte made the remarks in a speech before the Filipino community in Hanoi on Wednesday night.

                        “Sabi nila pa-plano-plano raw ang CIA na patayin ako. Susmaryosep, ginoo," Duterte said with a straight face while discussing how he would not allow a war with China over disputed waters in the South China Sea.

                        Duterte on Wednesday night also said that the Philippines' joint military exercises with the US in October will be the last under his administration.

                        While saying that he would honor the Philippines' treaty obligations with the country's most influential ally and the world's only remaining superpower, Duterte in another speech indicated that he was opening lines with Russia and China

                        Before briefly mentioning the alleged threat from the US' intelligence agency, Duterte said he would not abandon the favorable ruling made by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Philippines' case against China's excessive claims in the South China Sea.

                        However, he added that it was not the time to confront China's military with the tribunal's ruling especially if the battleground will be in the archipelago.

                        advertisement

                        "I am not ready to commit the soldiers of this country just to be massacred and besides—besides t— ina, ang battleground, ang Palawan? Naloko na," Duterte said.

                        "Eh kung dalhin natin doon sa San Francisco okay ako. [laughter] Oo, ‘yung China, mamili kayo diyan," he added.

                        “Hindi natin kaya ang China so sabi ko—even with the help of America. So we talk,” Duterte said.

                        In jest, he then asked the CIA to give him more time to get used to being a President.

                        “Bigyan mo muna ako ng panahon mag-isip [bilang] Presidente," Duterte said before moving on to another topic.

                        On Monday, the president claimed that the US disliked him, the same way it disliked Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, and Bashar al-Assad of Syria. —NB, GMA News

                        - See more at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story....WeCaCU7t.dpuf
                        Duterte decries Hitler comparison
                        By Patricia Lourdes Viray (philstar.com) | Updated September 30, 2016 - 11:28am
                        72 408 googleplus0 0
                        http://www.philstar.com/headlines/20...ler-comparison

                        MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte lashed out at his critics who had been comparing him to Germany's Adolf Hitler.

                        The president called out the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU) and the United States (US) anew for criticizing his anti-drugs campaign in the country.

                        "Kaya kung ikaw nandito bakit hindi ka magmumura? (So if you are here, why wouldn't you curse?) You're portrayed or pictured to be some cousin of Hitler and yet do not even bother to find out, to investigate," Duterte said in his speech after arriving from Vietnam early Friday.

                        The president noted that Hitler killed three million Jews but said he is also willing to take down three million drug users to solve the drug issue in the Philippines.

                        "Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now, there are three million drug addicts. I'd be happy to slaughter them" Duterte said.

                        FACT CHECK: Are there 3 million drug addicts in the Philippines?

                        "At least if Germany had Hitler the Philippines would have... you know my victims, I would like to be all criminals to finish the problem of my country and save the next generation from perdition," the president added.

                        Duterte stressed that not a single case was filed against him when the Commission on Human Rights was looking into his alleged links with the Davao Death Squad during his term as mayor.

                        The international community has been criticizing Duterte's drug war due to the spate of extrajudicial and vigilante killings of drug suspects.

                        "Okay lang sa akin, sanay ako sa pulitika. Lahat ng kababuyan dumating na sa aking buhay. Pero itong mga ganito... look kayong US, EU you can call me anything but I was never into or I am never into hypocrisy like you," Duterte said.

                        The chief executive argued that both the EU and the US have closed its doors to migrants from the Middle East.

                        "There are migrants escaping from the Middle East. You allow them to rot and then you're worried about the deaths of about one thousand, or two thousand, or three thousand," the president said.

                        Duterte earlier said that he is willing to face investigation by the UN, the US and the EU over the killings of drug suspects as long as they follow Philippine laws.

                        te of emergency won’t be lifted yet – Bato
                        By Giovanni Nilles (The Philippine Star) | Updated September 30, 2016 - 12:00am
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                        PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said that for as long as the illegal drug trade poses a real threat to the country, he would not ask for the suspension of that status. Facebook.com/RonaldBatoDelaRosa

                        MANILA, Philippines - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa is not yet recommending the lifting of the state of emergency imposed nationwide as this was linked to the campaign against illegal drugs.

                        Dela Rosa said that for as long as the illegal drug trade poses a real threat to the country, he would not ask for the suspension of that status.

                        President Duterte placed the entire country under a state of emergency on account of lawless violence following the bombing of Davao City’s night market, which left 15 people dead and 70 injured last Sept. 2.

                        In a press briefing in Malacaņang yesterday, Dela Rosa said there is still a lot to be done in the war against illegal drugs.

                        “The threat is linked to our war on drugs, as of now I cannot advise the President to lift the state of lawlessness,” Dela Rosa said.

                        Six months, he added, is not enough time to really clear the country of the illegal drug menace.

                        Although more than 720,000 drug users or pushers have surrendered to the police, Dela Rosa said this is still far from the target 1.8 million.

                        He admitted that the government wants to provide adequate rehabilitation centers for drug addicts.

                        Some local government units, he added, are taking the initiative of establishing rehabilitation centers for their constituents.

                        He advised barangay units to continue monitoring residents who have previously surrendered and admitted to being drug users or pushers.

                        Duterte earlier projected a total of four million Filipinos hooked on drugs by the end of the year.

                        As for the reduction in drug volume, Dela Rosa said the police were effective in cutting supply by 70 percent to 80 percent, adding that the street value of shabu has gone up by at least 300 percent.

                        He also promised to work on show business personalities who may be involved in the illicit trade.

                        He was supposed to get this list when Duterte inspected a shabu laboratory in Arayat, Pampanga early this week but the President reportedly asked him to wait until he comes back from a working visit in Vietnam.
                        Erring policemen

                        Dela Rosa warned erring policemen involved in illegal drugs that they could be shot.

                        He said the solution for police scalawags is not Oplan Tokhang (knock and plead), wherein law enforcers knock on doors of drug offenders and ask them to surrender.

                        The President has said that about 11,000 policemen and 16,000 barangay offcials are involved in illegal drugs.

                        “They are policemen. Why would you subject them to Tokhang? It should be Tok-bang. You knock and then bang. That’s how it should be,” Dela Rosa told Malacaņang reporters in jest yesterday.

                        “They are policemen. They should have behaved properly. They should not have been involved in drugs,” he added.

                        Dela Rosa said the PNP’s Internal Affairs Service is now investigating the policemen with alleged drug links.

                        He admitted that the PNP still has a lot of work to do with regard to its illegal drugs crackdown.

                        “Our new target is 1.8 million surrenderees, including those who were neutralized, arrested or killed,” the PNP chief said.

                        “We now have about 720,000 surrenderees and add to that the 15,000 persons who were arrested. We also have those who were killed in police operations. We still have to do more in the demand side,” he added.

                        The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is building up cases against at least 50 local government officials that Duterte had earlier linked to illegal drugs.

                        DILG Undersecretary John Castriciones, head of Task Force Agila, said several teams are gathering evidence against what they call “Persons of Intest” from Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

                        TF Agila, the composite group of top officials from the DILG, National Police Commission (Napolcom) and the PNP has been conducting discreet investigations on the concerned politicians.

                        Castriciones admitted that there are dangerous complications involved in their probe, as some individuals maintain private armed groups.

                        “There are reports that some local executives named by the President are being protected by notorious armed groups such as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters or BIFF,” said Castriciones.

                        Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno had ordered Castriciones and TF Agila to observe due process in conducting the investigation. – With Alexis Romero, Cecille Suerte Felipe
                        Last edited by troung; 30 Sep 16,, 06:28.
                        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


                        • #87
                          Duterte got his Lims wrong, says Aguirre
                          SHARES: 2251
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                          By: Ador Vincent S. Mayol
                          @inquirerdotnet
                          Inquirer Visayas
                          06:00 AM October 2nd, 2016

                          CEBU CITY, Philippines—Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said yesterday President Duterte made a mistake when he pointed to Cebuano businessman Peter Lim as the “Peter Lim” referred to in a drug matrix presented to the media in July.

                          That “Peter Lim” was a drug lord slain by authorities a month earlier, he said.

                          In a news conference in Manila on Friday, Aguirre said there was a mistake in the drug matrix presented by the President in July.

                          He said the Peter “Jaguar” Lim in the matrix was actually Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz, said to be the top drug lord in Central Visayas who was killed by police in an alleged shoot-out in Las Piņas City on June 19.

                          “Baka mali ang pagkasabi kasi talagang patay na (Perhaps there was a mistake because he’s really dead). By the time the drug matrix came out, Jaguar was already dead…It happened on June 19 before the President assumed office,” Aguirre said in a press conference aired over GMA News Online.

                          Aguirre said a relative of Diaz, who surrendered to authorities after the drug lord was killed, confirmed that the slain drug lord was the real Jaguar.

                          He was referring to Jaguar’s cousin, Reynaldo “Jumbo” Diaz, who was arrested by police in Matnog, Sorsogon, last Sept. 17 when six armed personnel of the Department of Justice and the police swooped down on his hideout to serve warrants for the violation of dangerous drugs act and for frustrated murder.

                          Police said Reynaldo took over Diaz’s operation after he was killed in June.

                          In a news conference, Aguirre clarified that Reynaldo was a state witness under the DOJ’s Witness Protection Program.

                          Although Lim was not the Peter Lim in the matrix, Aguirre said the National Bureau of Investigation would continue to investigate the businessman for any involvement in illegal drugs.

                          “Maaaring kapangalan lang niya pero drug lord din siya (There’s a possibility they have the same name but he’s also a drug lord),” he said.

                          But it was enough to make Lim’s lawyer, Pedro Leslie Salva, happy.

                          “Very good,” he said in a phone interview.

                          “I knew from the start that the truth will set us free. I pity his family. It’s definitely not easy to be accused of something you never committed,” he said.
                          ...
                          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


                          • #88
                            A nation which spent no money and hid behind a defense agreement with the USA has decided to save us the trouble and end the agreements itself; rather nice of him


                            Duterte threatens to stop EDCA
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                            By: Christine O. Avendaņo
                            @inquirerdotnet
                            Philippine Daily Inquirer
                            08:00 PM October 2nd, 2016

                            MANILA — President Duterte threatened on Sunday (Oct. 2), to stop the implementation of the Philippines-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) as he revealed he would soon announce a new policy that his government would observe in connection with the country’s ties with the United States.

                            Mr. Duterte said his government has been reviewing the EDCA, reminding the US government that while it might be an official document, it was just an executive agreement not even signed two years ago by then president Benigno Aquino III, but only by his official representatives in the negotiation for EDCA.

                            He said EDCA, which was signed in 2014 but was not implemented until the Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality in January, was only signed by then defense secretary Voltaire Gazmin and a US aide.

                            “Better think twice now because I would be asking you to leave the Philippines altogether,” President Duterte said to the US government. That would happen, said the President, if the US were “unable to produce the signature bearing the permit to conduct war games.”

                            The President made the statement as he reiterated he would strengthen the country’s ties with China and Russia, disclosing for the first time he had talked to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev while he was in Laos for the Asean summit last month.

                            The President said he met with Medvedev and told him about the way the US was humiliating him and that the latter told him he would help him.

                            He said China, on the other hand, told him to go with Beijing because the US would not be able to give Philippines some assistance.

                            Reiterating the insults he got from the US, President Duterte said “tomorrow I will be friends with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and (Chinese President) Xi Jinping.”

                            In a speech in Bacolod City where he attended the 37th Maskara festival, the President slammed the US for the reprimand and insult that he said it has been hurling at him over his deadly war on drugs.
                            “If you Americans are angry with me, then I am also angry with you,” he said.

                            Mr. Duterte decried that the US has not been helping the country in its war on drugs, saying his administration did not have money and has been working on a national budget prepared by the administration of Benigno Aquino III that did not anticipate the extent of the drug problem in the country.

                            He again reiterated that he has been considering to have Americans in Mindanao pack their bags so that he could negotiate with a group of Muslim scholars whom he said refused to negotiate with him due to the US presence in the South.

                            He said these scholars told him they would talk to him but would not negotiate with him about peace “as long as the Americans are in Mindanao.”

                            “This prompted me to say there may be a time I may ask the US to leave Mindanao to be able to connect to them and talk and maybe they will decide to negotiate,” he said.

                            “I’m just being your President,” he added, reminding that he had earlier said he would “open another front in our foreign policy” with the US due to the humiliation it has heaped on him. SFM
                            ...



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                            Duterte apologizes to Jews for Hitler remark
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                            By: Yuji Vincent Gonzales
                            @YGonzalesINQ
                            INQUIRER.net
                            05:35 PM October 2nd, 2016

                            President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday apologized to the Jewish community for his remarks that drew parallels between Adolf Hitler’s killing of Jews during the Holocaust and his bloody war on drugs.

                            Speaking at the opening of the 37th Masskara festival in Negros Occidental, Duterte said he did not intend to derogate the memory of slain Jews.

                            “There was never an intention on my part to derogate the memory of 6 million Jews murdered by the Germans,” Duterte said.

                            “I apologize profoundly and deeply to the Jewish community,” he added.

                            Upon arriving from an official visit to Vietnam, Duterte on Friday said he would be “happy to slaughter” three million drug addicts in the Philippines by himself in the same way that Hitler had murdered millions of Jews before and during the Second World War.

                            “If Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have …,” Duterte told reporters in Davao City, before pausing and pointing to himself.

                            The President’s remarks drew a barrage of condemnation from the United Nations, German and Israeli governments, the Pentagon, and international rights groups. JE/rga
                            Last edited by troung; 02 Oct 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


                            • #89
                              More great comments form him today. I can see this is going to hell in a hand basket faster than anyone probably could have imagined. I wonder if he has any clue how much money is sent over every week by those in the U.S.? The Philippines only stays afloat via money transfers by ex-pats and the biggest total is from the United States. I say cut them loose and see what kind of great deals they can get from hard bargainers like the Russians and Chinese. Going to be a long six years and it has only been 13 weeks. Scary what things could be like in a year or two on the streets over there.

                              Comment


                              • #90
                                I agree, just let the place sink. Remove the basing deal and cut military and police aid. He seems to want to run the next Myanmar. It's quite amazing. Chinese vassal states are a who's who's of failed states.

                                How to you run a death squad and yet act like such a teenage girl? I'm waiting for him to start weeping while criticizing us.
                                Philippine leader tells Obama 'go to hell', says can buy arms from Russia, China

                                (Please note: language in fourth paragraph may offend some readers)

                                Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday told U.S. President Barack Obama to "go to hell" and said the United States had refused to sell some weapons to his country but he did not care because Russia and China were willing suppliers.

                                In his latest salvo, Duterte said he was realigning his foreign policy because the United States had failed the Philippines and added that at some point, "I will break up with America". It was not clear what he meant by "break up".

                                During three tangential and fiercely worded speeches in Manila, Duterte said the United States did not want to sell missiles and other weapons, but Russia and China had told him they could provide them easily.

                                "Although it may sound shit to you, it is my sacred duty to keep the integrity of this republic and the people healthy," Duterte said.

                                "If you don't want to sell arms, I'll go to Russia. I sent the generals to Russia and Russia said 'do not worry, we have everything you need, we'll give it to you'.

                                "And as for China, they said 'just come over and sign and everything will be delivered'."

                                His comments were the latest in a near-daily barrage of hostility towards the United States, during which Duterte has started to contrast the former colonial power with its geopolitical rivals Russia and China.

                                In Washington, U.S. officials downplayed Duterte's comments, saying they were "at odds" with the two countries' warm relationship and decades-long alliance. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said there has been no communication from the Philippines about making changes in that relationship.

                                Earnest did not, however, back down from criticism of Duterte's tactics in his deadly war on drugs.

                                "Even as we protect the strong alliance, the administration and the United States of America will not hesitate to raise our concerns about extrajudicial killings," he said at a briefing.

                                'HELL IS FULL'

                                On Sunday, Duterte said he had received support from Russia and China when he complained to them about the United States. He also said he would review a U.S.-Philippines Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

                                The deal, signed in 2014, grants U.S. troops some access to Philippine bases, and allows them to set up storage facilities for maritime security and humanitarian and disaster response operations.

                                Duterte said the United States should have supported the Philippines in tackling its chronic drugs problems but that instead it had criticized him for the high death toll, as did the European Union.

                                "Instead of helping us, the first to hit was the State Department. So you can go to hell, Mr Obama, you can go to hell," he said.

                                "EU, better choose purgatory. Hell is full already. Why should I be afraid of you?"

                                At a later speech he said he was emotional because the United States had not been a friend of the Philippines since his election in May.

                                "They just ... reprimand another president in front of the international community," he told the Jewish community at a synagogue.

                                "This is what happens now, I will be reconfiguring my foreign policy. Eventually, I might in my time I will break up with America."

                                It was not clear if by his "time", he was referring to his six-year term in office.

                                According to some U.S. officials, Washington has been doing its best to ignore Duterte's rhetoric and not provide him with a pretext for more outbursts.

                                While an open break with Manila would create problems in a region where China's influence has grown, there were no serious discussions about taking punitive steps such as cutting aid to the Philippines, two U.S. officials said on Monday.

                                Several of Duterte's allies on Monday suggested he act more like a statesman because his comments had created a stir. On Tuesday, he said his outbursts were because he was provoked by criticism of his crackdown on drugs.

                                "When you are already at the receiving end of an uncontrollable rush, the only way out is to insult," he said.

                                "That is my retaliation."

                                (Reporting by Martin Petty; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Brussels and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Robert Birsel and James Dalgleish
                                If he loses the business community over the next couple years it will get rough for him.




                                Business leader asks Duterte: Remove ‘communists’ in gov’t
                                ECOP CHAIR EMERITUS DONALD DEE TELLS PRESIDENT: P125 ACROSS-THE-BOARD WAGE HIKE WILL WRECK ECONOMY


                                SHARES: 20 VIEW COMMENTS
                                Philippine Daily Inquirer

                                By: Gil C. Cabacungan, October 5th, 2016 07:52 AM


                                Donald Dee of the Employers' Confederation of the Philippines (Photo from the official website of ECOP at www.ecop.ph.org)
                                Donald Dee of the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (Photo from the official website of ECOP at www.ecop.ph.org)

                                MANILA — A business leader called on President Rodrigo Duterte to weed out the communists in his administration for being too fixated in spreading their ideology rather than doing their duties, such as creating jobs.

                                Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) chair emeritus Donald Dee said in a brieifing in Malacaņang: “There are people like that that we should…maybe a hundred days is not enough for them to gel, but some people will never gel and I hope the President will get rid of them.”

                                Although he did not name names, Dee was alluding to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and his undersecretary, Joel Maglunsod, a militant labor leader and former Anakpawi party-list representative, both of whom have pushed for a P125-hike in the minimium daily wage.

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                                “I’m very critical here of the individual who comes and says, we will do a P125 across the board increase.’ You know, and then he follows by saying, ‘this is my personal opinion’,” said Dee.

                                As senior government officials, Dee said they have lost the right to make this kind of public statements. Dee said these officials have not even done their math on the implications of a P125 wage hike for 7.7 million minimume wage earners,”roughly P1 billion in additional costs a day for businessmen.

                                Dee said the P125 daily wage hike would triple inflation to 6.5 percent and leftist proponents could not care less if tricycle drivers and other self-employed Filipinos would suffer the burden.

                                Dee said that these leftist ideologues were in the Cabinet not to promote and support the President’s policy of job creation but were there “in order to implement their own philosophical stuff.”

                                While businessmen opposed the wage hike, Dee said that business groups were ready to police their own ranks to stop “endo” or contractualization where employees were hired on five-month contracts to avoid paying regular wages and perks.

                                “Anybody who is practicing ‘endo’ will be removed from our membership list. This we promise the President,” said Dee referring to ECOP and the Management Association of the Philippines.

                                Dee said the Department of Labor and Employment should clarfiy its policy on “endo,” especially on what constituted security of tenure.

                                “For the DOLE, security of tenure is lifetime work. That’s not it. Security of tenure simply means that you do not remove any employees without just cause and without following a process, you know,” said Dee.

                                “I think you should be grateful. Out of close to 38 million workers, only 7.7 million are in the formal sector. Of those in the formal sector, how many do you think get retirement? Most companies do not fund retirement. When it is paying time, they find ways and means to cut off the worker. This time, you know, because of the President’s insistence, you will going to see retirement funded,” said Dee. SFM



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                                Last edited by troung; 05 Oct 16,, 06:16.
                                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

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