JAN 23, 2017
US President Donald Trump reacts as he leaves with Vice President Mike Pence (L)
after attending a swearing in ceremony for senior staff at the White House in
Washington, DC January 22, 2017. Carlos Barria, Reuters
MANILA – A strong domestic economy will largely shield the Philippines from US
President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies, an economist said Monday.
Trump’s immigration crackdown is unlikely to dent remittances as most Filipinos in
the US are permanent residents. The new US leader’s drive to bring jobs back to
America will likely affect electronics manufacturing more than business process
outsourcing, said Joseph Incalcatera, an economist at HSBC in Hong Kong.
“The fact of the matter is, the Philippines remains to be quite insulated from any
type of economic policy in the US, particularly trade policy,” Incalcatera told ANC’s
“Market Edge with Cathy Yang.”
FEB 1
MANILA - Philippine police may have committed crimes against humanity by killing
thousands of alleged drug offenders or paying others to murder as part of President
Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, Amnesty International said Wednesday.
An Amnesty report, which followed an in-depth investigation into the drug war, also
outlined what it said were other widespread police crimes aside from extrajudicial
killings that mainly targeted the poor.
"Acting on orders from the very top, policemen and unknown killers have been
targeting anybody remotely suspected of using of selling drugs," Rawya Rageh, a
senior crisis adviser for Amnesty, told AFP.
"Our investigation shows that this wave of extrajudicial killings has been widespread,
deliberate and systematic, and therefore may amount to crimes against humanity."
Among a litany of alleged crimes, Amnesty accused police of shooting dead
defenseless people, fabricating evidence, paying assassins to murder drug addicts
and stealing from those they killed or the victims' relatives.
It also said police were being paid by their superiors to kill, and documented victims
as young as eight years old.
"The police are behaving like the criminal underworld that they are supposed to be
enforcing the law against," the report said.
Duterte won presidential elections last year after promising during the campaign to
eradicate drugs in society within six months by killing tens of thousands of people.
- 'Murderous war on poor' -
On one occasion Duterte vowed that 100,000 people would be killed and so many
bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish there would grow fat from
feeding on them.
Duterte launched his crackdown immediately upon taking office seven months ago.
Since then, police have reported killing 2,555 people while nearly 4,000 others have
died in unexplained circumstances, according to official figures.
As president, Duterte has repeatedly urged police to kill drug users as well as
traffickers.
Duterte said in December he had personally killed people when he was mayor of a
southern city to set an example for police.
Three months earlier he said he would be "happy to slaughter" three million drug
addicts, and likened his campaign to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's efforts to exterminate
Jews in Europe.
The Amnesty report said Duterte had incited the police to carry out a murderous war
on the poor, and warned that the International Criminal Court would need to start
investigating unless Philippine authorities did not stop it soon.
"The police killings are driven by pressures from the top, including an order to
'neutralize' alleged drug offenders, as well as financial incentives. They have created
an informal economy of death," the report said.
Amnesty said it investigated the deaths of 59 people, and found the majority of them
were extrajudicial killings.
FEB 2
Several National Bureau of Investigation officials were ordered relieved of their
positions Thursday in connection with the ongoing investigation of the kidnap-slay of
Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said NBI Director Dante Gierran implemented the
reshuffle following the claim of Supt. Rafael Dumlao III that several NBI officials
were also involved in the kidnap-slay of Jee.
Aguirre sa pagsibak sa pwesto sa mga NBI official: Ito ay para mabigyang-daan ang
maayos na imbestigasyong gagawin.
10:59 AM - 2 Feb 2017
FEB 3
Nakatakdang umalis ngayong buwan ang unang batch ng mga Pinoy na
magtatrabaho bilang mga housekeeper sa Japan. Aabot sa higit P70,000 ang
kanilang sahod.
FEB 6
MANILA – Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa
said the police force will now shift its focus to its anti-criminality drive after President
Rodrigo Duterte ordered it to stop participating in the war on drugs.
Dela Rosa said the PNP will focus on preventing and solving seven crimes, namely:
- murder,
- homicide,
- theft,
- robbery,
- physical injuries,
- car and motorcycle theft,
- rape.
“Dyan kami. We will account the accomplishments of our units along these 7 focused
crimes. Iyung pag-implement nila, how to counter or address these 7 focused crimes
eh alam na nila yan kung ano ang gawin. We will manage police operations," Dela
Rosa said.
Duterte earlier ordered the PNP to suspend its anti-illegal drug operations in the
wake of the death of Korean Jee Ick-joo allegedly at the hands of rogue cops.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is now leading the government’s
anti-illegal drug efforts.
The president has also disbanded the PNP's Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (PNP-AIDG) and
ordered the military to go after rogue cops.
More than 7,600 people have been killed since Duterte unleashed a ferocious
crackdown seven months ago, with more than 2,500 killed in police raids and sting
operations.
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FEB 14
FEB 15
Panibagong patay na 12-foot oarfish ang natagpuan sa baybayin ng Brgy. Rojales sa
bayan ng Carmen, Agusan del Norte.
Ito na ang pang-anim na oarfish na natagpuan mula noong buwan ng Enero.
Ayon sa ilang eksperto, palatandaan ng lindol ang paglitaw ng mga isdang katulad
ng oarfish na karaniwang naninirahan sa kalaliman ng dagat.
Ayon sa seismologist na si Kiyoshi Wadatsumi, sa isang pahayag na nailathala sa
Japan Times, ang mga isda na nasa malalim na parte ng karagatan ay mas sensitibo
sa paggalaw ng mga faults.
Paniwala kasi ng ilan isang indikasyon na may napipintong paglindol kung may
nakitang ganitong isda sa baybayin na kadalasang nakatira sa lalim na higit
1000feet.
Ang oarfish ay nakita sa baybayin kasabay ng mga inanod na dahon sa dagat.
Agad itong inilibing ng mga nakakita sa tabi ng dagat
FEB 16
Suspected members of a local terrorist group in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur
province killed two intelligence personnel of the Armed Forces in a shootout
Thursday afternoon, the military said.
The Intelligence Service of the AFP (ISAFP) personnel, including an Army major,
were conducting an intelligence operation when they encountered the group, which
resulted in a 10-minute firefight.
One sergeant was also injured, the military said. The identities of the deceased and
wounded were not yet revealed by the AFP as of this writing.
According to reports from the government, the 65th Infantry battalion was tasked to
conduct pursuit operations.
FEB 17
FEB 20
At least 10 were killed in a vehicular accident involving a tourist bus in Tanay, Rizal,
officials said.
Passengers of a tourist bus from Quezon City were killed after the vehicle apparently
lost control and hit an electric post in the vicinity of Magnetic Hill, Peligrino Farm,
Sitio Bayukan, Barangay Sampaloc in Tanay, Rizal.
Engineer Carlos Inofre, chief of Tanay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management said
the bus passengers were students of Bestlink College Novaliches and were en route
to a camping activity in a resort in Tanay.
The bus, with plate number TXS-325, was rented from Harana Tours and had 50
passengers, Inofre said.
FEB 21
Ex-Catbalogan city councilor nabbed for extortion
SAMAR, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has arrested a
former Catbalogan City councilor in an entrapment operation for allegedly extorting
P1 million from Mayor Step Uy and some city councilors.
Lawyer Bernard Dela Cruz of the NBI said the arrest of former councilor Rodrigo
Perez stemmed from the extortion complaint of Councilor Coefredo Uy against
Bernard Jake Ramos.
Ramos had filed a plunder case against him and others before the Office of the
Ombudsman, and his accomplices. Ramos allegedly threatened the respondents to
settle with him for P20 million in exchange for the withdrawal of his complaint, but
later reduced this to P10 million.
Councilor Uy cooperated with the NBI on an entrapment operation on February 17,
where Perez was caught accepting the P1-million “advance payment” that Ramos
demanded from the group.
FEB 22
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FEB 27
Commuters should seek alternative means of transportation on Monday, as transport
groups are set to stage a strike in Metro Manila and in select provinces in protest of
a looming jeepney phaseout.
The strike, which will start early on February 27, aims to prod government to give up
its planned phaseout of old jeepneys, and a required P7 million minimum capital for
jeepney operators and 10 minimum units for each franchise.
In a statement, transport group PISTON said its members in Metro Manila and allies
in several provinces already confirmed participation in the strike.
Metro Manila jeepney drivers will convene at Monumento Circle 6 a.m. on Monday,
and at other “protest centers” around the city.
They will gather at the Quezon City Elliptical Circle around 11 a.m. before marching
to Mendiola.
A similar transport strike staged earlier in February caused hundreds of passengers
to be stranded, and prompted some schools to cancel classes.
To help ease the public's woes, the government deployed its vehicles to provide free
rides to stranded commuters.
As of posting, the government has yet to announce whether it will do the same for
the upcoming strike. However, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory
Board (LTFRB) said it has met with the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA),
partner agencies and the transport sector to address the issues.
FEB 28
Naibalik na sa kanyang kaanak ang isang 91-anyos na lolo na natagpuang
naglalakad habang may dalang P1.5 milyon sa EDSA, Mandaluyong City Lunes.
Ayon sa police report, nakita ng mga nagrorondang pulis at opisyal na Barangay
Barangka Ilaya na pinagkakaguluhan ng ilang tao ang lolo sa EDSA bandang alas-
5:30 ng hapon.
Nang lapitan, nakita nilang may dalang mga salaping piso at dolyar ang lolo. Hawak
niya ang ilan habang ang iba ay nasa bulsa ng kanyang pantalon.
Dinala nila ang lolo sa barangay hall para makuha ang pagkakakilanlan niya at
mabilang ang dala niyang pera.
Natala nila ang halos 300 piraso ng dollar bills na nagkakahalaga ng P1.3 milyon at
peso billa na aabot sa P276,000.
Ipinaliwanag ng matanda sa mga awtoridad na tataya dapat siya sa sabong, pero
hindi magkakatugma ang ilang bahagi ng kanyang kwento.
Sa pamamagitan ng nakuhang lisensya at senior citizen ID, na-contact ng mga
opisyal ang isang anak ng matanda sa Pasig.
Hindi niya nakilala ang anak nang iharap ito sa kanya.
Pero may dinalang patunay ang anak na mag-ama sila kaya itinurn-over sa kanya ng
mga pulis ang matanda.
Nakiusap ang pamilya na huwag ilabas ang pagkakakilanlan ng lolo.
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