"Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone."
-- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Josephine Bracken to Dr. Jose Rizal: "Love, I will love you ever; love, I will leave thee never; ever to me precious to thee; never to part, heart bound to heart, or ever to say goodbye.
So, my darling, receive many warm Affection and love from your ever faithfull and true till death."
No one knows how many cups of tears has Marivic Mabilog shed secretly, so far; how many sleepless nights she has logged; and how tight were the embraces she gave her husband, embattled Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.
No one can approximate her heartaches and tribulations, but any wife and mother will feel the pain inside Marivic's heart.
The torrents of recent events that pilloried her husband and placed his life in jeopardy, must have taken their toll on Marivic as a wife.
No first lady of a city chief executive must've suffered the level of distress, sadness and anxiety Marivic has been going through nowadays like Xanthippe, wife of Socrates, condemned and forced to drink the hemlock for the sins he did not commit.
Especially that Marivic knows her husband is innocent like Sir Galahad, but is being fiercely loathed by the President, treated shabbily by a police underling through their irresponsible and uncalled for public admonishments, and abandoned by hitherto political allies through their defeaning and incredible silence.
Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you where they are now--and why they refuse to make a stand.
Beneath the veneer of Marivic's brave and unruffled front must be a dreary wife that resembles Achlys: weeping, emaciated, and pale, with chattering teeth, swollen knees, long nails on her fingers, bloody cheeks, and her shoulders thickly covered with dust.
PUSHED
Marivic has become a woman pushed against the wall, Iloilo's modern symbol of martyrdom, Agathonice.
A wounded tigress can be vain and histrionic, but once we reach the level of hypothermia, human beings tend to become stiff from fear and intimidation.
Like Hua Mulan (The Ballad of Mulan, 6th Century Chinese poem), Marivic can turn into a warrior when push comes to shove, her bravery may not revolve around avoiding marriage or seeking passion, but will be one centered on familial love and honor.
Friedrich Nietzsche once said, "What cannot kill you will make you strong."
When it comes to pushing beyond our comfort zone. fear can sometimes be transformed into energy and endurance.
We can then sit with fear and acknowledge it, humble ourselves before fear, and accept fear's challenge to be brave as it comes in each moment.
Let me share this letter from Unveiled Wife entitled, "Letter To My Husband: I love You" :
Dear Husband,
Our world is not perfect, I know, but it’s perfect to me. Just being able to wake up next to you gives me so much peace joy and hope. Though this road is rocky and it seems to get worse at times, just know that I love you and always will. We can make it and we will. Let’s just keep putting God first and having our nightly bible studies till we get it right so we can become someone else’s or even another couples beacon of light!
Love Your Wife
Showing posts with label #Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog. Show all posts
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Most abused mayor in the world
"Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions. When there is no sharing of power, no rule of law, no accountability, there is abuse, corruption, subjugation and indignation."
--Atifete Jahjaga
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- With the way he is being persecuted by the Duterte administration, Dr. Jed Patrick Mabilog could go down in history as the most abused city mayor not only in the Philippines, but also all over the world.
The abuse is not only verbal, but mental and emotional.
To be tagged as coddler of drug traffickers repeatedly by no less than the President (when in truth and in fact, he is not), is already the worst abuse any incumbent local chief executive could get.
The shame, embarrassment, humiliation, and indignity of being ranked alongside with the dregs of society without any morsel of truth, is already a mental and emotional torture.
To add insult, a police with the rank of chief inspector had joined the fray and reportedly dared Mabilog "to surrender" as if the city mayor was a convicted criminal in hiding.
If he really said that, this is the first time we heard a police officer with a lower rank boldy haranguing an elected civilian chief of a highly urbanized city without any regard to the mayor's authority and seniority in civil service.
NAPOLCOM
If this is not conduct unbecoming and unprofessionalism, we don't know what it is. The National Police Commissiom (Napolcom) should investigate this overexcited cop who has been reassigned in Iloilo City. Is this the way you orient your cops, Gen. Bato?
Whatever the reason why President Duterte has stubbornly continued to link the well-mannered and clean-living Mabilog to illegal drugs when he couldn't even substantiate it (the accuations were reportedly based on hearsays and "tips" from Mabilog's vindictive and jealous political detractors), he alone knows.
It, of course, boggles the minds of the Ilonggos who know Mabilog pretty well.
All the allegations against Mabilog have not been proven and contrary to reports of agencies concerned like the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA), which has repeatedly cleared Mabilog.
Only the angels in heaven have not descended on earth to tell the president that he is wrong to condemn an innocent man.
Even the pilgrims in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales will swear to God that Mabilog is not engaged in narco-politics as the President had alleged.
PERSONALITY
Soft-spoken Mabilog doesn't have a gung-ho personality despite the dirty brickbats thrown his way. He doesn't fire back using foul words at critics. Quality of a true, highly-educated and religious leader.
In fact, some supporters have ribbed him for being too soft and kind even to his most trenchant political enemies.
Detractors called him names and a coddler of drug syndicates, Mabilog offered them prayers.
They're lucky Mabilog is not the late Mayor Roding Ganzon who called his persecutors "bastos" (uncivilized) and who fought tongs and hammer with his tormentors, including the late former President Cory Aquino.
He never gave the Mabilog family any shame and scandal and was never involved in any crime when he was younger. Instead, he elevated the pride of his family, the pride of the Ilonggos when he was chosen as the No. 5 city mayor in the world two years ago. He gave all Ilonggos reason to be proud of Iloilo City with all the success the "City of Love" is reaping in terms of infrastructure, economic and tourism development.
The more they pummeled Mabilog with abusive words, the more he lowered his head in submission like a true biblical Christian; the more he gets sympathies from people from all walks of life in the Philippines and abroad who monitor his predicament from Malacanang.
And the world is watching.
--Atifete Jahjaga
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- With the way he is being persecuted by the Duterte administration, Dr. Jed Patrick Mabilog could go down in history as the most abused city mayor not only in the Philippines, but also all over the world.
The abuse is not only verbal, but mental and emotional.
To be tagged as coddler of drug traffickers repeatedly by no less than the President (when in truth and in fact, he is not), is already the worst abuse any incumbent local chief executive could get.
The shame, embarrassment, humiliation, and indignity of being ranked alongside with the dregs of society without any morsel of truth, is already a mental and emotional torture.
To add insult, a police with the rank of chief inspector had joined the fray and reportedly dared Mabilog "to surrender" as if the city mayor was a convicted criminal in hiding.
If he really said that, this is the first time we heard a police officer with a lower rank boldy haranguing an elected civilian chief of a highly urbanized city without any regard to the mayor's authority and seniority in civil service.
NAPOLCOM
If this is not conduct unbecoming and unprofessionalism, we don't know what it is. The National Police Commissiom (Napolcom) should investigate this overexcited cop who has been reassigned in Iloilo City. Is this the way you orient your cops, Gen. Bato?
Whatever the reason why President Duterte has stubbornly continued to link the well-mannered and clean-living Mabilog to illegal drugs when he couldn't even substantiate it (the accuations were reportedly based on hearsays and "tips" from Mabilog's vindictive and jealous political detractors), he alone knows.
It, of course, boggles the minds of the Ilonggos who know Mabilog pretty well.
All the allegations against Mabilog have not been proven and contrary to reports of agencies concerned like the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA), which has repeatedly cleared Mabilog.
Only the angels in heaven have not descended on earth to tell the president that he is wrong to condemn an innocent man.
Even the pilgrims in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales will swear to God that Mabilog is not engaged in narco-politics as the President had alleged.
PERSONALITY
Soft-spoken Mabilog doesn't have a gung-ho personality despite the dirty brickbats thrown his way. He doesn't fire back using foul words at critics. Quality of a true, highly-educated and religious leader.
In fact, some supporters have ribbed him for being too soft and kind even to his most trenchant political enemies.
Detractors called him names and a coddler of drug syndicates, Mabilog offered them prayers.
They're lucky Mabilog is not the late Mayor Roding Ganzon who called his persecutors "bastos" (uncivilized) and who fought tongs and hammer with his tormentors, including the late former President Cory Aquino.
He never gave the Mabilog family any shame and scandal and was never involved in any crime when he was younger. Instead, he elevated the pride of his family, the pride of the Ilonggos when he was chosen as the No. 5 city mayor in the world two years ago. He gave all Ilonggos reason to be proud of Iloilo City with all the success the "City of Love" is reaping in terms of infrastructure, economic and tourism development.
The more they pummeled Mabilog with abusive words, the more he lowered his head in submission like a true biblical Christian; the more he gets sympathies from people from all walks of life in the Philippines and abroad who monitor his predicament from Malacanang.
And the world is watching.
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Angry at attempt to destroy Iloilo City, elected officials
"If you know something is morally reprehensible, then it is your moral obligation to stop it as soon as possible."
--Jane Velez-Mitchell
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- As a true-blooded Ilonggo and community journalist, I will never allow merchants of lies, canards, and chaos to destroy the good name of Iloilo City in the Philippines built by our forefathers.
I will never sit down and act like hackneyed kibitzer while my city and our leaders are being sledge-hammered by purveyors of half-truth, intrigues, and political vendetta.
The most "shabulized" city in the Philippines? Look first at Ozamis, war-torn Marawi, and other big metropolis in Metro Manila where shabu warehouses have yielded billions of worth of illegal substances.
Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog engaged in narco-politics? The cheapest Goebbels-inspired obloquy and hyperbole ever floated with no basis at all in truth, in fact, and in reality! Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
Like any other Ilonggos, I have a moral obligation to defend my city and its leaders--regardless of their political and religious affiliations--from external moronic and destructive yet unfounded accusations and innuendos, which, if left unchallenged and uncorrected, would harm the Ilonggos' moral fiber and create irreparable mayhem on their culture and psyche as peace-loving citizens.
In hours of great moral crisis, we are not supposed to play deaf, blind and mute. The hottest place in hell, according to Dante, is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.
NECESSARY
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, exhorted Edmund Burke, is for good men to do nothing.
Ilonggos are decent, educated, religious, intrepid, generous, and humble. They have produced great leaders and contributed abundantly in the political, economic, religious, and cultural evolution of the Filipino race.
If our family, community, culture, morality, values and honor are under attack by a horde of cantankerous and homicidal maniacs, we can't afford to remain neutral.
When we do nothing and think nothing while our reputations are being torn to shreds by voodoo practitioners, pagans, nincompoops, backdoor players, con artists, darkroom operators, spin doctors, dicey crime-busters, rumormongers, and pseudo-moral crusaders, we allow evil to win.
Silence and apathy become our imminent Waterloo.
I love Iloilo City, the "City of Love", the Athens of the Philippines and cradle of heroism and common sense. And I am proud of our folklore and heritage.
I love and support our elected leaders even if I criticize their faults and imperfections. (Some of the public figures who tasted "terror" from my mighty pen were bosom friends if not kumare and kumpare. In journalism, friendship is one thing; commitment to uphold the truth and decency and serve the public through the mass media is another thing.)
HEALTHY
Constructive criticism is healthy in a democratic state. When we criticize our public officials, we don't destroy them. It's not something akin to bullying.
We help locate and discover their errors and shortcomings so they won't repeat the same mistakes again. Criticism helps strengthen our public officials' character and efficiency; and if they are not immature and uncultured, we end up as partners in nation building.
It is no longer constructive when we wish--and even sharply "pray"--for our public officials' destruction through violent death or assassination over imagined crimes and litany of sins only the ruffians and dolts in the Alfred Hitchcock films are capable of committing.
We have evolved by leaps and bounds since the time when hatred and intrigues were used as basis to execute heads of states and prominent monarchy damsels, queens and kings like Marie Antoinette, falsely accused of uttering "Let them eat cake" when the French people had no more bread to eat.
SOLID
We impeach characters based on remarkable and solid facts, not innuendos and hearsays. We observe due process and acknowledge that after presenting both sides of the coin, only then can we ascertain the chaffs from the grains.
When we are frustrated and not satisfied with our leaders' performance, we don't shoot from the hips and injure bystanders.
Manchester Guardian reminds us that "Comment is free, but facts are sacred."
Even in faraway United States, I continue to chronicle events in our locality from time to time; I have never abandoned my crusade and advocacy for a peaceful community and graft-free government.
As a blogger, columnist and correspondent, I consider myself as an active participant in the modern Agora, which has expanded in the social media since the Oracle of Delphi decreed that Socrates was the wisest person in Athens for helping reform the society as a social, political, and cultural gadfly.
SHIELD
My moral obligation to shield Iloilo City and its leaders from imminent political havoc and moral decay brought by the current dyzzing zarzuela on anti-dope war includes an unflinching committment to shatter the myth of absolutism that pervades the national leadership.
Any overt or covert police raid in any establishment and residential area--owned by a public official or ordinary Juan de la Cruz-- not covered by lawful order or without any legal basis should be considered null and void ab initio.
No amount of hoary justification can supersede the rule of law.
Appeal to the rapscallions in the Philippine National Police and their over-excited minions in the ruling political party: don't do in Iloilo City what you did in Albuera, Leyte and Ozamis City. History will be unkind.
--Jane Velez-Mitchell
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- As a true-blooded Ilonggo and community journalist, I will never allow merchants of lies, canards, and chaos to destroy the good name of Iloilo City in the Philippines built by our forefathers.
I will never sit down and act like hackneyed kibitzer while my city and our leaders are being sledge-hammered by purveyors of half-truth, intrigues, and political vendetta.
The most "shabulized" city in the Philippines? Look first at Ozamis, war-torn Marawi, and other big metropolis in Metro Manila where shabu warehouses have yielded billions of worth of illegal substances.
Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog engaged in narco-politics? The cheapest Goebbels-inspired obloquy and hyperbole ever floated with no basis at all in truth, in fact, and in reality! Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
Like any other Ilonggos, I have a moral obligation to defend my city and its leaders--regardless of their political and religious affiliations--from external moronic and destructive yet unfounded accusations and innuendos, which, if left unchallenged and uncorrected, would harm the Ilonggos' moral fiber and create irreparable mayhem on their culture and psyche as peace-loving citizens.
In hours of great moral crisis, we are not supposed to play deaf, blind and mute. The hottest place in hell, according to Dante, is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.
NECESSARY
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, exhorted Edmund Burke, is for good men to do nothing.
Ilonggos are decent, educated, religious, intrepid, generous, and humble. They have produced great leaders and contributed abundantly in the political, economic, religious, and cultural evolution of the Filipino race.
If our family, community, culture, morality, values and honor are under attack by a horde of cantankerous and homicidal maniacs, we can't afford to remain neutral.
When we do nothing and think nothing while our reputations are being torn to shreds by voodoo practitioners, pagans, nincompoops, backdoor players, con artists, darkroom operators, spin doctors, dicey crime-busters, rumormongers, and pseudo-moral crusaders, we allow evil to win.
Silence and apathy become our imminent Waterloo.
I love Iloilo City, the "City of Love", the Athens of the Philippines and cradle of heroism and common sense. And I am proud of our folklore and heritage.
I love and support our elected leaders even if I criticize their faults and imperfections. (Some of the public figures who tasted "terror" from my mighty pen were bosom friends if not kumare and kumpare. In journalism, friendship is one thing; commitment to uphold the truth and decency and serve the public through the mass media is another thing.)
HEALTHY
Constructive criticism is healthy in a democratic state. When we criticize our public officials, we don't destroy them. It's not something akin to bullying.
We help locate and discover their errors and shortcomings so they won't repeat the same mistakes again. Criticism helps strengthen our public officials' character and efficiency; and if they are not immature and uncultured, we end up as partners in nation building.
It is no longer constructive when we wish--and even sharply "pray"--for our public officials' destruction through violent death or assassination over imagined crimes and litany of sins only the ruffians and dolts in the Alfred Hitchcock films are capable of committing.
We have evolved by leaps and bounds since the time when hatred and intrigues were used as basis to execute heads of states and prominent monarchy damsels, queens and kings like Marie Antoinette, falsely accused of uttering "Let them eat cake" when the French people had no more bread to eat.
SOLID
We impeach characters based on remarkable and solid facts, not innuendos and hearsays. We observe due process and acknowledge that after presenting both sides of the coin, only then can we ascertain the chaffs from the grains.
When we are frustrated and not satisfied with our leaders' performance, we don't shoot from the hips and injure bystanders.
Manchester Guardian reminds us that "Comment is free, but facts are sacred."
Even in faraway United States, I continue to chronicle events in our locality from time to time; I have never abandoned my crusade and advocacy for a peaceful community and graft-free government.
As a blogger, columnist and correspondent, I consider myself as an active participant in the modern Agora, which has expanded in the social media since the Oracle of Delphi decreed that Socrates was the wisest person in Athens for helping reform the society as a social, political, and cultural gadfly.
SHIELD
My moral obligation to shield Iloilo City and its leaders from imminent political havoc and moral decay brought by the current dyzzing zarzuela on anti-dope war includes an unflinching committment to shatter the myth of absolutism that pervades the national leadership.
Any overt or covert police raid in any establishment and residential area--owned by a public official or ordinary Juan de la Cruz-- not covered by lawful order or without any legal basis should be considered null and void ab initio.
No amount of hoary justification can supersede the rule of law.
Appeal to the rapscallions in the Philippine National Police and their over-excited minions in the ruling political party: don't do in Iloilo City what you did in Albuera, Leyte and Ozamis City. History will be unkind.
Friday, August 4, 2017
Don't compare Mabilog to Parojinog
"I'm not afraid of death, but I resent it. I think it's unfair and irritating. Every time I see something beautiful, I not only want to return to it, but it makes me want to see other beautiful things. I know I'm not going to get to all the places I want to go."
-- Viggo Mortensen
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- As an Ilonggo (I was born and raised in Iloilo City in the Philippines), I find it revolting to hear some people compare Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog to the slain Ozamis City Mayor Reynaldo “Aldong” Parojinog, Sr.
I find it even more vexing when detractors excitedly parroted that Mabilog would be "the next in line" after Parojinog, who was killed together with his wife, Susan, and 13 others in a dawn raids conducted by the Philippine National Police in the mayor's residence on July 30.
No one can tell exactly why and how Parojinog and his ilk were peppered with bullets except for media reports that they allegedly reacted violently when police raiders tried to issue the search warrants at several of Parojinog's properties in Barangays Baybay San Roque and Baybay Santa Cruz around 2:30 a.m.
Before Parojinog's brutal slaughter, his family was already known nationwide to have been involved allegedly not only in distribution of illegal drugs, but also in other heinous crimes.
MENTIONED
Both Mabilog and Parojinog may have been mentioned by President Rodrigo R. Duterte as among the local chief executives in the Philippines to be allegedly involved in narco politics, but they definitely were not in the same class.
In terms of family background, education, intellect, accomplishments in public service, and values, Mabilog and Parojinog may be oceans apart.
The other difference is it has been established that Duterte had wrongly identified Mabilog as "the cousin of (suspected drug lord Melvin "Boyet) Odicta" while Parojinog belonged to a clan that ostensibly had criminal records (they were allegedly the remnants of the notorious "Kuratong Baleleng" that terrorized Metro Manila with kidnapping for ransom activities in the 90s).
Mabilog is the second cousin of opposition Senator Franklin Drilon, not Odicta.
If Duterte's tipsters could not establish this fundamental information, they have no business to tarnish the reputation of any Tom, Dick and Harry.
FAILURE
A failure in intelligence means these bungling field agents could become a liability instead of assets in the president's campaign against illegal drugs.
There are mayors and even governors in the Philippines who are more blatant and with irrefutable criminal involvement and inclinations, but were never placed in the spotlight or threatened with violent death.
Mabilog has been more deeply involved in civic and religious activities, and was never implicated in any crime even before he became a public servant.
Mabilog's enemies used his "friendship" with another suspected drug lord Jingjing Espinosa (who is now in jail for frustrated murder) as the basis to link him in narco-politics.
Mabilog comes from a decent and respected religious family in Molo district. He had or still has a foundation that helps the poor, the youth, and the senior citizens.
IMPLICATE
To implicate him in illegal drugs is like implicating Desdemona in Lago's plot to kill Emilia in Othello.
Mabilog's aggressive campaign against illegal drugs belies all the innuendos that he is into narco politics. Their lies defy the logic.
The vicious issue or issues being levelled against Mabilog were unheard of when he was first elected as city councilor, vice mayor, and now city mayor on his last term. It was politics or his links with the opposition, especially to Drilon, that gave him the albatross.
After Parojinog's assassination, some of Mabilog's detractors were so excited to push him in line of Duterte's death list.
Do these characters really want Mabilog dead because they are convinced he is evil?
Or they only want to reaffirm and marshal their hatred and bitterness toward the man because of his stunning political success, and use the precarious situation he is in today to satisfy and fulfill their whims and caprices?
-- Viggo Mortensen
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- As an Ilonggo (I was born and raised in Iloilo City in the Philippines), I find it revolting to hear some people compare Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog to the slain Ozamis City Mayor Reynaldo “Aldong” Parojinog, Sr.
I find it even more vexing when detractors excitedly parroted that Mabilog would be "the next in line" after Parojinog, who was killed together with his wife, Susan, and 13 others in a dawn raids conducted by the Philippine National Police in the mayor's residence on July 30.
No one can tell exactly why and how Parojinog and his ilk were peppered with bullets except for media reports that they allegedly reacted violently when police raiders tried to issue the search warrants at several of Parojinog's properties in Barangays Baybay San Roque and Baybay Santa Cruz around 2:30 a.m.
Before Parojinog's brutal slaughter, his family was already known nationwide to have been involved allegedly not only in distribution of illegal drugs, but also in other heinous crimes.
MENTIONED
Both Mabilog and Parojinog may have been mentioned by President Rodrigo R. Duterte as among the local chief executives in the Philippines to be allegedly involved in narco politics, but they definitely were not in the same class.
In terms of family background, education, intellect, accomplishments in public service, and values, Mabilog and Parojinog may be oceans apart.
The other difference is it has been established that Duterte had wrongly identified Mabilog as "the cousin of (suspected drug lord Melvin "Boyet) Odicta" while Parojinog belonged to a clan that ostensibly had criminal records (they were allegedly the remnants of the notorious "Kuratong Baleleng" that terrorized Metro Manila with kidnapping for ransom activities in the 90s).
Mabilog is the second cousin of opposition Senator Franklin Drilon, not Odicta.
If Duterte's tipsters could not establish this fundamental information, they have no business to tarnish the reputation of any Tom, Dick and Harry.
FAILURE
A failure in intelligence means these bungling field agents could become a liability instead of assets in the president's campaign against illegal drugs.
There are mayors and even governors in the Philippines who are more blatant and with irrefutable criminal involvement and inclinations, but were never placed in the spotlight or threatened with violent death.
Mabilog has been more deeply involved in civic and religious activities, and was never implicated in any crime even before he became a public servant.
Mabilog's enemies used his "friendship" with another suspected drug lord Jingjing Espinosa (who is now in jail for frustrated murder) as the basis to link him in narco-politics.
Mabilog comes from a decent and respected religious family in Molo district. He had or still has a foundation that helps the poor, the youth, and the senior citizens.
IMPLICATE
To implicate him in illegal drugs is like implicating Desdemona in Lago's plot to kill Emilia in Othello.
Mabilog's aggressive campaign against illegal drugs belies all the innuendos that he is into narco politics. Their lies defy the logic.
The vicious issue or issues being levelled against Mabilog were unheard of when he was first elected as city councilor, vice mayor, and now city mayor on his last term. It was politics or his links with the opposition, especially to Drilon, that gave him the albatross.
After Parojinog's assassination, some of Mabilog's detractors were so excited to push him in line of Duterte's death list.
Do these characters really want Mabilog dead because they are convinced he is evil?
Or they only want to reaffirm and marshal their hatred and bitterness toward the man because of his stunning political success, and use the precarious situation he is in today to satisfy and fulfill their whims and caprices?
Monday, March 20, 2017
Ilonggo solons not (yet) rubber stamps
"Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life."
--Donald Rumsfeld
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Even members of the Iloilo City Council are getting annoyed and embarrassed that Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog has become the most favorite punching bag of President Rodrigo Duterte each time the president unleashed his irascible wrath against some Liberal Party (LP) bigwigs.
So alarmed and disturbed were the city aldermen and women that they are now willing to help Mabilog collate the city government's programs and/or accomplishments against illegal drugs and make a common stand.
They, too, must be hurting while seeing Mabilog reeling from absurd allegations that the city mayor, ranked No. 5 in the World Mayor two years ago, is a protector of merchants of prohibited substance.
Guided by an impermeable moral compass, the city councilors, led by Vice Mayor Jose III Espinosa, must have felt they could no longer afford to sit down and act like kibitzers while Mabilog was being pounded from pillar to post by a heavy bone-crusher.
-o0o-
We still have faith with our representatives from Western Visayas in the Philippines even if their independence was recently subjected into a microscopic sleuthing by some impatient constituents who thought their unanimous yes votes for death penalty was a tell tale sign of their implied subservience to the Duterte administration.
As if their acid test was not enough, our congressmen and women will again be tested in at least two major issues that will soon be tackled in congress: the impeachment cases versus President Rodrigo Duterte (already filed) and Vice President Leni Robredo (still being floated).
If they reject both impeachment cases (granting that an impeachment case will be officially filed against Robredo), their constituents will never badger them. Life must go on.
Ilonggos are known to always decry any attempt to destabilize the incumbent administration. If any of the two--Duterte and Robredo--will be removed from office, a power vacuum can't guarantee a sustained or immediate political and economic stability.
NORMAL
If government is on wobbly legs, life for Filipinos will not be normal.
Nobody would want to have this kind of environment especially if our priority is to provide our children with three square meals a day and send them to school.
If our solons will reject one impeachment and support another, their constituents will suspect that they are playing political favorites and are not taking their mandates seriously.
The Ilonggo constituents will be watching you, Reps. Sharon Garin (Ang Asosasyon Sang Manguguma Nga Bisaya-OWA Mangunguma Inc.); Atty. Jerry Trenas (Iloilo City); Richard Garin (Iloilo, 1st District); Arcadio Gorriceta (Iloilo, 2nd District); Atty. Arthur Defensor Jr. (Iloilo, 3rd District); Dr. Ferjenel Biron (Iloilo, 4th District); Raul Tupas (Iloilo, 5th District); and Maria Lucille Nava (Guimaras).
--Donald Rumsfeld
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Even members of the Iloilo City Council are getting annoyed and embarrassed that Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog has become the most favorite punching bag of President Rodrigo Duterte each time the president unleashed his irascible wrath against some Liberal Party (LP) bigwigs.
So alarmed and disturbed were the city aldermen and women that they are now willing to help Mabilog collate the city government's programs and/or accomplishments against illegal drugs and make a common stand.
They, too, must be hurting while seeing Mabilog reeling from absurd allegations that the city mayor, ranked No. 5 in the World Mayor two years ago, is a protector of merchants of prohibited substance.
Guided by an impermeable moral compass, the city councilors, led by Vice Mayor Jose III Espinosa, must have felt they could no longer afford to sit down and act like kibitzers while Mabilog was being pounded from pillar to post by a heavy bone-crusher.
-o0o-
We still have faith with our representatives from Western Visayas in the Philippines even if their independence was recently subjected into a microscopic sleuthing by some impatient constituents who thought their unanimous yes votes for death penalty was a tell tale sign of their implied subservience to the Duterte administration.
As if their acid test was not enough, our congressmen and women will again be tested in at least two major issues that will soon be tackled in congress: the impeachment cases versus President Rodrigo Duterte (already filed) and Vice President Leni Robredo (still being floated).
If they reject both impeachment cases (granting that an impeachment case will be officially filed against Robredo), their constituents will never badger them. Life must go on.
Ilonggos are known to always decry any attempt to destabilize the incumbent administration. If any of the two--Duterte and Robredo--will be removed from office, a power vacuum can't guarantee a sustained or immediate political and economic stability.
NORMAL
If government is on wobbly legs, life for Filipinos will not be normal.
Nobody would want to have this kind of environment especially if our priority is to provide our children with three square meals a day and send them to school.
If our solons will reject one impeachment and support another, their constituents will suspect that they are playing political favorites and are not taking their mandates seriously.
The Ilonggo constituents will be watching you, Reps. Sharon Garin (Ang Asosasyon Sang Manguguma Nga Bisaya-OWA Mangunguma Inc.); Atty. Jerry Trenas (Iloilo City); Richard Garin (Iloilo, 1st District); Arcadio Gorriceta (Iloilo, 2nd District); Atty. Arthur Defensor Jr. (Iloilo, 3rd District); Dr. Ferjenel Biron (Iloilo, 4th District); Raul Tupas (Iloilo, 5th District); and Maria Lucille Nava (Guimaras).
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Duterte wants to hurt Drilon, not Mabilog
"I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend."
--Thomas Jefferson
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- It is becoming obvious that in repeatedly tormenting Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog with unfounded accusations that the Ilonggo mayor is engaged in narco-politics, President Rodrigo Duterte's real target is Senator Franklin Drilon.
For the nth time, the president, without any solid proof, mentioned Mabilog's alleged involvement in illegal drugs--out of the blue.
The president also reportedly erroneously referred to Mabilog anew as the "cousin" of slain drug lord Melvin "Boyet" Odicta Sr.
He was actually aware that Mabilog is Drilon's second cousin.
President Duterte must have read Law 46 of Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power that states: "Never appear too perfect!---Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity."
But in making Mabilog as veritable punching bag, the president unwittingly "violates" the book's Law 19 which exhorts that "Know who you are dealing with---do not offend the wrong person."
ALLY
Aside from having been marked as the chief ally of defeated Liberal Party (LP) presidential bet Mar Roxas, President Duterte considers Drilon as a colossal obstacle in the measures and programs that he intends to introduce in the senate.
As one of the most senior members of the minority bloc and a former senate boss to boot, Drilon still has the respect of his peers and wields influence on many of those in the majority bloc.
In the soon-to-be-debated death penalty bill, for instance, Drilon is expected to fight tooth and nail, along with fellow LP and some "independent" senators to oppose it.
The president must be jittery that Drilon, et al could derail or even steamroll his pet bills and other programs once they reach in the upper chamber.
Mr. Duterte appears to have succeeded in transforming the House of Representatives into his toy soldiers courtesy of the iron-grip tactics employed by Speaker Pantaleon "Bebot" Alvarez.
JUDICIARY
He is also poised, God forbid, to possibly get a ballroom dance with the judiciary with the recent appointments of Supreme Court Associate Justices Samuel Martires and Noel Tijam.
We are not saying though that the president could now solidly hold the courts in the scrotum, but it looks like only the senate has become the Last of the Mohicans.
Aside from Sen. Drilon, Senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Bam Aquino, Francis Pangilinan, Panfilo Lacson, Riza Hontiveros, and detained Leila de Lima could still give the president a potential migraine.
The same senators did not join the dinner party with the president held in Malacañang on March 14.
A dream grand slam or political coup de grace may be impossible to attain if Drilon, et al are not neutralized.
--Thomas Jefferson
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- It is becoming obvious that in repeatedly tormenting Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog with unfounded accusations that the Ilonggo mayor is engaged in narco-politics, President Rodrigo Duterte's real target is Senator Franklin Drilon.
For the nth time, the president, without any solid proof, mentioned Mabilog's alleged involvement in illegal drugs--out of the blue.
The president also reportedly erroneously referred to Mabilog anew as the "cousin" of slain drug lord Melvin "Boyet" Odicta Sr.
He was actually aware that Mabilog is Drilon's second cousin.
President Duterte must have read Law 46 of Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power that states: "Never appear too perfect!---Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity."
But in making Mabilog as veritable punching bag, the president unwittingly "violates" the book's Law 19 which exhorts that "Know who you are dealing with---do not offend the wrong person."
ALLY
Aside from having been marked as the chief ally of defeated Liberal Party (LP) presidential bet Mar Roxas, President Duterte considers Drilon as a colossal obstacle in the measures and programs that he intends to introduce in the senate.
As one of the most senior members of the minority bloc and a former senate boss to boot, Drilon still has the respect of his peers and wields influence on many of those in the majority bloc.
In the soon-to-be-debated death penalty bill, for instance, Drilon is expected to fight tooth and nail, along with fellow LP and some "independent" senators to oppose it.
The president must be jittery that Drilon, et al could derail or even steamroll his pet bills and other programs once they reach in the upper chamber.
Mr. Duterte appears to have succeeded in transforming the House of Representatives into his toy soldiers courtesy of the iron-grip tactics employed by Speaker Pantaleon "Bebot" Alvarez.
JUDICIARY
He is also poised, God forbid, to possibly get a ballroom dance with the judiciary with the recent appointments of Supreme Court Associate Justices Samuel Martires and Noel Tijam.
We are not saying though that the president could now solidly hold the courts in the scrotum, but it looks like only the senate has become the Last of the Mohicans.
Aside from Sen. Drilon, Senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Bam Aquino, Francis Pangilinan, Panfilo Lacson, Riza Hontiveros, and detained Leila de Lima could still give the president a potential migraine.
The same senators did not join the dinner party with the president held in Malacañang on March 14.
A dream grand slam or political coup de grace may be impossible to attain if Drilon, et al are not neutralized.
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Linking Mayor Mabilog to illegal drug trade a mistake
"There are lots of people who mistake their imagination for their memory."
--Josh Billings
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- President Rodrigo Duterte linked anew Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog to the illegal drug trade not because an evidence has been found to support the president's first accusation.
If Mabilog has become Mr. Duterte's favorite punching bag each time he lambasted local chief executives involved in illegal drugs, it's because the city mayor is the cousin of Senator Franklin Drilon, an opposition leader and chief supporter of Duterte's rival in the recent presidential race, Mar Roxas.
In absence of any damning evidence, it is becoming apparent that Mabilog is only a collateral damage in the feud between the president and the Liberal Party bigwigs.
Mabilog's critics took advantage of his closeness to Drilon and linked him to illegal drug trade even if there was no corpus delicti to support the slanderous accusation.
REMEMBER
President Duterte remembered Mabilog's name in a speech during the turnover of a drug rehabilitation facility in Davao del Norte February 24. He bewailed, "Naay mayor ug mga syudad. Ang usa diha ig-agaw ni Drilon, si Mayor Mabilog sa Iloilo City, ug daghan pa (The list also contains names of city mayors. One of them is Drilon's cousin, Mayor Mabilog of Iloilo City, and many others)."
I personally don't believe that Mabilog is engaged in business or protection racket of illegal drugs.
Mabilog's enemies may have used his "friendship" with suspected drug pusher Jingjing Espinosa, a barangay councilman, as the basis to include his name in the so-called "Duterlist" that contains the names of mayors, governors, policemen, judges, lawyers, and showbiz personalities allegedly involved in narco-politics.
Many times in the past the president erred in mentioning some names and their affiliations. The president once erroneously announced that Mabilog is the "cousin" of slain drug lord Melvin "Boyet" Odicta.
MISTAKE
Mr. Duterte was probably referring to Drilon, but mistakenly mentioned Odicta's name.
Espinosa, grandson of former Rep. Pascualing Espinosa Sr., reportedly became Mabilog's political ally when the city mayor upset the late former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez in the May 2010 mayoral contest.
There were fears that Gonzalez hired the services of priest killer Norberto Manero during the campaign period.
Espinosa, who is now back in Iloilo jail for an old frustrated homicide case, was reportedly seen as an effective antidote to neutralize any threat that may have been posed by Manero a.k.a. Kumander Bukay.
But after Mabilog secured reelection wins over Rommel Ynion in 2013 and Dr. Gold Gonzalez in 2016, Espinosa was still reportedly visible in Mabilog's camp even if Manero was no longer around.
--Josh Billings
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- President Rodrigo Duterte linked anew Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog to the illegal drug trade not because an evidence has been found to support the president's first accusation.
If Mabilog has become Mr. Duterte's favorite punching bag each time he lambasted local chief executives involved in illegal drugs, it's because the city mayor is the cousin of Senator Franklin Drilon, an opposition leader and chief supporter of Duterte's rival in the recent presidential race, Mar Roxas.
In absence of any damning evidence, it is becoming apparent that Mabilog is only a collateral damage in the feud between the president and the Liberal Party bigwigs.
Mabilog's critics took advantage of his closeness to Drilon and linked him to illegal drug trade even if there was no corpus delicti to support the slanderous accusation.
REMEMBER
President Duterte remembered Mabilog's name in a speech during the turnover of a drug rehabilitation facility in Davao del Norte February 24. He bewailed, "Naay mayor ug mga syudad. Ang usa diha ig-agaw ni Drilon, si Mayor Mabilog sa Iloilo City, ug daghan pa (The list also contains names of city mayors. One of them is Drilon's cousin, Mayor Mabilog of Iloilo City, and many others)."
I personally don't believe that Mabilog is engaged in business or protection racket of illegal drugs.
Mabilog's enemies may have used his "friendship" with suspected drug pusher Jingjing Espinosa, a barangay councilman, as the basis to include his name in the so-called "Duterlist" that contains the names of mayors, governors, policemen, judges, lawyers, and showbiz personalities allegedly involved in narco-politics.
Many times in the past the president erred in mentioning some names and their affiliations. The president once erroneously announced that Mabilog is the "cousin" of slain drug lord Melvin "Boyet" Odicta.
MISTAKE
Mr. Duterte was probably referring to Drilon, but mistakenly mentioned Odicta's name.
Espinosa, grandson of former Rep. Pascualing Espinosa Sr., reportedly became Mabilog's political ally when the city mayor upset the late former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez in the May 2010 mayoral contest.
There were fears that Gonzalez hired the services of priest killer Norberto Manero during the campaign period.
Espinosa, who is now back in Iloilo jail for an old frustrated homicide case, was reportedly seen as an effective antidote to neutralize any threat that may have been posed by Manero a.k.a. Kumander Bukay.
But after Mabilog secured reelection wins over Rommel Ynion in 2013 and Dr. Gold Gonzalez in 2016, Espinosa was still reportedly visible in Mabilog's camp even if Manero was no longer around.
Monday, January 23, 2017
What Mabilog needs to hear from Drilon
"Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much."
--Blaise Pascal
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- When President Duterte called Iloilo City as the "most shabulized" city in the Philippines and named Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog as among the 159 local government executives in the entire country allegedly linked to narcotics trade in August 2016, Senator Frank Drilon expressed "hurt" and "sadness" that the City of Love has been "tarnished."
Drilon never exonerated his second cousin Mabilog.
“Let me state that I am saddened and hurt that the perception that Iloilo local officials are involved in the drug trade became the basis of such a sweeping description of Iloilo," Drilon sharply reacted.
"All the efforts of the Ilongos for the past five years to make Iloilo an attractive and progressive investment destination and a livable city is negated by a sweeping judgment of the city and province of Iloilo."
Ilonggos have been waiting for Drilon to at least vouch for Mabilog, who had to agonize once again when he and fellow mayors faced his tormentor in Malacanang for another round of admonition on January 12, 2017.
The former senate president has been mum over Mabilog's predicament.
DINAGYANG
Last January 22, 2017 before the start of the ati-ati tribes contest of the Dinagyang Festival at the Freedom Grandstand in Iloilo City, Drilon reiterated his concern and love for the city, but never mentioned anything that could buoy Mabilog's spirit in as far as the mayor's dilemma with President Duterte is concerned.
Drilon announced: “We made a vow that in five years time, we will change the face of Iloilo. Today we are proud. Iloilo is the most progressive city in the whole country."
“We made this change possible because of everyone’s support, because of a united leadership. This is why we’re able to move forward.”
Although the Liga ng Barangay (League of Barangays) headed by Reyland Hervias as well as Hervias' colleagues in the Iloilo City Council have rallied behind the embattled Mabilog, it cannot be denied that he is still hurting from President Duterte's tirades.
HIGHER
If there is any public official who holds a higher office in the country today who knows Mabilog so well, it's Drilon.
Any statement from a highly-regarded politician like Drilon that would at least contradict or belie the accusation made by President Duterte against the No. 5 World Mayor, can more or less mitigate the burden Mabilog has been carrying inside his heart.
It can also help disabuse the minds of those who swallowed President Duterte's allegations against Mabilog hook, line, and sinker.
For many Ilonggos who follow the issues on narco mayors in the country, only Drilon's sympathetic words can help assuage Mabilog's frazzled emotion; and, perhaps, influence the thinking of some of those who have written off Mabilog politically as a result of that negative tag.
--Blaise Pascal
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- When President Duterte called Iloilo City as the "most shabulized" city in the Philippines and named Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog as among the 159 local government executives in the entire country allegedly linked to narcotics trade in August 2016, Senator Frank Drilon expressed "hurt" and "sadness" that the City of Love has been "tarnished."
Drilon never exonerated his second cousin Mabilog.
“Let me state that I am saddened and hurt that the perception that Iloilo local officials are involved in the drug trade became the basis of such a sweeping description of Iloilo," Drilon sharply reacted.
"All the efforts of the Ilongos for the past five years to make Iloilo an attractive and progressive investment destination and a livable city is negated by a sweeping judgment of the city and province of Iloilo."
Ilonggos have been waiting for Drilon to at least vouch for Mabilog, who had to agonize once again when he and fellow mayors faced his tormentor in Malacanang for another round of admonition on January 12, 2017.
The former senate president has been mum over Mabilog's predicament.
DINAGYANG
Last January 22, 2017 before the start of the ati-ati tribes contest of the Dinagyang Festival at the Freedom Grandstand in Iloilo City, Drilon reiterated his concern and love for the city, but never mentioned anything that could buoy Mabilog's spirit in as far as the mayor's dilemma with President Duterte is concerned.
Drilon announced: “We made a vow that in five years time, we will change the face of Iloilo. Today we are proud. Iloilo is the most progressive city in the whole country."
“We made this change possible because of everyone’s support, because of a united leadership. This is why we’re able to move forward.”
Although the Liga ng Barangay (League of Barangays) headed by Reyland Hervias as well as Hervias' colleagues in the Iloilo City Council have rallied behind the embattled Mabilog, it cannot be denied that he is still hurting from President Duterte's tirades.
HIGHER
If there is any public official who holds a higher office in the country today who knows Mabilog so well, it's Drilon.
Any statement from a highly-regarded politician like Drilon that would at least contradict or belie the accusation made by President Duterte against the No. 5 World Mayor, can more or less mitigate the burden Mabilog has been carrying inside his heart.
It can also help disabuse the minds of those who swallowed President Duterte's allegations against Mabilog hook, line, and sinker.
For many Ilonggos who follow the issues on narco mayors in the country, only Drilon's sympathetic words can help assuage Mabilog's frazzled emotion; and, perhaps, influence the thinking of some of those who have written off Mabilog politically as a result of that negative tag.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Iloilo biggest winner in anti-drugs war; biggest loser in shame campaign
"A good reputation is more valuable than money."
-- Publilius Syrus
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW JERSEY -- In the government-led battle against illegal drugs in the Philippines in 2016, Iloilo City could be the biggest "winner" if the number of murdered and "neutralized" drug lords, small-time traffickers, and drug addicts is used as the barometer.
With a population of 424,619, Iloilo City could also be the biggest "loser" when it comes to the "shame campaign" initiated by President Rodrigo Duterte immediately after he assumed office in July.
Among those slain in the brutal crackdown against drug pushers was the Odicta couple, Melvin and Meriam, of Iloilo City. They were killed by unidentified gunmen in Caticlan Port in Aklan on their way back after "surrendering" to Interior and Local Government Secretary Mike Sueno in Quezon City in August.
The Odictas were the country's biggest names in illegal drug trafficking to fall in 2016. Following their death, some of the couple's top runners were either killed in "encounters" with police or arrested.
'SHABULIZED'
Aside from naming Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, ranked No. 5 in the 2014 World Mayor, as alleged protector of illegal drugs, Duterte also called the "City of Love" the "most shabulized city" in the country.
The tag, strongly belied and disputed by Mabilog and other local officials, demoralized some Ilonggos, especially those living in other parts of the world who suspected politics behind the "smear" drive.
Duterte also named three other prominent Iloilo mayors as "narco-politicians": Alex Centena of Calinog, Siegfredo Betita of Carles and and Mariano Malones of Maasin.
Like Mabilog, they all cried foul.
Duterte based his accusations on the list provided by his intelligence henchmen who had been tipped off by narcotics agents, some of them were reportedly allies of political rivals of those on the list.
SHAME
The shame campaign, which caught many local chef executives whose names were on the list flat-footed, didn't prove the guilt of the maligned mayors and governors.
Duterte, in fact, had flip-flopped and apologized to some of those he mentioned in the list, underscoring suspicions that he was fed with half-baked if not unverified reports from the field.
Two of them, Mayor Samsudin Dimaukom of Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao and Mayor Rolando Espinosa of Albuera, Leyte, however, were killed by police in separate encounters--all related to Duterte's nationwide campaign against illegal drugs.
Some three thousand suspected drug traffickers and drug addicts have been summarily executed since Duterte and his national police director, Chief Supt. Ronaldo "Bato" Dela Rosa launched the "all-out" war against illegal drugs in the country.
RIGHTS
Human rights advocates in the Philippines and abroad have criticized the apparent state-run extra-judicial killings (EJKs) and asked the president to halt the carnage.
They expressed alarm that some of those killed by lawmen in alleged "shootouts" were suspected pushers and young drug addicts and not convicted criminals.
Senator Leila De Lima, a former Commission on Human Rights commissioner, questioned the EJKs saying criminals are presumed innocent until proven by the court.
Duterte, who vowed to wipe out criminality in the country within six months starting in July, responded with derision and called his critics "SOB."
When the president and Dela Rosa could not meet the six-month deadline, Duterte asked for extension.
Killings are feared to escalate anew in 2017.
-- Publilius Syrus
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW JERSEY -- In the government-led battle against illegal drugs in the Philippines in 2016, Iloilo City could be the biggest "winner" if the number of murdered and "neutralized" drug lords, small-time traffickers, and drug addicts is used as the barometer.
With a population of 424,619, Iloilo City could also be the biggest "loser" when it comes to the "shame campaign" initiated by President Rodrigo Duterte immediately after he assumed office in July.
Among those slain in the brutal crackdown against drug pushers was the Odicta couple, Melvin and Meriam, of Iloilo City. They were killed by unidentified gunmen in Caticlan Port in Aklan on their way back after "surrendering" to Interior and Local Government Secretary Mike Sueno in Quezon City in August.
The Odictas were the country's biggest names in illegal drug trafficking to fall in 2016. Following their death, some of the couple's top runners were either killed in "encounters" with police or arrested.
'SHABULIZED'
Aside from naming Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, ranked No. 5 in the 2014 World Mayor, as alleged protector of illegal drugs, Duterte also called the "City of Love" the "most shabulized city" in the country.
The tag, strongly belied and disputed by Mabilog and other local officials, demoralized some Ilonggos, especially those living in other parts of the world who suspected politics behind the "smear" drive.
Duterte also named three other prominent Iloilo mayors as "narco-politicians": Alex Centena of Calinog, Siegfredo Betita of Carles and and Mariano Malones of Maasin.
Like Mabilog, they all cried foul.
Duterte based his accusations on the list provided by his intelligence henchmen who had been tipped off by narcotics agents, some of them were reportedly allies of political rivals of those on the list.
SHAME
The shame campaign, which caught many local chef executives whose names were on the list flat-footed, didn't prove the guilt of the maligned mayors and governors.
Duterte, in fact, had flip-flopped and apologized to some of those he mentioned in the list, underscoring suspicions that he was fed with half-baked if not unverified reports from the field.
Two of them, Mayor Samsudin Dimaukom of Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao and Mayor Rolando Espinosa of Albuera, Leyte, however, were killed by police in separate encounters--all related to Duterte's nationwide campaign against illegal drugs.
Some three thousand suspected drug traffickers and drug addicts have been summarily executed since Duterte and his national police director, Chief Supt. Ronaldo "Bato" Dela Rosa launched the "all-out" war against illegal drugs in the country.
RIGHTS
Human rights advocates in the Philippines and abroad have criticized the apparent state-run extra-judicial killings (EJKs) and asked the president to halt the carnage.
They expressed alarm that some of those killed by lawmen in alleged "shootouts" were suspected pushers and young drug addicts and not convicted criminals.
Senator Leila De Lima, a former Commission on Human Rights commissioner, questioned the EJKs saying criminals are presumed innocent until proven by the court.
Duterte, who vowed to wipe out criminality in the country within six months starting in July, responded with derision and called his critics "SOB."
When the president and Dela Rosa could not meet the six-month deadline, Duterte asked for extension.
Killings are feared to escalate anew in 2017.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)