PNP chief no backbone

“Don't find fault, find a remedy.”

—Henry Ford

By Alex P. Vidal

IT’S been more than a week since Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Archie Franciso Gamboa threatened to relieve regional police directors who can’t stop illegal gambling operations in their respective jurisdictions.

We were among those who expressed skepticism that illegal gambling, which is deeply rooted in the psyche of Filipinos enamored with the games of chance, will be banished in only seven days—unless the regional police directors are supermen.

Since we haven’t heard of reports that heads rolled in as far as Gamboa’s edict was concerned, we assume that the regional directors have successfully implemented and satisfied the PNP chief’s wishes.

But if one day illegal gambling operations will once again “resurface” or if reports will come out that there are—or have been—clandestine operations of illegal gambling monitored in certain areas, this means Gamboa is not being respected and feared by his men.

This means he isn’t different from other past PNP director generals who had also used the “stop-the-illegal-gambling-operations” soliloquy to impress the public but did not have the instinctual will to walk their talk. 

This means Gamboa, too, is puro laway (all saliva) and no backbone as leader of the 191,000 police force.

-o0o-

Don’t confuse the public.

This must be the gist of Iloilo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 23 Presiding Judge Emerald Requina-Contreras’ order after after MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) went on what appeared to be a “post victory celebration” binge following the sheriffs’ implementation of the writ of possession in favor of MORE Power against its rival Panay Electric Company (PECO) on February 27 issued by the sala of Requina-Contreras.

The judge directed MORE Power "to remove all the ads pertaining to its full operation pending the resolution of the foregoing."

The ordered added: "MORE Power already made announcements on broadcast and social media that they are now in full operation of the distribution facilities of Iloilo City.”

The lady judge virtually put a gag order on MORE Power’s claim that it is now the sole power distributor in Iloilo City vice the PECO after the February 27 blitzkrieg.

Not to fast, the presiding judge ruled.

According to the presiding judge, MORE Power "may deploy their personnel to man and oversee the substations to exercise their possession and control the distribution facilities but the operations of the facilities should still be handled by PECO personnel who have the technical expertise."

She added: "To maintain the status quo of the operations, so as to give time for MORE Power to orient/train/immerse their personnel, before they can fully take control of the operation."

-o0o-

IT’S HERE. The coronavirus is officially here in the city where I live. 

The latest new released by New York City Health Department is that the Manhattan lawyer hospitalized with coronavirus is in “severe condition.”

The lawyer, identified by New York Post sources as Lawrence Garbuz, 50, runs a boutique law firm with his wife that also employs one of their four kids as a paralegal, according to information posted online.

The seven-lawyer practice, Lewis & Garbuz, is located across the street from Grand Central Terminal and specializes in matters including personal planning and wealth management, estate litigation, guardianships and elder law, its website says.

Garbuz and his wife, also 50, both graduated from New York University and earned law degrees from Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law before marrying in 1995, according to a wedding announcement published in the New York Times.

Garbuz was initially hospitalized Friday at Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, but was transferred on Monday to NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in Upper Manhattan when his condition worsened.

He is reportedly being treated in the Intensive Care Unit.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

PNP reg’l directors aren’t supermen

“Without gambling, I would not exist.”

—Hunter S. Thompson

By Alex P. Vidal

NO Philippine National Police (PNP) chief in the history has succeeded in totally eliminating illegal gambling operations in the country.

But almost every PNP chief who served the country had made a loud public outcry against illegal gambling and vowed to wipe it out during their stewardship.

And we know they all failed.

Thus PNP chief Police General Archie Franciso Gamboa’s latest agitation against illegal gambling operations wasn’t news anymore.

It won’t even be a news if he will also fail.

What’s news is his threat to lower the boom on PNP regional directors who can’t stop the numbers game operations in their respective jurisdictions for one week.

It’s a news because the task of totally stamping out illegal gambling operations has always been a tall order; it’s almost incredible, unachievable, and downright impossible.

For one week?

Only Superman can do that.

Gamboa’s regional directors aren’t even superheroes.

-o0o-

On Saturday (February 22), Gamboa boomed: "I have forwarded to you list of operators in your different regions. I’m giving you a week.”

Meaning that after one week, heads will roll; or regional directors who can’t curb illegal gambling operations in their areas of responsibility would be relieved.

Another problem for Gamboa is his reminder to all police officers “not to accept bribes from operators of illegal gambling.”

It’s like telling off-duty sailors not to enter inside the nightclubs in a port where their ships had docked.

We all know that many cops are in the payroll of illegal gambling operators since time immemorial. 

Some cops have even ended up as bodyguards of gambling lords when they went AWOL (absent without official leave) and after their retirement.

-o0o-

Not all of the PNP’s 191,000 personnel are immaculate.

We still believe though that the majority are dedicated and honest.  

If they weren’t protectors of illegal drugs, some cops were in cahoots with illegal gambling lords, and this reality has been a public knowledge even before the integration of the Philippine Constabulary (August 18, 1901-January 29, 1991) and the Integrated National Police (August 7, 1975-January 29, 1991).

Pressuring the regional directors to stop illegal gambling operations will never yield positive results in as far as the government’s campaign against illegal gambling is concerned.

Gambling operators who don’t want corrupt PNP regional directors to be axed might “cooperate” for the time being and stop their operations temporarily in order to please Gamboa and to protect these corrupt regional directors, but after several weeks or months, it will be “business as usual” or “back to business.”

-o0o-

Even Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) chief, Brigadier General Rene Pamuspusan has acknowledge the presence of bookies or illegal numbers game operations in many parts of Western Visayas.

He lamented that “apparently, there are really individuals who keep on insisting on doing something illegal.”

But even Pamuspusan probably feels that stopping these bookies operations isn’t a joke. 

These operators, who have been organized clandestinely for a long period of time, also operate like syndicates. 

They also have their own intelligence network and they are well-entrenched, well-oiled, and well-protected.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Espenido: A dead man walking?

“No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.”

—Niccolo Machiavelli

By Alex P. Vidal

WE won’t be surprised if controversial Police Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido will soon be the next target of the extra-judicial killing (EJK), a bloody method of executing criminals and which has tainted the image of the Philippines.

Let’s hope he won’t suffer the fates of Police Majors Joe Pring and Timoteo Zarcal, who were both gunned down at the height of their popularity as “trigger-happy” Manila cops in the early 90’s.

There is more than meets the eye in the recent move of the Philippine National Police (PNP) hierarchy to relieve the rock star of his post as deputy chief of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) after serving only for more or less four months.

Either there was truth to the report that Espenido was included in President Duterte’s list of police officials linked to illegal drugs, or he had to be axed for being someone “who knows too much.”

Four years since the Duterte administration uncorked the deadly war against illegal drugs, no one really knows the real score.

Nobody can tell how many street-level drug pushers have been neutralized and how many big time drug traffickers have been arrested.

Are they really being seriously pursued? 

Or everything in as far as the campaign against illegal drugs is just a charade?

-o0o-

What most people know is that we are losing the battle against illegal drugs.

That there is a disturbing trend of some prominent characters all over the country being abducted surreptitiously not for ransom but to be “silenced” (sometimes their bodies or skeletons were recovered in a drum underneath the river or in the deep water; and in most cases their whereabouts have remained unknown).  

More small fries and even bystanders are maimed and killed via EJK than the real traffickers of illegal substance. 

More arrests have been made against small time drug pushers than the drug lords, who still control the multi-billion business; and who still apparently enjoy the protection of those whose who are supposed to arrest and lock them in jail.

In his brief stint in Bacolod, Espenido must have become too big for his britches because of the gargantuan media attention he has been raking in.

Sent to Bacolod to do a man’s job, he failed to nail down a single drug lord and submitted an egg.

There were allegations that some big names in the higher echelon and the powers that be were not only involved in the protection racket of the syndicates but are members of the syndicates themselves.

If the syndicates have successfully hammered out their arm-twisting and influence-peddling tactics to sully Espenido’s reputation in Malacanang, he is finished.  

From hero to villain.

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REENERGIZE WITH EXERCISE EARLY EVENING. Even though we're tired, forcing ourselves to do aerobic exercise will energize us for a couple of hours and make it easier to fall asleep at night. 

Our body temperature naturally falls at night, shortly before bedtime, so the natural dip in temperature that happens about 2 hours after a workout can help us get to bed at a decent hour and wake up refreshed the next morning.

AVOID CHEMICALS IN OUR CANS. Canned food alert: Consumer Reports found bisphenol A-a chemical linked to reproductive problems, diabetes, and heart disease--in all 19 brandname canned foods it tested, including those labeled BPA free. 

Because levels vary so widely, even among cans of the same product, there's no way to predict how much we're getting.

LET'S TIME OUR NAP AFTER LUNCH. Research shows that naps, especially "power naps" of 20 to 30 minutes, help ward off fatigue. To maximize the benefits, let's try taking a siesta after lunch, when our energy levels are particularly low. 

Let us limit rest to less  than 30 minutes, or stretch it out to 60 to 90 minutes to avoid grogginess that results from waking up in the middle of deep sleep. (Source: Prevention)

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Relief of PNP officials no big deal

“The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.”

—Robert Peel

By Alex P. Vidal

THE leadership of the Police Regional Office-6 (PRO-6) led by Police Brigadier General Rene Pamuspusan should stop worrying that two of their top officials–Police Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido and Lt. Col. Mannan Muarip are now “outside the kulambo.”

Meaning they have been relieved and reassigned, along with 13 other police officials, to the Office of the Chief PNP (OCPNP).

According to reports, the relief is based on Special Order No. 2020-1079 issued by Police Major General Cesar Hawthorne Binag, acting chief of PNP Directorial Staff; and signed by Police Major General Reynaldo Biay, director for Personnel and Records Management of PNP.

If the relief order came from the PNP hierarchy it’s official and legal.

The OCPNP’s prerogative to reassign and reshuffle all PNP personnel should not be a big deal.

It must be obeyed and followed without much ado and blunderbuss unless it will endanger the national security. 

-o0o-

It has been practiced since the PNP was formed on January 29, 1991 when the Philippine Constabulary and the Integrated National Police were merged pursuant to Republic Act 6975 of 1990.

The PNP is a professional organization and all officials must adhere to its rules and regulations.

Thus Director Pamusmusan should not belabor himself “waiting for the reason of their (Espenido and Muarip) relief.”

What’s the use?

The OCPNP can’t be compelled to explain to all and sundry all its plans and purposes for reassignment of PNP officials.

The PNP, as an organization, can’t be influenced by any Tom, Dick, and Harry on its prerogative to designate its officials.

Nothing is special about Espenido and Muarip, as well as the 13 other PNP officials who have been also reassigned.

Some of the celebrated PNP officials may be media creation and celebrities, but they are still professional soldiers who must follow the chain of command and serve the community without purpose of evasion. They can’t choose their assignment.

-o0o-

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE. The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced it would convene a global research and innovation forum to mobilize international action in response to the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV). 

"Harnessing the power of science is critical for bringing this outbreak under control," said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “There are questions we need answers to, and tools we need developed as quickly as possible. WHO is playing an important coordinating role by bringing the scientific community together to identify research priorities and accelerate progress.”

The forum, to be held 11-12 February in Geneva, is organized in collaboration with the Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness.

The forum will bring together key players including leading scientists as well as public health agencies, ministries of health and research funders pursuing 2019-nCoV critical animal health and public health research and the development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, among other innovations. 

Participants will discuss several areas of research, including identifying the source of the virus as well as sharing of biological samples and genetic sequences.

 Experts will build on existing SARS and MERS coronavirus research and identify knowledge gaps and research priorities in order to accelerate scientific information and medical products most needed to minimize the impact of the 2019-nCoV outbreak. 

-o0o-

The meeting is expected to produce a global research agenda for the new coronavirus, setting priorities and frameworks that can guide which projects are undertaken first. “Understanding the disease, its reservoirs, transmission and clinical severity and then developing effective counter-measures is critical for the control of the outbreak, to reduce deaths and minimize the economic impact,” said Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, WHO Chief Scientist.

This will also fast-track the development and evaluation of effective diagnostic tests, vaccines and medicines, while establishing mechanisms for affordable access to vulnerable populations and facilitating community engagement.

“The WHO R&D Blueprint is a global strategy and preparedness platform that drives coordinated development of drugs and vaccines before epidemics, and allows the rapid activation of R&D activities during epidemics. It speeds up the availability of the diagnostics, vaccines and treatments and technologies that ultimately save lives,” added Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme.  

Setting clear global research priorities for the novel coronavirus should lead to more efficient investments, high-quality research and synergies among global researchers.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Espenido is not Hercules

"I do know one thing about me: I don't measure myself by others' expectations or let others define my worth."
--Sonia Sotomayor

By Alex P. Vidal

THOSE who expect newly designated Baclod City Police Office (BCPO) deputy city director for operations, Lieutenant Colonel Jovie Espenido to single-handedly erase all the drug traffickers in Bacolod City from the face of earth must either be high on drugs or just simply foolish and naive.
Espenido is not Hercules.
He is not even a Dirty Harry-type of law enforcer like what we all saw in the Clint Eastwood-starred Hollywood films in the 70's and 80's.
Espenido is a media creation.
His sensational stints as top cop in Leyte and Ozamis City where he led bloody crackdowns against prominent members of clans engaged in illegal drug made newspaper headlines yes, but they were all done with direct supervision and order from the higher ups that adhered to the iron-fist policy of the Duterte administration against illegal drugs.

-o0o-

Espenido did not become instant star by killing the bad guys on the spot in a chance encounter or random act of crime like Charles Bronson in The Death Wish.
Any wily and determined cop "assigned" to perform President Duterte's wishes will also hog newspaper headlines like Espenido for a "job well done."
Espenido was "placed there" for a special task; he was not an accidental hero, or an off-duty cop who bravely chased five hooligans in broad daylight and walked away over their dead bodies with a smoking gun like Wyatt Earp.
It's funny that fans of Extra-Judicial Killings (EJK) treated Espenido like he won the gold medal in the world gymnastics championship when he was recently officially introduced as the new BCPO deputy.
He was presented in the media like a folk hero who just crossed the River Styx after rescuing the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys.

-o0o-

It's funnier when Espenido invoked the name of God when asked by reporters if his campaign against illegal drugs in the City of Smile would be bloody.
He reportedly declared: “If it’s God’s will, hindi man tayo makasiguro nyan kasi ang sa atin trabaho lang. ‘Yung sa atin lang is the rule of law. ‘Yun man ang pinangarap ng Presidente natin na mandate ng batas sa PNP."
It's not God's will to kill crime suspects, much less those who have not been properly arrested and convicted in court.
It's not God's will to execute unarmed civilians on suspicion they have links to illegal drugs.
God's law is just. Man's law is banal and imprecise.
In parading Espenido and disclosing the nature of his assignment in the BCPO, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has telegraphed its punches.
Drug lords and other outlaws in Bacold City and other cities and provinces can now prepare how to handle the PNP's latest move.

-o0o-

Aside from donating sports equipment to the Iloilo City Government, we request the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to allow finance the training of Ilonggo athletes with potentials to win gold medals in international competitions.
Carlos Edriel Yulo, 19, the first-ever Filipino to win a gold medal at the world championships in Stuttgart on October 12, came from the grassroots.
Aside from the world-class facilities where Yulo and his fellow gymnasts trained, they were given the opportunities to hone their skills abroad from financial assistance given by the PSC, among other sources of training funds.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

If there's a bridge

"Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build bridges even when there are no rivers."
--Nikita Khrushchev

By Alex P. Vidal

ONLY a bridge can solve the problems of those regularly crossing the Iloilo Strait to Guimaras vice versa.
A bridge won't automatically kill the maritime industry in the area, but people will have a better alternative just in case a bad weather would render the transfer from one island to another vice versa via ferries impossible.
A bridge linking Guimaras and Iloilo will eliminate king-sized hassles and inconveniences just in case the government will not allow pumpboats to operate just like what happened days after the sea tragedy that killed nearly 31 pumpboat passengers.
A bridge will fast-track all the transactions and other urgent matters when travel time is reduced and maritime overloading of passengers and goods is nipped in the bud.
A bridge will be beneficial to the prosperity of both the provinces of Guimaras and Iloilo, including Iloilo City and other provinces and cities in Panay Island with economic and agricultural interests in Guimaras.
The government has promised to bridge the gap by building the bridge even before we heard McArthur promising "I shall return."
Let's hope the bridge will finally be erected before human beings can reach the planet Mars.

-o0o-

Just like the priests and the pastors, policemen also every now and then receive gifts--in kind and in cash--from Good Samaritans, businessmen, and, sometimes, from recipients (e.g. victims of crimes that have been solved) of their services mostly as "tokens of appreciation."
Even the heads of state, the highest church leaders and military and police generals accept gifts; but, sometimes, done incognito to dodge those with malicious minds.
Only a hypocrite cop will proclaim that he has not received offers of a gift (although there are really a few who are determined not to accept the gifts regardless who made the offer).
Nobody is actually taking seriously Republic Act 3019 or the anti-graft law, which clearly states that government workers should not accept gifts in exchange for favors. Since presents of small or insignificant value are reportedly exempted, most of those who accept gifts and want to justify it pretend what they got were only "peanuts."
We can put to big test this interesting hypothesis during the Yuletide Season, which is four months away.

-o0o-

If a grown up teenager or a young citizen wants to be a communist, a voodoo practitioner, or an advocate of exorcism, the parents shouldn't be cursed or blamed for it.
If it's the person's choice, it's his destiny and there is nothing the parents can do about it especially if the person is of legal age.
The parents, however, are responsible for their children's education in the early stage, especially the formation of the children's values and character.
It is assumed that when the children reach the legal age, they know what is wrong and what is right; they know what is legal and what is illegal.
Brian May once said, "The biggest emotion in creation is the bridge of optimism."
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Don't use the word ‘news’ if information isn’t true

“If you can manipulate news, a judge can manipulate the law. A smart lawyer can keep a killer out of jail, a smart accountant can keep a thief from paying taxes, a smart reporter could ruin your reputation- unfairly.”

--Mario Cuomo

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- INSTEAD of saying “it’s a fake information”, those who don’t believe that a certain information isn’t true are incorrectly saying “it’s a fake news.”
It’s a wrong choice of words. It’s a wrong syntax.
An information does not automatically translate into a news.
Raw information, in order to become a news, should have the basic facts and the following elements: what, when, where, who, why, how.
A mere information, on the other hand, has been defined by Mirriam-Webster as “the communication or reception of knowledge or intelligence” or “a knowledge obtained from investigation, study, or instruction.”
By telling Iloilo City reporters recently that the alleged assassination plot against the Garin father and son (Guimbal Mayor Oscar Sr. or “Oca” and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Oscar Jr or “Richard”) is “fake news”, what Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Oscar Albayalde actually meant was “the information about the purported assassination plot had not been validated and could not be true.”

-o0o-

If Albayalde got the story directly from the media, he can’t even call it as “fake” unless he wants to undermine the credibility of reporters and the authority of editors.
If the story had been disclosed by the media and picked by Albayalde, it becomes a news. It’s Albayalde’s call whether to confirm or deny it.
The least that Albayalde can do, actually, if the alleged assassination plot story came from the media (newspapers, radio, TV, Internet) is to tell the public that “the PNP will verify or investigate it”; or just directly, “we (in the PNP) don’t believe it.”
If it came from “sources within the PNP intelligence” it’s only an information, not news.
If Albayalde did not trust the information, or if he did not believe in the veracity of the PNP’s sources, he could now call it as a “fake information.”
But not as “fake news.”

-o0o-

I also would have wanted to call the attention of a high-ranking official in Negros Occidental who recently called a Facebook post by a critic about the capitol’s alleged “ghost” projects also as “fake news”.
He also lambasted the critic on the Facebook wall where the critic made the allegation.
Again, a Facebook post or comment is not a news. It’s only a piece of “information” in the user’s “status update” and is verifiable.
It’s always a waste of time and counter-productive to engage any critic in a ghoulish word war in the social media.
Unless the critic made the same allegations when interviewed by reporters; or, unless the critic filed an official complaint in the Office of the Ombudsman.
The high-ranking capitol official, or any concerned public official for that matter, will now have to explain whether he likes it or don’t.

-o0o-

MEET THE 10 NEW SUPERFOODS. The superstars -- blueberries, almonds, tomatoes, flaxseeds, broccoli, red wine, salmon, olive oil, edamme, brown rice. The understudy -- strawberries, peanuts, white button mushrooms, beer, sunflower seeds, cauliflower, trout, safflower oil, black beans, barley. Source: Sally Kuzemchak, R.D., Fitness: Mind, Body + Spirit…OUTSMARTING A SNACK ATTACK. Eating two small snacks a day can help us lose weight. Trouble is, research shows that we're munching more than ever before--choosing foods that are high in calories and fat--and packing on the pounds as a result. "Often we're not even hungry, but because we're surrounded by food, we're tempted to eat anyway," says Kerry Neville, Ph.D. of American Dietetic Assn…LET US STAND UP BEFORE TOUCHING THE TOILET HANDLE. One in three people flush while sitting down. If we are one of them, let us consider this: When we flush, droplets of water spray in the air. That means we can be exposed to bacteria, which increases our risk of getting a urinary tract infection (UTI). Source: Soap and Water & Common Sense.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Secure Jaro Cathedral but don’t shut off mobile lines

“There is no priority higher than the prevention of terrorism.”
--John Ashcroft

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- It’s normal for the Philippine National Police (PNP) to be jittery and panicky these days after the Jolo Cathedral bombing that killed 27 churchgoers, but let’s hope the PNP won’t ask anew the telecommunication companies to suspend the mobile phone lines during the Feast of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Jaro in Jaro district, Iloilo City in the Philippines on February 1-2, 2019.
The Candelaria de Jaro fiesta is one of the most attended and vastly prominent religious gatherings in Asia.
Suspending a vital communication network during this mammoth occasion would be antithesis; it can’t prevent anarchy if it will happen.
It will only embolden troublemakers or small-time terror punks to disrupt events that don’t have direct communication access to authorities and the public.
A huge district event with a suspended communication facility is a recipe for catastrophe; it will exacerbate tension and public paranoia.

-o0o-

If the attacks are carried out by suicide bombers like what happened in Jolo, according to initial investigations, even if we suspend the Panay Electric Company (PECO) lines chaos will still occur.
Determined bombers don’t give a damn whether mobile phone lines are shut off or active.
Their minds are programmed to kill and unleash a carnage by all means.
By all means, however, the PNP must secure the Jaro Cathedral premises where a large crowd normally converges to lit candles, pay homage to the patron saint, and attend the Mass.
The procession also romps off and ends in the Jaro Cathedral.
If terrorists or any lunatic, God forbid, will use long distance or remote-controlled bombs as feared by the PNP, the terrorists will have to belabor themselves in planting or distributing the explosive gadgets first on their target areas.
It’s not difficult to spot them if they act suspiciously, especially if they carry heavy items in their backpacks, during the planning stage.

-o0o-

With the PNP’s vast intelligence machinery and the mushrooming CCTVs, these terrorists will be stopped on their tracks even before approaching their target areas.
We have abundance of watchdogs and alert residents in the different districts: barangay tanods, vendors, trisikad drivers, cabbies, among other ordinary folk, who can easily notice if someone not familiar with them behaves abnormally in their areas.
Let’s leave the mobile phone lines alone.
Instead, the PNP should buttress their monitoring network and surround vital areas that have potential attractions and interests to the terror groups.
Sometimes all of these are just figments of our imagination.
It may not happen, after all.

Cellphone signal cut off a stupid decision

"If I don't have wisdom, I can teach you only ignorance."
-- Leo Buscaglia

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Because of so much paranoia, the local Philippine National Police (PNP) leadership was able to convince the telecommunication companies to halt mobile signals in Iloilo City in the Philippines
during the highlights of the 2019 Dinagyang Festival.
While the rest of the world will be busy texting and talking over the mobile phones for the weekend chat, Ilonggos will be muzzled and pushed back inside the dark cave for several hours.
If Ilonggos within Iloilo City and abroad are unable to transmit important text messages and calls to their loved ones from six o'clock in the morning until two o'clock in the afternoon on January 26 and 27, blame the law enforcement authority's stupid edict, which will only be complied by the telecommunication companies.
If reports were true, even the Internet connections, the most vital of all forms of modern communication worldwide, would be cut off during that period.
The PNP invoked "security measures" for the doltish move.
It's better to be safe than sorry; or, as they always parroted in the security exercises, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

-o0o-

In their assessment, if telecommunications are suspended, troublemakers or terrorists with high tech gadgets and deadly weapons will be thwarted and won't be able to exploit and disrupt the City of Love's festive atmosphere.
In their thinking, clever bomb experts wont to utilize long-distance or wireless explosives, might strike at random and sabotage the world-renowned religious and cultural festival.
They have imagined the worst possible scenario, and it is part of their job--and paranoia.
If we remember it right, they have done the same display of morbid doubts and fears in the last four stagings of the Dinagyang Festival.
With more than 2,300 police officers to be deployed within the performance areas and their environs to monitor the peace and order situation on top of the PNP's vast intelligence network, it's inconceivable for any high tech amok or terrorist group to breach the police's security phalanx and create a public mayhem.
The best precautionary measures are still actually sustained sleuthing and monitoring to be done days or hours prior to the two-day highlight events.
Iloilo City is not a security nightmare geographically.
It is surrounded by rivers; and the only way for any determined terrorist or bomb wacko to sneak in is via the parachute.
It appears, however, that the possibility of Extra Terrestrials (E.T.) entering Iloilo City and mixing with the crowd to join the revelry is more possible than the suicide bombers or jihadists succeeding to detonate an explosive device while the Ilonggos are shouting "Hala Bira!"

-o0o-

Let's review the history. Long ago--more than 3,000 years--a band of Greek princes and heroes made a war on the city of Troy, in Asia Minor.
They laid siege to the city, but the Trojans were not easily beaten and the war went on for 10 years.
It might not have ended even then had not Odysseus, the cleverest of the Greeks, devised a scheme to overthrow the city.
The Greeks pretended that they were giving up the siege and began making preparations to leave.
One of the things that they did was to build a gigantic wooden horse.
They left this on the shore, and then went on board their ships and sailed away.
When the Trojans saw the Greek warriors depart, there was great rejoicing.
Believing the horse to be a luck offering to the gods, they opened their gates and hauled the horse inside as a prize of victory.
During the night, however, when the feasting was over and the Trojans were asleep, a door was opened in the side of the hollow wooden animal and out crept a band of Greeks who had been concealed inside.
These men opened the gates of the city and let in the main army of the Greeks, who had sailed back again as soon as darkness had fallen.
Thus Troy was captured and destroyed.
Long ago the blind poet of ancient Greece, Homer, told about the Trojan horse in his Odyssey.
Even today the name is applied to a person or persons who get inside enemy territory and help outside forces to get in and conquer it

How about the murdered cops, Congressman Bataoil?

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
--Martin Luther King, Jr.

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Was it a populist rant?
Or a brotherly malasakit (deep concern) from a retired police official turned lawmaker tormented by the humiliation suffered by a “promdi” cop?
Pangasinan Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil earned pogi points from his former colleagues in the Philippine National Police (PNP) when he lambasted in the Philippines’ House of Representatives the Garin father and son, Guimbal Mayor Oscar “Oca” Sr. and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Oscar “Richard” Jr., in a privilege speech January 14.
The two top male members of the feared but fizzy Garin political dynasty in Iloilo have been slapped with criminal charges by Guimbal, Iloilo’s Police Officer 3 Federico Macaya Jr. for allegedly mauling the cop in Guimbal town in December 2018.
The incident scandalized the entire PNP hierarchy that it immediately moved to strip the Garins of their police escorts.
No less than President Duterte has called for the filing of necessary cases against the Garins.
The Garins surrendered their firearms in Iloilo through Vice Governor Christine Garin, Oca’s daughter and Richard’s sister.

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The mauling incident instantly spread in the national media and the internet.
It became the talk of the town.
About three weeks after the incident, Bataoil, who once served as chief of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) regional operations and plans division of the Police Regional Office 6 in the early 2000, was in the rostrum unloading a Philippic:
“My heart bleeds for PO3 Macaya and many others who, like him, are all but nameless men and women in uniform quietly serving, and even dying, albeit some of them being subjected as well to assault, disrespect and abuse by persons in high elective office–the so-called mighty and powerful,“ he bewailed.
“I condemn in the strongest terms the fate that befell Police Officer 3 Federico Macaya Jr. of Guimbal police station when he was subjected to kicks, slaps and fist blows while the hapless policeman was handcuffed, unable to defend himself, and held at gunpoint.”
Bataoil fired the cylinders as a lawmaker to mollify the offended Guimbal cop and lift the spirit of the PNP.
He also wanted “to remind” the likes of Garins and other elected public officials “that we are not high and mighty.”
Good to the ears and excellent display of courage and grit for Bataoil, picking up the cudgels for an abused policeman.
PNP personnel invited to be present inside the House of Representatives applauded and gave Bataoil a standing ovation.
Before Macaya’s case acquired a colossal media attention, news about police personnel as victims of violence and even murder have already hogged prime time news headlines.

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Since Macaya comes from Iloilo, we will cite only a few cases familiar with the Ilonggos: the murders of former Negros police chief, Supt. Santiago Rapiz in Dipolog City; SP01 Ronaldo Alag in Iloilo City, and Senior Insp. Porferio Gabuya Jr. in Negros.
Like Macaya’s case, the brutal killings of the aforementioned cops happened only in November and December 2018.
Rapiz was killed in an “encounter” with fellow cops in an anti-drug operation, while Alag and Gabuya were mowed down by bullets fired by the notorious riding-in-tandem assailants.
They were tagged as alleged coddlers of illegal drugs even before they were formally charged in the proper court and killed violently
They were murdered without due process and forever silenced and shamed without any chance to clear their names.
Because they were linked in ugly activities, they were portrayed unjustly and appallingly in the media and died like movie villains--unlike Macaya who easily earned public sympathy after being allegedly kicked, slapped, and spat at on the face while his hands were cuffed.
Did Bataoil’s heart not bleed when these police officers were assaulted worse than Macaya?

Apple Alag was PNP’s ‘small but terrible’

“Only crime and the criminal, it is true, confront us with the perplexity of radical evil; but only the hypocrite is really rotten to the core.”
--Hannah Arendt

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Retired SPO2 Ronald “Apple” Alag, 57, was one of the three rookie cops known in Iloilo City in the Philippines as “small but terrible” during the heyday of the late former Metrodistrict Police Command (Metrodiscom) chief, Col. Achilles Plagata, in the mid-80’s.
“Si Apple (Alag) masaligan ko gid ina. Maboot ina nga pulis (I have trust in Apple. He is a good cop),” Plagata told us, members of the Iloilo City Hall Press Corps, when “Tay Achil” was city councilor in the 90’s.
Plagata’s reaction came after Apple hogged headlines in the local media when a fellow cop, Douglas Demonteverde, nearly shot Apple with an armalite rifle inside the Arevelo Police Precinct in Villa, Arevalo district sometime in 1996.
This was how Apple’s name first became controversial.

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Apple, then the Arevalo police desk sergeant, confronted Demonteverde for his tardiness, among other infractions.
Demonteverde, who didn’t like the admonition, aimed the firearm at Apple and yelled in local dialect, “So what if you are an Alag? I am not afraid to shoot you right now.”
Cooler heads pacified them.
“This is now my second life,” Apple told reporters who responded in the station.
He didn’t fight back “because I was armed only with a .38 caliber.”
Aside from Apple, fellow rookie cops Ricky Thornton and Nathaniel Ore were also known as “small but terrible” because of their frame and effectiveness in hunting down snatchers, thieves, and other criminals.
They could be mistaken for civilians and teenagers, thus they were able to easily round up some of the most notorious criminals in the metropolis.
Apple, Thornton, Ore, Ashley Agustin, Danilo Tan were five of the finest and the best cops under Plagata’s wing who did excellent intelligence works for the Metrodiscom (now the Iloilo City Police Office).
Because of their sharpness and impressive abilities, criminals in Iloilo City fell one after the other and peace and order was at its lowest in those years.
Alag became known as “Apple” because “he was the apple of the eyes” of his family, colleagues, some reporters and even criminals.

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I first heard of Apple in 1996 when his name surfaced as one of the two cops linked to the late controversial Supt. Mosa “Batman” Amiyong, who was gunned down on November 22, 2013 on Quirino Bridge in Iloilo City.
Apple and colleague Rex Egpuara, a former bodyguard of the slain Bombo Radyo anchorman Rino Arcones, reportedly “worked” for Amiyong, who was then suspected of “facilitating” the entry of illegal drugs from Mindanao to Iloilo.
There was no evidence that directly linked Apple and Egpuara to Amiyong’s alleged illegal activities.
Before the late suspected drug lord Melvin “Boyet” Odicta Sr. ruled the illegal drug trade in Western Visayas, then Metrodiscom chief, Col. Vicente Neptuno, using a K9 dog, nabbed suspected drug dealer, Bolane Daquiado, nephew of the late Agusan del Norte Mayor Nilo “Taklong” Soliva, in a raid in Jereos Extension, La Paz district.

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Writing for Sun.Star Iloilo, I again heard of Apple’s name but there was no evidence to link him to Bolane’s group.
Reporters covering the police beat, fellow cops and family members described Apple as “maboot, maalwan, maamigohon kag mapisan (a good-natured person, generous, friendly, diligent).”
When he retired from the PNP in 2005, Apple’s “only mistake” was he became known as Odicta’s “bodyguard”.
Apple reportedly “sidelined” as security guard in Odicta’s pawnshop in Maria Clara, City Proper but was actually “actively involved in Odicta’s illegal drug trade” as “protector.”
There was no evidence that Apple personally sold illegal drugs after Odicta and his wife, Meriam, were murdered in Caticlan, Aklan two years ago, but the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) confirmed he was in the watch list of personalities engaged in illegal drugs.

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Apple’s murder by two riding-in-tandem assailants (one had served as the shooter and the other as the driver) in the morning on November 19, 2018 in Brgy. Villa Anita, Iloilo City Proper was brazen because it happened in broad daylight (at around 8 o’clock in the morning) in his own territory, the place where he grew up.
Apple was driving his white van when the unidentified gunman, a back rider, shot him on his left side. He died of multiple gunshot wounds in the hospital.
The crime was captured on CCTV.
The attackers were so determined to finish him off that they weren’t afraid to attack Apple in the village where the incumbent punong barangay is his brother, Ondoy, a former firefighter.
Of the three Alags who served as law enforcers, Apple was considered as “the most well-loved and admired” by his friends and neighbors.
Apple’s two other older brothers are now retired former Philippine Constabulary (PC) members Alfonso and Celoy, who were known as “astigs” (toughies) who “didn’t have mercy for the criminals.”
Some inmates in the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) reportedly “liked” Apple “because he didn’t harm them physically and (he) even shared some of his ‘blessings’ to them.”

Salinas’ faith in judicial process

“I believe if you keep your faith, you keep your trust, you keep the right attitude, if you're grateful, you'll see God open up new doors.”
--Joel Osteen

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- It pays to have a positive mindset and to have a faith in the judicial system.
When the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the dismissal from the Philippine National Police (PNP) of Senior Superintendent Cornelio Salinas, Superintendent Nepomuceno Corpus Jr., and Senior Superintendent Michel Amos Filart on Nov 5, 2015 for alleged involvement in the anomalous procurement of 16 police coastal crafts (PCCs) worth P4.54 million in 2009, they didn’t lose hope.
For allegedly making “FPT their sole choice of supplier and dispensing the public bidding for the 16 PCCs despite working knowledge on violations of Section 48 and 53 of Republic Act 9148 (Government Procurement Reform Act),” the Consolidated Resolution of the Ombudsman on June 2, 2015 and the order dated March 26, 2016 found 19 police officials guilty of grave misconduct.
Until the day that their dismissal spread all over the country when it hogged headlines, the three, particularly Salinas, maintained their innocence.

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Salinas and his fellow dismissed officials swore they never pocketed a single centavo from the doomed deal and vowed to appeal their dismissal and clear their names.
They were former members of the PNP Maritime Group’s Bids and Awards Committee that approved the PCC’s procurement.
For this part, Salinas, who was backed by Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Sr., continued to have faith in the Philippines’ judicial process; he pinned his hopes on his “clear conscience” and the fact that there was no solid evidence that would show he took part in an anomalous transaction.
Instead of badmouthing the justice system like what other victims of injustices in the Philippines are doing, Salinas and his colleagues appealed their case in the Court of Appeals.
Instead of hiding from the public and avoiding the press, Salinas, even after he became a civilian after the dismissal, made his present felt in coffee shops and important gatherings to show to the world he was unfazed, didn’t lose his self esteem, and was willing to cooperate with the legal process.

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He cracked jokes with reporters in coffee shops and other public places and made himself available to everyone wishing to exchange a conversation with him as if his police career was never in trouble.
The former chief of the Iloilo Provincial Police Office (IPPO) showed neither rancor nor hatred toward the justice system and those responsible for his dismissal.
Salinas believed from the beginning that there would be light at the end of the tunnel.
The Court of Appeals 13th Division reversed the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman in a decision on January 30, 2018 but was made available only to media recently.
Report said the CA agreed to the petitioners’ claim that they resorted to negotiated procurement due to urgent needs brought by typhoons Ondoy, Peping, Quedan, Ramil, Santi, Tino, Urduja, and Vinta.
As a result of his faith in the judicial process and his positive mental attitude, Salinas and his fellow officers have been reinstated in the PNP service and will “be paid their salaries and such other emoluments corresponding to the period they were out of the service by reason of judgment of dismissal decreed by the Office of Ombudsman,” said the memorandum signed by Deputy Director General Camilo Cascolan, chief of the PNP National Directorial Staff.

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I have expressed my personal stand as a journalist that I don’t agree that press accreditation should be canceled by any administration annoyed by how reporters ask questions during press briefings.
But I also don’t agree that reporters should act rudely and digress from normal discourse and show abusive decorum.
In the end, we are happy though that the White House on November 19, 2018 announced that CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's press pass has been "restored."
CNN believed White House “bowed” to days of pressure and a federal lawsuit against the administration.
The giant news network signaled that it would drop the ongoing litigation over Acosta's access to the White House.
CNN said in a statement: "Today the White House fully restored Jim Acosta's press pass. As a result, our lawsuit is no longer necessary. We look forward to continuing to cover the White House."
Monday afternoon's announcement, what the White House called a "final determination," was an abrupt shift from the administration's earlier positions.

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SAVING OUR PLANET 1: Clean up with vinegar. Don't clean up our toilets with a mineral-deposits remover as it contains harsh chemicals that harm the environment when flushed down the toilet into the water system. Vinegar is an excellent substitute to scrub off rush and deposits marks.
SAVING OUR PLANET 2: Let's salt our silver. Silver cleaners can be abrasive and harsh. Let's make our own cleaner for sterling (not plate) silver by mixing 1 pint of water with a teaspoon each of salt and baking powder and adding a strip of aluminum foil. Drop the silver into this mixture, boil for a few minutes, remove with tongs and polish with a soft cloth. Add lemon juice for really grimy silver.

Trapped!

“The drops of rain make a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling.” -Lucretius

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- We wouldn’t venture to speculate what exactly happened pre-dawn on August 15, 2018 at Barangay Atabay, San Jose, Antique in the Philippines when members of the Antique Provincial Mobile Force, 301st Brigade, San Jose PNP, 61st Infantry Battalion swooped down on an abandoned church and killed seven suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA).
The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) claimed the seven: Jayson Talibu, Jason Sanchez, Karen Ceralvo, Ildefenso Labinghisa, Peter Mecenas, Liezl Bandiola and Felix Salditos engaged the joint PNP-AFP teams in a firefight while they were serving a warrant of arrest.
In this version, the seven were killed in an encounter.

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Since no one among the bodies lined up and presented to media hours after the “encounter” had survived and no other “rebels” were captured alive, nobody can dispute the PNP-AFP version of a firefight.
Dead men tell no tales.
On the other hand, nobody can tell or corroborate if the government forces had also suffered casualties.
An encounter or firefight means both sides fired gunshots to and from various directions.
A thirty-minute (that’s the police version in their report) gun battle would have been messy, bloody and confusing.
There would have been stray bullets hitting the houses nearby or civilians caught in the middle of the deadly violence which happened when everyone in that village was already sleeping.
Police and military officials neither confirmed nor denied some of their men were also hit and wounded.
Media were just informed an “encounter” happened and the enemies were unlucky as shown by the body count.

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Since human rights groups and families of the dead, now known as “Antique 7”, are claiming otherwise and have moved to file a complaint before the International Criminal Court (ICC) through the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL), some people are getting curious and confused.
They want a clearer picture of what exactly had happened.
Families and supporters of “Antique 7” insisted their loved ones were victims of a massacre.
They threw away to the dustbin the PNP-AFP version of encounter.
Ruth Salditos, Felix’s wife, claimed the victims suffered almost the same “fatal” gunshot wounds on the head, neck and stomach and appeared to be “sleeping” when attacked.
The National Democratic Front (NDF), which admitted the “Antique 7” were its members, claimed the seven were unarmed and were “cultural and educational warriors and non-combatants.”

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The PNP, particularly the Regional Police Office-6 (PRO-6) led by Director John Bulalacao, accused the seven of engaging in extortion activities.
Some of the items seized in the vicinity after the “encounter” were reportedly extortion letters and several high-powered firearms, ammunition, grenades and cash.
Human rights group Karapatan-Panay and families of slain communist rebels and Bulalacao have been swapping heated accusations in media.
The word war is expected to escalate as the families and other cause-oriented groups demand justice for the killing of the “Antique 7” while the PNP and the AFP stand by their claim of a “legitimate encounter” and appeared unperturbed.
Massacre or encounter, we have one description of what happened to the “Antique 7”: trapped.

Secure Iloilo mayors Centena, Malones, Betita

“The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”
--Sun Tzu

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- We join our fellow “concerned” Ilonggos in the Philippines and abroad in the call for the League of the Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Iloilo Chapter to use all its resources to secure Mayors Alex Centena of Calinog, Mariano Malones of Maasin, and Siegfredo Betita of Carles.
The three are among the local chief executives in the Philippines linked by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in illegal drugs.
As among the country’s most outstanding mayors, they don’t deserve to die violently based on wrong information and accusation.
Even if they have repeatedly and emotionally denied their involvement in narcotics, their names have remained dangling in the controversial list.
It’s better to praise 40 thieves and pagans than to condemn and put to risk the life of an innocent person.

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Some of the mayors included in the bloody list are now dead; killed violently by unidentified assailants in separate attacks even before they could clear their names.
There has been no assurance from the Philippine National Police (PNP) or even the President himself that the killings of “narco politicians’” will end soon.
In fact, the President himself has offered rewards for law enforcers who can kill drug traffickers.
President Duterte goaded and “inspired” uniformed personnel sworn to protect the civilians to commit a criminal act against both the drug addicts and drug traffickers.
He even sided with police officials and ordinary cops implicated in extra-judicial killings (EJK) involving suspected drug traffickers--civilians or government officials and rogue cops.
We are not saying that the President and the PNP are behind the murderous binge, but the words and body languages of some PNP generals, especially President Duterte himself, suggest that they don’t condemn and discourage the bloody murders.
As feared by many human rights watchdogs, “they may have even abetted it.”

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There have been no solid pieces of evidence, of course, that would link President Duterte and the PNP, but the culture of impunity in the Philippines has been overwhelmingly associated with the administration’s “all out” campaign against illegal drugs.
Now that election season is fast approaching, some politicians and disgruntled syndicate leaders might take advantage of President Duterte’s controversial “narco list” and order the assassination of their opponents in the May 2019 elections who are on the list, to make it appear they were waylaid for their “involvement” in narcotics business.
Whether they are up for reelection, Mayors Centena, Malones, and Betita undoubtedly have been exposed to danger--including members of their family just like other mayors, governors and other elected public officials maligned by the feeble “narco list.”

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We don’t point an accusing finger to the President and make conclusions with absolute certainty that he might order the murder of the three Ilonggo mayors, but according to his bombastic speeches in the past, he “will definitely kill” former Iloilo City mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog whom he accused of being a “narco politician” and “the cousin” of murdered Western Visayas drug lord Boyet Odicta.
In linking the mayors and other local government chief executives in illegal drugs, an outraged President Duterte said he based it on “intelligence reports” which could also be false or “doctored.”

Can Dorben Acap survive?

“When people are laughing, they're generally not killing one another.”
--Alan Alda

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- If it is true that those who wanted Iloilo City PO1 Dorben Acap dead were his own superiors, then he really has reason to panic and “feel helpless” as reported.
There is a popular saying in the underworld that if your bosses are your own “enemies” you can’t be rescued even by the ghosts in heaven.
Acap is reportedly under the watch list of those suspected to be engaged in illegal drugs in Western Visayas.
He denied it and swore he is not a rogue cop.
Acap has been talking to the media and even threatened to “tell everything” once he has fully recovered.
In a mob world, if the victim’s superiors ordered the hit and he survived, they usually consider the target as a “dead man talking” (Not to be confused with "dead man walking").

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Targets of assassination by a “big organization” (whatever it is) who survived usually are mowed down in the second or third attempt.
The harassment and assault, which have the “imprimatur” from “above”, will never stop.
This can be attested in the films made about mafia or big syndicates that exterminate their own men who either have rat against the group or have become “too big for their britches.”
Let’s hope this won’t happen to Acap especially if he is innocent and is actually a dedicated and honest police officer who leads a life as a role model to his children.
Acap is always presumed innocent until proven otherwise.
He could be a victim of mistaken identity or intrigues.
If Acap is really “notorious” whatever that means, he should be given his day in court and not subjected to gossip and summary execution.

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There was no evidence, however, that Philippine National Police (PNP) bigwigs in Western Visayas were behind the failed attempt to finish off Acap, who survived an ambush staged by motorcycle-riding gunmen while driving his car in Arevalo district June 26 afternoon.
It was not immediately established that the foiled attempt to kill Acap had something to do with President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s order to kill all drug traffickers, including village officials and “narco cops.”
Acap, however, insisted he was able to positively identify PO2 Melvin Mocorro as one of the three gunmen who was hit when he fired back.
Moccoro was placed under hospital arrest by Senior Insp. Mary Grace Borio, Arevalo police station chief, while confined for gunshot wounds at the Iloilo Mission Hospital in Jaro district, while Acap, assigned at Camp Martin Delgado Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit, was treated at The Medical City in Molo district.
Both policemen will survive.

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It’s Russia versus Croatia and Uruguay versus France in the first waves of quarterfinals.
By the time this article comes out, we shall know the results of the remaining Round of 16 matches in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.
These matches are: Belgium versus Japan; Brazil versus Mexico; Sweden versus Switzerland; and Colombia versus England.
This year’s World Cup has been touted as “one of the best” if not the best because of the series of upsets and surprises, not to mention the quality of performances executed by both the highly touted and not-so-great soccer players.
We are near the semifinals and the finals and the world is going crazy.

I’m a Viber FIFA 'chatbot' participant

“FIFA stands for discipline, respect, fair-play, not just on the field of play, but in our society as well.”
-- Sepp Blatter

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) in Western Visayas has set up two hotlines where Ilonggos can use directly to call and report abuses committed by organic PNP members, especially those involved in illegal drugs.
Because some lawmen are still in cahoots if not directly involved in criminal activities, the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6), headed by Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao, has to belabor creating the hotlines for the organization’s bad eggs instead of using the hotlines directly for Ilonggos to report certain criminal activities unfolding or about to unfold in the communities.

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If only all the Filipino cops are honest and well-disciplined, the two PRO-6 hotline numbers 09989673651 and 09985629523 would be used to accommodate only calls or text messages from Good Samaritans or “concerned citizens” to track down the real lawbreakers wearing civilian cloths, not a police uniform.
The fact that the hotlines were established purposely for the rogue cops means the PNP has acknowledged that the serpents in paradise and the snakes in the forest have not been totally stamped out within the ranks.

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I have accepted the invitation of Viber to participate in its World Football Chatbot.
As a “participant”, I get daily match reminders, predict results, collect points and challenge my friends during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia from June 14 to July 15.
And if “I want to make it interesting”, I can take part in the global competition and win daily prizes for spot-on predictions.
If I am lucky to earn most points I can win the grand prize: VIP tickets and trip to see FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid in Spain. Wow.
Because I was interested, I agreed to tap “Yes, I agree” to accept terms and enter the prize winning competition.

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For a start, in the matches scheduled on June 22, I picked Brazil over Costa Rica with a score of 1-0 in Group E; Nigeria over Iceland with a score of 1-0 in Group D; Serbia over Switzerland with a score of 2-0 also in Group E.
Also, in the matches scheduled on June 23, I picked Belgium over Tunisia (1-0) in Group G; Korea Republic and Mexico a draw (0-0) in Group F; Germany over Sweden (1-0) also in Group F.
I am not a Nostradamus of soccer, but I hope I’ll win. Good luck to me.

A waste of time to run after ‘playboy cops’

“I think I'm a natural-born leader. I know how to bow down to authority if it's authority that I respect.”
--Tupac Shakur

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- When President Rodrigo R. Duterte arrived at the Iloilo International Convention Center for the Philippine Councilors League (PCL) 2nd Quarterly National Executive Officers and National Board Meeting on June 20, he was met outside by Iloilo City Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III, who bowed before the Philippines’ highest official like a Japanese after holding and shaking the president’s right hand with his two hands.
Mayor Joe III’s gesture was normally a form of greeting, probably a sign of respect performed by other leaders almost everywhere in Korea, Japan, Vietnam and China.
Aside from using it to welcome VIPs (very important persons), head bowing is also done before and after martial arts practice and competition, at tea ceremonies and at religious shrines.
Bowing of the head is quite complex and may be used to express deference, sincerity, humility and remorse, although it may look simple like what Mayor Joe III did.

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Mayor Joe III’s critics, however, have their own interpretations of that extra body language.
They thought there’s more than meets the eye in the city mayor’s “over reaction.”
They theorized Mayor Joe III had been “starstrucked” or “only intimidated.” Or both.
A handshake would have been enough, they said, since lowering ourselves make us look smaller and less threatening in the concept rooted in animalistic tendencies especially when we come face-to-face with a bear.
Since head bowing is a normal practice in Asia, it’s fine for Mayor Joe III to do it in front of a visiting president, a person in authority whose reputation is worse than a bear especially when dealing with criminals.

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Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao, the new Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) director, said the Philippine National Police (PNP) will not condone married cops maintaining illicit affairs or having mistresses.
They give the PNP a bad name, Chief Supt. Bulalacao lamented.
He pointed to the PNP’s Chiefs of Police Manual lists the ethical standards for policemen: Morality, judicious use of authority, justice, humility, orderliness, and perseverance, according to reports.
The police general bewailed that womanizers in the police organization are “answerable to God and to the laws of the land.”
Chief Supt. Bulalacao is correct.

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But the PNP will waste precious time if they will run after organic members engaging in sexual peccadilloes. In the Philippines, some of those who have more than one wives are cops and military men.
Next are politicians and media personalities.
It’s in our culture which is patriarchal by nature.
Some Filipino women are suckers to a “false sense of authority” and a “false sense of security.”
If the male perpetrator has a gun or position, he is being looked up to as a “savior” and “powerful”, thus even if he isn’t handsome-or even if he isn’t rich-a woman will easily fall for him.