During the continuation of the Senate Investigation on the missing students allegedly recruited by leftist group, Mrs. Alicia Lucena addressed Kabataan party-list Rep. Sarah Elago and other lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc to surrender her child.

Mrs. Lucena couldn’t hide her emotions while reading her message to the leftist group leaders, pleading to them to give her child Alicia back to her custody.

Alicia is a grade 11 student of the Far Eastern University who got recruited by the progressive group Anakbayan.

According to Mrs. Lucena, they’re planning to celebrate the 18th birthday of Alicia, however, the debut party didn’t happen anymore because the latter already left their home to join Anakbayan.

“Nananawagan lang po ako, kung may mga anak po kayo diba po dapat kayo magsasabi sa bata na umuwi na siya, kasi ako po ang magulang, ano pong ginagawa niyo sa anak ko? Mas may karapatan po ba kayo kaysa sa akin? H’wag niyo na pong gamitin ang anak ko, naawa na po ako sa kanya,” Mrs. Lucena said.

“Hindi ko na po alam ang sasabihin ko, nagmamakaawa na po ako. Dapat ako po yung pumuprotekta sa anak ko, bakit kayo? Ako dapat yung kasama ng anak ko, gusto ko lang pong makuha ang anak ko, gusto ko lang mabuhay ng maayos ang anak ko at makapag aral. Gusto ko po mag asawa bago ako mawala sa mundong ito ay nakatapos po yung anak namin,” she added.

“Gusto po namin kahit papaano ay may laban siya sa mundo, kung walang pinag aralan yung anak ko, ano po ang magiging trabaho niya? anong ipapakain niya sa mga anak niya?”

The message of Mrs. Lucena made Senator Dela Rosa emotional, urging the former to get her child from the custody of the Makabayan bloc by the help of the cops.

He also ensured the parents of the missing children that no one from the government would harm their child.

“Samahan ka ng pulis nandito si General Eleazar puntahan mo yun nag presscon sila ngayon doon, kunin mo yung anak mo, may pulis ka na kasama… hilahin mo, anak mo yun… you have all the right in this world to put your daughter in your custody,” Dela Rosa said.

“Sila wala silang karapatan, kaya kung sila ay humaharang sayo may Pulis na po-protekta sa iyo,” he added.

However, Mrs. Lucena is afraid that her child would escape again to their home.

One of the missing students who got recruited by the leftist group refused to go back to her parents saying that she’s only being used as an “investment”.

In a press conference together with the Makabayan bloc at the House of the Representatives, Alicia Lucena, a grade 11 student of the Far Eastern Univesity, said that she voluntarily joined Anakbayan and not forced like what her parents claimed.

According to her, she joined Anakbayan because of her hate against the government and its policies.

Despite the pleading of her mother during the Senate investigation, Alicia said that she doesn’t want to return to her mother, because she believes that she is going to be obliged by her parents to return what they spent to her since birth.

“May sapat na akong kaalaman, parang sinasabi nila na parang obligasyon ko raw at responsibilidad ko na sumunod sa kanila dahil nag invest sila sa akin at dapat ibalik ko yun sa kanila,” Alicia told the press.

“Parang investment lang ang pagiging anak, ayoko pong maging investment lang dahil hawak ko po yung sarili kong buhay, may mga sarili akong desisyon at buhay ko ito,” she added.

The press conference and the Senate investigation on the recruitment of leftist group held at the same time where Alicia’s mother, Relissa Lucena is present.

Even Senator Ronald Dela Rosa who’s leading the investigation urged Mrs. Lucena to recover her child from the custody of the Makabayan bloc.

“You have all the right in this world to put your daughter in your custody,” Dela Rosa told Mrs. Lucena.

However, the mother of the leftist student said that she’s afraid that her child might escape their home again and never come back.

We apologize for having a mistake to our original headline. We already made the corrections needed.

A former student from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) shared her story on how the leftist group recruited her.

During the continuation of the Senate investigation over missing children allegedly recruited by the leftist group, the student who introduced herself as “Allen” said that she’s aware of how the progressive groups spread propaganda in universities.

According to her, she joined the leftist group when she was recruited by a member from the League of the Filipino Students (LFS) and talk to her about contractualization.

Allen said that she was convinced to join the LFS in October 2014 because her mother is a contractual worker and she wanted to fight for her right.

She said that when she joined LFS, she received a short course titled “MKLRP” or Maikling kurso ng lipunan at rebolusyong Pilipino.

Allen bared that MKLRP was divided into four parts they are:

• Mayaman ang Pilipinas ngunit naghihirap ang sambayanang Pilipino.
• Kasasayanan ng Pilipinas, kasasayanan ng tungalian ng mga uri
• Tatlong Ugat ng Kahirapan, Imperyalismo, Piyudalismo at Kapitalismo
• Sa lahat ng problema sambayanang Pilipino, ang solusyon lamang ay digmaang bayan

At first, Allen said that she was amazed by the new things she discovered by the help of LFS.

“Wala pa po akong masyadong alam noon sa mundo, kaya po siguro madali rin po akong nakumbinsi,” Allen said.

She also narrated how she was recruited to the Kabataang Makabayan, an organization that supporting the New People’s Army.

The organizer teaches her how to deny that she’s a member of Kabataang Makabayan because her life may be put in danger if the cops or soldiers caught him as a member of the said group.

“Parang itinatanim na nila sa isipan ko na dahil alam ko na itong bagay na ito ay magiging delikado na ang buhay ko,” she said.

According to her, being a member of Kabataang Makabayan made her perform poorly in her studies.

After three years of being an activist, Allen said that she was successfully recruited by her groups mates to join the New People’s Army.

“Tatlong buwan po ako sa Bukidnon, tatlong buwan sa Compostela Valley,” she said.

Parents of missing children weep when they heard the statement of Allen

When she became pregnant, she asked help to her organization, however, they didn’t send any help to her which made her realize that she’s already abandoned by the group she once supported all the way.

“Kahit piso wala silang ibinigay, dahil wala na silang pakinabang sa amin,” she said.

Because of their difficult situation, she decided to end her life as a rebel and surrendered to the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Allen also revealed that she knows some of the missing children who joined the leftist group.

“Pakiramdam ko ako yung isa sa mga responsable kung bakit hanggang ngayon hindi parin sila nakakauwi sa mga pamilya nila, ako po kasi maswerte ako kasi nakita po nila ako ng buhay,” she said.

“Para sa mga kasamahan ko, maawa kayo sa mga magulang ninyo ang gusto nila ay makasama nila ang mga anak nila at makitang buhay, naiintindihan ko po kasi ito kasi nanay na ako ngayon,” she added.

The statement of Allen made some of the guests consisting of parents and former NPA rebels to weep.

She also told the students who wanted to join NPA that what the communist are teaching is very different from the actual situation.

Senator Panfilo Lacson rejected the proposal of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to make being a communist illegal again in the Philippines.

DILG Sec Eduardo Año proposed to revive the anti-subversion law to counter the communist organizations to recruit university students and make them a rebel.

However, Lacson said that making a stronger measure that would address the radicalization of students is better than reviving a law that already repealed during the Ramos administration.

“That’s [restoring the anti-subversion law] not under consideration. Na-decriminalize na ang Anti-Subversion Law. Anyway,ito naman will address ang aspect ng minors being recruited to join a terrorist group,” Lacson said.

“It encroaches on the fundamental right to a peaceful assembly, to protest. I don’t think I will support that,” he added.

Lacson said that there’s nothing wrong for the students to join organizations like Anakbayan or Kabataan party-list.

However, he pointed out that is possible to make joining the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and New People’s Army illegal.

“Kung magjo-join lang naman sa organizations like Kabataan party-list or Anakbayan, I don’t see any problem with that. Except of course that they are also violating the law for recruiting minors,” Lacson said.

The revival of the anti-subversion law was proposed after Senator Ronald Dela Rosa started an investigation over the missing minors who allegedly recruited by progressive groups.

Parents of the missing children shared their story to the public to help the lawmakers and university officials to prevent the brainwashing of other students.

However, some of the missing students already appeared in public and asked the help of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to protect them.

They denied that they are missing and explained that they only left their homes and families because they wanted to focus on activism.

Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno continues to work after a dental surgery on Tuesday.

In the photos posted by Manila City Information Office, it showed the Mayor signing documents while his staff is holding the IV fluid he’s taking after the surgery.

The Mayor already complained in his condition during the regular flag ceremony held at Bonifacio Monument, saying that it made him difficult to speak normally.

Moreno who admitted that his fear with a needle even published a live video before he went to a dental surgery that performed by Dr. Albert Espiritu.

However, he stopped the video when the surgery is about to stop because he doesn’t want the netizen to see his fear of needles.

“Tignan nga natin kung aaray ako, ang sakit ayoko ng karayom,” Moreno said in the live video.

“Balik ako ng work after this, ooperahan daw ako,” he added.

Moreno didn’t disclose his exact dental condition, however, some speculated that the doctor removed one of the Mayor’s teeth.

Meanwhile, some netizens expressed their concern to the Mayor saying that it’s better for him to rest after the surgery.

“Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso as much as you want to put everything in proper order, you also need to rest sir. Manila needs you for 9 years. You have the full support of your Vice Mayor and Councilors and all your staff. You can delegate some of your work.” Netizen Josephine Aranas said.

“Mayor, of all the things that you have done, this is the only thing that I don’t agree with. If you love Manila, you should love yourself first. Ano mangyayari pag nagkasakit ka because of exhaustion? Do you think that would help improve the situation in general? Better demonstrate your delegation skills even for a day or two.” netizen Josephine Aranas commented.

It’s not yet known if the Mayor took a break today.

Mayor Isko Moreno gave an ultimatum to two corporations that signed a joint venture agreement with the past administration of Manila to pay their obligations on Tuesday during a live video.

According to Moreno, Marketlife Management and Leasing Corporation and XRC Mall Developers Inc. privatized five public markets in Manila during the administration of former Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada in exchange of rehabilitating it for free.

Moreno bared that XRC Mall Developers Inc. that currently owns Sta. Ana Market, San Andres Market, Sampaloc Market, and Trabajo Market didn’t pay their obligations from April 2017 to July 2019 same with Marketlife Management and Leasing Corporation that currently handling Quinta Market.

Market life Management and Leasing Corporation need to pay P11,160,750 while XRC Mall Developers Inc. required to give the City Government of Manila P14,388,000.

“Kaya po ito nakakabagabag, kahit na anong sakit ng ipin ko hindi ko mapapaligtas itong sitwasyon na ito, buti nalang talaga na kahit ganito ang sitwasyon ko ay pumasok po ako para malamang ang tunay na sitwasyon,” said Moreno.

Moreno said that the joint venture between the said private companies promised to give revenue share to the City Government of Manila worth P1-M to P6-M annual guaranteed share per privatized market.

“Para namang hindi makatwiran ito, bakit hindi nila pinagkakaloob sa ating mga taga Maynila yung marapat na share ng city government para sa kanyang mamamayan ng lungsod,” said Moreno.

“Ang nakakalungkot, yung maliliit na manininda sa palengke na so-called po-proteksyunan ng nakaraang administrasyon ay dapat magbayad, pero yung malalaking korporasyon ay hindi nagbabayad? Hindi ho maganda yan” he added.

He gave a condition to the two companies to pay their dues within 72 hours or else the city government would take over the public market they privatized.

“Binibigyan ko po kayo ng 72 hours to pay your obligations to the people of Manila and the City Government of Manila, after that pag wala akong nakitang cheke sa lamesang ito na inyong obligasyon base sa kontratang pinirmahan niyo noong nakaraan administrasyon na patuloy naman naming kinikilala,” Moreno said.

“You’re in bad faith, how come you exist for two years not paying obligations? Nobody attended to this, this is unfair for the vendors inside our public market, sila nagbabayad tapos yung mga malalaki hindi nagbabayad?” he added.

“In the absence of payment, we will force to implement the provision of the contract to invalidate or at least strike down your contract and protect the interest of the public, after that no extension, you have to pay,”

Moreno vowed that he would not let private companies not to pay their obligations to the City Government of Manila.

He said that they’re going to investigate other companies who made a contract with Manila City.

“Kung mayroon pa kaming madidiskubre na kabulastugan or hindi makatwiran na ginagawa ninyo dala ng nasanay kayo sa mga dati na hindi inuunawa o binibigyan ng proteksyon ang mamamayan ng lungsod Maynila, tapos na po ang panahon niyo, tapos na po ang maliligayang araw ninyo,” Moreno said.

Mayor Isko Moreno reminded the government employees of the city government of Manila always to smile while performing their job.

During the regular flag-raising ceremony at the Bonifacio Monument, Moreno told the employees to accept that they’re going to face hardships in life, but he believes that problems would make them strong.

“Smile! Life is complicated by itself. Don’t make it more complicated, hayaan mo na yang wagas makialam sa iyo sa Facebook, kung makapag comment siya sayo wagas, hayaan mo na yun, ang importante ikaw ay may pangraos sa Pamilya mo, ikaw ay bahagi ng pagsasa ayos,” said Moreno.

“Ang ampalaya, maganda sa diabetes, pero sa buhay hindi yan maganda wag niyong papaitin ang inyong maasim na mukha, be pleasant, sometimes we feel bad to our health, sometimes we feel bad about our failures, pero alam mo sa buhay talagang maraming pagsubok, pero ang pag subok na ating kinakaharap ang nagpapatibay ng ating kalooban,” he added.

He said that there are many stories in Manila City alone and they only need to listen to realize that they are still lucky despite the problems they’re facing in life.

This is not the first time that Moreno urged the public employees to smile at work.

Several weeks ago, Moreno urged the health workers that if they cannot smile while facing their patients, they should start to look for another job.

“Makikisuyo naman. Frontline kayo ng gobyerno in delivering services, in this case, health services. Kung hindi na kayo masaya sa trabaho ‘nyo dahil kayo’y masungit na kinakaharap yung mga may sakit, kaya kayo’y nagsusungit dahil pagod na kayo, kaya kayo’y nagsusungit dahil ‘di na kayo masaya sa ginagawa ‘nyo, pwede naman kayong magpaalam,” Moreno said.

“Totoong nakakapagod, jusko nakakapagod…pero pinasok natin ito. This is public service eh. Ano ba naman ang kaunting ngiti?” he also said.

Mayor Vico Sotto explained to the netizens on social media why he’s having difficulties in solving the traffic problem in Pasig City.

On August 9, Sotto made a lengthy post explaining why the recent decision of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to solve the traffic in EDSA made the situation along major roads in Pasig City worse.

According to him, many vehicles coming from other cities are now using the roads of Pasig City including C5 because of some new rules along EDSA, but he said that he would still trust the MMDA on handling the situation along Metro Manila.

“In recent days, we have had to deal with even more challenges. Most notably, the efforts of the #MMDA along #EDSA have greatly increased vehicle volume in C5 and even the interior roads of Pasig. We will defer to the wisdom & authority of the MMDA, but this increased traffic on our side is a reality for now.” Vico Sotto said.

Sotto explained that no policies would solve the traffic problem in Metro Manila unless the government tries to make a way to stop the proliferation of purchasing traffic vehicles.

“With all of this in mind, the bottom line is that traffic in Pasig and Metro Manila will continue to worsen no matter what traffic policies we have UNLESS we lessen the demand for cars. This means a greater focus on moving people rather than private vehicles. This means incorporating more non-car modes of transportation in our long-term plans.” said Sotto.

“We will balance the longer term with the short term need to manage traffic better. This will be difficult, but we are prepared to fight for better mobility in Pasig,” he added.

In the same post, Sotto also expressed disappointment after he discovered that the current traffic data available in his City was made in 2014 which made it difficult for them to make new rules.

Sotto also showcased his short term actions to solve the traffic in Pasig:

– Recalibration of stoplights based on more recent data
– Clearer policy on the turning off of stoplights for manual enforcement
– Partnership with PNP to help with enforcement and entrapment ops for kotong enforcers (salamat COP)
– Ugnayan sa mga TODA (ongoing; inuna ito dahil sila ang pinaka marami) at iba pang transport groups
– Koordinasyon sa DPWH at Manila Water para mapabilis ang paggawa sa C Raymundo (another post on this later)
– Clearing operations (paki reklamo sa UsaP ang mga brgy na kulang sa aksyon)
– Ordinansang ipinagbabawal ang pagsara ng mga barangay roads (pending sa konseho)

Mayor Isko Moreno is not the only public official in Manila City that leaving his office to personally serve the people.

Manila City Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan used her profession to lead a medical and dental mission at Barangay 51, Tondo.

In the photos posted by the Manila Public Information Office, it showed the Vice Mayor talking to the residents who asked for medical health.

Lacuna who’s the daughter of former Manila Vice Mayor Danny Lacuna is known for leading medical missions.

She’s a former Public Health Center Physician under the Manila Health Department from 1995-2004.

Lacuna was called “door-to-door doctora” for being hands-on when it comes on medical missions along Manila.

She’s a political ally of Moreno and partner during the last Mayoral race in Manila.

Medical missions are part of Mayor Isko Moreno’s plan to improve the health of the Manilenyos.

As part of his plan to improve healthcare in Manila, he vowed to give more funding to the public hospitals, he’s also planning to build a huge medical center facing the Manila Bay.

Moreno also warned the health workers to quit if they cannot smile in front of their patients.

“Makikisuyo naman. Frontline kayo ng gobyerno in delivering services, in this case, health services. Kung hindi na kayo masaya sa trabaho ‘nyo dahil kayo’y masungit na kinakaharap yung mga may sakit, kaya kayo’y nagsusungit dahil pagod na kayo, kaya kayo’y nagsusungit dahil ‘di na kayo masaya sa ginagawa ‘nyo, pwede naman kayong magpaalam,” Moreno said.

“Totoong nakakapagod, jusko nakakapagod…pero pinasok natin ito. This is public service eh. Ano ba naman ang kaunting ngiti?” he also said.