Danish Ambassador to the Philippines Jan Top Christensen slammed the mainstream media in the Philippines for prioritizing in publishing negative news about the country especially if it’s about the government and politics.

Christensen who spoke before a multi-stakeholder meeting on the safety of journalist said that the news that he’s been reading every day was always negative.

“I read much different media every day and I must say some of these media are systematically negative,” Christensen said.

He also pointed out that the media failed to promote what the government is doing and called them unprofessional.

Christensen also added that some journalists are not following the standards in writing news.

“To me, it’s lack of ethical standards, lack of professionalism,” he said.

However, the envoy said that he recognized the dangers of being a journalist in the Philippines, citing what happened in Maguindanao in 2009.

Christensen is only one of the people who complained about how Philippine media negatively portrayed the country.

Even President Rodrigo Duterte itself criticized several media outlets for writing negative news about him.

One example is when President Duterte slammed social media website Rappler and accused them of spreading fake news.

“You can stop your suspicious mind from roaming somewhere else. But since you are a fake news outlet and I am not surprised your articles are also fake, we can debate. Now tell me where are our lies and tell me where are yours,” Duterte said during his final faceoff with Pia Ranada of Rappler.

Ranada was banned from interviewing the President and entering the premises of Malacanang.

Duterte also said that he would “object” the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN after he accused the media giant of stealing his money during the 2016 campaign period.

“Hindi ko palusutin. Iyong franchise niyo matatapos. But let me ask you questions first. Kasi ako talaga mag-object na ma-renew kayo. Alam mo bakit? Magnanakaw kayo, estapador,” Duterte said.

President Rodrigo Duterte accused Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, his fiercest political critic of using the connection of his father to pass the grueling training during his days as a cadet in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

During his speech in Boracay on November 8, Duterte said that Trillanes skipped the training during his cadetship because his father Antonio Sr., was a Navy captain during that time.

According to him, the young Trillanes was always staying in his father’s office while the other cadets are suffering from intense training.

“Yung anak ng opisyal sa PMA, si Trillanes, na hindi man pala sumasali doon sa mga training na ‘yung talagang iihi ka sa pantalon mo. Kasi he was favored because he was always in the office of his father who was working for government, also a military man. Siya pala ang nilakad ng tatay niya,” the President after the President Rodrigo Roa Duterte leads the ceremonial distribution of the Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) to the Ati tribes in Boracay.

The President also said that his father, former Davao governor Vicente Duterte would never allow him to enjoy special privileges even if he asked for it.

Duterte is not the first man who accused Trillanes of using his father’s position to pass PMA.

Two months ago, the post of Capt. Vicente Cejoco has gone viral on the internet after he claimed that he witnessed Trillanes receiving VIP treatment during his cadetship.

“While his mistahs were dying in the hallways of Melchor Hall during company level punishments or mase-mase, Antonio IV was enjoying in my office cooking and eating lots of boodles along with his 3 room mates.” Cejoco said in the viral post.

“Medyo may pagka shabby/ swapang rin ang mokong na ito. Yung tatay at nanay nya ay palagi umaakyat sa Baguio, sa kwarto ko sa office natutulog. Libre lahat – hatid sundo ko, pakain ko, etc. They usually arrive late Friday afternoon and depart early morning of Monday.” he added.

Several weeks ago, Trillanes accused Duterte of using his father to pass the bar examinations.

“Ang kailangan review-hin kung nakapasa ba talaga ng bar itong si Duterte. Baka nilakad lang ito ng tatay niya kasi governor ang tatay niya noon.” Trillanes said.

However, Duterte quickly debunked the accusation of Trillanes, saying he passed the exam two decades after his father passed away.

Trillanes, a member of the PMA “Marilag” Class of 1995, went on to serve in the Philippine Navy after graduation.

The Senator became known for being one of the leaders of the 2003 Oakwood Mutiny and the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege.

He was elected a Senator while being detained for his alleged crimes.

Atty. Glenn Chong criticized Vice President Leni Robredo for demanding the current administration to explain the P7.16-T debt of the government, saying that the latter didn’t know the real situation.

On October 29, Robredo said that the government should be more transparent on their deals as the debt already ballooned to P7.16-T.

“We demand the government to be transparent. We want to know where the government’s fund goes. Many are saying it goes to Build Build Build,” Robredo said.

In his Facebook post, Chong lectured VP Robredo and instead of the government, the lawyer explained how the P7.16-T debt of the country came from.

According to Chong, the debt being mentioned by Robredo was the amount of owed money of the government since Cory Aquino administration.

He explained that the government has been forced to borrow money because the country’s funds were not enough to sustain the needs of its people.

Chong said that the Vice President is wrong for asking the government to explain about the increasing debt and blame them.

The lawyer was also surprised that the Vice President didn’t know about the ‘budget deficit’ even she’s a former member of the lower House.

Chong believed that the government was suffering in budget deficit because the country’s funds was being corrupted by some officials.

You can read his whole post below:

WALANG KATAPUSANG PAGKAKAMALI
NI LENI ROBREDO!!!

Tila walang katapusan ang pagkakamali ng ale na ito.

Leni Robredo demanded, take note, she demanded, na ipaliwanag ng administrasyong Duterte kung bakit lumubo ang utang ng gobyerno sa P7.16 trilyong piso (7,160 bilyong piso o 71,600 milyong piso).

Bago pumuna, dapat mag-aral muna upang hindi magmukhang BOBO!

Mula 1988, panahon ni Corazon Aquino, hanggang 2017, panahon ni Rodrigo Duterte, pati na ang panahon ni Noynoy Aquino, kulang ang nalilikom na pondo ng gobyerno upang matustusan ang mga pangangailangan ng sambayanan. Ang tawag dito ay budget deficit.

* Sa mga taong 1994 hanggang 1997 lamang na walang budget deficit ang gobyerno.

On the average, mula 1988 hanggang 2017, ang budget deficit ng ating bansa ay pumapalo sa 2.08% ng kabuuang halaga ng mga produkto at serbisyong nagagawa ng bansa o Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Ito ay pumapalo sa daan-daang bilyon taon-taon.

Dahil dito, napipilitan ang gobyerno na mangutang upang mapunuan ang pagkukulang sa pondo nito, taon-taon. Kaya ang P7.16 trilyong utang ngayon ay accumulated debts o pinagpatung-patung na utang mula pa noon.

Kaya maling-mali na ang administrasyong Duterte ang pagbibintangan ni Leni Robredo sa mga pagkakautang na ito.

Besides, ang budget deficits na ito ay dumadaan sa Kongreso kada taon. At dahil naging kasapi si Leni Robredo ng Kongreso, dapat ay alam niya ito. Kung hindi niya ito alam, wala pala talaga siyang silbi bilang Congresswoman. Kung alam naman niya ito, malisyoso ang kanyang hininging pagpapaliwanag sa Pangulong Duterte. Pumili lang siya sa dalawang ito – kanyang kab***han o malisyosong pagpaparatang.

Finally, bakit palaging deficit ang ating budget? Simple lang ang dahilan. Kurapsyon sa pangungulekta ng buwis at kurapsyon sa paggastos ng pera ng bayan.

Dahil sa marumi at madayang halalan, nakakapasok at nananatili ang mga kurakot na politiko na walang ginagawa kundi patuloy na halayin ang kaban ng bayan. At dahil nakikita ito ng mga kolektor ng buwis, pati sila nangungurakot at din. Kaya this vicious cycle goes on and on.

Source: Atty. Glenn Chong

After the Boracay rehabilitation, President Rodrigo Duterte didn’t want the people of the said tourist spot to recognize him for cleaning the said island and ordered to ban any ‘Thank you’ banners dedicated to him.

This was confirmed by Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, saying that Duterte doesn’t want to be glorified by the people of Boracay because he’s only doing his job as the President.

“I saw a post – someone sent it to me – which says, ‘Thank you PRDD for Saving Boracay’,” Puyat said, adding, “It was even nailed to a tree.”

When Puyat informed Duterte about the banners, the former Davao City Mayor who doesn’t want to see himself from tarpaulins got angry.

“He said that is corny. He doesn’t like it. He doesn’t want to be glorified,” she said.

After President Duterte’s order, Puyat quickly reminded the Boracay Interagency Task Force (BIATF) to remove the banners dedicated to the chief executive.

She also informed other cabinet members to prevent anyone from posting ‘Thank You’ banners around Boracay.

Duterte is known for not imitating other politicians who use banners to inform the people about their achievements.

In a business forum held on February 9, 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte announced his plan to close Boracay and called it a ‘cesspool’ for being crowded and unsanitary.

Two months later, Boracay was finally closed despite being opposed by some residents of Malay fearing that they might not get another new source of income while the island was closed.

After six months of rehabilitation, the government finally opened Boracay to the public, implementing new rules that would prevent the island to be abused again.

Under the new rules, 19,200 tourists per day will be allowed on the island. Moreover, fire eaters, masseuses, vendors, stray dogs, bonfires and even the builders of photo-op sandcastles have been banned from the beachfront. All water sports, aside for swimming, are also forbidden for the time being.

DOT would also prohibit smoking and drinking alcohol in public places and beaches of Boracay.

The famous ‘Laboracay’ was also banned as part of the reform.

Former Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General and Bureau of Correction (BuCor) Chief Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa slammed a Facebook page for comparing him with former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas when it comes to knowledge in economics.

Dela Rosa shared a Facebook post from the page ‘Mar Roxas for Senator 2019’ showing him while crying and saying that he wants to be a senator but doesn’t know how to solve inflation.

The said Facebook post also said that Mar Roxas could perform better than Dela Rosa when he got elected as Senator again.

As a former law enforcer, Dela Rosa admitted that he’s lacking knowledge when it comes to economics because of his profession.

Dela Rosa also admitted that he’s not a graduate of Wharton School of Economics like Mar Roxas and he only graduated to a local school.

But according to him, his educational background should not become their basis to mock him and call him incompetent.

“Inaamin ko naman talaga na mahina ako sa economics. Hindi ko po linya yan. Hindi po ako nagwharton nag msu marawi lang po ako.” Dela Rosa said.

He also asked his critics why they need to compare him with Mar Roxas for the sake of promotion.

“Pero kailangan ba talagang nilalait ninyo ang aking kahinaan para lang lalong sisikat si sec mar roxas?” he said.

“Ang pagsesenador ba ay para lang sa mga mayaman at educated sa abroad at kaming mahihirap at educated lang sa public schools ay wala nang karapatang tumakbo?” he added.

Both Dela Rosa and Roxas are gunning for a Senate seat in 2019.

After filing his certificate of candidacy (COC) Dela Rosa admitted that he’s not knowledgeable when it comes in handling the economy.

“Sa totoo lang, hindi ako masyadong magaling diyan. Wala man lang akong alam diyan,” Dela Rosa said in a chance interview.

“I’m not a businessman. I’m not an economist,” he added.

But to solve his problem, he said that he would just hire researchers who can assist him when it comes to the economy.

While the critics of Dela Rosa said that he’s incompetent, Senator Panfilo Lacson who’s also a former head of PNP believes that Bato can be a ‘competent’ public servant.

He also urged Dela Rosa to study as a preparing for being a lawmaker.

“Hindi naman porke’t law enforcement ang exposure mo kalimutan mo lahat na ibang aspeto. Ako, yan pinanggalingan ko pero nakukuha naman sa pag-aaral,” Lacson said.

Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 148 finally served the resolution against the
coup d’etat case filed by the government against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

According to the resolution, Judge Andres Soriano junked the Department of Justice (DOJ) plea to issue a warrant of arrest and hold departure order against Sen. Trillanes for the charge of coup d’etat.

The news was confirmed by Acting Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon.

Some sources also said that despite denying the request of DOJ to arrest Trillanes, Judge Soriano upholds the legality of Pres. Duterte’s proclamation 572 which voiding the amnesty received by the Senator in 2011.

Despite not being arrested, the nullification of Sen. Trillanes amnesty would stay because the Makati RTC 148 upholds the legality of the said proclamation.

Several supporters of Sen. Trillanes celebrated on the decision of the Makati RTC for not siding with the government.

“Thank you Judge Soriano for upholding the rule of law. God Bless, Sen. Trillanes” One supporter of Sen. Trillanes tweeted.

While waiting for the resolution, Senator Trillanes met with few Magdalo members and lawyers.

Makati City Police chief Rogelio Simon also personally went to Makati RTC Branch 148 to meet Judge Andres Soriano.

Since morning, the members of PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) were already deployed in case that the court ordered the arrest of Sen. Trillanes.

The resolution was not released immediately to the public until both parties are not yet receiving the copy.

Senator Trillanes is one of the fiercest critics of President Rodrigo Duterte, he accused the chief executive of being a corrupt and human rights violator.

Court Sherif of Makati RTC and members of PNP-CIDG to visit Sen. Trillanes to serve the resolution of Makati RTC Branch 148.

In 2011, former President Benigno Aquino III gave an amnesty to Senator Trillanes and other Magdalo members, under Proclamation 75. But President Rodrigo Duterte, through Proclamation No. 572, voided the amnesty saying Trillanes failed to comply with the requirements, a claim Trillanes denied.

If proven, Senator Trillanes will face of Reclusión Perpetua or life imprisonment.

Source

Attorney Jesus Falcis slammed the actor Aga Mulach for criticizing Senator Antonio Trillanes in public and urging the fiercest critic of President Rodrigo Duterte to help the government instead of wasting his time in destroying the current administration.

Several days ago, Mulach’s video during an interview with talk show host Vice Ganda went viral after he asked Sen. Trillanes why he kept criticizing the current President.

The statement of Mulach gained different reaction from the netizens and Falcis who’s also a social media blogger compared the actor to former Communications assistant secretary Mocha Uson and ex-Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque who’s only siding on politicians who’s currently in power.

He even posted a photo of Mulach making a ‘Laban Sign’ when the Liberal Party was in power.

Falcis told Mulach that Trillanes criticisms against the government are a contribution to the country.

He also urged Mulach to keep his silence and stop criticizing Sen. Trillanes because he doesn’t know anything about politics.

You can read his whole post below:

Parang si Mocha Uson at Harry Roque, kung ano uso at may power nuon, dun sila sumasakay. Tulad nitong si Aga Muhlach.

Mga dating dilawan na ngayon eh mga anti-dilawan at anti-Trillanes. Artista ka nga lang talaga Aga Muhlach, isa kang walang alam sa pulitika.

Ang pag criticize ni Trillanes kay Duterte (tungkol sa EJK, China, dr*gs, at corruption) ay pag tulong sa bayan!

Hindi si Duterte ang kelangan pag silbihan ni Trillanes. Kaya tumahimik ka na lang kung hindi mo alam ang pinagsasabi mo.

Ayan nag viral ka tuloy. Kahit anong delete pa ng videos ang gawin mo eh kumalat na sa internet ang kab*b*han mo! Hindi mo matatago ang statements mo sa GGV.

While the opposition is urging the people to boycott the upcoming movie of Mulach, thousands of President Duterte supporters vowed that they’re going to support the actor.

The viral video was also kept being deleted on social media because of still unknown reasons.