President Rodrigo Duterte during his speech in Tokyo on Thursday gave advice to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to stop getting the service of Technology company Smartmatic in the next election.

According to Duterte, COMELEC should dispose of Smartmatic because of alleged election cheating and fraud happening every election.

“I would like to advise COMELEC, now, hindi ko na lang hintayin [I wouldn’t wait], dispose of Smartmatic, I am now asking you as a co-equal… please do not use it,” he said.

Duterte made a statement after COMELEC received many complaints of malfunctioned Voting Counting Machines (VCMs), several politicians also accused their enemies of cheating the automated elections.

The President expressed opposition against COMELEC decision to partner with Smartmatic despite the result of the elections favored him after 9 out of 12 politicians he endorsed won.

Even presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte warned Smartmatic to avoid interfering with the election,

“That’s why we remind COMELEC and Smartmatic to be faithful sa mga choices ng mga tao, wag na nilang pakialaman ang results ng botohan,” she said during a chance interview on May 13.

Smartmatic machines were first used during the 2008 regional elections, while they received a positive reaction during their first operation, people and some politicians slowly lost their trust to the said company because of many cases of so-called errors and bugs.

On 2016, former Senator Bongbong Marcos accused Smartmatic of tampering with the votes which resulted to his loss during the Vice Presidential race against Leni Robredo.

Even in the 2019 senatorial election, former Vice President Jejomar Binay experienced problems while voting after a VCM rejected his ballot several times.

The people also complained after the election results were delayed by 7 hours.

A netizen wrote a lengthy open letter addressed to the critics of The Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) pointing out the things he learned after completing the said program many years ago.

Noel Sarifa, author of some of the viral pro-government posts told the critics that they should know the objectives of the ROTC before complaining on the recent plans of the government to make it mandatory again for Senior High School students.

Sarifa, who’s a product of Citizen Army Training (CAT) during his high school days and an ROTC finisher during college said that it’s already the right time to bring the program back because he believed that it will teach the youth several valuable lessons.

According to him, ROTC teaches him how to respect other people, survival skills, first aid, and other military-related skills.

He learned how to become selfless when it comes to saving or defending other people and the country.

Sarifa pointed out that if the critics are afraid that there would be corruption if the ROTC became mandatory again, they should also push for the removal of the government and party-list system because he believed that irregularities are also rampant there.

He also told the critics that they should not let the majority of the people suffer because of some isolated incidents happened during the past implementation of ROTC.

Instead of stopping ROTC, Sarifa suggested that the critics should condemn the alleged recruiting of students committed by New People’s Army.

You can read his post below:

“Lahat ng nagrereklamo about ROTC halos hindi naman nakaranas, sana bago kayo magreklamo alamin nyo muna dun sa naka-experience kung ano ba naidudulot nito sa kanila bago kayo magsilabasan sa kalye para magrally. They are crying that ROTC will not teach them patriotism. Will not teach them how to use guns. Well, to tell you the truth you are very wrong.

Produkto ako ng CAT (Citizen Army Training) noong highschool at isa ako sa last Batch ng ROTC noong college. Adjutant/S1 ako noong Highschool and Member ako ng Special Force noong college. Gusto nyong ipaglaban ang WPS pero ayaw nyo maging handa sa bakbakan?

Ano-ano ba ang natutunan ko?

– Rumespeto sa mga officials, maging punctual. Maging leader, Maging responsableng mamamayan, survival skills, first aid, I learned how to respect and put importance to my uniform, my combat boots, my sword, my handkerchief a simple gesture that makes you value the symbolism of each. Eto rin ang daan para rumespeto ka sa gamit ng iba, hindi ito maaintindihan ng kabataan ngayon pero kapag ikaw ang binigyan ng sword ng senior mo, it means responsibility and an honor.

– Dito ko natutunan paano isalba ang mga tauhan ko kesa sa sarili, na unahin ang bayan kesa sa sarili, natutunan kung hindi maging makasarili kasi you don’t walk and talk as an individual but as a troop, as a leader as a Team.

– I learned how to use a rifle, M16 and Calibre 45. Not Just able to Disassemble and assemble a caliber .45 but learn how to use it. Yes, we are taught how to use real guns and did some firing session.

– You will learn to feel the real survival skills in case of war, how to defend yourself. You learn how to be tough with their spy war.

Overall experience? It is fun, worth remembering and life-changing. Was I abused? No! Mas minahal ko ba ang bayan? Yes! Was I ready to be in battlefield after that? Yes. Naapektuhan ba pag aaral ko? Sa awa ng Diyos honor student naman ako.

Kung ang reason nyo bakit nyo tinututulan ay gagamitin sa corruption, aba e di tanggalin na rin natin ang gobyerno ng Pilipinas kasi talamak dito ang kurapsyon, tanggalin na natin ang partylist di ba?

Kung nagagamit to ng ibang bansa para sa kanilang bayan at magiging problema sa atin, hindi ang programa ang problema kundi ang mga taong may masasamang loob. Imbes na pigilan nyo, magmungkahi kayo ng provision sa bill para maiwasan ang mga kinakatakutan nyo. If we are meant to stop for every mistake then we do not have the room to pursue our objective and move as a nation.

Bakit hindi nyo tutulan ang mga rebelde na manguha at mang recruit ng kabataan natin na binibrainwash sa maling idelohiya kung talagang yan ang hangarin nyo? Yun hindi yun isolated incident, norm nila yun.

ROTC, COCC/CAT is not just about physical training, hindi lang yan puro martsa at painit sa araw. We also have a classroom session, midterm, and final exam, practicum and community service.

Andami nyong hinihingi sa Gobyerno pero hindi nyo kayang magsilbi para sa bayan.

The proposed bill wanted to push for Civic training for Health Education, Environmental Protection, Disaster Risk Education and Management, human and civil rights awareness and law enforcement. E sasabihin nyo pwede naman e discuss yan sa classrooms kasama ng saklaw na subject. ROTC will be more on practical application which is more essential than just acquiring theoretical awareness. ROTC will instill discipline, respect, teamwork, and skills. Mga bagay na kapakipakinabang kapag sumabak ka na sa buhay out of school.

We need it more today kasi nawawalan na ng respeto ang mga kabataan sa kapwa at sa bayan. Nakatutok na lang sa mga gadgets, they need more physical activities. Kaming mga nakaranas ng ROTC ang magpapatunay na ginawa kaming mas makabayan at mas responsibleng mamayan ng programang ito. Natatakot lang kayo magkaroon ng sapat na lakas ng sandatahan ang bansa para mapuksa ang mga rebelde at mabawasan ang mga taong tulad nyo na wala naman talagang pagmamahal sa bayan kundi sa perang nakukuha nyo sa paglabas sa lansangan.”

Several days ago, the lower house approved the revival of the mandatory ROTC and it would be a requirement for Senior High School students to finish it before graduating.

While many criticized the said proposal, the bill also gained supporters from the netizens and some politicians.

Source

The netizens praised the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Duterte administration for showcasing their new assets as preparation for the upcoming rainy season this year.

In a post, Noel Landero Sarifa posted some of the new assets of PCG, showing brand-new boats, vehicle, jetski and other equipment needed by the Coast Guard for their operation.

According to the reports, the 20 aluminum hull boat which has a speed of 20 knots costs P16-M. The boats were made by Pacificfortia Marine Technologies (800,000 pesos each).

20 personal watercraft with a maximum speed of 40 knots, were also brought by the government from Scan Marine Incorporated, it costs 15.5-M pesos (775,000 pesos each).

The government also bought 180 pick-up vans which cost the government 200-M pesos (1,111,111 pesos each).

Aside from that, PCG also got new diving equipment.

According to the Philippine Coast Guard, they’re still waiting for the arrival of 73 rubber boats worth P86-M and 12 seven-meter rigid hull inflatable boats worth P142-M.

The post of Sarifa already reached more than 20,000 shares on social media platform Facebook.

It also received a tremendous amount of positive reaction from the netizens who were amazed by the preparation of the government.

“Grabe ka naman President Duterte. Masyado mo kaming spoiled. Pwede naman pala.” Sarifa said.

Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary and current officer-in-charge of the executive department Menardo Guevarra confirmed that the garbage shipped by Canada to the Philippines between 2013-2014 would be brought back to its origin tomorrow.

According to Guevarra, the shipment would be shouldered by the Canadian government and it would cost them P10-M.

Three shipping companies were hired by the Canadian government to more than 100 containers of garbage back to Canada.

The discussion about the Canadian trash has been revived by President Rodrigo Duterte itself and even said that he’s ready to go war with Canada if they insisted to keep their garbage in the Philippines.

“Your garbage is on its way, prepare a grand reception, eat it if you want to,” President Duterte said.

The government gave a deadline to Canada to ship back their trash on May 15, 2019, however, it was not fulfilled, so the current administration ordered to recall their envoys in Ottawa.

On May 22, Duterte made a move by ordering the government to ship back the Canadian Trash to its origin even if his government need to pay for it.

Senator-elect Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa challenged his critics to prove that they’re smarter than him after he received some mockery on social media, some netizens also questioned his intellectual capacity.

Dela Rosa, who’s a Ph.D. holder said that his critics might only be having some hard time to accept the defeat of their candidates.

He asked if the people think that he’s not smart just because he’s not so familiar with speaking English or Tagalog.

He also dared his critics to take an IQ test.

“Ito bang hindi ako magaling mag-ingles, hindi gaano magtagalog, yan ba ay kabobohan?,” Dela Rosa said.

“Pustahan tayo. Kung sino ‘yung nagcha-challenge sa ‘kin, sabay tayo magtake ng IQ exam. Ang measurement ng katalinuhan is IQ diba? Tingnan natin kung sino sa atin ang mas mataas ang IQ,” he added.

According to him, he only admitted that he’s not knowledgeable in crafting laws because he wanted the people to know his current limitations,”

“Bakit ka magmayabang porke’t senador ka na, ayaw mong aminin na kulang ka sa alam, hindi mo tanggapin limitasyon mo. You should be true to yourself,” he said.

Dela Rosa said that he would only focus on working as a Senator and craft laws that would make the Filipino lives better.

“Magtrabaho nang magtrabaho, hindi matutulog, pagsikapan ng husto na ‘yung mga batas na magagawa natin ay pawang magaganda at kapaki-pakinabang sa sambayanang Pilipino,” he said.

Dela Rosa admitted several weeks ago that he’s not yet knowledgable of crafting laws, he also asked if there’s a seminar available to teach neophyte senators on the basis of lawmaking.

Later on, he learned that he doesn’t need a seminar anymore after some of his friends and future colleagues expressed their willingness to guide him in his new government position.

Kabataan party-list Representative Sarah Elago is still not convinced that the proposed mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program will teach the Filipino youth of nationalism.

In a press conference held on Tuesday, Elago believed that ROTC would only make the youth to follow commands blindly and it would remove their ability to think freely.

“Ang natuturo po on the ground sa eskwelahan, imbes na disiplina, yung pagsunod na hindi ka nagtatanong. Hindi disiplina, kundi blind obedience lang,” Elago said.

She also pointed out that ROTC had a history of corruption and irregularities when it was implemented many years ago.

According to her, the government should solve those cases first before implementing ROTC back for senior high schools.

Another activist also said that ROTC would only teach the youth how to use weapons, however, he doubts that students would learn nationalism in the said program.

He suggested an alternative solution, saying that implementing Filipino and Panitikan in college subjects might teach nationalism to students.

ROTC was approved by the House of Representatives on Monday, getting a 167 support from lawmakers, only four opposed it during the voting.

According to the bill, students of Senior High School are required to undergo basic ROTC program.

But it also included that students who are physically or psychologically unfit can be exempted in the program.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV admitted during his privilege speech on Monday that he already met Peter Joemel Advincula, alias Bikoy by the help of some priests who introduced the self-proclaimed whistleblower to him.

However, Trillanes denied that he’s involved in the production of the “Bikoy” videos which published to accuse the family of President Rodrigo Duterte and its allies of being involved in illegal businesses.

The Senator said that he’s already doubting Bikoy during their first meeting.

“Una nang inilapit sa akin ng mga pari si Bikoy August last year. Pinakinggan ko siya pero nakulangan ako at naguluhan sa mga detalye kaya isinantabi ko at tuluyan nang kinalimutan ang usapang ito,” Trillanes said.

However, the priests came back to him to provide him several documents that would prove the statements of Bikoy.

He also refused to name the priests who met him.

“Sometime in Feburary, binalikan ako ng mga pari at binigyan ng mga dokumento na naglalaman ng mga detalye ng bank account ng mga lider ng sindikato. Galing ito sa mga kasamahan ni Bikoy na miyembro ng sindikato,” he said.

According to him, he asked Bikoy and the priests to give him time to validate the documents.

To prove that his innocence, he also pointed out that he was out of the country when the “Ang Totoong Narco-list” was published on the internet.

“Uulitin ko, wala akong kinalaman sa paggawa ng mga videos na ‘yun. To my PMAer upperclassmen here, All Right, sir. Malamang siya rin ang gumawa ng mga video na ‘yan. To be fair, maganda nga po ang pagkakagawa ni Bikoy ng mga video at nakakuha ito ng atensyon ng publiko,” he said.

Trillanes said that he also understood the priests who gave their time to assist Advincula, saying that it’s their role to help the people in need.

“Sa kabutihan ng kanilang puso at magandyang layunin, nagbigay sila ng sanktuwaryo sa isang taong nagsasabi na nanganganib ang kanyang buhay. As shepherds of Christ, that is their ministry. Hindi lang nila siguro na-expect na meron pa ring tao na susuklian ang kanilang kabutihan ng isang kataksilan,” he said.

Last week, Advincula pinned Trillanes in the production of the said videos, saying that he talked to the Senator several times.

Aside from Trillanes, Advincula also mentioned Sen. Risa Hontiveros and members of the Liberal Party.

Senator-elect Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa wanted to imitate what the other countries are doing to their citizens by pushing a mandatory military service to all Filipinos who reached their right age.

In an interview with UNTV, Dela Rosa said that instead of pushing to bring back the mandatory The Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), he wanted to implement a more challenging task to the Filipino youth by serving the military for two years like what South Korea and Israel are doing.

He said that he doesn’t want any exemption to the military service despite their social status.

According to him, mandatory military service would help the country to boost its territorial defense in case of foreign invasion.

“Like other countries na pagdating mo ng 18 years old, obligado ka na mag-serve sa military for two years. Walang pakialam ang gobyerno kung anak ka ng mayaman, o ng mahirap, kung sikat ka o artista ka, maganda din iyon,” he said.

“Gusto ko malakas ang ating territorial defense when it comes to foreign aggression, foreign invasion so kailangang i-prepare natin ang ating kabataan na mayroon tayong enough reserves, human resource reserves,” he added.

Dela Rosa also suggested that the government should shoulder all the expenses of the Filipinos who would undergo the mandatory military service, different from the existing National Service Training Program (NSTP) where the parents are paying for their children to get it.

Several days ago, the lower house supported the revival of the mandatory ROTC for Senior High Students.

It also received mass support from the netizens who believed that ROTC could bring back the discipline and patriotism to the youth.

Source

President Rodrigo Duterte criticized Senator Antonio Trillanes IV following the newest revelation of Peter Joemel “Bikoy” Advincula who said that the opposition was behind the production of the “Ang Totoong Narco-list” video series.

During President Duterte’s speech in Davao City, he called Trillanes shameless for using his position as a Senator of the Philippines in a wrong way.

According to him, Trillanes only used the Senate so he can put his political enemies down.

“Anong ginawa mo? Binaboy mo ang Senado. And you use that power to run after people,” he said.

He also claimed that Trillanes is using dummy accounts to hide his true wealth.

In the said videos featuring Bikoy, it was claimed that the members of the Duterte family are using code names and dummies to receive their payrolls from illegal businesses.

“Ikaw ‘yung number one na gagamit ng dummy. Lalabas rin ‘yan. Pero sabi ko walang hiya ka. Hindi ka lalaki,” Duterte said.

As a response, Trillanes downplayed the recent statements of the President, saying that Duterte should prove his previous accusations first before making another story.

“Ayan ka na naman. Hindi ka pa nga nakakabawi sa kapalpakan mo dun sa inimbento mong offshore bank accounts na bintang mo sa akin, pati na rin dun sa mga sinabi mo laban sa Nanay ko, tapos may bago ka na namang bintang,” Trillanes said.

“This time, si Bikoy naman ang source mo. Henyo ka talaga, Duts,” he added.

Advincula on Thursday claimed that Senator Trillanes is part of “Oplan Sodoma” which aimed to topple the current administration and make Vice President Leni Robredo as the new leader of the country.

Senator-elect Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa made a score to his online critic yesterday after Peter Joemel Advincula backtracked to his previous statements against President Rodrigo Duterte and its allies.

On Thursday, Dela Rosa shared a live stream video of Bikoy’s press conference at Camp Crame covered by CNN Philippines and even tagged a certain “Guy Camacho” in his post, asking what happened.

It seems that Bato mocked Camacho who’s previously defending Advincula several weeks ago.

“Mr. Guy Camacho, what now, sir? Yung patruth hurts truth hurts dyan kainin mo yung throat mo dong!” Dela Rosa wrote.

Camacho is known for posting memes to poke fun about Bato.

Last year, Camacho made a post against Bato in “TheLongGrayLine” Facebook group where the members are mostly alumnus of the Philippine Military Academy and part of the AFP.

It seems that Camacho who’s also a graduate of PMA is well-known in the said group.

When Bikoy first revealed himself in the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Camacho also criticized Senator Panfilo Lacson and accused the latter of “demolishing Bikoy’s credibility”.

“Similar to what Ping did to Edgar Matobato and former SPO3 Arthur Lascanas, I can see that Ping is already discrediting Bikoy even before he is given the light of day so that the public can also hear the entire story and evaluate his evidence.” Guy Camacho wrote in SEN TRILLANES POWER Facebook group.

However, like the other critics of the government, Camacho is also now doubting the credibility of Advincula.

“Could it be that Bikoy’s truth is priced by the highest bidder? Never mind the dreadful consequence if Bikoy sells his truth to the wrong buyer.” Guy Camacho said.