Drugs War 8, Duterte government as drug fighter, or facilitator?

While some 8,000 to 14,000 suspected drug users and small-time drug pushers have been murdered  over the on-going drugs war of the Duterte government, there was not a single "big fish" drug lord and drug pusher who has been arrested. Well, two municipal Mayors and their friends, family members have been massacred over the past few months, suspected of being drug pushers in their areas. But they are not considered as "big fish" enough.

The P6.4 billion worth of shabu that went through the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and was later raided at a warehouse in Valenzuela, not a single big personalities implicated in the Senate investigations was arrested or prosecuted. Then this news report from the Inquirer on August 09, 2017, Shabu shipments to Valenzuela warehouse began in June 2016, says caretaker.

From Bernard Ong, fb wall:

IN TIME FOR NEW MANAGEMENT

September 26

Shipments were made in June 2016, January 2017, March 2017, and May 2017 (intercepted). Not a moment wasted. The first one in time for Davao Group - the political cabal, not its namesake criminal syndicate - taking power in Imperial Manila.

Mr. Duterte won as President in May 2016. The next month, large-scale shipment of shabu started under President Duterte. Cool.

From 1.8 M estimated drug users, Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) official study and survey until February 2016, it became 4 M drug users according to the President himself, and now up to 7 M users according to DFA Sec. Cayetano.

If the President and the DFA Secretary are correct in their numbers, then it means one thing -- the supply of drugs is expanding, the price of drugs is declining due to bigger supply, so the number of users is rising. Good business model.

More posts from Bernard Ong:

DUMB INTEL

September 29

Who are the 'credible sources' behind these?

A) Taiwan Triads main source of Shabu to Philippines

UN Office for Drugs & Crime analysis traces most shabu in the Philippines, Asia & the world to China. Single biggest drug haul - P6.4B shabu smuggling came from China.

B) Marawi terrorism due by drug arrest warrant

AFP says it was triggered by sighting & attempt to arrest Abu Sayyaf chief Hapilon.

C) Fake Trillanes offshore accounts.

Duterte admitted he lied & made up numbers, then said 'real' numbers came from Mocha & Tulfo.

D) Teen killings are the work of saboteurs out to discredit Drug War

PNP cops are suspected of murder in both Kian and Carl cases. They invoke Duterte's standard 'Nanlaban' excuse for the killings.

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See also:

Drugs War 5, Kill-ambush-poison-bomb-you from PDu30, May 08, 2017 

Drugs War 6, How PDu30 supporters justify his kill-ambush-poison-bomb policy, May 09, 2017 

Drugs war 7, Duterte first year, one year of impunity, June 30, 2017

BWorld 150, Rising state-inspired murders and budget 2018

* This is my article in BusinessWorld last August 25, 2017.

The second week of August 2017 would possibly be the bloodiest in the drugs war of the Duterte administration. More than 80 people were murdered mostly by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in various drugs-raid and victims were described as “nanlaban eh (they fought the police).”

Perhaps 99% of all countries and governments in the world have their own “drugs war,” like the Philippines. Punishment range from imprisonment to death penalty. Many of our neighbors in the ASEAN have death penalty for drug crimes like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

The “war on drugs” therefore is not a unique program or policy of the Philippine government, the Duterte administration especially.

What makes the Duterte drugs war unique is the absence of due process for poor victims.

True, there is due process for very rich drug suspects like those implicated in the P6.4-billion drugs smuggled from China and passed through the Bureau of Customs. Not one of the personalities implicated including the President’s son, Davao City Vice-Mayor Paulo Duterte, were shot or murdered. They enjoyed due process of investigations, filing of affidavits, dismissal of allegations, if proof is weak.

It is the poor or several middle class or rich but not-politically connected people who get murdered on mere suspicions of being drug users or pushers. Of the roughly 9,000 estimated casualties in the Duterte drugs war, majority are labeled by the PNP as death under investigation (DUIs). However, for those who were killed outright by the PNP because they supposedly resisted arrest, no police investigation is expected.

These are state-inspired murders. The President himself is urging the police to have more deaths for drug suspects, warning the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and other human rights advocates that he will order the police to shoot them.

The continuing murders from mid-2016 — when the Duterte administration was inaugurated — to the present has coincided with the big increase in the government budget, P667 billion in 2017 and P417 billion in 2018. I checked the PNP’s budget and I wondered why its allotment for this year fell by P17B despite the increase in personnel from 184,000 to 194,000 during the same period. What explains this discrepancy?

In interviews by various media (local and foreign) and human rights groups of self-confessed but anonymous murderers, the murderers claimed that they get cash from the PNP for each murdered victim, usually previous or current drug users or pushers but people who are generally poor. Remember also the testimonies at the Senate of several ex-Davao policemen (Lascañas, et al.) who claimed they got paid by then Davao City Mayor Duterte for the murders they made.

If this claim is true — and I hope it is not — where would the government get extra resources given the decline in the PNP budget?

I checked the other items of the proposed 2018 budget and there were five big items that stand out. They get P566B of the P667B total increase in 2017 budget, and P260B of the P417B increase in 2018 budget (see table).

If the claims of the anonymous hired murderers, of Lascañas et al. are true, then the extra resources may be sourced from “Miscellaneous personnel benefits fund” and from “Gratuity fund.” But since this is only surface data, this is hard to prove.

On another note, the Economic Freedom Network (EFN) Asia will hold its annual meeting and conference this coming Sept. 11-12 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. While the focus is on economic freedom and trade, political freedom will also be tackled among network members because there are instances of decreasing political freedom and rising dictatorial trends in the region. These include the continued rule of military junta in Thailand and the rise of murders in the Duterte government.

Economic freedom cannot prosper well in an environment of threatened political freedom and decline in the rule of law. Rise in public health care spending to save the lives of sick and weak people becomes a farce when the same government is engaged in state-inspired murders by the thousands.

Bienvenido Oplas, Jr. is the head of Minimal Government Thinkers, a member of EFN Asia.
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See also:

BWorld 147, Sugar tax and health alarmism, August 15, 2017
BWorld 148, Energy Trilemma Index 2016, September 16, 2017 

BWorld 149, Free tuition and irresponsibility, September 17, 2017

Drugs war 7, Duterte first year, one year of impunity

Today is the first of the six-years term of President Rodrigo Duterte. His administration is known for drugs-drugs-drugs preoccupation and the series of deaths and murders by the thousands of suspected drug pushers and users. One year of official "drugs war" (unofficial drugs war and lots of murders from mid-May to June 29, 2016 when he was still a "President Elect"). One year of impunity.

A disturbing article from interaksyon today.

  

"They were already dead... so why take them to hospital? An analysis of crime data from two of Metro Manila’s five police districts and interviews with doctors, law enforcement officials and victims’ families point to one answer: Police were sending corpses to hospitals to destroy evidence at crime scenes and hide the fact that they were executing drug suspects."

It's a long article with details how police murder victims, often killed pointblank, are still brought to hospital ERs, partly to show that the police "care" for victims of violence.

I think this partly or largely explains why the Mautes, Abus and other organized armed groups have consolidated if not strengthened during the Du30 administration -- the police were busy harassing and killing unarmed suspects so the real criminals, armed and organized, were relatively free to move around.

The AFP should be doing external defense, PNP for internal defense. But since the PNP is busy catching motorcycle drivers with no helmets, killing unarmed drug suspects, the real armed criminals are freer to move around, PNP cannot get them so the AFP is deployed.

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See also:

Drugs War 4, The NYT documentary, March 28, 2017 

Drugs War 5, Kill-ambush-poison-bomb-you from PDu30, May 08, 2017 

Drugs War 6, How PDu30 supporters justify his kill-ambush-poison-bomb policy, May 09, 2017

PDu30 Martial Law in Mindanao, May 27, 2017 Neuroscientist, Duterte and Du30 fanatics, June 09, 2017

Drugs War 6, How PDu30 supporters justify his kill-ambush-poison-bomb policy

I have a fb debate with a physician-friend who supports PDu30's violent style in fighting the drugs war. See again PDu30 language last May 04, 2017: “I told them that once you get involved in drugs I will kill you. I will ambush you, poison you, bomb you, whatever. Steal your wife from you..." 

https://www.rt.com/news/387205-duterte-un-killings-complaint/

I respect my friend's medical views and his healthcare policy views, he is a brilliant physician and surgeon. But his political views related to the drugs war are lousy, so I am blogging our debate.

I argued foremost that with such explicit message above, PDu30 is exhorting certain government armed personnel and the trigger-happy civilians to conduct any or all of these:

a. state-sponsored murders (PNP, other state officers doing it),

b. state-inspired murders (vigilantes, gangs, etc. doing the murders as inspired by Du30), or 

c. state-tolerated murders (PNP knows the murderers and gangs but little or zero investigation as the murders produce the same result as ordered by PDu30. 

Below are some of his comments which I think are commonly uttered by many supporters and followers of PDu30. Then my reply/comments, slightly revised from the original fb exchange.

1. "were you this vocal during the past admins". No, except the Maguindanao massacre. Under the past administrations -- Cory Aquino, FV Ramos, Erap Estrada, Gloria Arroyo and BSA3/Pnoy -- there were no murders by the thousands on drugs war. Most murders in the past administrations were pol. murders, ordinary crimes, etc. Here we are talking about drug-related murders with explicit exhortation by a President to kill-murder-ambush-poison people suspected to be involved in drugs.

2. "are those purported extra-judicial killings (EJKs) indeed EJKs". PNP data showed that from July 01, 2016 to January 24, 2017 anti-drugs campaign, they killed 2,500+ and so this falls under (a) state-sponsored murders. The 5k+ other murders by vigilantes/gangs but some of them are actually policemen, like the incident in Mindoro in October 2016. Two hooded men killed a woman at night, local police were able to catch the murderers within minutes, and they were active duty policemen from another municipality. 

Since there is legal, judicial killing by the state in the form of death penalty via lethal injection, then those drugs-related murders can be considered as EJKs. 

3. "shy away from drugs, surrender or be killed." Singapore, Malaysia, etc. have the same warning and law for people to "shy away from drugs" but their main tool is legal, due process, not kill-ambush-poison-bomb order from a President who has very little or zero respect for due process.

In SG or MY and other countries, the due process itself that can be worse than death penalty for drug offenses. Being put in courts, reported in media, put in prison, brought to the courts again for another hearing, public reporting, execution if proven guilty -- the humiliation can be worse than death. And that scares potential drug offenders.

4. “i cannot condone killing, my business is saving lives, paano ko singilin yung patay?”

and yet why there is no explicit, categorical condemnation of Du30's explicit, categorical pronouncement of kill-ambush-poison-bomb people in drugs? 

5. “whatever compassion you have for these drug users and pushers, you render to the sick who couldn't afford healthcare.” I have no compassion for real pushers and users, but give them due process, to defend themselves if they are indeed guilty or innocent and simply falsely accused. As mentioned above, SG, MY, ID, etc. also have death penalties for drug offenders, similar to PH laws. The difference is that there is due process there; here, little or no due process, short cut kill-ambush-poison-bomb order as pronounced by the President himself.

6. “we're better off sana with Mar?” This as political paranoia. The thread is about Du30's drug war, not Mar, not Marcos, not any other personality or sector. 

7. "mukhang sobrang sacred sa yo ng due process" because (i) many murdered people accused of being drug users/pushers may be innocent, simply falsely accused. Pero tapos na, dedo na sila. And because (ii) that is what SG, MY, ID, etc are doing to control drug crimes without killing thousands. SG with death penalty but due process to drug offenders has low drugs incidence compared to PH with kill-murder-bomb them policy of Du30.

8. "policy criticism is the same as criticizing the person." Wrong. I like PDu30 infra policy on build-build-build, I like his questioning the UN climate drama, etc. My criticism is mainly on his kill-murder-ambush-bomb people in drugs war. Have allowance for those falsely accused as drug users/pushers and not just murder them. Dead people cannot defend themselves.

9. "your choice is the right one for us." Wrong, it's not me 'ordering' the PDu30 government to "go through due process". Far out. It's the existing laws, the criminal code, the various Republic Acts, that are ordering this and other administrations that they should respect these laws.

10. "di naman pwedeng wala tayong presidente." Another pol. paranoia. I did not make any statement, explicit or implicit, that we should have no President, or that Du30 should be replaced without constitutional process or be bombed to eradication, nada. 

Du30 should stay as elected President until 2022 unless the impeachment case against him in Congress prospers. We focus on Du30's kill-ambush-bomb mentality and policy and it should stop. Go the due-process route. Police to get plenty of evidence against suspected drug pushers and users. If evidence is strong, make arrest, bring to jail, go to the courts, wait for court decision. If innocent, set them free. If guilty, death penalty via lethal injection.

From this Guardian article, "Asked in an interview with al-Jazeera about minors caught up in the violence, Duterte said those cases would be investigated but added that police can kill hundreds of civilians without criminal liability." https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/17/duterte-says-children-killed-in-philippines-drug-war-are-collateral-damage

This hypothetical case becomes policy pronouncement. "police can kill hundreds of civilians without criminal liability." wow. Implying no need for police training to avoid killing civilians in dealing with criminals. Just kill the criminals, kill the civilians too, no criminal liability, magaleeeng na logic.

For now, nothing can stop PDu30 from his wild and insane remarks on drugs war. Sometime last year he said something like "annihilate 3M drug users... I'll be like Hitler". And last week, he said kill-poison-bomb. Tomorrow he might say "kill-burn-grill-eat their liver". And PDu30 supporters will clap and applaud him.

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See also:

Drugs War 3, Dr. Noel de Dios on Duterte's war, December 20, 2016 

Drugs War 4, The NYT documentary, March 28, 2017 

Drugs War 5, Kill-ambush-poison-bomb-you from PDu30, May 08, 2017

Drugs War 5, Kill-ambush-poison-bomb-you from PDu30

May tupak talaga ito. See his language:

“And here’s the shocker: I will kill you. I will really kill you. And that’s why the rapporteur of the UN is here, investigating extrajudicial killing,” Duterte said, referring to drug dealers as he was addressing an orthopedic conference in Davao City, as cited by The Philippine Star.

“I told them that once you get involved in drugs I will kill you. I will ambush you, poison you, bomb you, whatever. Steal your wife from you,” the Philippines leader added. – May 6, 2017, https://www.rt.com/news/387205-duterte-un-killings-complaint/

Those words cannot come from a stable mind. Unpresidential gutter language.

PDu30 is scared of the UN HR body. If there is nothing to fear, just invite them to come with zero conditionalities, nothing. Having conditionalities means there are fears, there are things to hide.

Many sectors also bring up the LP/yellow/dilawan in the visit by Ms. Callamard. Why divert the issue? PDu30 and his many agencies can quickly organize a forum with that lady anywhere, anytime, challenge her to a public debate because she opted to come here, pulverize her arguments if they can, they did not do it. 

Reposting some comments from my friend Bernard Ong, posted in his fb wall May 5 and 6, 2017.

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(1) TAKOT SA UN RAPPORTEUR

Malacanang objected to the 'unannounced' visit of UN Special Rapporteur for Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions Agnes Callamard.

"We are aware that Dr. Callamard is currently in the Philippines and we are disappointed that, in not contacting our government in advance of this visit, she has sent a clear signal that she is not interested in getting an objective perspective on the issues that are the focus of her responsibility" - Spokesman Ernesto Abella.

Hold your carabao, Ernie. She is not here for you. No need to announce her visit dahil wala kayo sa agenda niya. Your are being paranoid. Which part of "extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions" triggered your praning reaction. Fentanyl muna to ease your worries.

Turns out Dr Callamard is here to attend & address a drug policy forum sponsored by CHR & Free Legal Assistance Group at UP Diliman. Government is actually represented in the forum by its lead drug agency - Dangerous Drugs Board. Sayang. Kung hindi lang sana takot si Duterte sa UP Diliman, he could have gone there to share his "Kill. Kill. Kill" approach.

So there. Dr Callamard is not here for you. Wait lang muna, your turn will come. You can relax. She is also braver than you.

Unlike you, she is not afraid of going to UP Diliman.

(2) TEKA TEKA MALI YATA

1. Takot na takot, at galit na galit, sa isang UN Human Rights official na inimbitang magsalita sa UP.

2. Nagsisilbing bugaw ng China - #1 supplier ng shabu, at nangaagaw ng lupa at dagat ng Pilipinas - para sumuko na lang ang Pilipino.

Kayo na lang. Susundin ko ang mga halimbawa nila Lapu-Lapu, Bonifacio at Gregorio Del Pilar. Ayaw ko sumama sa mga duwag at traydor.

(3) WHAT THE UN RAPPORTEUR SAID

Warning: long post. UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Abitrary Executions Agnes Callamard gave the opening speech at the drug policy forum at UP Diliman. Link to full transcript in Comments section.

Presidential counsel Salvador Panelo used her speech as basis to claim that she is incompetent to probe killings in War on Drugs in the Philippines – that Callamard already made conclusions based on news reports, some videos, opinions of critics, and hearsay.

SUMMARY OF HER SPEECH

1. There’s a document called ‘Our Joint Commitment to Effectively Addressing and Countering the World Drug Problem’ drafted by heads of states assembled at UN General Assembly.

2. Joint Commitment calls for more comprehensive approach that considers diverse factors behind drug problem – including social development, public health, justice & human rights. It calls for more effective approaches than punishment model some governments have adopted.

3. Joint Commitment urges governments to respect human rights, protect freedoms, uphold rule of law in their drug policies.

4. Joint Commitment recognizes dependence is a health disorder, whose social causes & consequences can be prevented & treated thru scientific evidence-based treatment, care & rehab. The governments affirmed the importance of data, scientific research, sharing of information including best practices on drug prevention & control.

5. Governments did not commit to War-on-Drugs approach. Instead they called for balanced approach including health, rights & justice.

6. They did not suggest death penalty as an appropriate or effective response to drug trafficking or use. Instead they spoke about proportionate sentencing & alternative punishments.

7. In April 2016, the UN General Assembly recognized that ‘War on Drugs’ does not work. It is well documented around the world that bad drug policies fail to address drug dependency, drug criminality & drug trade.

8. Further, War on Drugs only makes things worst. They add problems such as extrajudicial killings, breakdown of law, vigilante crimes, torture, disproportionate sentences for drug possession, etc. It can foster a regime of impunity promoting rule of violence, eroding public trust in institutions, breeding fear.

9. In all research undertaken around the world, none of the countries that adopted War on Drugs made the drug problem disappear. In fact, the opposite happened.

10. Conference in UP Diliman is to learn from local & foreign experts who have studied drug policies, their impact & effectiveness....

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See also:
The PH drugs war, part 2, July 27, 2016

President Duterte and hyperbole, December 19, 2016 

Drugs War 3, Dr. Noel de Dios on Duterte's war, December 20, 2016 

Drugs War 4, The NYT documentary, March 28, 2017

BWorld 123, Drug-related murders and criminal justice in Asia

* This is my article in BusinessWorld on March 30, 2017.

While there is continuing (legal and political) debate whether extrajudicial killings (EJK) are happening in the Duterte administration or not, there is no debate that thousands of mysterious murders, often drug-related, have occurred since President Duterte won the May 2016 elections.

So far, death toll of drug-related murders from mid-May 2016 to February 2017 is estimated at 7,000+. The Philippine National Police (PNP) released its official data, indicating that from July 1, 2016 to Jan. 24, 2017, some 2,539 “killed during police operations.”

I have no sympathy with drug lords, drug pushers, and hardened drug users/addicts who steal and commit other crimes just to sustain their addiction and trade. But I also believe that all suspects should be given due process. Armed agents of the state (PNP, NBI, PDEA, sometimes the AFP) should go through the legal process of investigation-apprehension-prosecution cycle and not commit shortcuts of outright murders based on flimsy reasons like “nanlaban eh” (fought the officers) even inside police precincts or even inside the prison cells.

There are many drug-related murders that are outside the “killed during police operations” and these were committed by armed vigilantes. Some of these “vigilantes” were found to be policemen themselves like the two officers caught in Mindoro last October 2016 after they murdered a woman.

To better address the drugs problem and related corruption and murders, we can learn from our neighbors in Asia how they enforce the rule of law, the criminal justice system in particular.

The World Justice Project (WJP) produces an annual study, the “Rule of Law Index” (ROLI) and score countries based on their performance on eight factors and 44 sub-factors. The eight factors are: (1) Constraints on Government Powers, (2) Absence of Corruption, (3) Open Government, (4) Fundamental Rights, (5) Order and Security, (6) Effective Regulatory enforcement, (7) Civil Justice, and (8) Criminal Justice.

The WJP’s Index team has developed a set of questionnaires based on the Index’s conceptual framework, then it engaged 2,700 expert surveys in 113 countries and jurisdictions and involved more than 110,000 households as respondents to the experts’ questionnaires.

Below is a summary table from ROLI 2016 in Asia. The Philippines’ scores in ROLI 2014 and 2015 reports are also included. The following acronyms stand for: SG Singapore, SK South Korea, JP Japan, HK Hong Kong, MY Malaysia, ID Indonesia, TH Thailand, PH Philippines, CN China, and CM Cambodia (see table).

The numbers point to the following:

One, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong are developed economically mainly because they have high observance and respect for the rule of law as reflected in their high ROLI scores, also high scores in component #8, the criminal justice system. In contrast, communist China and Cambodia have low respect for rule of law and have low scores.

Two, ASEAN 5 -- Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines -- have middle scores in overall ROLI, which is somehow good news. But in component #8, Indonesia and Philippines have low scores.

Three, the Philippines has shown consistent low scores in component #8 for the past three years. In particular, very low scores in the four highlighted items -- CS Adjudication and Correctional system are not effective, the Justice system is highly discriminatory and due process is not properly observed.

Some of our developed neighbors like Singapore have death penalty against drug-related crimes, true. The difference is that the accused are given due process and the chance to prove their innocence and not summarily executed just based on suspicions.

What deters criminal behavior is stricter observance of the rule of law, the near-certainty of apprehension and imprisonment of violators, even if they may be the law enforcers themselves. This is the kind of criminal justice system that we need. Not state-sponsored or state-inspired or state-tolerated murders.

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the head of Minimal Government Thinkers and a Fellow of SEANET; both institutes are members of EFN Asia.

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See also: 

BWorld 119, Seven myths in the mining debate, April 07, 2017

BWorld 120, Five myths of solar-wind energy, April 08, 2017 

BWorld 121, The PH tax reform bill and tax policies in East Asia, April 10, 2017 

BWorld 122, Six more myths in the mining debate, April 13, 2017

Drugs War 4, The NYT documentary

There is a new NYT docu, 

I watched it but was not able to finish it, I stopped. More than the sights of so many dead bodies on the streets (zero trial, zero investigation, zero hearing of the other side, just shoot-kill-obosen), it's the pain and crying of the family members that struck me. Even if I'm not exactly a fan of the NYT.

When my Mama died 1 1/2 years ago and my Papa died 3 weeks ago, I could still feel the pain and sadness... until now. And they died of old age, not murdered on the streets or in the house. My sympathy to the families of thousands of murdered suspects. And this Du30... you...

Some people who stood up against Martial Law and succeeding corrupt administrations are now praising this man. They seem to be clapping and applauding the violent "war on drugs". They hate the past administration, which is understandable because no government or admin anywhere in the planet has 100% support from their citizens. But these are two different things. There are no existing laws that say shoot-kill-obosen is the policy. Rather, there should be (a) police investigation, gathering of tight evidence, (b) if evidence is weak, let go of the suspect; if evidence is tight, go for prosecution, (c) wait for imprisonment judgment.

These are hardly practiced by the police, little rule of law, only the rule of men, rule of dictatorship. Just shoot-kill-obosen because they are poor suspected drug pushers and users. Different treatment for rich suspected drug criminals.

I met a Congressman's staff last November during the EFN Asia conference at Dusit Hotel, Makati City. He said that he used to support the Du30 drugs war, the murder of suspect drug pushers. Plus the fact that his Congressman-boss is a member of the majority party.

Then one early morning, while walking near the Ombudsman at Batasan road, he saw an actual murder, the victim fell about 2 meters in front of him, died on the spot, then the gunman pointed the gun at him, waiting if he will make any unnecessary move. The staff froze, nervously, after a few seconds the gunman considered him a non-threat, so he put his gun in his waist, walked casually to a waiting motorcycle as if nothing happened.

The staff took a leave from work for 2 weeks, went to a psychiatrist for counselling, and made a U-turn in his position on the violent drugs war.

He asked himself, was it a police rubout case? He has 2 reasons for believing it. One, the murder occurred not far from a police station near the Ombudsman and tricycle terminal, but there was no immediate police action. It seemed that suddenly they were sleeping inside or were all out on patrol at that moment.

Second, he asked his contact at the PNP HQ, a mid-level officer, if it was a police operation, his contact did not answer. Yes or NO, no answer. Silence is implicit for Yes, otherwise the officer should categorically say No.

I asked who his boss is, the Congressman, he did not tell me, only saying that his boss is from Negros island.

If this government has to be serious in the "drugs war", it should go through the process. The long process, the legal, judicial process, no shortcuts of summary executions while leaving the influential and rich drug peddlers moving casually.

Otherwise, government should legalize and decriminalize drugs use, just regulate these products like what they do in The Netherlands.

--------

A friend, Ghar Pagaspas, posted the same NYT docu in his fb wall, then one of his friends, seemingly a Du30 fanatic, provided the usual Du30 alibi:

He insisted that “the ALLEGED marching order DOES NOT translate to STATE SPONSORSHIP of those killings.”

Ahh, the docu shows the pronouncements from PDu30 mouth -- kill, shoot, murder. Or perhaps I was hearing it differently... PDu30 was exhorting the people to have patience with suspected drug users and pushers, he was exhorting the police to take the long process of investigation-prosecution-imprisonment taking months or years for drug offensers. So, there are no EJKs... palusot nga.

Then he challenged to “define EJK. it must be an acceptable definition.”

A fanatic would only accept a definition that would suit his/her political belief, so instead of reiterating the literal definition of Extra Judicial Killing or outside the legal process of state killing via lethal injection or related forms, I provided two just-for-fun definitions:

(1) "EJK means people are killing each other for drugs even if Du30 exhorts kindness and forgiveness." And 

(2) "EJK means people killing each other by the thousands over drugs so that PRRD won't be pressured over his campaign promise to resign if after 3-6 months in his term the drugs problem still persist."

These denialists of large-scale state-sponsored or state-inspired murders by the thousands, they are like their idol.

Update:
I posted this blog post link to Ghar's wall,

The faceless fanatic has employed low life language. Not good to continue the discourse. 

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See also:
The Kill list and drugs war, July 09, 2016
The PH drugs war, part 2, July 27, 2016

President Duterte and hyperbole, December 19, 2016 

Drugs War 3, Dr. Noel de Dios on Duterte's war, December 20, 2016

NO to the reimposition of death penalty in the PH

As I grow older, my patience for violence, especially state-sponsored or state-inspired murders, goes down to zero. Many state bureaucrats and officials are lousy at enforcing the rule of law even for minor offenses, so how can they be trusted to enforce death penalty to all, rich and poor convicts? 

The death penalty bill has passed on 2nd reading at the PH House of Representatives the other day. 

From the CNN:

“The entire process moved very fast — taking only 30 seconds from the closure of the period of amendments to the passage on second reading.

After pro-death penalty congressmen won in the voice vote, anti-death solons tried, but failed, to move for nominal voting — because session was immediately adjourned after the bill was approved.”

From Philstar:

“The approval of a controversial measure pushed by President Duterte came after the chamber agreed to drop plunder, among other crimes, from the list of offenses that will warrant capital punishment.”

One possible reason why the Congressmen/women rushed the passing of this evil bill is that the legislators are cooking something more sinister and the death penalty is a good cover to divert the people's attention. The legislators and Pres. Du30 want to institutionalize state-sponsored murders. Masakit pakinggan ang EJK, masarap naman pakinggan (sa tenga nila) ang LJK (legal judicial killing).

The plunderers of today and the future want to "feel good" that drug offenders will easily die while they do large-scale stealing and extortion.

In a society with weak rule of law culture and practice, majority of those convicted are poor and it's also them who will easily go to the death chamber. 

One more reason why BIG government is wrong and evil.

BWorld 102, Top 10 news of 2016

* This is my article in BusinessWorld last December 27, 2016.

Since government by nature consists of force and coercion, legislation and regulation, mandatory contribution and taxation, it naturally creates division among people anywhere in the world. Those who benefit from welfarism are happy while those who are affected by endless regulations and taxation express the opposite sentiment.

Below is my list of top 10 news around the world in 2016, five international and five national/regional.

INTERNATIONAL

1 “Brexit.” British voters opted last June to exit from the European Union (EU), a regional government that allows free trade and free mobility of people and services among member-states, but also imposes various protectionism and restrictions on goods and people mobility to countries outside the EU. This combination of free trade and trade protectionism, simpler migration for fellow EU citizens but difficult migration for non-EU people, tax harmonization and prevention of tax competition among member states, among others, have created confusion and even more animosity among the British. So far nothing is definite and details of the exit may not be known until 2019.

2 Trump victory. A big businessman without past political position but employed an unconventional campaign, President-elect Donald Trump outlasted 16 Republican rivals and then a famous Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton. Not being part of the entrenched political establishment, he is known more to reverse the various regulations and high taxation policies of the Obama and Bush administrations. For instance, he plans to cut the US corporate income tax from 35% to 15%, reverse the anti-coal, anti-oil sentiments and policies, and so on.

3 Terrorist attacks in Europe. Massacres in a newspaper office and rock concert in Paris, airport bombing in Brussels, lorry attack of people in the streets of Nice, France during a Bastille Day celebration, another lorry attack of people in a Christmas shopping in Berlin. Plus some foiled attacks in other cities in Europe. To fight this kind of war, governments will need less of those deadly fighter planes, huge battle tanks and ships. Instead, they will need more drones, CCTVs, crawling small robots, cyberware. The fight is not country to country but house to house, building to buildings.

4 Syria. Endless war among many armed factions has resulted in large-scale murders and displacement by the millions. Aleppo has become the main reference point of why civil war by some proxy countries should be avoided as much as possible. The volume of civilian deaths and destruction of properties is so big.

5 Malaysia and South Korea. Big governments always invite big opportunities for big corruption and wastes, the degree just vary from country to country. In particular, the corruption scandals of Malaysian PM Najib Razak over IMDB and S. Korean President Park Geun-hye over her friend Choi Soon-sil’s involvement in government affairs have pushed their people to conduct various rallies calling for their resignations. And these leaders continue to cling to power.

PHILIPPINES

6 Duterte victory. President Rodrigo Duterte was the first Mayor to move straight to Presidency with a different campaign strategy focused on fighting criminality, drug proliferation, and corruption. Unlike the three other major candidates -- former VP Jojo Binay, Sec. Mar Roxas, and Sen. Grace Poe -- who all focused on more welfarism. And he got huge support from the poor, which shows that the poor are not exactly asking for more welfarism and subsidies, but are seeking increased peace and order to protect themselves against thieves, murderers, rapists, drug pushers, corrupt officials, and other criminals.

7 Drug deaths. From a campaign promise of killing 100,000 criminals if he wins, President Duterte later mentioned that “like Hitler, (I will) annihilate 3 million drug criminals.” The on-going “war on drugs” has resulted in several thousand murders so far, about one-third from police operations and two-third from vigilante-type of executions. The rule of law and its long process of police investigation and court proceedings have been sidestepped.

8 PI Obama, Pakyu EU. Before and during the ASEAN summit and related meetings last September, President Duterte has directly or indirectly lashed out against US President Obama who attended the event in Laos. President Obama and later the EU have voiced criticism over the high number of deaths and disrespect for the rule of law, not the drugs war per se. President Duterte and his avid supporters did not make a distinction between these two and thus, the expletives and harsh words. These were reported heavily in international media.

9 Marcos burial at Heroes’ Cemetery. The sneaky burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani has stirred some political upheavals that many protest rallies were held in Metro Manila and key cities in the country. Since the burial is supported by President Duterte and affirmed by the Supreme Court, the cemetery may better be renamed “Libingan ng mga Bayani at Magnanakaw” (LBM).

10 Non-assertion of territorial rights at SCS/WPS. Mid-December, the President said the Philippines and China can “share” oil in the disputed territories in South China Sea/West Philippine Sea despite an international arbitral award affirming the Philippines’ ownership in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

From this list, it seems that many people around the world are dissatisfied and disappointed with more government, more regulations, taxation and corruption. Authorities should deliver positive results in areas where stronger government is justified, to protect the people’s right to life, right to private property and right to liberty.

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See also:
BWorld 99, China insecurity and belligerence, December 30, 2016 
BWorld 100, Multinationals in the PH, what do they want? January 03, 2017 

BWorld 101, Christmas lights, energy mix and electricity production in Asia, January 09, 2017

Drugs War 3, Dr. Noel de Dios on Duterte's war

My former teacher at UPSE undergrad in the 80s, Dr. Emmanuel "Noel" de Dios wrote a very good paper in BusinessWorld yesterday. It has gone viral, with 3.6k fb likes and shares combined as of this writing (Tuesday, 8:15pm).

His concluding paragraphs:

The true scandal of the current drug war is that it is run by old men who operate on old ideas and obsolete knowledge. It therefore subjects citizens to what is ultimately an unnecessary -- and therefore unjust -- ordeal. Our predicament is not far from the episode of bizarre lobotomies performed on thousands of patients in Europe and the US during the 1950s. Ordered by authorities who thought they were treating “mental disorder,” these procedures led not only to unneeded deaths during the operations themselves, but also to suicides, and the permanent mental maiming and “surgically induced childhoods” of thousands of citizens. With the introduction of anti-psychotic drugs, this practice was almost universally abandoned and regarded as cruel and unusual, though not before thousands of lives had been ruined or lost.

When we do finally recover from our collective mania -- and we will -- we might well wonder, given what we now know, whether it was addicts who were not human, or rather we who were inhumane.

I posted this article in my fb wall, many friends shared and re-shared the paper, thanks guys.

Then out of nowhere, this person appeared, he's not my friend, and using the usual meme, "dogs bark..."

A quick "fuck you" even if he intruded uninvited in my wall, does not even know me or I don't even know him? Typical behavior of many Du30 fans.

And here, he justifies that he can frequently curse people. Frequent cursing is low life characteristic.

Then I learned that he is the son of former Solicitor General (SolGen) and now Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre "Bebot" Bello. I cautioned him about his manners, and his reply?

When people cannot debate on issues -- like this paper by Dr. de Dios -- they resort to meme posting, cursing, ad hominem attacks. 

Sec. Bebot Bello, I have some questions about your labor policies but that's for another topic. I think you are a gentleman and would not easily resort to low-life cursing and discourses, so remind your son. Thank you.
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See also: 
The PH drugs war, part 2, July 27, 2016

President Duterte and 'Pakyu' EU, October 13, 2016 

President Duterte and 'Psychopath' comment by Agot Isidro, October 17, 2016

President Duterte and hyperbole, December 19, 2016

President Duterte and hyperbole

Reposting this long analysis by a friend, Bernard Ong, last December 15, 2016. The images below I got from the web, not part of the original posting by Bernard. A hyperbole is exaggerated statement/s or claims not meant to be taken literally.

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"TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN HYPERBOLE

An idiot’s guide to make sense of what he said and what he really meant.

  

Hyperbole: I will stop drugs in 3 to 6 months.

Truth: I ruled Davao City for 30 years and it is still drug-infested. 3 months have lapsed & 6 months are coming up. The drug trade is still active.

Hyperbole: I will stop crime in 3 to 6 months.

Truth: The number of unresolved murders in the Philippines have spiked under me. Some of my cops are involved in killing innocent citizens like that Crime Watch regional chairperson in Mindoro. About 6,000 killings have been inspired by my War-on-Drugs approach.

Hyperbole: I will stop corruption in 3 to 6 months.

Truth: I released a corrupt president – Gloria Arroyo – from her hospital arrest. I allowed the most corrupt Filipino ever – Ferdinand Marcos – to be buried at Hero’s cemetery. I received my share of the plunder loot from Imee Marcos. Two of my fraternity brods whom I appointed to government took P30m from Macau casino boss Jack Lam.

 Hyperbole: I will end drugs, crime & corruption in 3 to 6 months, or I will resign.

Truth: Of course I know it can’t be done but it sounded like good campaign propaganda that some voters might believe in. My plan was to turn over the presidency to Bong Bong Marcos after 6 months.

Hyperbole: That self-imposed time of three to six months, well, I did not realize how serious the drug problem was until I became President.

Truth: The Supreme Court (Presidential Electoral Tribunal) has not yet removed Leni as VP. I will resign only when BBM is already VP. Be patient, read Sun Tzu, there is a plan.

Hyperbole: Marcos was the best president ever.

Truth: I admire him because he was a dictator, killed so many people and was not convicted for it. He stole $10-B and was able to hide most of it. He is truly my idol for governance.

Hyperbole: I will not take money from big business. My funds came from “Emilio Aguinaldo sa bukid”.

Truth: I took money from miners, power plant owners, plantation owners, big government contractors, major fuel distributor. Nothing new – I received properties, SUVs, private jet flights when I was still mayor. Nag-level up lang.

Hyperbole: I am healthy. I will not release my medical records. Ano ako buang?

Truth: I am sick with at least 4 diseases – Barrett’s esophagus, spinal slipped disc, daily migraines, and Buerger’s disease. I take Fentanyl – a drug 100x more powerful than morphine & 50x more potent than heroin – to kill pain. The drug has many side effects including dizziness, confusion, weakness, headache, nervousness, hallucinations, anxiety, depression & mood swings. It can impair my judgement.

Hyperbole: Yung shabu, synthetic yan, hindi natural tulad ng cocaine. Continued use will shrink the mind of the addict.

Truth: Yung Fentanyl, synthetic rin yan, mas malakas pa sa shabu. If what I said about shabu is true, eh di Fentanyl will also shrink the mind of the addict.

Hyperbole: I will appoint the best and the brightest to the Cabinet.

Truth: Officially I will tell you ‘Ayaw nila kasi walang sweldo’. Off the record, the best and the brightest don’t want to work for me. So I just appointed my fraternity brods, classmates, boarding house mate, party mates, and province-mates. Maski sino basta loyal sa akin, ok na.

Hyperbole: I will ride a jet ski to Spratly. I will tell the Chinese, Suntukan o barilan?

Truth: I will fly to Beijing. I will tell the Chinese - Pahingi please. I will beg them for loans – which will require using corrupt Chinese contractors & substandard Chinese materials. I will beg for them to buy our bananas – to keep my banana baron friends back in Davao happy. No barilan - instead I will buy guns from them. Meanwhile, I will not assert our rights over Panatag.

Hyperbole: I will double, triple the salaries of cops & soldiers.

Truth: It is not in the 2017 budget because that was prepared by Aquino. It will still not be in 2018 budget because there are simply not enough funds for this – it will mean raising salaries for teachers, nurses and other government workers under Salary Standardization Law. But I have to keep saying this so that cops will keep killing, and soldiers won’t launch any coup.

Hyperbole: I will not declare Martial Law.

Truth: Declaring Martial Law is not so useful. There are so many constitutional restrictions - legislative & judiciary oversight, limited time period. Better if I declare a revolutionary government. But the timing is not yet right. I have to co-opt the Left thru peace talks leading to power-sharing agreement. I have to co-opt the military thru salary hikes & promoting loyal generals. Pinol has to build my version of KBL.

Hyperbole: I roamed the streets of Davao at night, looking for a fight so I can kill - to set an example for cops to follow.

Truth: Actually that is mostly true. But that is not the only way. Once cops followed my example, then we can achieve higher targets. Ask Matobato for details.

Hyperbole: Traffic. Putang ina mo, Pope.

Truth: I need emergency powers to solve traffic. We plan to spend P8-Trillion for infrastructure. Kailangan no-bid contracts kung ayaw niyo ng trapik. Everybody happy - Chinese contractors, tongressmen, si Emilio Aguinaldo.

Hyperbole: The problem is Imperial Manila. The answer is Federalism. This will allow regions to keep 30% of resources for their benefit.

Truth: Imperial Manila or NCR generated 62.3% of our GDP in 2015. It also generated 91.1% of all taxes. It is allocated only 43.6% of 2017 government budget. If it gets its 70% share of taxes, NCR budget should jump to 63.4% of total – reducing the budgets available for all other regions.

Hyperbole: Change is Coming

Truth: I have been a traditional politician for 30 years. I belong to a political dynasty – my father was governor of Davao, I was mayor of Davao, my daughter is mayor of Davao. My style is typical of trapo dynasties – sow fear & dispense favors. Threaten, destroy or kill those against me. Reward and buy the loyalty of those for me. Change is Coming? Ano ka, buang?

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See also:

President Duterte at the ASEAN Summit, Obama tussle, October 11, 2016 

President Duterte and 'Pakyu' EU, October 13, 2016 

President Duterte and 'Psychopath' comment by Agot Isidro, October 17, 2016

President Duterte and 'Pakyu' EU

These are news reports from September 21 to 23, except the news on "Killings prompt 'hesitation' among European investors" which was published a month earlier, August 2016. I also include here the fb postings by a friend, famous commentator Bernard Ong. No further comments from me.

From Bernard Ong, September 21, 2016:

"China supplies almost 100% of the shabu to the Philippines. Coddles the international drug lords & their syndicates. Takes over our seas & reefs. Chases Pinoy fishermen away from their traditional livelihoods. Corrupts our local officials to extract minerals in irresponsible manner.

Sounds 1000x more damaging than other countries urging the Philippines to respect universal human rights. Something we ought to be doing without anybody's prodding.

If you must say Pakyu. Be brave, be smart. Point your Pakyus in the right direction.

Pity the die-hard followers who have to switch-on & switch-off their anti-US hatred and pro-China/Putin love.

Those who don't suffer from mood swings due to drugs, bipolar & other conditions will find it hard keeping up with whom to bash & whom to praise. Last time I checked, the Mochas & Sassots & ThinkingPinoys that feed their confused minds are still on bashing the West (govt, media, human rights) mode. Those guys have not received the memo. Slow. Andanar is sleeping on his job.

My suggestion to die-hards is not to wait for clues from Idol's speeches. Flip-flops do not provide useful guidance.

Just think for yourself. Think of what is best for the Philippines. Key word is think. Then you won't bash the UN, US, EU, international media. Not that they are saints. But it is against Philippine interest to do so - we risk losing a lot (investment, aid, trade, tourism, jobs, defense) for the shallow pleasure of petting one man's ego and venting anger. High cost, high risk, no benefit.

Ignore the leader's mood swings. Better yet, correct him when he goes off course. Maybe he will listen to you."

"EU is the Philippines' biggest foreign investor with an FDI stock of over 366 billion pesos.

EU investment is distributed among 600 companies, employing about 400,000 Filipinos, in relatively higher-paying jobs, in sectors like energy (e.g. Shell), manufacturing (e.g. Loreal, Unilever), finance (e.g. Deutsche Bank).

EU invests almost $400B overseas each year. Philippines gets only 0.1% of that. Could easily double or triple with our market potential - IF we don't create the perception of risk by behaving like a rogue nation ruled by thugs instead of laws.

To make these numbers digestible: If the Philippines misses out on $3 billion investment in next 6 years, that means 60,000-120,000 fewer high-paying jobs, less income, less buying power, less taxes, less money for infrastructure. There are multiplier effects. Ignore at your own peril.

So "Pakyu EU". Close the lights on your way out."

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See also:

President Duterte and UNexit, August 22, 2016 

President Duterte and Hugo Chavez, September 30, 2016 

President Duterte and Hitler, October 05, 2016 

President Duterte at the ASEAN Summit, Obama tussle, October 11, 2016