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Radenta Technologies, one of the country’s leading IT Solutions integrators proudly joins Microsoft’s Public Sector Cloud Summit “Asenso Pilipinas 2021: Building Digital Resilience” from 9am-12noon on January 28, Thursday. Radenta’s Michelle Lasam, Microsoft Line of Business Operations Manager will start her talk at 11:20am as part of Learning Track 1 entitled People: Close the Skills […]
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Journalist Roel Landingin, one of the 28 named in the latest red-tagging offensive of the Duterte government, expressed concern over the credibility of information that the military has and uses.
“It’s concerning because it’s the type of info they use for military operations,” Landingin said in an online press conference on Saturday afternoon. “Imagine if nag-reunion tayo (we hold a reunion) and they misconstrued it as an NPA assembly and pwedeng maging subject ng military operation (it could be subjected to a military operation),” he added.
The presence of Landingin in the online presscon, along with five others in the list — lawyers Alex Padilla and Raffy Aquino, playwright Liza Magtoto, development worker Marie Lisa Dacanay, former journalist and government official Elmer Mercado — effectively debunked what was posted last Friday, Jan. 22, on the Facebook wall of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Information Exchange.
That post, which was taken down later but not after it had been widely shared, carried the heading: “Some of the UP students who became NPA (died or captured).”
On the list were: .Purification Pedro, Ishmael Quimpo, Rafael A. Japa, Rafael Angelo L. Aquino, Reynora R. Reyes, Roel Landingin, Behn Cervantes, Tanya Domingo, Christine Puche, Recca Noelle Monte, Rendell Caguia, Ian Maderazo, Josephine Anne Santiago Lapira, Gerald Salonga, John Carlo Capistrano Alberto, Emmanuel Llana, Vic Haway, Alexander Padilla, . a.k.a. “Gary,” Liza Magtoto,
Elmer Mercado, Marie Lisa Dacanay, Roberto Coloma, Ruben Veloso, Roan Libarios, Arnel Salva, Arthiur Samia, Jr., and Benedicto Villar.
All the six denied ever joining the New People’s Army, the military arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
But what makes the list scary was the inclusion in the list of names who were indeed captured and killed. VERA Files reporter Rick Berdos’ research yielded the following information:
Purification Pedro (died January 1977), Ishmael Quimpo (killed December 1981), Tanya Domingo (killed January 14, 2010),
Christine Puche (killed July 4,2013), Recca Noelle Monte (killed Sept. 4, 2014) , Rendell Cagula (killed Nov. 10, 2014),
Ian Maderazo (killed January 9, 2010), Josephine Anne Santiago Lapira (killed 2017), and John Carlo Capistrano Alberto (killed February 2019).
The list, for all its sloppiness, is dangerous in the context of the Anti-Terrorism Act which gives unbounded power and discretion to the police and the military in ascertaining and declaring what constitutes acts of terrorism, even assigning to them the authority to arrest mere suspects who may be detained for up to 24 days without filing charges against them in court.
Some 30 organizations have filed petitions before the Supreme Court asking the nullification of that law. One of them is Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), where Raffy Aquino is a member.
(Disclosure: I, in my personal capacity, and our organization, VERA Files, together with CenterLaw, are petitioners against the Anti-Terror Act.)
The group noted that the red-tagging came out after the Department of National Defense (DND) unilaterally terminated the 1989 agreement with the University of the Philippines (UP), which prevented state forces from entering and conducting operations inside its campuses without prior notification.
What’s the end-game for the military and Duterte for all this lie and fear mongering?
The theories range from plain ineptitude of the military’s operators to the greed, ambition, and impunity of some military officials, to a cover-up of the COVID-19 related controversies, to Duterte’s desire to stay in power beyond June 30, 2022.
There’s even an elaborate theory about this being a handiwork of idealistic military officers who want to bring down the popular Duterte government by sowing fear and chaos.
Alex Padilla warned: “It’s all orchestrated and it’s not going to be a restful year.”
Be very vigilant!
This column also appears in:
https://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/01/25/21/whats-the-duterte-govt-up-to-with-afps-reckless-red-tagging
https://malaya.com.ph/index.php/news_opinion/whats-the-duterte-government-up-to-with-afps-reckless-red-tagging/
https://verafiles.org/articles/whats-duterte-government-afps-reckless-red-tagging
Listening to President Duterte say that he is not interested in staying beyond June 30, 2022 reminds us of his denials about running for president in 2016. He didn’t even file his certificate of candidacy before the deadline set by the Commission on Elections, remember? He had to go through all the drama of substitution.
The proponents behind the renewed efforts for Charter Change in both the House of Representatives and the Senate are his minions. Would anyone believe that House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Senators Ronald de la Rosa and Francis Tolentino would do anything as serious as changing the Constitution without their Master’s imprimatur?
While inaugurating Stage 3 of the Metro Manila Skyway last week, the President went off topic, as he always does, and talked about the revived Charter Change move:“ Kaya nga hinihingi ko … Ang Congress akala nila — talagang mga — term extension. My God! Maski ibigay mo sa akin on a silver platter, maski ibigay mo sa akin libre another 10 years, sabihin ko sa iyo, p***** i** mo, iyo na lang ‘yan, tapos na ako.”
At least he admitted that the Charter Change initiative came from him. The value of his claimed disinterest in staying beyond June 30, 2022 is as good as his denial of his unexplained millions in his BPI bank account.
Some see the renewed attempt for Charter Change in the last 18 months of the Duterte administration as a diversion from the controversial unauthorized COVID-19 vaccination of members of the Presidential Security Group.
It’s like killing an issue by resurrecting one that has long been buried.
This time Duterte might get it his way given his clout on both the legislature and judiciary.
Charter Change at this late stage of his term is a long shot for Duterte and there’s an element of desperation in its revival.
Does it have something to do with “Bong Go for President” fantasy not catching on despite extensive media campaign, including blatant use of government resources and institutions?
Duterte ruled out the probability of his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sarah Duterte-Carpio, running for president in 2022. In that same Jan. 15 speech, he said: “And my daughter inuudyok naman nila, sabi ko, ‘my daughter is not running’. I have told Inday not to run kasi naaawa ako sa dadaanan niya na dinaanan ko. Hindi ito pambabae. Alam mo, the emotional setup of a woman and a man is totally different.”
Duterte is wrong about the fitness of women to be president. There are many examples of women presidents all over the world, including the Philippines that produced two — Cory Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Duterte-Carpio, who leads in Pulse Asia’s survey of contenders in the 2022 presidential elections, has issued a statement declaring her lack of interest in the presidency. This adds fuel to the reason behind the renewed push for Charter Change.
It is important for Duterte that his successor will be his ally who would protect him because by then he would no longer be immune from suits. There’s the unexplained wealth case pending before the Ombudsman. Many more cases related to the drug war and red-tagging killings are expected to be filed against him and officials involved in the operation after his term ends. And there’s the “crime against humanity” that is still being examined by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
A non-ally successor may allow the ICC to come to the Philippines to investigate and pave the way for his and his fellow respondents like Sen. “Bato” de la Rosa and all uniformed personnel involved in the drug war and red-tagging killings to be arrested if they do not cooperate. With his over 90 percent approval rating, Duterte is the best bet to protect himself and his accomplices.
Simply put, the revival of Charter Change is an act of desperation.
This column is also in Malaya Business Insight and VERA Files.
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