Kinomendahan ni Kuya Bong Go ang mga registrars ng bansa na itinuturing na “keepers of land” sa pagdalo nito sa National Convention of Registrars and Deputy Registrars of Deeds of the Philippines sa Seda Hotel, Quezon City ngayong araw, November 20.

Sa kanyang speech, binigyang diin ni Kuya Bong ang kahalagahan ng mga titulo ng lupa para sa mga Pilipino. Naibahagi rin nito ang layunin ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na magbigay ng land ownership sa mga tribo katulad ng sa Boracay na 3.1 hektarya ng lupa para sa 48 na miyembro ng Ati tribe.

#BongGo #Duterte #SultanKudarat #MalasakitCenter #BongGoNaTayo #GoBongGo #TatakDuterte #HupongNgPagbabago #TapangAtMalasakit

Isang bagong Malasakit Center na naman ang handang magsilbi sa mga Pilipino sa pagbubukas ng bagong opisina nito sa Cotabato Regional and Medical Center (CRMC) na pinangunahan ni Kuya Bong Go ngayong araw, November 19, sa Cotabato City.

Nagkaroon ng unveiling of marker at nagsalita rin si Kuya Bong sa harap ng lahat ng dumalo sa okasyon. Sinabi nito na ang Malasakit Center ay isang one stop shop kung saan pinag-isa na ang iba’t ibang ahensya ng gobyerno na makapagbibigay ng medical assistance sa mga mahihirap na pasyente. Prayoridad din ng mga ito ang mga senior citizens at PWDs. Sa kanyang speech, sinabi ni Kuya Bong na titignan nito ang pagtataas sa sweldo ng mga nurse sa bansa.

#BongGo #Duterte #SultanKudarat #MalasakitCenter #BongGoNaTayo #GoBongGo #TatakDuterte #HupongNgPagbabago #TapangAtMalasakit

Tuloy-tuloy ang Tatak Duterte na serbisyo para sa mga Pilipino dahil sa araw na ito, November 19, isa na namang Malasakit Center ang naipatayo sa Sultan Kudarat Provincial Hospital sa Isulan, Sultan Kudarat. Sa pangunguna ni Kuya Bong Go, nag-unveil muna ng Malasakit Center marker sa mismong ospital at napanood ni Kuya Bong ang turnover ng tseke mula sa Office of the President para sa ospital.

Ayon kay Kuya Bong, ang Malasakit Center na ito ang magbibigay ng “Serbisyong Malasakit” para sa mga taga-Sultan Kudarat na dapat lamang matanggap ng bawat Pilipino. Ang Malasakit Center ay isang one stop shop kung saan pinag-isa lahat ng ahensya ng gobyerno na makapagbibigay ng tulong pinansyal sa mga pasyenteng nangangailan nito. Ang mga ahensyang tumutulong sa Malasakit Center ay ang PhilHealth, Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development at Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

#BongGo #Duterte #@2019elections

Super Typhoon Ompong left dozens dead with many more missing as landslides hit mining bunkhouses in Itogon, Benguet. 43 bodies have been recovered in Itogon with 30 reported to be still missing. Northern Luzon bore the brunt of Signal Number 4 winds. The Cordillera Administrative Region (which includes Benguet Province), Baguio City (3 deaths), Cagayan Valley (7 deaths), Ilocos Region (1 death), Central Luzon (one death) and NCR (one death) suffered most of the deaths in the Philippines. At this moment, the official death count stands at 59 bodies recovered nationwide with dozens still missing and would be presumed dead as hours turn into days. NOTE: The 99 death toll is an educated guess based on all available, and sometimes conflicting data, regarding those still missing in Itogon, Benguet (currently ranging from 30 to 80) so we adopted the conservative number of 40 then included the 59 confirmed deaths. These figures still do not include reports that may come in delayed due to damaged communication lines and from far flung areas. Suffice it to say that it may take a week to come up with a pretty accurate report.

Super Typhoon Ompong left dozens dead with more missing as landslides hit mining bunkhouses in Itogon, Benguet. Northern Luzon bore the brunt of Signal Number 4 winds. The Cordillera Administrative Region, Baguio City, Cagayan Valley and Ilocos Region sustained most of the mortalities.

It was this kind of strictness that I yearned for here in the Philippines all those years ago.

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For some strange reason I started thinking of an incident back in the 1990s that took place in Singapore.

Upon the election of then Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte as President of the Republic of the Philippines, under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban), in 2016, the PDP Laban national political party had no way to go but up. As TRAPOs (TRAditional POliticianS) jumped on the PDP Laban band wagon, PDP Laban easily achieved a SUPER MAJORITY head count in the House of Representatives and controlled the Duterte Administration Coalition in the Senate. PDP stalwarts Koko Pimentel became Senate President and Pantaleon Alvarez became House Speaker. By absorbing incumbent congressmen/women, governors and mayors into the PDP fold, PDP was poised to SWEEP the 2019 midterm senatorial and local elections to totally demolish the Aquino Administration dominant political group, the Liberal Party. 

Pimentel was then removed as Senate President. Alvarez was kicked out as House Speaker in a coup that happened in dramatic fashion on the day that the President delivered his State of the Nation Address (SONA). Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took over the House leadership. Mayor Sara called on a number of congressmen/women to effect the Alvarez ouster. The back room maneuverings and removal of her arch rival as House Speaker propelled Mayor Inday Sara to national prominence and sooner or later, NATIONAL political parties made a bee line to secure a formal alliance with Hugpong ng Pagbabago. While the PDP belatedly included the non-PDP re-electionist senators in their list of 24 possible candidates (for twelve slots), they still have to undergo a trimming process thus their future in the PDP ticket still hangs at a balance. On the other hand Sara Duterte’s Hugpong ng Pagbabago already includes Senators Villar, Ejercito and Angara in their line-up. Together with come backing Senator Pia Cayetano, SAP Bong Go and former PNP chief Bato Dela Rosa, Hugpong ng Pagbabago is ready and able to challenge PDP for the most number of senators elected in 2019. Please take note that there would be common candidates between the two parties with Bong Go and Pia Cayetano, among others, being fielded by the rival pro-Duterte political  parties. Still, in the final analysis, even after counting the common candidates for both sides, when the dust settles after the 2019 midterm elections, either PDP Laban or Hugpong ng Pagbabago will have more senatorial seats won (unless there is a tie). Should PDP Laban elect more senators, everyone would just say that the development had been expected due to the long history of PDP Laban  and the huge numbers of politicians that crossed over to them after the 2016 Presidential elections. However, a Hugpong ng Pagbabago victory would deal a crushing blow to PDP Laban and elevate Sara Duterte to national stature.

#Duerte #SaraDuterte #HugpongNgPagbabago #TapangAtMalasakit

A businesswoman at the center of a massive Manila corruption scandal has been charged in the US with laundering about USD$20 million allegedly pilfered from the Philippine state, prosecutors said, adding they would seek her extradition.

A federal grand jury in California indicted Tuesday Philippine national Janet Lim Napoles, a key suspect in the so-called “pork barrel” scandal where politicians allegedly embezzled roughly USD$200 million (PHP 10 BILLION)that was supposed to help poor Filipinos.

Napoles, along with five family members, is accused of wiring $20 million of the stolen money from the Philippines to California bank accounts, the US attorney’s office said in a statement.

Lim, 54, is already behind bars in the Philippines, where she is on trial over graft charges stemming from the alleged embezzlement.

The Manila law firm representing her declined to comment.

The US indictment alleges the defendants used the money to buy real estate, shares in businesses, two Porsche Boxsters and finance the living expenses of three US-based Napoles family members.

“We will work with our Philippine counterparts to secure the extradition of the defendants to the United States,” said US Attorney Nick Hanna.

The US government won a court order in 2015 to freeze $12.5 million worth of assets bought by Napoles and others using the allegedly stolen funds.

“If the court orders the assets forfeited, the United States will work… to return the stolen funds back to the Philippine government,” the statement said.

The money was intended for use in development projects chosen by lawmakers, but instead it was diverted to phoney non-profit organisations and stolen.

The scandal rocked the Philippines, where one in five people live on the equivalent of just over a dollar a day.

Three Filipino senators (Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla) were among those arrested in Manila in 2014 over the scam.

After her arrest in Manila, the US government said, Napoles and her family attempted to quietly liquidate the American assets and move the cash back to the Philippines or accounts in the US and Britain.

The defendants also allegedly attempted to give some of the money to Napoles’s US-based daughter, one of those indicted, who used the cash to open a fashion business.

Last year Napoles won a legal victory when a Philippine appellate court acquitted her of charges of abducting and detaining a former aide (whistleblower Benhur Luy) who turned state witness against her in the plunder and graft charges.

However, President Rodrigo Duterte’s government recently dropped an earlier proposal to turn her into a state witness, which could have lessened her exposure to a long prison sentence if convicted.

Story by Agence France Presse

File photo: Janet Lim Napoles with Senator Frank Drilon