Maniolas

By Lily O. Ramos Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada turnover a key to the city of Manila to President of the French Republic Francois Hollande during the wreath laying ceremony at the Rizal Monument in Manila (MNS Photo) MANILA  (PNA) – Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada on Monday called on Filipinos to unite behind President Rodrigo Duterte in his quest to end terrorism and criminality in the country. “We should unite and rally behind President Duterte in his quest to remove the threat of terrorism in the country,” Estrada said in an interview as several sectors have raised concerns on the “state of lawlessness” declared by Duterte over the weekend following the Davao City bomb blast. “Ang masasabi ko (All I can say is), go Mr. President! Do not waver. Do not get distracted by what is happening in Davao City kasi tinatakot lang siya ng mga yan (because they are just scaring him),” Estrada said, referring to the Abu Sayyaf Group’s (ASG) laying claim to the bomb attack. As Duterte goes after the ASG and other terrorist and criminal groups, Estrada said the President should press on with his anti-narcotics drive. “He should continue his campaign, his all-out war against drugs and extremists. I support him all the way,” Estrada said. Earlier, the former president expressed his full support for Duterte’s war against the ASG, an Islamist extremist group that has been carrying out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortion since 1991. On July 23, 2014, Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Read More …

By Cielito M. Reganit Duterte in Davao Port (MNS photo) MANILA, Sept. 5 (PNA) – President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a proclamation declaring a ‘State of National Emergency on Account of Lawless Violence,” Palace officials have confirmed Monday. In an interview in Davao City, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said the President signed the one-page proclamation shortly before leaving for the ASEAN Summit in Laos. Medialdea said that the spate of terror attacks like kidnappings, beheadings and finally the Davao night market bombing prodded the President to issue the proclamation. He also stressed it is not martial law, no curfew is being imposed and there is no timeline for its implementation. “The President will decide until he sees order and safety restored,” Medialdea said. Meanwhile, over in Malacañang, Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary for Policy and Legislative Affairs Christian Ablan said that the Executive Secretary was already on his way to Manila with the signed proclamation. He said that among the salient points of the proclamation was the President’s order for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to undertake measures permitted by the Constitution and laws to suppress all forms of lawless violence in Mindanao. The President also commanded the AFP and the PNP to prevent lawless violence from spreading and escalating elsewhere in the country with due regard to fundamental and civil political rights. “The state of national emergency shall remain in force until lifted or withdrawn by the President,” Ablan said.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte talks to a wounded victim of the Davao City bombing incident during his visit at the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City. (MNS photo) MANILA, Sept 5 (Mabuhay) – Former president and now Pampanga representative Gloria Arroyo on Monday threw her support behind President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of “state of lawlessness” in the wake of the Davao City blast last Friday. Arroyo said Duterte is in the best position to declare a state of lawlessness to crush any threat to the country’s peace and order. She believes that law enforcers would not abuse their authority, amid concerns that the situation will be used as an excuse to violate human rights. President Rodrigo R. Duterte comforts the families of the victims of the bombing incident in Davao City that left 14 people dead and over 60 others injured on Sept. 3, 2016. (MNS photo) “I did not experience them being abusive, and I don’t think they will be abusive now,” Arroyo said in a press briefing. “President Duterte is a much stronger leader than I am so if could handle them he can handle them even better,” Arroyo added. The President’s aides said the declaration simply meant that the police could call on the military to help suppress security threats. The declaration will not amount to martial law, nor will it lead to the suspension of civil rights, they said. In 2003, Arroyo placed Davao City under a “state of lawlessness” after successive attacks on the Read More …

Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa presents former Marantao Mayor Mohammad Ali Abo Abinal (center) and Maguing Mayor Mamaulan Abinal Molok (left) at Camp Crame on Friday. Abinal and Molok surrendered after receiving information that they were included in President Duterte’s list of narco-politicians.(MNS photo) CAMP OLIVAS, San Fernando, Pampanga, Sept 5 (Mabuhay) – Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa reiterated Monday his warning to police officers involved in illegal drugs to mend their ways or they will face his wrath. “Ilang beses na tayong napapahiya, mga kasamahan ninyo dito,  77 itinapon sa Mindanao para  mahinto yung kanilang operation sa illegal drugs,” Dela Rosa said in his speech before the Police Regional Office 3. “Kung kayo ay sangkot sa ilegal na droga, huminto na kayo. Ako ang kalaban ninyo. I [will] not tolerate that to happen under my watch. Pipersonalin ko kayo pag kayo ay pulis na sangkot sa droga at kayo ay pulis na pumapatong sa droga … hindi ko kayo patatawarin,” he stressed. Dela Rosa said that one police officer from Metro Manila who was assigned to Maguindanao had been killed recently. “Pinaiimbestigahan pa kung bakit napatay doon sa Maguindanao,” he said. He said police officers involved in illegal drugs should be charged and punished. “Ang sinuman sa kapulisan na mapapatunayang kasangkot sa ilegal na droga ay mabibigyan ng nararapat na parusa, magbago na ang dapat magbago,” he said. “This is your chance to save your  career and live better lives. Huwag Read More …

We’ve heard of it before. Dead men tell no tales This is exactly what happened to Iloilo top drug lord Melvin Odicta. For those who missed it, he and his wife Meriam were shot dead early Monday morning by unidentified assailants after exiting from the Port of Caticlan in Aklan. The assailants, according to the police, managed to escape under the cover of darkness. The couple were on their way home to Iloilo when the shooting occurred. The Odictas came from Manila where they had a meeting with DILG Secretary Ismael Sueno, where they denied their involvement in the illegal drugs business. The Odictas, police reports revealed, have been on the watchlist of the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA), however. Despite being in the watchlist for so many years, the Odictas were never invited for questioning by law enforcement agencies regarding their alleged links with drug syndicates or their involvement in the proliferation of illegal drugs in the Western Visayas region. This angle should be “looked into” by the police – to find out who among the top politicians of Iloilo as well as high ranking police officers might have shielded the Odicta couple from being harassed by law enforcement agencies. President Duterte said recently Iloilo is the most “shabolized” province in the country. I don’t know why Senator Frank Drilon, who is from Iloilo and one of the most outspoken politicians in the country today, is surprisingly silent on this matter. Maybe the senator is just busy gloating on Read More …