Maniolas

In this image released by Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is photographed against a wall after his arrest in the Pacific resort city of Mazatlan, Mexico. AP President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday confirmed the “active” operation of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel in the Philippines. During his speech before members of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) in Malacanang, Duterte said the Mexican drug cartel has since been operating in the country.   READ: What Went Before: Lipa raid confirms Mexican drug cartel presence in PH “Is Mexico into us? Yes. Sinaloa iyong cartel nila, tayo ang transshipment. Kasi in-eradicate sila ng mga Amerikano. Binomba sila. Kaya dito sila active ang Sinaloa. I never, never, never hoist a lie. I’m telling you,” Duterte said. (We are the transshipment of the Sinaloa cartel from Mexico because they have been eradicated by the Americans. They were bombed. That’s why Sinaloa has since been active here.) The President said the notorious drug cartel has shifted its operation in the Philippines because of the United States’ strict policies on illegal drugs. He said the Philippines would be run by narco-politicians in the next seven years if the government would not address the illegal drugs trade in the country. In January 2015, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) operatives arrested 39-year-old Mexican Horacio Hernandez in Makati City for selling P12-M worth of cocaine. Horacio was an alleged member of the Sinaloa drug cartel. Police authorities have earlier Read More …

TOKYO—China risks triggering unintended conflict with its Asian rivals through its aggressive stance in maritime disputes, Japan warned on Tuesday in an annual security assessment. China’s sweeping claims in the strategic South China Sea, where Beijing has built a series of artificial islands capable of supporting military operations despite overlapping claims from other nations, have stoked international alarm. The region’s superpower “continues to act in an assertive manner,” and its actions “include dangerous acts that could cause unintended consequences,” Tokyo said in a white paper that was approved by the Cabinet. Beijing is under pressure to respect a UN-backed tribunal’s finding last month that there is no legal basis for its ambitions over the resource-rich South China Sea where the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and others also have claims. The white paper said China was “poised to fulfill its unilateral demands without compromise” including efforts “to turn these coercive changes to the status quo into a fait accompli.” And it again called on Beijing to abide by the ruling of the tribunal, which China has denounced as a fraud. Japan also expressed concern over increased activity in the East China Sea, where the two countries have competing claims over a group of small uninhabited islets called the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. “Recently, China has been intensifying activities near the Senkaku Islands, such as its military aircraft flying southward closer to the islands,” it said. Live-fire drills But even as Japan made public the content of the white Read More …

Lawyer  Joe Sayas explains civil rights case against the City of Long Beach as Mharloun Saycon’s family  looks on. AJPRESS LOS ANGELES – The City of Long Beach, California faces a federal civil rights lawsuit filed on behalf of the family of Mharloun Saycon alleging that his death at the hands of police last December was an unjustified murder. The suit announced on Thursday, July 29 accuses the city and two of its officials of failing to train the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) to properly approach situations involving people suffering from mental illness. Attorneys Joe Sayas, Dan Stormer and Caitlan McLoon say the patrol officer Vuong Nguyen, who shot Saycon, made no attempt to peacefully interact with the Filipino American before shooting him eight times inside Looff’s Lite-A-Line arcade on December 4 of last year. Police statement Representatives of the LBPD issued a statement saying Saycon, who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, was waving around a knife and frightening customers before officers arrived. “The suspect failed to comply with any of the officers’ orders. Officers then deployed less lethal options, which included an electronic control device and baton,” according to the statement. LBPD officials say the officer opened fire only after non-lethal measures failed to subdue Saycon. However, the family’s legal team said Saycon hadn’t even risen from his chair before officers attacked him. On Thursday, the Saycons’ attorneys said they have collected video evidence and witness statements corroborating their understanding of the events. “They made no effort Read More …

Filipino American community member asking questions to the guest panelists during the open forum of the Philippine Embassy’s Talakayan on the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program held at the Romulo Hall of the Philippine Embassy on July 28.. CONTRIBUTED   WASHINGTON, DC – Officials of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services are trying to smooth out the process for the reunification of Filipino veterans of World War II in the US and their relatives from the Philippines, USCIS representatives told Filipino American community members and veterans’ rights advocates. “We are always looking for ways to streamline this program and to make it more user-friendly and make the processes quickest as we can,” Allison Kent of the USCIS stated at a Talakayan on July 28 at the Romulo Hall of the Philippine Embassy on the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program. In July 2015, the White House released the report “Modernizing and Streamlining Our Legal Immigration System for the 21st Century” that announced the parole policy to enable eligible individuals to provide support and care to their aging veteran family members who are US citizens or lawful permanent residents. Consul General Emilio Fernandez delivering the opening remarks at the Talakayan on the WWII Veterans Visa Parole Program. CONTRIBUTED Since last June 8, USCIS has started to allow certain Filipino World War II veteran family members who are beneficiaries of approved family-based immigrant visa petitions a chance to receive a discretionary grant of parole on a case-by-case basis, so Read More …

San Diego, California police officer Jonathan De Guzman was killed in a shootout during a traffic stop. AJPRESS LOS ANGELES — A gunfight in San Diego on Thursday, July 28 between police and at least one gunman claimed the life of a Filipino American veteran police officer while leaving his partner and one suspect hospitalized. At least one unnamed suspect opened fire on officers shortly after being stopped by Jonathan “JD” De Guzman and his partner, Wade Irwin of the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) in the city’s Southcrest neighborhood, according to a statement released by the department. De Guzman, who had served 16 years with SDPD, suffered multiple gunshot wounds while Wade, a nine-year veteran of the police force, was struck in the torso. Both were transported to the University of California San Diego Medical Center where De Guzman was later pronounced dead on Friday, July 29. Wade is expected to survive his injuries. During a press conference on Friday, SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman said the violent incident unfolded “extremely quickly…in seconds to a minute or so.” An individual thought to have participated in the shooting is in custody and is currently in critical condition while recovering from a gunshot wound. Officers found the suspect in a ravine near the location of the shootings. Before 8 a.m. on Friday, police investigations led officers to a house in the neighborhood of Shelltown, about a half-mile away from the initial crime scene, according to the Associated Press. SDPD surrounded the building Read More …