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Vote buying melded with disinformation

Vote buying melded with disinformation

by | Apr 12, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of vote buying

GOTCHA

written on April 6, 2022

 

Text blasts regularly smear a re-electionist mayor in Metro Manila. Slyly worded, the messages impute crookedness. E.g.: “Should Mayor (name) be indicted for plunder in the P426-million overpriced ‘ayuda?’ Text back, yes or no.” That blast is easily traceable to a political rival. The latter, notorious for graft, had earlier baselessly “exposed” the “crime” in his Facebook page. His blasts echo his false accusation. Very Hitlerian: the bigger the lie, often repeated, the more believable.

The modus doesn’t stop there. Gullible “yes” repliers are then listed in a database. They are befriended, invited to campaign rallies and given cash. Hooked, they recruit other attendees. They are promised food, transportation and more cash on Election Day.

Text blasting for disinformation is not new. Gotcha warned against it many elections ago. The Israel-invented gadget cost about P10 million then. The cheater merely had to load the battery-operated machine in a van, stop by a cell site and send out fake news. Most potent then was on Election Eve. Text blasts would state that the rival had suffered a stroke or heart attack and was thus withdrawing from the race. With no time to correct the fakery, the victim’s supporters would be disheartened and thrown in disarray.

The gadgets have since become smaller, cheaper and easier to smuggle. Government efforts to limit and license their use are futile. In off-election years, those are rented out for sales promos of mini-malls to attract passing commuters and pedestrians. Still the danger of misuse lurks, like to alarm the populace about catastrophes and attribute it to disaster managers.

The clear and present danger is that malicious text blasting is now combined with new-tech vote buying. Payoffs to the harvested repliers can be made online – direct to bank accounts or via mobile wallets. That makes tougher the Comelec’s drive against vote buying.

The poll agency has formed a task force to investigate vote buying motu proprio. No need to wait for complainants, it announced, while warning that both giver and receiver face prosecution. Nothing has been done so far about widely publicized and clearly videoed cash handouts by officials in Cavite, Quezon, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Zamboanga. What more with digital payolas?

The five incidents occurred just before or right after rallies there of a presidential candidate and VP running mate. Both advocate acquiescence to China. They endorse the malicious text blaster in Metro Manila, along with a congressional ticket-mate. That mayor wannabe once illegally granted gold mining rights to a China state firm. The congressional bet’s Chinese spouse, a China state agent’s partner, recently made a killing from pricey pandemic supplies. Like elsewhere, Communist China funds and propagandizes for its Manchurian Candidates.

That presidential aspirant too has melded falsity with vote buying. Years ago, his cyber warriors spread a tale that the candidate’s family is loaded with gold. Purportedly, he will give it away when elected. Through the years he has set up or bought out 10,000 nano-influencers online. Each influencer has about ten groups of a hundred followers each, totalling 1,000. The followers, 10 million in all, have been convinced they will be the first recipients of P100,000-P500,000 each, or a gold bar. Any jobless, hopeless voter will bite that, hook, line and sinker. For a decade now public high schools have been graduating students poor in Math, Science, History and Reading Comprehension, thus no critical thinking.

Bank ATM cards are distributed to the followers, each supposedly with P100 deposit. They may check but not withdraw, lest they forfeit the card for containing less than the minimum required amount. The bonanza allegedly will come on presidential inaugural day. It does not matter to the followers that their candidate recently denied on TV knowledge of any gold. They believe he had to do that because America will steal the gold from him. Under the Omnibus Election Code, mere promise of payment is already vote buying.

                                                      *      *      *

The forest was shrinking but the trees kept voting for the axe, for the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood he was one of them. – Turkish proverb

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

‘Presidentiables,’ please unite, save us from Communist China

‘Presidentiables,’ please unite, save us from Communist China

by | Apr 12, 2023 | Gotcha

Stock image

GOTCHA

written on March 30, 2022

 

A re-electionist governor in North Luzon invites not only illicit China black sand extractors but also its military to his province. A congresswoman wannabe in Quezon City is an exec of Chinese fly-by-nights that made a killing from pricey pandemic supplies. Her spouse is the business partner of a Chinese state agent exposed by the Senate. Allied with her is the mayoral bet who unconstitutionally granted gold mines to a Chinese in 2005.

They’re in the ticket of a presidential aspirant very close to the China Communist Party, thus unwilling to defend the West Philippine Sea. The VP running mate wants continued acquiescence to the bully.

Supporting them is a former leader who attempted a $200-million kickback from a Chinese contract, and is now running for Congress. As well as two senatorial candidates who lawyered for China while in Malacañang.

The CCP needs stooges in national and local office. Dominance over the Philippine government is vital to its expansionism. Communist China plots to retake Taiwan within this decade. “Concluding” the Chinese civil war a century after it began in 1928 would be the godless CCP’s crowning glory. To achieve that, the CCP must make Manila deny access to allies who can thwart a Taiwan invasion. A bonus would be People’s Liberation Army control of Subic Bay, Poro Point and Fuga Island, among others, only a few hundred kilometers from Taiwan.

As ASEAN’s outermost boundary in the Pacific, the Philippines is strategic. Unveiled in 1989 is the PLA-Navy’s First and Second Island Chains of Defense. The First is a virtual Great Wall at sea stretching from southern Japan to the west of Taiwan, Luzon, Palawan and Tawi-Tawi. The Second encompasses waters east of Taiwan and the Philippines. Those are why Beijing baselessly claims the entire South China Sea including the WPS. Also its recent incursions in Benham Rise, part of the East Philippine Sea, reported by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.

Putting up “Manchurian Candidates” is a global ploy. Through Chinese businessmen, the CCP channels funds to politicians and parties in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, the Americas, Europe and Africa. Recently exposed were parliamentarians in Australia and New Zealand and two gubernatorial candidates in the US. Chinese law obligates its firms and citizens to participate in, but keep secret, CCP overseas spying and propaganda, including disinformation trolls.

CCP influencing of Philippine officialdom is not new. In 2005, Beijing lent $4 billion. For whatever projects and kickbacks did not matter, so long as the loan was repaid with interest. Thus were concocted the NorthRail and National Broadband Network-ZTE scams.

CCP funding of Filipino “Ma-Chings” is cheap. P1 billion in illicit campaign contribution is only $20 million. A drop in the bucket of the $840,000,000 (P42 billion) the Chinese state agent, Pharmally and other Chinese suppliers took from the Philippine pandemic fund. Not to forget, overpriced Chinese vaccines.

The CCP is tightening its grip. Already, Malacañang allows unlimited Chinese poaching in the WPS, under a “verbal agreement” with President Xi Jinping. It set aside Manila’s victory in the Permanent Court of Arbitration that illegalized China’s occupation of Scarborough Shoal and seven reefs. It forbade the Armed Forces from joint patrols with allies in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. “Make us a province of China,” it even crassly joked. Bowing to Chinese wishes, legislators now allow full foreign ownership of telecoms, railways and airlines. Governors license Chinese to mine and ship out nickel ore.

Election of “Ma-Chings” would complete the Philippines’ surrender. They will cancel the procurement of modern air and sea patrol craft, military communications and surveillance gear, and missiles. To justify full withdrawal of naval and air defenses, they will feign concern for the lives of Filipino sailors and airmen. That will further embolden Chinese warships to aim gun control directors at Philippine patrols. Ram wooden Filipino fishing craft with Chinese maritime militia steel trawlers. Swarm Philippine reefs. Trespass internal waters. Steal oil and gas in Malampaya and Recto Bank. Grab five mineral-rich features in Benham by virtue of being first to explore and name those – without Philippine permission.

Worst, the “Ma-Chings” will intensify imports of fish, poultry, meat, grains, feeds, vegetables and fruits from China. That will devastate agriculture.

Together, the nine non-administration presidential and eight VP aspirants can avert subjugation. By uniting, they can defeat China’s candidates.

This is their chance for greatness. The Republic is on the brink of disintegration into fiefdoms of Communist China. Patriotic duty should override personal ambition. Or else, they will go down in history as the 17 who repeated its mistake – selfish disunity in the face of American annexation in 1898 and Japanese invasion in 1941.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Quarries will again trigger ruinous floods starting May

Quarries will again trigger ruinous floods starting May

by | Apr 12, 2023 | Gotcha

photo from PNA

GOTCHA

written on March 25, 2022

 

Two months from now dry faucets will turn into floods. Rains will rush down bald mountains, deluging homes and shops below. Greater Manila will again be worst hit. Residents will blame only what they see: plastic trash clogging drains. The true culprits willl again escape accountability. Those are the handful of quarriers in the Marikina watershed east of the megalopolis.

Three of the quarries are in Sitio San Roque, Baras, Rizal uphill from Antipolo capital. Sixteen others are in adjacent Montalban. That the largest is owned by an ex-environment secretary shows the futility of forest preservation and flood prevention.

The three quarriers in Baras ironically control the upper slopes. Just below them is the Masungi Georeserve Project. The 2,700-hectare Masungi is world-acclaimed for reforestation and rewilding. Winding across it into the quarries is a 16-kilometer-long spine of epochs-old limestone. The quarriers are after that water-bearing, flood-preventing limestone.

Two administrations expanded Masungi from its original 130 to 430 hectares. The Masungi Georeserve Foundation opened it to eco-tourists to cover the cost of park rangers against illegal loggers and trespassers. In 2017 environment secretary Gina Lopez assigned 2,270 hectares more to the Foundation. But forest protection seems to be a losing battle. A syndicate in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is protecting instead the quarriers.

Crooked bureaucrats awarded the quarriers in 1998-1999 Mineral Production Sharing Agreements. “Those MPSAs are patently illegal,” says Foundation president Ben Dumaliang. The Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape is a watershed. As such it is listed in the National Integrated Protected Areas System Law. Presidential Proclamation 1636 of 1977 and DENR Department Administrative Order 33 of 1993 prohibit quarrying in watersheds and protected areas. Mere MPSAs may not supersede laws and regulations.

Encouraged by the quarriers, two commercial swimming pool resorts have been built in the area recently. One of them fenced off half a kilometer of river and diverted the water to the pools. Both have no business permits. Three police generals erected mansions; two vacated the illegal constructions after retirement. Illegal woodcutters and slash-and-burn (kaingin) trespassers destroyed 16 hectares of forest, the Department of the Interior and Local Government denounced in July 2021.

Alleged goons of the resort owners and the remaining general harass the hundred or so Masungi park rangers. The unarmed rangers have been fired at with rifles and shotguns to scare them from fencing off the intruders. Attacks have been reported to the local police. Still the goons persist. Last Feb. 18, The STAR reported, 30 thugs clubbed and stoned seven rangers then lunching at a carinderia. Two had to be hospitalized. One of the maulers has a pending court case for previously shooting the ranger barracks.

The DILG has urged DENR to file criminal charges against the resort owners, loggers and their bureaucrat abettors. Inspecting Masungi’s outlying areas last July, DILG U-Sec. Jonathan Malaya saw illegal structures in the 16 newly denuded hectares. “Binusabos na nga nila ang kalikasan, naghahari-harian pa sila sa lugar, at hindi sumusunod sa mga otoridad at batas pang-kalikasan,” he fumed. As part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force, Malaya cited bases for indicting the trespassers: NIPAS Law, Revised Forestry Code, Water Code and DENR DAO 1993-33 declaring Masungi as “Strict Nature Reserve & Wildlife Sanctuary”.

In March 2020 DENR Sec. Roy Cimatu vowed to cancel the MPSAs for being harmful to the area. Two years hence it has not materialized. Shady underlings apparently withheld the cancellation order from Cimatu’s signature, until he retired last month.

The syndicate is even turning the tables on Masungi Georeserve Foundation. “They are accusing us of land grabbing inspite of our official designation by DENR as conservationists,” Dumaliang laments. Billboards badmouthing the eco-park have been put up at resort entrances and unlicensed roadside eateries.

A days-long water shut-off early this month was blamed by illegal residents on the Foundation. It turned out from drone videos, however, that the resorts had diverted the springs to fill up their pools and water tanks in anticipation of summer tourist influx.

The demonization seems orchestrated. Purportedly in response to the locals’ outcry, provincial and central DENR officials are recommending closure of the Masungi Georeserve Project. Ignored are seven years of Dumaliang’s reforestation and rewilding, mostly funded out of his own pocket. His eldest daughters, National Geographic explorer Ann and Billie, had to resign from corporate jobs to help his efforts full time. Ignored, too, are 67,000 replanted native trees, and citations from the UN Development Program, International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Travel-Tourism Council and UN World Tourism Organization.

Only Duterte can save Masungi perhaps. “The area is a geohazard zone prone to floods and landslides,” Dumaliang wrote the President on Mar. 14. “Water supply for the surrounding communities will be lost from the resulting excavation and extraction of the water-bearing limestone formation. The 60-million-year old geological heritage and shelter of indigenous plants and animals will be destroyed.”

It’s the quarries that must go. Or else the people of Metro Manila, Bulacan and Rizal will continue to suffer destructive floods like those from superstorm Ondoy in 2009 and typhoon Ulysses in 2020.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

China now aggressing Philippine inner waters

China now aggressing Philippine inner waters

by | Apr 12, 2023 | Gotcha

Photo from Wikipedia

GOTCHA

written on March 18, 2022

 

Picture yourself frolicking on Boracay’s white sands in the center of the archipelago. Then a gray China navy warship suddenly draws near, cannons menacing and drones videoing you.

That is the seriousness of the People’s Liberation Army-Navy’s trespass of Philippine inner waters between Palawan and Panay.

Electronic surveillance warship No. 792 barged in uninvited last Jan. 29-Feb. 1. There that week, Jan. 27-Feb. 2, the AFP and US Marines were holding amphibious drills. Boracay is on the farther side of Panay.

The intruder stopped for two days. Challenged by Philippine Navy patrol BRP Antonio Luna, it refused to leave the area and instead lurked at Palawan’s Cuyo Isles. Only after more warnings did it sail via Apo Reefs marine sanctuary and Mindoro Strait out to the West Philippine Sea.

An archipelagic state’s inner waters are part of its territory, no different from its islands. No foreign vessel may pass through those waters without permission. The vessel may be allowed innocent passage under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. But it must stick to the state’s designated straight path and not stop unless for emergency. It should not conduct reconnaissance, launch military craft, gather information or other hostile acts. And it must immediately depart when so ordered.

PLAN-792 broke all those rules. The missile-tracking spy ship trespassed Philippine inner waters from the WPS via Balabac Strait south of Palawan. If on innocent passage, as the Chinese Embassy now blabbers, it should have sailed the designated sea lane straight to Surigao Strait in northeast Mindanao and exited to the Pacific. Instead it turned northward near the off-limits Tubbataha Reefs marine sanctuary. It loitered in the vicinity for two days. Then it strayed northeast to Cuyo before exiting back to the WPS via Mindoro Strait north of Palawan.

If PLAN-792 needed to sail from south to north of Palawan, it could have done so along the WPS outer waters westside of Palawan. Weather was fine that week; it had no mechanical or medical emergency. The shortest distance beween two points is a straight line – to save fuel and sail time. Instead it traversed three sides of the rectangle bordering Palawan – south, east and north. That is not innocent passage. That is “illegal incursion” as the Dept. of Foreign Affairs protested last Monday. (The Dept. of National Defense had kept mum all the while.)

The China navy, coast guard and fisheries militia routinely intrude outer Philippine waters as well. They occupy our reefs and poach fish, in violation of the 1982 UNCLOS and the 2016 ruling of The Hague arbitral court.

The Philippine Baselines Law specifies the outer waters under UNCLOS. Lines connect the outermost land points around Batanes, Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and Tawi-Tawi. From those baselines, the Philippines is entitled to an exclusive economic zone up to 200 miles as maritime jurisdiction. But the first 12 miles are territorial waters.

The Philippines is also entitled to another 150 miles extended continental shelf. On the west side the EEZ and ECS comprise the West Philippine Sea. Under that entitlement, the UN declared the 13 million-hectare Benham Rise on the east or Pacific side as Philippine ECS. Thus, the East Philippine Sea consists of the EEZ plus Benham, now officially called Philippine Rise.

China covets the WPS (and the EEZs of Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei) as part of its “territorial” South China Sea by concocted “historical rights”. But the 2016 Hague ruling rubbished those. China refuses to accept.

China also regularly intrudes Philippine Rise, the National Security Agency reported to the Senate on Tuesday. Defying the UN declaration, China claims ownership of undersea features by virtue of supposedly being the first to name them.

While pretending to recognize Philippine land territory, China illogically claims to own the waters on the west and east sides. And it incurses the inner waters between.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Chinese navy ‘spied on’ PH-US drills in Palawan

Chinese navy ‘spied on’ PH-US drills in Palawan

by | Apr 12, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of PH-US drills in Palawan

GOTCHA

written on March 16, 2022

 

The Chinese navy trespassed Palawan inner waters during joint Philippine-US military exercises there. People’s Liberation Army-Navy electronic reconnaissance warship 792 lingered east of Palawan on Jan. 29-Feb. 1. Ongoing in the area then, Jan. 27-Feb. 2, were amphibious drills of US Marines with Filipino soldiers.

“Suspicion is that the spy ship was shadowing the activity,” retired general Edilberto Adan told The STAR. The dates cannot just be coincidence, said the former secretariat head of the PH-US Visiting Forces Agreement. PLAN 792 is of Dongdiao class, a missile-tracking electronic surveillance vessel.

The warship was not on “innocent passage” since it did not stick to a straight path, former Phil. Navy chief Adm. Alexander Pama added. It even stopped for two days, he quoted defense sources.

The Chinese navy trespassed Palawan inner waters during joint Philippine-US military exercises there. People’s Liberation Army-Navy electronic reconnaissance warship 792 lingered east of Palawan on Jan. 29-Feb. 1. Ongoing in the area then, Jan. 27-Feb. 2, were amphibious drills of US Marines with Filipino soldiers.

“Suspicion is that the spy ship was shadowing the activity,” retired general Edilberto Adan told The STAR. The dates cannot just be coincidence, said the former secretariat head of the PH-US Visiting Forces Agreement. PLAN 792 is of Dongdiao class, a missile-tracking electronic surveillance vessel.

The warship was not on “innocent passage” since it did not stick to a straight path, former Phil. Navy chief Adm. Alexander Pama added. It even stopped for two days, he quoted defense sources.

Foreign vessels may pass through inner Philippine waters under the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act. Included is a narrow passageway south to north between Palawan and Panay that exits through Mindoro Strait to the West Philippine Sea. It intersects another passageway from Balabac Strait south of Palawan to Surigao Strait in northeast Mindanao, to and from West Philippine Sea and the Pacific. Vessels must keep within the width of the sea lanes, set in longitude and latitude. They must first seek permission to sail through, on a straight path, and stop only for emergency or to seek help.

The US exercises with the AFP jumped off from Brooke’s Point in southeast Palawan and covered both sides of the first passageway. Participating were the AFP Western Command based in Puerto Princesa City and the West Mindanao Command based in Zamboanga City. Purpose: interoperability of troops, communication, vessels, equipment, armaments.

It is “usual” for navies to monitor others’ war games, but in open seas. “China is known to keenly observe Philippine-US drills in our WPS exclusive economic zone up to 200 miles from shore,” said Jay Batongbacal, PhD, international maritime law. “But this is different. Pambabastos ito. PLAN 792 broke UNCLOS and domestic laws.” Worse than barging into the 12-mile outer territorial waters of the Philippines, it sneaked into internal waters and veered away from the designated archipelagic sea lane.

Philippine Navy patrol BRP Antonio Luna challenged the Chinese spy ship and ordered it to leave. Still the intruder ventured northeast to the Cuyo islands of Palawan. Days later, tailed by BRP Antonio Luna, it turned west to Apo Reefs and exited via Mindoro Strait.

Weather was clear around Palawan and Panay that week of Jan. 27-Feb. 2. If PLAN 792 needed to pass south to north of Palawan, it could have traversed the WPS. But entering Balabac Strait, it should have exited to the Pacific via Surigao Strait. Yet it strayed from the straight path and turned to the passageway east of Palawan, despite no medical or engine emergency. By exiting in Mindoro Strait, it in effect traversed three sides of the rectangle bordering Palawan.

“It is an affront on our sovereignty,” said Adan, trustee of the Council on Foreign Relations and former superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy. He expressed the concern of other retired generals in the Advocates for National Interest, which he chairs.

Despite murmurs since early February about the intrusion, Defense officials kept mum. On Monday, March 14, the Dept. of Foreign Affairs summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian: “Desist from entering Philippine waters uninvited and without permission.” China committed an “illegal incursion” and disrespected Philippine territory and maritime jurisdiction, Foreign Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said.

PLAN 792 did not inform authorities of intention to pass through, Lazaro said. She cited Article 52 of UNCLOS that pertains to temporary suspension of passage along archipelagic sea lanes for state security after due publication.

“Was that the first and the last incursion?” Rep. Jericho Nograles asked. “Why is it only through a DFA statement that Congress is hearing about this? Were they hiding it?”

The Philippine Navy, Coast Guard and PNP Maritime Command are obliged to report to Congress, even in a confidential manner, any incursions and threats to the Republic, Nograles said. Those armed services are under the Departments of National Defense, Transportation, and Interior and Local Government, respectively.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

China threatening Phl anew over oil-rich Recto Bank

China threatening Phl anew over oil-rich Recto Bank

by | Apr 12, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of President Duterte

GOTCHA

written on March 11, 2022

 

China is war-mongering again over the Philippines’ oil-rich Recto Bank. President Duterte said Monday a Chinese source warned him of military deployment if the Philippines secures the shallow waters within its exclusive economic zone. Fears are that Beijing would take advantage of world distraction by the Ukraine crisis to aggress the West Philippine Sea.

“Pinaalala sa akin, hindi ko na sabihin kung sino from China, ‘di ba may usapan tayo na joint development of Recto Bank. May bagong istorya na may papalit na,” Duterte revealed in a late night monologue.

Duterte said he denied his contact’s claim that Manila was sending soldiers to the area 84 miles off Palawan. “Sabi ko sa kanya, wala naman kami balak magdala ng sundalo. [The person retorted] kung magpadala kayo ng sundalo, magpadala rin kami ng sundalo. ‘Yan ang iniiwasan ko noon pa. Tapos magkakagiyera tayo rito… ‘yung Ukraine. ‘Yung Taiwan gusto agawin ulit ng China. Tapos dito.”

Recto Bank is estimated to contain 165 million barrels of oil and 3,486 billion cubic feet of gas. The Philippines has issued service contracts for private firms to drill petroleum. But Chinese warships harassed the exploration vessels in 2012.

Though well outside its own 200-mile EEZ, Beijing covets Recto by sketchy historical right. The Hague Arbitral Court in 2016 rubbished that claim as inconsistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. It upheld Manila’s stake over all mineral resources in its EEZ.

After a 2017 state visit to Beijing, Duterte reported that President Xi Jinping threatened him with war if he tried to enforce The Hague ruling and drill for oil. That was despite his earlier pronouncement to set aside the verdict in acquiescence to China. Retired Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio, who had helped craft the Philippine arbitration, reminded that international law forbids any state from threatening or warring with another.

The following year Malacañang announced an understanding with Beijing to jointly explore and develop Recto Bank. State-owned China National Offshore Oil Company was to participate. Other details have yet to be publicized four years hence. International analysts said Manila negotiated under armed threat from Beijing.

Last Monday Duterte said: “So many flashpoints… We do not need it. Hindi natin kailangan makipag-away diyan, sundin lang ninyo kung anong pinag-usapan noon. It’s a matter of honor, consensual talk tapos may written agreement.” He said he would stand by joint exploration till the end of his term.

More than word of honor are constitutional mandates. The State owns all resources within its territorial waters and maritime jurisdiction. Foreigners may join mineral extraction only as financial or technical partners. The sanctity of contracts must be upheld, more so if issued by the State.

Also on Monday, former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario urged the government to commence “development and extraction from Recto Bank and other energy sources. The looming energy crisis in our country has been exacerbated not only because of the depleting reserves of the Malampaya gas field, but also inevitable global energy shortage resulting from the West’s sanctions on Russia.”

Fuel prices, already high from global economic recovery from the pandemic, further spiked due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Fifty miles closer to shore from Recto Bank, Malampaya supplies more than 30 percent of Luzon’s electricity.

Controversy swirled when a newborn subsidiary of Udenna Corp. acquired the 45-percent operating share of giant Chevron and about to get Shell’s similar stake. Industry critics said the state’s PNOC-Exploration Corp. should have bought the shares instead, thereby earning what used to be Chevron and Shell’s P42 billion a year.

Petroleum assets are so important that the President by law must approve the service contractors and ownership changes. But Duterte justified the sale to Udenna as purely private deals. Udenna is owned by his biggest 2016 campaign contributor Dennis Uy.

Lawyer and senatorial candidate Alex Lacson linked the Recto issue to Malampaya. “Before entering into any exploration agreement with China on Recto Bank, government must first take back from Udenna the shares of Chevron and Shell. That way the people can benefit from the earnings.”

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

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Please note that cookies don’t allow us to gain control of your computer in any way. They are strictly used to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not so that we can provide a better experience for you.

If you want to disable cookies, you can do it by accessing the settings of your internet browser.

 

Links to Other Websites

Our website contains links that lead to other websites. If you click on these links jariusbondoc.com is not held responsible for your data and privacy protection. Visiting those websites is not governed by this privacy policy agreement. Make sure to read the privacy policy documentation of the website you go to from our website.

 

Restricting the Collection of your Personal Data

At some point, you might wish to restrict the use and collection of your personal data. You can achieve this by doing the following:

 

  • When you are filling the forms on the website, make sure to check if there is a box which you can leave unchecked, if you don’t want to disclose your personal information.
  • If you have already agreed to share your information with us, feel free to contact us via email and we will be more than happy to change this for you.

 

jariusbondoc.com will not lease, sell or distribute your personal information to any third parties, unless we have your permission. We might do so if the law forces us. Your personal information will be used when we need to send you promotional materials if you agree to this privacy policy.

 

II. COPYRIGHT NOTICE

All materials contained on this site are protected by the Republic of the Phlippines copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of jariusbondoc.com or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

However, you may download material from jariusbondoc.com on the Web (one machine readable copy and one print copy per page) for your personal, noncommercial use only.

If you wish to use jariusbondoc.com content for commercial purposes, such as for content syndication etc., please contact us at jariusbondoconline@gmail.com.

Links to Websites other than those owned by jariusbondoc.com are offered as a service to readers. The editorial staff of jariusbondoc.com was not involved in their production and is not responsible for their content.

 

III. TERMS OF SERVICE

 

  1. GENERAL RULES AND DEFINITIONS

 

1.1 If you choose to use the jariusbondoc.com service (the “Service”), you will be agreeing to abide by all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement between you and jariusbondoc.com (“jariusbondoc.com “).

 

1.2 jariusbondoc.com may change, add or remove portions of this Agreement at any time, but if it does so, it will post such changes on the Service, or send them to you via e-mail. It is your responsibility to review this Agreement prior to each use of the Site and by continuing to use this Site, you agree to any changes.

 

1.3 If any of these rules or any future changes are unacceptable to you, you may cancel your membership by sending e-mail to jariusbondoconline.com (see section 10.1 regarding termination of service). Your continued use of the service now, or following the posting of notice of any changes in these operating rules, will indicate acceptance by you of such rules, changes, or modifications.

 

1.4 jariusbondoc.com may change, suspend or discontinue any aspect of the Service at any time, including the availability of any Service feature, database, or content. jariusbondoc.com may also impose limits on certain features and services or restrict your access to parts or all of the Service without notice or liability.

 

  1. JARIUSBONDOC.COM CONTENT AND MEMBER SUBMISSIONS

 

2.1 The contents of the jariusbondoc.com are intended for your personal, noncommercial use. All materials published on jariusbondoc.com (including, but not limited to news articles, photographs, images, illustrations, audio clips and video clips, also known as the “Content”) are protected by copyright, and owned or controlled by jariusbondoc.com or the party credited as the provider of the Content. You shall abide by all additional copyright notices, information, or restrictions contained in any Content accessed through the Service.

 

2.2 The Service and its Contents are protected by copyright pursuant to the Republic of the Philippines and international copyright laws. You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce (except as provided in Section 2.3 of this Agreement), create new works from, distribute, perform, display, or in any way exploit, any of the Content or the Service (including software) in whole or in part.

 

2.3 You may download or copy the Content and other downloadable items displayed on the Service for personal use only, provided that you maintain all copyright and other notices contained therein. Copying or storing of any Content for other than personal use is expressly prohibited without prior written permission from jariusbondoc.com or the copyright holder identified in the copyright notice contained in the Content.

 

  1. FORUMS, DISCUSSIONS AND USER GENERATED CONTENT

 

3.1 You shall not upload to, or distribute or otherwise publish on the message boards (the “Feedback Section”) any libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive, or otherwise illegal material.

 

3.2 (a)Be courteous. You agree that you will not threaten or verbally abuse jariusbondoc.com columnists and other jariusbondoc.com community Members, use defamatory language, or deliberately disrupt discussions with repetitive messages, meaningless messages or “spam.”

 

3.2 (b) Use respectful language. Like any community, the Feedback Sections will flourish only when our Members feel welcome and safe. You agree not to use language that abuses or discriminates on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual preference, age, region, disability, etc. Hate speech of any kind is grounds for immediate and permanent suspension of access to all or part of the Service.

 

3.2 (c) Debate, but don’t attack. In a community full of opinions and preferences, people always disagree. jariusbondoc.com encourages active discussions and welcomes heated debate in our Feedback Sections. But personal attacks are a direct violation of this Agreement and are grounds for immediate and permanent suspension of access to all or part of the Service.

 

3.3 The Feedback Sections shall be used only in a noncommercial manner. You shall not, without the express approval of jariusbondoc.com, distribute or otherwise publish any material containing any solicitation of funds, advertising or solicitation for goods or services.

 

3.4 You are solely responsible for the content of your messages. However, while jariusbondoc.com does not and cannot review every message posted by you on the Forums and is not responsible for the content of these messages, jariusbondoc.com reserves the right to delete, move, or edit messages that it, in its sole discretion, deems abusive, defamatory, obscene, in violation of copyright or trademark laws, or otherwise unacceptable.

 

3.5 You acknowledge that any submissions you make to the Service (i.e., user-generated content including but not limited to: text, video, audio and photographs) (each, a “Submission”) may be edited, removed, modified, published, transmitted, and displayed by jariusbondoc.com and you waive any moral rights you may have in having the material altered or changed in a manner not agreeable to you. You grant jariusbondoc.com a perpetual, nonexclusive, world-wide, royalty free, sub-licensable license to the Submissions, which includes without limitation the right for jariusbondoc.com or any third party it designates, to use, copy, transmit, excerpt, publish, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, create derivative works of, host, index, cache, tag, encode, modify and adapt (including without limitation the right to adapt to streaming, downloading, broadcast, mobile, digital, thumbnail, scanning or other technologies) in any form or media now known or hereinafter developed, any Submission posted by you on or to jariusbondoc.com or any other website owned by it, including any Submission posted on jariusbondoc.com through a third party.

 

3.6 By submitting an entry to jariusbondoc.com’s Readers’ Corner, you are consenting to its display on the site and for related online and offline promotional uses.

 

  1. ACCESS AND AVAILABILITY OF SERVICE AND LINKS

 

4.1 jariusbondoc.com contains links to other related World Wide Web Internet sites, resources, and sponsors of jariusbondoc.com. Since jariusbondoc.com is not responsible for the availability of these outside resources, or their contents, you should direct any concerns regarding any external link to the site administrator or Webmaster of such site.

 

  1. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

 

5.1 You represent, warrant and covenant (a) that no materials of any kind submitted through your account will (i) violate, plagiarize, or infringe upon the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy or other personal or proprietary rights; or (ii) contain libelous or otherwise unlawful material; and (b) that you are at least thirteen years old. You hereby indemnify, defend and hold harmless jariusbondoc.com, and all officers, directors, owners, agents, information providers, affiliates, licensors and licensees (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) from and against any and all liability and costs, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees, incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising out of any breach by you or any user of your account of this Agreement or the foregoing representations, warranties and covenants. You shall cooperate as fully as reasonably required in the defense of any such claim. jariusbondoc.com reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you.

 

5.2 jariusbondoc.com does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other information displayed, uploaded, or distributed through the Service by any user, information provider or any other person or entity. You acknowledge that any reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement, memorandum, or information shall be at your sole risk. THE SERVICE AND ALL DOWNLOADABLE SOFTWARE ARE DISTRIBUTED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. YOU HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.

 

  1. COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN JARIUSBONDOC.COM AND MEMBERS

 

6.1 If you indicate on your registration form that you want to receive such information, jariusbondoc.com, its owners and assigns, will allow certain third party vendors to provide you with information about products and services.

 

6.2 jariusbondoc.com reserves the right to send electronic mail to you for the purpose of informing you of changes or additions to the Service.

 

6.3 jariusbondoc.com reserves the right to disclose information about your usage and demographics, provided that it will not reveal your personal identity in connection with the disclosure of such information. Advertisers and/or Licensees on our Web site may collect and share information about you only if you indicate your acceptance. For more information please read the Privacy Policy of jariusbondoc.com.

 

6.4 jariusbondoc.com may contact you via e-mail regarding your participation in user surveys, asking for feedback on the Website and existing or prospective products and services. This information will be used to improve our Website and better understand our users, and any information we obtain in such surveys will not be shared with third parties, except in aggregate form.

 

  1. TERMINATION

 

 

7.1 jariusbondoc.com may, in its sole discretion, terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Service for any reason, including, without limitation, breach or assignment of this Agreement.

 

  1. MISCELLANEOUS

 

8.1 This Agreement has been made in and shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the Republic of the Philippines law. Any action to enforce this agreement shall be brought in the courts located in Manila, Philippines.

 

8.2 Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, nothing in this Terms of Service will serve to preempt the promises made in jariusbondoc.com Privacy Policy.

 

8.3 Correspondence should be sent to jariusbondoconline.com.

 

8.4 You agree to report any copyright violations of the Terms of Service to jariusbondoc.com as soon as you become aware of them. In the event you have a claim of copyright infringement with respect to material that is contained in the jariusbondoc.com service, please notify jariusbondoconline.com. This Terms of Service was last updated on November 7, 2020.