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Fake ‘malasakit’ for soldiers, health workers in 2022 budget

Fake ‘malasakit’ for soldiers, health workers in 2022 budget

by | Apr 11, 2023 | Gotcha

photo from Philippine News Agency

GOTCHA

written on September 8, 2021

 

Last Aug. 30, Araw ng Kagitingan, President Duterte heroized health workers fighting the killer virus. Hospital nurses, orderlies and lab techs were indifferent. At noon they walked out of their jobs in protest of long unpaid special risk allowances. “If they truly care, then why withhold what is due us?” their leaders lamented.

Mandated by the Magna Carta for Health Workers, the SRAs were allocated by Congress in early 2020. Beneficiaries were to get P34,000 on average for COVID-19 ward duty. When the health workers first decried the non-payments in September and again in December last year, Malacañang vowed swift action. Still, cash releases were delayed and incomplete. Deaths, infection and fatigue were decimating the frontlines. Fed up, they took to the streets.

Two days later at the House of Reps came a shocker. The 2022 national budget submitted by Malacañang does not provide for SRAs. Isn’t the pandemic expected to go on, Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo asked. Health Sec. Francisco Duque stammered that the SRAs were bundled into the Bayanihan 3 bill, pending since May.

That’s wrong, Quimbo pointed out. Bayanihan 3 is unsure to pass, because not deemed a priority by Malacañang. But if included in a budget law, a yearly constitutional requirement, SRA funding for 2022 can be assured. Besides, the SRAs in Bayanihan 3 are mere leftovers from the expired Bayanihan 2 act, insufficient for the 148,000 frontline health workers.

In his Aug. 30 telecast, Duterte harangued senators and congressmen questioning his admin’s pandemic spending. Supposedly they do not care for soldiers’ welfare, unlike him who visits and sleeps in military camps.

Two days later at the House surfaced another shocker. Malacañang has zero provision in 2022 for hospitalization of soldiers and veterans, and for hospital gear. What’s going on, party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles wondered. Our soldiers are not bulletproof and COVID-proof. How will Armed Forces’ main and field hospitals, clinics and dispensaries operate?

Nograles cited the Veterans Memorial Medical Center. VMMC had sought P300 million to replace its decrepit cobalt-60 cancer therapy machine, P90 million for magnetic resonance imaging, P36 million to build an endoscopy center, P35 million to upgrade its pulmonary ICU and P29 million to renovate the radiotherapy unit. Total: P455 million.

The Dept. of Budget and Management scrapped all those, Nograles gleaned from Palace submissions. A footnote suggested that the Dept. of National Defense get the funds from VMMC’s golf course income. Yet that income is only P2 million a year, reduced further by pandemic restrictions.

Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana couldn’t explain the budget deletions. Notably for 2021, the DND got P1.786 billion for hospitalization and equipment, including for reservists.

Comparisons are inevitable. Pharmally Inc. of Duterte’s Chinese friend Yang Hong Ming, alias Michael Yang, is privileged. The trading firm was only eight months old; under-capitalized at P625,000; with no office, experience and income in May 2020. Yet the admin handed it more than P10 billion (not P8.7 billion as earlier reported) for pandemic supplies. The face shields, surgical masks and personal protective wear allegedly were overpriced. Malacañang appointee, Procurement Service-DBM head Lloyd Christopher Lao, held no public biddings.

In August 2020 Duterte taunted frontline doctors and health workers to revolt, when all they wanted was time out to reassess the admin’s pandemic response. Duterte took months to fire crooked, inept PhilHealth designees for overdue professional fees of doctors and reimbursements to hospitals.

Duterte named foreigner Yang as presidential special economic adviser, and Lao as PS-DBM chief out of “utang na loob.” He praised Yang’s buddy, former Chinese ambassador Zhao Jianhua, as a colonel of the People’s Liberation Army. In February 2020, a PLA warship trespassing the West Philippine Sea, aimed its weapons on a Philippine Navy patrol. PLA combat aircraft harass Filipino sailors and airmen resupplying Marines in Pagasa Island and Ayungin Shoal. Duterte has been silent.

*      *      *

San Miguel Corp. has tapped foremost city planner Arch. Felino Palafox Jr. to make its airport and aerocity project in Bulacan a model for green urbanization. Palafox is to master-plan the P740-billion New Manila International Airport as an environmentally sustainable and disaster-resilient architecture. The 2,500-hectare site is in seaside Bulakan town.

SMC president-COO Ramon S. Ang and Palafox agree to avoid the woes that afflict Philippine cities: pollution, floods, overcrowding and traffic. “We will clean the air and clear the river systems,” Ang says. “We will establish mangrove forests all over Bulacan and neighboring provinces to enhance biodiversity and mitigate tidal flooding.”

“I’m aligned with the mission-vision of Mr. Ang,” Palafox says. The five-runway aerodrome and surrounding city is only 15 minutes by tollway from Metro Manila. But unlike the metropolis’ central business districts, it will be livable. Workers will be able to walk to offices, dining and leisure spots. Basic needs and waste management will be topmost.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

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

Duterte admits ‘utang na loob’ behind appointment of Lao

Duterte admits ‘utang na loob’ behind appointment of Lao

by | Apr 11, 2023 | Gotcha

National Government Portal hoto of Procurement Service Usec. Llyod Christoper Lao

GOTCHA

written on September 3, 2021

 

“Ang isda nahuhuli sa bunganga.” The P8.7-billion purchase of pandemic gear from an unqualified supplier is scandalous. Senators aim to catch the culprits.

President Rody Duterte tried to blunt their inquiry with his taped telecast Thursday. In blurting details only he knows, he incriminated himself.

Duterte practically connected the dots. On one side is his college fraternity-mate Atty. Lloyd Christopher Lao. Duterte said Lao provided legal services for Davao City Hall during his mayoralty. As presidential prerogative, he appointed him in succession to three key posts in Malacañang. The last was as head of the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management.

It’s natural for an official to appoint someone he knows and trusts, Duterte asserted. Besides, he growled, what’s wrong with repaying “utang na loob” (debt of gratitude).

On the other side is Duterte’s longtime businessman-friend Michael Yang whom he met in Davao City two decades ago. He called him a “pagador (paymaster) of Chinese businessmen.” A Malacañang video shows Yang accompanying fellow Chinese to meet the President. Duterte made him presidential consultant.

If senators were to draw a matrix as criminal investigators do, Duterte will be the central link. Two previous hearings established the ties between Lao and Yang.

PS-DBM head Lao ordered from Yang pricey personal protective equipment in May 2020. Yang’s Pharmally Inc. is not a manufacturer but a mere trader. It was only eight months old, undercapitalized at P625,000 and had zero income. Yet Lao granted Pharmally P8.7 billion in state funds – 13,920 times its worth.

Corruption and procurement laws repeatedly were broken, Senate Blue-Ribbon head investigator Richard Gordon said. Lao admitted neglecting to check Pharmally’s shady background. Its officers and partners are wanted fugitives in Taiwan, Senator Risa Hontiveros bared.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque alibied no harm-no foul; the supplies were supposedly delivered anyway. The Senate has yet to verify that. Minority Leader Franklin Drilon called it “premeditated plunder.”

Three elements make a crooked deal plunder, no bail and with life sentence. One, the amount is over P50 million. Two, a series or combination of crimes was committed. Three, the culprits benefited. From records, Pharmally instantly made nearly P300-million income.

The repayment of “utang na loob” here was not in Duterte’s personal capacity. It consisted of three official postings. Headship of PS-DBM was sensitive. The small office procures annually hundreds of billions of pesos in government common use supplies, like pens and paper.

The budget secretary has no control over PS-DBM. He supervises it only administratively; meaning, his office merely releases the salaries and operating expenses. In case of vacancy the Office of the President may appoint the PS-DBM head.

The 2020 report of the Commission on Audit sparked the Senate inquiry. Among the COA findings were document deficiencies for P67.3 billion in Department of Health pandemic spending. Of that total, the DOH had transferred P42 billion to PS-DBM without the requisite memorandum of agreement.

Senators found it irregular. There was no official DOH authority for PS-DBM to procure special paraphernalia, Drilon said. The DOH has its own bids and awards committee, expert in medical-grade supplies.

Bulk of the P42 billion went to face masks and shields. The masks were overpriced at P27 apiece; the shields at P120. Gordon said the Philippine Red Cross, which he chairs, purchased those at the same time for only P5 and P15 respectively.

Senate President Tito Sotto has been questioning why the Philippines is the only country that requires face shields against COVID-19. Not even the World Health Organization recommends it.

Duterte resented the audit of his administration. He ordered the independent Constitutional COA to not post its findings online. He illegally instructed his Cabinet to ignore the body.

Duterte even asked in an earlier telecast who audits the COA anyway. Impliedly the guardians of the public coffers are unchecked, so have no right to check others.

Actually COA has an internal auditor like all government agencies. In fact, hours before Duterte’s tirade, the internal auditor posted the 2020 findings on the COA.

Does Duterte wish to take his line of reasoning to its logical conclusion? Which is, if he doesn’t want audits, then his admin must stop exacting taxes. With no tax collections, the admin will have nothing to spend. With no spending, there’s nothing to audit. In short, no taxation without audit.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

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

Dito a Chinese Communist tool for spying – lawmakers

Dito a Chinese Communist tool for spying – lawmakers

by | Apr 11, 2023 | Gotcha

logo of Dito Telecommunity

GOTCHA

written on September 1, 2021

 

Alarms intensify about Communist China’s partly owned Dito Telecommunity being a tool for spying on the Philippines. This, amid Chinese military cyber-attacks on the Japanese and Australian governments, and tech giant Microsoft.

Senator Risa Hontiveros accused state firm China Telecom of using Philippine partner Dito as Trojan horse for cyber-espionage. Senator James McGrath of Queensland, Australia, warned that ChinaTel and Dito can be used against Philippine allies and foreign companies.

Hontiveros in a statement pressed for a security audit by the National Security Council of the country’s third telco Dito to assess foreign threats. “I wouldn’t be surprised if ChinaTel bought into Dito to boost its espionage, especially since China covets our territory,” she said in Filipino. “Perhaps Dito is indeed China’s Trojan horse, that’s why I continue to check on Dito as well as the NSC to ensure our national security will not be vulnerable.”

A “Trojan horse” is a person or thing intended secretly to undermine an enemy. In info-tech, it is a program designed to breach the security of a communication network while ostensibly performing some innocuous function.

The Philippines has no operations center to defend against cyber-attacks on a national level. National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon made that admission last December in a Senate hearing on Dito’s 25-year franchise.

Hontiveros and colleagues have been questioning the defense department’s allowing Dito to set up cell sites inside military camps. The multibillion-dollar firm is 60-percent owned by businessman Dennis Uy, President Duterte’s biggest campaign contributor. It bagged a government bidding for the third telco after Duterte invited ChinaTel to invest.

In the Senate hearing, Esperon confirmed Hontiveros’ report about a China-linked hacking group penetrating Asia-Pacific government agencies. Naikon breaks into and surveils state networks.

In a speech, McGrath cautioned about the Chinese Communist Party’s use of its instrumentalities for cyber-sabotage. “Many are concerned that Dito is a [tool] for spying, including on the Armed Forces of the Philippines and its allies the United States and Australia,” he said. “When we consider how many Australian companies house parts of their businesses in the Philippines, such as call centers, this should ring alarm bells with cybersecurity experts.”

An “iron silk curtain” is being drawn around Southeast Asia as China expands its influence, McGrath added. “While China has continued with its wolf-warrior diplomacy and while territorial concerns continue to be raised, including in seas off Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, the CCP and its military arm have been quietly making strategic acquisitions of another kind.”

The Australian lawmaker outlined China’s regional design. “We must be awake to the Philippines being one of the first dominoes at risk of falling to the nefarious influence of the CCP,” he said. Asia-Pacific consulting firm Creator Tech recently released a study on the new telco that raised serious concerns about China’s entry into the Philippines’ telecoms industry.

Last month, Tokyo police disclosed cyber-attacks by China’s People’s Liberation Army. Targeted since 2016 were the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and 200 other companies and research institutes. A frequent victim of Chinese hacking, Japan has since improved its cybersecurity.

In the attack on JAXA, police first discovered a suspicious web server. It turned out to have been opened through a fake account of a Chinese systems engineer in Tokyo who is a CCP member. The suspect has since fled but accomplices and witnesses have implicated him. With its findings, Tokyo has been deluged with requests for information and help by countries similarly harmed by the CCP and PLA.

Last year, in a major security breach, Australia was hit by a large-scale cyber attack by a “Chinese state-based actor.” The incident led to tightening of the country’s cyber security.

In July, China’s Ministry of State Security orchestrated an attack on Microsoft Exchange that affected at least 30,000 servers worldwide. America, Britain and the European Union denounced what western security services called “a shift from targeted espionage campaigns to smash-and-grab raids.” China’s cyber malice is now under close watch despite Beijing’s denial of misbehavior.

In a webinar Monday by Australia Strategic Policy Institute, experts from East and Southeast Asia reiterated concern for peace and security. Nations must strengthen cyber security in light of China’s aggression in the East and South China Seas, they said.

To dispel suspicions of cyber-espionage and -sabotage, Dito has hired US security consultants. But China’s National Intelligence Law obligates its companies and citizens to support domestic and overseas espionage, and to keep such participation secret. Beijing has required all firms, especially tech and finance, to have Communist Party cells. In state corporations, the top executives comprise the CCP units.

Former Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio noted that newbie Dito is inexpert in telecoms so will depend on CCP-led ChinaTel. If the CCP orders ChinaTel to install back doors and spyware, then it can eavesdrop and sabotage the Philippines. The Armed Forces would be vulnerable because of Dito’s privilege to install cell sites in all camps.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

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

Duterte vs Duterte: a fight over political inheritance

Duterte vs Duterte: a fight over political inheritance

by | Apr 11, 2023 | Gotcha

photo from Philippine News Agency

GOTCHA

written on August 27, 2021

 

Government’s brute-force approach to the pandemic is failing. Ex-generals’ wide-scale lockdowns and curfews net thousands of violators everyday. Machinegun-mounted armored personnel carriers deploy in street corners. Yet people keep sneaking out – to work or just for a whiff of fresh air away from their cramped, humid shanties. President Duterte’s threat to have recalcitrants “shot on sight” goes unheeded. The hungry hear only the grumbling stomachs of crying children. State “ayuda” is delayed and insufficient. Charitable activists who organize community pantries are red-tagged as “communist party.”

Macho populism isn’t working. Duterte’s displays of manly protectiveness – “Ako ang bahala sa inyo, maniwala kayo” – don’t jibe with “wala nang pera pang-ayuda.” “Tell me where the vee-rus lives so I can slap it” negates efforts to inform that the enemy is microscopic yet deadly. The ex-generals are slow to procure, store and distribute vaccines. Cussing skeptics and the un-injected only makes people desperate. Malacañang hoots down the “pasaway.” Yet it’s OK when they crowd unmasked to ogle the ex-generals’ wasteful multibillion-peso fake Manila Bay white beach.

Faulty pandemic response breeds fund misuse. Deficiencies mar DOH’s documentation of P67.3-billion COVID-19 spending. Billions of pesos more in expiring medicines remain undistributed. Special risk allowances of pandemic frontline nurses remain unpaid. So are tens of billions in reimbursements of private hospitals’ cash advances for COVID-19 treatment. The impression is that universal health care is collapsing.

For all that, Duterte blames state auditors. He wants them to lie that there is no corruption in the questioned spending. Yet papers can show otherwise. Behind DOH’s P29-billion purchase of pricey face masks and shields is a cautionary limit from budget officials to only two percent of the amount. Duterte prematurely exonerates the health secretary, preempting ongoing investigations by his Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission.

Other agencies are as wasteful. Land transport regulators released only 1.07 percent of P5.58 billion to hire displaced jitney drivers as shuttle service. To earn a living back in their old routes, the drivers resort to 100-percent passenger loading instead of only half for safe distancing. Others turn to begging in the streets. The overseas workers’ fund purchased overpriced feminine napkins from a construction supplies store that can no longer be located. Education officials underspent for online teaching equipment and materials. State auditors also flagged the Departments of Information and Communication Technology, Social Welfare and Development, Labor and Employment, Interior and Local Government, and Environment and Natural Resources. Duterte tells his Cabinet to ignore the auditors.

Meanwhile, his 2016 campaign contributors quietly are bagging lucrative government deals. Congress allies are busy crafting self-serving laws, if not disenfranchising critical broadcasters and politicizing epidemiology. Vaccine procurement is being used to suck up to Beijing. The ex-general in charge even wants Philippine maritime jurisdiction set aside for Sinovac donations. No protection is accorded Filipino fishers to increase food supply against Chinese poachers.

A subplot was the ruling PDP-Laban’s endorsement of Duterte as vice presidential candidate with choice of standard bearer. As backdrop, Duterte loyalists first wrested the party leadership from another “presidentiable,” Senator Manny Pacquiao.

Duterte used his weekly pandemic broadcasts as teleserye. One episode he devoted to advising Sara to spare herself the headaches of a gruelling presidency. Another time he said the vice presidency interested him. Then he floated Go’s name for president. This week he firmed up his VP intention. On cue, PDP-Laban top officers endorsed Go as presidential candidate.

Sara must be watching intently. PDP-Laban has announced five of 12 senatorial candidates. Sara supposedly detests two loudmouths among them.

Who Sara will pick as runningmate is now subject of murmurs. Bongbong Marcos of Ilocos and cousin Martin Romualdez of Leyte are possibilities, as is Gilbert Teodoro of Tarlac. Then again she might not need one. The 2016 election showed that a presidential wannabe can run without a VP and vice-versa. The mismatched presidential multiparty system makes that possible.

Intriguers spice up the storyline. They convinced Duterte to become VP to continue enjoying immunity from suit. They forget that a VP has no such privilege. In 2019 the police charged VP Leni Robredo with sedition. It’s the intriguers who need protection by keeping Duterte in power. When Duterte is gone, they will go to jail while on trial for plunder.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

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

Govt’s brute-force approach to pandemic failing; what now?

Govt’s brute-force approach to pandemic failing; what now?

by | Apr 11, 2023 | Gotcha

photo from Philippine News Agency

GOTCHA

written on August 25, 2021

 

Government’s brute-force approach to the pandemic is failing. Ex-generals’ wide-scale lockdowns and curfews net thousands of violators everyday. Machinegun-mounted armored personnel carriers deploy in street corners. Yet people keep sneaking out – to work or just for a whiff of fresh air away from their cramped, humid shanties. President Duterte’s threat to have recalcitrants “shot on sight” goes unheeded. The hungry hear only the grumbling stomachs of crying children. State “ayuda” is delayed and insufficient. Charitable activists who organize community pantries are red-tagged as “communist party.”

Macho populism isn’t working. Duterte’s displays of manly protectiveness – “Ako ang bahala sa inyo, maniwala kayo” – don’t jibe with “wala nang pera pang-ayuda.” “Tell me where the vee-rus lives so I can slap it” negates efforts to inform that the enemy is microscopic yet deadly. The ex-generals are slow to procure, store and distribute vaccines. Cussing skeptics and the un-injected only makes people desperate. Malacañang hoots down the “pasaway.” Yet it’s OK when they crowd unmasked to ogle the ex-generals’ wasteful multibillion-peso fake Manila Bay white beach.

Faulty pandemic response breeds fund misuse. Deficiencies mar DOH’s documentation of P67.3-billion COVID-19 spending. Billions of pesos more in expiring medicines remain undistributed. Special risk allowances of pandemic frontline nurses remain unpaid. So are tens of billions in reimbursements of private hospitals’ cash advances for COVID-19 treatment. The impression is that universal health care is collapsing.

For all that, Duterte blames state auditors. He wants them to lie that there is no corruption in the questioned spending. Yet papers can show otherwise. Behind DOH’s P29-billion purchase of pricey face masks and shields is a cautionary limit from budget officials to only two percent of the amount. Duterte prematurely exonerates the health secretary, preempting ongoing investigations by his Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission.

Other agencies are as wasteful. Land transport regulators released only 1.07 percent of P5.58 billion to hire displaced jitney drivers as shuttle service. To earn a living back in their old routes, the drivers resort to 100-percent passenger loading instead of only half for safe distancing. Others turn to begging in the streets. The overseas workers’ fund purchased overpriced feminine napkins from a construction supplies store that can no longer be located. Education officials underspent for online teaching equipment and materials. State auditors also flagged the Departments of Information and Communication Technology, Social Welfare and Development, Labor and Employment, Interior and Local Government, and Environment and Natural Resources. Duterte tells his Cabinet to ignore the auditors.

Meanwhile, his 2016 campaign contributors quietly are bagging lucrative government deals. Congress allies are busy crafting self-serving laws, if not disenfranchising critical broadcasters and politicizing epidemiology. Vaccine procurement is being used to suck up to Beijing. The ex-general in charge even wants Philippine maritime jurisdiction set aside for Sinovac donations. No protection is accorded Filipino fishers to increase food supply against Chinese poachers.

Daily COVID-19 infections are at all-time highs: Aug. 20, 17,231; Aug. 21, 16,694; Aug. 22, 16,044; Aug. 23, 18,332. And those are under-reported due to testing lapses.

Duterte admitted in his last State of the Nation Address in July that he doesn’t know what to do. He relies only on advice from aides. That’s expected. But instead of situation update and inspirational chat, he wastes weekly telecasts on tirades against critics, alternative thinkers and presidential contenders of his daughter. Once he scolded doctors, taunting them to revolt, for merely suggesting a time out to reassess strategies. No attention is given to long-festering youth malnutrition, learning crisis and early-teen pregnancy. Pork, poultry, sugar (and soon seafood) are overly imported to appease city consumers, to the detriment of rural producers. Watching the pandemic confusion, international lenders and rating bodies forecast the Philippines to be the last to recover economically among ASEAN states.

The Delta variant inevitably will infect millions, a Duterte adviser says. Its viral load is a thousand-fold higher than the Wuhan original. Contagion occurs within moments, no longer than 15 minutes. Carriers are asymptomatic and infectees are young.

What to do? Masking, handwashing and distancing, as usual. Then vaccinations against severity, hospitalization and death. Plus wider, swifter contact tracing, testing and isolation – the very protocols and programs where brute force and macho populism are failing.

Filipinos vent their dismay online. Duterte’s spokesman responds with distortions and distractions. Infections are surging nationwide but he cites only Metro Manila, rejoicing that hospitals there are not yet fully booked because of more vaccinations. He conveniently forgets that provincial crematoriums are overwhelmed. He then blabbers about the Philippines accepting Afghan refugees. He does not first ascertain if the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency and Bureau of Immigration can screen against secret religious fanatics and sleeper terrorists.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

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

Duque in gov’t 18 years; why question COA now?

Duque in gov’t 18 years; why question COA now?

by | Apr 11, 2023 | Gotcha

photo from Philippine News Agency

GOTCHA

written on August 20, 2021

 

Francisco Duque III was administrator of Lyceum-Northwestern University, Dagupan City, in the 1980s-1990s. He was board director of the larger University of Pangasinan. There he must have appreciated the value of audits — of finances, performance, operations and inventories. Audits are never personal. Anchored on laws and conventions, they present in numbers and data a picture of the company.

Duque was also head of various government agencies for nearly 18 years. He was president of PhilHealth, health secretary, Civil Service Commission chairman and now again health secretary. He must be used to state audits.

All agencies undergo Commission on Audit scrutiny. Primarily answerable is the agency head. To be requested by the COA resident auditor for documents and explanations, and sometimes questioned and flagged, are normal. “Nothing to hide, nothing to fear.” Duque’s predecessors were audited too, like for the purchase of 1.8 million dengue vaccines.

Duque’s tenure at the Civil Service Commission must have reinforced in him the value of audits. For one, his agency awarded each year outstanding civil servants, among them COA personnel. For another, experts from the Institute for Solidarity in Asia audited his and the CSC’s work then, and cited them for good governance.

Away from public office for three years after his CSC stint, Duque trained as government career executive. Emphasized on graduates are accountability and integrity, tested by audits.

CSC chairmanship must have made Duque more aware than ever of COA’s importance. Since the Commonwealth, three agencies have been imbued with authority over the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary. Those are the CSC, COA and Commission on Elections. (The 1987 Constitution added two more, Office of the Ombudsman and Commission on Human Rights.)

Independently they perform specific constitutional functions. Neither the President, the Senate President, the House Speaker nor the Chief Justice can command them. Their budgets and procedures are off-limits to political or judicial hierarchs.

Incongruous with all these was Duque’s tirade against COA last Tuesday at the House of Representatives: “Winarak na ninyo kami. Winarak na ninyo ang dangal ng DOH. Winarak ninyo ang lahat ng mga kasama ko dito. Hindi kami makaharap sa tao dahil lahat ang dami-daming paratang. Wala pa rin akong tulog. Ilang gabi na ito… unfair, unjust.”

Duque took personally COA’s 2020 audits of all government agencies. Upon completion last June 30 as required by law, the audits were posted on the COA website. Among the items were “deficiencies” in documentation of P67.32 billion in pandemic spending of Duque’s Department of Health. Meaning, DOH had missed the submission deadlines for certain papers. Reacting to newspaper reports, Duque stammered that he’d rush the papers within a week. Calling it an alibi, senators and congressmen quickly scheduled investigations of potential anomalies.

Majority of senators and a growing number of congressmen have been telling Duque to resign since last year. Most are his friends; a few are oppositionists. All echo their constituents’ dismay with government’s paltry COVID-19 vaccinations, contact tracing and testing.

Word reached Malacañang, likely embellished by sycophants. In his usual Monday midnight pandemic telecast, President Rody Duterte told Duque to stay put. “It’s impossible to steal P67 billion,” he overreacted to COA. “Stop that flagging, goddamnit. Do not flag and do not publish it because it will condemn the agency or the person.” He barked a second illegal order, for the Cabinet to ignore COA.

Lawmakers, doctors, lawyers, academics, workers and farmers were stunned. Taxpayers were one in reminding Duterte of his promise to stamp out corruption. Of all those angry with corruption, only Duterte was blaming auditors.

Duque’s rant before congressmen the next day reflected his state of mind. He was no longer his usual affable, optimistic, eloquent self. In Tagalog, basag na ang pula; sira na ang naturalesa. Through it all, he did not explain anything about COA’s findings, former senator, now Sorsogon governor Francis Escudero noted.

The next day before senators, budget officials blamed DOH red tape for non-payment of special allowances to thousands of frontline health workers. Recalled was Duque’s first ever counter-pandemic recommendation to Duterte in March 2020 to not impose a lockout on Wuhanese lest it offend China. Recounted too was Foreign Secretary Teddy Locsin’s revelation that Duque had dropped the ball in 2020 on 10 million Pfizer vaccines from America. Previous inquiries had alleged that Duque leases a family-owned building in Dagupan to PhilHealth which he chairs. Also, that DOH buys medicines from his close kin. Should not the Ombudsman suspend him like it did eight negligent PhilHealth officials last year, Senator Grace Poe asked.

COA’s independence is being violated to suit one man. What next? At one point in the Senate hearing, Duque neglected to mute his microphone while muttering, “Nagulo na ‘yung utak ko, hindi ko na alam kung….” Senator Dick Gordon advised him to seek psychiatric help.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

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

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Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Site Terms & Conditions (scroll down for the buttons)

This site, jariusbondoc.com, is free for your use.

However, we do have some terms and conditions which you can find below. By continuing to use or to read from this site, that means you understand and agree to comply with the terms and conditions.

I. PRIVACY POLICY

This privacy policy (“policy”) will help you understand how jariusbondoc.com uses and protects the data you provide to us when you visit and use https://jariusbondoc.com/ (“website”, “service”).

We reserve the right to change this policy at any given time. If you want to make sure that you are up to date with the latest changes, we advise you to frequently visit this page.

 

What User Data We Collect

When you visit the website, we may collect the following data:

  • Your IP address
  • Your contact information and email address
  • Other information such as interests and preferences
  • Data profile regarding your online behavior on our website

 

Why We Collect Your Data

We are collecting your data for several reasons:

  • To better understand your needs
  • To improve our services and products
  • To send you promotional emails containing the information we think you will find interesting
  • To contact you to fill out surveys and participate in other types of market research
  • To customize our website according to your online behavior and personal preferences

 

Safeguarding and Securing the Data

jariusbondoc.com is committed to securing your data and keeping it confidential. jariusbondoc.com has done all in its power to prevent data theft, unauthorized access, and disclosure by implementing the latest technologies and software, which help us safeguard all the information we collect online.

 

Our Cookie Policy

Once you agree to allow our website to use cookies, you also agree to use the data it collects regarding your online behavior (analyze web traffic, web pages you spend the most time on, and websites you visit).

The data we collect by using cookies is used to customize our website to your needs. After we use the data for statistical analysis, the data is completely removed from our systems.

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.