MANILA, Philippines – On Monday, June 12, the Philippines celebrates its 119th Independence Day.

This is also the first time since the regime of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos that the Philippines is celebrating its Independence Day with a portion of it – Mindanao – under martial law.

On May 23, President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in the Philippines’ southern island following the attack of local terrorists in Marawi City.

Duterte’s declaration was met with approval, outrage, and apprehension among the public. Many still fear that the entire country may be placed under martial law rule, especially after the President admitted that he was considering extending this to Luzon and Visayas if the threat of the Islamic State (ISIS) persists.

As the Philippines celebrates its annual Independence Day amid martial law in Mindanao, we ask: How did the Philippines celebrate Independence Day during Marcos’ martial law era?

Presidential speeches

If one can recall his history lessons, it was former President Diosdado Macapagal who made the decision to move the Philippines’ Independence Day to June 12 instead of July 4. (READ: Why celebrate Philippine independence on June 12?)

According to Primitivo Mijares’ “The Conjugal Dictatorship,” Ferdinand Marcos was a senator during the Macapagal administration and was also one of the biggest supporters of this decision to move the date of Philippine independence. Marcos continued to uphold the June 12 independence date even as he declared martial law in September 1972.

After Marcos declared martial law in September 1972, he commemorated the Philippines’ independence day with presidential speeches, along with the usual ceremonies done during this public holiday.

Such commemorations were usually held in Manila, along with the ceremonial flag-raising ceremony and a parade. Philippine flags were also hoisted during official ceremonies in historically significant places in the country.  

In 1980, the year before martial law was lifted, Marcos delivered an independence day speech at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila.

At 8 am, the Marcos and his first lady hoisted the Philippine flag at Rizal Park, while other Philippine flags were raised in Aguinaldo’s Shrine in Cavite, Fort Bonifacio, and at the Bonifacio Monument in Quezon City.

Marcos, in his speeches, also defended the implementation of the “emergency government” of martial law, saying that it was needed in order to ultimately preserve the country’s democracy and maintain stability.

In his 1981 speech during the Independence Day Reception, Marcos said:

{source}<blockquote>“We have lived through nearly a decade of emergency government in our country, during which we not only sought to ensure the survival of our Republic, but also to effect the fundamental restructuring of our society. When we took the fateful course of constitutional authoritarianism, we did not forget that we were the First Republic to rise in Asia, and that the vision of our fathers was to found a thriving and living democracy upon our land.”</blockquote>{/source}

In his 1977 and 1979 speeches, Marcos also repeatedly mentioned the “Isang Bansa, Isang Diwa” (“One Nation, One Soul”) theme, stressing the need for discipline and unity at a time when the country was said to be in great turmoil.

Yearly commemorations

After Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972, he delivered a presidential speech during Independence Day in 1973. It was the first Independence Day speech that Marcos delivered to a public after a mere 9 months under martial law rule.

In his 1973 speech, he said: “Natamo natin ang isang malayang Republika subalit ang Republikang iyan ay hindi naging demokratiko o matatag.” (We had an independent Republic but that Republic was neither democratic nor strong.)

In a mix of English and Filipino, Marcos added: “We didn’t have the strength and the will to eradicate injustice, oppression and corruption, o igupo ang mga kaaway ng Republika, confront the enemies of our Republic. Ngunit sa taong ito ay natamo natin ang lahat ng ito. We have achieved all of these this year. This is our true independence.”

In 1973 and in the years that followed, Marcos would consistently deliver speeches during Independence Day celebrations. His speeches were charged with nationalistic sentiments that were used to justify the political context at the time.

During those days, celebrating Independence Day meant celebrating the kind of independence Marcos constantly emphasized in his speeches – that the nation that was truly free was one that transcended its own setbacks.

Perhaps the irony in this was the context in which this independence was celebrated. Given that it was a country under a dictatorship, it was not truly free.

Although Marcos did celebrate Independence Day and commemorate it even during the martial law years, he also used this public holiday as a way of justifying his strongman rule in the name of upholding a strong republic. – Ishbelle Bongato / Rappler.com

Ishbelle Bongato is a Rappler intern

MANILA, Philippines – Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II is ready to face everybody, even the Senate, to defend his person and insist he is not the "fake news king".

Aguirre said he will show up when Senator Grace Poe, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Information, summons him to explain his basis for linking opposition lawmakers to the crisis in Marawi. "Of course!" he said when asked if he would comply with the summon.

Aguirre is also standing by his Department Order authorizing a probe into opposition leaders for an alleged destabilization plot. That order was issued right after his controversial press conference and some hours before his claims were proven to be false – the photo he showed as his supposed proof of the destabilization, was found to be old and unrelated to Marawi. (READ: No public apology yet from Aguirre for fake news)

Senator Risa Hontiveros calls him the "fake news king of Padre Faura" and some are questioning his fitness to be justice secretary. But for Aguirre, this is all just a matter people being "entitled to their own opinion." (READ: Aguirre denies releasing 'Marawi meeting' photo)

The opinion that matters is that of President Rodrigo Duterte, his boss.

Though he would want to tell Aguirre "Wala ka namang kadala-dala (You never learn)," Senator Panfilo Lacson of the Commission on Appointments said there is no way that Aguirre's confirmation could be revoked now.

"Ang puwedeng mangyari kung mawala ang tiwala ng Pangulo sa kanya, tanggalin siya. Pangulo na lang puwede magtanggal," Lacson said. (What could happen is if the President loses his trust in Aguirre, he can remove him. Only the President can remove him now.)

But the latest statement from Malacañang does not indicate that. “He has the full trust of the President. He has been doing an excellent job actually in the DOJ," Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said.

'Bright boy'

Duterte has always referred to Aguirre as his "bright boy" schoolmate, among the "brilliant" Bedans who are working for the ordinary Bedan, referring to himself.

Aguirre graduated magna cum laude and was a full scholar in San Beda. He was the valedictorian of the San Beda College of Law class of 1971. He passed the Bar the same year with a grade of 85.25%.

Aguirre is a batch ahead of Duterte in the San Beda Law School and they both are members of the Lex Talionis Fraternitas.

Aguirre said Duterte and him weren't "that close."

"Friends na kami, pero hindi yung very close friends na katulad ni Judge Toribio Ilao na member na ngayon ng JBC [Judicial and Bar Council]. 'Yan ang mga barkadahan. Ako kasi ang valedictorian eh, ako ang head ng class. Sila yung mga, mahilig sa mga inuman, although nag-iinom din ako – tomador din ako, taga-Quezon ako eh. But 'yung mga activities nila, inuman kung minsan nakikipag-away pa sila sa mga ibang school, especially sa pagdating sa NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association] activities," Aguirre said in an earlier interview.

(We were friends, but not very close friends like Judge Toribio Ilao who is now member of the JBC, They were the ones in the same group. Me, I was the valedictorian, I was head of the class. They liked to drink, although I also drank then – I'm from Quezon. But their activities included drinking and getting into fights with students from other schools, especially when it was related to the NCAA.)

Duterte and Aguirre have always been friends, so much so that in 2009 when Duterte was on the hot seat over the alleged Davao Death Squad (DDS) by his arch nemesis, then Commission on Human Rights Chairman Leila de Lima, Duterte hired his friend "Vit" as his lawyer.

"Mayor pa lang, ako na ang lawyer niya sa sinasabing DDS, 2009, ako ang lawyer niya noon, noong magkalaban sila ni Secretary de Lima," Aguirre said.

(I was his lawyer when he was still mayor, in 2009 for this supposed DDS. I was his lawyer when he went up against Secretary Leila de Lima.) (READ: The day Duterte faced the Commission on Human Rights)

Lawyer for Tatay Laud

Aguirre lists Duterte as one of his clients in his 5-page bio data, along with other clients who include Hubert Webb, Senator Lacson, and broadcaster Ramon Tulfo.

Curiously, he doesn't list retired SP04 Bienvenido Laud or "Tatay Laud' whom he defended up to the Supreme Court (SC) to try to block authorities from searching his quarry in Davao City, said to have been a burial ground of those supposedly killed by the DDS.

A certain Edgar Avasola had testified that the retired police whom he called "Tatay Laud" had instructed him and "6 killers to bring and bury equally the bodies in the three caves" in the Laud quarry at Barangay Ma-a.

In 2009, De Lima visited the quarry armed with a search warrant issued by a judge from the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC).

It was Aguirre, as counsel to Laud, who argued that those search warrants have no validity because they came from Manila which has no territorial jurisdiction.

The search on the quarry had already yielded a few leg bones, skull parts, and license plates, but Aguirre argued before the High Court that the authorities who did the digging "ignored laws on exhumations, provided for under the Sanitation Code (Presidential Decree 856)."

They were trying to invalidate the warrant so as to also invalidate anything which came from the search.

In a decision issued in 2014, the SC First Division ruled that the search warrant was valid and even authorized the Philippine National Police (PNP) to search the quarries again.

Though it appears like it provides a new window of opportunity to investigate the DDS, the SC's 2014 ruling remains as is – a ruling. Nothing is clear on its status since 2014, and it's unclear what would happen to it, now that Duterte is president.

Aguirre, speaking from his desk at the Department of Justice (DOJ) headquarters, still sounds like a lawyer for Laud.

"Hindi naman napatunayan kung buto ng tao, o buto ng hayop, 'tsaka it was said at that time na yung Barangay Ma-a na 'yun 'yung maraming pinag-eexecutan ng mga Filipino guerrillas. They were not able to prove anything," Aguirre said.

(They were not able to prove if they were human bones, or animal bones, and it was said that in the past, Barangay Maa was where they executed Filipino guerrillas. They were not able to prove anything.)

'Nabarkada lang'

Former Senator Rene Saguisag, who taught at the San Beda Law School and once said he wanted to expel Duterte for shooting a classmate he had a spat with, remembers Aguirre not as a student but as a compañero.

"We were together in defending Hubert Webb. Brilliant. I understand he topped his class. Very good, very professional," Saguisag said.

Then again, Saguisag said, "Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are."

"Today? Seemingly fallen into wrong company. Di naman talaga likas na masama. Nabarkada lang (not inherently bad. Just with the wrong company)," Saguisag said of Aguirre.

The former senator added: "He's entitled to his share of rookie misjudgments, like his boss. They should change course in a number of respects. I pray for my brother Bedans and appeal to the better angels of their nature, for the sake of the Motherland." 

'I wanted to semi-retire'

Aguirre, who will turn 71 on October 16, said he had wanted to "semi-retire" after more than 4 decades of legal practice.

He had been partner in a number of law firms since the 1980s, and in 2006 put up the Aguirre & Aguirre law firm in San Juan with his middle son, lawyer Andrew Aguirre. His eldest Aristotle lives in New Jersey, USA and his youngest Achilles, in Seattle, where both are occupational therapists.

"Had it not been for the winning President, I would have been semi-retired," Aguirre said.

Aguirre said that by the time Duterte was campaigning, he was already bracing himself for a life in politics as Duterte was already dropping hints he would be recruited to his administration.

The offer was formalized on May 18, 2016, when Aguirre went to Davao City to congratulate his friend, who had just been declared President-elect after leading the race with a margin of more than 6 million.

In a meeting with would-be Cabinet men, Perfecto Yasay – designated foreign secretary but later rejected by the Commission on Appointments – was relaying to Duterte his issues about scams in educational funds. Duterte told Yasay to get help from the DOJ, turned to Aguirre and said, "Hindi ba, Secretary Vit?" (Right, Secretary Vit?)

The rest was history.

Aguirre said he would have wanted to settle for a quiet life, take care of his 6 grandchildren, tend to his bonsais, and resume scuba diving (he's a licensed diver), but service beckoned and this is where he is now.

Before this week, Aguirre said the "incident that changed his life" is the infamous moment with the late Senator Miriam Santiago where he was caught covering his ears as Santiago berated prosecutors during the impeachment trial in 2012 of the late former chief justice Renato Corona. Aguirre was even held in contempt of court.

It remains to be seen if this latest conundrum will change the course of things for Duterte's "bright boy", and whether more life-changing events will unravel in the future. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines marks 119 years since the proclamation of its independence on Monday, June 12, and we commemorate today our ancestors who struggled to put an end to our colonization.   

Aside from the well-known heroes Rizal, Bonifacio, Jacinto, and Mabini, there are countless other Filipinos who bravely stood in the face of death in the name of the country. Here are just a few of them:

Trinidad Tecson

Also known as “Ina ng Biak-na-Bato” (Mother of Biak-na-Bato), Trinidad Tecson is the first Filipina to take part in Sanduguan or sacred blood compact. She fought alongside Katipuneros, seizing firearms in Caloocan and braving 12 battles with fellow revolutionaries. During the Revolution, she also organized a group of women who nursed injured Filipino soldiers. Trinidad Tecson is proof that in times of war, women are as fierce as they are caring on and off the battlefield.

Rajah Buisan 

If there is any group who successfully pushed the Spaniards away, it would be the Moro people of Mindanao. Rajah Buisan, Sultan of Maguindanao and commander in the third stage of the Moro wars, is most known for his speech at Dulag, Leyte where he called to action the datus of Leyte to face the Spaniards head on. Together with his allies and comrades, Rajah Buisan successfully launched an invasion in Central Visayas.

Mariano Trias

Mariano Trias is considered the first de facto Vice President of the Philippines, elected during the Assembly at Tejeros. He also served as the Minister of War during the Revolutionary Government. He led the first uprising in Cavite, as well as several other attacks against Spanish forces in Laguna. A patriot and propagandist, Mariano Trias bravely defended Katipunan ideals in the towns of Kawit and Silang.

The Bicol Martyrs 

Collectively known as the 15 Bicolano Martyrs, these ilustrados, businessmen, priests, and officials were sentenced to death for actively fighting against the Spaniards in the 1896 Revolution. Of the 15, Leon Hernandez died from torture, Ramon Abella and Mariano Arana were exiled to West Africa, and Mariano Ordenanza was imprisoned in Bilibid. The remaining 11 were executed in Bagumbayan on January 4, 1897. The families of the 11 who perished were instructed to immediately bury their dead to avoid any sympathy coming from the public.

They are Gabriel Prieto, Severino Diaz, Inocencio Herrera, Manuel Abella, Domingo Abella, Camilo Jacob, Tomas Prieto, Florencio Lerma, Macario Valentin, Cornelio Mercado, and Mariano Melgarejo.

The Igorots 

In what is now known as the Igorot Revolt of 1601, the natives of Luzon fiercely refused to accept Christianity and conversion under Spanish rule. Though the Spaniards attempted to quell the revolt by sending an expedition to Cordillera, they were ultimately unable to achieve substantial control over the Igorots. 

As we celebrate our 119th year of independence, let us remember and honor the sacrifices of every Filipino who fought for the freedom we enjoy today. – Gari A. Acolola/Rappler.com

Gari Acolola is a Rappler intern

Before reluctantly thanking the United States for helping the government's fight against the Maute Group in Marawi City, President Rodrigo Duterte admitted one thing to media: Filipino soldiers in general like the US and there's nothing he can do about it.

"Ito talaga ang sentimyento nito, pro-American, pro-American talaga ang mga sundalo natin, that I cannot deny," said Duterte on Sunday, June 11, during a media interview in Cagayan de Oro City.

(This is really their sentiment, our soldiers are really pro-American, that I cannot deny.)

Duterte was there to visit soldiers wounded during clashes in Marawi City. He gave each of them P110,000 in financial assistance as well as pistols and mobile phones.

The rapport between Filipino troops and the US is likely because many soldiers went there to study, said Duterte.

"Almost all officers will go to America to study about militaristic thing. Kaya meron 'yan silang (That's why they have) rapport and I cannot deny that," he said.  

Decades of the Philippine military working closely with their American counterparts have led to better coordination and a high level of interoperability between the two forces. (READ: Duterte's pivot to China won't be easy for Americanized AFP)

The Philippines and the US hold at least two military exercises annually as part of the Mutual Defense Treaty.

Because of Duterte's orders not to hold joint patrols or military exercises in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), the focus of recent military exercises has been on disaster response and counterterrorism.

That Sunday press conference, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Armed Forces of the Philippines chief General Eduardo Año stood behind Duterte as he was speaking.

Lorenzana is definitely one military man with firm ties to Washington. The former army commander took a crisis management course at the US State Department and served as defense attaché to the US from 2002 to 2004.

Lorenzana was instrumental in cultivating military bilateral relations between the Philippines and the US. He helped develop the terms of reference for the Balikatan exercises between the military forces of the two countries.

The defense chief was supposedly one of the major voices who convinced Duterte to continue with the Balikatan exercises despite the President's previous announcement that the 2016 military exercises would be the last during his term.

The Balikatan pushed through this year but with major changes – it did not include an exercise to counter an invader on Philippine shores.

The change was made to conform to Duterte's objective not to anger China, which continues to claim almost the entire South China Sea despite a 2016 international court ruling that nullified its expansive 9-dash line.

Duterte may be prioritizing warmer ties with China, but it seems he is also aware that existing ties between his own soldiers and the US military is not something to brush aside. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) will begin on Tuesday, June 13, its 3-day oral arguments on 3 consolidated petitions, which seek to nullify President Rodrigo Duterte's Proclamation Number 216 or martial law in Mindanao. (READ: Questions you need to ask about martial law in Mindanao)

Defending Duterte will be Solicitor General Jose Calida, who will go up against 3 groups of petitioners: minority lawmakers led by Albay 1st District Representative Edcel Lagman, militant groups led by Lumad leader Eufemia Cullamat, and Marawi residents led by Mindanao State University (MSU) Professor Norkaya Mohamad.

Based on their petitions and Calida's consolidated comments, Rappler compiles the main arguments and counter-arguments for your guide during the debates that will last until Thursday, June 15.

1. Marawi siege: Rebellion or not? 

Section 18, Article VII, of the Constitution says: "In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, [the President] may, for a period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law."

Rebellion, meanwhile, is defined under the Revised Penal Code as "a crime committed by rising publicly and taking arms against the Government for the purpose of removing from the allegiance to said Government or its laws, the territory of the Philippine Islands or any part thereof."

PETITIONERS: The crisis in Marawi is just a "pretended existence of rebellion and/or invasion." They say that what happened in Marawi is not an attempt to "remove from the allegiance" to the Republic but just an armed resistance to protect leader Isnilon Hapilon from death or capture.

CALIDA: The circumstances of the Marawi crisis reject the assertion that the siege was just meant to protect Hapilon. The siege was "intended to be the climax of a clear and actual takeover of Philippine territory by means of a violent uprising against the government."

According to military information, the Maute Group had planned to raze Marawi City on the day of Ramadan and it was to be a precursor to establishing an ISIS province in Mindanao. "It is a strategic and well-coordinated attack to overthrow the present government and establish a wilayah in Mindanao." 

2. Is martial law necessary?

Rebellion's definition under the law includes the qualification that the uprising to "remove from the allegiance to the Philippine government" also "deprives the Chief Executive or the Legislature, wholly or partially, of any of their powers or prerogatives."

PETITIONERS: The crisis has not reached an extent that public safety has already required the declaration of martial law. It is precisely why the words "imminent danger" were deleted from the provision in the Constitution to make sure that martial law is declared only in the event of an actual rebellion, not just the danger of it. It was a constitutional safeguard to prevent presidents from abusing their martial law powers.

CALIDA: Under the Constitution, rebellion is already existing when the armed uprising "deprives the Chief Executive or the Legislature, wholly or partially, of any of their powers or prerogatives." 

That is the case, for example, with the release of over 100 inmates from the Marawi City jail in the first few days of the clashes.  

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology exercises supervision or control over jails, the BJMP is under the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the DILG is under Duterte. Because the 107 inmates are free, the BJMP no longer has custody of these inmates, which ultimately means the incident "resulted in a deprivation of President Duterte's power to keep these prisoners in custody."

"Aside from the effects of the attacks on the civilian population, the strong combat capability, and seemingly limitless firepower snd other resources that ISIS-inspired rebels have displayed in their attacks show that the interest of public safety required the issuance of Proclamation Number 216." 

3.  Martial law should be last resort

PETITIONERS: Martial law "is an instrument of last resort." If a less severe remedy exists, the government must do that first. "Only when there is a showing that the situation cannot be contained unless martial law is declared, can the use of such extraordinay power of the President be justifiable," the Mohamad petition says.  One of the counsels in the Mohamad petition is constitutionalist Christian Monsod.

CALIDA: Yes, that it is the last resort, according to Proclamation 55, which Duterte issued September 2016 when Davao City was rocked by bombing. It was a call to the military to prevent or suppress lawless violence in Mindanao.

But this "proved ineffective" because the "ISIS-inspired terror groups continued to wreak havoc in Mindanao – kidnapping and bombing incidents, murder, and attacks against government operatives happened in Basilan, Maguindanao, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu, among others, in the period between November 2016 and April 2017."

Martial law, therefore, was necessary by that time.

4. Did Duterte act on his own?

PETITIONERS: The declaration was flawed because it did not come from the recommendation of Duterte's security officials, such as Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, now designated martial law administrator.

CALIDA: Duterte does not need any recommendation to make his declaration valid. "The Constitution bestows the full authority to proclaim martial law upon the President and no one else, and without need for the prior approval of any other public official, much less his alter ego."

"Any recommendation given by officers of the military, at most, would merely be advisory and can be disregarded by the President, their Commander-in-Chief. After all, civilian authority, embodied through the President's position as Commander-in-Chief, is at all times supreme over the miltiary."

5. Was martial law based on fake news?

Inconsistencies have been found in the incidents cited by Duterte in the martial law report he submitted to Congress on May 25, or within 48 hours of his declaration.  

PETITIONERS: According to several news reports, hospital officials denied that the Amai Pakpak Medical Center was taken over by terrorists, its employees held hostages. The Philippine Star did a fact-check, which points out that while Duterte said in his report that the Senator Ninoy Aquino Foundation College was burned by terrorists night of May 23, witnesses on the ground saw the school intact as of May 24. The same report also said that while Duterte said the Land Bank Marawi Branch was ransacked, the bank management clarified that only their vehicle – which was empty – was stolen by terrorists.

CALIDA: (Calida did not provide clarifications for the claims in the martial law report and, in fact, repeated them in the comment he submitted to the SC. His contention, however, is that these arguments are invalid because the petitioners' only bases are news reports.)

"News articles amount to 'hearsay evidence, twice removed,' and are therefore not only inadmissible, but are without any probative value at all whether objected to or not."

6. Should Congress have convened?

Section 18, Article VII, of the Constitution: "The Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its Members in regular or special session, may revoke such proclamation or suspension, which revocation shall not be set aside by the President."

PETITIONERS: "There is even greater necessity for the Court to rule upon the sufficiency of the factual basis for the proclamation where there has been no congressional action," says the Mohammad petition.

CALIDA: The separate resolutions of the lower and upper chambers are enough, and are considered the representation of the will of the people.

"In the case of President Duterte's Proclamation Number 216, the two houses of Congress expressed their support for the necessity of the issuance. The declaration of martial law, therefore, carries with it the imprimatur of the Filipino people."

The SC's oral arguments will run Tuesday (June 13), Wednesday (June 14), up to Thursday (June 15), beginning at 10 am on all days.– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – They're not just a small crew nowadays. They also can't seem to get their act together even on pet issues concerning the party.

From around 100 members in the previous administration, the once-powerful Liberal Party (LP) has been decimated to just 27 in the House of Representatives – and with split loyalties at that.

Twenty-two of the LP lawmakers are allied with President Rodrigo Duterte's Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), an alliance that took months to bring together. (READ: Why the Liberal Party stayed in the House majority)

The remaining 5 are in the independent minority, part of the so-called "Magnificent 7" who serve as the real opposition bloc as they take very strong positions vis-à-vis Duterte's questionable policies.

This sad state of affairs goes beyond the lower chamber. In the Senate, LP senators have been stripped of their leadership posts and Senator Leila de Lima was jailed due to drug charges.

Vice President Leni Robredo, party chairperson, also resigned as housing czar after being barred from joining Cabinet meetings. Supporters of the President have since called for her resignation from her post altogether.

Because of this, some say the LP in the House should just have left the PDP-Laban alliance, joined the minority, and become the opposition party.

But it hasn't done so. Instead, it has played the safe, neither-here-nor-there game that the party as a whole believes it has to do to survive.

Ironically, this is also seen as the reason it is not gaining political steam either.

With a looming impeachment complaint against Robredo, LP stalwarts argue they may need to resort to unpopular political moves for now.

If the "dilawans" are to survive the Duterte administration, goes the thinking, perhaps being in the good graces of PDP-Laban may work in their favor in the long run. (READ: The Liberal Party and realpolitik in the House) 

Counting votes this early

So why stay in the majority?

It all boils down to politics being local, especially for lawmakers whose constituencies are their respective districts.  

While the LP as a party may be against several administration policies – like the bloody war against drugs and the reimposition of the death penalty– most of the LP lawmakers represent districts where voters remain solid supporters of Duterte.  

Their stand on issues naturally reflects both their personal convictions and the election terrain that they will be navigating in the 2019 local elections.

This explains why half of LP lawmakers voted in favor of the death penalty bill even if the party is against the measure. (READ: 4 death penalty votes that surprised us) 

Bolting their alliance with PDP-Laban might also mean LP lawmakers losing their leverage to get budgets for their district projects. A lawmaker allied with the administration party will have an easier time fighting for his or her district's projects compared to a minority legislator critical of the administration.

Deputy Speaker Miro Quimbo, the highest ranking LP member in the House, said local politics dictates the movement in the lower chamber "95% of the time." 

"Being part of the administration party protects their districts in a number of ways. First, you are able to get the national government's support for your district needs in terms of social and infrastructure programs. You feel a certain degree of certainty that being part of the administration party ensures that you are closer to the kitchen, so to speak," said Quimbo.

He added being part of PDP-Laban will give a candidate "more leverage" in the upcoming 2019 midterm polls, where congressional seats will once again be up for grabs. 

Quimbo, a longtime politician, said this is more felt by candidates in the provinces compared to those in Metro Manila, who are closely followed by the national media. 

"This aspect of politics, we never really experience in Metro Manila because of the media's active role. But in the provinces, based on stories of my colleagues, the PNP (Philippine National Police), AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), and the Comelec (Commission on Elections) can make or break a candidate. So people moving towards the administration is the by-product of how they anticipate 2019," said Quimbo.

Keeping plum posts

Completely moving to the House minority would also mean LP losing plum posts in the House.  

LP currently holds one deputy speakership through Quimbo and a seat in the powerful Commission on Appointments through the feisty Occidental Mindoro 2nd District Representative Josephine Ramirez-Sato, LP's national treasurer. But she may soon lose her seat if more LP members leave the party. 

Four LP legislators previously held committee chairmanships as well – Batanes 1st District Representative Henedina Abad for government reorganization, Dinagat Islands Representative Kaka Bag-ao for people's participation, Quezon City 6th District Representative Jose Christopher "Kit" Belmonte for land use, and Batangas 6th District Representative Vilma Santos-Recto for civil service and professional regulation.

But these LP lawmakers were ousted after they voted no to the controversial death penalty bill, an aftermath of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez's threat to replace House leaders who would oppose the measure.

Three other LP legislators were able to keep their chairmanships because they voted yes to the death penalty reimposition: Quezon City 4th District Representative Feliciano Belmonte Jr for West Philippine Sea, Zambales 2nd District Representative Cheryl Deloso-Montalla for human rights, and Bohol 1st District Representative Rene Relampagos for agrarian reform.

Ifugao Representative Teddy Baguilat Jr, an LP member in the opposition bloc, admitted the reality of local politics has a bigger impact in the House compared to the Senate.  

"For instance, being a chair is already a big advantage in the House in terms of allocations, resources," said Baguilat. 

Only majority lawmakers also get to vote on bills being discussed at the committee level. Minority lawmakers are only allowed to – at most – interpellate during hearings, but they're essentially powerless to stop or show support for a measure at the committee level.

God save the queen

But beyond the House dynamics, LP lawmakers have bigger fish to fry: The two impeachment complaints drafted against the Vice President.

Two groups – the tandem of Marcos loyalists Oliver Lozano and Melchor Chavez as well as the Impeach Leni Movement– are urging lawmakers to endorse their respective impeachment complaints against Robredo. 

While no legislator has endorsed the two documents, the party is aware that their moves in the House can influence the future of these impeachment complaints against the Vice President.

This is why the LP lawmakers in the majority released a statement saying they "will not support any of the impeachment complaints filed against the leaders of the land" after Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano filed the now-junked impeachment complaint against the President in March.

At the time, the Speaker himself said he was mulling filing an impeachment complaint against Robredo, believing she was behind the one filed against Duterte.  

Quimbo later faced the media to clarify the LP had nothing to do with the impeachment complaint against Duterte, a statement echoed by Alejano as well. (READ: Alejano denies impeach bid part of destabilization plot)

Instead of just talking about the LP's goal to protect Robredo at all costs, Quimbo also said the impeachment complaints against her and Duterte were both "doomed to fail." 

"It also become clear that Vice President Leni Robredo was becoming collateral damage. An impeachment complaint was filed against her mainly on the wrongful accusation that the LP was the prime mover of Digong's impeachment case, which was completely false. It was important thus for us LP members in the majority, to protect the VP from a serious and snowballing impeachment complaint against her," said Quimbo.

Sources said Alejano had even informed the LP of his plan to file the impeachment complaint. But Robredo did not want to have anything to do with it, thinking that impeaching Duterte is not going to be effective.

There were also talks within the LP on how to protect Robredo should her critics push through with their impeachment plans.  

Sources said some in the LP want to immediately stop the impeachment complaint should it be filed at the House. But others believe they should let the complaint reach the Senate, where LP senators supposedly guaranteed they can kill the ouster plot.

But Baguilat said the latter option is not really sitting well with Robredo, who was Camarines Sur 3rd District representative and therefore knows how things run in Congress. 

"Of course for her, you nip it in the bud as much as possible because it's really a political question. If you allow it to fester and debate and they will continue to hammer on the accusations, I'm pretty sure there might be additional charges," said Baguilat.

For now, this internal discussion in the LP remains just that – a debate.

But should the ouster plot against the Vice President proceed, her party mates have vowed to protect their queen.

"Siyempre ipagtatanggol natin. Hindi naman puwedeng hindi," said Quimbo. (Of course we will defend her. We have to.)

Key personalities

At the forefront of making party decisions given these realities in the House are certain lawmakers who have long been identified as loyal LP members, the "pinakadilaw," if you will. 

Among them are what sources describe as the LP's triumvirate in the House: Quimbo, Kit Belmonte, and Quezon City 3rd District Representative Jorge Banal. 

Banal and Kit Belmonte, the party secretary-general, often work behind the scenes, their respected inputs heard and heavily considered in closed-door LP meetings. Their media appearances are close to none.

Quimbo, by virtue of him being the House leadership's choice for deputy speaker, was tasked to publicly speak for the LP lawmakers in the majority bloc.

Message discipline has been strict within the LP lately, given the party's delicate position under the Duterte administration. LP lawmakers, when asked to give comments about the party's stand on certain issues, would always point to Quimbo and refer to him as their "designated spokesperson."

Quimbo, Kit Belmonte, Banal, as well as Bag-ao, are also known to act as close advisers to the Vice President when it comes to House affairs. Then there are the LP elders, like former speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr and Northern Samar 1st District Representative Raul Daza.

Sources say the seniors mostly leave the final decision-making these days to the younger members. But the LP, especially in making crucial decisions, considers the opinions of its veterans in high regard.

Three other LP lawmakers join Baguilat and Daza in the House opposition: Capiz 1st District Representative Emmanuel Billones, Caloocan City 2nd District Representative Edgar Erice, and Albay 1st District Representative Edcel Lagman. 

Lagman is the staunchest Duterte critic out of the 5 legislators, with Baguilat even describing him as the "driving force" of the opposition bloc.  

But Lagman only joined the LP for the 17th Congress. During his last term under the 15th Congress, he was a member of Lakas-CMD and was a known supporter of former president and now Pampanga 2nd District Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Baguilat is the go-to guy whenever the opposition bloc needs representation in LP meetings.

LP and party politics in the PH

According to Baguilat, the LP members in the House struggled at the beginning because they were divided into two blocs. 

Faced with a controversial Duterte policy, the LP lawmakers in the majority would often come up with a more pragmatic stand, whereas the opposition lawmakers would hit the Duterte administration head on. 

"So what we do is okay, let the majority speak out and then we'll meet too, then more or less we will know where these people will come from," said Baguilat. 

"But [if it is a] party decision [already], then all of us will be involved," he clarified.

The LP finds itself in a unique position compared to the other parties in the House. But its situation is also indicative of the country's lack of a genuine political party system.

"By being part of the majority or by being selective minority, they are only a minority on selected aspects or issues. They are able to have their cake and eat it too," said University of the Philippines political analyst Aries Arugay. 

"They are taking full advantage of the weakness of the party system in the country. If I am part of the supermajority, I don't need them… But no harm, no foul if you want to join us," he added.

The challenge for LP lawmakers now is to determine their clear role under the Duterte administration – and for the party to stick to it. 

But when? "Our time will come," said Kit Belmonte. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Rappler compiles all documents relating to President Rodrigo Duterte's martial law declaration in Mindanao.

This page will be updated every time the government releases a new document. The most recent document appears first. Scroll down this page to see older files.

Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao on May 23 from Moscow, Russia after being told of clashes between terrorists and government troops in Marawi City. 

In this page are: Arrest Order No. 2, Arrest Order No. 1, General Order No. 1, President Duterte's report to Congress, Proclamation No. 216.

The documents may be downloaded by clicking the downward-pointing arrow on the lower right of each document window.

Below are the documents:

Arrest Order No. 2

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Arrest Order No. 1

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General Order No. 1

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President Duterte's report to Congress

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Proclamation No. 216

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– Rappler.com

MARAWI CITY, Philippines – A few years ago, a young boy overheard Cayamora and Farhana Maute talking to his parents about him. The parents of the notorious Maute brothers, responsible for the raging battles in Marawi City, were offering to make him study the Koran.

It was a privilege a poor family would not pass up, especially if the offer came from such a respected clan. In the absence of formal schooling, it's common practice in communities here to organize Arabic and Islamic studies for children.

“Pangarap ng pamilya ko makapag-aral ako ng Koran (It is my family's dream to make me study the Koran),” said the boy, now in his teens. What is not clear is if his parents were also given monetary assistance.

The boy found himself relocating a few years back to the faraway town of Butig, some 50 road kilometers away from Marawi City, where he diligently learned the Koran.

But a month into the lessons, they gave him a rifle and taught him how to kill. "Lahat daw ng Christian sa buong mundo, patayin daw, 'te (They said all the Christians in the world must die)," he said.

The boy did not know about the Mautes' links to the international terrorist network Islamic State (ISIS) or anything about establishing a caliphate in Mindanao, which, according to the military, was the "grand plan" of the Maute Group.

He was told it was his specific duty to kill government soldiers.

"Tinuruan ako mag-patay ng tao. Kung di ko siya patayin, ako ang mamamatay. Ako naunahan ba (They taught me how to kill people. If I don't kill, I will die. They will kill me first)," he said.

He was once a child soldier fighting alongside the Maute brothers in his not so distant past. If he had stayed with the Mautes, he could be fighting in Marawi today, if not be dead already, he said. 

When he was in Butig, he did not question the teachings. Not even in his mind. "Naniwala kami din, 'te, mga dalawang taon na 'te. Naniwala talaga 'te (I really did believe them for two years. I really believed)," he said.

His singular dream was to go to heaven and he was taught dying in battle was the way this could happen.

"Gusto ko talaga magpakamatay (I wanted to die for the cause)," he said.

Indeed, the boy recalled being happy in Butig, where he lived in a big house. He was especially fond of riding the horses when they were on a break from studying.

He mingled with the Maute children, including Omar and Abdullah, who would rise to international notoriety for the ongoing siege in Marawi City.

“Masaya ang Butig. Masaya buhay ko sa Butig (I was happy in Butig. I had a good life there),” he said.

To protect the boy, we agreed not to divulge his name and his personal details. We verified the boy's story about his stay in Butig – the hometown of Farhana Maute – by checking military reports too about the terrorist group's operations in Butig. 

Brainwashed

The boy agreed to talk because he doesn’t want more children to be brainwashed by the likes of the Mautes to support a cause that he now says is “very wrong.”

That the Maute Group used child soldiers is well reported. Rappler also obtained what appears to be propaganda videos of Filipino-looking children joining adult fighters carrying the ISIS black flag. A high-ranking military officer who operated in Butig confirmed the video was shot in the area. 

The same officer provided an old photo of child soldiers recovered last year in one military operation in Butig, Farhana's hometown.

The boy said he was told it's what Allah wanted him to become. 

"Sabihin nila, magka-edad ka na. Tapos ito gawin mo. 'Yan ang sinusundan natin dito sa Koran. Utos ng Allah (They say, you are growing up. This is what you should do. This is what we should follow, according to the Koran. It is what Allah wants us to do)," the boy recalled.  

He was the perfect soldier. There's nothing like the misinformed courage of a child. 

"Gusto ko talagang patayin ang mga sundalo. Nagtatatakbo ako sa mga puno para maghanap ng sundalo (I really wanted to kill soldiers. I was running among the trees to hunt for them)," he said.

He was talking about the clashes last year in Butig, where the Maute Group was able to raise the black flag of the Islamic State (ISIS). Three military offensives were launched there to flush them out. (READ: PH flag replaces ISIS black banner at Butig town hall) 

"Naubos ko pa mga bala ko sa unang giyera. Sobra. te. Sabi ko, mamatay ako sa giyera na ito at mapunta na ako sa langit. Kung mamatay sa giyera, kukunin ka ni Allah (I emptied my magazine in my first battle. It was intense. I told myself, 'I will die in this war and I will go to heaven.' If I die in the battlefield, Allah will welcome me to heaven)," he said. 

"Ready talaga ako mamatay, 'te. Kapag pumutok ang kanyon at ang mga eroplano dumating, hindi talaga ako magtago (I was ready to die. If the cannons were fired and if the planes came, I really wouldn't hide)," he added.

The boy didn't die in the wars in Butig. He didn't kill any soldier either. He didn't get the chance to master his marksmanship. And then something happened that changed his life and made him realize the teachings were wrong. We are withholding these details to protect his identity.

Today the boy said he still reads the Koran on his own. "Magbasa ako ng Koran. Pakiramdam ko 'te parang magaan (I read the Koran and when I do, I feel much better)," he said.

He hears the clashes in Butig and he knows some of his friends are fighting to get to heaven. "Maling-mali talaga, 'te (It's really wrong)," he said.

The military was surprised by the Maute Group's resistance in Marawi City because bandits usually run to the mountains and escape when confronted with heavy artillery. The clash is now on its 4th week and the fighters are still holding out. 

If they were trained like the young boy, it means they are all ready to kill and they are all ready to die. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – What exactly is cyber sedition?

We heard about it earlier this week when Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Rodolfo Salalima said during a Palace briefing on Tuesday, June 13, “May huhilihin na, [someone will be arrested soon], cyber sedition.” (READ: Suspect to be arrested for ‘cyber sedition’ related to Marawi crisis).

Salalima's office is currently investigating suspects who are aiding Maute terrorists using online propaganda.   

Cyber sedition, a form of cybercrime, makes use of online means and activities to plot against the government. “You do sedition or you incite people via cyber or via internet. There is cyber-rebellion, there is cyber-sedition. But for rebellion, there must be a taking up of arms. So if it’s online, it could amount to cyber sedition,” Salalima said. 

ISIS and cyber sedition

The crime of sedition is widely defined as the insurrection or resistance to government through forceful or illegal means.

In the Philippines, the crime of sedition is defined as acts committed by persons who try to prevent the execution of law or holding of elections; prevent the government or public officers from exercising their functions; inflict an act of hate or revenge upon public officers; commit any act of hate or revenge against private persons or any social class; and despoil any person or government of its property.

With the Philippines having around 44 million internet users and 47 million active Facebook accounts, the cyberworld becomes a key medium in both spreading and fighting terrorist ideology.  

Groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and several other terrorist organizations are now known to use social media engagements to recruit members and spread their cause.

Reports have shown that ISIS currently controls 90,000 Twitter profiles apart from other social media accounts such as Facebook, YouTube, and Tumblr.  While open source platforms such as these may increase the vulnerability of terrorists, they also increase the group’s reach and exposure.

Twitter functionalities such as hashtags are also heavily used by terrorists to archive, upload, and disseminate propaganda. Unlike personal or public accounts, Twitter does not suspend or block hashtags. (READ: Twitter-terror: How ISIS is using hashtags for propaganda).

ISIS members are also known for using online, end-to-end messaging applications such as Telegram and WhatsApp. These apps are not only widely used, but are also heavily encrypted, making their conversations more secure and protected. Terrorist groups allegedly recruit via public platforms, then turn to peer-to-peer social media accounts when discussing tactical information. 

Online propaganda in Marawi

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) recently asked Facebook Philippines to shut down at least 63 accounts of Maute militants and their supporters. According to the AFP, these accounts are being used to spread extremist ideas and misinformation, making the fight against terrorism more difficult. 

AFP spokesperson Brigadier General Restituto Padilla has assured the public that they are currently monitoring online propaganda being used in the Marawi siege. “We have touched base with social media companies to request their assistance to put down sites that are fomenting disinformation and discord as well as violence,” he added.

Padilla also urged netizens to refrain from sharing terrorist propaganda, including a video of Maute members burning and destroying religious icons in a St. Mary’s Cathedral at Marawi.

He said such videos may only lead to hatred and violence among religious groups. “This is not a religious war. This is a terror attack on the city of Marawi and we must be clear about it.”

Penalties

According to the revised penal code, any form of involvement – whether it is conspiring, inciting, or committing sedition – is punishable under law.

The leader of a sedition faces the penalty of prision mayor in its minimum period (6 years to 8 years) and a fine not exceeding P10,000, while participants are given the penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period and a fine not exceeding P5,000.

Those who conspire to commit sedition face the penalty of prision correccional in its medium period (from 2 years, 4 months and 1 day to 4 years and 2 months) and a fine not exceeding P2,000.

Meanwhile, any person who incites acts of sedition through speeches and writing, among others, will also be penalized with a fine not exceeding P2,000 and the penalty of prision correcional in its maximum period (from 4 years, 2 months and 1 day to 6 years).

But with Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, penalties for crimes committed online will be higher.

Section 6 of the cybercrime law states that all crimes defined and penalized by the Revised Penal Code will be covered under RA 10175.

The penalty to be imposed under the cybercrime law, however, will be one degree higher than that provided in the Revised Penal Code. – Gari A. Acolola/Rappler.com

Gari Acolola is a Rappler intern

On Tuesday, June 13, Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr summoned the media to announce the government’s shift to government-to-private (G2P) importation when it imports 250,000 metric tons of rice this year to augment the country's buffer stock.

The decision to make the shift was arrived at during a June 9 NFA Council meeting, attended by NFA Administrator Jason Aquino, who had been at odds with Evasco and the rest of the council over which mode of importation government should go for.

But Evasco wanted to make one other thing clear. Included in the statement he read to media was a decision to downsize Aquino’s role.

“The NFA administrator’s duty is purely ministerial or mandatory,” said Evasco, referring to Aquino’s powers when it came to approving import permits for private traders.

Previously, it was up to Aquino whether or not to approve these permits. Now, Aquino has no choice but to give his green light for permits for traders endorsed by the NFA’s Grains and Marketing Operations Division.

The NFA Council, led by Evasco, also gave Aquino only a day to approve these permits.

The move was a direct response to Aquino’s previous behavior of tarrying when it came to approving and releasing import permits. Because these documents came in late, the shipments would arrive at ports even without permits, forcing the Bureau of Customs to seize the rice.

At the end of his statement, Evasco gave Aquino another stern-finger reminder, “We also hope to get the full cooperation of our stakeholders, including the NFA management, to [ensure] that this year’s government importation programs will run as hassle-free as possible.”

Convincing Duterte

Evasco’s latest moves follow a series of events that showed he has made progress in bringing Aquino to heel.

Aquino attended the June 9 NFA Council meeting, a significant development given that he skipped previous meetings and even cancelled at least one.

A Palace official who saw the meeting taking place said Aquino and Evasco were “civil” to each other.

It was during this meeting that the NFA Council voted in favor of government-to-private importation (G2P) instead of government-to-government (G2G) importation, Aquino’s preferred mode.

It was also then that the Council turned Aquino into a rubber stamp for approving import permits.

The Council’s bold actions against Aquino come after the 15th Cabinet meeting on May 8 when President Rodrigo Duterte was “given the opportunity to listen to the position of the NFA Council where there is really a need for us to import,” said Evasco during a May 16 press conference.

Duterte was supposedly convinced that giving NFA the monopoly to import rice through G2G importation was not the way to go, hence a “policy shift” towards giving private traders the chance to import. 

Despite this, Evasco failed to have Aquino stripped of his position, something he had called for in various memoranda to the President. Aquino is said to enjoy the friendship of Duterte’s close aide, Special Assistant to the President Bong Go. (READ: Growing rift between Duterte's trusted men – Jun Evasco, Bong Go?)

Evasco, another of Duterte’s trusted men, appears to have settled for limiting Aquino’s powers.

How about Halmen?

The developments also beg the question, if Duterte has indeed been convinced that the country needs to import rice, would he re-appoint Palace Undersecretary Halmen Valdez whom he fired precisely because she supported rice importation?

The Palace refused to acknowledge Duterte’s decision to sack Valdez as a hastily-made mistake.

“You know, we don’t go by mistakes. I think it’s a little bit, you know, blame-calling,” said Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella in a Thursday, June 15 press conference.

“For whatever actions that he did, he was right up to that point, okay,” he added.

Valdez’s sacking was a blow to Evasco since she was the one he entrusted to watch over NFA and other key agricultural agencies put under his wing. (READ: Dismissed Usec Valdez to Duterte: Probe 'NFA syndicate')

But it seems Evasco is now picking his battles. Of paramount importance to him is Duterte’s support for importation, given how the country’s rice production can’t supply both domestic demand and the need for buffer stocks.

If reminding Duterte of his baseless decision to fire Valdez will endanger this, the strategist in Evasco may have decided to let the issue be for now. 

Palpable tension

Will Aquino take all this sitting down? At the June 14 Senate hearing called by Senator Cynthia Villar on the rice importation issue, Aquino reiterated his preference for G2G importation. 

He listed down its advantages, and then when asked by Villar what the cons were in this mode of importation, Aquino, said, “We cannot find a disadvantage.”

The tension between Aquino and Evasco was palpable, especially when Villar noted at the start of a hearing, “This is the first time in history we heard an NFA administrator defy the orders of the NFA Council.”

Evasco looked straight ahead, grim-faced, as Aquino answered Villar’s questions. The Cabinet Secretary’s only contribution to the hearing was to read out the same statement he gave media on Tuesday, the statement including Aquino’s “ministerial” role in approving import permits.

Duterte’s practical side may have been swayed by Evasco and the economic managers in his Cabinet who support private importation of rice. But something else is keeping Aquino in his post.

This is one instance in the Duterte administration when government policy depends on the outcome of a clash of personalities.– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte projects himself as a man of simple tastes, almost allergic to extravagance and unnecessary expenses. Yet Malacañang records show he spent about triple what his predecessors spent on foreign travels during his first year in power.

Documents obtained by Rappler through the Freedom of Information system showed the government spent P386.2 million (US$7.72 million)* on Duterte’s foreign trips, excluding the cost of his last 4 trips – to Cambodia, Hong Kong, China (second visit), and Russia. Once Rappler obtains this data, this article will be updated.

In comparison, former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo spent P80.6 million ($1.61 million)* on foreign travels in her first year in power, more than 4 times less what Duterte spent, given dollar-peso exchange rates then that were similar to rates today.

Former president Benigno Aquino III spent P101.5 million ($2.03 million) in his first year, according to Commission on Audit (COA) data. Factoring in the $US1 = P40 exchange rate at the time, Duterte's expenses today are about triple that of Aquino's.

Media reports on Aquino's foreign travel expenses peg them at an even lower number – P75.6 million ($1.51 million) in his first year (June 2010 to June 2011). Based on this figure, the Duterte administration spent about 5 times what the Aquino administration spent. It must be remembered that $1 is now equivalent to about P50.

Even two years' worth of foreign travel expenses by both Aquino and Arroyo is still half of what Duterte spent on his first year alone.

COA data cited by the Inquirer shows Aquino spent P185.9 million ($3.72 million) in 2010 and 2011. Even Arroyo spent half what Duterte spent in his first year during the first two years of her presidency. From 2002 to 2003, her administration spent only P190.5 million ($3.81 million) on her foreign trips.

Duterte’s first year of foreign travel expenses most closely matches Arroyo’s spending in 2006 when the government shelled out P398.4 million ($7.97 million). Arroyo became notorious for her costly foreign trips, especially in the last years of her presidency.

The total cost of Duterte's foreign trips thus far (P386.2 million) was obtained by adding the costs of 17 of his 21 trips.

In state visits, the highest-level of foreign visit, the host country pays for most of the trip.

Duterte's visit to Peru, with a short stop in New Zealand, was the most expensive trip costing a total of P86.5 million ($1.73). The President and an official delegation of 24 people went to Lima to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. 

But if you go by expenses per day, the most expensive trip was to Qatar. The two-day state visit in April cost a whopping P31.8 million ($636,000) a day. Duterte brought with him 24 officials. In comparison, his trip to Peru cost P12.3 ($246,000) million a day.

Duterte’s cheapest trip, both in terms of total cost and cost per day was his two-day official visit to Myanmar in March. It cost a total of P2.5 million ($50,000) or around P1.2 million ($24,000) a day.

Biggest cost: airfare, representation expenses

A look at the available data shows that the two biggest expenses in trips were usually airfare and representation expenses. Following closely behind were expenses for hotel rooms and “gratuities/tips.”

This was most evident in working or official visits when the host country does not shoulder most of the expenses. 

Rappler’s request for a detailed list of expenses per trip was only partially granted by Malacañang. A list of expenses of only 5 trips was provided – trips to Myanmar, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar.

In the Qatar trip, for instance, airfare cost P59.5 million ($1.19 million), the biggest expense. It was followed by representation expenses of P1.2 million ($24,000). 

In the March Thailand trip, the heaviest expense was airfare at P20.4 million ($408,000), followed by representation expenses at close to P3 million ($60,000). Hotel accommodations were not far behind in 3rd place at about P2.1 million ($42,000).

In all 5 trips, each lasting two to 3 days, expenses for “gratuities/tips” cost around P1 million ($20,000).

In all of Duterte’s trips, the government chartered a 370-seater Philippine Airlines plane. The cost for this is included in the list of expenses. During state visits, this is often shouldered by the host country.

The plane can accommodate all Cabinet officials, some undersecretaries and assistant secretaries, their staff, some close-in photographers, Presidential Security Group personnel, and in some cases, family members (Honeylet Avanceña, Veronica Duterte, and Sebastian Duterte were among the passengers on certain trips).

Large delegation

Duterte’s large delegation contributed to the unusually high costs of his trips.

Malacañang records show that Duterte’s official delegation would number between a low of 14 to a high of 32. The delegation was composed of Cabinet secretaries, undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, and other officials.

List of official delegation members in Duterte's foreign trips:

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This does not include their staff. If each official had 5 staff members, a conservative estimate, the party size would range from 70 to 160. This is much more than the roughly 50 persons Duterte's predecessor Aquino brought with him.

Each delegate was entitled to representation allowance, hence the high figures of this item in the list of expenses. 

Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, for instance, received P24,455.50 ($489.11) in representation allowance for the state visit to China in October, according to data from the PCOO, also requested through the FOI system. He received P25,056.50 ($501.13) for the Singapore trip in December. 

Duterte typically brought around 10 to 20 Cabinet officials to every trip. His official visit to Japan had the highest number of Cabinet officials – 18.

Aside from Cabinet members, Duterte has brought along presidential advisers like Ramon Jacinto and Michael Dino and security chiefs like Philippine National Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa, Armed Forces chief General Eduardo Año, Army chief Lieutenant General Glorioso Miranda, and Philippine Coast Guard Commandant William Melad.

He has also brought along other agency heads. Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) President and former Manila mayor Alfredo Lim was in Japan, as was Bases Conversion and Development Authority chief Vivencio Dizon. Social Security System chairman Amado Valdez was in Peru. Mindanao Development Authority head Datu Abul Khayr Alonto was in Malaysia. 

The Cabinet secretary who has gone to the most number of trips is Special Assistant to the President Bong Go. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez were two other faces often seen in these trips. Based on records, they were present in all but 3 trips – trips to Laos, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

The list of official delegation members from Malacañang excludes other government officials and politicians who were seen in these trips and even introduced by Duterte as part of his delegation.

This included Alan Peter Cayetano who attended most of the trips as senator before he was appointed foreign secretary.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, 3rd District of Bohol Representative Arthur Yap, 1st District of Valenzuela City Representative Wesley Gatchalian, and Kabayan Representative Harry Roque were also part of Duterte’s delegation to the China state visit. Senator Vicente Sotto III joined the delegation in Myanmar. The lawmakers were not on the Malacañang list.

Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos, who was part of the delegation to China and the Middle East countries, was also not on the list.

Expenses of delegation members are usually shouldered by the Philippine government and host country.

Why bring so many?

Duterte’s foreign travel expenses and his large delegation are in contrast to practices of the previous administration but quite similar to that of the Arroyo administration.

In the first few years of the Aquino administration, at least, there were efforts to save and keep the official delegation small. This was to set himself apart from his predecessor Arroyo, heavily criticized for her expensive foreign trips.

Only about 10 Cabinet secretaries joined Aquino during his travels. There was a core group of 7 Cabinet officials who were always present, according to a former Cabinet secretary.

These were the secretaries of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Trade, Cabinet, National Economic Development Authority, Presidential Management Staff, and Presidential Communications Operations Office.

Other secretaries were included if they had to participate in talks or sign agreements. For instance, former defense secretary Voltaire Gazmin attended the 2016 ASEAN-US Summit in California because of defense-related talks. Then environment secretary Ramon Paje joined the 2015 Paris trip to attend the United Nations climate change summit. 

In Duterte’s first year, he too brought certain Cabinet members to sign deals related to their departments. 

But this criteria did not apply to other delegation members. For instance, Duterte campaign contributor Dennis Uy, named Presidential Adviser on Sports, was present at the Japan and China visits. No sports deals were signed during these trips.

Presidential Adviser for the Visayas Michael Dino was also in the China state visit, yet no deals specifically for the Visayas were signed. 

Duterte also typically brings a gaggle of security officials for trips with defense-related talks or deal-signing, but there is no explanation why so many were needed. 

In Singapore, he had with him Lorenzana, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr, Año, Miranda, and Presidential Adviser for Military Affairs Arthur Tabaquero. In Russia, tagging along with him were Lorenzana, Esperon, Año, Dela Rosa, and other senior police officials.

Efforts at saving, transparency

Duterte, who is so fussy about staging grand events and prefers simple ceremonies to large ones, seems to have no aversion to spending a lot on his travels.

While Aquino sometimes took commercial flights, especially during his first years in office, Duterte often took chartered PAL flights for his foreign trips.

Aquino, who had an aversion to long-haul fights, took early-morning commercial flights since these were often cheaper. Duterte, because of his tendency to start his official activities after lunch, almost always took his international flights in the afternoon or late afternoon, when airports tend to be busiest.

There is is no apparent effort from Duterte to draw clear lines on who should be part of his delegation to limit its size.

In contrast, Aquino and Arroyo kept the number of participating Cabinet officials to 10. However, Arroyo brought a large contingent of lawmakers whose expenses were also shouldered by government. Aquino, according to a former Cabinet member, sought to keep a 50-person limit for his party (officials plus staff).

A GMA Online report shows that his party size would occasionally go above the limit by one to 5 persons.

Another difference between the Duterte and Aquino administrations was their level of transparency when it came to foreign travel expenses. 

Aquino, to prove he was nothing like Arroyo, allowed expenses to be made public before and after the trips. The total cost of his travels would be announced during Palace press conferences and media interviews, even before the start of the trip.

For Duterte’s travels, however, only the cost of the first 12 trips (P277 million or about $5.54 million) was announced in public. Rappler’s request for the costs of trips after these first 12 were made through the Freedom of Information system implemented by the government to fulfill Duterte’s FOI executive order.

It took around two months for the information to be sent to Rappler, from the day the letter to the Presidential Management Staff was sent on April 21, to the day the documents could be picked up on June 9.

Benefits

The Palace had previously justified the cost of Duterte’s trips by listing the agreements signed and worth of business deals and aid packages they clinched.

In the China state visit, for instance, Duterte brought home 13 government agreements and P1.2 trillion ($24 billion) in business deals and public financing agreements. His Japan trip supposedly yielded P90 billion ($1.8 billion) in business deals.

These deals come in various levels of commitment. Some are actual agreements, others only Memoranda of Understanding, or Letters of Intent. 

Duterte’s exorbitant spending contradicts his projected image of a thrifty and practical president. 

To bolster this image, he has expressed aversion to grand public events, which is why he had his oath-taking in Malacañang.

In the name of resourcefulness and practicality, he has also promised to convert the presidential plane to an air ambulance for soldiers and sell the presidential yacht to get funds for the improvement of military hospitals. Thus far, nothing new has been announced in relation to these promises.

If anything, his large delegation is a demonstration of another Duterte characteristic: his penchant for going over the top to prove a point or send a message. In this case, the message appears to be his government’s commitment to ensuring the deals signed with other countries are implemented.

Time will tell if Duterte’s foreign trips in his first year will be worth their hefty price tags. – Rappler.com

*US$1 = P50

MANILA, Philippines – At age 72, Arturo Fabular, walks the stretch of Caloocan City to the nearby city of Meycauayan in Bulacan but not as exercise for his personal well-being.  

Every day, he carries with him a box containing around 100 pieces of ice drop candy, as he spends hours traversing the streets of the cities, under the heat of the sun, to sell these cold treats.

“Hindi lang isang oras, dalawang oras iyan eh… Tatawid ako ng mga sapa ganyan… squatter’s area ganun.. bahay-bahay na ganyan, paupahan,” he said, describing his daily routine just to earn a living. (It doesn’t only take one hour, two hours. I’ll cross creeks, reach a squatter’s area, residential areas, rental spaces.) 

It’s already a 12-kilometer stretch to and from his home in Caloocan but Arturo spends the whole day walking just to earn money. 

He gets the ice drops for P7 apiece and sells each for P10. On a good day, he brings home P300 after around 10 hours of work and after paying his supplier. When the ice drops start to melt, he chooses to give them away to kids for a free afternoon treat.  

Like anyone his age, Arturo would prefer spending the rest of his life in the comforts of their home.  

But he knows he’s not privileged to do so because he still needs to earn money for his and his wife’s needs. Both of them are aging and will need care with the passage of time.

Working as an ambulant vendor remains his only choice. Since he resigned from a factory back in the 1970s, Arturo has been in between jobs mostly in construction and selling ice cream on the streets. 

He failed to sustain payments for his monthly premium as a member of the Social Security System (SSS) after leaving the factory. He had to prioritize food and other household needs, he said. (READ: Duterte approves P1,000-SSS pension hike this year)

“Sa akin, kung ako lang, napapagod na ako. Kaya lang, walang magawa eh. Kumbaga sa ano eh obligado ako maghanap-buhay para sa aking pamilya… sa akin naman, eh may hanap-buhay iyong aking anak [at] manugang [pero] ‘di ko na pinag-aanuhan iyon, sa kanila lang, kapos na eh,” he said.

(For me, I’m getting tired. But I can’t do anything about it. I’m obliged to work for my family. My daughter and her husband have work but I don’t want to depend on that because it's not enough for them too.)

Pension for the indigents 

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has a Social Pension Program for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC) that gives P1,500 to poor senior citizens every quarter (P500 monthly). 

Compliant with Republic Act 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act, SPISC provides assistance to senior citizens to “augment [their] daily subsistence and other medical needs.” It aims to reduce incidence of hunger among indigent senior citizens and protect indigent senior citizens from neglect, abuse, and deprivation. (READ: FAST FACTS: What benefits are senior citizens entitled to?)

Indigent senior citizens are those who are frail, sickly or with disability; do not receive pension from state-run pension agencies; and do not have a permanent source of income or financial support from family or relatives. 

There are currently more than 1.3 million elderlies who are enrolled in the program. For 2017, the government has targeted to double the coverage to 2.8 million with a funding of P17.94 billion from last year’s P8.711 billion. 

DSWD Undersecretary Hope Hervilla explained that funding increased from P1 billion since it started in 2011 to P17.9 billion this year because the number of senior citizens increases each year.

Out of the 8 million senior population based on DSWD’s estimates, only 35% are covered by the program. “The 35% are those we identified already as the poorest of the poor,” she said. 

The program has definitely bridged a gap in the social protection system in the country but it too has its lapses. A number one concern would be the pension amount amid the increasing prices of goods. 

The Fabular couple is receiving pension from the program, but only Adelina is enlisted because according to the local government, only one of them can avail of it – despite it being available for each senior citizen.

Although helpful, for Adelina, the P500 monthly government pension hardly suffices for the things they really need, such as proper medication and nutrition. Adelina has had goiter for decades but it has never been treated. Arturo is having major body pains that prevent him from moving and working. 

Hervilla said they are proposing an increase in pension for next year’s budget but it will all depend on the approval by the budget department and the House of Representatives.  

Universal social pension

For the Coalition for the Services of the Elderly (COSE), the classification of beneficiaries is so subjective it might exclude others in need.

“The definition for indigent is very subjective like frail, sickly, no source of income or no support from relatives or families. If we based solely on that, there will be different interpretations in each local government unit so there is a problem with the implementation,” explained COSE Executive Director Emily Beridico.

COSE, the Confederation of Older Persons Associations of the Philippines (COPAP), and other civil society organizations are pushing for the establishment of a universal social pension in the Philippines. The proposal is supported by House Bill 5038 which seeks to grant universal social pension to senior citizens. It was filed by Ako Bicol Representative Rodel Batocabe.  

Its end goal is to cover those who are not part of the SSS and the Government Service Insurance System and the SPISC, particularly those working in the informal sector. The Philippine Statistics Authority estimates that 38% of the labor force are in the informal economy with odd and irregular jobs. (FAST FACTS: What you need to know about PH's informal sector workers) 

“There is a huge incidence of work informality in the Philippines so workers really can’t save for their pension. Another problem is the employers trying to evade the responsibility of paying for the premiums. There is also poverty that the Filipino workers will prioritize over pension,” said Beridico in a mix of Filipino and English. 

A study conducted by COSE with HelpAge International found that providing pension for all could uplift around 3 million Filipinos from poverty. 

It did a simulation using the Annual Poverty Indicators Survey released in 2013 and showed that poverty rates would drop from 25.4% to 22.3% if a P2,000 social pension is provided to all Filipinos.

“Pension reduces the need for children and other family members to provide financial support to older family members. This helps families reallocate expenditure toward other priorities such as children’s education or initiatives to improve livelihoods,” the study said.  

Countries that have implemented a pension-for-all policy have also seen improvements in poverty statistics. The study cited another research noting the 69% decrease in child poverty in Georgia due to a universal pension established in 2006. 

Another case the study cited was in South Africa where girls in households with a senior benefiting from social pension were found to be 3 to 5 cm taller than in other households because of better nutrition. Child labor in Bolivia also went down by half in houses where elders receive pension from government.

Financing universal pension

Fellow member-countries of the Philippines in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei Darussalam – have their own versions of the universal social pension system. 

The study emphasized that other poor countries are reaching close to 100%-coverage for elderly pension. 

From the bar graph above, countries like Bolivia, Samoa, Georgia and Kosovo have around the same Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita such as the Philippines. Bolivia and Samoa are close to 100%-coverage, while Georgia and Kosovo have surpassed the standard.  

Kiribati and Timor-Leste, whose GDP per capita rates are just half of the Philippines’, have already provided a social pension for all their seniors. 

GDP per capita or a country’s total output divided by the number of people is a measure of economic performance and a poverty indicator. 

The Philippines’ 2017 budget is spending a huge portion for social services (40.14%) but pension and universal health care are among what government still needs to work on.  

Based on estimates by the COSE study, government will need P143 billion or 5% of government expenditure and 1% of the GDP to be able to provide a P1,500-pension for all senior citizens.  This amount is almost equal to the P142 billion pension gratuity fund for the retired members of the military, police and courts that only benefits 3% of the aged population.  

A survey conducted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Unescap) found that expanding coverage for social protection is among the schemes that could distribute economic growth and limit inequality.

COSE emphasized that aside from generating revenue for this proposal, it is still ultimately a matter of political will. 

“Whether or not there is fiscal space for a universal social pension will also depend on how much of a political priority it is compared to other expenditures,” said  their study. – Rappler.com 

Barely a year in office, Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial has been caught flip-flopping at least 3 times on key issues involving her agency.

Ubial has yet to get the nod of the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA), which deferred her confirmation, effectively bypassing her. At least 3 oppositions were filed against her, with one complainant, Kabayan Representative Harry Roque, citing her supposed record of "flip-flopping."

Ubial has been caught changing her stance on major health issues, such as the dengue vaccine, the status of the Zika virus in the country, and recently, the number of evacuees who died of health-related causes in Marawi City.

Here are the times Ubial retracted her statements:

On dengue vaccine

Prior to heading the Department of Health (DOH), Ubial was assistant secretary when the P3.5-billion dengue vaccine program was approved during the Aquino administration.

On July 18, 2016, the newly appointed DOH chief Ubial signed a resolution recommending the deferment of the program, saying the vaccines are not proven safe.

She also earlier told the House of Representatives panel deliberating the 2017 budget that "a panel of experts convened by the DOH revealed the dengue vaccine has potential health risks."

But on September 28, 2016, she issued a Certificate of Exemption for the vaccine, Dengvaxia, so it could still be used despite her earlier flagging of certain issues.

Roque questioned this: "Ang tanong ko, may red flag ka na pala, bakit noong Secretary ka na noong September 2016, nagbigay ka pa rin ng Certificate of Exemption sa dengue vaccine? Atras abante siya." (My question is: You already had red flags. Why did you issue a Certificate of Exemption in September 2016? You're moving back and forth.)

When confronted during a House hearing, Ubial apologized and said she had "forgotten" about the July resolution.

Ubial also defended her issuance of a certification, saying she consulted with "experts," as she had no expertise on dengue vaccines.

"I deferred to the wisdom and the decision of the experts that recommend to me the action to be taken because I admitted that I am not an expert on the dengue vaccine. So, 'yun po nangyari na (that's what happened), every time we move forward in this initiative, we convene an expert panel so that based on the scientific and logical thinking of scientists and experts [we decided] what would be the next step to take in moving forward the dengue vaccination program," she earlier said.

The health department is already administering the 2nd of the 3 doses of the dengue vaccine to around 489,000 public school students (at least 9 years old) in Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and the National Capital Region.

But Ubial, on May 5, said they would again stop the dengue vaccination program after the 3rd and final round of injections is administered, saying they have to wait for the results of the pilot testing.

Roque questioned this: "Kung ito ay delikado sa kalusugan, dapat tinigil no matter what. Pero hindi pupuwede 'yung minsan tuloy, minsan tigil. Ang nagiging epekto nito, natatakot ang taumbayan sa lahat ng forms ng vaccines, hindi lang sa dengue, kasi nga naman 'yung Secretary of Health, hindi maintindihan kung tuloy or hindi tuloy."

(If this is dangerous to people's health, this should have been stopped no matter what. It can't be that it'll push through, then it'll be stopped. The effect of this is the public gets scared of all forms of vaccines, not just the one for dengue, because the Secretary of Health is unsure if it will continue or not.)

On Zika virus

On September 2, Ubial, in a press conference, declared that the Philippines was Zika-free, as there is no local transmission of the virus.

"Wala po tayong local transmission. Ibig sabihin, wala pong umiikot dito sa Pilipinas na nakuha 'yung virus galing sa isang taong galing sa endemic countries (We don't have local transmission. It means there is no Zika virus circulating in the Philippines that came from a person who came from endemic countries)," said Ubial.

She added that the 5 cases recorded at the time were "imported" or obtained from other nations.

But in May 2016, when Ubial was just assistant secretary, the DOH already reported that the virus exists in the country. A disease or condition is endemic when it is regularly found among particular people or in a certain area.

The DOH under former secretary Janette Garin already pointed out that the 5th case, a 39-year-old Korean man, was apparently infected during a visit to the Philippines.

"What is important is that all the patients who contracted Zika virus in the Philippines did not have any complications and that agaran silang na-identify at agaran ding nakita na 'di naman kumakalat ang virus at walang buntis na nagkaroon ng complication (they were immediately identified and we immediately determined that the virus is not spreading and no pregnant woman suffered complications)," Garin said in May, as quoted by SunStar.

On September 5, a few days after Ubial's pronouncement that there was no local transmission, Health Undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo, Health Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag, and the World Health Organization confirmed the 6th case of Zika in the country and said it was transmitted locally.

On September 26 and 27, in a press conference and in an interview with ANC respectively, Ubial changed her tune and said there were indeed "local transmissions." She also said this in a House hearing in October.

"We do not recommend travel ban to affected areas since Zika and the mosquito that carries it is actually endemic in the Philippines – it's found all over the country," Ubial said on September 26.

"International travel actually has nothing to do with actual spread of the case because many of the cases are discovered that there is no history of travel, international. What we're saying, particularly in the Philippines, there is local transmission," she said on September 27.

In response to Roque's CA opposition, Ubial said there was a "time lag" from the infection and the manifestation of symptoms to the confirmation.

"We fully understand that there is a time lag between virus infection and the symptoms, the symptoms and the confirmatory tests, and the tests and reporting. The situation for reporting Zika virus infections change from day to day depending on the updates and reports submitted by RITM (Research Institute for Tropical Medicine)," she said.

"Endemicity was established a few days later after the press conference when the Secretary of Health declared that the Philippines was still Zika-free," Ubial added.

But Roque pointed out: "How could Dr Ubial not know about these when at that time, she was an Assistant Secretary at the DOH? Amazingly, she apparently did not get the Zika virus memo about its being endemic to the country."

On deaths in Marawi evacuation centers

The secretary's most recent retraction of statement occurred in June 2017.

At a forum in Legazpi City, Albay on June 15, Ubial said 40 people from Marawi City, who were not in evacuation centers, died of dehydration, while 19 died in evacuation centers, where their existing health conditions were aggravated.

Ubial, as quoted in a statement posted by Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo, singled out Rappler for "totally and intentionally" giving the "wrong numbers" in our report titled, "59 Marawi evacuees die of health-related causes – Ubial."

The same numbers and direct quotes were also used by the Inquirer, the Manila Times, and government-run Philippine News Agency (PNA). But the PNA took down its post.

Ubial said she reviewed the video recording and claimed she "clearly said" there were "no deaths in evacuation centers."

The Philippine Star, on June 16, published a report that quoted Kadil Sinolinding Jr, the health chief of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), who cited a higher number of persons dying in evacuation centers – 39 people against Ubial's 19. Sinolinding said only 19 of the cases had been properly documented.

Here is the transcript of part of the press conference held at the DOH's Bicol office during the launching of ASEAN Dengue Day 2017 on June 15:

Reporter: Ano na po ang update sa health situation ng evacuation centers sa Lanao, Lanao del Sur following the Marawi crisis? Can we get some profile, picture kung out of the how many evacuees, ano po ang health concern ang ina-address ng DOH? At tsaka ano'ng concern ang dapat, ano, bigyan ng pansin sa, doon sa evacuation centers? Then may balita rin po na meron na raw mga casualties na mga bata? Baka meron na po kayong report niyan? Casualties ng diarrhea and pneumonia? Ano'ng safety of the water supply?

Ubial: As of June 14, meron na pong na-established na 68 evacuation centers in many areas of Iligan, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Oriental, particularly in Cagayan de Oro and in Lanao del Sur. Pinakamarami po sa Lanao del Sur, and of the 68 evacuation centers, we are monitoring around 20,627 persons or 4,244 families in the evacuation centers. Pero ang karamihan po ng mga bakwit po natin are outside evacuation centers. There's about 218,551 evacuees from Marawi in different areas of Lanao del Norte, Iligan City, Misamis Oriental, and Lanao del Sur.

So, 'yung nare-report po sa atin araw-araw is from the evacuation centers. Meron po kaming mga datos diyan. And the, as of June 14, meron po tayong 19 deaths. Ah, ito po ay hindi naman dahil sa shall we say crisis o natamaan sila ng bala o naputukan sila. Ito po 'yung mga pasyenteng dati nang may sakit, pagdating sa evacuation center medyo lumala, may mga dina-dialysis, may alam po akong namatay na may cancer, dinala po sa ospital, ginamot, namatay, 19 po 'yun.

Ngayon, 'yung, may mga reports rin po sa evacuation centers na tumataas 'yung mga kaso ng acute gastroenteritis, upper respiratory tract infection, mga skin diseases. 'Yan pong pagtaas po ng mga kasong ganyan ay expected po natin because of the crowding and because of the situation in evacuation centers.

Pero, sa datos po namin, bumababa naman po siya, hindi po siya tumataas. From May 24 up to June 2, pataas po siya. From June 2 up to now, June 14, pababa na po 'yung mga diarrheal cases, skin diseases, at tsaka mga upper respiratory tract infections.

So, nabibigyan naman po natin ng mga assistance ang lahat ng taong nasa evacuation centers. Ang problema po namin 'yung wala sa evacuation centers, which are siguro 180,000 po sila. Kasi 20,000 lang 'yung nasa evacuation centers. 'Yun po, sa evacuation centers araw-araw nakikita po ng mga duktor natin, may mga tinalaga tayong mga health workers sa 68 evacuation centers. Ang problema po may mga bakwit na hindi po namin nakikita araw-araw. So, meron nga po akong report na may apatnapung (40) namatay ng dehydration pero ito po ay hindi po sa evacuation centers nangyari.

So 'yun lang po ang situation natin ngayon sa Marawi at sa Lanao del Sur na parang, sinusuyod na rin po namin 'yung community but I don't think we can cover the 180,000. Ah, in the meantime, pero pinapanawagan nga po namin sa radyo, sa mga barangay captains na kung maaari po na kung may mga nagkakasakit sa mga bahay-bahay eh talagang i-refer na sa ating mga health centers, sa ating mga ospital sa lugar, kasi nagdagdag po tayo ng mga tao.

'Yung mga health center doon sa Lanao del Sur at saka sa Iligan dinagdagan po natin ng tao 'yung mga ospital, dinagdagan natin ng tao, kasi alam po natin na dadami 'yung mga may sakit. Pero kung hindi po sila pumunta sa'min hindi po namin sila matutulungan, 'yun po 'yung situwasyon.

Reporter: Ma'am, do'n sa evacuees that are suffering from gastro, upper respiratory, and skin diseases, ilan po ba ang mga bata, ilan po ba ang matatanda? Anyway kung meron data (pause), pero kung meron sana ngayon na para magawa na.

Ubial: We can send to ah… Meron kasing makapal na datos 'yun. Pero ito na po 'yung... pinakadatos po natin. There are, total of, 'yung sa mga hospitals po na galing sa mga na-refer from evacuation centers, araw-araw po mino-monitor natin 'yan.

But as of June 14, we have 1,290 patients referred to hospitals of which 178 were admitted and 467 were given treatment on outpatient basis. The others were sent to home, without treatment 'yun. Lahat po ng binibigay nating gamot libre. Kung ia-admit po 'yung pasyente, 178 inadmit, libre po lahat 'yun, okay. And the, PhilHealth also is working with us, ah no-balance billing po lahat ng pasyente and pay all.

Ibig sabihin ng pay all babayaran ng PhilHealth lahat po ng mga pasyente galing sa Marawi at Lanao del Sur, hindi po nila kailangan mag-produce ng birth certificate, ng ID, or whatever. Basta pasyente galing do'n sa area babayaran po ng PhilHealth.

Moderator: Thank you so much, madame secretary.

Reporter: Ma'am, out of 1,290 patients po, ilang mga bata, siguro ilan?

Moderator: Sir, supply na lang po natin 'yung data after, 'pag nagkaroon po ng (inaudible) data.

Ubial: Supply na lang iyong data.

– with a report from Rhaydz B. Barcia / Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) is set to interview candidates for the post to be vacated by Supreme Court (SC) Justice Bienvenido Reyes, who is set to retire on July 6. 

The JBC is tasked to vet the applicants and submit a shortlist to President Rodrigo Duterte.

Here’s a quick profile of the 12 candidates who will face the public interviews on Monday, June 19.

Jose Midas P. Marquez

• Current SC court administrator
• Former chief, SC public information office
• Nominated by the Philippine Judges Association
• Earned BA Economics degree in 1987, and Juris Doctor degree in 1993 from the Ateneo de Manila University. Admitted to the Bar in 1994.
• Started career in SC in 1991 as a summer apprentice doing legal research in office of one associate justice while still a student, then became regular law clerk of several SC justices

Apolinario D. Bruselas Jr

• Court of Appeals justice and chairperson, 13th Division
• Law degree from the University of the Philippines
• Prior to his appointment to the CA in 2005, he used to work at the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Quezon City regional trial court
• He was nominated in 2013 as candidate for the Sandiganbayan presiding justice vacancy, but lost to Amparo Cabotaje-Tang
• Previously shortlisted for a vacancy in the Supreme Court thrice – in 2011, 2014, and 2016
• Earned an award for Judicial Excellence in 2003

Rosmari D. Carandang

• Court of Appeals justice and chairperson, 3rd Division
• Law degree from the University of the Philippines
• Placed 9th in the 1975 Bar examination
• Was nominated for a vacancy in the Supreme Court 4 times – in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2016 – but lost on all occasions
• Previously served as a Manila regional trial court judge
• Became a subject of a complaint in 2008 and was alleged to have asked for money before she ruled in favor of the complainant in a case

Stephen C. Cruz

• Court of Appeals justice and senior member, 4th Division
• Law degree from Ateneo Law School
• Previously served as a presidential staff legal officer and lawyer for various major corporations
• Before his appointment to the CA in 2006, he was presiding judge of the Lucena City Branch 60 regional trial court
• Earned the Quezon Gintong Medalya Ng Karangalan in 2008
• Penned the 2015 resolution that asked Senator Antonio Trillanes IV to comment on the contempt charge filed by ousted Makati mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr

Ramon M. Bato, Jr.

• Court of Appeals justice and chairperson, 11th Division
• Law degree from Silliman University
• Before his appointment to the CA in 2004, he was a court attorney at the SC, a municipal trial court judge in Imus, Cavite; and a regional trial court judge in Dumaguete City
• Co-founded and organized the Supreme Court Assembly of Lawyer-Employees and was elected its first Vice-President and later president in 1991
• Became a subject of a complaint in 2008, where he was accused of "illegal, scandalous and anomalous" conduct in handling a case. The SC dismissed the complaint.
• Wrote the decision dismissing the double murder case against then-police chief Panfilo Lacson over the 2000 killings Dacer-Corbito killings
• Applied for SC post in 2011, but was unsuccessful

Andres B. Reyes Jr. 

• Court of Appeals presiding justice and chairperson, 1st Division
• Law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University
• Also holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the Philippine Women's University
• After law school, he worked at the Office of the Ombudsman
• Appointed judge of Metropolitan Trial Court in Makati in 1987, and judge of Metropolitan Trial Court in San Mateo, Rizal in 1990
• Appointed as CA associate justice in 1999, and promoted to presiding justice in 2010
• Was nominated for a vacancy in the SC in 2014 and 2016, but lost
• Grandson of former SC justice Alex Reyes, and son of former CA presiding justice Andres Reyes Sr

Jose C. Reyes Jr.

• Court of Appeals justice and chairperson, 4th Division
• Law degree from San Beda College
• Appointed to the CA in 2003
• Before CA, he worked as a Metropolitan Trial Court judge in Pasig and Regional Trial Court judge in Rizal
• Was a candidate for a vacancy in the SC in 2012, 2014, and 2016, but lost on all occasions
• Accused by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV of accepting a bribe just to stop the suspension of former Makati City mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr

Ramon Paul L. Hernando

• Court of Appeals justice and junior member, 3rd Division
• Law degree from San Beda College of Law
• Before his appointment to the CA in 2010, he was a trial court judge for nearly 7 years
• Previously served as a state prosecutor with the Department of Justice for 5 years
• Taught commercial law, civil law, and remedial law in several law schools
• Applied for a vacancy in the SC in 2014 

Four other candidates are also vying for the post, but they will no longer be interviewed as their previous interviews are still valid:  

Rowena M. Apao-Adlawan

• Pasig regional trial court judge
• Previously served as Davao Regional Trial Court Branch 13 judge
• Was interviewed in November 2016 for the post to be vacated by retired SC justice Jose Perez

Japar B. Dimaampao

• Court of Appeals justice and chairperson, 7th Division
• Law degree from University of the East College of Law
• Law professor specializing in commercial law and taxation
• Applied for SC post in 2016, and during his interviews, he vowed to enrich jurisprudence on sharia laws

Amy C. Lazaro-Javier

• Court of Appeals justice and senior member, 8th Division
• Law degree from University of Sto Tomas
• Joined the Office of the Solicitor General in 1983 as trial attorney, and later became Assistant Solicitor General in 1994
• Appointed to the CA in 2007

Rita Linda S. Ventura-Jimeno

• Vice dean of Centro Escolar University law school
• Law degree from University of the Philippines
• Managing partner of Jimeno Cope & David Law Offices
• Specializes in family law and is an arbitrator and a Supreme Court-accredited mediator
• Was the first Filipino to be elected as director in the International Criminal Bar
• Was the second female president of the Philippine Bar Association

After appointing Reyes' replacement, Duterte is also set to appoint another SC justice soon to replace Justice Jose Mendoza, who will retire on August 13.

The President will also get to appoint 8 more justices within his term. – with earlier reports from Rey Santos Jr and Jee Geronimo / Rappler.com

MARAWI CITY, Philippines – Block by block. House by house. Floor by floor.

The battle-tested Philippine Marines manuevered their way past Mapandi bridge in Barangay Lilod Madaya on June 9, 2017 – clearing one house and building after another until the ground suddenly shook. Molotov cocktails flew in their direction, setting troop positions on fire.

The Marines ran for safety, away from the burning houses, only to face mortar rounds fired by terrorists atop buildings. A ferocious 14-hour close quarter battle followed, killing 13 Marines on that bloody Friday.

The battle came 3 days before the government missed another self-imposed deadline to end the crisis that began on May 23. It also happened days after 11 soldiers were killed in a military airstrike gone wrong.

These incidents underscore the challenges that soldiers face in the battlefield.

Used to fighting enemies in the jungle, they found themselves drawn to urban warfare here, where young, well-armed radicals hide in multi-floored residences and establishments – sniping at will and outpacing military units not as familiar with the terrain as the terrorists are.

5th week of battle

On Monday, fighting continued to rage in 4 of the city's 96 villages. The military says soldiers are still hunting for a hundred terrorists who are holding about a hundred hostagesincluding a Catholic priest.

The combined forces of the Marawi-based Maute Group and a faction of the Abu Sayyaf Group, bound by their allegiance to the international terrorist network Islamic State (ISIS), brought the war to a once-bustling city that served as the trading center of the Lanao provinces. (READ: Marawi under siege: It's like 'looking at Aleppo)

Major General Rolando Bautista, commander of the military's 1st infantry division that has jurisdiction over the Lanao provinces, said the troops were not prepared for the sniping skills of the enemy. “One sniper can paralyze the movement of a whole company, even a battalion,” he said.

Military tanks can only do so much, because the terrorists are armed with .50 caliber machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades that can pierce through metal.

Thus the tactical move to resort to airstrikes, which has caused much tension between the military and residents. "Natatakot ako sa kanila dahil wala naman pinipili 'yan eh. Ang mga targets nila is panay guesswork nila 'yun eh," said Bishop Edwin Dela Peña (Those airstrikes are not targetted, they're more guesswork). One of Dela Peña's parish priests, Father Teresito Soganub, was taken by the terrorists along with a number of church staff.

Day 1: Clash at Basak Malutlut

The clashes started at Barangay Basak Malutlut on May 23. The military raided a safe house where Isnilon Hapilon was reportedly spotted. The so-called "emir" or prince of ISIS in Southeast Asia had long been the subject of a government manhunt.

Hapilon was monitored to have left his lair in Basilan in December 2016 to join the Maute in nearby Butig, where the military was fighting the terrorists before they slipped into Marawi. (WATCH: PH flag replaces ISIS black banner at Butig town hall)

Hapilon was able to escape the May 23 raid. And what followed surprised the military. (READ: How a military raid triggered Marawi attacks)

Supporters rushed out into the streets, many waving ISIS black flags.

They seized the Amai Pakpak Medical Center, where they raised the black flag and killed a cop. (READ: He watched Maute Group kill a cop, then he escaped)

They attacked the Cathedral of Saint Mary and used a priest to reach out to the military to demand a ceasefire and allow them escape. (WATCH: A prayer for Marawi's hostaged priest)

They burned the Dansalan College, a school the Maute children used to attend, and also took its teachers hostages. They released a hundred prisoners at the Marawi City Jail.

They tried to take the city hall, too, and raise the black flag there. But Mayor Majul Gandamra stood his ground for 4 days.

"'Yung mga exhange of fires, dito naka-focus kasi yung grupo nila dito sila nag-converge kasi ang plano talaga pasukin ang City Hall. It was very fortunate [that I kept ] my focus and stayed here," Gandamra told Rappler in an interview at the City Hall on June 12. (READ: Tearful flag-raising in Marawi as PH celebrates Independence Day)

The mayor was armed to the teeth. "Mga kasamahang pamilya lang natin.... Hindi yung dami namin e. 'Yung will to fight. Kung sakaling pinasok kami talagang we will defend the city hall (I had my family with me... It's not the number of [armed men]... It's the will to fight. If they really push to take our position, we will defend the City Hall)," Gandamra said.

The terrorists also harassed the headquarters of the 103^rd Brigade and the provincial capitol, located less than 2 road kilometers northwest of the city hall.

Bautista told Rappler the escalation of events confirmed intelligence information that the terrorist groups were planning to attack Marawi and establish a caliphate in this city with 90% Muslim population. According to the military, the terrorists were acting upon the instructions of ISIS leaders in the Middle East who want a refuge in Southeast Asia for their fighters, as ISIS continues to lose territory in the Middle East.

A video of Hapilon and the Maute Brothers planning an attack on the first day of Ramadan was also recovered at a safe house. (READ: AFP chief Año details aborted Maute-ISIS 'grand plan' in Marawi)

"What others termed to be a ‘botched raid’ turned out to be an ‘abortive raid’ that prevented what could have been carnage of an Islamic City in two weeks yet... This explains why at the time of the raid, the terrorist group was able to pull out–almost instantaneously and simultaneously–counter actions in various locations in the city to distract the focus of the raid," the military said on May 29. 

Day 2: More troops, but enemy consolidates

On Day 2, the military brought in more troops from various parts of the country.

Instead of retreating, the terrorists consolidated in Banggolo, the financial district a few hundred meters southwest of the city hall, and nearby villages where the tallest and most fortified buildings are located.

They had ready supply of guns and ammunition, the city being notorious for loose firearms and heavily-armed clans. Escapees spoke of instances when the terrorists would simply knock on houses to ask for guns and bullets.

"Hindi lahat ng na-recover na armas ay sa Maute. 'Yung iba sa mga bahay talaga 'yun (Not all the firearms recovered belong to the Maute Group. Many of them were just found in the houses)," said a resident. 

It's the worst terrain for conventional warfare.

To clear streets of terrorists, soldiers ended up boring holes into walls using sledgehammers.

There's one war in recent history that comes close to comparison: the siege of Zamboanga City in September 2013 under the Aquino government by the followers of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founder Nur Misuari.

Worse than Zamboanga

In Zamboanga, the enemies sailed from various parts of Mindanao and landed on 5 coastal villages where they were eventually contained. In Marawi, the enemies attacked various parts of city. And they were mostly residents themselves who grew up here.

In Zamboanga, the houses occupied by enemies were mostly made of light materials. Here, the terrorists occupied its financial district, Banggolo, where the houses are made of hardened concrete. Even airstrikes could not demolishing them. 

"In the Zamboanga siege, we were clearing houses built with light materials. Here, we are clearing hardened buildings. There are even tunnels," said Western Mindanao Command chief Lieutenant General Carlito Galvez.

The siege of Zamboanga City in 2013 lasted 3 weeks, killing 19 government forces and 208 rebels, and dislocating 24,000 families.

In Marawi, 62 government forces have been killed as of June 18. This is already 3 times more than the deaths in Zamboanga. Up to 257 terrorists have been reported killed and almost all of the city’s 200,000 have been evacuated.

And it's not over yet.

The military has a specific unit that is trained to fight in urban areas, the US-trained Light Reaction Regiment (LRR), which was created in 2001 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in America.

The elite unit is trained to either become an assaulter or a sniper –  skills necessary in urban combat, hostage rescue, and neutralization of high-value targets. The military added more troops to the unit in 2014, but it's not enough for a large-scale operation such as this.

The Scout Rangers and the Marines are here to provide more muscle, but many of them had just been from months of deployment in Bohol and Sulu.

Even the Americans, despite the President's loathing toward US assistance, were seen openly operating drones here. On June 6, the military admitted the US has been providing technical assistance, as the US P3 Orion was seen flying low on the day the Marines were killed.

A week after: Dead bodies retrieved

The war had no frontline to speak of during the first week. Journalists who were inside the brigade headquarters for a media briefing on Day 3 of the crisis witnessed how the camp was harassed. 

“We prioritize large numbers of terror groups. But we are at risk with small groups who are positioned in tactical areas. Most often than not, their task is to conduct sniping operations,” Bautista said.

On Day 7, the local government started retrieving dead bodies on Basak Malutlut. It spurred hope that humanitarian work will already commence.

But enemy snipers were strategically positioned to defend the bridges that serve as the gateway to Banggolo. It would take days of airstrikes and troop advances before the military took control and pushed the terrorists to the other side of Agus River. 

To this day, humanitarian workers could not cross the bridge because of the threat of enemy snipers. Rescue and retrieval are practically at a standstill.

But as hunger becomes a problem among trapped residents, local government officials have encouraged them to risk the snipers. “Either they die inside the house or they die trying to get out,” said Zia Alonto Adiong, spokesman of the provincial Crisis Management Committee.

Stray bullets from supposed sympathizers continue to reach the capitol, the city hall, and the headquarters.

A 14-year-old boy praying at a mosque was killed near the brigade headquarters while an Australian journalist survived a bullet that hit his neck while taking a video from inside the provincial capitol.

When will it end?

Outside the battle zone, authorities are running after the alleged leaders and plotters of the siege.

The parents of the Maute brothers have been arrested, and officials hope this would help weaken the group. The Maute brothers themselves have apparently been on "radio silence" mode, military sources said.

Will their continued radio silence finally lead to the silencing of the guns in the city? The trapped residents have no other wish for now. – Rappler.com 

President Rodrigo Duterte wanted Filipinos to observe 4 days of mourning for the soldiers and police who died in Marawi clashes. Problem is, the Palace released his proclamation 4 days late. 

Proclamation No 232, signed by Duterte on June 13, designated June 13 to 16, 2017 as “days of national mourning” when all government offices, public and private schools, and military posts are to fly the Philippine flag at half-mast. 

But the document was released by Malacañang only on Tuesday, June 20, 4 days after the public was supposed to be in mourning. Duterte was out of the public eye for 5 days from June 12 to June 16 and resurfaced only on June 17 in Agusan del Norte. He only said he needed to rest.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">LOOK: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PresidentDuterte?src=hash">#PresidentDuterte</a> declared June 13-16, 2017 as days of national mourning for the deaths of soldiers who died in Marawi clashes. <a href="https://t.co/X9v7uCjbCT">pic.twitter.com/X9v7uCjbCT</a></p>&mdash; Pia Ranada (@piaranada) <a href="https://twitter.com/piaranada/status/877079820756164608">June 20, 2017</a></blockquote>
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It’s unclear now what the Palace expects the public to do given the late announcement, for which no explanation was given.

However, many government offices were already flying the Philippine flag at half-mast after June 12, Independence Day, when the government commemorated through a noontime salute the heroism of soldiers and policemen who fell in Marawi.

The names and photos of 58 soldiers and police were flashed on television channels and read out on radio that day.

“These deaths constitute a great tragedy to our nation, and during this time of grief, a most solemn and respectful commemoration of the heroic acts of our soldiers and law enforcers is called for,” reads the proclamation.

Duterte has spent the weeks following his martial law declaration visiting military camps in Mindanao. To soldiers wounded in Marawi clashes, he has given medals, cash gifts, guns, and cellular phones. 

June 20 is the 29th day of the crisis and of the martial law proclamation. – Rappler.com

Vice President Leni Robredo squeezed in mother duties after a speaking engagement in Los Angeles, as she flew to Massachusetts to check on her eldest daughter, Aika.

Robredo posted photos of her and Aika, who is an incoming graduate student of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government as an Edward S. Mason fellow.

"I had a speaking engagement in LA during the weekend and decided to fly to Boston right after to help Aika settle in. It was a very hectic two days for both of us as we fixed and cleaned her apartment inside the campus," the Vice President wrote in her public Facebook post.

"Except for a meeting with United Way Foundation this afternoon to explore a possible partnership with our Angat Buhay program, I was a full-time mother once again," she added. 

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Prior to her Boston side trip, the Vice President attended the Filipino American Symphony Orchestra (FASO) Gala 2017, where she delivered a speech. The trip was sponsored by the group that hosted her.

Robredo went to the US unannounced last Thursday, June 15. Her trip coincided with the time President Rodrigo Duterte stayed out of the public eye for 5 days.

Some of Robredo's critics have questioned the timing of her trip. So far, the Office of the Vice President has not issued a statement responding to critics.

Robredo is scheduled to return to Manila on Thursday, June 22.

In her first year in office, the Vice President has visited the US twice. First was a trip to Pennsylvania in July 2016 to visit the Filipino community there. Second was a family gathering for the holidays that coincided with a destructive typhoon that affected her hometown in Camarines Sur. 

Her online critics spread malicious rumors, claiming Robredo met with philanthropist Loida Nicolas Lewis to allegedly plot the destabilization of the Duterte administration. Robredo has since denied this. – Rappler.com 

Lawmakers don't want to know the "truth" about his health, they just want to hear that he's dying.

This is what a cynical President Rodrigo Duterte had to say about calls from lawmakers that he disclose the state of his health as mandated by the Constitution.

Duterte made mention of one of his fiercest critics in Congress, Senator Leila de Lima, as one such person who would no doubt be pleased if he was terminally ill. (READ: De Lima in jail: 'I never imagined Duterte would be this vindictive')

“De Lima is only interested to hear my dying or death. She does not care if I live,” said the President on Tuesday, June 21, during an interview with reporters in Cagayan de Oro.

“Ang hinihintay lang niyan sabihin na namatay na si Duterte. Mag-ambak-ambak 'yan doon sa selda niya,” he added. (She is just waiting to hear, "Duterte is dead." She’ll probably be jumping in her cell.)

De Lima is detained at Camp Crame following her arrest over drug charges filed by the Department of Justice. The charges were the result of investigations prompted by Duterte's accusation that the senator facilitated illegal drug trade in the national penitentiary when she was justice secretary.

Duterte also addressed another Liberal Party lawmaker, Senator Francis Pangilinan, who had said the “public deserves to know” if the President has a health condition preventing him from fulfilling his duties.

“Si Pangilinan also. What, they really care if I die today or tomorrow? If I get sick or tired? Your only interest is to know where I am and whether or not I am dying or dead,” said Duterte.

He disagreed with Pangilinan that he should disclose all his health issues.

“Hindi ako bilib na concerned ka sa akin (I don’t believe you’re concerned about me), Kiko. I should not bare all,” said the President. 

He again claimed one reason he was out of the public eye for 5 days was to travel “incognito” to “talk with somebody.”

“I have my reasons in travelling incognito kasi I wanted to talk to people, maka-travel ako as – ah, hindi halata sa media, ganoon. Tatlo lang, apat, including the driver,” he said. (I wanted to travel in a way that media won’t notice. We were just 3, 4, including the driver.) 

He refused to give media more details about his secret trip. 

Speculations about the 72-year-old President’s health arose during the 5 days he was not seen attending official events or activities, from June 12 to 16. On Thursday or the 4th day he was out of the public eye, Malacañang released photos of him in Bahay Pangarap signing documents. 

Duterte’s 5-day absence began when he skipped Independence Day rites in Luneta because he was “not feeling well.” The Palace, however, assured the public that Duterte was in “excellent health.”

The 1987 Constitution (Article 7, Section XII) states that in case of serious illness of the President, the public shall be informed of the state of his health. – Rappler.com

The gunman did not run. He strolled past the pink tables of the Tao Yuan Restaurant at 11 minutes past midnight of Friday, June 2. He was a tall man, big and broad. Some say he was 6 feet tall, others say a little less. There was a mask over his face and an ammunition vest slung over his shoulders. He walked by a metal detector carrying a Bushmaster M4 carbine, a .380-millimeter revolver, and a backpack with the bottles of gasoline he bought off the Sea Oil station across his house.

There were 12,142 souls inside Resorts World Manila that night, scattered under the unblinking eyes of 3,000 cameras, whose feeds beamed straight into the 11 consoles sitting at the 2nd floor CCTV room. There were 52 internal security men who manned the casinos, while another security team patrolled the perimeter, armed with 6 AK-47s, two M4 rifles and a pair of shotguns.

The gunman ignored the security guard who gave chase. He walked all the way to the Prosperity Lounge without breaking his stride, and shot into the air as patrons went running. There was a rhythm to his movements: backpack, bottle, gasoline, lighter, fire, over and over, in room after room. Gunfire exploded from the 300-round bandolier of ammunition he left at a casino table. Slot machines and padded chairs erupted into flames. 

He did not run when he shot the locks off the door of the chip bank and took out a stack of chips, one, two, 13 times, tucking them all into his bag before fastening the flap over the opening. He did not run when the security men shot him in a stairwell, or when he limped up to the 5th floor of Maxim’s Hotel.

There were many theories put forward in the next two days. The Speaker of the House called the gunman “a lone-wolf terrorist.” International papers called him an "English-speaking gunman." Terror group ISIS celebrated the number of "Christians killed or wounded" and announced that the attack was carried out by "Islamic State fighters.” The Bureau of Fire Protection said the gunman was “a longtime guest” of the casino’s hotel. Some, including the gunman’s neighbors from Santa Cruz, Manila, thought he was an Abu Sayyaff bandit. The gunman’s own cousin, watching the news from home, thought the man in the mask was “some foreigner” who had managed to find his way in. 

There are many places to begin this story, but every beginning ends the same way: inside a hotel room, high above a city, the man on the bed burnt and dead with a bullet in his skull and a rifle on his chest. 

THE NEIGHBOR

For the people of Village 339, the story begins along Felix Huertas Street, almost 10 years ago, when Mr and Mrs Jessie Carlos moved into the two-story house at the corner of San Lazaro Street. 

The Carloses were pleasant people. Jessie was a big man, tall and broad and “very good-looking.” He was the sort of neighbor who never refused young Nico when he knocked at number 1663 for a donation to help the local basketball team. His wife Jen didn’t socialize much, but she took the trouble to send a Christmas gift – a tumbler, a T-shirt, and a calendar – to the homeless man living on a couch beside their house. They lived in a village where children popped into each other’s houses and pickup basketball games were played in the summer twilight. It was by no means a quiet place, but it was a safe neighborhood, the houses still maintaining the wooden sidings and iron railings of old Manila. The knife-edge of Tondo might curve around the 4 blocks of Village 340, but its 3,000-strong population of office clerks and businessmen and seamstresses and vendors were involved in nothing more menacing than the occasional horse race betting down an alley.

They were a quiet couple, by and large. Boss Jessie, as the neighbors knew him, might cross the street for a pack of cigarettes, but he wasn’t the sort to sit down on a plastic chair to shoot the breeze over a bottle of beer. He would open the front door, walk to his car, slip his gun under the backseat, and maybe nod his head at whoever called out a greeting.

The Carloses had 3 children – a girl and two boys. They went to private school and had private tutors and a driver named Ben who was always there at 6 in the morning. Sometimes, said Ben, there were birthdays at a resort in Bulacan, or family dinners at the Seaside Restaurant in Baclaran. There was also a rotating series of cars – the Hyundai Starex that was traded for the Mitsubishi L300, the Montero Sport that replaced the red Toyota Innova, just before Jessie came home with his favorite, the Ford Ranger Wildtrak pickup.

Nobody was very sure how Jessie Carlos made his living. The village chairman said Jessie supplied lighting to the public market. The tricycle driver parked across the street said Jessie ran a cock-breeding farm. Some of the neighbors thought he maybe worked for the government, because there was a sticker pasted years ago to the windshield of his car. Jen Carlos set up a pre-school in front of their house, although as far as anyone knew, it serviced only a single student, if at all, in the 3 years since the fading signs were put up.

There had never been many visitors at Number 1663, with the exception of Jessie’s parents, who, more and more in the last few months, turned away after discovering the doorbell received no response. The shiny cars began disappearing. There was word the couple wanted to sell the property. Ben, who had driven the children back and forth to school for 9 years, left in early May and never came back. “They stopped calling me to work every day,” Ben said, “and I needed to make a living.”

It all came to a head on June 3, when the cops came marching in. The street had been blocked off for 3 days for the Feast of the Holy Spirit. Streamers were hung, and everyone with the nerve to try were invited to strut down the makeshift stage in swimming trunks and bikinis. The police began asking the residents questions. They had a folder with pictures of a gunman dressed in black.

The chairman told the police it maybe looked like Boss Jessie – “But I thought no, he wasn’t that sort of person.”

It was only after the news appeared on television the next day that everyone discovered Boss Jessie had a secret.

“He was a nice man,” said his neighbor Susan. “His wife was a bit of a snob, but he was really nice.”

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<p class="caption"><span class="caption-title">Clockwise</span>(1) Fernando Carlos (second from left), Teodora Carlos, NCRPO Chief Oscar Albayalde, Jen Carlos. (2) The current Carlos home in Tondo. (3) Where Jessie Carlos lived during his childhood. Photos by LeAnne Jazul </p>
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THE FAMILY MAN

For Ohna Medina, who was asleep on the 2nd floor of the same Tondo neighborhood where he had lived for 43 years, the story began with a phone call. The call came from a friend – “What happened to your cousin?” 

Ohna ran downstairs to the television. He saw his aunt and uncle, Jessie’s parents, sitting in a row behind a yellow-draped table. Jessie’s wife Jen was limp on a wheelchair, a towel covering her face. She did not speak to the press. Jessie’s father begged forgiveness. His mother cried. 

“My son is a good boy,” Teodora Carlos said, “he just got addicted to gambling.”

Ohna, at home and watching, stared at the gunman when the CCTV video rolled. It was only when he recognized the cousin he called Bototoy that Ohna, a big, shy man with a hoop hanging off his left ear, began sobbing. 

Jessie Carlos grew up one of many cousins. There were so many of them in Tondo that none of them were sure exactly how many. Jessie and Ohna, born months apart, were inseparable. The Carloses were so poor that Teodora had to hawk baked goods on her knees for hours to send the children to school.

Jessie’s family lived in a narrow wooden house along a narrow alley that they rented from Ohna’s family. When Jessie was very young, the family moved to an informal settlement a corner away, and spent the next few years fighting eviction. Jessie worked odd jobs, driving a jeep, restoring furniture, until he went off to the Philippine Marine Institute to study custom brokerage. His cousin Lelani said that though Jessie wasn’t the sort to get medals in school – “He wasn’t smart enough for that” – he was determined to do well. He passed the board exam, and went on to work for a private company before he went into the Department of Finance. Before 200 people, he was married in the Manila Cathedral to his college sweetheart and had his reception in grand fashion at the church basement.

It was soon after that Jessie stepped into his new life, where the money was good and the cars were new and everyone in the neighborhood where he had once grown up believed he had flown high and would fly higher. The boy who grew up playing with soda caps drove into Tondo wearing Lacoste. He bought a house and a lot when his parents were evicted. He paid for rounds of beer for the old friends who sat shirtless in the heat. He sent his mother to the doctor when she was sick. His 3 children were polite and well-dressed, unlike Ohna’s own 3 children who went to public school and were happy to run wild. There were presents every Christmas, along with envelopes lined with a thousand pesos each for every relative who could claim a connection. Ohna, who never went past his 2nd year in high school, was proud of his cousin.

That Jessie was an inveterate gambler wasn't a secret. His neighbor Cecilia, whose son grew up with Jessie, said Jessie began early, playing kara-krus on the street with the boys. The cockfighting came later. Ohna said he and Jessie would bet together at cockfights, only that Ohna would bet maybe P5,000 on a good day, and Jessie would drop 50 grand. Ohna had heard, through one friend or another, that his cousin had begun gambling in casinos. He had heard Jessie was losing big, but he never asked Jessie.

Ohna is an earnest man, a little shy in spite of his size, and sheepish about the fact he makes a living buying and selling street arcade games. He smiles shrugs, calls himself a survivor. When they sat at the Tanauan farm with their tumblers of gin, Jessie would talk, and Ohna would listen. “He liked to make himself the star of his own story,” laughed Ohna. “Definitely I did the listening, though I did manage to comment once in a while.” 

Jessie would hold forth on his various successes. There was mining somewhere in Davao, there was a fishery business somewhere else. There was a farm in Tanauan breeding cocks. There was an employment agency. He had many businesses, he said, and had partners who were big names. 

“The truth is," Ohna said, "I can’t deny I was jealous of my cousin, that he had made it. There’s a big distance between his life and mine.” 

Often, during the two years since their last conversation, Ohna would notice that Jessie was missing from family gatherings. There were still Christmas presents, but Jessie himself had stopped coming. 

Ohna tried to see his cousin. He dropped by the house in Felix Huertas twice, but was told his cousin wasn’t home. Ohna was too embarrassed to keep asking, so he stopped knocking on the door. 

In April, Jessie's birthday, Ohna decided to try again. “I missed him,” he said simply. He made plans. He asked his wife to prepare gelatin and the roasted fish stuffed with tomatoes that Jessie liked. He tried to ask for Jessie's number from his family – Ohna had lost his phone – but Jessie's sibling didn't have contact. Ohna was told there had been a family disagreement.

Ohna gave up. He never saw his cousin again. 

THE DEFENDANT

The story, for the government, began with the money. Jessie Javier Carlos, Filipino, was a 42-year-old former tax specialist who had been dismissed by the Department of Finance for misdeclaring his assets. He was a “high-roller gambler” whose many debts included a P4-million charge in a single bank account. His gambling – his family had him banned from all casinos in March – had led to a separation from his wife, and a "misunderstanding” with his family. 

The boy from Tondo was soaring high, and his employers took notice. 

In 2011, the Revenue Integrity Protection Service of the Department of Finance filed a complaint against Jessie Carlos for the non-disclosure of his properties, as well as the accumulation of unexplained wealth while “obtaining dubious loans to cover up the gains in his assets.” At the time, Jessie was making a little more than P15,000 a month, but had declared assets of more than P9 million. In 2012, the Office of the Ombudsman found Jessie “unable to reasonably explain the huge disparity” between his income and his properties. He was dismissed in 2014. His retirement benefits were forfeited, and he was disqualified for any post in government service.

On March 6, 2015, the Office of the Ombudsman filed Civil Case 15133167 against Jose Javier Carlos, with his wife as co-respondent. Prosecutors sought the forfeiture of P6,742,244 of unexplained wealth. The charge sheet also said Jessie "made it appear that he has incurred large amount of loans involving millions of pesos,” none of which were proven lawful in the “absence of any document where it can be shown who his creditors were.”

In January of 2016, Jessie attempted to settle the case for P1.2 million. The government rejected the offer. The Office of the Ombudsman said it believed “the republic has a strong case against the respondents." 

At two in the afternoon of June 1, 2017, hours before the Resorts World incident, Jessie appeared for another hearing before Branch 30 of the Manila Regional Trial Court. He signed himself in as “Jessie Carlos, 42 years old, married, unemployed.” 

THE GUNMAN

For tricycle driver Roberto Maduro, the story began at 7 that Thursday evening. Jessie Carlos stepped out of 1663 Felix Huertas Street and hailed a tricycle. He asked to be driven to SM San Lazaro. It was the first time, said Roberto  – who would pick up members of the Carlos family whenever their own driver was unavailable – that he had ever driven Boss Jessie anywhere during his stay at Felix Huertas.

Jessie was in the mall for two hours. He was picked up again a little before 9 in the evening. If he had bought anything, it was nothing large or obvious. He wore khakis and a T-shirt, and said nothing on the ride home.

The driver parked across the Carlos home. Jessie paid his P30. He stepped out, and instead of going up to the front door, he stopped on the street with his back to Roberto and stood staring at the two-story wooden house where his wife and his 3 children still lived.

He was there for close to 10 minutes, saying nothing. Then he walked up to his front door. 

The events of the next two hours are still unconfirmed, although there are some undisputed facts. At 9:45 in the evening of June 1, a pair of murders occurred 5 kilometers away along Perez Street. Witnesses heard successive gunshots before a gray BMW with plate number XDX-993 careened from the corner and flipped twice before resting on its hood. The police, who arrived an hour after the collision, identified the two men on the front seat as 38-year-old Elmer Mitra Jr, 38, a lawyer, and 43-year-old Alvin Cruzin, a former cop turned casino financier. Both had been shot.

Witnesses said they saw a man crawling out of the back seat of the BMW. The CCTV video, although shot from a distance, shows him slipping out of the left-hand passenger window, a big, tall man who walked away without looking back.  

The police described the man as about 5'9" in height, wearing a dark T-shirt and light cargo pants. Trousers of a similar color were found by the entrance of the Carlos home. DNA tests are being conducted on the blood found on the material. Ballistic evidence shows that the registration of the 9 mm gun found at the crime scene expired in 2013, and was owned by a man whose involvement was "less possible" given that he was out of the country and has been since 2010. 

Manila Homicide Chief Rommel Anicete now considers Jessie Carlos the primary person of interest. Police also say that statements from family and friends of the two dead men demonstrate a relationship with Jessie Carlos. 

On June 1, both Elmer Mitra and Alvin Cruzin were seen at Resorts World Manila at 8 in the evening, less than two hours before they were killed at 9:45 pm. At past 10 pm, CCTV cameras show Jessie Carlos walking past the corner of Felix Huertas Street, a 14-minute drive from the crime scene. In the video, he does not run.

A little more than an hour later, he steps out of a cab in front of Resorts World Manila.  

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<p class="caption"><span class="caption-title">L-R</span>Jessie Carlos on CCTV at Resorts World Manila on June 2, 2017. Video courtesy of Resorts World Manila. </p>
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JESSIE CARLOS

There are many places to begin this story, but every beginning ends the same way: inside a hotel room, high above a city, the man on the bed burnt and dead with a bullet in his skull and a rifle on his chest. 

Thirty-seven people died on June 2, all of them from smoke inhalation and suffocation. Police say the 38th, Jessie Carlos, committed suicide after setting himself on fire. NCRPO Chief Oscar Albayalde said the incident was not an act of terrorism. He said Jessie Carlos did not hurt anyone, and shot no one. He said the gunman was "apparently mentally disturbed". It is a claim Jessie's father denies.

Jessie Carlos’ aunt said her nephew was no murderer, and puts the blame on Resorts World security. Jessie, she said, could have killed if he wanted, but aimed at none of the civilians. “They should have just killed him,” said his aunt. “He was running amok. If they shot him, he would have been the only one dead.”

It is tempting to offer answers, to say, categorically, that this is who Jessie Carlos was, but every story offers a different Jessie; every generalization has its own contradiction. He was methodical and impulsive, both intensely private and wildly expansive. There is no way to confirm what he was thinking when he packed a rifle into his backpack and pulled a mask down his face. He may have intended to steal, with some vague idea of how to trade casino chips for cash. He may have intended to burn down the hotel and everyone in it, or it may have all been a distraction and the dead collateral damage. If the police discover that it was Jessie Carlos who murdered two men along Belen Street in Paco, maybe the entire tragedy was the final act committed by a murderer on the run with nothing to lose. Or perhaps there are no answers, because Jessie Carlos himself had none.

Jessie’s cousin Ohna has his own theory. Maybe Jessie felt he had no one to tell. Maybe he wanted to be a lesson to other people in his situation. Maybe, even if he knew he couldn't cash the chips, Jessie took them anyway, so that he could feel, for a time at least, that he had won back what he lost. Ohna would like the public to know the man with the gun was not the Jessie he knew. “It wasn’t him,” he said. “That wasn’t Jessie.”

What is known is this: that past midnight one summer night in June, cornered and alone, the very nice man from Felix Huertas Street shot his rifle into the air, poured gasoline over the carpet, and strolled past armed security with the calm deliberation of a man who had made a choice and chose to follow through. And as the casino burned around him, Jessie Carlos climbed the stairs. He did not run. – with reports by Lian Buan, Bea Cupin, and Eloisa Lopez/Rappler.com

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MANILA, Philippines – When Senator Leila de Lima was arrested in February this year on drug charges, which she claims are false, almost everybody expected the Liberal Party – particularly her colleagues in the Senate – to immediately bolt the administration-led coalition.

They didn’t.

Instead, they waited, 3 days later, to be stripped of their committee chairmanships and effectively kicked out of the PDP-Laban-led majority coalition. Worse, they didn't even know about the Senate ouster plot against them until the day itself.

Senator Franklin Drilon, Senate president when the LP was in power, sounded nonchalant about it then. “[I feel] nothing. We are not kapit-tuko (We don’t cling onto power). It’s a numbers game. They have the numbers,” he said.

Welcome to the Liberal Party under Dutertismo.

Old habits die hard

The descent of the once all-powerful party began hours after the voting precincts closed on May 9, 2016. Despite a well-oiled machinery, seemingly bottomless resources, and a methodical focus on vote-rich but poor communities, the LP's standard-bearer, Manuel "Mar" Roxas II lost to Rodrigo Duterte by more than 6 million votes. Duterte got 16.6 million compared to Roxas' 9.97 million votes.

Roxas' running mate, Leni Robredo, won by a hairline over Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, a victory that the late dictator's son is contesting before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

The Roxas camp soon began packing its bags even as Robredo's headquarters turned into a beehive of activity.

Those who weren’t involved in the two principal candidates’ campaigns, on the other hand, began working out the political map in what was bound to be a PDP-Laban dominated Senate and House of Representatives.

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FORMER KINGS. Supporters of the Liberal Party gather at the Quezon Memorial Circle for its 2016 miting de avance. File photo Robert Viñas/Malacañang Photo Bureau 
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To prevent a freefall, party operators quickly struck an alliance with the new ruling power. The LP is no stranger to such deals.

“The Liberal Party was a traditional party that was forced to embrace new politics during the dark days of the Marcos dictatorship,” explained Julio Teehankee, professor of political science at the De La Salle University.

In the aftermath of the dictatorship, Teehankee noted, the LP “transformed” into the “principled party” that took clear-cut positions on raging issues such as the closing down of US bases, the impeachment of former president Erap Estrada, and allegations that former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cheated in the 2004 elections.

At the same time, Teehankee said, “Old habits die hard.”

“The Liberal Party cannot turn its back on traditional politics. It needed to bargain, to play the game in order to get a share of political power. Despite its principled position, it was always a coalition partner of all administration parties since Cory Aquino,” he said.

For a party that has always taken a progressive stand on key issues, Teehankee said the Liberal Party failed to stick to its “principled reform politics” in the 6 years it was in power under Aquino.

“It opted to mobilize the same patronage network and accept the same clans and dynasties in its ranks, which is ironic because it struggled for so long, and once it came into power…out of pragmatism, it accepted all these turncoats,” he said.

In bed with majority

So shortly after Duterte took his oath as president on June 30, 2016, LP members wasted no time in dropping their yellow color.

On a balmy July evening in 2016, the Liberal Party signed an “agreement of support” with the now-ruling PDP-Laban to seal its inclusion in the House of Representatives’ majority bloc.

Former House speaker Sonny Belmonte, then-incoming speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, and PDP-Laban president and then-incoming Senate president Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III made the announcement inside the posh Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City.

Standing behind them were a team of Liberal Party legislators. Some smiled, others grimaced, and the rest stared out into space as the agreement was read aloud: "We express full support for [Duterte's] plans as we convey our willingness to constructively engage his administration in crafting a populist agenda that will bring peace, progress, and prosperity to the whole country."

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JOINT FORCES. The Liberal Party and PDP-Laban ink a deal for the former ruling party to join the House majority. Photo by Ben Nabong/Rappler 
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"We commit our organization in supporting the legislative agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte, particularly the measures that need to be urgently acted upon so these will bear the authority and appropriations from Congress.”

Not all members of the party joined the majority, deciding to become an independent minority bloc in the House of Representatives.

“As you can see, I am also partly a failure. Why? A lot of the people who were introduced here as PDP were in fact LPs at the time when the president [Aquino] told me to help everybody get in,” Belmonte told reporters then.

Most of the top Liberal Party members wanted legislators to stay in the majority and get the support their localities needed. This concern goes beyond Congress, according to the party’s remaining stalwarts.

Many local government officials – governors, mayors, provincial and city legislators, even barangay captains – remain loyal or at least, sympathetic to the Liberal Party. But reality on the ground and the need to win in the mid-term 2019 races, go beyond party loyalty and sympathy.

Overnight, the party saw its numbers dwindle. Up until a year later, on May 10, 2017 – 5 more lawmakers from the Liberal Party jumped ship to PDP-Laban.

Legislators – district representatives, especially – had specific concerns. Not being in the majority meant risking losing funding in their area. Not being in the majority meant risking a loss come 2019.

It was a reality that party members, the most idealistic included, perfectly understood.

Shell-shocked for months

It’s at this point that party stalwarts, key aides, and people on the ground are expected to scramble and organize themselves. But according to insiders, there was no real organizing to speak of between election day and inauguration day, or even beyond that.

It was only in October 2016 – over 4 months after Duterte took office – that the Liberal Party began formal discussions on how to proceed. A “management committee” was formally set up in late 2016 composed of key party members who would eventually run the party.

Senator Francis Pangilinan was named new party president. Vice President Leni Robredo became the party chairperson, Senator Franklin Drilon and Representative Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte Jr its vice chairpersons, Quezon City Representative Jose Christopher "Kit" Belmonte its secretary general, and Occidental Mindoro Representative Josephine Sato its party treasurer.

Dinagat Representative Kaka Bag-ao, head of Mamamayang Liberal, manages civic groups and is also part of the mancomm. 

Former National Food Authority chief Renan Dalisay is LP's new director general. Agree Gallardo, former interior department spokesman Ariel Tanangonan, and former executive undersecretary Henry Bacurnay join Dalisay as the key personalities within the party.

Former budget secretary Florencio "Butch" Abad also continues to help the party unofficially.

The structure came soon enough but “in between, walang nangyari (nothing really happened),” recalled a party insider.

It was only in late 2016 when the Liberal Party returned to the basics: holding focus group discussions (FGDs), “weeding out” certain personalities, “plugging the holes”, and checking who was left.

This was a job left to the current party officials.

The Liberal Party leaders during the past administration – Aquino and Roxas, for instance – are no longer involved in day-to-day matters, said a Rappler source privy to the party's activities.

"There was a very, very visible transfer of day-to-day management," said the source. 

Robredo has the same role, although she typically gets consulted more often because the party's decisions ultimately affects her as the Vice President.

Challenge of rebranding

Are the current moves for party-building or survival? Insiders called it “party rebranding.”

In a time of Duterte and the “DDS,” the President’s legion of loyal followers, the color yellow and the Liberal Party had become synonymous to bad.

Thanks in part to several top government officials and an army of online personalities-turned-presidential-appointees, the party and things associated with it have been demonized as destabilizers out to oust President Duterte – memed and clobbered on social media.

At a February 2017 party caucus in Quezon City, former president Benigno Aquino III told LP members it was “time that [they] speak up” on issues that went against party principles.

Aquino, whose “Daang Matuwid” dominated the political narrative from 2010 to 2016, emphasized that the “voice of the Liberal Party” ought to be heard once again.

He, of all people, should know how tough that call is in this new environment.

2016: A Daang Matuwid check

The LP crafted the 2016 elections as a vote for liberal values and principles over "threats"represented by other candidates. 

“Kasama ninyo ang milyon-milyong kababayan natin na nangangamba sa nakikita nila. Natatakot sa nakikita nilang alternatibo daw sa ating pamumuno. Pero nakikita natin, kabastusan, kawalang-takot sa Diyos, walang plano, pang-iinsulto, puro soundbite lang, komunismo, marahas na kamay, wala na ang rule of law,” said standard-bearer Roxas during the party’s last campaign rally at the Quezon Memorial Circle.

(You are with millions of our countrymen who worried about what they’re seeing. They are afraid at the alternative to our leadership. What we're seeing is vulgarity, absence of the fear of God, lack of plans, insults made for soundbites, communism, iron-fist rule, no more rule of law.)

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2016 BETS. Former president Benigno Aquino III (center) with party standard-bearer Mar Roxas and running mate Leni Robredo. File photo by Robert Viñas/Malacañang Photo Bureau
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“And that is what this election is all about. ‘Yung mga nagnanais na bumalik tayo sa dating kabaluktutan, kasinungalingan, pagnanakaw sa ating kaban ng bayan, paghahari-hari ng iilan lamang,” Roxas added.

(Those who want to return to the crooked ways of the past, of lies, of stealing from the country’s coffers, where only a few have a say.)

Voters chose a different path, however, and overwhelmingly at that. 

It was not as if the signs weren’t there.

In a survey released the week before elections, Duterte had an 11-percentage point lead over his nearest rival, Roxas. The LP’s bet had yet to top any major preference poll but had seen his preference numbers pinned at the 20% range.

But back at the Balay campaign headquarters, a building that’s a sprawling maze of conference rooms and offices, the Liberal Party – the Roxas campaign especially – would not wave the white flag.

Sources privy to meetings and discussions in the weeks and days before said not once was there a discussion on how the party would move forward in case of defeat.

Neither was there talk on shifting their efforts toward Leni Robredo, the newbie politician who would go on to win the vice presidential race by a hairline.

But by midnight of May 9, it was crystal clear – Duterte would be president.

Victim of own failure

Because of a “historical accident”, in the words of Teehankee, Benigno Aquino III was elected the 15th president of the Philippines during the May 2010 elections. The “accident” was the death of his mother, democracy icon Cory Aquino, in 2009 and the renewed popularity of the EDSA revolution and by association, the color yellow.

Roxas, who was set to run for president then, slid down and instead ran – and lost – as Aquino’s vice presidential candidate.

The Liberal Party’s promise was simple enough: they would get rid of corruption. It was a key promise in the aftermath of corruption scandals during Arroyo’s time.

But this reformist promise was both the party’s boon and bane, Teehankee said.

“His anti-corruption campaign was targeted against political opponents and critics. Worse, when they were supposed to be for reforms and the ordinary Filipino, they all appeared elitist,” he said.

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2016 CAMPAIGN. The Liberal Party campaigns in Cavite. File photo by Gil Nartea/ Malacañang Photo Bureau 
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Aquino also failed to pass a key campaign promise: the passage of a Freedom of Information Law.

There were other missed opportunities: the failure to pass a “party development” law or an anti-dynasty bill, which would, in an ideal world, stop turncoats in their tracks and make sure political clans don’t monopolize power.

Anti-poverty measures such as the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, the reproductive health bill, and the K to 12 were there, but “they failed to address the here and now” – a crucial thing to consider in a country where the poorest of the poor constitute the biggest chunk of the voting population.

“We can summarize the LP experience of being a victim of its own failure, not of its own success,” added Teehankee.

All the wrong buttons

Under Duterte, the Liberal Party-led bloc joined Pimentel’s majority in the Senate. At the same time, Leila de Lima, former justice chief, led an investigation into alleged extrajudicial deaths in the name of Duterte’s war on drugs.

Her ally? Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, losing independent vice presidential candidate and Duterte's nemesis.

This was a crucial misstep, as far as Teehankee is concerned. “The narrative of ‘we’re willing to work together’ is a good one. But they made a preemptive strike in the Senate with De Lima calling for an investigation when the administration had not yet settled in,” he said.

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‘PREEMPTIVE STRIKE.’ Senator Leila de Lima leads a Senate probe into alleged EJKs in the drug war. File photo by LeAnne Jazul/Rappler 
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The initial probe wasn’t the last.

De Lima and Trillanes would lead several investigations not just into the drug war but into the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS) during Duterte’s time as Davao City mayor.

And at several key points in those events, LP members and allies in the Senate were caught flat-footed. The presentation of Edgar Matobato, a self-confessed Davao Death Squad hitman who claimed he killed under Duterte’s command, wasn’t exactly well coordinated.

So was the presentation of Arturo Lascañas – former Davao cop who originally denied the existence of the DDS – which eventually triggered the Liberal Party’s unceremonious exit from the majority.

“We pushed the wrong buttons,” admitted a party insider.

De Lima is now in jail, on drug charges she claims are fabricated. Senators Drilon, Pangilinan, Bam Aquino, and Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, were booted out of key committee chairmanships. They are now part of the Senate minority, alongside Trillanes.

Several times, public pronouncements – which are eventually taken as the party’s stand – are made without consulting other members.

Deputy Speaker Romero Federico "Miro" Quimbo’s pronouncements on the impeachment complaint against the President (that they would not support it), for instance, didn’t sit too well with the party’s leadership. (READ: LP House majority won't support Duterte, Robredo impeachment)

Other times, the consultation took so long, individual members were forced to come up with their own strategies. It’s what happened to De Lima too many times prior to her arrest.

What now, dilaw?

The Liberal Party “rebranding” is a hard and messy work in progess, as Rodrigo Duterte marks his first year in office.

How this will be managed remains unclear.

There's resistance, even among the most loyal of party members, to bolt the majority, particularly in the House, according to a party source. They reckon their already sorry numbers will dwindle even more once they jump ship. 

“They’re facing a formidable challenge,” said Teehankee, describing Duterte’s continuing popularity as a “worldwide phenomenon” of populism.

“This is a function of frustration, anger, and fear due to the failure of liberalism and its economic dogma, neoliberalism,” he explained.

It’s why the drug war, despite repeated allegations of abuse and alleged human rights violations, remains popular. It’s why Duterte, despite his hyperbolic statements on an iron-fist rule, remains popular. “It’s no longer enough to look at the current political phenomenon from the usual vista. We have to understand what brought us here.”

The ideal for the Liberal Party is to engage in “critical collaboration” with the current administration. (READ: 'Melted?' Liberal Party meets for 71st anniversary)

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WHERE NOW? Liberal Party members meet for the first time since the May 2016 elections during the party’s 71st anniversary. Photo from the Liberal Party's Facebook page 
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“They should actually now embrace their role as oppositionist. But again, a principled opposition stand. It’s okay when they call out but they should also avoid being perceived as being obstructionists…there is a need for the opposition to be supportive of the administration, more so in times of crisis,” said Teehankee, who thinks painting Duterte as an “evil dictator” is a narrative that is both untrue and over-used (gasgas).

It’s easier said than done when the party and its key leaders differ sharply on key issues – how to deal with the country’s drug problem, alleged extrajudicial killings, and the death penalty, among others.

The late Mario Taguiwalo, student leader and Liberal Party ideologue, once spoke about a “constant struggle” between principle and power. Without power, principle is empty. But chasing after power without principle, Teehankee recalled Taguiwalo saying, would be akin to prostituting yourself.

From June 2010 to June 2016, the Liberal Party had all the power it could ever want.

Today, what does it want? And what would it take to get it? – Rappler.com