MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte has promised an overhaul of the country’s tax code. Now, over a year into his presidency, the Senate and House of Representatives are set to ratify on Wednesday, December 13, the first package of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) bill. 

The Train bill is crucial to funding most of Duterte administration’s ambitious "build, build, build" infrastructure program. The first package, to be implemented on January 1, 2018, is expected to generate P130 billion.  

While the Senate and House of Representatives differed on how they wanted to restructure the country’s tax system, both have said they were guided by one objective: to make taxes “simpler, lower, and fairer” for Filipinos.  (READ: Will tax reform really hurt the poor?)

What’s inside the bicameral version of the Train bill? 

Income tax

The lowering of income tax is a key component of the tax reform bill. 

According to a media briefer from the Senate committee on ways and means, the bicam-approved Train bill sees income tax rates reduced for almost all the 7.5 million individual income taxpayers. 

New income tax rates see individuals with an annual salary of P250,000 – or those earning approximately P22,000 monthly and below – exempt from paying income tax. The previous 1997 tax code saw those earning an annual salary of P10,000 and below taxed 5% on their earnings.

The Train bill also sees a further reduction in tax rates starting 2023.  

Self-employed professionals will also see new income tax rates with the introduction of an 8% flat tax on gross sales or receipts instead of income tax and percentage tax to be filed once a year. 

But with the loss of revenue from income taxes, where is government planning to collect more money?

While the lowering of income tax is expected to increase take-home pay, taxpayers will see a price increase for cars, fuel, tobacco, and some beverages among others. 

Sweetened beverage tax

Under Train, a sweetened beverage tax of P6 per liter will be levied on drinks using artificial sweeteners. Drinks using high fructose corn syrup will be imposed a P12-per-liter tax.

The bill excludes all kinds of milk, natural fruit and vegetable juices, and medically indicated beverages from the sweetened beverage tax. 

Instant coffee is also exempted from the tax since it is among the most consumed food items of ordinary Filipinos, according to the Senate committee on ways and means.

Petroleum excise tax

Higher fuel prices are also to be expected under the new tax reform package.  

Incremental price increases for diesel, liquified petroleum gas (LPG), and gasoline over a 3-year period will see a tax of P6, P3, and P10 per liter, respectively, by 2020.  

Train also cites a safeguard provision that would suspend the increases if Dubai crude oil exceeds $80 per barrel. 

It also grants the Department of Finance (DOF) the power to require fuel making in order to combat oil smuggling. 

Automobile excise tax

The bicam committee also approved a 4-tier tax scheme for automobiles.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez had said the hike in prices of automobiles would mainly impact the higher social classes who could afford to buy luxury cars. 

Excise taxes

Tobacco will also be more expensive under the Train bill. 

 Increases in coal tax are also to be expected under the Train bill. 

Excise tax rates for all non-metallic minerals and quarry resources, as well as all metallic minerals –  including copper, gold, and chromite – will be doubled from the current 2% excise tax to 4%. 

Excise tax rates on indigenous petroleum will also increase from 3% to 6%. 

Meanwhile, cosmetic surgeries done for purely aesthetic purposes will also be more costly. 

Under Train, procedures needed to address deformities from congenital or developmental defects or abnormalities, personal injury, accidents or trauma, disfiguring diseases, tumors, viruses or infections will not be taxed.  

VAT base expansion

Under Train, an increase in the value added tax (VAT) threshold from P1.9 million to P3 million is also expected. This would mean small business with annual sales of P3 million and below would be exempt from paying VAT, which would hopefully encourage growth and job generation from the due tax relief. 

The following sectors and individuals are also exempted from VAT:

Three years into the effectivity of Train, the following items will be VAT-exempt: 

In addition to this, instead of being granted VAT exemption, government-owned and controlled corporations, state universities and colleges, and national government agencies will shift to a form of subsidy through the tax expenditure fund under the national budget.

Estate tax and donor’s tax

A flat rate of 6% for estate tax and donor’s tax will also be imposed under the bicam-approved Train bill.  

Estate tax – or the tax on the right of a person to transfer his or her state to lawful heirs and beneficiaries at the time of death or on certain transfers – was previously levied based on a tax schedule where an estate worth P200,000 and over was taxed between 5% to 20%. 

It will now be subject to a flat rate of 6%.

Family homes that are worth up to P10 million, however, will be exempted from estate tax. Currently, family homes worth P1 million are exempted. 

To help heirs settle expenses relating to the passing of the deceased person, the Train bill also increased allowable withdrawals from the deceased person’s account to any amount, subject to a 6% final withholding tax. Currently, only withdrawals up to P20,000 is allowed. 

Passive income and other taxes

New rates for the documentary stamp tax and final tax on currency deposit units are included in the bicam-approved Train bill. 

Tax rates for stocks not traded in the stock exchange as well as the stock transaction tax are increased under the bill. 

Where will tax revenues go?

According to the bicameral committe, here is how taxpayers money will be spent: 

About P130 billion in proceeds is expected from the first package of the tax reform program. – Rappler.com

All graphics by Alyssa Arizabal

Source: Bicameral-Approved TRAIN Bill, Senate committee on ways and means Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Primer  

Where were your representatives?

An incensed Antonio Tinio, representative of the party-list ACT Teachers in the House of Representatives, lashed out at the House leadership for “the brazen railroading” of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) bicameral conference committee report, the first in the Duterte’s administrations planned package to reform taxation in the country.

“Tonight's ratification of the TRAIN by the House of Representatives was a total farce and travesty of so-called representative democracy,” said Tinio in a statement released after the House of Representatives late Wednesday evening, December 13, ratified the bicameral report on the tax reform package.

After a long suspension, the House resumed its session at around 10 pm, after copies of the TRAIN bicam report reached the Batasang Pambansa.

After it was introduced, a motion was brought about to ratify it. Seconds later, the motion was approved and the TRAIN bicam report was ratified by the House.

Tinio, who belongs to the progressive Makabayan bloc, tried to question the motion to ratify the report, citing a lack of quorum.

By the time the TRAIN bicam report reached the House, only a handful of representatives were physically present at the session hall.

Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu, the presiding officer, did not recognize Tinio’s opposition.

After passing the bicameral report, Abu adjourned session in the House.

Tinio, citing the alleged lack of quorum, insists the ratification was “clearly invalid.”

"With barely 10 people on the floor and despite my very clear objections due to obvious lack of quorum, the presiding officer and majority floor leader proceeded to adopt the final report of the tax reform bill's bicameral conference committee, copies of which were not even on hand. Since there was no quorum and no actual vote was taken, the alleged ratification is clearly invalid,” he said.

Although only a handful were physically present at the session on hall, on paper, 232 House members responded to the roll call at around 4 pm.

Plenary session highlights released by the House’s Press and Public Affairs Bureau lists as much in its report to media.

In a second statement, Tinio hit the ruling PDP-Laban for holding a Christmas party in Sofitel, a posh hotel in Pasay City, as the ratification happened.

“Ganyan sa Kongreso – may boto kahit walang tao, nagpa-party sa 5-star hotel habang nagpapataw ng pahirap na mga buwis sa mamamayan (That’s how Congress works – there are votes even if nobody is there, partying in a 5-star hotel while imposing huge tax burdens on the public),” he said.

The party on Wednesday evening was actually a PDP-Laban Christmas benefit dinner for Marawi City. President Rodrigo Duterte himself attended. 

Asked about Tinio’s allegation, House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said he was not at the session hall because of an emergency. Neither did he attend the PDP-Laban event.

“I was informed by Deputy Speakers Abu, [Janet] Garin, [Romero] Quimbo, and my deputies that the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on the TRAIN was duly ratified,” Fariñas told reporters.

Tinio said he plans to take the case to the Supreme Court. – Rappler.com

It appears that Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa has not been keeping track of his medical records.

When the chief of the PNP General Hospital, Senior Superintendent Reimound Sales, announced on Tuesday, December 14, that around 14,000 cops got the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine, Dela Rosa quickly expressed concern. 

He wanted to know right there and then if he was among those policemen.

While Sales was responding to reporters' questions outside the hospital, Dela Rosa interrupted the media interview.

"Tiningnan mo sa listahan kung wala ako doon? Baka ako'y [nandoon]. Sigurado ka wala ako (Did you check in the list if I'm not there? I might be. Are you sure, I'm not there)?" the PNP chief asked Sales.

Sales assured Dela Rosa  that he's not on the list, before taking more questions from reporters.

{source}

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WATCH: 14,000 figure of cops injected with Dengvaxia rattles PNP chief Ronald Dela Rosa. He then ordered the PNP Health Services department to monitor all of the vaccinated cops <a href="https://t.co/Ym2yK8Rmeb">pic.twitter.com/Ym2yK8Rmeb</a></p>&mdash; Rambo Talabong (@rambotalabong) <a href="https://twitter.com/rambotalabong/status/941171913774153728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Based on the number of policemen who got the vaccine and the fact that the PNP has 190,000 in its force, one in 13 policemen received Dengvaxia.  

With these figures in mind, reporters asked Dela Rosa what assurance he could give cops who got the vaccine. Based on the advisory of manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur, Dengavaxia-vaccinated people without prior dengue infection are at risk of contracting a serious case of dengue later on.

The PNP chief replied: "Una bigyan ko muna assurance sarili ko na hindi ako kasama sa listahan. Inassure ako ni Doctor na wala ang pangalan ko doon (First, let me assure myself that I am not on the list. The doctor assured me my name isn't there)."

He then said he ordered the PNP Health Service to monitor all those on the list, and to provide assistance to those who get sick.

Asked if the PNP will provide assistance to cops who get infected with dengue, Dela Rosa said: "Meron talaga. Alangan, tao namin 'yan eh, pulis namin 'yun. Aalagaan namin 'yun (There really is [assistance]. They are our people, they are our cops. We will take care of them)." – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – It’s easy to judge President Rodrigo Duterte’s leadership and governance style based on his words, spoken from a podium or behind a standing microphone during a press conference.

But how about doing it based on documents he signs? 

Executive orders, proclamations, memorandum orders, administrative orders, and laws passed by Congress which he greenlights are also indicators of where the President’s priorities lie.

More than his extemporaneous public speeches, they also provide insight into who in the Cabinet he listens to and what issues have come to the fore during the one year and 5 months he has been in power.

Rappler looks into the major Malacañang issuances that have been signed by Duterte or Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, by the authority of the President. 

As of December 14, Duterte has signed 530 major documents. That’s 47 executive orders, 378 proclamations, 17 memorandum orders, 9 administrative orders, 37 memorandum circulars, 39 laws, and 3 Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of laws.

Much of the work that goes into laws (republic acts) are done by the Senate and the House of Representatives, with Duterte’s signature the last step in a complicated process. But his signature indicates his support for the measure, as opposed to him leaving the bill to merely lapse into law.

Most of the issuances don't have much to do with specific campaign promises, like proclamations of nationwide or provincial holidays, or laws that create new barangays (Duterte signed 5 of these) or marine hatcheries (14 such laws signed by Duterte).

Types of issuances

Malacañang issuances posted on the Official Gazette website show that some of these documents can easily be categorized according to Duterte’s top concerns: drugs, crime, corruption, defense and security, reduction of red tape, populist policies, economy, Mindanao peace process, and development issues like health and education. (To read the titles of the documents, categorized according to issue, scroll to the end of the article.)

But, first, what are the different types of Malacañang issuances?

An executive order (EO) are acts of the President “providing for rules of a general or permanent character in implementation or execution of constitutional or statutory powers.”

A proclamation, meanwhile, are acts of the President “fixing a date or declaring a status or condition of public moment or interest, upon the existence of which the operation of a specific law or regulation is made to depend.” Proclamations have the force of an executive order. 

An administrative order (AO) is a presidential act that “relates to particular aspects of governmental operations in pursuance of his duties as administrative head.” 

Memorandum circulars, which are internal in nature, are not covered in depth in this article.

Drugs, crime, corruption

Which presidential concern led to the most number of documents signed by the President? Unsurprisingly, it’s the campaign against drugs, crime, and corruption, totaling 16 signed documents.

Duterte sought to address the issue with 6 EOs, 3 memorandum orders, 4 laws, 1 IRR, and 2 AOs.

These include two laws postponing barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, because of Duterte’s insistence that the polls would only be controlled by narcopoliticians. Duterte also signed a law increasing the penalties for crimes, and another placing casinos under the coverage of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

As for EOs, there are the ones creating the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission, inter-agency committee and task force against illegal drugs, the 8888 citizen complaints hotline, and operationalizing freedom of information in the executive branch. 

Another major document was a memorandum order instructing the Philippine National Police to return to the war on drugs.

Defense, security

With the Marawi crisis, martial law in Mindanao, and the collapse of peace talks with the Left, it’s no wonder defense and security was the issue with the second highest number of presidential issuances: 11. They include 4 EOs, 4 proclamations, 2 memorandum orders, and 1 AO.

There were the proclamations declaring martial law, the termination of peace talks with communists, declaring the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army as a terrorist organization, and the declaration of a state of national emergency due to lawless violence in Mindanao.

Through an EO, Duterte raised the military’s combat duty pay and combat incentive pay, streamlined the process for defense contracts, and renamed Benham Rise to Philippine Rise after reports that China was interested in the supposedly oil-rich underwater plateau.

Economy

Largely due to the influence of his economic advisers, especially Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Duterte also signed a good number of documents to ease restrictions on certain investment sectors, adjusting import duties on certain items, and long-term economic policies. 

Duterte signed 9 EOs and 2 memorandum orders. The first tax reform package, ratified by Congress, is now up for Duterte’s signature. Tax reform is the battle cry of his economic managers.

Among the economy-related documents are a memorandum order to ease restrictions on certain investment areas or activities with limited foreign participation, an EO reducing the rates of duty on equipment imported by new or expanding enterprises registered with the the Board of Investments, and the EO adopting the longterm economic plan Ambisyon Natin 2040. 

Health

Duterte signed 4 EOs with a major impact on public health and which entail complicated implementation.

These are EO 26 banning smoking in public and enclosed spaces, EO 28 on limiting the use of firecrackers, EO 12 ensuring strict implementation of the Reproductive Health Act, and EO 4  on the establishment of drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation centers all over the country.

Duterte also signed RA 10932 increasing penalties for hospitals which require patients to pay a deposit before providing urgently-needed treatment. 

Populist issuances

As a politician who likes to appeal to ordinary Filipinos or masa, Duterte made sure to greenlight several “populist” measures, even despite opposition from his economic managers.

He affixed his signature to 3 landmark laws: the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, Free Internet Access in Public Places Act, and the Act Strengthening the Anti-hospital Deposit law.

Through an EO, he also increased the employment compensation and funeral benefits of employees. Through an AO, he authorized the granting of bonuses for job order and contractuals in government.

Duterte also approved the Congress resolution granting a P1,000 increase in Social Security Service pension.

Economic managers had reservations about the pension hike and the law providing free tuition in state universities and colleges, but Duterte okayed the measures anyway. 

Anti-red tape

The President, who declared he did not want to see Filipinos lining up, signed two laws in line with this: the laws extending the validity of drivers' licenses and passports.

Through an EO, he also made it easier for government to use alternative methods of procurement instead of public bidding for government contracts. This raises concerns on safeguards against corruption, typical for any measure that introduces shortcuts. 

Another EO created an Energy Investment Coordinating Council intended to streamline the regulatory procedures affecting energy projects.

Changes to the Office of the President

Duterte also spent ink considerably on issuances that would bring changes to his office.

His very first EO put the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) under the office of his aide, Special Assistant to the President Bong Go. It also placed 12 anti-poverty agencies under the office of Cabinet Secretary (OCS) Leoncio Evasco Jr, another of his most trusted. 

Eventually, however,  through another EO, some OP offices that had been transferred to the OCS were transferred back to the PMS: the Public Concerns Office, the Cabinet Support Office, and the Directives Monitoring Office.

Several memorandum orders constituted or reconstituted offices like  Office of the President Performance Management Group, Committee on Decorum and Investigation, Inventory Committee in the Office of the President, and Office of the President Cultural Affairs Committee.

Upon the advice of Cabinet Secretary Evasco, Duterte also issued an EO that reorganized the Cabinet Clusters  to reflect his priorities.

List of Duterte-signed documents, according to issue:

DRUGS/CRIME/CORRUPTION 

Laws: 5

• RA 10952 Postponing October 2017 barangay, Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections
• RA 10951 Adjusting the amount or the value of property and damage on which a penalty is based, and the fines imposed under the revised penal code
• RA 10927 Designating casinos as covered persons under “Anti-money Laundering Act of 2001”
• RA 10923 Postponing the October 2016 barangay and SK elections 
• IRR for Government Procurement Reform Act

EOs: 6

• EO 2 Operationalizing in the executive branch the people’s constitutional right to information and the state policies to full public disclosure and transparency in the public service
• EO 6 Institutionalizing the 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Hotline and establishing the 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center
• EO 4 EO 4 Providing for the establishment and support of drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation centers throughout the Philippines
• EO 13 Strengthening the fight against illegal gambling and clarifying the jurisdiction and authority of concerned agencies in the regulation and licensing of gambling and online gaming facilities
• EO 15 Creation of an Inter-agency Committee on Anti-illegal Drugs (ICAD) and Anti-illegal Drug Task Force
• EO 43 Creating the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission
• Memorandum Orders: 3
• Memorandum Order No. 10 Designating the Presidential Communications Operations Office as lead agency in the implementation of Executive Order no. 2 (s. 2016) and the Freedom of Information Program in the executive branch
• Memorandum Order No. 13 Directing the abolition of Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corporation
• Memorandum Order No. 17 Directing the Philippine National Police and other law enforcement agencies to resume providing active support to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the conduct of anti-illegal drug operations

 AOs: 2

• AO 7 Reorganizing the National Intelligence Committee to provide greater unity and cohesion of the intelligence community
• AO 1 Creating the Presidential Task Force on violations of the right to life, liberty and security of the members of the media 

DEFENSE/SECURITY

EOs: 4

• EO 3 Increasing the rates of combat duty pay and combat incentive pay of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and extending the same allowances to the uniformed personnel of the philippine National Police 
• EO 16 Directing all government departments and agencies, including GOCCs and local government units to adopt the National Security Policy 2017-2022
• EO 19 Repealing executive order no. 235 (s. 2003), streamlining the rules and procedures of defense contracts, and for other purposes
• EO 25 Changing the name of “Benham Rise” to "Philippine Rise”

Proclamations: 4

• Proclamation 374 s 2017, declaring the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army as a terrorist organization under RA 10168
• Proclamation 360 s 2017 Declaring terminal of peace negotiations with National Democratic Front, NPA 
• Proclamation 216 Declaring a state of martial law and suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao
• Proclamation 55 s 2016 declaring a state of national emergency on account of lawless violence in Mindanao

Memorandum Orders: 2 

• Memorandum Order 3 Providing guidelines for the AFP and the PNP in the implementation of measures to suppress and prevent lawless violence
• Memorandum Order 4 Expanding the application of Memorandum Order No 3 (s.2016) to the Philippine Coast Guard and providing additional guidelines in the implementation of measures to suppress and prevent lawless violence

ECONOMY

EOs: 9

• EO 5 Approving and adopting the 25-year long term vision entitled Ambisyon Natin 2040 as guide for development planning
• EO 19 Reduction and condonation of real property taxes and interests/penalties assessed on the power generation facilities of independent power producers under build-operate transfer contracts with government-owned or -controlled corporations
• EO 20 Modifying the nomenclature and rates of import duty on various products under section 1611 of Customs Modernization and Tariff Act
• EO 21 Modifying the nomenclature and the rates of import duty on certain information technology products under section 1611 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act
• EO 22 Reducing the rates of duty on capital equipment, spare parts and accessories imported by Board of Investments – registered new and expanding enterprises 
• EO 23 Extending the effectivity of the most-favored-nation rates of duty on certain agricultural products under RA 10863
• EO 27 Directing all government agencies and instrumentalities, including local government units, to implement the Philippine Development Plan and Public Investment Program for the period 2017-2022
• EO 31 Creating the Strategy, Economics, and Results Group in the Department of Finance
• EO 37 Adjusting the dividend rate of the National Development Company for its 2015 net earnings

Memorandum Orders: 2

• Memorandum Order No. 12 approving the 2017 Investment Priorities Plan
• Memorandum Order No. 16 directing the National Economic and Development Authority board and its member agencies to exert utmost efforts to lift or ease restrictions on certain investment areas or activities with limited foreign participation

CHANGES TO OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

EOs: 3

• EO 1 Reengineering the Office of the President towards greater responsiveness to the attainment of development goals
• EO 9 Strengthening the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, enhancing its powers and functions, providing for its support staff
• EO 40 Amending EO 9 for the purpose of strengthening the functional arrangements in the Office of the President

Memorandum Orders: 7

• Memorandum Order 5 – Reconstituting the selection board for first and second level career positions, and the special board for third level career positions in the Office of the President proper
• Memorandum Order 6 – Reconstituting the Office of the President Cultural Affairs Committee
• Memorandum Order No. 7 – Constituting the Office of the President Performance Management Group
• Memorandum Order  8 Providing for the functions of the Presidential Assistance for the Visayas
• Memorandum Order 11 Reconstituting the Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI) of sexual harassment cases in the Office of the President 
• Memorandum Order 14 Reconstitution of the Inventory Committee in the Office of the President
• Memorandum Order 15 Prohibiting all officers, employees, and other persons employed, contracted, or engaged by the Office of the President from prematurely disclosing unreleased official documents to the media and other unauthorized third persons

ANTI-RED TAPE

Laws: 2

• RA 10930 Extending the validity period of drivers’ licenses
• RA 10928 Extending the validity of Philippine passports

EOs: 2

• EO 34 Amending EO 423 s 2005 prescribing rules and procedures on the review and approval of all government contracts
• EO 30 Creating the Energy Investment Coordinating Council in order to streamline the regulatory procedures affecting energy projects

'POPULIST' MEASURES

Laws: 3

• RA 10931 Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act
• RA 10929 Free Internet Access in Public Places Act
• RA 10932 Strengthening the anti-hospital deposit law
• EOs: 1
• EO 33 Increasing employment compensation funeral benefits for employees in the private and public sectors

AOs: 1

• AO 2 Authorizing the grant of gratuity pay to job order and contract of service workers in government

HEALTH

Laws: 1

• RA 10932 Increasing penalties for hospitals for requiring deposit

EOs: 4

• EO 4 Providing for the establishment and support of drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation centers throughout the Philippines
• EO 12 Attaining and sustaining “zero unmet need for modern family planning” through the strict implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act
• EO 28 Regulation and control of the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices
• EO 26 Providing for the establishment of smoke-free environments in public and enclosed places

MINDANAO PEACE/FEDERALISM

EOs: 2

• EO 8 Amending further EO 120 (s. 2012), as amended by EO 187 (s. 2015), on the Bangsamoro Transition Commission
• EO 10 Creating a Consultative Committee to review the 1987 Constitution

AOs: 1

• AO 9 Creating an Inter-agency Task Force for the recovery, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of the City of Marawi and other affected localities

– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Unexpected, unimaginable, extraordinary – that’s how opposition Senator Leila de Lima and her family described the rollercoaster year that saw the once powerful justice secretary land in jail.

It was on February 24 when De Lima surrendered to the Philippine National Police over drug charges filed against her by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Supreme Court has since ruled against her, legitimizing her arrest.

To this day, De Lima maintains these are fabricated cases against her and that they were a way for President Rodrigo Duterte to get back at her for investigating the Davao Death Squad. (READ: De Lima in jail: 'I never imagined Duterte would be this vindictive')

“Most trying time yet most interesting. Never thought this would happen at the height of my public career, to be locked up in jail,” De Lima told Rappler in a letter.

With her imprisonment came the changes in her family’s life – both big and small. Her ailing mother still has no clear idea where her daughter is.

Vicente, brother of the senator, said De Lima’s detention came at a rather bittersweet time in their lives. Their 87-year-old mother has dementia so she would not really look for her daughter every day. The senator, however, could not spend time with her only living parent.

This reality does not escape De Lima’s eldest son Israel, who is a special child. Israel, 35, whom Rappler met several times, is a sweet and innocent man, always visiting his mother, whom he calls “Leila de Lima.” 

De Lima’s other son Vincent is a law student and a father of two. The senator said she has repeatedly asked him if he is being ostracized in school because of her.

“Maybe ayaw niya ako mag-worry, so sinasabi niya na 'No, hindi naman' (Maybe he does not want me to worry, so he says, 'No, not really'),” De Lima said.

The family has spent every Sunday of the past months in the Custodial Center in Camp Crame. Together with friends, relatives, and supporters, they hear Mass in what they jokingly refer to as “Parokya ni Leila".

For the senator, her imprisonment has served as a “wake-up call".

“They say my marriage didn’t work out because I prioritize my career. But now, I am closer to my family. Before, I was always in a hurry, time was the enemy. I rarely attended family events. This is a wake-up call sa mga pagkukulang ko sa kanila (to all my shortcomings to them),” De Lima said.

“I long for vindication not necessarily for myself but for my family. I know they’re just quiet but I know they’re also affected,” she added.

Known to be a workaholic, De Lima is now forced to slow down. Things she practically ignored before have now become a part of her in jail.

She told Rappler she kept on hearing about Game of Thrones from her staff but never got the chance to see it or read it. But now, with all the time on her hands, the senator said she has already read Book 1.

In fact, she said her favorite characters are Bran, Arya, Daenerys, and Jon Snow. And yes, she dislikes Sansa and Cersei.

Siblings

De Lima and her 3 other siblings grew up in Iriga City in Camarines Sur. The senator’s family and relatives maintain a low profile.

In fact, she is the only politician in the family. Other family members – her late father and former Commission on Elections commissioner Vicente de Lima and her aunt, Ramon Magsaysay Awardee and former head of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority Lilia de Lima – are civil servants.

Her sister Caroline and brother Vicente have nothing but good words for their sister, who they claim, never brought any member of the family on any of her official trips abroad.

Vicente told Rappler how De Lima informed them of her impending arrest, weeks before it happened. He said unlike other high-profile detainees, his sister did not have any dramatics – no hospitalization, no escaping the country.

“Walang (No use of) wheelchair, no talk of trying to escape. She could have applied for political asylum but instead she said, ‘I would face this.’ My sister will have her redemption,” Vicente said.

De Lima’s sister Caroline said the family is “hoping for the best and ready for the worst.”

“I wish her inner strength. She’s on the side of good,” Caroline told Rappler.

“Stay the course. You are on the right side,” Vicente said.

First Christmas in jail

It would be the first year De Lima would spend Christmas and New Year away from her family and inside jail. But for her, some traditions have to continue.

It’s a family tradition to celebrate Christmas by giving gifts to indigenous peoples in the province – a practice that was started by their late father.

De Lima’s sister Caroline and son Vincent are set to go to Iriga City to do that.

Israel has expressed unwillingness to go to the province because, Caroline said, he does not want to be away from his mom on Christmas.

Vicente and his family, meanwhile, would likely stay in Manila to be with the senator.

But even that is still not final, as – ironic as it seems – Christmas falls on a Monday when no visitors are allowed. The family is keen on appealing the rule but as of posting, no definite decision has been made.

“It’s very lonely. Mixed feelings because of the spirit of Christmas and yet I’m here away from my family,” she said.

On Sunday, Christmas Eve, a mass would be held in her quarters, with family and friends expected to attend. But come late afternoon, the people need to go, leaving the senator alone, with her stray cat friends, to welcome December 25.

International support

Aside from her family, De Lima also relies on one sector for support, the same group considered an enemy by President Rodrigo Duterte – the international community, specifically human rights groups.

De Lima has won several awards for her fight for human rights, which she and her family consider a silver lining in an otherwise gloomy year.

The senator and her family value this very much. De Lima said that if not for the international support, she believes her situation could have been worse. For her, it’s her “protection".

“It’s a big protection, that is clear. Without it, my situation could have been more unreasonable. That means a lot to me. Imagine if there were no such things, I’d be more vulnerable to more attacks,” the senator said.

“We’re very proud that international groups continue to believe in her. It’s quite ironic that people here in the country are not like that,” Vicente said.

With the growing sound of dissent from these groups toward Duterte, it has been increasingly difficult for human rights advocates and foreigners to visit the senator.

Groups expressing solidarity with De Lima have also received scathing comments from no less than the President.

According to the senator, there have been at least 4 instances when foreign lawmakers and supporters were barred from entering the detention center despite complying with the 10-day rule of the Philippine National Police.

Despite the struggles in almost all aspects of her life now, De Lima maintains she has no regrets in going against the President.

“I have no regrets that I went against the tide too early, as they say, too premature, too risky. I would be less forgiving to myself if I kept silent all along,” she said.

And then there is the reality incessantly knocking on her door. She recently lost the vote in the Supreme Court. The senator admitted it would be an uphill battle in the High Court as she called it a “numbers game.”

“I’m hopeful but not that confident.” – Rappler.com

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales’ Christmas message to her employees this year was very short, but also very meaningful.

“Since this is my last Christmas with you, I'd like to thank you for your support, and for those whom I might have hurt in the course of my duty, I seek your forgiveness,” Morales told a roomful of employees during the Office of the Ombudsman’s Christmas party on Friday, December 15.

It elicited a round of "awwwwws" in the room, followed by applause for the woman who has been at the helm of the office for 7 challenging years.

Sources from the Office said it is not something you hear often from Morales, a feisty woman who was Associate Justice of the Supreme Court before she became Ombudsman. (READ: Avengers or Suicide Squad? When Sereno and Morales attend a forum together)

But it is something truly appreciated, especially since the relationship between her and her employees has not always been warm.

When she was appointed to the job in 2010, she was coming to an office reeling from the controversies left by their former boss, resigned Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

As in any government office, an outsider coming in to lead the pack spelled difficulties.

Adjustment years

The period of adjustment took years, said one source. Morales was very strict and implemented immediate changes. She was very particular about how things were done, down to the writing style, and even grammar.

Resolutions and other releases came back to the writers with her edit marks, the most infamous of which was, "write lucidly".

But over the years, she started getting to know her employees more, and started reaching out to them with the little things that made the biggest impact.

“Sa lahat po ng biyaya na naibigay po ninyo, sa lahat po ng inyong suporta sa mga empleyado, Ma’am maraming maraming salamat po (For all the blessings you gave us, for your support to the employees, thank you very much Ma'am),” said one Ombudsman official during the party.

Employees cheered her and teased her that she would cry with the usual "iiyak na ‘yan, iiyak na ‘yan (cry, cry, cry)!"

Morales, however, refused to be emotional, and instead turned the moment around to a light-hearted one with a favorite topic during Christmas parties: bonus pay.

“To be or not to be: B for bonus, or B for bigo (disappointment)?” she teased her employees. (READ: The impeachers: Out to get the Chief Justice and the Ombudsman)

Announcing the details of their bonus, Morales poked fun at herself. She joked that she tried to increase the bonus but was told: "Ma’am 'pag dagdagan mo pa, baka madagdagan pa ang ground for impeachment (Ma'am if you add more, there would also be an additional ground for impeachment).”

Two days before, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) filed an impeachment complaint against Morales but without the required endorsement of a lawmaker.

The afternoon was fun and light; she even danced to the tune of Evanescence's Bring Me To Life. Also a hit on the dancefloor was Overall Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang, who is embroiled in his own controversy related to the investigation into President Rodrigo Duterte’s wealth. 

As she approaches her retirement in July 2018, Morales has been uncharacteristically low-key lately. Does she want a quiet exit, or is she just saving the best for last? Her last 7 months will be interesting to watch. 

 – Rappler.com

READ: PART 1: A closer look into Mocha Uson's top source of news

MANILA, Philippines – In the first part of our report, we showed how Trending News Portal, a "digital news outfit", quickly rose to prominence by shifting the focus of their content from entertainment to politics.

It has proven to be effective in increasing TNP's reach: their total engagement has grown 5 times more in just one year.

But this rise to success doesn't seem to be limited online. TNP appears to be doing well in the real world too.

Twinmark Media 

TNP is owned by a company called Twinmark Media Enterprises Inc (Twinmark).

While its website says it was founded in 2014, Twinmark was officially registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission only on October 6, 2016.

According to its website, Twinmark is a young, digital company based in the Philippines. Other than TNP, they have other digital assets: Healthy Digest, Kikay Department, Techie Talk, and Wonderer. Like TNP, they all produce online content, each one targeting a unique market.

According to their SEC registration, the following are Twinmark's incorporators: 

• Fernando Hicban Jr I
• Fernando Hicban Jr II (also known as Ken)
• Mark Anthony Hicban
• Ma. Teresita M. De Jesus
• Alyssa O. Bajar

The 3 Hicbans are brothers (Fernando and Ken are twins). After looking into their and Twinmark employees' social media posts, it appears that the first 3 are the most involved in Twinmark's operations, frequently referred to as the company bosses. The 3 Hicbans rarely go to the office, a staff member said.

Mark*, (not his real name), shared his experience as a former writer for Twinmark. He described what it’s like to work for the Hicbans’ social media empire.

Work environment

Twinmark's office at the Galleria Corporate Center in Ortigas does not disappoint. Run and operated by millennials, the office exudes coziness and fun. 

Checking listings available online, the running rate for an office at the Galleria Corporate Center is around P500 to P550 per square meter per month, exclusive of cooling fees, value-added tax, and other dues. According to Mark, their office space is about 100 square meters, translating to about P50,000 per month in rent.

"Mainit nga lang pag weekend. Nakapatay ang aircon – building policy," Mark added. (But it's hot on weekends. They turn off the aircon – building policy.)

Mark said Twinmark employs around 50 to 60 people. According to one of their job listings in 2016, a junior web content writer for Twinmark receives the following: "P15,000 monthly salary, government-mandated benefits, performance incentives, and miscellaneous employee perks (free food, company trips, etc)." A full-time writer in TNP, with or without experience, can get P16,000 per month.

Going by social media posts of Twinmark and TNP employees, the company is pretty generous. Office parties – occasional celebrations, anniversary, Christmas, and thanksgiving parties – are not lacking. There are company trips too to tourist destinations like Boracay and Batangas.

In 2017, employees even flew to Hong Kong. One batch left last November and will be followed by another batch in 2018. Transportation and accommodation expenses are handled by the company, according to Mark.

'Poor editorial process’

Despite the work environment, Mark didn’t stay for too long because he started doubting the kind of content they produced. According to him, the content they published on their site went through practically zero verification.

Unlike other news outfits, TNP does not have reporters who get news directly from their sources. Instead, Mark said, the company has a "social media team", a group of people who scour the internet for news reports, viral social media posts, and other content online.

They upload the links to Vtiger, their content management system, where "content writers", whose sole job is to rewrite, pick them up. The rewritten stories are then sent to their "editors" who provide the final touches, fixing grammar and format. Little to no verification happens in this whole process, Mark said. 

Their team, composed of 4 writers, was expected to have a daily output of 25 stories, which they called "tickets". 

No one among the writers have a background in journalism. "Tinitingnan lang nila kung mabilis magre-write at mabilis mag-isip," he added. (They only look at speed in rewriting and thinking.) 

These stories are then disseminated by a team that manages TNP's social media accounts.

Ad revenues

Twinmark seems to be doing well, profit-wise.

Just like other online news outfits, its main source of income is advertising. Ads are spread out in Twinmark's websites.

Citing website statistics and analytics tool Hypestat.com, a blog by Alvin and Noemi Nieto estimated the value of tnp.ph at US$22,717.38 (P1,142,457). Monthly revenues were pegged at $22,717.38 (P82,978). 

Hypestat estimated the value of a website based on different factors: number of visitors, backlinks, Google PageRank, Alexa rank, social media reputation, and page speed, among others. 

It may not look like much, but these are ad revenues for tnp.ph alone and exclude income from their other websites. Other than tnp.ph, both Kikay Department and Healthy Digest have active websites. Kikaydepartment.com, healthydigest.ph, trendingnewsportal.com.ph, trendingnewsportal.com and teamangel.ph (a fan website for actress Angel Locsin), are all registered under Fernando Hicban Jr I’s name. They have programmatic ads running on these sites.

A reverse WhoIs search also showed that Fernando is associated with at least 9 domains. 

The following websites also use the same Adsense ID for the ads on healthydigest.ph and kikaydepartment.com:

• chismix.com
• crackerdaily.com
• extremereaders.com (inactive)
• healthytipstrends.com
• netcitizen.co
• newsfeedbuzzer.com (inactive)
• philippinesreports.com (inactive)
• socialpees.com
• worthler.com
• chosentrends.com (inactive)

This means that ad revenues for these websites are channeled to the same people behind Twinmark's Healthy Digest and Kikay Department. Some of these websites were also dug out by Alvin and Noemi's blog which reverse-searched netcitizen.co's Adsense ID.

While some are already conspicuously inactive, the rest are “news” sites focusing on viral internet content. There are ads all over these websites. Mark said he wrote for both socialpees.com and chismix.com during his stint at Twinmark. 

In our previous report, we said that netcitizen.co was among the sites PCOO Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson frequently shares on her Facebook page. She started frequently sharing their content in September 2017, just a month before she stopped sharing TNP’s content.

Just like TNP, Netcitizen produces news content sourced online and from news reports, seemingly focusing on political and viral stories.

If all these websites were all Twinmark's assets, their combined reach can compete with some of the country's top news organizations.

This makes it imperative for Twinmark to strive to be more responsible about what it publishes on these sites and to be more transparent about its editorial processes. Otherwise it becomes just another vehicle to spread wrong, if not unverified, information. – Rappler.com

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The year 2017 has no doubt been tiring and frustrating – it seems to have brought out the worst in some among us.

Criticisms, threats, and ad hominem attacks polluted the already toxic air of 2017, with some of the attacks even initiated and led by appointees to government posts. At the receiving end were independent institutions and media, along with democracy and human rights advocates.

The year 2017 has been a period of decline in many ways – we saw the decline of peace, human rights and respect for human life, check and balance, democracy, independence and sovereignty.

These are the stories that Newsbreak pursued in 2017 – the same stories (and more!) we hope to continue pursuing and tracking in 2018.

Click the Next or Previous buttons below to navigate. You may also swipe left or right.

THE DECLINE OF PEACE

THE DECLINE OF HUMAN RIGHTS

THE DECLINE OF CHECKS & BALANCES

THE DECLINE OF DEMOCRACY

THE DECLINE OF INDEPENDENCE & SOVEREIGNTY

– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – It's been a news cycle of deaths and denials in 2017.

Practically every day for the most part of the year, TV footages, online posts, and newspaper photos showed blood and grief as policemen raided poor villages and shanties to implement the Duterte administration's war on drugs. (READ: The Impunity Series)

Despite official data and eyewitness accounts, the government has repeatedly denied that the dead are victims of extrajudicial killings.

This state of denial has come in many forms, such as official declarations – like the one made before the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in September – that the deaths from police operations "are not extrajudicial killings"; the rejection of calls by United Nations member-states to conduct a thorough and impartial probe; and the intimidation of local and foreign human rights advocates.

At the slightest hint of intending to investigate the drug war, international organizations and personalities were demonized by President Rodrigo Duterte. He cursed and threatened to slap United Nations Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard and warned to put on the immigration blacklist US lawmakers who have been pushing for an independent probe into alleged police abuses.

The government also declared it would reject aid from nations that have expressed concern over the killings.

Parallel to these frontal attacks were diplomatic efforts made by Duterte's advisers, such as Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.

Before state-parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC), where a Filipino lawyer filed a "communication" against Duterte, Roque said that the administration would "reassess" its commitment to it should the court violate the principle of complementarity enshrined in its founding treaty. (The principle requires the ICC to step in only if it's been proven that a concerned country has not been willing to act on the issues hurled against it.)

Government officials have also issued broad commitments to bring to court anyone found to violate criminal laws.

Denial's consequences

Latest government numbers show that 3,993 suspected drug personalities were killed in police anti-drug operations since Duterte became president in June 2016. Families of victims said policemen shot defenseless suspects. (READ: The Fifth Man)

Ellecer Carlos of the In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDEFEND) said the administration's dismissal of any human rights probe is proof that it won't "accept any interference.” But this has consequences, he said.

Carlos noted that aid-giving states have "considerations that will always depend on how the government treats its most vulnerable, how it respects, protects and fulfills human rights." He added, "There will be states which may now think twice about providing support to the Philippine National Police because they know that the funding will just go to waste.”  

As signatory to various international human rights treaties, the government is “duty-bound” to follow the guidelines and implement appropriate measures to investigate and prosecute those responsible, he said.

Non-acceptance of the criticisms and recommendations by other countries regarding the human rights situation “does not relieve the government at all of its obligations and accountability before the community of nations,” according to lawyer Perfecto Caparas. 

“At all times, government remains to be the duty-bearer primarily responsible to respect, protect and fulfill all the economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights of all people, who are the rights-holders,” he added. 

No to executive branch's investigation

Human rights groups and advocates said the situation calls for investigation by parties outside the executive branch of government. (READ: Supreme Court asked to order probe into all EJK cases)

Yet, the local constitutional body tasked to protect human rights and prevent its abuse, has also been emasculated. The Commission on Human Rights is barred from accessing important legal documents such as case folders of drug war deaths. 

Outside the Philippines, the UN has various mechanisms and tools to hold countries and leaders accountable.

The UN Human Rights Council can unilaterally begin its own investigation of the reported extrajudicial killings here, according to John Fisher, director of Human Rights Watch Geneva, citing the example of Myanmar and the prosecution of the Rohingya Muslims there. 

“One way or another, there needs to be an investigation, there needs to be accountability and if the government is sincere in saying that it is open to that kind of scrutiny, then we expect them to be open to that kind of probe,” Fisher said.  

He expressed the hope that the government would eventually cooperate with an international team – should the time come. (READ: No extrajudicial killings in PH? World 'not fooled,' says HRW)

“If the government claims that they are not doing anything, why would they not want to cooperate?” Fisher said. “The fact that they have been so resistant to independent scrutiny suggests that they are well aware that the killings of the so-called war on drugs are in violation of international standards and that in fact don't want what's happening to come to life,” he added.

What local groups can do 

Carlos said that any move by UN agencies and experts is “very dependent” on the activities of human rights groups in the Philippines. (READ: 'Demonizing' human rights in the first year of Duterte)

These local groups have been the center of Duterte’s tirades. He has threatened to shoot advocates if they “obstruct justice” even as rabid supporters called for their death. “The government fostered systemic impunity and engendered routine disregard for the rule of law makes the work for human rights defenders very challenging and risky,” Carlos said. 

While it is a tiring and taxing battle, the human rights campaign compels groups involved to exhaust all legall means to exact accountability from public institutions and officials.

If these means are exhausted and impunity persists, then this would be a "key requirement for various international mechanisms to kick in,” Carlos said.

One example of an international mechanism is the ICC, which can try Duterte over crimes against humanity or “serious violations committed as part of a large-scale attack against any civilian population.”

In April 2017, lawyer Jude Sabio filed with the ICC a 78-page “communication” entitled, "The Situation of Mass Murder in the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte: The Mass Murderer.” Additional documents were filed by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano.

The filing is just the first step as  the Office of the Prosecutor still has to decide whether the complaint has basis. (READ: What challenges will complaint vs Duterte face before ICC?) 

But the "decisive arena” of the human rights struggle is in the domestic front, Caparas stressed. “Surely, our people will continue defending the democratic space we still have at the moment," he said. – Rappler.com

The past few years have been great for Trending News Portal (TNP), a “digital news outfit” that specializes in viral content and entertainment stories.

By shifting focus to politics in 2016, and on President Rodrigo Duterte and his critics, the millennial-run publishing site has increased its Facebook engagement 5 times more in just one year. (READ: 'What is Mocha Uson's top source of news?')

Twinmark Media Enterprise, the company behind TNP and many other publishing websites, seems to be doing just as well: getting an office at the center of the bustling Ortigas central business district and even sending their employees on a trip abroad. (READ: 'The success, influence of Trending News Portal' )

But the company's rise to prominence, it seems, has paralleled the quick rise to success of its owners, 3 brothers often referred to by their relatives and employees as "the trio”. 

For people in their 20s, the brothers Fernando, Ken, and Mark Anthony Hicban seem to have achieved a lot already. Their social media posts mirror a luxurious lifestyle: posh parties, fancy dinners, and international travels.

This year, 2017, the brothers went on an almost month-long tour around Europe: going through 16 European cities in 5 countries.

They seem to be a generous lot, too. They are tagged by friends, relatives, and employees who thank them for their gifts like watches and jewelry.

Other than Twinmark, they also have an online shop for personalized apparel. It appears to be quite the popular shop, with almost 2.5 million followers on Facebook.

From networking to publishing

But it wasn't all glitz and glamor for them before, apparently.

Based on their posts on Facebook, the twins Fernando and Ken started out as networkers for the multi-level marketing company, Royale Busines Club.

In a 2014 post about his experience in joining Royale, Fernando said that he was a working student mired in debt, earning a minimum wage that was barely enough for his house and dorm bills.

"Sa edad na 21 years old, namulat na ako na sa buhay natin, hindi sapat masipag at matiyaga ka lang para umasenso," he wrote. (At the age of 21, I realized that it's not enough to be just hardworking and patient to be successful.)

Things became different when he joined the networking company. Fernando posted photos of the checks he got from Royale amounting to as much as P200,000. According to the Royale website, Fernando was also part of its executive circle, which made him one of the company's top earners. To be a part of this, one needs to have made at least a million pesos in match sales.

At a young age, he also claimed to have been able to buy a Montero GLS-V using the money he earned from Royale.

Ken was also posting the same stories and photos of the same checks (also named after Fernando Hicban I), on his Facebook account.

It's unclear how Fernando and his brothers jumped from multi-level marketing to Twinmark, but he sure has come a long way from being a working student burdened by debt to owning a social media empire. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Medal of Valor is the highest combat award the military gives to recognize soldiers who perform "a deed of personal bravery or self-sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty so conspicuously as to distinguish him above his comrades."

The late Army Captain Rommel Sandoval, one of Marawi heroes, is only the 41st recipient of the most coveted combat award since 1935. 

Before Sandoval, the last awardee was the late Private First Class Ian Pacquit, who died after he intentionally put himself in the line of fire to save his team. He was 21. (WATCH: Soldier killed in Zambo given highest military honor)

But it's not always awarded posthumously. Seventeen out of the total 41 are still alive, and 5 of them remain in active service. (READ: Living heroes: 5 Filipino combat stories that won the Medal for Valor) 

The award also comes with privileges defined by law, Republic Act 9049.

Living recipients get a monthly gratuity pay, which President Rodrigo Duterte last year increased to P75,000 from P25,000. They receive receive this on top of their salaries or pension. In the case of posthumous awards, the gratuity pay will go to their wives or their children.  

The awardee, his widow, or her dependents are also entitled by law to be prioritized when applying for work in government, government housing program, loans not exceeding P500,000, and lease or acquisition of public lands.

They are exempted from paying tuition in public and private schools, universities, colleges, and other educational institutions. They can take up medicine or law.

If the children want to enter the Philippine Military Academy, they will also be priority for direct commision if qualified.  

They are also entitled to get 20% discount from hotels, transportation services, restaurants, threaters, carnivals, and when buying medicines among others. Private establishments may claim tax credits. 

Penalties for government officials or corporations that deny the awardee his privileges face up to 6 years imprisonment and penalty of up to P300,000. 

– Rappler.com

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MANILA, Philippines – Not all heroes are dead. Some live to tell their tale of extraordinary courage and self-sacrifice and win the most coveted Medal of Valor, the military's highest and most rare combat award.

Here are awe-inspiring stories of how 5 officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines risked their lives in the battlefield to save their missions from failure and their men from certain death. (READ: List of Medal of Valor awardees and their privileges)

They remain in active service.

Click the Next or Previous buttons below to navigate. You may also swipe left or right.

LIVING MEDAL OF VALOR AWARDEES

Countering Pintakasi: Cirilito Sobejana

Newly promoted Captain Cirilito Sobejana and his men had been trading volleys of fire with the Abu Sayyaf Group for about two hours inside the jungles of Basilan when the first bullet hit his right forearm. He was reaching for the radio of a fallen soldier, desperate to establish communication with his fellow Scout Rangers to ask for reinforcement.

A second bullet hit the same forearm, almost severing it. A third shattered his rifle. But he held his ground despite the blood and the pain. 

Sobejana, the commander of the 1st Scout Ranger Regiment, controlled fire directions to defend their position against the enemy that sought to encircle and trap them. 

It was the year 1995 and the Abu Sayyaf Group was only 4 years old and it was still led by its original leader, the ideologue Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani who broke away from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). 

Pintakasi is an enemy strategy that soldiers would come to fear years later but were only beginning to see in the '90s. Abu Sayyaf fighters maneuver to isolate one group of soldiers and consolidate their forces in trapping them. It has led to many a massacre of troops. 

Sobejana originally spotted only 20 enemies when they launched an attack on January 13, 1995 after receiving reports of enemy concentration in barangay Lower Kapayawan of Isabela town. The firefight apparently alerted other Abu Sayyaf fighters until the enemies had swollen to 150. 

But Sobejana, although bleeding, did not lose his composure. "He repeatedly maneuvered around, exposing himself to enemy fire to direct the battle and operate the radio," reads the citation in his Medal of Valor award. 

They were able to defend their position for more than 4 hours until reinforcements arrived. Up to 30 Abu Sayyaf fighters were killed. Sobejana sustained 5 gunshot wounds and his right forearm was shattered. But he survived. 

He would take two years to recuperate. The right-handed officer was also forced to train his left hand to fire his rifle. He was in the middle of his rehabilitation when he was awarded the Medal of Valor in 1997.

Sobejana said the award inspired him as he climbed the military hierarchy. "It motivated me further to be good in doing my duty as a public servant," he told Rappler.

Two decades later, Janjalani is long dead. Sobejana has published the book, Countering Pintakasi Techniques of the Abu Sayyaf, to teach soldiers how collate strategies on how to defeat them.

Sobejana is now a brigadier general and the island commander in Sulu. He's still fighting the Abu Sayyaf, but the group has been stripped of its ideology and reduced to a kidnap-for-ransom group.

"I want to finish the Abu Sayyaf Group and rescue the hostages," Sobejana said. 

________________________________________

Superman: Bartolome Vicente Bacarro

Young 2nd Lieutenant Vicente Bacarro was 23. Like all fresh graduates of the Philippine Military Academy, he was anxious to put his training to use. He remembers feeling he could do anything and be a hero. He could be Superman.

When he saw his men overwhelmed and literally pinned down by a wall during a firefight in communist hotbed Isabela province back in 1991, Bacarro didn’t think twice about exposing himself to heavy enemy fire to climb a 9-foot fence despite the bleeding in his left thigh due to a gunshot wound.

He was executing a clever strategy he devised. He knew he would find a vehicle at the other side of the fence, a compound of a logging company, that he could ram into the fence to break it open.

The plan worked quite well. The wall collapsed and allowed his other men to join the fighting and release enemy pressure on the first group. The firefight was believed to have prevented the communist rebels from advancing to the mayor’s residence and proceeded with their plan to overrun the town. 

It was a big victory for Bacarro’s unit, the 6th CAFGU Active Auxillary Company of the 21st Infantry Battalion, which was not as well armed as the regular soldiers. 

They were at a disadvantage against 150 communist rebels but Bacarro didn’t hesitate to attack when he learned about their plans to overrun the town – despite knowing that no air and artillery fire support were  available and no reinforcements could come soon enough because of the location and weather constraints. 

“He executed a systematic attack through proper maneuvers and strict adherence to fire discipline by firing only at sure enemy targets to conserve their ammunition and spare the civilians from being caught in the crossfire,” the citation in his Medal of Valor award reads.  

It was during the initial clashes that a bullet hit his left thigh. Thankfully, it first hit his bandoleer, blowing it to pieces, effectively softening the blow when the bullet pierced through his flesh.

Bacarro’s small group of 50 prevailed, killing 16 rebels and retrieving scores of heavy firearms and home-made bombs from the enemy. 

When the clashes made it to the news, he received a call from his father in Tarlac. “I was surprised to get a radio call from my father. It was the first time I heard him cry,” Bacarro told Rapler. 

Bacarro said the scar on his left thigh remains visible. It has since served as a reminder that he is not invincible. 

“Whenever I see it, I am reminded of the people I was with back then. I lost 3 men. It was a humbling experience,” Bacarro said. 

Twenty-six years have passed. Bacarro is back in Isabela province to continue to the fight against communist rebels. 

“The goal, of course, is to accomplish the mission. We need to ensure peace and order in the area,” Bacarro said.

________________________________________

Close Quarter Battle: Noel Buan

It was a fierce close quarter battle in the jungles of Lantawan, Basilan. It came to a point when First Colonel Noel Buan had grabbed the very muzzle of the firearm of Sahir Sali, the brother of notorious Abu Sayyaf commander Hamsiraji Sali.

It wasn’t too long ago, back in April 2004, when President Gloria Arroyo wanted an end to the Abu Sayyaf problem. 

Buan, commander of the First Scout Ranger Battalion, and his men laid an entrapment operation against the Sali brothers, knowing full well about the risk of becoming hostages themselves. 

“With boldness, innovative guerrilla techniques, and a resolve to accomplish the mission, he and his men were able to close in, and dealt with the enemies face to face,” read the citation in Buan’s Medal of Valor award. 

Buan showed “unfaltering will power,” despite sustaining wounds, “which inspired his men to fight aggressively, eventually resulting in the successful neutralization of 7 terrorists,” the citation said. 

They also retrieved high-powered firearms. 

________________________________________

Suicide Mission: Herbert Dilag

It was a suicide mission and young 2nd Lieutenant Herbert Dilag was the squad leader. As they launched a mission to enter the heart of Abu Sayyaf territory in the jungles of Basilan, Dilag and his men had left their valuables with other soldiers and gave instructions to give them to their loved ones. They knew they were going to die.

The 1st Scout Ranger Battalion launched the aptly called Oplan Final Option on April 28, 2000 to clear 4 clusters of the Abu Sayyaf territory. They were to attack the notorious Hill 898 inside Camp Abdurajak – the slopes defended by the men of second-generation leader Khadaffy Janjalani. They were holding 28 civilian hostages. 

To close in, the Scout Rangers first had to trek 7 kilometers of jungle terrain and bypass 48 improvised landmines. Heavy clashes immediately erupted with about 200 heavily armed Abu Sayyaf bandits. Four Scout Rangers were killed and 27 others were wounded.

Troops retaliated with accurate sniper fire, preventing the enemies from encircling them. Hours dragged and rain poured, but the clashes did not ebb. They held their ground despite hunger, tension, and fatigue but made no success in clearing the area. 

On the 3rd day, April 30, the battalion commader deviced an extremely riskly plan. He needed volunteers and his men didn't disappoint. Two Suicide Squads were formed from 14 Scout Rangers, among them Dilag who led one group.

“Uncertain of what will happen to them, the members of the Squads, left their valuables to their supporting comrades to be further given to their loved ones, in anticipation of their deaths,” reads the citation in Dilag’s Medal for Valor award.

The volunteers rushed up a 30-meter slope that was 80 degrees steep without looking back. Below the slope, a bunker to bunker battle ensued. The boldness of the assault suprised the bandits, putting the Scout Rangers at an advantage. 

It became the decisive battle. Dilag and his men were able to secure the northeast tip of Hill 898, the first of 4 clusters the entire team went there to take. Taking the other 3 clusters became easier in the next 4-hour close quarter combat.

The Abu Sayyaf withdrew. Seven of them were killed and scores of heavy firearms and ammunition were recovered. Two beheaded hostages were found.  

________________________________________

Bulletproof: Custodio Parcon

It was an 8-day offensive – from May 7-15, 1993 – that turned Captain Custodio Parcon Jr into a legend.

The mission to rescue hostage victim Anthony Biel III was hazardous from the get go. They had to infiltrate Abu Sayyaf territory in Basilan, deactivate mines along the way, and engage the enemies while making sure the victim is not caught in the crossfire. 

But Parcon was made for challenges like this. “Through skillfull direction of friendly fires and maneuvers, his men evaded detection and sowed confusion within enemy lines while dislodging Abu Sayyaf elements from each bunker in close quarter battle,” reads the citation in Parcon’s Medal of Valoar award.  

He found himself crawling toward the enemies “amidst a hail of machinegun and mortar fires” to divert enemy fire from his men when they were pinned down in the middle of a killing zone. He also knocked down enemy bunkers along the way. 

This happened during the big battle, when the main force of the Abu Sayyaf in the town ambushed the soldiers.

Parcon at one point also crawled towards enemy lines to lob a smoke grenade that would give supporting helicopter gunship a clear target. 

Abu Sayyaf fighters fell one by one. They killed two on the second day when they pushed forward under the cover of darkness. They killed several more the next day and so on. Those who weren't shot scampered away. 

The final assault happened on May 10 at the main encampment of the Abu Sayyaf Group in the town of Isabela. Parcon forged ahead despite devastating fires from the enemy's 50-caliber heavy machine guns.

Parcon and his men prevailed. They captured Camp Al Madinab, neutralized up to 46 Abu Sayyaf fighters, and forced the Abu Sayyaf Group to release Anthony Biel III. 

Twenty-four years later, Parcon is still fighting the Abu Sayyaf. He is now the commander of Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi. – Rappler.com

In the middle of talking about food security in a country short on agricultural land and besieged by storms, President Rodrigo Duterte poked fun at the eating habits of United States President Donald Trump and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

He shared his observations about his fellow country leaders during his speech on Thursday, December 21, during the commissioning of two ships in Davao City.

Duterte had observed Trump's and Medvedev's habits during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Gala Dinner, during which the 2 leaders were his tablemates. (READ: How Duterte fared as host of his biggest gala dinner yet)

Trump, who Duterte described as a "daldalero" (talkative) dining companion, appeared not to like the salad served to him during the grand opening event.

The American president, Duterte had observed, used his fork to gather the salad into little mounds, much like a child playing with food he does not want to eat.

"Si Trump, magkatabi kami eh, [garbled] ‘yang tinidor. Sige daldal-daldal, daldalero eh. Tapos ‘yung pagkain na parang salad, nung nakakuha siya, ginaganun niya. Ini-i-spread niya isang, parang munting bundok," said Duterte.

(Trump, we were seatmates, [garbled] the fork. He kept talking, he's talkative. Then the food that was like a salad, when he received it, he spread it then gathered them into small mounds.)

Perhaps one reason for Trump's apparent hesitation to eat the salad was an instruction from his security?

"Si Trump ang hindi pinapakain ng guwardya niya (Trump is the one whose guards don't let him eat)," said Duterte.

The Philippine President compared Trump to Russian Prime Minister Medvedev whose security could not stop him from eating the food.

"Si Medvedev, walang security-security. Basta kain (Medvedev ignored the security. He just went ahead and ate)," said Duterte.

"Hindi na nagtanong ‘yung iba na, 'Makain ba ito?' Hindi. Basta nandiyan sa plato," he continued.

(He didn't ask others anymore, 'Can I eat this?' No. As long as it was on the plate.)

But Duterte made sure to also share his own eating habits during his speech.

He claimed that anyone who wants to treat him to a meal should take him to a streetside barbeque joint.

"Sa totoo lang, if you really want me satisfied with a meal, if you want to break bread with me tapos ano ako, I feel comfortable, dalhin mo ako diyan sa mga – maski barbeque-barbeque," he said.

 (Truth be told, if you really want me satisfied with a meal, if you want to brreak bread with me and I feel comfortable, bring me to those barbecue places.) – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Captain Rommel Sandoval made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

On Wednesday, December 20, the Armed Forces of the Philippines awarded Sandoval the country's highest military honor, the Medal of Valor. Sandoval died in the Marawi siege saving the life of one of his troops. (READ: How an army captain died saving his soldier's life in Marawi)

He is the only recipient of the award from the Marawi conflict so far.

Watch the video to see what happened on the fateful day of his death. Below is a script of the video's narration.

--- 

This is the story of a Filipino war hero.

The Marawi siege was the Philippines’ most intense urban war. Government troops battled ISIS-linked terrorists for 150 days.

In the end, a city was reduced to debris. 920 militants and 47 civilians were killed. The military lost 165 men.

One of the most heroic deaths was that of Captain Rommel Sandoval.

Sandoval was the Commander of the 11th Scout Ranger Company. Some of the hardest military missions were given to his company because he was smart, deliberate, and he loved his troops like family.

He also made a promise: not a single man under his watch would die in battle.

On September 10, Day 111 of the war, Sandoval’s men were asked to go on a dangerous mission to retake one of the few remaining strongholds of the enemy. The war was winding down.

It was crucial to take over the 5-story Landbank building, near Lanao Lake, to push the military towards the edge of the city. There had been two previous failed attempts by the military.

Sandoval and his men were determined to take it that day. There were over 26 terrorists.

They fired at the building first to clear it. After seeing there might still be terrorists on the ground floor, they put a ladder against the building, climbed and entered the 3rd floor. Then they cleared the other floors until it was only the ground floor left.

After dropping grenades to scare off any remaining terrorists hiding below, 3 rangers descended to the first floor before realizing it was still too risky.

The enemy spotted the 3 rangers as they backed up to return to the second floor.

There was an exchange of volume fire. In the gunfire, one of the men, Corporal Jayson Mante, was hit on his hand.

As the other two managed to make it back to the second floor, Mante chose instead to drop to his stomach.

He knew his injury would slow him down and that he would expose himself longer if he tried to come back up too.

A concerned Sandoval sent 4 troops to try and recover Mante. They were unsuccessful.

Knowing the military would not leave Mante behind, the enemies watched closely, aiming at any soldier who tried to come down from the second floor to save him.

By then, Mante had several other injuries after the enemy continued shooting at the wounded ranger. He lay still on the first floor, waiting for death.

2nd Lieutenant Arvie Ventura, the platoon leader who had been constantly radioing updates to Sandoval from the second floor, recalled that Sandoval came down to where he was to assess the situation himself after several failed attempts.

And then Sandoval disappeared from Ventura’s side without a word.

Sandoval had found a hole created by the enemy that led him to another building, another route to save Mante. When he saw that Mante was no longer moving, Sandoval made a decision.

He could not bear to see any of his men die.

He instructed his men to give him cover fire, and ran towards Mante.

Ventura recalled that when Sandoval got there, he checked Corporal Mante’s pulse, and as he tried to pull him to safety, the enemy spotted him.

Sandoval’s first hit was on his side.

Even after he was hit, Sandoval turned towards the enemy, cocked his gun, aimed, and started firing back. The enemy hit him on his neck, then his cheek.

The hit on his cheek was fatal.

Sandoval radioed his final words: “I got hit.”

As the bullets came flying in, Sandoval, in his last moments, was still thinking of his men. He crawled on top of Mante to shield him from getting shot further.

When they recovered Sandoval’s body, bullets were lodged on his chest. His body had blocked bullets from going through and hitting Mante.

“He chose to take all the bullets for his troops,” said Ventura.

Mante survived. Sandoval did not. He was just 38 years old.

Sandoval is the highest-ranking scout ranger who died in the war.

He was awarded the Philippine Medal of Valor, the country’s highest military honor for acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty. – Rappler.com

More than 9 months after their "inspection trip" of tourist spots all over the country, lawmakers from the House of Representatives adopted a resolution calling for cleaner public toilets in transportation terminals.

House Resolution 1418 is based on one of the major conclusions lawmakers made after their Western and Eastern Nautical Highway Expedition from March 17 to 27: that public restrooms along the routes to popular tourist spots are not hygienic enough. 

The resolution calls on the Department of Tourism (DOT) to "construct and maintain hygienic public restrooms within the eastern and western nautical highways in the country."

Authored by Malabon City Representative Federico Sandoval II, the measure aims to "promote tourism and safe travel for all, regardless of economic status or purpose of travel."

It urges the DOT, through the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), to allocate funds for the new and improved public restrooms.

Leyte 4th District Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez, also House committee on tourism chairperson, endorsed the resolution for plenary adoption. She is also a co-author of the resolution. 

The lawmakers cited their 11-day caravan as instrumental in the decision to make such a resolution.

Ranking members of the lower chamber, like House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas, packed their bags as soon as Congress went on recess on March 17 to join the "expedition."

The lawmakers visited popular tourist spots and hotels in Calapan City in Oriental Mindoro; Boracay Island; Bacolod City in Negros Occidental; Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental; Dapitan in Zamboanga del Norte; Aurora; Cagayan de Oro; Dahilayan, Lantapan, and Malaybalay City in Bukidnon; Davao City; Samal Island; Butuan City; Tacloban City in Leyte; Legazpi City in Albay; and Quezon.

In Bukidnon, Fariñas even had time to go on the zipline at the Dahilayan Gardens and Resort. His Instagram video shows him flying through forest with the song Superman as background music.

Along the way, lawmakers met with their colleagues whose provinces they visited.

Two days after the trip, transportation committee chairperson and Catanduanes Representative Cesar Sarmiento called a panel hearing to discuss the initial findings of the trip which, he said, should become the basis for "the needed development programs as regards our ports, our sea vessels and our land transport system."

Alvarez denied the trip was a junket since they supposedly stayed within the budget allocated for out-of-town committee hearings. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – It’s no secret that the holiday season is widely celebrated in the Philippines. Filipinos prepare for the season with much anticipation. So much so that the Social Weather Stations surveys Filipinos yearly to know the public’s sentiments and expectations of Christmas. 

In the last decade alone, expectations of a happy Christmas have increased by more than 10%, with 64% of Filipinos saying they expect a happy Christmas in 2007 compared to 77% in 2017.  

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But why do Filipinos love Christmas? Rappler spoke with sociologists Dr Jayeel Cornelio of the Ateneo de Manila University and Dr Manuel Sapitula of the University of the Philippines to find out why the holiday season is so widely celebrated in the country. 

Festivals, families, traditions

Christmas is beloved in the Philippines because it is first and foremost regarded as a festival. Sapitula said this means that culturally, there is already the expectation of celebration that sets it apart from other days or seasons in the year.

“The way festivals work, it should sort of transcend the banality of the ordinariness of just like any day of the year... there is a heightened sense of awareness that things will be different,” he said. 

Cornelio added that the positive outlook for Christmas is also partly influenced by the disposition with which the Church celebrates the Advent season. With over 80% of the population considered Catholic, Filipinos also celebrate Christmas as a largely religious occasion. 

“The positive outlook towards Christmas is partly framed by the way the Church celebrates it: there is the Advent season. It's a very positive disposition towards the arrival of Christ. In this sense, the Filipino's happy disposition is very much religious – think of MisadeGallo, carolling, outreach activities,” he said. 

According to Sapitula, the traditions and the religious practices that mark the season are also what gives Filipinos a sense of ownership of Christmas.  

"Filipinos have a sense of ownership of Christmas. There are many traditions that are enveloped around Christmas... Even before the modern period, like the 1900s, those were already there: traditional re-enactments, Simbang Gabi – what we call 'cultural appropriations,'" Sapitula said. 

Christmas is also widely celebrated as a time for family. Many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who live and work abroad majority of the year usually come home for the holidays to spend time with families at home. 

“Christmas is not just a religious moment. It is very cultural: OFWs are expected to be home, families are to be reunited. This means that Christmas is not just about the birth of a child as much as it is about the family itself,” Cornelio said.

However, Cornelio also added that the fact that not all Filipinos are religious cannot be discounted.

“Most of the time, when we frame Christmas as a Filipino event in anticipation of joy, we are referring to Catholics and other Christian groups that celebrate the event. We disregard Iglesia ni Cristo, Jehovah's Witness, agnostics, Muslims, etc. We need to bear this in mind,” Cornelio said. 

'Fanfare of desires'

Both sociologists, however, added that Christmas is also considered a happy time of the year because of its wide commercialization and the practice of gift-giving. 

“While our culture celebrates camaraderie and cheerfulness, Christmas is in itself a fanfare of desires: the joy of the family is intertwined with the joys of travel, expensive gifts, bountiful feasts, sale, and all that,” Cornelio said. 

Sapitula added, “Festivals are supposed to be joyful occasions and we can’t ignore the monetary dimension of festivals: people are willing to spend. More so because gifts are expected, it's a way of reaffirming ties…by gift-giving we're able to renew the sense of obligation you have for one another. Christmas is really a time when we reaffirm that.” 

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For Sapitula, the SWS survey results may also be closely related to the purchasing power of Filipinos. Since the season calls for spending on gifts, travel, and the celebration itself, many who can afford to celebrate the season may expect it to be a happier occasion.  

“I think more Filipinos are getting richer, so they are expecting a happier Christmas…Hindi pinapatay technically, ng purchasing power yung (Purchasing power does not technically kill) cultural expectations – it stays there, and I think part of the reason why people are looking forward to it is they have the means to fully abide by cultural expectations of how it's celebrated,” he said. 

Religious or commercial? 

With an abundance of religious meaning and commercial symbols like Santa Claus inherent in the season, would the practice of celebrating Christmas be largely commercial or religious?  

For Sapitula and Cornelio, the two dimensions are intertwined.  

“They mutually reinforce each other. They’re always connected because there are always commercial implications of religious practices. You don't do religious practices in a vacuum,” Sapitula said.

He also explained that while the essence of Christmas is religious in character, a lot of economic activity is spurred because values of Christmas may be expressed economically.

“The essence is really religious in character but it spurs a lot of economic activity. Hindi lang 'yun 'yung tipong i-affirm mo na "Pare, friends tayo." (You don't affirm ties by just saying “We’re friends.”) You really give something as gifts to be able to physically demonstrate the ties still exist,” Sapitula said.  

For Cornelio, this has allowed Christmas to become universally celebrated, regardless of its religious essence. “I do not necessarily see it as a problem because it allows Christmas to become universally palatable regardless of one's religious persuasion,” he said.

However, Cornelio mentioned that this is also what has allowed those who experience Christmas as a rather difficult time to be overshadowed. (READ: [OPINION] When Christmas is no longer merry)

“What I find problematic about the jubilation over Christmas is that it tends to ignore the realities of loneliness in our midst. Any celebration that is blind to the pain of people is not being faithful to the very story of Christmas – a story in which the unheard of (shepherds) came to hear the angels first.”  

Happy moving forward? 

With the number of events that have happened in the past year, will Christmas still stand as a joyful season? (READ: Davao City cancels Christmas, New Year feasts to condole with fire, flood victims)

2017 saw events such as the war in Marawi, extrajudicialkillings, and deaths from the drug war, as well as several cases that have challenged our institutions making headlines. While these will linger over the Christmas period, Sapitula explained what is important is to look at how these events might translate over the course of the next few years. (READ: Mindanaoans most opitimistic abput Christmas, until...)

“You have to look beneath the surface because externally it will look the same. It's the same Christmas songs, the same decors, the same hype. But there may be peculiarities in the social environment that might affect how people appreciate Christmas,” he said.  

Sapitula added, “If people are in a state of grief, you cannot expect (them to be happy). Pero cumulative effect siya, hindi puwede na isang taon lang. (But it should be a cumulative effect, not just one year.) If there is a sense of persistence, that means to say it's the social conditions that are themselves shifting.”

SWS reported 77% of Filipinos expect a happy Christmas this year, while a much lower 5% expect it to be sad. For Cornelio, this illustrates how Christmas is telling of the Filipino nature to always look for good things. 

“Many Filipinos are always looking for good things. Christmas is one of those seasons that allow us to see the good things…We're happy when things end right. Christmas is a good way of ending things right, even if it's just ephemeral,” he said. – Rappler.com

It's been a whirlwind week for presidential son Paolo Duterte and it seems like he wants to take a break from social media – at least from Facebook.

After quarreling with his daughter online for everyone to see, President Rodrigo Duterte's firstborn announced his resignation as Davao City vice mayor.

Now, Paolo has deactivated his official Facebook account which had been a longtime platform for his statements and opinions on various issues – even personal ones.

It was through that Facebook account where he publicized the rift between him and Isabelle, his daughter with Lovelie Sumera, admonishing her for supposedly allowing herself to be "pimped" by an unknown person.

"Change your family name if you want! You don't have respect! You just embarrassed yourself! Get an education so your brain isn't empty. You don't know how to listen anymore because you're famous??? Famous, for what, Belle? Famous for disparaging a father? Just wait for my death so you will be free from me! Pray for it, woman!" Paolo wrote on his account, referring to Isabelle. 

His Instagram account, where he regularly posts, is still up. (READ: 'The boy with the drogang tattoo': Netizens share Paolo Duterte memes)

The vice mayor's resignation also comes days after Davao City was flooded due to Severe Tropical Storm Vinta (Tembin), and a deadly fire engulfed a mall there.

Aside from his very public squabble with his daughter, Paolo also cited the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of shabu from China through the Bureau of Customs, where his name was dragged, as one of the incidents that triggered his decision to resign.

According to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, their father knew beforehand that her brother Paolo had been wanting to resign.

Malacañang, meanwhile, said father and son will still talk about the decision. – Rappler.com

The year 2017 was a tumultuous one for Malacañang – with the declaration of martial law, new controversies arising from the administration’s war against drugs, and President Rodrigo Duterte hosting his biggest ever international event.

But behind the screaming headlines are little side-stories that can now be told. Here are 5 funny, sad, or just plain quirky footnotes to major happenings in President Duterte’s Malacañang in the year 2017.

Finalizing martial law in pajamas

Duterte’s martial law declaration caused a fuss not least because it was declared practically from the other side of the world – in Moscow, Russia. While sleepless government staff were busy packing for the sudden return trip home, who was the unlucky guy who had to pen the actual martial law proclamation? 

That lot fell upon Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra, the only high-ranking Palace official who was not hurriedly packing bags because he had stayed behind in Manila. In fact, Guevarra was safely in his pajamas, getting ready for bed, when he received a phone call at around 10 pm on Tuesday, May 23, which just happened to be his birthday. 

The call was from an unknown number so at first, Guevarra hesitated to answer. In the end, he picked up, and the man on the other end of the line said he was Special Assistant to the President Bong Go and could Guevarra please draft a martial law proclamation covering Mindanao?

Go then handed the phone to President Duterte who gave direct instructions to Guevarra.

Duterte had wanted Guevarra to make the announcement to media that very night. But with the written proclamation critical, it was agreed that then presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella hold a press conference in Moscow instead.

Guevarra, who did not expect to get such instructions at that time of night and on his birthday no less, managed to say yes to the caller. After the call ended, he stood in his bedroom dazed. Then he came to his senses. Was it really Secretary Go who called? The number was unknown to him after all. Perhaps this was just a birthday prank?

Unable to shake off his suspicions, Guevarra called Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and asked if Duterte had really given those instructions. Medialdea’s curt reply? “Gawin mo (Do it).” The rest, as they say, is history.

A call among Fukuoka flowers

Another call that heralded change in Malacañang was made to then congressman Harry Roque on October 16 as he and some colleagues from his former law office were in Fukuoka, Japan for an outing. While he and his companions were taking selfies among the flowers of a Fukuoka garden, Roque’s cellular phone started to ring. 

Roque, upon seeing the name of the caller, immediately shouted for silence. He took the call which reiterated an offer made to him as early as June, or 5 months before: could he become President Duterte’s new spokesman? Finally, after hesitation he had expressed when the offer was first made, Roque said yes to Special Assistant to the President Bong Go. After all, how could he refuse a Chief Executive who months ago phrased his offer this way, “I won’t take no for an answer.” 

Touchy Trump 

One of the most awaited moments at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Gala Dinner was when United States President Donald Trump came face-to-face with Duterte. The time came when Trump, wearing a designer barong, was welcomed by Duterte and partner Honeylet Avanceña at the entrance to the dining hall. (IN PHOTOS: Budding friendship between Trump and Duterte)

With cameras all turned toward the historic meeting, the public got to observe Trump’s extra long (15 seconds, to be exact) handshake with Avanceña and how his other hand lingered upon her butterfly sleeve. Apparently, Duterte noticed this too. Asked afterwards what he thought of Trump’s touchiness with his partner, Duterte joked, “Wala man si Melania. Hindi ako makaganti (Melania wasn’t present so I couldn’t take revenge).”  

In another instance, Duterte, reacting to Trump's gesture, said, he "was greatly honored that Trump shook hands with my partner."

The Philippine President said he regrets that he "never had the chance to return the compliment" to First Lady Melania Trump.

At the start of 2017, Duterte had already expressed open admiration  for the American First Lady’s beauty. He had said back in January that Trump must be in “heaven” for having a wife like Melania.

Bong Go's most memorable selfie partner

Special Assistant to the President Bong Go is now famous internationally for his penchant for selfies. One time, he told Rappler about the world leader he most fondly recalls having selfies with – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Go had his first selfie with the Canadian leader during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Vietnam. Days later, when Trudeau arrived at the ASEAN Gala Dinner in Manila, he did something Go will always remember.

"Ang galing ng memory niya. Nung nagkita kami sa Maynila, gala dinner sabi niya, 'You again!' Nag-selfie ulit kami," said Go. (His memory is so good. When we saw each other in Manila, at the gala dinner he said, 'You again!' So we had another selfie.)

When Trudeau showed up again the next day at the Cultural Center of the Philippines for the plenary session, he saw Go again at the reception area. The extremely friendly leader beat Go to the punch by saying, "Let me do the selfie for us."

Trudeau was one of the few leaders at the ASEAN Summit who raised concern about the human rights violations in Duterte's controversial drug war, something the Philippine President took as an insult.

Rock music for a rock-loving president

When Indonesia President Joko Widodo made a state visit to the Philippines, the second ever during the Duterte administration, Malacañang made sure to prepare something special for him. In the state banquet held in his honor last April, the Palace tapped violinist Jay Cayuca and The Dawn frontman Jett Pangan to perform more sedate versions of some rock and roll songs.  

This was all for the enjoyment of Widodo, a metalhead who has been spotted in many rock concerts, including that of heavy-metal band Metallica.

Aside from tailoring the formal dinner’s music to Jokowi’s musical taste, Malacañang also gifted the Indonesian President with a coffee table book of photographs of him in Manila compiled by Duterte’s close-in photographers.

Duterte and Widodo have cultivated a special rapport together, a rapport that no doubt grew from their striking similarities – both are unapologetically tough on illegal drugs and both were popular local chief executives before rising to the presidency.

By the end of Widodo’s visit, the two Southeast Asian leaders had agreed to work closer together on yet another headache common to both of them: terrorism fueled by Muslim extremism. – Rappler.com

AT A GLANCE:

• Rodrigo Duterte, the first president to declare himself a leftist, endeared himself to the Philippine Left when he released its top leaders a few months into the start of his term. He aimed but failed to complete a peace agreement with the communist rebels by the 2nd year of his term. 
• The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) is responsible for the longest communist insurgency in Asia. From a high of about 20,000 armed regulars in the 1980s, the military claims the CPP's armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA), is down to less than 4,000 combatants, concentrated mostly in eastern Mindanao.
• Duterte has begun the formal process of declaring the CPP-NPA as a "terrorist organization," a threat that his predecessors also made but didn't follow through. Terrorists, as opposed to rebels, are easier targets for security forces.

MANILA, Philippines – Like most courtships, President Rodrigo Duterte’s romance with the Philippine Left started on a sweet note. What seemed like a whirlwind romance at first that would leave many people inside and outside the communist movement feeling confused.

While the first round of talks was underway in faraway Oslo back in August 2016, Duterte delivered a speech in Manila calling the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) a "revolutionary government."

A laptop was brought inside the negotiating room for everyone to hear the Duterte's speech. The first self-proclaimed leftist President ordered his military to be “friendly” with communist guerrillas – their sworn enemies – following the ceasefire declarations. 

The power couple of the Philippine Left, warriors-turned-negotiators Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, burst into applause.  To call the CPP a “revolutionary government” was recognition of its rights to rule over a territory, maintain an army, collect taxes, and make and enact its own laws. 

The government cannot easily recognize these rights without violating the Constitution. But back in Oslo, the communists were beyond themselves with joy while government negotiators attempted to correct what the President just said. Duterte meant "revolutionary forces," they clarified.

The NPA's territory and tax collection eventually caused the tension that ended the ceasefire declaration after 6 months, or from August 2016 to February 2017. 

Everybody should know by now that Duterte likes "playing" with words to the point of even contradicting his own pronouncement. His former professor, CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison, is aware of this.

"He played with words but, of course, he would sometimes be concrete," Sison told Rappler in a Skype interview from his home in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

"Even before, while he was running for the presidency, he will be concrete in one way and contradict himself another way," Sison said.

Grand gestures

Indeed, Duterte was not only concrete. He made grand gestures to show his commitment.

Duterte promised peace with the communists during the campaign. A video of his Skype conversation with Sison where they agreed on necessary reforms – develop local industries, implement genuine land reform, and many other things the rebels have been fighting for – was widely reported in the news.

When he became president, he appointed CPP nominees to his Cabinet, giving them key agencies like the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Agrarian Reform, and the National Anti-Poverty Commission. 

A few months into his term, Duterte ordered his officials to file petitions in court for the release of about 20 jailed CPP leaders, including the Tiamzons, so they can join the peace negotiations. In Oslo, cameras clicked for the historic reunion of two icons of the communist movement – Sison and Benito Tiamzon – who were previously rumored to have a falling out.

While there were those who had dismissed talks with the Left as a lost cause, Duterte's negotiators believed they had the ingredients for a successful peace agreement. Duterte had shown the political will that his predecessors lacked. Benito Tiamzon's participation in the talks was also believed to be a game changer.

The government previously accused the Sison-led National Democratic Front (NDF) of inability to control the NPA on the ground. Former CPP chairman Tiamzon, who was arrested in 2014, should keep them in line, they believed. It was worth a try. 

Duterte said all the right words. He promised that the rest of their comrades would soon gain freedom though he probably did not realize it meant releasing 400 more from jail. He said he also wanted Sison, his former professor, to finally come home.

How did the communists reciprocate Duterte's grand gestures? In an unprecedented move, they said yes to an indefinite ceasefire.

It is also important to note that Duterte's alliance with the CPP meant he enjoyed relative peace from street protests, although they did mobilize on a few ocassions. The Left would be criticized over its relative silence about the growing human rights violations committed in the name of Duterte's war on drugs. 

Talks collapse

Government chief negotiatiator Silvestre Bello III hoped that the talks would be completed within a year. His deadline came and went but they were no closer to a peace agreement.

The peace talks have reached a low point. Duterte did not only formally cancel the talks, he officially declared the CPP-NPA as a "terrorist organization" – a threat his predecessors had also made but did not follow through. 

The presidential proclamation fanned growing fear among the communists that Duterte was not sincere about the talks. He did not put up a fight when Congress rejected the appointments of his Leftist Cabinet members. A few more political prisoners were released but not as many as the CPP wanted. 

He also threatened to arrest Sison if he tried to come home. 

The Facebook timeline of Sison is a testament to how his world has turned upside down. "Nire-review ko ngayon. If you look at the memory of my Facebook timeline, last year nakita ko, kami ang nagrereklamo all the way. Bakit puro offensive ang military?" Sison told Rappler.

(I'm reviewing it now. If you look at the memory of my Facebook timeline, last year I saw we were the ones complaining all the way. Why was the military conducting offensives?)

Who failed the talks?

When the talks broke down, both sides claimed betrayal. While the communists accused Duterte of falling short on delivering his promises, as early as December 2016, the President had already argued that the government had conceded too much to the communists too soon. His aides have given the same explanation.

“Hindi na po kasalanan ng Presidente ‘yan. Lahat na po ng hakbang ay ginawa ng Presidente para magkaroon ng matagalang kapayapaan (It's not the fault of the President anymore. He did everything to achieve lasting peace),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on November 27.

There are those who believe that the CPP’s decision to withdraw its ceasefire declaration in February 2017 caused Duterte to turn against them. He supposedly saw it as a "betrayal" of his own friends.

Duterte retaliated by cancelling the talks altogether. The statements critical of the Chief Executive and street protests that followed only aggravated the tension.

Negotiators were able to revive the talks even as the fighting resumed, but it would never be the same again. "After the 3rd round, wala nang matinong round (there was no decent round anymore)," said an insider.

The government objective in declaring the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization is clear. They will not only run after the NPA combatants but also alleged "front organizations" that support the insurgency. 

"The label is more of a political move. Through the branding of terrorism, we will be able to resort to laws applying to terrorists. Expect that we can impose harsher penalties against these lawless elements," said Armed Forces chief General Rey Guerrero. 

"The intent is to defeat the armed groups. We have to look for the support system that fuels...the armed struggle," Guerrero added.

The court process to formally declare the communists as terrorists will take years, based on the experience of the Abu Sayyaf Group.  But Duterte doesn't have the patience to wait. He got Congress to extend the military's martial law powers to hunt down the communists and weaken them before they celebrate their 50th anniversary next year.

Duterte and the military

In his earlier visits to military camps, Duterte used to explain the importance of the peace talks to end the war with the communists. Duterte said he wanted to leave behind a legacy of peace.

When the leftist group Kadamay occupied homes built for soldiers and police, Duterte asked for the latter's understanding.

"I will ask you soldiers and policemen, bitawan 'nyo na lang 'yan, ibigay na lang natin sa kanila kasi mahirap sila (just let the units go, let's give it to them because they are poor).... I will look for other land nearby, or contiguous to the area and I will make better ones, with water and electricity," he promised the troops, amid criticisms that he was spoiling the Left.

While Duterte courted the communists, he made sure to pamper the military too. He promised them higher salaries. He made sure to visit wounded soldiers, pinned medals on them, and wept with them when they lost fellow soldiers. 

It was a difficult balancing act but it seemed, for a time, that Duterte could replicate an arrangement he had in Davao City back when he was mayor. But what worked in his hometown didn't always work nationwide, he would realize.

Military officers did not believe the communists to be sincere in the talks, convinced that the CPP's singular objective is to overthrow the government. The CPP feels the same about the military, always wary that generals will sabotage the talks. 

But both were committed to Duterte, and the ceasefire held for nearly 6 months. In the meantime, the tension on the ground was growingly untenable. The first clashes erupted in Cotabato while the 3rd round of talks was ongoing in Rome. It was the beginning of the collapse of the talks.

The CPP withdrew its ceasefire declaration a few days later, surprising government negotiators who were still trying to prevail upon both sides to keep the truce. 

Talks continued even when the ceasefire declarations were withdrawn. But clashes on the ground and Duterte's speeches that demonized the rebels didn't help gain public support for the talks. 

Rappler learned the military has initiated a system wherein they provide Duterte daily updates on the country's security situation. It meant he would know about each incident on the ground.

Backchannel talks

Still, negotiators from both sides worked hard to save the talks even as the word war and the clashes on the ground escalated.

They had been holding backchannel talks and were ready to sign a "stand down agreement" – possibly by December 2017 or January 2018 – that would put an end to the worsening clashes. But another incident in November prompted Duterte to blow his top and cancel the talks anew: a 4-month-old baby was killed in an NPA ambush that targeted troops in Bukidnon. 

This time, Duterte acted on his threats. He issued Proclamation No. 360 to formally end the talks. Days later, he issued Proclamation No. 374 to begin the process of declaring his friends as "terrorists."

"What I cannot understand is we are just ready to give him the kind of ceasefire possible and he backs out," Sison told Rappler, adding that they envisioned to seal a deal by 2018. 

Duterte's reasons clearly go beyond the incident in Bukidnon. He claimed to know the private conversations among the communists and he didn't like how they were discussing a coalition government as the end game.

Sison said Duterte misunderstood. "The NDF never proposed the coalition government with the republic. We will co-found a new government and then of course, your weight in an alliance or coalition government will be decided by your performance in the elections, di ba (right)?" Sison said.

Sison believed the November visit of US President Donald Trump in Manila had something to do with Duterte's change of heart. "Maybe Trump said something like, 'We’ll give you what you want. Just kill the communist armed forces as much as you want. You don’t have to go to peace negotiations,'" said Sison.

Is Duterte's romance with the communists over?

"Pahinga muna tayo....Nagkalabuan lang (Let's take some rest... It's just a disagreement)," Duterte said in a speech on December 8. It suggested that another change of heart is not impossible, although he would again demonize the CPP in another speech days later. 

Chief Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza is not closing the doors. "Let's not speculate. Let's wait for developments as they take place," he told Rappler. 

That's the thing with Duterte. He can always change his mind. But who's waiting? – Rappler.com

TOP PHOTO: OLD DAYS. This Malacañang photo shows National Democratic Front (NDF) senior adviser Luis Jalandoni breaking out in laughter in what appears to be a reaction to a quip made by President Rodrigo Duterte during a visit to Malacañang Palace in September 2016. Behind Jalandoni are his wife, Connie Ledesma, and tagged Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) former chairman Benito Tiamzon, both of whom sit as NDF negotiators. Behind Duterte are government negotiators Jesus Dureza and Silvestre Bello III. 

President Rodrigo Duterte said it himself: It seems he’s spending the last days of 2017 “from one sorrow to another.”

He flew to Lanao del Norte on Wednesday afternoon, December 27, for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) briefing in Tubod town, where Severe Tropical Storm Vinta (Tembin) left 29 dead.

“There seems to be no let-up in the typhoons that batter the country today. I don’t know if the climate change that they have been talking about... had something to do with the greater and more deaths than before,” Duterte said.

The President was supposed to visit Marawi City first to personally turn over 500 units of temporary houses to those displaced by the war there.

“We circled for a while but we could not make an opening there. We could not enter so we proceeded to El Salvador just to view the damage before landing here,” he said at the briefing in Tubod.

The President said he will also try to visit Cagayan de Oro, also battered by Vinta. At least 4 major roads in Mindanao were destroyed by the storm.

Days prior, Duterte was in his hometown in Davao City, where 37 are feared dead from the fire that razed the 4-storey NCCC mall morning of Saturday, December 23.

'One sorrow to another'

“So, from one sorrow to another ako. I still have to visit some other place, hopefully tomorrow. Nauna na ako dito (I came here first). And well, it boils down to money. Wala talaga tayong magagawa (We can't do anything). That’s the reality. Damages and lives,” Duterte said. 

The President shared that he had to stay up until the early morning of December 24 to break the news to families that there was “zero chance” of survival for the 37 people trapped inside the burnt mall.

“I stood until morning time in just one place because my daughter begged off, Inday Sara, to make the announcement na hindi daw niya – Sabi niya, ‘Pa, hindi ko kaya,’ (she cannot, she told me 'Pa, I can't do it')” Duterte said, referring to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.

“I told her, ‘Well, I have been mayor for so long a time and I am not new to this kind of situations where you have to break the news.’ I dread it every time I do it but you just have to tell them the truth,” he said.

The President broke down in tears when he made the announcement.

Davao City was also not spared by Vinta, where over 31,000 residents were affected by flooding.

“Napakalungkot ho sabihin (It's sad to say) but we have been – we ended or we will end the 2017 with a bang of so many deaths of the Filipinos, ranging from careless(ness) to accidents and the typhoons. There seems to be a sorrow prevailing in the country today and it was not already a good Christmas day for all of us, thinking that there are persons suffering,” Duterte said.

He promised those affected by disasters and calamities that they will ‘try to fast track everything.’

“You can be very sure of that. We will have a meeting – I suppose right after the New Year. Wala nang panahon ngayon but the money, I said, is already appropriated. It’s in the departments concerned and I will just order them to come here and do their thing, in whatever aspect they are supposed to deal with,” the President said. – Rappler.com