Bato: Cops with bad aim to be disarmed

Police officers who can’t shoot straight will lose their service firearms.

Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa has ordered all PNP members to undergo marksmanship training, and those who fail will be disarmed to prevent them from causing collateral damage. Dela Rosa admitted that on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 as the best, the average marksmanship in the PNP is 6 to 7.5. “I will disarm those who will fail. They are not qualified to hold firearms because they are not good shooters. They are not proficient,” he told reporters yesterday at the start of the three-day Chief PNP Bato Cup in Lipa, Batangas. “They might cause collateral damage in their surroundings if they will continuing possessing guns. They are not competent after all,” he added. Dela Rosa said police officers good at shooting would be tapped to share their talent with other policemen. Police officers who can’t shoot straight will lose their service firearms. Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa has ordered all PNP members to undergo marksmanship training, and those who fail will be disarmed to prevent them from causing collateral damage. Dela Rosa admitted that on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 as the best, the average marksmanship in the PNP is 6 to 7.5. “I will disarm those who will fail. They are not qualified to hold firearms because they are not good shooters. They are not proficient,” he told reporters yesterday at the start of the three-day Chief PNP Bato Cup in Lipa, Batangas. “They might cause collateral damage in their surroundings if they will continuing possessing guns. They are not competent after all,” he added. Dela Rosa said police officers good at shooting would be tapped to share their talent with other policemen. “I am directing them henceforth to train policemen in their respective units. They should share their ability, skills, knowledge in shooting to improve the level of competency in marksmanship of policemen,” he added. The PNP chief also instructed the Directorate for Human Resources and Doctrine Development (DHRDD) to revive the gun proficiency training and test for policemen. “So before the third quarter ends, we have to conduct the test so that we would know the passing average,” he said. He clarified that improving marksmanship does not mean policemen have to shoot drug pushers dead. “I have to make sure that my men are always alive after every encounter… but it doesn’t mean you have to kill all the suspects. That is not my order,” Dela Rosa said. “My order is to arrest the suspects based on police operational procedures and we have to respect the rule of law always, all the time. That’s what we are here for,” he added. The PNP chief expressed belief that previous leaders had different priorities and improving the shooting skills of policemen was not among them. For this reason, Dela Rosa said the PNP under him would prioritize the shooting skills of police officers and the budget will come from maintenance and other operating (MOOE) expenses of the PNP. “We have MOOE for bullets so what we will do is to monitor if it is really used to buy bullets for the practice of the police force,” he added. Dela Rosa noted that if policemen are good at shooting, criminals would not engage them.

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Phl seen outperforming Asean neighbors’ growth

The Philippines is expected to have the fastest growth for the second year in a row among the five major economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN-5) in 2017.

Philippine Ambassador to France Ma. Theresa Lazaro presented recently the annual Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India during the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Vientiane, Laos. Lazaro said that among the ASEAN-5 countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam – the Philippines and Vietnam received the best growth forecasts for next year. “The economies of Philippines and Vietnam are expected to grow by 6.1 percent,” she said. The OECD Economic Outlook is an annual publication on Asia’s regional economic growth, development and regional integration process. It focuses on the economic conditions of the ASEAN-member countries as well as the relevant economic issues in China and India in order to reflect economic developments in the region. “Steady economic growth is expected to continue in the region in 2017,” Lazaro said. The Philippines is co-chair of the Economic Outlook until 2018, coinciding with the country’s chairmanship of the ASEAN summits in 2017.

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Official Gazette slammed over historical revisionism

Dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared martial law to suppress communist insurgency and secessionism in Mindanao and stepped down in 1986 to avoid bloodshed during an uprising later known as people power, the Official Gazette claimed in a post that it later took down after drawing flak from the public.

The Official Gazette, the official journal of the Philippine government, was under fire on Sunday afternoon following a Facebook post commemorating the 99th birth anniversary of Marcos. “Marcos was the first post-independence president to be re-elected in 1969. In 1972, he declared martial law to suppress a communist insurgency and secessionism in Mindanao,” the original post read. “In 1986, Marcos stepped down from the presidency to avoid bloodshed during the uprising that came to be known as ‘people power,’” it added. The post also included a photo of Marcos, with a quote from his inaugural in 1965 saying: “There are many things we do not want about our world. Let us not just mourn them. Let us change them.” The initial post immediately drew criticism from netizens, who accused the administrators of the page of historical revisionism, particularly on aspects about the declaration of martial law and his deposition from office following the people power revolution. The reaction appeared to have prompted a revision, which removed the phrase “to avoid bloodshed” in the caption. Dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared martial law to suppress communist insurgency and secessionism in Mindanao and stepped down in 1986 to avoid bloodshed during an uprising later known as people power, the Official Gazette claimed in a post that it later took down after drawing flak from the public. The Official Gazette, the official journal of the Philippine government, was under fire on Sunday afternoon following a Facebook post commemorating the 99th birth anniversary of Marcos. “Marcos was the first post-independence president to be re-elected in 1969. In 1972, he declared martial law to suppress a communist insurgency and secessionism in Mindanao,” the original post read. “In 1986, Marcos stepped down from the presidency to avoid bloodshed during the uprising that came to be known as ‘people power,’” it added. The post also included a photo of Marcos, with a quote from his inaugural in 1965 saying: “There are many things we do not want about our world. Let us not just mourn them. Let us change them.” The initial post immediately drew criticism from netizens, who accused the administrators of the page of historical revisionism, particularly on aspects about the declaration of martial law and his deposition from office following the people power revolution. The reaction appeared to have prompted a revision, which removed the phrase “to avoid bloodshed” in the caption. It was later taken down and replaced with a shorter version containing details on the political career of the late dictator. “Ferdinand Marcos started his political career in 1949 as a representative of the second district of Ilocos Norte. Ten years thereafter, Marcos was able to secure a seat as a member of the Philippine Senate in 1959 and was elected Senate president in 1963. Ferdinand Marcos became the 10th president of Philippines in 1965. He was the longest-serving president of the country for almost 21 years,” the new post read. The updated post did not quell critics, who noted the decision of the administrators of the page to remove any mention of martial law and people power. “He was the longest-serving president of the country for almost 21 years… Because he became a dictator!” one comment read. The Official Gazette again edited the post, which now includes the following phrase: “He was the longest-serving president of the country for almost 21 years, declaring martial law in 1972, then went in exile to the United States in 1986 at the height of the people power revolution. He was succeeded by Corazon Cojuangco Aquino.”

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Gov’t subsidies to GOCCs up P35 B in July

Bigger subsidies were provided to more government-owned and – controlled corporations (GOCCs) last July than in the same period a year ago, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.

A total of P35.26 billion in credit were extended to six GOCCs during the first month of the Duterte administration, up more than 15 times from last year’s P2.32 billion provided to three firms. The National Government gives out credit to GOCCs and state-run financial institutions to support their operations. They, in turn, remit more than half of their annual earnings as dividends. Subsidies form part of state expenditures, while dividends are recorded under revenues. In July, dividends, which are usually reported on specific months of the year, reached only P46 million. Broken down, a huge chunk of subsidies were provided to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) which received P33.8 billion in funding. It was followed at far second by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) with P683 million, Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. with P646 million, and Philippine Heart Center with P113 million. At the bottom and below the P100-million mark were the Philippine National Railways with P13 million and Southern Philippines Development Authority with P4 million. For the first seven months, subsidies already reached P71.86 billion, a 55.23-percent increase from P46.29 billion last year, data showed. PhilHealth still accounted for the bulk of subsidies from January to July with P35.27 billion, followed by the National Housing Authority which was granted P10.63 billion and NIA with P8.82 billion. Bigger subsidies were recorded in July as the Duterte government recorded a wider budget deficit of P50.67 billion, the widest in four months. The budget gap – which indicates more revenues spent than earned – brought the seven-month tally to P170.98 billion, accounting for nearly 44 percent of this year’s cap, figures showed. The new government widened the cap to P388.87 billion, equivalent to 2.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) upon taking over. The original limit was at P283.7 billion, accounting for two percent of GDP.

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NEDA to pursue strategic trade on rice

Farmers are expected to diversify their crops and explore other “strategic” products that may be exported and give them better incomes once restrictions on rice imports are lifted next year.

“What we want, really, is to have a very strategic trade policy with respect to rice and be more strategic also with respect to agriculture,” said Rosemarie Edillon, deputy director-general at the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). “There (are) still a number of farms in the Philippines that can compete with world prices given more competitive conditions. But for some of them, they really have to diversify outside of rice,” she said in a recent interview. Quantitative restrictions on grain importation will expire next year and will not be renewed by the Duterte administration which wanted market forces to dictate rice prices. The restrictions were protecting local farmers from foreign rice imports by imposing a high 35-percent tariff rate after reaching a particular shipment ceiling. Earlier, NEDA director-general Ernesto Pernia said not only will QR not be re-imposed, but that the government will exit rice import business through the National Food Authority (NFA). Under the plan still being drafted, Edillon said a specific tariff rate will be imposed on private sector importation. While there is nothing confirmed yet, she said the present 35-percent rate applicable under the free trade agreement of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations could be explored. “In the past, we have been artificially protecting our producers and there has not been much pressure to put the land into more strategic use,” she said on the sidelines of the Philippine Investment Forum last week. Anyway, NFA will continue to maintain buffer stock in order to ensure enough rice supply to support prices, especially during times of natural calamities. “In cases when there is a calamity, you need to provide relief goods and that would be the function of the NFA…,” she said. The NEDA official also does not see this as causing supply glut as market forces will dictate demand. “You can only stock up rice for a short period of time otherwise it rots,” she said. “Just like other commodities, it’s market forces that will dictate,” Edillon said. She added she sees increased rice supply lowering rice prices and over-all inflation, explaining that high grain prices had tamed the effect of poverty eradication measures during the previous administration. Rice inflation slightly increased to 0.5 percent in August from zero percent in the previous month, according to latest census data. “You just let the private sector (import) however they see fit. If they think the domestic supply is way too low when they import, they just have to pay the tariff,” Edillon said.

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5 ‘carjackers’ killed in shootout

URDANETA CITY – Five suspected members of a carjacking group were killed in an encounter with police officers in Barangay Nancalobasaan in this city before dawn yesterday.

Police said Jomar delos Santos, Ronnie Chico, Arnold Bandara and Gilbert Tiomico had identification cards on their persons. The fifth suspect was described as wearing a white T-shirt and blue denim pants. The suspects, who were in a stolen Toyota Innova, ignored a police checkpoint along Mac-Arthur Highway, according to city police officer-in-charge Superintendent Marceliano Desamito Jr. Police officers pursued the suspects, who shot at them, triggering a firefight along the Bulaoen-Casantaan barangay road. Investigators recovered four .45 caliber pistols, several plastic sachets said to contain shabu and the Toyota Innova at the scene of the shootout. Reports said the group operates in Ilocos region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), National Capital Region and the Cordilleras. Police said the carjackers would rent a vehicle, which they would take away after killing its driver. Three of the group’s victims were identified as Joselito Santiago of Bulacan, Joel Lulu of Pampanga and Joel Obillo of Tarlac City. The victims’ bodies were found in the towns of Binalonan, Manaoag and Sison, all in Pangasinan.

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Phl ranks 9th in offering best value for flights

Reflective of a booming local aviation industry, the Philippines was found to have the ninth cheapest airline tickets in the world, according to ranking by an online travel agency.

The country ranked ninth out of 75 countries with an average flight cost of $7.76 per 100-kilometer of travel for both local and international trips, this year’s Aviation Price Index released by kiwi.com said. “We always aim to offer travellers the best possible deals and hope this ranking informs customers on the countries from which they can expect the most effective airfare and assist them in booking the best value journey,” said Oliver Dlouhy, the company president. Rankings were produced by looking at over a million flights to find the average ticket cost per 100-km of travel. India topped the list on offering best value flight cost of $3.21, while Malaysia and Russia ranked second and third with $3.78 and $5.88, respectively. At the other end, the United Arab Emirates was found to have the most expensive airline tickets with $105.71, according to the latest rankings. Philippine domestic air passenger traffic grew 12 percent in the first quarter to 5.84 million, which the government had attributed to numerous promotional offers by different airlines. In particular, Civil Aeronautics Board data earlier showed three budget carriers namely Cebu Pacific Air, PAL Express and Philippines’ AirAsia accounting for bulk of domestic traffic from January to March.

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