In the narration of SP03 Arthur Lascañas of the “jobs” he had done as member of the Davao Death Squad, he recalled the instruction of then Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in a murder operation against the financier of a kidnapping: “Sige, limpio lang.”
Lascañas explained.” Bisaya parlance po ito. Ang ibig pong sabihin “Sige malinis lang.”
Another term that Lascañas said Duterte used complementary to the “limpio lang” instruction was “erase lahat.”
“The torture of a bad conscience is the hell of a living soul.”
John Calvin -French theologian and reformer
The turnaround of SP03 Arthur Lascañas on the murders he committed as a member of the Davao Death Squad must have stunned Malacanang, all that it can come up with was Press Secretary Martin Andanar’s preposterous allegation that Senate reporters were given $1,000 each to attend the press conference morning of Wednesday at the Senate.
Senate reporters and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines slammed Andanar for the irresponsible allegation.
Andanar immediately backtracked finding himself trapped in quicksand of dubious press statements with his destabilization angle. The more he tried to wiggle out of his “destab” story, the more that his credibility sank.
February 20, 2017
Ako po si Arturo Barikit Lascañas, 56 years old, isa pong retiradong pulis na miyembro ng Davao City Police Office. Ako po ay pinanganak at tubong Davao City. Dito sa gagawin kong isang public confession, ito po ay pagsunod ko po sa kagustuhan ng Diyos, at labis na takot sa Diyos, pagmamahal sa bansa natin at sa sarili ko pong konsensiya. Dahil po dito, dito po nagwakas ang blind obedience and loyalty ko sa isang tao – kay Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte, na ngayon po ay Presidente ng bansa natin.
Dito po, una ko pong tatalakayin ang mga sinasabi ni Edgar Matobato. Totoo po ang existence ng Davao Death Squad o DDS. Si Edgar po ay isa sa miyembro namin, at isa po ako sa pasimuno nito. Ang pag-umpisa po ng Davao Death Squad, before po ito nag-umpisa, sa una pong pag-upo ni Mayor Duterte bilang Mayor ng Davao City ay nag-umpisa na po kami na tinatawag ng ‘salvaging’ ng mga tao. Ito po ay mga suspect na gumagawa ng krimen sa Davao about illegal drugs. Naimplementa na po namin ang personal po na utos ni Mayor Rody Duterte sa amin.
The public should be more discerning this time with President Duterte’s bluster when confronted with the issue of his BPI bank accounts which have been recipients of deposits amounting to over P2 billion from 2006 to 2015 from several sources.
News reports Friday quoted President Duterte as ordering the Anti-Money Laundering Council to give information about his “net worth.”
The news item was based on what he said at the dinner with Philippine Military Academy class of 1967, where he is an honorary member, at Baguio City Country Club. This is what he exactly said:
“Kaya ang gusto ko lang sabihin sa inyo, because it’s politics again. It’s a rehash of what they… it is pure garbage. But you know I’m President, I’ve ordered AMLC and everybody to give information sa ano ang… what’s my worth in this… in terms of pesos in this planet. So hindi ko kayo hiyain. Walang anak ko o ako mismo, sa totoo lang. I have not signed any voucher even for myself. I only receive a salary and that’s it. I do not accept my allowances – wala po ako. I avoided it. And it will be so until the end of my term.”
VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Duterte flip-flops on family’s wealth
Satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Satire is a survival tool in an environment when one’s sense of right and wrong is being assaulted from all directions.
Don’t cry. Read Bernard Ong’s Facebook post, “Ganito kami sa bansang Fentanilia” and laugh:
President Duterte’s reaction to the Pastoral Letter of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines on the killings related to his campaign against prohibited drugs read in all Catholic churches last Sunday shows the danger when small minds are given so much power.
“Kayong mg Katoliko, kung naniniwala kayo sa mga pari pati obispo doon kayo. Kung gusto nyo mapunta ng langit, doon kayo. Ngayon, kung gusto nang matapos ang droga pero magpunta ako sa impyerno, sumabay kayo sa akin (You Catholics, if you believe in priests and bishops, go with them. If you want to go to heaven, go there. Now, if you want to end illegal drugs join me in hell),” he ranted in a press briefing in Cagayan de Oro Sunday evening.
It’s doubtful if he even read and tried to understand the full letter. The bishops acknowledge the problem of the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country and that’s in the first paragraph: “This traffic in illegal drugs needs to be stopped and overcome. But the solution does not lie in the killing of suspected drug users and pushers.”
The best way to learn a foreign language is to be in place where it is spoken. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines has announced various scholarship programs open to qualified Filipino students.
One of them is Huayu (Mandarin) Enrichment Scholarship which allows applicants to choose to pursue either 2 months or 3 months intensive Mandarin courses subject. A monthly stipend of 25, 000 NTD will be provided to cover all the expenses. Application is from February 1-March 31, 2017.
For more of this scholarship, please visit: https://taiwanscholarship.moe.gov.tw
Congratulations to the people who made the staging of the 65th Miss Universe in the Philippines a rousing success.
The publicity that the Philippines got from the pageant and the goodwill generated from the 86 beauties were a bonanza to Philippine tourism.
Last Monday’s pageant financier former Ilocos Sur Chavit Singson said the $14 million he shelled out will return in terms of more visitors to the country that are expected to fill up hotels, resorts airline seats, restaurant and other tourism-related businesses.
The more visitors, the Filipinos would be employed for a more vibrant Philippine economy.
Now, when visitors come, will they feel safe and leave the Philippines with beautiful memories of the country to share with others?
The 2015 World Health Organization’s Global Status Report on Road Safety estimates 10,379 fatalities in the country a year, half of them motorcycle riders, followed by pedestrians.
That’s more than 10,000 families deprived of a father, a mother, a brother, a sister or a member of the family, many of them were breadwinners caused by something that is preventable.
The country’s health system also share considerable burden in the treatment of injuries caused road crashes.
Just think: If the public are more road- safety- conscious, so much misery and pain could have been prevented and government resources could have been spent in other urgent needs. It could free up beds for other patients in crowded public hospitals.