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MAY 26-JUNE 2, 2017 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL
http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 689-5160
From the Front Page
Trump praises Duterte’s drug war, says Obama... PAGE A1 t great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that.” In response, Duterte thanked Trump for his comment, adding, “This is the scourge of my nation now and I have to do something to preserve the Filipino nation.” Duterte’s drug war has been in international news and gained continuous criticisms from rights group for its alleged spate of summary killings and human rights violations since he took presidency and launched the campaign in June last year. The decades-long relationship between the Philippines and the United States also appeared to be strained due to drug war criticisms—with Duterte constantly bursting into profanity-laced comments against Washington for its supposed interference in the government’s crackdown on illegal drugs. Some analysts, however, claimed that Duterte began to soften his stance with the U.S. after Trump’s presidential victory. Trump assumed office earlier in January this year. During their phone conversation, Trump was quoted as saying that unlike him, his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, did not understand the scale of drug problem in the Philippines. “I understand that and fully understand that and I think we had a previous President who did not understand that, but I understand that and we have spoken about this before,” Trump told Duterte. Trump also repeatedly invited Duterte in his office. “If you want to come to the Oval office, I will love to have you in Oval Office. Anytime you want to come,” the U.S. leader told Duterte. Trump further added, “I will be in the Philippines in November, but anytime if you are in [Washington] DC or anywhere, come see me in the Oval office… Work it out with your staff. Seriously, if
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you want to come over, just let us know.” The two leaders are expected to meet at the upcoming ASEAN Summit in November 2017. In the same conversation, both leaders tagged North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a “madman.” “Every generation has a mad man — in our generation is Kim Jung Un — you are dealing with a very delicate problem,” Duterte said. Trump, at one point, also remarked, “We can’t let a madman with nuclear weapons on the loose like that. We have a lot of firepower, more than he has, times 20 — but we don’t want to use it.” In the transcript, Trump asked Duterte his opinion whether the North Korean leader is “stable or not stable,” to which the latter replied: “He is not stable, Mr. President, as he keeps on smiling when he explodes a rocket.” The Philippine leader went on to say, “He (Kim Jung Un) is playing with his bombs, his toys and from the looks of it, his mind is not working well and he might just go crazy one moment.” Duterte also underscored China’s “important role” in intervening North Korea’s continuous nuclear activities in the Korean Peninsula that alarm its neighboring countries. Agreeing, Trump responded, “I hope China solves the problem. They really have the means because a great degree of their stuff come through China. They are doing certain things, like not accepting calls. But if China doesn’t do it, we will do it.” The White House has yet to issue statements in connection with the leaked transcript. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), on the other hand, refused to comment and instead appealed to the public for a “sense of responsibility and patriotism.” “Under Philippine law, there is
NEWLY PROMOTED OFFICERS OF THE ARMED FORCES. Vice Chairman Ronaldo Zamora (in white) and other members of the Commission on Appointments (CA) pose with newly promoted officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at the Senate plenary hall in Pasay City on Wednesday, May 24. PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan
criminal and civil liability attached to the hacking, unauthorized disclosure and use of illegally or inadvertently-obtained confidential government documents,” the DFA said in a statement. “While we value the need for transparency and the people’s right to information, release of certain pieces of information, whether accurate or inaccurate, can affect national security and regional peace and stability,” it added. “As such, we appeal to the sense of responsibility and patriotism of all concerned.” The DFA also affirmed that Duterte and Trump “have a good and warm working relationship,” expressing confidence that “it will continue to be nurtured towards a positive direction for the benefit of the longstanding partnership.” It also reiterated the Philippine government’s “support for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and encourage the parties to continuously engage in peaceful dialogue.” A New York Times report claims that a certain senior administration official in Washington confirmed that the transcript was an “accurate representation of the call” between the two leaders. Most of what the two presidents discussed, however, were already openly disclosed by the Philippine leader in his previous interviews and speeches. n
Fugitive Filipino ex-car dealer...
Judge Otero said defendant preyed upon members of the Filipino community as well as numerous federally insured financial institutions in perpetrating the scam that resulted in total losses to both individuals and financial institutions of over $90 million. Reodica, fled the United States in 1988, but he has been in federal custody ever since he was arrested in late 2012 at Los Angeles International Airport during a layover while traveling from Australia to Canada. On the day before he was set to go on trial in October 2015, Reodica pleaded guilty to 26 counts of bank fraud and making false statements to financial institutions. From 1984 through 1988, the fraud scheme victimized at least five banks – Union Bank, First Los Angeles Bank, Manilabank, First Central Bank and Imperial Savings. “The scale of the fraud is virtually unparalleled,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum. “Notably, Imperial subsequently failed and went into receivership with the FDIC based on the losses sustained as the result of defendant’s fraud.” Reodica was the president of the Glendora-based Grand Wilshire Group (GWG) of Compa-
Eminiano “Jun” Reodica Jr. once ran the third largest car dealership in the United States.
nies, which operated about two dozen car dealerships, including Grand Chevrolet in Glendora. “Over time, GWG became the second-largest Chevrolet dealership in the United States and the third largest car dealership in the United States,” prosecutors wrote in court documents. “Due to the apparent success of GWG, [then-California] Governor [George] Deukmejian appointed defendant to the board of the California Department of Motor Vehicles, and later ousted him from the board when his fraud was discovered.”
Duterte considering nationwide... PAGE A1 t on the same day when the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) conducted a joint operation in barangay Basak Malutlut to capture Isnilon Hapilon, who is believed to be the head of IS in Southeast Asia. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana identified the militants as members of the Maute group, which is believed to have pledged allegiance to IS in 2015. Lorenzana confirmed that the militants have occupied several establishments in Marawi City, including Amai Pakpak Medical Center, Marawi’s city hall, and the city jail. He also confirmed reports that several other facilities, such as St. Mary’s Church, Ninoy Aquino School, and Dansalan College, were burned down by the Maute group. The developments prompted Duterte to cut his four-day official visit to Moscow short to personally oversee government operations. “The hardest thing to deal with would be the arrival of IS in our country and it has come to pass, that there is really war going on,” Duterte said. “Government must put an end to this. I cannot gamble with IS
because they are everywhere and you know what is happening or you must be very aware of what is happening in the Middle East,” he added. Duterte warned that he will be “harsh” in the implementation of martial law, noting that it “will not be different” from the military rule imposed by late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. According to the president, the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus will be suspended under the martial law. The Chief Executive also warned: “Remember that this is not intended for the law-abiding citizens. We are the least of your worry. But if you confront government and my orders are one: to enforce the law. And anyone caught possessing a gun and confronting us with violence, my orders are shoot to kill.” He went on to say, “I will not hesitate to do it. My human rights is different. It is an institutional theory which we will reserve and observe.” “But anyone now holding a gun, confronting government with violence, my orders are spare no one. Let us solve the problem of Mindanao once and for all,” Duterte further added. Despite this, Duterte assured that he will not tolerate abuses.
“Congress is functioning. The courts are open for citizens to seek their grievance,” he said. While Malacañang initially announced that the military rule in Mindanao will last for only about 60 days, Duterte warned that it could be extended for a year. “How long? Well, if it would take a year to do it then we’ll do it. If it’s over in a month I’d be happy,” he said. In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) affirmed that the government is “in full control” of the crisis in Mindanao. The DFA stressed that it is “necessary” to declare martial law in Mindanao to “suppress lawless violence and rebellion and for public safety.” “The Philippine government is in full control, and fully aware that the Maute Group /ISIS groups have the capability (although limited) to disturb the peace; they have shown no hesitation in causing havoc, taking innocent lives and destroying property,” it said. Section 18, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution states that the president of the Philippines may place the country under martial law in case of invasion or rebellion for not exceeding than 60 days; and that the president may suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus within 48 hours from the proclamation of martial law. n
PH, Russia embark on ‘new chapter’... PAGE A1 t
GWG had credit agreements with the victim financial institutions under which GWG pledged car contracts as collateral on lines of credit. The agreements required GWG to collect car loan payments from its customers and provide those funds to the financial institutions. Reodica admitted that he would promise the same car contract as collateral to two different banks at the same time. In order to accomplish this part of his scheme, Reodica directed employees to forge customer signatures on car contracts that were then promised to a second bank. As another part of his scheme, Reodica also repossessed and resold cars without telling the banks. Reodica also admitted concealing from the banks that customers were delinquent on their car loans. In some cases, when the overall delinquency rate exceeded a level acceptable to a bank, Reodica used GWG funds to make car payments, which allowed him to continue using those delinquent contracts as collateral. Reodica also made his employees sign for car loans for cars that they were not really buying so that Reodica could increase the lines of credit he obtained from the banks.
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reiterated the Philippine government’s intention to strengthen its relationship with Russia. “Please consider us as a good friend. I came to visit your place and it’s to establish stronger bilateral relations. I [came] to seek your friendship and to trade, establish trade and commerce with your country,” Duterte told Putin. The Philippine leader also asked his Russian counterpart for a soft loan to procure military equipments. “I am sorry if I am in a hurry but I need to buy, if you can grant me a soft loan, we’ll [use] the money and pay it right away because the arms that we ordered from America [were] cancelled,” Duterte said. Last year, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, threatened to oppose the arms deal between Manila and Washington amid concerns over the alleged human rights violations in connection with the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war. Prior to his departure on Monday, May 22, Duterte disclosed that he wanted to secure deals for Russian precision-guided bombs that could be used against IS-inspired terrorist groups during his visit. Although Putin did not immediately gave a specific response to Duterte’s request, the Russian
President Rodrigo Duterte meets with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow prior to his return to the Philippines on Wednesday, May 24. President Duterte on Tuesday, May 23 decided to skip his scheduled engagements and cut short his official visit to the Russian Federation immediately after declaring a state of Martial Law in Mindanao due to the terror crisis that gripped Marawi City. Malacañang photo
leader said that their governments “have very many promising and interesting areas of cooperation, including on energy machine building, transport and infrastructure.” “And I think we can cooperate in many different technical spheres,” Putin added. Putin also expressed sympathies over the terror crisis in Mindanao. “At the outset of our conversation, I would express our condolences over the loss of lives of your people because of a horrible terrorist at-
tack,” he said. He further added, “And let me express hope that the conflict that you have just mentioned will be resolved as soon as possible and with minimal losses and casualties.” Likewise, the Russian leader affirmed that the signing of bilateral agreements will still push through, with Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano representing Duterte. Earlier in his pre-departure
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