4NEWS
VOL. 10 ISSUE 222 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9-10, 2018
Palace to Joma:‘If you want war, we’re ready to go to war’
M
ANILA -- “If you want war, we’re ready to go to war.” This was the statement made by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque a day after President Rodrigo R. Duterte blasted Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison for his remark that the New People’s Army (NPA) was still capable of launching attacks that could kill one soldier a day. In response, Duterte, in meeting with NPA rebel returnees in Malacañang Wednesday, said that he could have �ive NPA rebels killed for every soldier killed. Duterte’s speech before the NPA rebel returnees was delivered in the Visayan dialect. Asked to clarify Duterte’s statement, Roque said the President warned Sison not
MOTORCYCLE LOGGING. In the past, carabao logging was practiced by small-scale farmers who engaged in cutting tropical forests. These days, in some parts of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental, people
resort to motorcycle logging, in which a motor can carry as much as 100 tons of cut logs into the nearby town. Photo by Henrylito D. Tacio
PRRD: ‘You say I’m a dictator? I am really a dictator’
B
efore a crowd of New People’s Army (NPA) surrenderers in Malacanang Wednesday night, an obviously irked President Rodrigo Duterte said he feels insulted by allegations he is a puppet of the United States because he does not even want to talk to Americans but admits he is a dictator, claiming it is necessary. Muingon mo’g diktador? Diktador gyud ko. Kay hindi ko mag-diktador, p__t__na, walang mangyayari sa bayan na ‘to. Tinuod (You say I’m a dictator? I’m really a dictator. Because if I will not be a dictator (expletive), nothing will happen in this country. That’s
true), Duterte told 217 NPA surrenderers �lown in from Mindanao, in a speech delivered in Cebuano, the �irst 87 minutes of it aired live over state-owned PTV4 before he asked the TV crew to stop �ilming. “Og di ko mag-diktador
kana style nako ron, walay mahitabo sa atong nasod” (If I don’t act like a dictator, like my style now, nothing will happen in this country), he stressed. “Kinahanglan. Tutal pinili man ko ninyo. Ngano di man ninyo ko sundon?” (It is necessary. After all, you voted for me. Why will you not obey me?), Duterte said. The New People’s Army (NPA), he said, can never win in its war against government, reiterating his Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is well-equipped with airplanes that could drop bombs, among others.
“Ingnan ko bombahan ko nang inyong p__t_nang eskwelahan. Ana dayon sila ‘Ah Duterte diktador, pasista, mao kini, mao kana, U.S. Tang_na, insulto. Kanus-a pa ang nagpa-under sa Amerikano?” (I said I will bomb your (expletive) school. They said ‘Ah Duterte, dictator, fascist, US. (Expletive). That’s an insult. Since when have I allowed myself to be under the Americans?) he asked. “Enforce the fear” “Equalize the terror” or “enforce the fear” has been Duterte’s governance style since he was elected mayor of
PRRD,P11
and 1.2 kilometers from the Task Force Davao checkpoint in Sitio Licanan, Barangay Lasang. TF Davao said the bag was apparently thrown there. Traf�ic returned to normal at around 7:30, it said. The improvised explosive device (IED) was made of PVC pipe, detonating cord, blasting cap and ammonium nitrate fuel oil or fertilizer mixed with diesel fuel. “These materials are also used for dynamite �ishing al-
though NPAs (New People’s Army) use the same,” Task Force Davao said. Col Nolasco Mempin, Task Force Davao commander said the improvised grenade was not detonated since it needed to be ignited �irst before it will explode. He said an investigation is ongoing to identify the person who left the bag. Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, Deputy TF Davao Commander, told MindaNews the area was cordoned off as pre-
cautionary measure. “Dinalhan namin ng K9 and the snif�ing dogs sat near the bag, an indication of probable explosives content,” he said. The swift response of authorities in Lasang was lauded by residents. The recovery of the IED came as the city is preparing for “Southern Storm Drills,” a series of anti-terror exercises that will be implemented nationwide but piloted in this
UNATTENDED,P11
PALACE,P11
Major infra projects to address unemployment: Malacañan
M
ANILA -- Malacanang on Thursday expressed optimism that unemployment will be addressed as the Duterte administration starts to roll out major infrastructure projects under its ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program. “We are con�ident, because of the Build, Build, Build program of the government,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press brie�ing. Roque made this remark following reports that more than 6,000 employees in the National Capital Region were expected to lose their jobs amid plans by more than 400 companies to terminate workers. Coca-Cola FEMSA was reportedly laying off an undisclosed number of employees due to “evolving regulatory environment, our operational ef�iciency, and,
consequent performance in the market.” The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), on the other hand, has reportedly received notices in January from more than 400 companies that they will be terminating more than 6,000 employees. Roque said “unprecedented locators and foreign investors” that had registered with the Board of Investments (BOI) would address unemployment. “And of course, we have also record �igures as far as manufacturing output of the country is concerned,” Roque said. He announced to the media that the country’s manufacturing sector continues to be one of the top performing sectors for 2017. “Manufacture has been experiencing high growth
MAJOR,P11
Comelec to print add’l 18-M ballots for May 14 village polls
Unattended bag yields IED as Davao City M prepares for anti-terror drills on Feb. 28 D avao City — Motorists passing by Lasang were asked to turn around early Thursday morning while authorities attended to a bag that yielded an improvised grenade. A press release from Task Force Davao said civilians reported to the Task Force Davao’s Explosives and Ordnance Disposal and K9 Team in Lasang at around 6:30 a.m. about the unattended bag, some 50 meters from the footbridge going to Davao City
to threaten the government. “I think the message is, ‘You don’t threaten us Joma Sison,” Roque said in a Palace brie�ing. “We are the state, if we haven’t eradicated you, it’s because we opted not to eradicate you as Filipinos. But if you want war, we’re ready to go to war,” he added. Roque said that Duterte wanted Sison to know that there were enough government resources to retaliate should the NPA launch attacks. “Nandiyan ang resources ng gobyerno at hindi dapat tinatakot ang gobyerno na parang mas malaki pa ang kakahayan nila manaig sa isang digmaan. Handa ang buong sandatahan kung gusto nila ng digmaan (The resources of the government are there and he should not threaten the
ANILA -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to print an additional 18 million ballots for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls on May 14. Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez noted that the ballots are for new registrants and for Mindanao voters. “The bulk of preparation is in the printing of ballots for the additional registrants during the November 2017 registration,” he said. Jimenez added that they are looking to start the ballot printing on February 15, noting that the process will take 20 days.
“Approval of the printing details is still pending in the commission en banc,” he said. The poll body would be using the 59,578,346 of�icial ballots that were printed last year for the National Capital Region (NCR), Luzon, and Visayas Regions. The date of the polls on of�icial ballots in the said regions would be October 23, 2017 while those for Mindanao would bear May 14, 2018 as the date of the elections. The poll body earlier said it was already 85 percent prepared to conduct the forthcoming electoral exercises. (PNA)