A Buried Story Revives By Conspiracy Theory

Conspiracy theories that sprouted around the 5G networks technology bordered on idiocy. 

Conspiracists theorized that the spread of the virus from Wuhan had links to the 5G towers. Truth is, the 5G infrastructure in Wuhan are still incomplete. They claimed, too, that waves leaked by 5Gs antenna weakened the human immune system.    

WHO (the World Health Organization) hammered that viruses do not hover around radio waves or mobile networks. The pandemic rolled out in many countries which don’t have yet the 5G technology.  

The Philippines, for example, with still under used 4Gs because of inadequate tower transmission, huge onslaughts of the coronavirus kicked in. Official tally shows.   

What made these theories click then?

There should be a villain. Someone or something to endure the blame. When distress becomes a trend, people appealed on the anti-hero sentiments. 

The 5G provoked irrational fear. That’s the fruit of a technological breakthrough. People are uncertain. They perceived it as invasive. 

As people suspect the 5G’s, this is further fueled by the influencers and celebrities who relay and reinforce this message of fear. 

Conspiracists concocted that 5G can be the “Internet of Everything.” Nothing can escape from monitoring, capturing; and recording. Be it a conversation, scenes or images. This is superb for surveillance and spying. 

A buried story I kept triggered.  

The “Internet of Everything” resolves the dilemma I had for my main character.  

I saw this movie “Death Wish” at Baliwag Cine Gloria in 1974, played by Charles Bronson. 

Impressed, I ambition to write a novel based on this movie.

It is a vigilante film. Paul Kersy, the hero revenged for the murder of his wife. He took the law in his hand. 

My leading man, as I envisioned him, is a die hard nationalist and a multi-millionaire. He loves the Philippines so much. He wanted to spare his country from the clutches of the crooks, corrupt and white-collar criminals. Eliminating them by himself in solo flights. And for every nasty guy he disposed, he left the evidence on the scene justifying their fate. 

Proof gathering for my hero is where I got stuck. Even he is a multi-millionaire, there’s no way to produce the evidence to justify the killing.   

Now, “The Internet of Everything” courtesy of 5G technology  postulated by conspiracist is useful to me. 

I am ready now to put the story on paper.   

“Get out Dut’s! You Miserable Scram!”

Filipinos got amazed at how Digong’s penchant for evil lasted this long. 

Could it be that his style of leadership – a merged of Iron Fist and Kids Gloves coasted him along?

The Iron Fist, he used it for his political adversaries. The Kids Glove for his cronies and minions.

Early in his presidency, Sen. Leila De Lima, his top adversary, sampled her of his Iron Fist strategy to instill fear. He put her in jail. Duterte says – “Don’t mess with me, or I’ll mess with you.” 

Then, through his Solicitor General Jose Calida, on Duterte’s blessing tested the Quo Warranto petition to remove Ma. Lourdes Sereno, as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, without being impeached.  

Duterte in most of his speaking engagement bragged of his previous killings to intimidate and sow fear. This inspired his police to do the same in their drug related operations. 

Walden Bello, one of the Board of Directors of the International Forum on Globalization, enunciated this threat through his speech in LawFare. 

For Duterte’s minions and cronies, he goes easy with them.  Government appointees of his are inefficient, corrupt, embezzler. And yet, he slapped them with Kids Gloves. And still get rewarded.

In May 2018, Mocha Uson, the PCCO Assistant Secretary then, posted a video on her blog. Her post detailed the rescue of distressed  OFW in Kuwait by the Philippines’ Diplomats. 

This soured the diplomatic relationships between Kuwait and the 

Philippines. The embassies act violated Kuwait’s sovereignty. It’s a publicity stunt. A fiasco.  

Yet, Dut’s rewarded Mocha Uson a plum position as OWWA’s 

Deputy Administrator. A classic example of Kids Glove treatment. 

The Commission on Audit, on its 2017 report, questioned Wanda Teo, Department of Tourism head of the P60-million for DOT’s ad placement aired on PTV-4, without the transaction report. Ben Tulfo, owner of the media outfit that facilitated the ad is Wanda Teo’s brother. Conflict of interest reeked out. 

Wanda Teo resigned after the news broke out.  The media outfit that received the P60-million promised to return the money. No report of it came out yet.

Resignation.  An easy way out for handling people’s tax money. Cronies and minions jumped with joy. 

That’s how Kids Glove works for Duterte. 

Nothing lasts forever. 

People are becoming restive of Dut’s rule.  

Bizarre Twist of Lunacy

Exposed to Duterte’s crazy antics, Filipinos had better expect bizarre twist of his lunacy. This early, he must lay the ground for his minions to assume power to save his ass.

 

How?

 

On December 6, 2019, he sent his Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to negotiate for the nth time to resume peace negotiation with the Reds in the Netherlands. Aware of the Red’s old and recurring style using negotiations as ruse to fortify and strengthen their rebel activities, Digong, thru Bello should present to the NDF leadership a tacit agenda.

 

“Let’s have a mutual proposition here, and get away from the charade peace talks. I can provide your needs for your  ‘revolution’. In return, laid back from creating mob scenarios instigating chaos reminiscent of your Plaza Miranda bombing of the 70s.”

 

Duterte and the NPA are friends. In Davao, they feed each other’s needs: Sanctuary. The NPA can roam around undisturbed. In exchange, no launching of direct confrontation between them.

 

People’s hatred for Duts multiplied. It’s getting untenable every day. The NPA and the NDF’s dipping to the smoldering firestorm could enhance his downfall. Expected People’s Power 3 predicted!

 

Most Filipino insinuated that sweet flowing of Drug Money attributed to the 7-hours glitch of the 2018 midterm election.  It’s the people’s belief that’s the reason COMELEC’S voters turnout decimated the Otso Diretso.

 

As the power of Drug Money can lure everyone, Duterte’s minions can assure of a landslide victory come the 2020 presidential election.

 

So, to replicate the mishaps of the Otso Diretso, Drug Money must now do a hocus-pocus in the 2020 election.

 

And that’s easy.

 

Two Bureau of Customs Chief; Nicanor Faeldon and Isidro Lapena under their noses had slipped past through Customs, shabu shipment worth multi-billion pesos.

 

It is easy to speculate that the same incident will occur.  Enormous funds to buy out election results are assured. The strategy is repeatable because those previous Customs chiefs just moved to another post.

 

Mentalities Filipinos Are Made Of

Filipinos is now God’s chosen people. Think of it. Any ascribable mentalities that God gave, Filipinos sucked them all.  From the classic Crab mentality to Tingi (micro retail) to Asa (depend) to Utang na loob (debt of gratitude) to “Tambay” (hangers-on) to Harimuhanan (scrounging) to Hambog  (boaster) to Maka-isa (one-upmanship) and the Palusot – invent alibi, or cut corners to make a big buck.

God knows Filipinos handles these mentalities with gusto.

Three mentalities are subtle: The Harimuhanan. The Maka-isa. And the Palusot. They all boil down to penny-pinching and get self benefit.

Harimuhanan is – if one could get things desired without spending effort or money, ego get boosted. It is a cocaine mentality. Once you’re hooked, one  can get addicted. They wanted to be smart.

When a man always bum a smoke from a friend, rather than buy of his own, he’s making harimuhanan This mentality is common also to Philippine Government employees. If they feel lazy coming to work, or have some personal business to attend to, in cahoots with their bosses or comrades, they make sure nobody reported their absence.  That’s Harimuhanan.

Say, one desire to have a kid of his own, and someone does that for him to save the effort. That’s Harimuhanan, too. Big time!

Maka-isa, or one-upmanship is another variety of getting smarter.  Adept at spotting how they adopt their sleazy tactic, that became their way of life emulated within the family, spread and invaded the country’s political system.  Come to a point the government infested by the crocodile. 

Maka-isa, also mean, when you get older, and still can hump an opposite sex, to score, that’s a bonus. But this Maka-isa had it’s a way of getting you dead. Then somebody gets even with you. Fool!

Epidemic had become this Palusot mentality in the Duterte government. Everybody played it. But prominent among them, whoever become the President’s spokesperson. They embodied the double talk syndrome: either they evade or exaggerate. Thanks to them. The social media and news organization made a brisk business. It made Palusot mentality as a virtue. And we thought, that’s good!

 

 

 

Isko Moreno’s Quips That Last

 

When asked whether the new elect Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso can sustain his blitzkrieg stoppage of the city’s decay, he said, “If the usual rotten degradation comes back,  assured, I got eaten by the system. As simple as that.”

 

His pronouncement carried with it a solemn swear to keep him straight to his vision of Manila. Otherwise, this will haunt him. Whatever comes; be it the usual decay or steady change for the better, his quip perpetuates on people’s minds for generations to come.

 

Challenges confronting Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso are big. His life is at stake. The degradation of Manila went on for a while. Illegal rackets run by the likes of  ‘Eddy and Patty’ made them powerful silencing whoever gets in their way killing their business.

 

The Mayor exposed the bribe attempt for him of 5 Million pesos per day. If the lure of money don’t work, maybe – threat for the lives of his family and loved ones. Then, the family’s love and his visions of Manila get in the balance. He needed the goodness of his constituents. That shield him from danger and keep his motivation.

 

When Isko Moreno became Mayor, he’s ready and equipped. Born in the toughest neighborhood of Tondo, he’s exposed to hardship to eke out a living to survive. Being an actor, he developed his good public persona. As Manila’s Vice Mayor, he had an intimate knowledge of rackets, corruption, and kingpins that stunts the growth of the city. And as part of the bureaucrats he attained a formal training in public governance.

 

People saw him now as Manila’s savior for it to rise as a prime city, A city neglected in a long while the neighboring metropolis grow modern by leaps and bounds.

 

 

 

Breaking Bad of Crisis Brand

 

Arts imitates politics.

“Crisis our Brand”, a movie released in 2015 starred Sandra Bullock, as Jane Bodine, hired by the campaign team of Senator Pedro Castillo, a tailender in Bolivia’s Presidential contest as a political strategist.

Jane, known to have a penchant “working outside the box,” she maneuvered her client’s campaign on two fronts. One, as she said, “If you don’t like the road you’re on, pave  a new one,” referring her client’s low standing in the polls.

Second: Changing the narrative to fit the man and promote the country’s crisis as a brand.

Jane explored and exploited his dirt, his skeleton in the closet, and the dislikable character of her client: His penchant for foul language,  womanizing and violent tendencies. Then propped the angle –  the country is in crisis – so, it needs a man the likes of Pedro Castillo to govern.

Pedro Castillo’s standing in the polls improved and won the Bolivia’s Presidential race by a slight margin.

“Crisis our Brand” the movie served as a template to  inspire the people behind the Duterte Presidential campaign in 2016.

Jane’s role in the movie could have taken by Nic Gabunada, a former media savvy of ABS-CBN exploiting the tremendous power of the social media through the fake accounts. The deluge of bandwagon effect rubs off the 16 million Filipinos under the pretext that the nation is in crisis, it needed the dislikable quality of Duterte’s persona.

Three years passed, in this coming 2019 midterm election, the death attributed to Duterte’s war on drug multiplied. Human Rights violation increased. The nation’s economy on a tailspin. Corruption perpetrated by Duterte’s  own men rampant. Inefficiencies in the government unabated.

Yet, Duterte had the temerity to get more vicious and salacious attacking his political opponents. His lackeys thoughts adoption of the “Crisis our Brand” still work wonders. Not now that his internet troll  army  decimated.

This  2019 midterm elections  is a referendum of his rule.

 

Two Presidents Brag Their Dicks

Duterte always laced his speeches with sexual innuendos. This didn’t bode well for the Women Organization as Gabriela. Or for Etta Rosales, a former Commissioner of Human Rights, or for Senator Rita Hontiveros – as it demeaned women.

 

In December 2018, Duterte spoke of touching their domestic helper while asleep when he was a teenager. This outraged the women’s sentiments.

 

On April 4, 2019, on a campaign rally  at the Puerto Princesa City Coliseum in Palawan. Duterte took pride of his impressive penis, that could reach up to his belly button.

 

He called Chel Diokno, an “Ocho Diretso” Senatorial candidate as “ugly”. Then segued it with “a man’s good looks doesn’t matter if he has a small penis.”

 

Given a tiny pecker, Duterte said, better chop it in front of the altar and cursed God.

 

“Sonofabitch. Is this you endowed me?”

 

“I’m very thankful to my father. At least, he contributed for me to have  big equipment.”

 

Duterte further likened his penis to that of a microphone. He moved it up to the sky to emphasizing its size.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump, bragged, too, his equipment; not as salacious, but suggestive.

 

In a Fox News Debate, Trump said: “He hits my hands. Nobody has ever hit my hands. I never heard of this. Look at those hands. Are they small hands? And he referred to my hands. They are small. Something else must be small. I guarantee you. No problem,”

 

With Duterte’s latest unbecoming of a President’s speech, bragging his penis, how Gabriela, Etta Rosales, and Rita Hontiveros respond?

 

Let’s see, if they are as vociferous as to the other Duterte’s past misogynists statement.

 

Flare Star for Mar

Mar Roxas, when interviewed by Pinky Webb of CNN Philippines “The Source” asked him: Is it needed you lose in the 2016 election?

“I don’t know if it’s needed or not. I took it as they come. Those are the cards that dealt you. I am human. It’s painful. I am not aware which one people rejected. Is it my person? My platform? Or is it the Program I espoused?” Mar said.

None of those rejections Mar mentioned caused his loss. The confluence of events did it.

Mar Roxas’ stunt directing traffic downgraded his technocrat image. To endear himself to the masses, he dislodges his upper-crust bearing. It boomeranged. He became a joke.

An army of trolls proliferated in social media. Fake news unabated. These dictated the onslaught of public opinion against the party to which Mar belongs. Then, the sprouts of “Tanim Bala” at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Everyday disrupted services of the MRT occurs. Hellish traffic woes endured by the daily commuters. The Mamasapano debacle resulting in the death of the SAF soldiers. These events fueled by the diatribes of the social media trolls conditioned the voter’s mindset.

The Filipino voters in their desperate hope to find the Moses who could give them the promise land aimed for The Avant-Garde leader. Joseph Estrada, the movie actor fits the bill. They voted Joseph Estrada. They opined: Well, we tried lawyers, statesmen. We got nothing. That voter’s decision swelled Philippines Politics with misfits movie actors and celebrities.

Then, came Rodrigo Roa Duterte, another The Avant-Garde leader. He said he will destroy the drug menace in 3 months. Making appearances the “tradpols” disdain to do in public, Duterte did it with gusto. He cursed, yet, people mesmerized of its humor and magic. They did wonders. Aided by the internet trolls, he won by 16 million votes as President of the Philippines.

This series of events, Roxas suffered and defeated.

As the social media contributed to Roxas’ defeat, he harnessed its potential for him to be with people. During his hiatus, after spending quality times to his family, he indulged himself traveling around the country, documenting the places he visited, and his interaction with the locals, and post his insights, and experiences to the social media. Many followed his post on Facebook and Instagram. And he encourages to post for more. He seized the people’s pulse. Not by way of directing traffic.

Pinky Webb, asked him: What made him run again?

Mar Roxas said, “To fulfill his sense of duty leading the nation to modernity.”

 

Long Live Evil in the BOC

 

The BOC’s corruption has long been a cliché in the Philippines. The bureau’s corrupt practices become a commonplace. It generates evil the same as that of corrupt politicians.

 

Its history of a malevolent tradition stepped up its gutsiness.  Now, it’s not a simple “TARA” on merchandise coming in. The “shabu” entry to the country marked off with sophistication aided by ingenious collusions of players. The haul gets bigger on every discovery.

 

During Nicanor Faeldon’s time in 2017, the BOC released the P6.4-billion worth of shabu. The BOC allowed the shipment to pass the green lane or express lane without getting it run through the X-Ray machine. The BOC’s Online Releasing System (OLRS) get tweaked, which okayed the release.

 

A year after, on August 7, 2018, Isidro Lapena who took the helm of the BOC, P6.8 billion worth of illegal drug entered the country via magnetic lifter. This time, they let it pass through the X-Ray machine. For a trained X-Ray Machine operator who followed SOP’s, they should have examined the lifters if it shows images, compartment, or hollow parts. But they didn’t. Two magnetic lifters ended up in the warehouse in Cavite, loaded with “shabu”.

 

An X-Ray Image analyst and Customs deputy collector for passenger service, Lourdes Mangaoang, in her TV interviews hammered on the evidence: the physical, the testimonial, and the documentary. Only then, that the BOC Chief, changed tunes. He admitted the PDEA’s first findings that there were “shabu” swift through the BOC.

 

“Shabu” smuggling proved to be onetime Lottery hit wonder.

 

Sweepstakes live in the BOC.  “Hao  Shao” composed now of former BOC insider colluded with politicians starved for election funds. They teamed up with the Chinese national bringing in the illegal drugs.  High demand for “shabu” makes it a high-grade investment.

 

Every participant wins. But no “big cow” get slaughtered. They can get appointed to other government agencies-same as those appointees, who took millions of government’s money but never get punished.

 

They only need a small-time scapegoat: the likes of Mark Taguba on Nicanor Faeldon’s time. And Jimmy Guban on Isidro Lapena. Once the heat subsides, these scapegoats can get out free. End of story.

 

The BOC’s militarization ushered in the new cycle. Remember that Faeldon for his image building tactic he installed CCTV and put on a show staff taking bribes. For Isidro Lapena, his media blitz were wrecking high- end cars.

 

The people will wait for the image building tricks of the next BOC Chief.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Brain Behind Illegal Towing

Traffic violators in Metro Manila are allergic to legalities and paper works. That’s why they are hard as granite to give out their Driver’s License when apprehended. They argued to their last breath. And they never run out of sly excuses before accepting tickets for their violations.

To escape from the hassle and legalities, these traffic violators make themselves vulnerable for extortion by crafty tricksters who detected loopholes from the MMDA’s established guidelines procedure.

Tricksters conceived the racket of illegal towing services. They roamed around Metro Manila spotting parked vehicle and towed it. Their venture proved working, so they get bolder. They snatch the vehicle’s keys if they are still in the car or in the truck and impound the vehicle to a place, where owners can retrieve them for a fee higher than the MMDA charged.

The Illegal towing business thrives, until an anonymous individual squeal the illegal racket to the now famous I-ACT Gadget Addict Annotator, which relayed the information to the MMDA Management’s top leaders and other agencies such as PNP-HPG, and LTFRB.

With the joint forces of the three government agencies, the MMDA’s Special Operations Task Group, the PNP-HPG, and the LTFRB, they raided the place near where they impounded the towed vehicles.

From there, they tracked where the illegal towing racket holds office. To their surprise, Danilo Lim, MMDA’s Chairman, and Jojo Garcia, MMDA’s General Manager, Aileen Lizada of LTRFB, and PNP-HPG led to a shanty office.

They cornered the accomplices. The suspect ratted each other. It appeared not only one do the illegal towing. The fingered housewife, unable to give the raiding team with concrete information of their mastermind,  demanded of their cooperation.  Else, prosecute them with untoward consequences.

Meanwhile, an illegal tow truck spotted cruising along Osmena Highway alerted an on-going investigation of the MMDA, PNP-HPG and LTFRB.

The chase yielded two persons of interest who could have been the doer of the illegal towing racket.

Although they received a tongue lashing from the MMDA’s Chairman, Danilo Lim, they denied their illegal towing activities.  They refused to give specific information who’s behind the scam. They accosted them to Camp Crame, only because their tow truck doesn’t have the LTFRB’s accreditation markings and driving without a license.  The illegal towing scam needed deeper investigation.

At the hindsight, MMDA must have the insight of how themselves could beat their own procedure. Prevent ahead. Instead of reacting or suppressing after the fact. Otherwise, the trickster equipped with the good imagination will screw them on their own game. Only now they realized they needed a master list of the accredited towing services shared by the agencies concerned.