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Good morning Rapplers!
President Rodrigo Duterte has a new target: cops used by the notorious Parojinog family to kill their enemies. Duterte announced a P2-million bounty on each of the policemen-turned-gunmen’s heads. Will it be effective in capturing erring cops?
Meanwhile, it was a busy day for Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar. He signed an “interim” policy to accredit bloggers to cover Malacañang. A 6-month test run of the policy will be monitored by Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson.
On the same day, Andanar was again under the spotlight after the Philippine News Agency – one of the state-run media agencies under the Presidential Communications Operations Office – published a pro-China story regarding the West Philippine sea dispute. The article, which was sourced from China’s state-run news agency Xinhua, said the historic Hague ruling that sided with the Philippines was an “ill-founded award.”
Other stories in today’s wrap include Comelec Chair Andres Bautista crying on national television amid accusations from his wife that he acquired ill-gotten wealth; and North Korea saying U.S. President Donald Trump is “bereft of reason.”
Below are the big stories you shouldn’t miss.
President Rodrigo Duterte announced a P2-million bounty on the heads of policemen who acted as gunmen for the Parojinog clan in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental. The family used cops to target and kill their enemies. The clan, whose members were into military-sanctioned vigilante groups and later branched into organized criminal activities, has also held power in the city for around two decades. The most recent patriarch, Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog, was killed with his wife Susan, brother Octavio Jr, sister Mona, and 11 others in a police raid before dawn of July 30.
While a final policy is still being crafted, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar signed an “interim” policy for accrediting bloggers to cover President Rodrigo Duterte’s events. It states that accreditation may be given to any Filipino citizen who is at least 18 years old and has at least 5,000 followers in any social media platform. The policy covers only bloggers who “generate news and information regarding the activities of the President.” The interim policy is to be given a “test run” for 6 months, to be monitored by prominent Duterte supporter and Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson.
The Philippines’ own state-run news agency posted an article that calls the historic ruling won by the country against China an “ill-founded award.” The article was sourced from Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. The Philippine News Agency is one of the state-run media agencies under the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO). The PNA reposts Xinhua articles because it has a partnership with xinhuanet.com, but PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar said content should still be vetted carefully. The PCOO has sent a memo to the PNA asking the agency to “explain in writing” why its staff should not be held liable for administrative charges.
Comelec chair Andres Bautista cried on national TV as he said his wife’s exposé against him was unfair to their children. His 47-year-old wife, Patricia, earlier ran to the media to accuse the Comelec chairman of having nearly P1 billion ($19.76 million) in unexplained wealth. Bautista, the former CEO of the group that ran the Shangri-La malls and hotels in the Philippines, denied his wife’s accusations. He also sued his wife on Tuesday, August 8, for robbery and extortion, after she supposedly “ransacked” his cabinet in their condominium unit last year and “stole” his “financial documents.”
North Korea said US President Donald Trump was “bereft of reason” and would only respond to force, as it elaborated on a threat to attack the US Pacific territory of Guam. Trump this week stunned the world with a bold-faced message to Kim Jong-Un, saying his country faced “fire and fury like the world has never seen”. Pyongyang then said it was working on a plan to fire simultaneously 4 ballistic missiles in an enveloping fire around Guam, a key US military stronghold. “Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him,” the official KCNA news service quoted General Kim Rak-Gyom of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) as saying.
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