Pact on migrant workers signed at Asean summit

One of the agreements signed at the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit would benefit roughly 10 million migrant workers in the region, including about two million Filipinos.

President Rodrigo Duterte said the “Asean Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers “would strengthen social protection, access to justice, humane and fair treatment, and access to health services for our people.”

Labor groups quickly welcomed the development. Alan Tanjusay, spokesperson of Alliance of Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, said the consensus agreement will promote best practices for migrant workers among the 10 Asean countries. “This is a positive step towards improving core labor and occupational safety and health standards on decent and humane treatment of Asean migrant workers and their families,” Tanjusay said.

He said the lack of a uniform core labor standards and occupational safety and health standards prevents Asean from having a “genuine and functional shared prosperity” and will lead to more abuses to the most vulnerable sectors of the countries.

OFWs in Central.

“Without a uniform, binding labor standards in Asean, we would see rampant practice of child labor, more abuses on women workers, prevalent sweatshops, poor wages, temporary and short-term jobs, and bare social protection in Asean as governments and businesses prod workers to produce goods and services,” Tanjusay explained.

The consensus is a continuation of the Asean Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers that the Philippines introduced when it last hosted the Asean Summit in January 2007.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Robespierre Bolivar said the signing of the consensus “is a centerpiece” of the Philippine chairmanship of Asean.

From forming the declaration in 2007 to achieving a consensus in 2017, the Philippine chairmanship of Asean has “come full circle,” he said.

“One of the key features of this Asean Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers is for all countries in Southeast Asia to afford the same level of protection to migrant workers as they do to their own citizens in terms of labor contracts, labor standards, and all of that, access to say legal representation, especially access to consular representation,” Bolivar said.

“All of these things come into play knowing that the Philippines, probably Indonesia and some other countries, are some of the biggest migrant sending countries,” he added.

The action plan will be crafted in the 2018 meetings under the Asean chairmanship of Singapore.

Apart from the labor consensus, the Philippines and other Asean nations jointly declared the official start of negotiations on the code of conduct in disputed waters including the West Philippine Sea.

HK professor says Duterte's hold on power still firm

By Daisy CL Mandap

Prof. Mark Thompson: “That popularity may not
last, but for the meantime, it's holding firm,”

The Philippines may have one of the highest number of killings by police in the world, but this has not dented President Rodrigo Duterte's popularity.

This was according to Prof. Mark Thompson, head of City University's Southeast Asian Research Centre during a talk on "Duterte's Violent Populism" at the Foreign Correspondents Club on Nov. 7.

Prof. Thompson said the number of deaths from the extrajudicial killings by police and vigilantes as part of Duterte's anti-drug campaign - though "fuzzy"- rival those in known dangerous hotspots like South Africa and Brazil. 

Even the official figure of 9,000 is said to have long surpassed the 3,000 plus deaths recorded during the iron-fist rule over 14 years by former President Ferdinand Marcos.

Despite this, Thompson said recent surveys showed Duterte still enjoying the support of 80 percent of Filipinos.

“That popularity may not last, but for the meantime, it's holding firm,” said Thompson.

Duterte's focus on drugs, instead of other more pressing issues like the rising inflation and incidence of poverty, has reportedly allowed him to build a new power base, aided by the police and his former leftist allies.

The campaign also resonated with the elite, “as they have the biggest security concern”, said Thompson.

“Duterte has brought to the Philippines a new form of reactionary politics,” he said.

This meant attacking some well-entrenched oligarchs like Lucio Tan and some Marcos cronies, but helping those allied with him.

At the same time, he made overtures to the left, but failed to deliver on such promises as agrarian reform and an end to the labor contractualuzation.

This brand of politics also weakened “already vulnerable institutions,” said Thompson.

The Philippine Congress is now under Duterte’s control, and he has trained his guns on independent bodies like the Commission on Human Rights and the Ombudsman.

The country’s economy has also suffered, with more than 90 percent of direct foreign investments falling in just one year under Duterte's rule, while the market for overseas Filipino workers could soon dry up.

Despite all these, Thompson says he does not see any sign of Duterte losing his grip on power anytime soon.

“He will finish his term,” Thompson told The SUN confidently after finishing his talk.

Filipina ‘drug mule’ pleads guilty, jailed 15 years plus

By Vir B. Lumicao 

A Filipina former domestic helper who tried to smuggle 3 kilos of cocaine into Hong Kong from Dubai last year was jailed on Nov 8 for 15 years and 5 months, after pleading guilty to drug trafficking.

Imelda G. Penascosa, 45, was somber and emotionless as Deputy High Court Judge Gareth Lugar-Mawson read the sentence.

The mother of three, who was working as a maid in Macau at the time of her arrest, admitted her guilt at the start of what was supposed to be a seven-day trial. An out-of-court agreement between the prosecution and defense led to her guilty plea.

The stash found in Penacosa's luggage.

Penascosa was charged with “trafficking in a dangerous drug” for bringing in more thank three kilos of pure cocaine. She was represented by Jonathan Acton-Bond on instructions of Legal Aid.

In mitigation, Acton-Bond said Penascosa had been separated from her husband by whom she had two children aged 24 and 26 She had a boyfriend in Macau, the father of her 10-year-old child.

Acton-Bond pleaded for a 33% discount to her sentence, citing the accused’s act of volunteering to help trap the recipients of the smuggled drug in a controlled delivery operation, albeit unsuccessful, outside the Customs area of the HKIA.

The prosecution said the drug seized had a street value of more than $4 million in the Hong Kong market.

But Judge Lugar-Mawson said he could not give the Filipina a huge discount due to the big amount of cocaine imvolved, her pleading guilty only on the first day of the trial, as well as the international aspect of the case.

He said the sentence of 15 years and 5 months was already light, given that her offence normally carried a 23-year sentence, plus an extra 5 years due to its international aspect.

The court heard that Penascosa was arrested on the night of Feb 13 last year after she arrived from Dubai with three cans containing 248 plastic-wrapped pellets disguised as chocolate candies.

During investigation, she said the three cans were handed to her at Dubai Airport by a Macau-based Filipino woman named Jennifer as presents for her children.

Penascosa said she met Jennifer and her Filipino partner Edilberto in Macau. It was the man who suggested she went to a business seminar in Dubai and possibly get a job from the man’s Dubai employers. Jennifer bought her a return ticket on Emirates Airlines.

Penascosa entered Hong Kong through the China Ferry Terminal on Feb 8 and flew to Dubai on an Emirates plane on the same day. But she found no job in Dubai.

In her Dubai hotel, she was visited by two men – one of whom she understood to be Jennifer’s brother – who gave her a black Samsung phone which she was told to use for subsequent communications in that emirate.  She was also instructed to contact a certain Tony, who was described as the boss.

Tony asked her for a photo so his brother Mike, who was flying to Dubai, could meet her at the departure gate of Dubai Airport.

But when she went to the airport on Feb 13 for her flight back to Hong Kong, Penascosa was surprised to meet Jennifer, who gave her the three ‘heavy and smelly” choco cans.

She also found out she and Jennifer would fly back to Hong Kong on the same plane, with Jennifer sitting a few rows back.

Acton-Bond told the court that despite her jailing, Penascosa would continue to help Customs track Jennifer and her cohorts.

3 agencies raided as HK cracks down on human traffickers

 Officers from Labour, Immigration and Police departments jointly raided three employment agencies on Nov 17 to investigate cases of trafficking of Filipino domestic helpers to other countries, and charging them excessive fees.

However, no arrests were made and a government statement said the raiding teams, which included officers from the Anti-Organised Crime and Triad Bureau, merely "inspected” the three agencies located in Tsimshatsui, Wanchai and Kennedy Town.

Labour Department TV spot warning against job scams.

Labor Attaché Jalilo dela Torre, who has been waging a relentless campaign against recruiters luring their Filipino victims to Russia, Turkey and other countries, welcomed the Hong Kong government’s action.

“This is a welcome development, and brings hope and relief to the thousands of victims now toiling in Russia and Turkey, and other countries. I hope the HK authorities sustain the campaign. Some legislative initiative to ban employment agencies from recruiting and deploying to third-country destinations would strengthen and institutionalize the drive against human traffickers,” Labatt Dela Torre said in an online post.

He suggested Hong Kong lawmakers should also clamp down on individual illegal recruiters, particularly a Pakistani national he recently stopped from recruiting Filipino workers to Russia.

“How about lone wolves, or individual perpetrators, like Ahmed Sameer or Jon Meer –they have no agencies, no brick and mortar presence, and yet they victimize more, thanks to Facebook and Messenger, which are their communications and recruitment platform of choice? How about it, LegCo?” Dela Torre said in his post.

Meer has been harassing the labor attache and his family members on Facebook recently as a result of his failed recruitment drive..

The raids came three days after Chief Executive Carrie Lam promised to take “vigorous enforcement action” against any employment agencies in Hong Kong that illegally deploy helpers abroad.

Speaking on Nov 14 ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lam said: “I, alongside the chief secretary and the secretary for labour and welfare, are all very concerned about the issue and have been consistently in touch with the Philippine consul-general in Hong Kong.”

“I reiterate that (the government) will take vigorous enforcement action against any agencies that conduct illegal activities in Hong Kong, such as channeling the foreign domestic helpers who are supposed to work in the city to other places.”

A police spokesperson has declined to name the three employment agencies raided.

“(The raids were) a joint operation of the police, the Labour Department and Immigration Department. We have no other details,” the spokesperson said.

A spokesman for the Labour Department did not give details of the raid, either.  

"The government is committed to safeguarding the rights and benefits of foreign domestic workers and will not tolerate their exploitation in any form," the spokesman merely said. 

He added that the Labour Department had been taking stringent enforcement actions to regulate agencies under the Employment Ordinance, including the requirement to charge job-seekers no more than 10% of their first month’s salary.

He said the department would take follow-up actions against overcharging of fees upon receipt of complaints from the helpers or referrals by the consulates in Hong Kong. 

“At the same time, the cases will also be referred to the police and Immigration for investigation in respect of the suspected fraud and deception, and other illegal activities,” the spokesman said.

Bello: China hiring Filipino teachers, HSWs

Philippine Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said China is hiring thousands of Filipinos, mostly as English teachers and household service workers.

Bello said he would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the terms of the job opening after the close of the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Manila.

“I still do not know the number of workers stated in the MOU,” Bello said, but noted that in an earlier meeting with Chinese officials, they talked about 100,000 Filipino teachers and 100,000 Filipino HSWs to be hired.

Labor officials said China wants to hire Filipino workers because of their proficiency in English as well as their good work attitude.

Super tipid ang amo, kaya ginaya niya

Kilala ang mga Intsik sa pagiging masinop o super tipid lalo na sa pananalapi. Patunay dito ang amo ni Lina  dahil sa sobrang tipid nito. Simple lang ito manamit at paulit-ulit lang ang kinakain araw-araw: gulay na choi sum, steamed pork at steamed fish.

Bihira itong kumain sa labas at hindi naghahanda sa bahay kaya walang dumadalaw na kapamilya o kaibigan sa kanilang bahay. Hindi rin ito nagsasayang ng pagkain dahil minsan na nagbakasyon ito sa Japan ay inuwi pa ang isang pirasong karne na halos isang kagat na lang ang natitira para kainin sa bahay.

Naitanong tuloy ni Lina sa mga kaibigan kung talaga bang sobrang mahal ng karne sa Japan at pati yung katiting na karne ay inuwi pa ng amo. Natatawang sinabihan naman siya ng mga kaibigan na huwag nang papansinin ang amo dahil natural na ugali na ng Intsik ang pagiging matipid kaya sila yumayaman.

Sa ngayon ay nasa pangatlong kontrata na si Liza sa  kanyang mga amo pero parehong pagkain pa rin ang niluluto niya araw-araw dahil ayon sa kanila, “they want it simple”. Dahil sa ugaling ito ng mga amo ay nagka ideya si si Liza na gumaya para makaipon.

Iniwasan na niya ang pagbili ng kung ano-ano na tigbebente sa daan. Kapag araw ng kanyang pahinga ay binibili na lang niya kung ano ang kanyang kailangan. Dahil dito ay paunti-unti siyang nakaipon at plano nang mag for good pagkatapos ng kanyang kontrata sa 2019.

Ang kanyang mga amo na super tipid ay super inspirasyon na nya sa pag iipon para umalwan ang kanyang buhay pagdating ng panahon.Si Lina ay tubong Bikol, dalaga at kasalukuyang naninilbihan sa mga amo sa Mid-Levels. – Ellen Almacin

Kunsumisyon ni Fely ang kaibigan

Dismayado si Fely sa kaibigang kapwa taga-Pangasinan dahil sa loob ng dalawang taon nito sa Hong Kong ay humihiram ito ng allowance sa kanya halos buwan-buwan dahil halos lahat ng kinikita ay ipinapadala sa pamilya sa Pilipinas.

Kinagalitan niya tuloy ito isang araw. “Por Dios por santo, wala ka bang isip, ikaw ang nagtatrabaho, kumikita, bakit mo sinasagad ang sarili mo? Lagi ka na lang kapos,  magtira ka naman ng para sa sarili mo,” panggigigil na wika nito sa kaibigan.

Nadagdagan pa ang kunsumisyon ni Fely nang malaman na tatlong linggo na palang overstay ang kaibigan dahil basta na lang daw nitong iniwan ang kontrata sa mesa para pirmahan ng amo, pero hindi pinaalala.

Nang makita ng amo ng kontrata ay overstay na siya. Nasabi tuloy ni Fely, “Dikdikin man kita, friend pa rin kita!”. Hindi niya alam ngayon kung hanggang kailan niya matitiis na laging pangaralan ang kaibigan gayong pareho na silang nasa 40 taong gulang na. – George Manalansan

Hindi makuntento sa suweldo

Laking panghihinayang ni Berto, 45, at taga Bicol, dahil wala siyang naipundar sa pagtatrabaho bilang driver sa nakalipas na 15 taon. Ilang kontrata lang kasi ang nabuo niya dahil sa paghahangad  ng mas mataas na sweldo.

Naiinggit kasi siya tuwing maririnig sa mga kapwa drayber sa parking area kung magkano ang kanilang sinasahod, na mas malaki sa kinikita niya.

Dahil sa dami ng employer na nalipatan niya ay nakilala na siya ng isang immigration officer. “You again?” daw ang nababanggit ng taga Immigration tuwing magpapasok siya ng bagong kontrata.

Mabuti na lang at basta may naipasok siyang bagong kontrata ay tinatanggap nila, dangan nga lang at kailangan niyang umuwi para doon hintayin ang bagong visa. Sa dalas ng kanyang pag-uwi ay nahirapan siyang mag-ipon.

Buti pa nga daw ang kanyang kumpare na halos kasabayan niyang dumating sa Hong Kong. Nakapundar na ito ng sariling lote, bahay, at  sakahan sa Pilipinas, kahit sa umpisa ay minimum lang ang suweldo nito.

Sa kaka recontract nito ay nadagdagan nang nadagdagan ang kanyang suweldo, at nabigyan pa ng long service pay. Libre din ang kanyang tirahan at pagkain dahil marunong siyang makisama sa kasambahay.

Sa katunayan, kapag maglalaba siya at kailangan siyang umalis, napapakiusapan pa niya ang kasamahan na isampay ang mga damit niya.

Kailan lang napagtanto ko, sabi ni Berto, na hindi maganda ang palipat lipat. Una, hindi ka makakapag plano sa iyong kita, at wala kang maipupundar. Kapag nagkakaidad ka na ay saka ka lang mapapaisip na ikaw ang nalugi dahil sa pagnanasang pataasin lagi ang iyong suweldo. Sa mga nalalabing ilang taon pa bago siya mag retiro ay pagsusumikapan daw ni Berto na makabawi para umayos din ang kanyang buhay. –George Manalansan

Employer's companion accused of 'torturing' Filipina maid

(UPDATED)

by The SUN 

If this is not slavery, what is?

Signs of abuse on the vcctim’s forehead.

Two Filipina domestic workers fled on Nov 9 from the house of their employer in Tseung Kwan O, with one claiming she had been abused “physically, mentally and verbally” by the employer's live-in companion, and did not pay her salary for more than six months, allegedly as punishment for her "mistakes."

The two women claimed the abuse on Lanie Grace Rosareal, 27 was with the knowledge and tacit approval of their employer, Leung Sher-ying, 63.

But it was Leung's companion, Au Wai-chun, 65, a former civil servant who was convicted on Sept. 1, 2014, of scalding a Bangladeshi maid with hot water, who allegedly abused Rosareal almost daily. (see: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1583001/ex-civil-servant-found-guilty-burning-maid-scalding-hot-water)

The claim is backed up by Rowela Sobiono Suete, 36, who was hired by Leung as a second helper, and fled just 19 days after being employed, claiming she could not stand the regular punishments being meted by Au on Rosareal.

As in the case of the Bangladeshi maid, both Suete and Rosareal were signed up as domestic helpers by Leung who lived with Au in a 35th floor flat in The Grandiose, a private residential tower in Tseung Kwan O. On top of this, the two Filipinas said they were made to work in the house of Au's son in an adjacent building.

Rosareal and Suete were fetched by a concerned citizen who responded to their appeals for help to a friend, then escorted them to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office where they complained against the employer.

“I think this employer does not deserve to hire a foreign domestic worker permanently. It is cruelty akin to modern-day slavery,” Labor Attaché Jalilo dela Torre remarked after meeting with the two women in his office.

Dela Torre immediately put both Leung and Au on the Philippine Overseas Labor Office's watch list, meaning they won't be able to hire Filipina domestic workers again unless they get to clear their names with the labor attache.

Rosareal, who had served Leung since Jan 24, 2014, tearfully related before Labatt dela Torre her daily ordeal at the hands of Au that included head-banging, being kicked and bopped on her top with a knife or a TV remote control, being jabbed in the arm with a pair of scissors, or clawed on her wrists and neck.

Fingernail marks can still be found on her wrists and biceps as well as on her left neck. The maid said she suffered headaches due to the banging but could not go for a medical check-up, as she worked even on her holidays so she could pay the “fines” imposed on her by Au.

The list of pay deductions as punishment.

For October alone, the fines on Rosareal totaled $7,670, according to a notebook where Au had listed down all the alleged shortcomings of the maid for which she was fined

Under Hong Kong’s labour laws, justifiable fines charged aginst a foreign domestic worker’s salary should not exceed $300 a month.

From April to October this year, Rosareal said Leung paid her $4210 monthly salary, plus payments for her cancelled days off, then told her to go to Au to settle her "fines". She ended up turning over all that she received from Leung, to Au.

In a labor case she filed against Leung, Rosareal listed down a claim for around $50,000, including $31,500 in unpaid wages for six months and 19 days; $4, 210 monthly pay in lieu of notice; severance pay of $10,600; plus food allowance and return air fare.

The labor case is separate from the police complaint she filed against Au, with help from POLO and the Consulate's assistance to nationals section.

According to Suete, she had tried to protest the abuse and the fines on Rosareal with Leung, but was allegedly told to just let Au be. Leung also allegedly told Suete that it was Rosareal who had  been "torturing" Au.

Asked why she put up with the abuse for so long, Rosareal said she was scared that Leung would make good on the threat to have her jailed for using an Octopus card lent her by the employer to buy a $28 meal when she was out on an errand once, and got hungry.

The employer had also taken away her passport, an act that is prohibited under Hong Kong’s labour laws.

But it was the apparent shame on being punished repeatedly that kept her from protesting, or telling other people about her ordeal.

"Ewan ko nga ho ba kung bakit pumayag na lang ako na saktan niya," Rosareal told The SUN.

She said that Au often told her that she needed to also feel the pain that she was causing the elderly woman.

"Sabi din niya, nawawala yung sakit na nararamdaman niya kapag nasasaktan niya ako."

Rosareal said Au's favorite punishment for her was to make her kneel in front of the old woman and bang her own forehead on the floor. If she didn't comply, she would either be kicked hard, or hit on the head with the TV's remote control.

If Au thought the banging was weak, she would allegedly step on the back of the maid’s head and thump it to the floor even if the Filipina was already crying in pain.

“Sometimes, she would grab my hair with both hands and bang my head against the concrete wall, and say ‘I want you to feel the pain that I feel’,” Rosareal said.

There were also times when Leung was reportedly forced to hit her with a stick on Au's orders.

"Kapag kasi hindi niya (Leung) sinunod, sila ang nag-aaway," said Rosareal.

The hiring of Suete, a nursing aide and mother of two, in mid-October came as a blessing for Rosareal, who is single. Seeing Au's cruelty, Suete reminded Rosareal about her rights and reported the abuse to her agency in the Philippines, which then forwarded the complaint to its Hong Kong counterpart.

When the Hong Kong agency staff called Leung, Au reportedly turned on Suete and had since verbally abused her, too. Au also threatened to confiscate her passport.

“I’m now afraid because she might also hurt me, so, I decided to run away with Lanie,” Suete said.

It was Suete who reached out on Nov. 8 to her friend and The SUN contributor, Rodelia P. Villar, about her and Rosareal’s plight. Their rescue the next day was coordinated with Labatt Dela Torre.

Both Rosareal and Suete talked about their being made to work in the two houses, as well as cleaning the outside of windows despite the ban on such domestic task imposed by the Hong Kong government effective Jan 1 this year.

They also complained about being given just a few slices of bread to eat and no food allowance. Every part of the employer's flat was allegedly monitored by CCTV, including their beds.

On Nov. 13 they were due to meet with Leung at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office for conciliation but the employer reportedly begged off, saying she would be out of town. Two days later, Leung did appear before Labatt dela Torre, aided by two lawyers, but no settlement was reached.

Rosareal's labor claim against Leung is due to be heard tomorrow, Nov. 21.

The two workers have also filed affidavits of complaint at the Consulate's assistance to nationals section, which in turn referred their case to the Western Police Station which initiated an investigation.

Suete said she and Rosareal worked from 11am to 2am the next day. But while Suerte was allowed to sleep immediately after, Rosareal had to stay up until 8am, as she had to watch over Au, who despite suffering from a spinal cord injury, is reportedly able to walk on her own around the house.

Suete said she could not sleep because she would hear Rosareal crying while being punished. Even the neighbors disturbed by Au's rants had protested, she said.

The two Filipinas are now hoping to settle their cases so they could find new employers who hopefully, would treat them better.

No more rev gov’t, says D30

President Rodrigo Duterte has written off his plan to declare a revolutionary government after he failed to sway the military to support it.

As a consequence, a group calling itself “Mandirigmang Hakbang Tungo Sa Revolutionary Government” cancelled a Nov. 25 rally at the Quezon Memorial Circle that was intended to drum up public support for the plan.

Had the plan pushed through, Duterte would have wielded both executive and legislative powers and converted the country to federal government.

Vice President Leni Robredo set the tone on Nov. 8 when she announced that she had received assurances from the defense establishment headed by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Rey Leonardo Guerrero, that the military will not support the “rev gov” plan.

After a security briefing held at the Philippine Air Force headquarters at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, Robredo said: “We (were) asking because there are government officials involved in talks about a revolutionary government. But this afternoon, we were assured—and the assurance was strong—that (the military) would not support such a plan.”

Duterte confirmed this the next day when he met with Filipinos residing in Vietnam at the Pulchra Resort in Da Nang City, while attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

He said Robredo was “correct” in saying the military would not support a revolutionary government in the Philippines.

“I asked the military. They said, ‘We won’t support a revolutionary government,” Duterte  said. “‘Why?’ and they said,  ‘Because Vice President Robredo said it … We like her more. She’s a woman and does not cuss.’  I said, ‘OK, then we will not have a revolutionary government.’”

He then stuttered: “Pero tama siya. Ayaw ng… Gusto ng military siya ang… Dapat sundin si Robredo.”

The idea took shape on April 2, when Duterte supporters staged a rally at the Luneta, and signed a petition for the establishment of a revolutionary government.

In a speech in Malacanang four months later, Duterte said: “For the Philippines to really go up, I said: What the people need is not martial law. Go for what Cory did – revolutionary government.”

He added: “You declare all positions of the government vacant and change all. The mistake of Ma’am Aquino was to give it all back to the politicians.”

He raised the pressure on Oct. 13 when he declared in an interview on government TV: “Pag ang destabilization ninyo patagilid na and medyo magulo na (If your destabilization is worsening and it is becoming chaotic), I will not hesitate to declare a revolutionary government until the end of my term, and I will arrest all of you and we can go to a full scale war against the Reds.”

This was answered by opposition group Tindig Pilipinas, which said: “President Duterte is losing his grip. Only a paranoid and insecure little man afraid of losing power will rationalize the need to impose a revolutionary government upon the people.”

It added: “The paranoia is evident. It is manifested in the slide in the surveys, from the increasing numbers of the various forms of protests, from the massive pushback on social media and from the President’s increasingly irrational, indefensible and incoherent stance.”

“Like any abuser sensing that his victims are seeing him as the abuser that he is, he senses doom. He knows he is an empty can once he loses control,” the statement said.

Subsequent efforts to raise public support for a revolutionary government have failed.

The latest rally organized by pro-Duterte groups at the Quezon Memorial Circle  in early November fizzled out when less than 50 people showed up.