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Ang kapalaran mo sa Hulyo

Posted on 12 July 2019 No comments

BABOY. Isinilang noong 1923/35/47/59/71/83/95
Magaan ang pakiramdam at puno ka ng pag-asa ngayon, kaya hindi mo iindahin ang mga problema. Mag-ingat sa labis na pagtitiwala dahil hindi mo na napapansin ang tunay na pagkatao ng mga kakilala. Huwag palalain ang sitwasyon sa pamilya ng dahil sa labis mong pagtatampo. Lucky numbers: 16, 19, 31 at 45.

DAGA. Isinilang noong 1924/36/48/60/72/84/96
Maswerte ka ngayon dahil magtatagumpay ka sa mga gagawin mo. Hindi maiiwasan ang pagtatalo kung lagi mong inuuna ang trabaho kaysa pamilya o karelasyon. Mag-ingat na magka-problema sa pananalapi ng dahil sa mga maling desisyon. Doblehin ang pag-iingat sa pinapasukang transaksyon. Lucky numbers: 12, 13, 27 at 39.

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BAKA. Isinilang noong 1925/37/49/61/73/85/97
Dadami ang mga kakilala mo na maaaring maging interesado rin sa iyong proyekto o mga ideya. Magiging maayos ang pagsasama ninyo ng kapartner o ng isang taong makikilala pa lang. Kailangan mong magtipid ng husto upang maiwasan ang malaking problema. Lucky numbers: 11, 26, 28, at 41.

TIGRE Isinilang noong 1926/38/50/62/74/86 at 98
Gawing regular ang pang-araw araw na gawain at iwasan ang mga stimulants upang makatulog ng maayos. Mag-ingat sa mga inaalok sa iyo dahil baka hindi ito mapakinabangan sa bandang huli. Mas mainam na bigyan ng pansin ang iyong plano at sundin ito ng husto upang magtagumpay ka. Makakalipat ka ng bahay ng walang problema at makakatipid ka pa. Lucky numbers: 5, 17, 23 at 42.

KUNEHO Isinilang noong 1927/39/51/63/75/87
Pagkakataon mo nang malampasan ang hadlang na nagpapahirap sa trabahong mo. Huwag hayaang maisahan ka ng mga kasamahan mo. Bababa ang resistensya mo dahil kulang ka sa ehersisyo. Malalambungan ng maitim na ulap ang emosyonal na kalagayan mo, pero makakaasa ka na sisikat din ang araw, at magiging masaya kang muli. Lucky numbers: 7, 13, 22 at 44.

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DRAGON Isinilang noong 1928/40/52/64/76/88
Sigurado ka sa gusto mong mangyari at gagawin mo ang lahat para matupad ito. Pakinggan ang puso, ito ang mahusay na paraan upang malaman na tama ang magiging desisyon mo. Dahil masipag at praktikal ka, madali kang makakahanap ng solusyon sa mga problema. Sa kabila ng pagiging abala sa trabaho at responsibilidad, bigyan ng prayoridad ang pamilya, at hindi mo pagsisisihan ito. Lucky numbers: 9, 25, 31 at 43.

AHAS Isinilang noong 1929/41/53/65/77/89
Malinaw at matalas ang pag-iisip mo ngayon kaya maganda ang resulta sa mga pakikipag-usap mo. Matutupad din ang matagal nang inaasam ng dahil sa iyong tiyaga. Magagamit mo ang intuisyon mo sa iba pang mga bagay. Masusubukan ang tibay ng pag-ibig sa mga pinagdadaanan ngayon kung kailangang lumayo o pansamantalang iwan ang pamilya. Lucky numbers: 12, 33, 40 at 45.

KABAYO. Isinilang noong 1930/42/54/66/78/90
Posibleng makaranas ng love at first sight na magdudulot ng saya bagamat walang pag-asa na tumagal ito. Sandali mong kakalimutan ang pananahimik dahil mas magiging matapang ka ngayon kaya marami kang magagawa. Mababawasan ang init ng samahan ng pagkakaibigan dahil masyado kang prangka. Mag-ingat sa pananalita mo at subukang magpakita ng diplomasya. Lucky numbers: 22, 29, 33 at 40.

KAMBING. Isinilang noong 1919/31/43/55/67/79 at 91
Kailangan ang importanteng desisyon tungkol sa trabaho at ambisyon mo. Mas magiging aktibo ang social life mo na nakakatulong na mapalawak ang kaalaman mo at pang-unawa sa maraming bagay, at magkakaroon ka ng mas magandang personalidad. Bitawan na ang isang bagay na hindi maganda ang resulta gaya ng inaasahan mo. Lucky numbers: 7, 9, 11 at 43.

UNGGOY. Isinilang noong 1920/32/44/56/68/80/92
Kalat ang isip mo at madaling maiba ang atensyon mo sa dapat mong gawin. Piliting mag-focus sa trabaho. Iwasang basta maglabas ng pera lalo na kung para sa mga kaibigan dahil baka hindi na mabawi ito. Magkakaroon din ng tensiyon sa pagsasama dahil sa paiba-iba mong desisyon. May kaibigan kang magkakalat ng tsismis, malalampasan mo rin ito pero iwasan mo na ang kaibigang traydor. Lucky numbers: 13, 19, 20 at 36.

TANDANG Isinilang noong 1921/33/45/57/69/81/93
Kailangang kontrolin ang sobrang pagkain dahil maapektuhan ang kalusugan mo. Iwasang magkuwento sa kung sinu-sino dahil madaling kakalat ang tsismis at ikaw ang mapapasama ng husto. Magiging maayos ang pagsasama kung mag-iingat ka sa pananalita. Magpapakita ka ng simpatiya at kabaitan sa mga makakasalamuha mo. Kontrolin ang pabigla-biglang kilos at paggastos. Lucky numbers: 17, 21, 32 at 47.

ASO. Isinilang noong 1922/34/46/58/70/82/94
Maganda ang pasok ng linggong ito para sa iyong love life, pero magkaka-problema ka sa pera. Kumunsulta sa abogado tungkol sa usaping legal at huwag tangkaing ayusin ito ng mag-isa dahil baka mas lumala ang problema. Iwasang gumawa ng desisyon, lalo na kung mahirap itong mabawi. Makakaranas ng nerbiyos at pag-aalala. Lucky numbers: 15, 16, 29 at 37.

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Huwaran si Labatt Jolly, ayon sa mga lider ng Filcom

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Part 3 of a series

Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre

Ito ang mga nakalap naming komento tungkol kay Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre.

Congen Tony Morales – “Ito ay pangwalo kong assignment sa iba’t ibang bansa sa mahigit 20 taon pero ngayon lang ako nakakita na ang community ay nagkaisa para i-request ang extension ni Labor Attaché… Sa Saudi Arabia maraming Pilipino rin na nangangailangan ng tulad ni Labatt at gusto siyang dalhin doon. Siguro ganun talaga kung maganda ang trabaho mo, dadalhin ka sa lugar na…magaling magtrabaho ito, dito natin dalhin. Kaya mahirap din minsan ang magaling magtrabaho.”

ALA Tony Villafuerte – “We are fortunate dahil dumating siya dito sa Hong Kong at marami siyang nagawang kabutihan para sa mga OFW, wala nang inisip iyan kundi ang inyong kapakanan.”

Rodelia Pedro, Domestic Workers Corner – Dahil isa si Sir Labatt sa members naming (sa Facebook group), in case of emergency, nandiyan siya lagi… willing siya laging mag-help sa amin. Thank you for helping our outreach sa mga simbahan, so we have 11 churches already for the medical mission.

Elaine Espinosa, MinFed – “Ang pinakatatay namin sa MinFed (Labatt Jolly founded the organization during his first posting in HK in 1998). Thank you so much sa..alam mo na, sa lahat-lahat. Good luck and God bless you always.”

Reggie Buen, Luzon Alliance – “Sir, nalulungkot kaming lahat sa pag-alis mo. Sana huwag nyo kaming makakalimutan dito sa Hong Kong dahil mahal na mahal ka namin.”

Nerissa Gimena, One Visayas – “Marami sana akong sasabihin kay Sir pero sabi nila, one second... Sir, ikaw pa naman ang tatay namin, alisan mo na kami.”

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Wilma Carigada, South Cotabato Migrants Association – “Masakit isipin na aalis na si Sir, kasi bagong organized kami na group, pangalawang induction namin, siya ang nag-induct sa amin… everytime na may problema kahit gabi, lagi siyang naka-online, mag-message ka, talagang nagre-reply siya. Kaya yun ang mami-miss ko na kailangan nating mga OFW dito sa Hong Kong.”

Dolores Balladares, Unifil-Migrante – “Lahat tayo ay nagkakaisa sa pagtingin na walang limited, walang bagong isyu sa pagtulong ni Labatt sa ating mga OFW. Iyan kahit gabi na basta hindi pa natatapos ang trabaho, kahit day-off, pupunta iyan sa opisina para tulungan ang ating mga kababayan sa pag-rescue, kahit maysakit, nakikipag dayalogo tungkol sa aming migrants’ agenda. Ang Unifil naman ay kilala ninyo, kami ay laging nagpuprotestsa sa Konsulado at sa office din ng Polo upang ihapag ang mga isyu natin bilang migrante, at sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon, sumama kami sa protesta hindi para tuligsahin ang mga ginagawa ng isang empleyado kundi para manawagan sa pagpapabalik sa kanya nang siya ay tinanggal sa pagseserbisyo sa atin. Ibig sabihin lang po siya ay isang huwaran, isang mahusay na kawani ng gobyerno si Labatt na magandang tularan ng iba pang mga nagseserbisyo sa gobyerno. Alam namin na kahit saan si Labatt pupunta, dadalhin niya yung prinsipyo ng pagtulong sa kapwa naming migrante at yung tunay na paglilingkod sa mga kapwa migrante at sambayanan.”

Sheila Tebia of Gabriela — “Nagpapasalamat kami sa inyong pagsuporta sa mga isyu ng mga OFW, lalung-lalo na sa mga isyung pangkababaihan bilang mga dominanteng manggagawa dito sa Hong Kong. Ang inyong pakikiisa sa aming mga panawagan para mai-ban ang window cleaning at suportahan ang aming panawagan (ay) we really appreciate it…”

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Vir Lumicao of The SUN – “Nakita natin na ang paglilingkod niya ay taos sa puso at binago niya ang pagtingin natin sa isang empleado ng gobyerno na hindi maganda… sana yung papalit kay Labatt ay gagaya sa mga nagawa niya, susunod sa kanyang yapak, hindi babalik sa dati na parang dinala yung culture of corruption sa Pilipinas dito sa Hong Kong…kapag nangyari ang ganun, sana magkaisa tayong lahat na mga manggagawa para igiit ang ating mga karapatan, at magmatyag tayong mabuti. Tingnan natin na ang serbisyong ibibigay nila sa ating mga manggagawa ay yung karampatan natin, hindi yung maging sunud-sunuran sila sa kagustuhan ng mga agency.”

Eman Villanueva of Bayan Muna HK and Macau – “Nasabi nyo na lahat eh. Ang sasabihin ko na lang, kaming mga aktibista kasi, meron kaming motto, yung “Serve the people”, yung paglingkuran ang sambayanan. Siguro iyon ang naglapit sa amin kay Labatt Jolly dahil sa panahong inilagi niya rito, nakita namin na ang kanyang tapat na paglilingkod sa OFW. Siguro lagi nyo kaming nakikitang nagpuprotesta rito kung siya ay masama ang ginagawa niya. Baka nakita nyo kaming nagpuprotesta para palayasin siya kung nagkataon. …Yung pinaka-last niyang sinabi sa akin, kasi meron kaming tinulungan na OFW na sinisingil ng agency fee, tapos kinansel niya ang lisensiya nung agency hanggang sa hindi nakarating dito yung sinisingil. So sabi ko, natutuwa ako dahil natulungan natin yung OFW. Pero nalulungkot ako na dumaan sa ganyan para lang isalba ang isang OFW, samantalang kung maahyos ang system, hindi iyon dadanasin ng tao. Ang sabi naman niya, ‘huwag kayog mag-alala, kahit umalis kasi ako ditto, nandiyan naman kayo.’ So ang message siguro sa ating lahat, kung ano ang mga reforms na pinatupad sa POLO, tungkulin na nating mga OFW na bantayan na manatili yung ganyan, huwag bumalik yung kalakaeran an ang nananaig ang interes ng mga recruiter, hndi interes ng mga OFW. At dapat handa rin tayong pumunta sa lansangan para iprotesta kung manumbalik ang

Art Buban of Bicol Migrants Association – “Malaking kawalan yung pag-alis ni Labatt, sana makabalik ka pa rin.”

Marites Nuval, president, Global Alliance HK – “Sir, naranasan ko ang pagwelga at naranasan ko rin ang malagay sa watchlist noong dumalaw dito si Pangulong Duterte dahil lang po doon sa rally….mami-miss naming ang pagtulong mo sa amin sa computer room... ipagpapatuloy po namin ang pagtulong sa kapwa namin, ganun din po sa PCG, nandiyan lang po kami, Global Alliance in action.”

Leo Selomenio, chairman, Global Alliance – “Kung anuman ang (landas na) tatahakin ni Sir, babaunin mo ang pagmamahal namin sa iyo. Ikaw, pinahalagahan mo kami bilang mga katulong, ikaw ang nagbigay sa amin ng lakas kung paano kami (dapat) lumaban…This is not a goodbye, ito ay good luck at sana magkita uli tayo one day.”

Message from Domestic Workers Corner, Labatt Jolly’s partner in his Outreach Project:
Thank you, Labatt Jolly
Mahirap man tanggapin ngunit isang malungkot na balita ang pag-alis ni Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre sa Hong Kong.
Isa ang DWC (Domestic Workers Corner) sa mga natulungan ni Labatt Jolly dahil sa kanyang HealthWise Program na nagbigay daan para ang mga member na malapit sa lugar kung saan ito idinadaos ay makapag pa check up ng libre, o matulungan sa pagkuha ng OEC.
Maraming miyembro din ang natulungan ni Labatt Jolly nang personal, lalo na yung mga may seryosong kaso at diretsong humingi ng tulong.
Hindi madaling humingi ng tulong sa kahit na sino, lalo pa sa isang mataas na opisyal ng gobyerno pero iba si Labatt dahil may mabuti siyang puso. Isang salita lang ng isang nangangailangan ay agad siyang tumutulong kahit wala siya sa opisina dahil public holiday o siya ay nasa bakasyon.
Si Labatt ay isang halimbawa ng totoong public servant dahil makikita mo sa kanya ang tunay na pagsisilbi sa mga OFW. Isa siyang huwaran.
Isa ang aming founder na si Rodelia Villar sa mga malaki ang paghanga kay Labatt Jolly dahil nabigyan siya ng inspirasyon na tumulong ng lubos at tapat sa kapwa niya OFW.

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POLO’s staff shortage to worsen with Labatt Jolly’s departure

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Part 2 of a series

Assistant Labor Attaché Antonio Villafuerte who will be OIC until a permanent labatt arrives.

The designated caretaker of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Hong Kong admits the departure of Labor Attaché Jalilo dela Torre has posed a tough challenge to his successor in terms of serving the Filipino community here.

“Mahirap talagang pantayan, masyadong malalim yung bakas na kanyang iniwan. Mataas ang benchmark na ini-set niya. Hindi natin alam yung papalit sa kanya,” Assistant Labor Attaché Antonio Villafuerte told The SUN on Jul 9.

He was supposed to be on his second day as POLO officer-in-charge but Labatt dela Torre was still around, giving last-minute instructions to staff.

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Villafuerte said he would continue with ongoing projects for OFWs that Labatt Jolly had begun.

But his job will be tough, especially with the severe staff shortage which is about to get worse with his superior’s departure.

He said that since February, three personnel have gone home and two local hires have left but no replacements have arrived. “Ngayon, aalis si Labatt, so anim,” he added.

Two replacements are expected to arrive on Jul 16, hopefully easing the manpower shortage, he said.

Villafuerte said the manpower complement problem is not POLO HK’s own making but is due to the tedious process involved in posting staff from Manila.

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He said the request for manpower was made several months ago but the applicants are required by the Department of Foreign Affairs to undergo pre-departure training at the Foreign Service Institute.

“Mandatory po iyon, you cannot leave, you cannot be deployed if you don’t have an FSI certificate,” Villafuerte said.

Another reason for the failure of replacement staff to arrive is the need to secure an exemption from the Commission on Elections ban on staff movement before and after an election.

Villafuerte said the Comelec has rejected the DOLE request for exemption for unknown reasons.

The immediate task at hand, though, is the backlog of paperwork that has heaped up and is waiting to be cleared.

As he was speaking, a huge pile of employment contracts waiting to be signed was on his desk while outside his room, a worker who had run away from her employer was waiting for him to escort her to the Labour Department.

With the indefatigable Labatt dela Torre about to leave, the work would definitely be more difficult, even insurmountable. – Vir B. Lumicao

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Labatt’s successor has big shoes to fill

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Labor Attaché Jalilo del Torre

By The SUN
Part 1 of a series

Labor Attaché Jalilo del Torre’s accomplishments in his stormy but fruitful three years as the country’s top labor official in Hong Kong will be a tough act to follow.

Even fellow diplomats in the Consulate admit that whoever is appointed as the next labor attaché will have a very hard time keeping up to his standard of service and commitment.

“Kawawa ang susunod sa kanya, mahihirapan siyang pantayan si Labatt,” said one Consulate official on the sidelines of the send-off on Jul 7 for the controversial but well-loved official.

Picking the side of the OFWs when it clashes against that of the bureaucracy, like what Labatt Jolly did, will provide the biggest challenge to whoever takes over his post.

Labatt Jolly has endeared himself to the OFWs for his transparent moves to improve their working conditions and health, his swift action against abusive employers, and crackdown on rogue and corrupt recruiters.

Just a couple of days after assuming his post in mid-March 2016, Labatt Jolly posted sticker signs around the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Hong Kong bearing the message “No gifts, no bribes”.

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The Filipino community welcomed this as a whiff of fresh air in an office that was previously under a cloud of doubt for being overly friendly with employment agencies, to the detriment of migrant workers.

Before he could even warm his seat, Labatt Jolly put an end to the Thursday night parties in Polo, when agency representatives would come bearing food and gifts, or hold “monthly closed-door strategy meetings” in the labatt’s office.

This cozy relationship happened while many workers were being underfed, maltreated, or fired at unholy hours by employers, or fleeced by recruiters.

That all changed when Labatt Jolly came.

During his tenure, he kept his lines open to OFWs, either through his personal Facebook account, or through his personal mobile phone, whose number he openly posted online. He personally attended in particular to those applying for overseas employment certificates, especially those who needed to go home on an emergency.

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He also did not shirk from responding to their calls for help, and at one time, even rushed to Aberdeen to rescue two Filipinas who were pictured by fellow OFWs cleaning the windows of a high-rise apartment while perched precariously on a ledge.

Labatt Jolly also made full use of his big office by arranging for non-stop livelihood skills training and financial literacy workshops for OFWs through the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and in cooperation with Filcom groups and NGOs.

His HealthWise project which provided free medical check-ups to OFWs six days a week has given them a costless opportunity to find out about what’s ailing them. Lately, the program has launched outreach missions in far-flung areas of Hong Kong.

But what Labatt Jolly will always be remembered for was his insistence on safeguarding OFWs against dangerous window cleaning.

Upset by the death of Rinalyn Dulluog who fell from a 49th floor flat in Tseung Kwan-o while cleaning windows, Labatt Jolly inserted a so-called “Rinalyn exclusion” banning the dangerous chore in all OFW contracts submitted to his office from October 2017.

He later agreed to put this on hold while the Hong Kong government scrambled to amend the standard employment contract for foreign domestic helpers to include a ban on any window-cleaning that puts a worker’s life in danger.

Labatt Jolly chalked up other significant achievement during his short but action-filled stint in Hong Kong.

He notably cracked down on agencies that took newly arrived workers to lending firms to sign up for purportedly personal loans that the agency pocketed and the helpers repaid. He did not think twice about suspending the accreditation of agencies found to engage in this previously widespread illicit practice.

A staunch anti-human trafficking campaigner, Labatt Jolly put an end to the mass recruitment of Filipinas to Russia by calling up a recruiter’s wife who just arrived in Hong Kong in 2017 and warned her that the police were on her tracks. The recruiter recalled his wife back to Moscow but retaliated with threats on social media against Labatt Jolly and his family.

Labatt Jolly’s crusade also covered the exploitation of Filipina workers. When pictures emerged of nearly naked Filipina helpers taking part in a beauty pageant in a Wanchai pub patronized by Western men, the labor attaché called the Filipina organizer to his office to explain. She readily apologized and promised to stop the practice.

The scandal brought back to mind the reason why he was initially recalled by the Home Office in March 2018. Labatt Jolly had blocked a recruiter’s attempt to bring in more Filipina dancers to Hong Kong after finding out that the first batch of 50 recruits were dancing in skimpy bikinis in Wanchai pubs.

His act triggered an investigation by the Department of Labor and Employment based allegedly on a complaint of favoritism in accrediting agencies, and was cited as the reason for his early recall.

Learning this, the biggest migrant workers’ organizations in Hong Kong held two unprecedented mass protests to express support for Labatt Jolly.

This, coupled by the intervention by two top Philippine officials, forced Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to send Labatt Jolly back to Hong Kong after six months.

On his return in October last year, Labatt Jolly told The SUN that no investigation was made into his alleged misdeed. It was plain and simple harassment from the top that would have kept him from returning if he did not have solid backing from the workers he genuinely served.

A second attempt to get him back to Manila just before the May mid-term election also failed when it emerged DoLE had not secured an exemption from the ban on the movement of government personnel during an election period.

All in all, Labatt Jolly had served in Hong Kong an aggregate of two years and 10 months, just two months shy of what should have been a term of at least three years.

During that brief but remarkable time, he allowed Filipino migrant workers a taste of empowerment and real protection.

His departure may well signal an end to all these, unless the workers stay as vigilant and assertive as they were taught during his term.

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Duterte expecting a coup?

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President Rodrigo R. Duterte has raised questions when he pleaded with the military and the police not to stage a coup d' etat against him when he spoke on July 2 for the 72nd anniversary of the Philippine Air Force at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City

“I know that the Armed Forces and the police will have to decide one day, somehow,” he said.

But he said, “Do not do it, please, during my term.”

He added: “I told you before: Kung ayaw ninyo ako, do not bring your weapons and mechanized armors there. Just call me and we will have coffee and I am ready to say: ‘It’s yours.’”


	President Rodrigo Duterte salutes one of the wounded soldiers he visited at Camp Navarro General Hospital in Zamboanga City on July 3, 2019. Robinson Niñal Jr./Presidential Photo

As if to reinforce his plea, the President also promised: “I assure you that this administration will continue to pursue all efforts to enhance your capabilities against these threats through modernization and capacity building initiatives such as the Military Pilot Training and your conduct for all qualified student officers, thereby assuring a strong future for our Air Force.”

He reminded the military sector of past favors: “And during my time, I have never said no to any of the commanders and to (Defense Secretary) Delfin Lorenzana and to Secretary (Hermogenes) Esperon all the things that they wanted for our Armed Forces even to the police.”

Duterte’s meekness did not escape Jose Maria “Joma” Sison, founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

He told the Inquirer: “Duterte is having coup jitters. He is feeling the heat and is getting wet in his pants.”

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Sison said Duterte now anticipates that the people “can rise in gigantic mass actions against his traitorous, tyrannical, brutal and corrupt regime and the military and police can turn against him as they did against Marcos and Estrada.”

But the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) rejected Sison’s assertion.

What could have prompted Duterte's comments, when recent surveys indicate his popularity is even rising?

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Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo speculated: “Could be dahil, otherwise, hindi sila nagsasalita ng ganoon eh. Meron siguro siyang info, very reliable,”

He added: "The premise here is that under the Constitution the AFP is the protector of the people. So if the military knows that there has been so much mischief, so much corruption — as the President was saying, there’s the Manila Water contract that is so onerous. The military knows that. So it will react: Why is it like that?"

In any case, Panelo said, “Any coup attempt against President Duterte will certainly fail. It will not get the support of a critical mass of people who remain overwhelmingly supportive of PRRD [President Rodrigo Roa Duterte] and his administration.”

A survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) on June 22 to 26 indicated that the President received a net satisfaction rating of +68, setting a new personal record from +66 in March 2019 and June 2017.

“As always, sinabi ko, if you are satisfied with my work, then I’m happy. If you are not satisfied, then I’ll work more. Dagdagan ko ’yung pawis ko,” the President said when asked to comment on the survey results.

The survey was conducted amid criticism of his downplaying the sinking of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese ship in Recto Bank, and subsequent statements that he was giving Chinese fishermen access to the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone.

When several lawmakers and former government officials said that he could be impeached for forging an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping that allows Chinese fishermen to trawl within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Duterte threatened to jail those who would file an impeachment case against him, which would violate the Constitution.

This drew a rebuke from the Commission on Human Rights, which asserted that filing an impeachment complaint is not a crime.

“... no one should be arrested for merely asserting a Constitutional right nor should they be targeted for doing such. Filing an impeachment charge is not a crime,” said CHR spokeswoman Atty. Jacqueline Ann de Guia.

“We remind the government, including the Philippine National Police, that they draw their mandate from the people. Obedience must always be premised on a lawful order, lest we disregard the rule of law, which they too vowed to respect and protect,” she added.

Panelo also said: “How can a President be scared of an impeachment? An impeachment is a numbers game. We have a supermajority in Congress. It will not even pass the committee on justice.”

But a string of related statements might also have ruffled feathers in the military, which is duty-bound to uphold the Constitution.

On June 21, for example, Duterte asserted: “Remember na ‘yung sa Recto [Bank], it was not a matter of sovereignty. Twelve miles lang tayo, that is part of our territory as a Republic. Beyond that, ang binigay sa atin is the Exclusive Economic Zone. It is not an attack on our sovereignty. Malayo ‘yan.”

On June 27, he belittled the Constitutional provision that defines the EEZ. Section 2, Article XII states that the State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.

“That is a provision for the thoughtless and the senseless,” Duterte said. “The protection of our economic rights about the economic zone resolves this? I am protecting the country and 110 million Filipinos.”

He added: “Pupunta ako sabihin ko get out, this is the Constitution. Sabihin sa iyo, 'naubusan ka na ng toilet paper, gamitin mo yan (You want me to go there and tell them to get out, this is the Constitution? They’ll tell you, did you run out of toilet paper? You can use that),'” he said.

“Ako kung sabihin (If they say) you present to me a constitution like that and we have this ruckus claiming the same place in our jurisdiction. Sabihin ko, kung wala kang pang-ilo gamitin mo yang constitution mo (I will say you can use your Constitution as toilet paper),” he added.

Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno fired off tweets in reply, one of which said: “’Di na dapat tawaging Pangulo si Duterte sapagka’t ang pwestong iyan ay galing sa 1987 Constitution na sabi niya’y pampahid lang ng pwet.”

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