MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has fired 20 people, including colonels and a general, over accusations of fraud and graft in purchases of military medical supplies, his spokesman said on Monday, the latest step in a sweeping battle on graft. Reining in government corruption was a key election plank for Duterte, who has been a big supporter of the security forces, promising equipment and boosting their budget and salaries to help tackle crime, drugs and armed rebellions. Those sacked were accused of involvement in 17 cases of bogus purchases of supplies, drugs and equipment at inflated prices, the spokesman, Harry Roque, told reporters. Civilians and military officials were among those sacked. The servicemen faced a court martial, he added. Duterte was "personally aggravated and angered", having recently ordered that 50 million pesos ($936,908) be made available to the main military hospital where the offences took place, Roque said. Military chief Carlito … [Read more...] about Philippines’ Duterte sacks 20 for graft in military medical buys
Philippines
U.S. to return colonisation era church bells to the Philippines
MANILA (Reuters) - The United States will return to the Philippines church bells seized by U.S. troops as trophies during a war between the two countries more than a century ago, giving way to Manila after years of diplomatic pressure. U.S. Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis has notified Congress that the department plans to return the Bells of Balangiga to the Philippines at a date yet to be identified, the U.S. Embassy in Manila said in a statement on Saturday. Despite decades of close ties between the two countries and a tight military alliance, the United States' refusal to return the bells has long been a bone of contention, raised strongly by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. In 1901, U.S. soldiers killed thousands of Filipinos, including women and children in the central Philippines town of Balangiga in response to the death of 48 U.S. soldiers at the hand of rebels during the war between the two countries. U.S. troops took the town's church bells. Two of the bells are at the … [Read more...] about U.S. to return colonisation era church bells to the Philippines
Philippine film ‘BuyBust’ pulled from AMC Studio 30
Distributor WellGo USA hopes to reschedule the engagement By Cary Darling Published 4:23 pm CDT, Friday, August 10, 2018 Photo: WellGo USA Image 1of/1 CaptionClose Image 1 of 1 Anne Curtis in 'BuyBust' Anne Curtis in 'BuyBust' Photo: WellGo USA Philippine film 'BuyBust' pulled from AMC Studio 30 1 / 1 Back to Gallery The Philippine action-thriller "BuyBust," which the Chronicle reviewed in today's paper, is not opening this weekend in Houston as originally scheduled. The film was set to open at Houston's AMC Studio 30 today. A representative of the movie's distributor, WellGo USA, says the theater pulled "BuyBust" to make room for another movie. They are hoping to reschedule the engagement in the Houston market. "BuyBust," starring Anne Curtis and MMA fighter Brandon Vera, takes place over the course of a … [Read more...] about Philippine film ‘BuyBust’ pulled from AMC Studio 30
Over 127 Million Dollars Worth of Cocaine Snuck Past Philippine Customs
World International Affairs An estimated $127.7 million dollars (6.8 billion Philippine pesos) worth of methamphetamine HCL, also known as shabu or “poor man’s cocaine,” was emptied out of magnetic bunkers seized by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on August 9. Drug-sniffing dogs detected traces of what authorities estimated to be almost one ton of drugs inside of magnetic lifters seized in the municipality of General Mariano Alvarez, in the Cavite Province on Thursday. Several men unloaded the illicit shipment on the night of July 15, taking three to four hours to load the drugs into an estimated 17 luggage trolley bags, according to a PhilStar report. The shipments arrived into the country by July 13 and were dispatched to a warehouse that was rented for almost $3,000 a month for a year. PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino said in a previous press conference that he had “a gut feeling that four or five similar containers have slipped into our … [Read more...] about Over 127 Million Dollars Worth of Cocaine Snuck Past Philippine Customs
Maintaining Indonesia, Philippine border security
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Although the situation in the border region of Indonesia and the Philippines is relatively safe, the threat of terrorism should continue to be monitored by intensifying border security. Hence, the two countries have reaffirmed bilateral cooperation and their commitment to work hand-in-hand in maintaining the security at their common borders to prevent transnational crime and terrorism. Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu has said that the dislocation of the ISIS group and Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), which was part of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), was heavily involved in extorting money from foreigners through its Kidnap-for-Ransom (KFR) activities. The Indonesian Ministry of Defense recorded that the concentration of most personnel in Zamboanga, Marawi, Zulu and Barangay is not ideological, compared to the more militant and fundamentalist MNLF in the Lanao del Sur complex and Basilan regions. Their strength is currently around 1,267 … [Read more...] about Maintaining Indonesia, Philippine border security