‘Bagong Pilipinas’ rally turns into pep talk to government workers

By: Dexter Cabalza, Melvin Gascon, Russel P. Loreto - @inquirerdotnet

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:55 AM January 29, 2024

ATTENDANCE | President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrives on Sunday evening, Jan. 28, 2024,
at the “Bagong Pilipinas” kick-off rally launching his administration’s governance brand.
Vice President Sara Duterte (above, left) had arrived earlier and joined the huge crowd
before flying to her hometown of Davao City to join a smaller gathering there against
Charter change. (Photos by GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday called on all

government workers to steer the country toward a “Bagong Pilipinas” (New Philippines)
and provide the Filipino people with “responsive, efficient” service.

Speaking during the kick-off rally for his governance brand, held at Quirino Grandstand in
Manila, Marcos also urged Filipinos to rekindle their hopes to aim for a better country, as
he dismissed speculations the program was “a political vehicle meant to cater to the
interest of a few.”

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With “Bagong Pilipinas,” the bureaucracy should undertake reforms to restore public trust
in government.

“We cannot always shift the blame on the people who have been repeatedly given
promises but were always left unfulfilled. We cannot lay the blame on the masses who
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have been let down so many times,” he said.

The president also shot down rumors that “Bagong Pilipinas” would be part of a new
political machinery, saying it was not “a political game plan that caters to a privileged few”
but “a master plan for genuine development that benefits all our people.”

“Bagong Pilipinas is not a new partisan coalition in disguise. It is a set of ideals that all [of]
us Filipinos, regardless of political creed or religion or wealth, can coalesce around,” he
said. “Bagong Pilipinas serves no narrow political interest. It serves the people.”

‘Stern directive’

Marcos took the occasion to issue a “stern directive” to government workers, he said,
starting with a ban on the lazy and slow.

“Services must be fast, projects must be completed on time. Deadlines must be met per
schedule, distress calls must be responded to without delay,” he said.

Government offices, he added, should replace “red tape with red carpet (treatment)” while
the government must no longer allow the dishonest and corrupt.

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“Any preparation [for government projects], especially those involving the use of the
town’s resources, must be open to the public and not hidden, with no part of it stolen,” the
president said.

With “Bagong Pilipinas,” the government will also undertake reforms in education and
food security, he told his audience.

“The gist of which is this: A learner with books on their table, a well-trained, highly
motivated, well-paid teacher in front of them, teaching a curriculum carefully curated to
our needs, under a setting wired to the digital world,” Marcos said, eliciting cheers from
the crowd.
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With the looming threat of the El Niño dry spell, “we are incentivizing urban gardening,
including turning idle lands into vegetable plots,” the president said.

“We will not tolerate smuggled food that impoverishes our domestic producers and puts
our consumers at risk,” he added.

VP stops by

Absent during Marcos’ speech was Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte.
According to her staff, she flew to Davao City to attend a rally against Charter change
organized by supporters of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who arrived
there late Sunday night.

The vice president appeared earlier at the Bagong Pilipinas rally at around 4 p.m. She took
the stage to greet the audience, particularly her colleagues at the Department of Education.

“The Department of Education is one with all government agencies for a New Philippines.”
she said, adding that “The Department of Education’s contribution is with the poverty
alleviation sector and we mold our youth and students to be firm.”

As of 4 p.m., two hours before Marcos was scheduled to arrive, the police estimated the
number of attendees at 100,000.

By 6 p.m., the crowd was estimated at around 400,000 by the Manila Police District,
compared to the Philippine National Police’s more conservative 250,000.

‘Required’ to attend

Many of those interviewed by the Inquirer said they were there voluntarily because they
supported the President. Others, however, did not know why they were there in the first
place.
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Hours before the entrance to the venue opened at 11 a.m., scores of buses and vehicles
with markings like the name of a government agency or local government unit — some
bearing red government plates — were spotted dropping off attendees near Quirino
Grandstand. Displayed in front of some of the vehicles were big tarpaulins bearing the
barangay, city, and municipality where they came from.

The Inquirer also spotted three buses from the Office of the President (OP). One bus driver
said the passengers were all OP employees.

A large number of attendees were barangay personnel, most of them in white shirts
bearing their positions or affiliation — SK (Sangguniang Kabataan), kagawad (councilor),
and barangay logo.

A barangay official from Laguna province who refused to be named for fear of reprisal
told the Inquirer their group was there because their mayor told them in a meeting that
they were “required” to attend.

The mayor, the official said, cited the Jan. 19 memorandum of Interior Secretary Benhur
Abalos “strongly encouraging” local government units in the National Capital Region, and
the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan, and Pampanga, and the cities of Angeles
and Olongapo to attend the launching of Bagong Pilipinas.

‘No handout’

RJ Ronald Solano, SK chair of Barangay Malabo-Kaluntukan in Liliw, Laguna, said he left

home at 6:30 a.m. and was on the road for more than three hours to reach Manila.

“The travel is worth it because we will be able to hear the message of President Marcos for
Bagong Pilipinas,” he said.

The Inquirer, however, overheard some people grumbling, “Wala namang ayuda (There’s
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no handout),” as they made their way out of the grandstand.

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The attendees each received a numbered stub at the entrance of Quirino Grandstand
which could be exchanged for giveaways. These included calendars and other trinkets
featuring the first family, T-shirts, caps and ballers sporting the Bagong Pilipinas logo, plus
snacks (a burger or cheesecake, and a bottle of water).

By noon, those lined up at the giveaway and food booths were dismayed to find out there
was nothing left but tote bags.

FULL FORCE | Government employees representing their various agencies, including

members of the Philippine Coast Guard, join the Luneta crowd. (Photo by GRIG C.
MONTEGRANDRE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

At around 2 p.m., the lines were still long outside the event area, but many had left after
getting freebies from the organizers.

“I’ll go home; I’ve signed the attendance sheet already,” a man wearing an SK shirt was
overheard telling his companions.

At a nearby fast food restaurant, a group of councilors from Caloocan who asked not to be
identified said they came as early as 9 a.m. and they wanted to go home as they already
signed the attendance from the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

They added that they were not interested in the president’s speech, supposed to be the
highlight of the rally.

‘For BBM, not for VP’

Josephine Villa, 62, was proud to say she went to the event using her own money “and not
expecting anything in return, but to hear President Marcos’ platforms.”

Unlike most attendees, Villa, along with her senior citizen friends from Quezon City who
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are members of One Movement, traveled for hours to get to Manila, riding in jeeps and
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trains before walking for 20 minutes to get to the venue.

“I really don’t know the reason for the event, but they said President Marcos will give his
position on Charter change in the event,” Villa said.

She said the signature campaign for a people’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution
already reached them. “But I did not sign it even if they said P2,000 would be given to each
one who would sign the petition.”

“I am against foreigners owning our businesses. I do not like being told by foreigners what
to do in our own country,” she said.

She was also aware of the political bickering between the camps of Marcos and Duterte,
which she admitted had been a polarizing issue in their group.

“But whatever happens, my support is for BBM, not for VP Sara,” Villa, a native of Mati
City, Davao del Norte, said. “He is doing good at his job as the president. He needs to be
supported by us.”

Marcos OKs military’s P2-trillion wish

list for weapons, equipment
By: Frances Mangosing - Reporter / @FMangosingINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:20 AM January 29, 2024

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers a speech at Malacañan Palace grounds in Manila
on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. (File photo by RYAN LEAGOGO / INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved the military’s
revised wish list for new weaponry and equipment to shore up the country’s defenses
against threats, in the face of a rapidly evolving regional security landscape.

The updated acquisition plan called “Re-Horizon 3” will focus on “an array of capabilities
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which will range from our domain awareness, our connectivity, our intelligence
capabilities or C4iSTAR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence,
surveillance, targeting acquisition and reconnaissance) … to our area denial and
deterrence capabilities on both the maritime and the aerial domains,” Defense Secretary
Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said at an event hosted by the Manila Overseas Press Club last week.

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Defense sources said the revised procurement plan would have a timeline of 10 years and
cost around P2 trillion.

It replaces Horizon 3 — the supposed final stage of the three-phase modernization

program that would have started last year and run until 2028 — consisting of equipment
mostly geared for external defense.

Backlog, funding issues

But the Armed Forces of the Philippines was forced to review its planned acquisition last
year and create a new list after funding issues caused a backlog in the earlier stages of the
program.

A list of equipment under the new plan was not immediately available.

The previous Horizon 3 list included multi-role fighters, radars, frigates, missile systems,
and rescue helicopters.

The three-phase modernization program had started under the Aquino administration in
the wake of China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea, part of the South China Sea
which Beijing claims almost entirely.

Despite its modernization efforts, the Philippine military remains one of the weakest in the
region, facing external and internal security challenges, from the maritime conflict with
China to the communist insurgency.
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The Re-Horizon 3 is anchored on a “comprehensive archipelagic defense concept,” through
which the Philippines will be able “to project power into areas where we must, by
constitutional fiat and duty, protect and preserve our resources,” Teodoro said.

“The Armed Forces will transition initially to enable itself to guarantee, as much as
possible, Philippine nationals, Philippine corporations, and those authorized by the
Philippine government, the unimpeded and peaceful exploration and exploitation of all
natural resources within our exclusive economic zone and other areas where we have
jurisdiction,” he said.

PH-occupied features

Earlier this month, the AFP chief, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., said the new concept would
require “more ships, aircraft, and radar systems,” as well as the development of
Philippine-occupied features in the West Philippine Sea.

The Department of National Defense (DND) has been allocated a P278-billion budget for
2024, with P40 billion intended for the AFP modernization program.

The Marcos administration has yet to sign any big-ticket military procurement project.

Teodoro said his department had sought additional funding from Congress for
maintenance and operations “in order to use, to train and to have greater exposure and
mobility in areas where we need to have significant presence, most specifically at this time
in the West Philippine Sea where we cannot tolerate violations of our territorial integrity
and sovereignty by anyone.”

Changes in procurement are also in the pipeline in line with the new acquisition plan.

“We have said that the [AFP and DND] will not be a vendor’s paradise. We will not
consider ourselves a ‘vendee’ but a client. We will demand performance from all our
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proponents,” Teodoro said, vowing to be “intolerant of any delays.”

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North Korea tests submarine-launched
cruise missiles, KCNA says
Reuters / 06:47 AM January 29, 2024

View of what appears to be a submarine-launched cruise missile test at

an undisclosed location in North Korea in this picture released by the
Korean Central News Agency on January 28, 2024. KCNA via REUTERS

SEOUL — North Korea tested its new strategic cruise missiles for the second time in a week
on Sunday, calling it a newly developed submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM),
accelerating its navy’s nuclear armament, state news agency KCNA reported on Monday.

Leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test of the missile, called “Pulhwasal-3-31,” which is
identical to the strategic cruise missiles that the North said last week were under
development.

KCNA said the missiles flew above the sea off the country’s east coast for 7,421 seconds and
7,445 seconds and hit an unspecified island target, indicating the flight time exceeded two
hours.

Kim called the test a success, KCNA said, “which is of strategic significance in carrying out
the plan…for modernizing the army which aims at building a powerful naval force.”

South Korea’s military said on Sunday that the North fired multiple cruise missiles off its
coast but did not provide details.

North Korea’s ballistic missiles are typically more controversial and are explicitly banned
under U.N. Security Council resolutions. But analysts have said intermediate-range cruise
missiles were no less a threat than ballistic missiles and are a serious capability for North
Korea.
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In recent months, the North has tested an array of weapons that include ballistic missile
systems that are under development and an underwater drone.

Kim separately inspected the construction of a nuclear submarine and discussed issues
related to the manufacturing of other types of new warships, KCNA said.

Talisay shooting: Man playing volleyball

killed by 2 unidentified gunmen
By: Paul Lauro - Multimedia Correspondent - CDN Digital|January 29,2024 - 06:10 AM

Emergency responders, bystanders and police are seen at the crime scene where a man was
shot dead by unidentified assailants at past 6 p.m. on Sunday, January 28, in Barangay
Lagtang, Talisay City. | Contributed photo via Paul Lauro

CEBU CITY, Philippines —A man playing volleyball in Barangay Lagtang in Talisay City was
shot dead by two unidentified gunmen at past 6 p.m. on Sunday, January 28.

Authorities identified the victim as Erby Linganay, 43 years old, and a resident of Purok
Caimitohan, Barangay Lagtang.

Linganay died after two men shot him several times in front of shocked bystanders.

Talisay shooting: How victim was killed

Initial police investigation showed that at past 6 p.m. that day, Linganay was playing volleyball in
the area.

At nearly 6:50 p.m., two unidentified men, who were wearing black face masks arrived.

Talisay shooting. One of the empty shells are being marked by the members of the Scene of the
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Crime Operatives as they process the crime scene on Sunday, January 28, in Barangay
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Lagtang, Talisay City. | Contributed photo via Paul Lauro

They then pulled out guns and shot the victim several times, hitting him in the head and body,
causing his death.

After shooting the victim, the unidentified assailants then fled the area.

Shooters’ description

Witnesses described the assailants as two men wearing black jackets, maong pants and black
face masks.

They also said that the killers have a medium and slim build.

According to authorities, the killing happened at around 6:50 p.m., on Sunday, January 28.

And it was reported to the authorities at around 7:20 p.m.

Police probe killing

When the police and first medical responders arrived the victim was already dead and the
suspects had already made their escape.

Police, however, were investigating the killing and would try to determine the motive of the
attack and try to identify and arrest the assailants.

The authorities still did not know the motive of the attack, but their investigation on the killing of
Linganan continues.

DMW: Unpaid wages of displaced Saudi

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OFWs ‘forthcoming’
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By: Dona Z. Pazzibugan - Reporter / @dpazzibuganINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:15 AM January 29, 2024

INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

The payment of the unpaid wages of some 10,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)
abandoned by their Saudi employer companies nearly 10 years ago appears to be
forthcoming.

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) issued an advisory on Jan. 24 telling

claimants to coordinate with the agency and with their group leaders to “facilitate the
release of payments.”

Hans Cacdac, officer in charge of the DMW, said his office has received “information from
Al Kheraiji law office regarding the payments of the claims of former workers of Saudi
Oger and Mohammad Al Mojil Group.”

The lists of the workers included in the first batches eligible for payouts have been
released to the group leaders of the two companies, he said.

“In order to facilitate the release of payments, workers included in the said lists are
advised to coordinate with their group leaders and to contact the DMW through any of the
following channels to update their contact information,” Cacdac added.

The DMW may be reached at 0920-5171059 or email saudiclaims@dmw.gov.ph.

Tricky subject

The settlement of the unpaid salaries of around 10,000 OFWs owed by major Saudi
companies that declared bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016 has been a thorny issue in bilateral
relations that affected the deployment of the OFWs to the kingdom.
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During his trip to Riyadh last October, President Marcos raised the issue with Crown
Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and secured the Saudi government’s assurance to settle the
unpaid wages.

The companies involved are the Saudi Bin Laden Group, Saudi Oger, Mohammad Al-Mojil
Group and various subcontracting companies.

In 2016, thousands of OFWs were left stranded across Saudi Arabia after they were laid off
without being paid by their employers following the global plunge in oil prices.

These OFWs languished in makeshift tents for months, unable to come home since they
did not have exit visas and still hoped to get their back pay.

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