STEALING FREE NEWSPAPER IS STILL A CRIME ! AB 2612, PLESCIA CRIME Maguindanao massacre recalled WEEKLY ISSUE 70 CITIES IN 11 STATES ONLINE Vol. IX Issue 450 1028 Mission Street, 2/F, San Francisco, CA 94103 Tel. (415) 593-5955 or (650) 278-0692 November 23 - 29, 2017 China telco to compete with PH NEWS | A2 Reds declared as PLDT-Smart, Globe Telecom terrorist group By Macon Araneta | FilAm Star Correspondent To put an end to Filipino necessary to address the long-stand- consumers being held hostage to ing problems of our country. poor communications and data “Our people need fast, stable services, Senate President Aquilino internet speeds that are reasonably “Koko” Pimentel III on November priced. Bringing in a new competitor 21, commended the decision of helps achieve that,” he said. President Rodrigo Duterte to allow Pimentel, who previously put PH NEWS | A4 the operations in the country of a forward proposals to encourage third telecommunications carrier competition between the country’s Warriors punch through from China. two major telecommunications firms, The current telecommunica- said that adding a third player to Nets tions industry in the Philippines the Philippine telecommunications is dominated by PLDT-Smart and market “is the only way to force the Globe Telecom. two major local telco companies to Pimentel said a third telecom- improve their services.” munications firm is “exactly what He noted that the absence of al- the country needs to end a telco ternatives has numbed consumers to duopoly mired in mediocrity -- a (L-R) Sen Koko Pimentel and Sen. Grace Poe the reality of poor network coverage, (Photos: www.dzrhnews.com.ph / www.asiaone.com) situation that has allowed them to dropped calls, disappearing loads, hold the Filipino consumer hostage services.” problem, Pimentel said the President lost text messages, and slow data or SPORTS NEWS | A5 to poor communications and data By acting decisively to address this is showing the kind of political will TO PAGE A7 Adieu, Assistant ConsGen Ascalon Revolutionary gov’t not in constitution, Majority of poorest in ASEAN are Indonesians not supported by military – solons and Filipinos -- ASEAN-China-UNDP Report By William Casis | FilAm Star Correspondent By Corina Oliquino | FilAm Star Correspondent said Sen. Panfilo Lacson last According to a development report November 21. released by the Association of South- He said the military east Asian Nations (ASEAN), up to had expressed that it would 90 percent of the 36 million people in COMMUNITY | B1 not support, and “rightly so Southeast Asia living below the poverty because who will support a line are Filipinos and Indonesians. Ricky Davao wins revolutionary government This was one of the findings Best Supporting Actor which in the first place is not from the report commissioned by the even found in the Constitu- ASEAN, the United Nations Develop- tion?” ment Program (UNDP) and China. (L-R) Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Pres. Rodrigo Duterte “And even the military “An estimated 36 million people in (Photo: www.dailynewsph.com) and defense establishments, the region still live below the interna- they already said their piece tional poverty line, with almost 90 per- No revolutionary government -- they will not support a cent of these people in Indonesia or the under the administration of President revolutionary government. So who Philippines,” the report told Rappler. Rodrigo Duterte will take hold since will? Nobody,” added Lacson in an Despite this, the report noted that ENTERTAINMENT | B6 it does not have the support of the ambush interview. the extreme poverty data in the region Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), TO PAGE A7 TO PAGE A3 PH ranked 12th in terms of terrorism’s impact – PH GDP growth defies traditional Dangerous Drugs Board chairman who brought family, Global Index after-election pattern ‘girl Friday’ on gov’t expense trips abroad fired By Corina Oliquino By Lara Climaco | FilAm Star Correspondent By Macon Araneta | FilAm Star Correspondent FilAm Star Correspondent Government economic managers were elated to report better-than- expected GDP growth during the third quarter, which prompted a flurry of 2017 forecast upgrades from market observers and recognition of a job well done. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced November 16 that the Philippine economy expanded by 6.9 percent in this year’s third quarter, (Photo: Presidential Communications (Govern- ment of the Philippines) official facebook page) driven mainly by manufacturing trade and real estate, renting and business According to Global Terrorism activities. Growth in over-all industrial Index 2017, the Philippines ranks 12th output was recorded at 7.5 percent during the quarter alongside a 7.1 globally in terms of terrorism’s impact (L-R) Presidential spokesman Harry Roque and DDB Chairman Dionisio Santiago due to an” increase in the number of percent increase in the services sector. (Photo: www.gmanetwork.com) fatalities and terrorist activity.” There was a 2.5 percent slowdown in “We attribute the country’s growth “The Philippines, China and Thai- agricultural production as typhoon performance to sustained strong President Rodrigo Duterte warned “A number of them are lined up to land have suffered the highest num season wreaked havoc on farming and growth in exports and improvements he will fire public officials who go on be fired. Those who went out of the TO PAGE A7 fishing activities. TO PAGE A7 trips without his permission. TO PAGE A7 A2 FilAm Star November 23 - 29, 2017 ph news Drug raids illegal, Alert civilians, police foil bomb blast in Sultan Kudarat say 2 SC justices Police raids on houses of suspects effectively placed them ULAN, Sultan Kudarat the provincial capitol – for the in the middle of parked vehicles series of bomb attacks in the drug suspects without judicial under custodial investigation – Civilians and police authori- culmination of the weeklong near the main entrance of the province. warrants violated the antitorture without the assistance of a lawyer ties prevented on Wednesday “Kalimudan Festival.” provincial capitol grounds, Several attempts to set off law and other individual rights in violation of the law. night what could have been a He said the police was the venue of the culminating explosives here had also been enshrined in the 1987 Constitu- “When somebody is under bloody culmination program of immediately alerted, and bomb program. foiled in the past. tion, two Supreme Court justices a coercive process to make that a festival here when they foiled experts were quickly deployed According to the police But in November 2015, said on Tuesday. person actually do something, as a bombing attempt. and disarmed the IED, which official, the IED could blow up 15 people were injured when a At the opening of oral argu- in this case open the door to the Sultan Kudarat Police Di- was made of black powder, cut a car and could send its metal grenade blew up just outside ments in two petitions challeng- police, let them in, make them do rector Senior Supt. Raul Supiter nails, and metal sheets with shrapnel flying to as far as 500 the capitol compound while ing President Duterte’s brutal war whatever, then therefore under said alert civilians discovered torch as triggering device, at meters away had it exploded. an agri-trade fair was being on drugs, Associate Justice Mar- pain of coercion then that in fact the improvised explosive device past 9:30 p.m. No suspect had been iden- held. (Edwin O. Fernandez / vic Leonen asked human rights is torture according to the law,” while gathering by the roadside Supiter said the bomb was tified as of this posting. inquirer.net) lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno, who he said. in Barangay Kalawag – outside placed by still unidentified men This was the latest in the represented some of the petition- Orders unconstitutional ers, about incidents of policemen “Is it possible that there is a barging into the houses of drug violation of the Constitution im- suspects without court orders. mediately because of how Oplan What went before: Maguindanao massacre recalled Diokno, of the Free Legal As- Tokhang is imagined in the [PNP] sistance Group, brought the peti- circular? And that is a violation Justice for the victims of the in a sack. Saliao, who was a trusted aide In July 2015, Ampatuan Sr., tion to stop the police raids on of the right against self-incrim- Maguindanao massacre and their Three relatives of other wit- of the Ampatuans, testified in who battled liver cancer in deten- behalf of a survivor and two other ination and right to custodial families remains elusive. nesses and a potential witness, 2010 that the clan planned the tion, died of a heart attack at the people whose relatives were slain interrogation,” he said. On Nov. 23, 2009, 58 people, Alijol Ampatuan, who is a distant massacre over dinner and that National Kidney and Transplant by police in the war on drugs. Diokno answered in the including the wife of then Buluan Another group of petition- affirmative and claimed that the Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu ers, represented by Joel Butuyan supposed unlawful acts of police and 32 media workers, were killed of the Center for International officers were allowed by the issu- in Sitio Masalay, Ampatuan, in Law, brought a class suit against ance of PNP Command Memo- Maguindanao. the Philippine National Police randum Circular No. 16–2016 They were on their way to seeking Supreme Court interven- and the Department of the Shariff Aguak to file Manguda- tion to keep their neighborhood Interior and Local Government datu’s certificate of candidacy for in San Andres Bukid, Manila, (DILG) Memorandum Circular governor in the May 2010 elec- safe from policemen who have No. 2017-112. tions when the convoy was flagged allegedly killed 35 residents of the He argued that the DILG and down.