Davao City Philippines - Mayor Duterte Offers ₱7 Million reward for decapitated head of Ryan YU

Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte wants the head of alleged car thief Ryan Yu 'on ice.' Human rights advocates say Duterte has violated the law by passing a sentence on Yu without due process. Phptp: BULLIT MARQUEZ/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mayor in the Philippines offers $121,000 reward for decapitated head

Officials have received text messages from people seeking assurances the reward, offered by Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, is real.

The vice mayor of a southern Philippine city has offered a $121,000 reward for the decapitated head of the alleged leader of a gang of car thieves.

Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, known for being tough on criminals, told a news conference in Davao on Wednesday that he would give 2 million pesos ($48,400) if suspect Ryan Yu is arrested and 4 million pesos ($96,800) if he's killed. He said he'd add another 1 million pesos ($24,200) if Yu's decapitated head is delivered to him "on ice."

Davao police chief Ronald de la Rosa said Friday that he had received text messages from people seeking assurances the reward offer was real. He said they should cooperate with police.

Human rights commission chairman Loretta Rosales said Friday that Duterte violated the law by passing a sentence on Yu without due process.

Duterte's offer comes as he runs virtually unopposed to regain his seat as mayor of Davao. His daughter is currently the mayor but won't seek reelection. His son, Paolo, is running as his vice mayor.

Rosales urged Interior Secretary Mar Roxas to take action against Duterte, who has been indirectly linked to a "death squad" that was responsible for over 200 killings of suspected criminals, including some minors, when he was mayor from 2004 to 2009. He has denied any involvement.

"What he says ... is irresponsible coming from a person of authority," Rosales said. "That is an extrajudicial killing. He is justifying extrajudicial killing."

Duterte told reporters that Yu had made unfounded allegations of car smuggling against his son, Paolo, late last year and that received a call from Roxas on behalf of President Benigno Aquino III asking about the allegations.

It is not known where Yu is, or if he is still in the Philippines.

Duterte said the offer was prompted by the recent discovery of a compound where cars allegedly stolen by Yu's gang were being stored, adding the offer was open to anyone or any group, including Muslim and communist rebels.

"Make your choice. Either you want to earn 2 million, or you want to earn 4 million, or if you want to be morbid about it — bring the head of Ryan Yu to me and I will add 1 million," he said. He suggested putting the head in an ice bag "so it won't smell bad."

He said the money will come from contributions to his election campaign.

De la Rosa said offering a reward for an arrest is legal, adding that if Yu resists his death could be justified. "I have no comment about that," he said when asked about the reward for the decapitation.

He urged the public to cooperate with police officers, who will share in the reward. "Otherwise we will have so many Ryan Yus or people who look like him dead," he said.

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is loved by the People of Mindanao for his iron-hand against criminals and drug lords. He is also highly respected by all the lumads, residents and Muslims in the Island of Mindanao.

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte made the most remarkable progress of Davao with continues decline of criminals, alleviating poverty and driving business investments and job opportunities  to Davaoeños. He is known as a man with a word; word with action.

NY Daily News

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Filipino doctor elected to key United Nations (UN) committee vs torture

Dr. June Caridad Pagaduan Lopez, MD, is a Filipina psychiatrist and trauma specialist. She is also a faculty member and training coordinator at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Medicine and an international faculty (Torture Prevention and Rehabilitation) at Rotary Peace Center of Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. She also serves as the director of the Center for Gender and Women Studies. As a technical expert on Mental Health and Sexual Violence and as a member of the Sexual Violence Research Initiative of the World Health Organization, she promotes peace and helps traumatized women and children especially in war-torn areas like Mindanao and East Timor. Dr. Lopez is nominated as member in the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment for 2012 to 2016. Members to the SPT will be elected on 25 October 2012 at the UN Office in Geneva, Switzerland.

Filipino professor Dr. June Pagaduan-Lopez has been elected as one of twelve new members of the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT).

She will serve as expert, from 2012 to 2016, in monitoring detention conditions in more than 60 sixty countries worldwide.

The Medical Action Group (MAG), of which Dr. Pagaduan-Lopez is one of the founders, welcomed her election, saying "this will considerably strengthen the mandate of the SPT in torture prevention particularly in the field of mental health rehabilitation of torture survivors and their families."

Dr. Pagaduan-Lopez, is a professor at the Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines-Manila.

MAG said, "for many years, Dr. Pagaduan-Lopez' capabilities and outstanding commitment in linking her profession as a psychiatrist to the promotion and defense of human rights, particularly in rehabilitation of torture survivors, will enable her to make a valuable contribution to the work of the SPT and the prevention of torture in the country and worldwide."

 The election was held at the fourth meeting of States parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) on 25 October 2012, at the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland.

Other experts who were elected are from Switzerland, United Kingdom, Argentina, New Zealand, Lebanon, Serbia, Mauritius, Costa Rica, Brazil, Germany and Republic of Moldova.

 Dr. Lopez has 30 years as an undergraduate and postgraduate educator in medical school and public health school (psychiatry, organizational development, occupational and mental health). She finished her medicine at the University of the Philippines-Manila.

 She was awarded by Ten Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service (TOWNS) in 1989. In 2010, she was awarded Outstanding Achievement Award by the International Council for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (IRCT) given by the Dr. Inge Genefke Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark, during its 25th anniversary celebration.

She was among the 39 recipients of the Most Distinguished Alumnus Award  by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA) in 2011.

The Philippines became the 63rd state party to the OPCAT on April 17, 2012, making it eligible to submit a candidate for the SPT. 

SPT's work started in February 2007 with 10 members and expanded to 25 members in January 2011.

The SPT has a "preventive mandate" focused on an innovative, sustained and proactive approach to the prevention of torture and ill treatment.

It also has an operational role which consists in visiting all places of detention in States parties.

GMA News 

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Australia: Bullish on the “Philippines” the fastest-growing economy in Asia

the chair of the Asia Society Australia, Warwick Smith

Australia bullish on Philippines

SYDNEY, Australia—the business sector in Australia is bullish on the Philippine economy, with many shakers and movers in trade and investment looking forward to partnering with the "next tiger economy in Southeast Asia."

At a business forum here Thursday night (October 25, 2012), the chair of the Asia Society Australia, Warwick Smith, enunciated the prevailing sentiment of top CEOs in this part of the globe.

"It would be fair to say that this has been a remarkable transformation that has taken place in the Philippines since the election of the President," Smith said.

He said that recently "one leading bank … indicated it's (Philippines) the fastest-growing economy in Asia, which is an area of concern to all of us here in Australia" amid the economic downturn in America and the debt crisis in Europe.

"Your commitment to growth and also the successful approach to a corruption drive as we've seen transformed the opportunities in the Philippines," said Smith, telling the President that this "transformation of the Philippines would not be taking place without strong leadership … which is about commitment."

Smith then quoted a portion of the inaugural speech of the President in 2010 which, the businessman said, went into the very heart of commitment to public service.

"My father offered his life so our democracy could live. My mother devoted her life to nurturing that democracy. I will dedicate my life to making our democracy reach its fullest potential: that of ensuring equality for all. My family has sacrificed much and I am willing to do this again if necessary," said Smith, quoting Mr. Aquino.

When Smith asked the President about the "industry, sectors, or services" he was looking into to really "bring the Philippines as the new tiger economy in Southeast Asia," the President said his administration would harvest "low-lying fruits" and focus on three particular aspects of the economy: infrastructure, tourism and agriculture.

Aquino did not mention the huge potential for mining investments in the Philippines, but his new mining policy, contained in Executive Order 79, was discussed during bilateral meeting in the capital Canberra Wednesday.

Smith also took time to quiz the President on the broader picture of finance in the global market, asking him if he had "an overall (medium-term) prognosis for where matters are going" with "leadership changes in China this year, the United States, Europe that's struggling."

The President said:

"I think there will still be pressures on everybody to become pessimistic or, if they want to be euphemistic about it, to be guarded. And when we were in the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) Meeting in Honolulu, Madame Christine Lagarde talked about the need to enhance domestic liquidity," he said, referring to the managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

"And, to be honest with you, it really made me pause for a thought because it seemed like we were headed towards the same situation that existed before the Great Depression wherein everybody felt that they could successfully insulate themselves from the downturn in various other economies which, in turn, actually accelerated and deepened the recession and that led to the depression," he said.

"So one would do hope that man has a capacity to improve. Shouldn't this be the point in time that we should be finding ways and means to help the so-called 'weakest link' in the chain? So either we stand together or we drown together," said Mr. Aquino.

He noted that governments in Europe were being asked to finally address the situation that used to be the proverbial "can that got kicked down."

"I'm sure that very reasonable men and women are talking and that we will become into solutions that demonstrate our collective capacity to improve as species. So how long will the continued malaise happen? The conservative will say quite a bit but I tend to be optimistic as far as the human spirit is concerned. I think what we have managed to do in the Philippines will happen in varying degrees elsewhere. I can't tell you that we are about to crest the hill but I think we are approaching that crest. All it takes is a little bit of faith and optimism in our fellowmen," he added.

Asked by the INQUIRER in an interview to expound on how his administration would pursue this economic takeoff, he said:

"Basically they said the number one asset of the Philippines has to be the people. Therefore, it has to be investments in our people and that's why the massive investments in education and in health," he said.

Aquino pointed out that this "inclusive growth" meant that the poor should benefit from the economic gains.

He also cited the current efforts to match the job requirements of the local industries with what the educational sector was producing yearly.

Meeting the Philippine media over coffee right after the business forum, Aquino reported on the economic gains of his two-nation, five-day state visits to New Zealand and Australia.

In New Zealand, he said the government of Prime Minister John Key pledged to help the Philippines increase the expertise in harnessing geothermal power.

The Philippines and New Zealand are two of the two largest producers of geothermal power in the world, but it was New Zealand that helped the Philippines harness this alternative power source in the 1970s.

Also, Alliance Select Foods International, Inc. formalized its $2.18-million share purchase agreement to acquire 80 percent of Akaroa Salmon NZ Ltd., a pioneer in salmon farming in New Zealand.

The New Zealand-based firm is also a processor of fresh and smoked salmon.

"What is impressive is we are becoming a multinational," he said, pointing that the Alliance Select Foods, Inc. bought into a salmon farm.

Australian firm Austal will start building boats in shipping yards in Balamban, Cebu.

On its website (http://www.austal.com/en/about-austal/Overview.aspx), Austal says it is a global defense prime contractor.

"The company designs, constructs and maintains revolutionary platforms such as the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) for the United States Navy, as well as an extensive range of patrol and auxiliary vessels for defense forces and government agencies globally. Austal also designs, installs, integrates and maintains sophisticated communications, radar and command and control systems."

Telstra, a top telecommunications company in Australia which has about 10,000 workers in the Philippines, is seeking "further expansion and directly hiring their employees," said the President.

AG&P is also starting a ₱200-million project in Batangas, Aquino said.

AG&P is a modular engineering, fabrication, assembly and asset management services provider to the offshore and onshore oil & gas, mining, power and civil infrastructure sectors (https://agp.ph/).

MacQuarie Group, a banking and lending firm, has partnered with the Government Service Insurance System for a US$600-million fund to invest in infrastructure projects in the country.

Lastly, the Philippines also signed a new air services agreement with both New Zealand and Australia.

INQUIRER Business

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