TRIPOLI, Lebanon – A suspected militant killed himself and two family members by detonating an explosive bomb belt during an army raid in northern Lebanon on Saturday, December 5, an army statement said.

The army said Mohamed Hamza, a fugitive wanted in connection with militant activity in the northern city of Tripoli, had tossed grenades at troops as they sought to arrest him in the village of Deir Ammar.

"One of them exploded, injuring 7 soldiers... after which he detonated an explosive belt, killing himself and two relatives, and injuring others," the army statement said.

A security source said the two others killed were Hamza's mother and niece.

A medical source earlier said at least 3 civilians were among the wounded.

The army said Hamza was wanted in connection with several incidents in which gunmen opened fire on soldiers and civilians in Tripoli.

Gunmen in the Bab el-Tebbaneh district of the coastal city often clash with others in the neighboring Alawite district of Jabal Mohsen as well as fire on army patrols.

The army launched a security plan in April 2014 in an effort to stabilize Tripoli, which has seen successive rounds of deadly fighting between the two neighborhoods. – Rappler.com

CAGAYAN, Philippines – The Sandiganbayan Fourth Division suspended a Cagayan town mayor for his alleged malversation of over P18 million in public funds. 

A suspension order obtained by Rappler on Saturday, December 4, said the anti-graft court suspended Amulong town Mayor Nicanor de Leon for 90 days.

The suspension order was promulgated on August 14, but was only served by the Department of the Interior and Local Government on November 27.

The suspension was reaffirmed on October 28, when the court denied De Leon's appeal.

Vice Mayor Alexander Pascual has since been sworn into office as acting mayor, while Councilor Elpidio Rendon, who received the most number of votes among the city council candidates in the 2013 polls, became acting vice mayor.

The Sandiganbayan ordered De Leon to cease and desist from performing his duties as mayor. He has also been barred from receiving salaries and benefits as the town chief executive.

The Office of the Ombudsman in April filed the malversation charges against De Leon and his wife Pacita, who was a former mayor and is currently the town’s accountant and treasurer.

The charges stemmed from the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) that the spouses, during their respective terms as mayor, authorized “unlawful” disbursements of funds amounting to P18,718,161.65 from years 2000 to 2009. 

In 2010, the special fraud audit of COA revealed that the De Leons signed a total of 38 checks without the necessary supporting documents and vouchers. 

The reelectionist De Leon is yet to respond to Rappler's request for comment. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The ballot for the 2016 elections will include at least 185 party-list groups – for now.

These groups will join a raffle on December 14 to determine their order on the ballot, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said in a resolution Thursday, December 3.

They include 101 registered party-list groups and 85 others whose petitions for registration have been denied by Comelec divisions.

The 85 groups have filed motions for reconsideration before the Comelec en banc, or the commission sitting as a whole.

In Resolution No. 10025, the Comelec said the 85 groups’ inclusion in the raffle “shall be subject to the resolution of their pending motions for reconsideration.”

For 8 other groups, their inclusion in the raffle “shall be subject to the resolution of the pending incidents respecting their cases,” the Comelec said. 

Among these 8 groups, exceptional cases include having filed a Manifestation of Intent to Participate in the Party-List Elections beyond the deadlne last May 8.

(Read the full resolution below)

The party list is a system of proportional representation meant to better represent marginalized sectors, as well as groups lacking “well-defined constituencies,” among others.

In the May 2013 elections, the Comelec included 123 party-list groups in the ballot.

Days before the May 2013 elections, however, the poll body disqualified 10 of these.

For the May 2016 elections, the Comelec allowed more party-list groups to run after the Supreme Court (SC) loosened the requirement for party-list groups.

The SC earlier ruled that that party list is not solely for marginalized sectors, reversing a decade-old interpretation by the high court. – Rappler.com

PARIS, France (UPDATED) – The United Nations on Saturday, December 5, Day 6 of the marathon climate negotations here in Paris, released the draft of a climate deal, transitioning into the next phase of the historic talks that seek to combat global warming.

As promised during its unprecedented meeting on November 29, the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) released on Saturday, December 5, a blueprint for a pact to protect humanity from the harmful consequences of rampant emissions of climate-altering greenhouse gases.

Despite being riddled with conflicting proposals on most key points, the 21-page draft accord, which was drawn up in 4 years of tough talks is the skeleton if what has been described as the most complex and consequential global accord ever attempted.

The stakes are high as ministers from across the world will descend here to try starting Monday, December 7, to transform the draft into an agreement that can rein in emissions that trap the Sun's heat, warming the Earth's surface and oceans. 

Scientists have warned that as temperatures rise, the planet will become increasingly hostile to mankind. Sea levels will rise, consuming islands and populated coastal areas, while storms will become more catastrophic and droughts, more severe.

'Hopeful'

Dean Tony La Viña, spokesperson for the Philippine delegation in Paris and one of the negotiators, described the reaction of the body that approved the text. "Very good mood, festive even. Hopeful certainly," he said.

According to La Viña, all the elements the Philippines wanted in the negotiations were included:

• 1.5 degrees Celsius cap
• Human rights
• Good options for climate finance and technology transfer
• Loss and damage

The head of the delegation, Secretary Manny de Guzman instructed the negotiator and Assistant Secretary Joy Goco of the Climate Change Commission "to support the decision to adopt the draft text," La Viña told Rappler.

In the proposed 21-page Paris agreement, the working group said it "agreed to transmit the text titled 'Draft agreement and draft decision on workstreams 1 and 2 of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action' contained in annex I to the Conference of the Parties at its twenty-first session for further consideration."

It also said it "agreed to transmit the text contained in annex II to the Conference of the Parties at its twenty-first session."

The ADP is tasked to craft an important negotiating text of the COP21 or the Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

On to 'political phase'

The talks enter the next phase, which involves "political discussions" among ministers, according to observers.

Negotiators seem confident they can avert a repeat of a similar effort that failed spectacularly in the 2009 edition of the annual UN talks in Copenhagen, which aimed at a post-2012 deal but broke down, riven by recriminations between rich and poor nations.

It was two years after that failure, at Durban in 2011, that nations agreed to try again for a truly universal climate-saving pact.

Any deal emerging from Paris is likely to fall far short of what is needed to cap global warming at 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) or below.  

Sleep-deprived negotiators 

Poorer countries have demanded finance to pay for the costly shift to renewable technologies, as well as to cope with climate change.

At stake is hundreds of billions of dollars that would need to start flowing from rich to developing nations from 2020, under the planned Paris pact.

The biggest polluting nations, such as the United States and China, want to enshrine a target of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-Industrial Revolution levels.

But weaker nations most at risk want a much tougher target of 1.5 C, which would require the global economy to transform away from fossil fuels and be fully reliant on renewables by 2050.

Heavily bracketed draft

There's still much work to be done 6 days into the negotiations. The text is heavily bracketed, meaning the wording of various sections is contested by negotiators from member countries.

France's top diplomat, Laurent Fabius, who is presiding over the 195-nation talks for a UN climate deal, earlier reminded negotiators to hasten the process so as to finish the work by December 11.

Since the high-profile event attended by more than 150 world leaders started on November 30, negotiators have been distilling the draft deal.

The COP21 is scheduled to end at 6 pm (1700 GMT) on December 11, but the climate conference is notorious for textual bickering and running over schedule. 

But such deadlines are frequently ignored with weary, sleep-deprived negotiators often slogging through the night to get an accord. 

– With a report from AFP/Rappler

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay scored Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman after she confirmed reports that 284 sacks of rice intended for victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) were found to have been buried in Leyte. 

“Such act borders on criminal neglect. Thousands of Filipinos suffer from hunger every day, especially those affected by calamities, and yet we have a government that allowed food to rot,” said Binay in a statement on Saturday, December 5.

Yolanda ravaged parts of the Visayas region in 2013, killing thousands and inflicting massive destruction on infrastructure and communities. (IN NUMBERS: Two years after Typhoon Yolanda)

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) had been criticized for its lapses in the distribution of relief goods to Yolanda-stricken areas. (READ: Soliman admits lapses in Yolanda relief, won't resign)

On Wednesday, the DSWD office in Eastern Visayas admitted to Interaksyon that 284 sacks of rice supposedly for Yolanda relief operations rotted while in storage in a warehouse in Dagami town, Leyte.  

An informant tipped the local police to a site in Barangay Macaalang, where the sacks of spoiled rice were buried.  

According to Interaksyon, Senior Inspector Anthony Florencio, local chief of police, initially denied the report.  Later, after inspecting the site himself, he confirmed that the sacks were marked with logos from the National Food Authority and the DSWD.

In a statement on Thursday, Soliman acknowledged the gap in her department’s capacity to manage relief goods and stressed that several improvements are "already being done.”

“I have ordered a thorough investigation of the incident to find out who are liable and to file appropriate administrative charges against them, in accordance with civil service rules,” said Soliman, responding to the call of several lawmakers to probe the incident. 

“Disaster survivors have the right to receive safe relief goods. It is our duty to protect survivors of disasters from further harm that is why we decided to dispose of these goods immediately.  We wanted to make sure that these goods that were unfit for human consumption would not be given to the survivors,” she added.

'Not the only time'

Binay remains disappointed at the DSWD, however, saying “this was not the only time food for calamity victims had gone to waste.”

The Vice President cited a 2013 Commission on Audit (COA) report that revealed food packs worth P2.8 million intended for 7,527 families affected by Yolanda were lost to spoilage “due to improper handling.” 

In a 2014 report, COA said the DSWD was left with P141 million worth of undistributed and expired or about-to-expire relief goods.

According to Binay, Soliman’s admission of DSWD’s lapses “only highlights the reality that she has failed to provide the department the efficiency and compassion required in providing immediate aid to calamity victims.” 

“This is a gross disservice to both the calamity victims who needed all the assistance they could get, and the taxpayers and donors who contributed to the government’s calamity fund,” Binay said.

“In times of disaster, government should be able to provide immediate relief to the victims. There’s no room for dilly-dallying. Their survival largely depends on government’s ability to extend the needed assistance,” he added. – Rappler.com

WASHINGTON DC, United States - President Barack Obama insisted that the United States "will not be terrorized" and   his call for tighter gun control measures in a weekly address Saturday that focused on the deadly attack in California.

As it became increasingly likely that the San Bernardino shooting spree that left 14 people dead was inspired by the Islamic State group, Obama vowed that investigators would "get to the bottom" of how and why the rampage occurred.

"It is entirely possible that these two attackers were radicalized to commit this act of terror," Obama said in remarks that expanded beyond his initial singular focus on gun control.

"We know that ISIL and other terrorist groups are actively encouraging people -- around the world and in our country -- to commit terrible acts of violence, often times as lone wolf actors," he said using an alternate acronym for the Islamic State group.

"All of us -- government, law enforcement, communities, faith leaders -- need to work together to prevent people from falling victim to these hateful ideologies."

The attackers, US-born Muslim Syed Farook, 28, and his 29-year-old Pakistani wife Tashfeen Malik, were killed during a police manhunt.

The FBI is investigating possible links to groups outside the United States and said the rampage is being probed as "an act of terrorism."

Obama used the address to renew his calls for this latest mass shooting to prompt a rethink on gun laws that allow virtually any adult to buy deadly weapons and munitions.

"This tragedy reminds us of our obligation to do everything in our power, together, to keep our communities safe," Obama said.

"We know that the killers in San Bernardino used military-style assault weapons -- weapons of war -- to kill as many people as they could. It's another tragic reminder that here in America it's way too easy for dangerous people to get their hands on a gun."

Obama again touted measures, which he may yet try to introduce by executive order.

Such a move would prompt a political and legal storm in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.

"Right now, people on the No-Fly list can walk into a store and buy a gun. That is insane," Obama said.

"If you're too dangerous to board a plane, you're too dangerous, by definition, to buy a gun."

Officials have seized thousands of rounds of ammunition from the home of the couple, who were armed with assault rifles and handguns -- all legally purchased.

Republicans who vehemently oppose gun control measures have accused Obama of politicizing a tragedy that was the result of radicalism.

"As President, my highest priority is the security and safety of the American people. This is work that should unite us all -- as Americans -- so that we're doing everything in our power to defend our country," he said.

"That's how we can honor the lives we lost in San Bernardino. That's how we can send a message to all those who would try to hurt us. We are Americans. We will uphold our values -- a free and open society. We are strong. And we are resilient. And we will not be terrorized." - Rappler.com

ATHENS, Greece - Greek lawmakers are expected to vote late on Saturday for the 2016 budget, with its economic forecasts revised upward to show near zero growth in 2015 and a small contraction next year for the debt-ridden country in its sixth year of austerity.

The coalition government, which enjoys a narrow majority in the 300-seat parliament, is trying to meet conditions for an unpopular third international bailout enacted in July in return for safeguarding Greece's place in the eurozone. 

The 2016 budget, the first tabled by the leftist Syriza-led government, expects zero economic growth in 2015, compared with a forecast for a 2.3% contraction in the draft budget presented in October. For 2016, the budget projects a 0.7% contraction, smaller than the initial 1.3% forecast. 

"In the period between the tabling of the draft budget and the presentation of the final draft of the 2016 state budget, there was a significant positive development: the upwards revision of economic growth in 2015 and 2016,,  the Greek Finance Ministry said in a statement on November 20. 

"This revision showed that the Greek economy did not fall into recession in 2015 since the country's Gross Domestic Product remained unchanged. In comparison with a projection included in the pre-draft for a contraction of 2.3% in 2015, the final estimate is an impressive improvement.", it said.

Last week however, Greece's state statistics agency drastically revised downwards the economy's third-quarter contraction to 0.9%, from 0.5% previously estimated.

The data is consistent with European Commission forecasts that Greece will fall back into recession in 2015 after a brief respite last year.

Nevertheless, the European Commission's representative in Greece, Declan Costello,  said on Monday that the Commission may have to revise upwards its estimates because the country's economy will most likely post close to zero growth in 2015. 

Meanwhile, the Greek government has already seen its parliamentary majority dwindle from 155 to 153 seats in its effort to implement the harsh measures imposed by its creditors.

Measures facilitating foreclosures against people who cannot pay their mortgages led to the loss of support from two lawmakers who refused to back the bill..

Also, the plans to slash the minimum monthly pension have caused two general strikes in a month, a sign that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faces a rough ride despite winning reelection in September on the bailout programme.

After first storming to power at the beginning of this year promising to free Greece from the restrictions of bailout programmes, Tsipras in July accepted a three-year, 86-billion-euro ($93-billion) rescue deal with strict conditions to enact further cutbacks.

As part of the agreement, Greece is set to introduce new pension cuts next to keep its shaky retirement system viable. - Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Parties in an ongoing peace process should ensure peace in the southern Philippines, the Holy See told President Benigno Aquino III during the Philippine leader’s trip to Vatican City.

Aquino met with Pope Francis on Friday, December 4, and after this meeting, also spoke with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

“Special reference was made to the peace process in Mindanao, with the hope that commitment from the Parties may guarantee stable and lasting peace to the region,” the Vatican said in a statement.

Parts of Mindanao, the Philippines’ poorest island group, has been plagued by a 4-decade Muslim secessionist movement.

To help end this rebellion, Aquino has pushed lawmakers to pass a law for a more powerful Muslim region.

Aquino's critics, however, have derailed the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law after the other party in the peace process, the rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front, was implicated in the death of 44 members of an elite police force. (READ: Bishops, peace advocates: Hear Mindanao, pass BBL)

In his arrival speech on Saturday, December 5, Aquino also said he spoke with Parolin about the peace process.

Poverty also tackled

Aquino said he, too, discussed “concrete ways to ease poverty in the country.” 

The Vatican added, “During the cordial discussions, the dialogue between the various members of Filipino society was evoked, as well as the contribution of the Catholic Church to the life of the country.”

In his meeting with Aquino, Francis himself repeated the request he has consistently made since he was elected in 2013: Pray for me.

Aquino met with the Pope as part of a week-long trip to Europe.

There, before visiting the Vatican, he attended a highly anticipated United Nations climate summit in France and met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella.

Aquino spoke with business leaders as well. 

In his arrival speech on Saturday, he relayed other pieces of good news from his European trip, including:

• A commitment from the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur to release in the Philippines a vaccine for 4 strains of dengue
• A promise from CRH, the first and biggest Irish investor in the Philippines, to bring in P2.3 billion ($48.93 million) in investments to the Southeast Asian country
• A plan by Jacobi Carbons Group AB to expand its operations in processing coconut shells as raw material for activated carbon filters

“Ibang-iba na nga po ang Pilipinas, at ibang-iba na ang tingin sa atin ng mundo,” Aquino said. (The Philippines has now really changed, and the way the world looks at us has really changed as well.) – Rappler.com 

*$1 = P47.01

WASHINGTON DC, USA - NASA, the US space agency, has released a series of sharp Pluto snapshots, billing them as the best close-ups of the dwarf planet we may see for decades.  

On July 14, NASA's New Horizons became the first spacecraft to pass by Pluto, offering scientists unprecedented insight.

Previously released high-resolution images from that historic flyby have revealed unparalleled geographical variety on the planet, from soaring mountains, to sand dunes and frozen ice floes.

The latest pictures, made available Friday, are part of a sequence taken near New Horizons' closest approach to Pluto and show a mix of terrains that are cratered, mountainous and glacial in nature, NASA said in a statement.

"These new images give us a breathtaking, super-high resolution window into Pluto's geology," said New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern in the statement. 

"Nothing of this quality was available for Venus or Mars until decades after their first flybys; yet at Pluto we're there already -- down among the craters, mountains and ice fields – less than five months after flyby!" he added.

"The science we can do with these images is simply unbelievable."

The images have resolutions of some 250 to 280 feet (77 to 85 meters) per pixel and form a strip 50 miles (80 kilometers) wide, according to NASA.

New Horizons -- a nuclear powered spacecraft about the size of a baby grand piano -- began a download of new images and other data several months ago and will continue to send data back to Earth until late next year.

In October, data from the unmanned New Horizons probe revealed that Pluto has blue skies and patches of frozen water, as well as a rich variety of colors on its surface. 

NASA said scientists expect more images from the set over the coming days, describing those received so far as "the best close-ups of Pluto that humans may see for decades."

- Rappler.com

CHENNAI, India - Residents in India's southern Tamil Nadu state Saturday were grappling with the aftermath of devastating floods as authorities stepped up relief work following the worst deluge in decades that killed over 250 people.

Thousands of people in Chennai took to the mud-filled streets to buy essentials as authorities worked to restore communication and road networks after Tuesday's record rains worsened weeks of flooding, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents marooned in the state capital.

Residents jostled at grocery stores, petrol stations and cash machines, with the city reeling under a severe shortage of supplies, including drinking water, after the rains finally stopped on Thursday. 

"I had to wait almost three hours at the petrol station with more than 200 people trying to get fuel," local resident V Prabhakaran told AFP, adding filling stations have started rationing petrol.

Mobile communication services were badly hit by damage to power infrastructure and a shortage of fuel. The authorities said shortages of essential goods will start to ease as road and rail links are restored and dozens of special trains were running to bring in relief material.

Chennai's international airport was opened for relief flights, four days after planes and the runway were submerged. Officials hope commercial services will resume Sunday.  

Hundreds of flood-hit cars and motorcycles remained piled up in the streets of Chennai, which were coated with a thick layer of mud. 

Thousands of people were rescued earlier in the week in a massive operation by the Indian army and disaster management teams. Residents were plucked from the rooftops of their marooned homes by helicopters and boats following the devastating floods which officials said were caused by the worst rains in a century.

Rekha Nambiar, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), who is leading a relief team of more than 1,800 men in the state, said crews were carrying out relief work after flood waters started receding, with the focus on potable water.

"Rescue work is over. We are focused on relief now. We are trying to shift men and machinery to provide drinking water in the affected areas," Nambiar told AFP.

She said teams were cleaning up residential areas to avoid a disease outbreak as authorities distributed water purifying chlorine tablets.

"Right now people are in dire need of food, water and sanitation," she said.

Forecasters expect dry weather next week, ending a long spell of torrential rain.

Experts blamed poor urban planning for the devastation in India's fourth-largest city, home to nearly 4.6 million people, which has grown rapidly in the last few decades to become a major IT and automobile hub.  - Rappler.com

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Saturday called for dialogue with Russia to overcome tensions after the downing of a Russian warplane near the Syrian border for alleged violations of Turkey's airspace.

"Of course we have different views but we need to continue to talk in order to narrow our differences," Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the state-run Anatolia news agency. 

Cavusoglu was speaking at a breakfast given for Russian citizens living in his hometown of Antalya, a popular tourist destination for Russian tourists on Turkey's Mediterranean coast. 

The downing of the Russian warplane on the Turkish-Syria border on November 24 has strained ties between Ankara and Moscow which have traded accusations in recent days. 

Cavusoglu met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Belgrade on Thursday in the first high-level contact between the two sides since the disputed plane incident.. 

"I had a very useful meeting with my friend Sergei Lavrov," Cavusoglu said on Saturday. "We discussed all issues in a positive atmosphere."

The foreign minister warned against "inaccurate" statements or news disseminating in Russia.

"One day problems will be resolved but the seeds of discord you had sown among people could continue for a long time. Therefore, everyone should act responsibly," Cavusoglu said. - Rappler.com

LONDON, United Kingdom - One of the perpetrators of the deadly Paris attacks visited London and Birmingham earlier this year to meet people suspected of plotting terror activity in Britain, The Guardian reported Saturday.

The newspaper, citing counter-terrorism officials, said the unnamed attacker had managed to enter Britain and travel to the nation's two biggest cities, before heading back to continental Europe undetected despite heightened security.

"In both cities he met with people suspected of having the intention and capability of plotting or assisting terrorist activity against the UK," the paper reported, describing him as an "Isis (Islamic State) militant".

The suspects that he visited are under investigation by Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5 and police counter-terrorism officials, it added.

The paper said that "months later" the man was part of the November 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 people.

Spokesmen for both the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police told AFP on Saturday that they could "neither confirm nor deny" the story.

The Met has been working closely with French colleagues since the devastating attacks.

Britain's "severe" threat level has meanwhile been in place since August 2014 and was unchanged after the Paris killings. The alert level means an attack is "highly likely", while the next level, "critical", means an attack is imminent.

Separately, the Wall Street Journal said Friday that the alleged ringleader of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, had links with several people in Birmingham in central England's West Midlands.

Abaaoud, a Belgian of Moroccan descent, was killed in a police raid five days after the November 13 attacks, along with a cousin and an unidentified third person, according to French authorities.

The WSJ also reported that at least one person connected to the attacks was thought to have travelled to Britain beforehand.

Officials told the US paper that some of the Birmingham-based people were also of Moroccan heritage.

In reaction to the reports, West Midlands Police said Saturday that it was aware of the speculation "regarding the Paris terror attackers and potential contact with people or places in Birmingham". 

West Midlands Police assistant chief constable Marcus Beale added: "The West Midlands counter terrorism unit is working hand-in-hand with counter terrorism colleagues in London, the national CT network and security services to provide support to the French and Belgian investigations and of course to address any associated terrorism threat to the UK. 

"We work tirelessly to counter terrorism. Our absolute priority is to ensure the safety and security of the people who live, work and visit the West Midlands area."

Islamist extremists have surfaced before in Birmingham, Britain's second-largest city. For example, Junaid Hussain, who has been identified as a high-ranking Islamic State group operative, was from Birmingham.

Belgium said Friday it was searching for two new "armed and dangerous" men who used false ID papers to help fugitive Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam travel to Hungary in September. - Rappler.com

N'DJAMENA, Chad - At least 27 people were killed and more than 80 wounded Saturday in a triple suicide bombing on an island in Lake Chad, a security source said in the capital N'Djamena.

"Three suicide bombers blew themselves up in three different places at the weekly market on Loulou Fou, an island in Lake Chad," the source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. 

He said the explosions had "killed 30 people", including the attackers, and wounded more than 80.

N'Djamena on November 9 declared a state of emergency in the flashpoint Lake Chad region, which also straddles Nigeria, Cameroon and Niger and is frequently targeted by Boko Haram Islamists who this year declared allegiance to the Islamic State. 

The decree granted the governor of the remote region the authority to ban the circulation of people and vehicles, to search homes and to seize arms. 

In recent months, Boko Haram Islamists have stepped up attacks and suicide bombings on Chadian villages in the lake that lie close to the frontier with Nigeria. 

The deadliest attack on Chad's side of the lake took place on October 10, another triple suicide, which killed 41 people at Baga Sola, according to N'Djamena. 

Since the start of the year, the Chadian army has been on the front line of a regional military operation against Boko Haram, whose attacks have spread from northeast Nigeria, its traditional stronghold, to the country's three Lake Chad neighbours. 

Boko Haram has been hit hard by the offensive, losing territory, but has launched a wave of attacks and bombings in response. 

The jihadists, believed to be hiding out in Nigeria's Sambisa forest and the lake's many islands, are held responsible for 17,000 deaths and for making 2.5 million people homeless in their six-year campaign of violence. - Rappler.com

KABUL, Afghanistan – The Afghan Taliban released an audio message Saturday, December 5 it said was from leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour, vehemently rejecting reports of his death in a firefight with his own commanders as "enemy propaganda".

The 16-minute file said those "rumors" had been deliberately planted to weaken the Taliban, which has seen a new resurgence under the firebrand supremo despite its internal divisions. (READ: New Taliban leader calls for unity in ranks in first audio message)

"I have recorded this message to let everyone know that I am alive," the man purported to be Mansour says in a relaxed drawl.

Multiple reports citing intelligence and insurgent sources had stated that Mansour was wounded or killed on Tuesday, December 1 in a firefight at an insurgent gathering in Kuchlak.

"I didn't have a fight with anyone, no meeting was held and I have not been to Kuchlak (near Quetta in Pakistan) in years. This is all enemy propaganda," the message added.

The clip, emailed to media by a Taliban spokesman, comes after days of fevered speculation about the fate of Mansour, who was elected leader just 4 months ago in a bitter power succession.

The voice in the clip could not be independently verified by Agence France-Presse (AFP) while some militant commanders said it appeared to be that of Mansour.

But government spokesman Sultan Faizi, who sparked a flurry of reactions when he tweeted on Friday, December 4 that Mansour was dead, said it was not certain the audio message was from him.

"We will do our assessment," he said in a new tweet.

The Taliban, which saw its first formal split last month, had appeared anxious to quell speculation about Mansour's death as it grapples with simmering divisions inside the movement.

Vehement denials by the Islamist group of any shoot-out had fallen on skeptical ears, especially after they kept the death of longtime chief Mullah Omar secret for two years.

"The Taliban is suffering from a credibility crisis after they admitted to hiding Omar's death," Kabul-based military analyst Jawed Kohistani told AFP.

Deep rifts

Mansour was declared Taliban leader on July 31 after the insurgents confirmed the death of Omar, who led the Islamist movement for about two decades.

But splits immediately emerged in the group, with some top leaders refusing to pledge allegiance to Mansour, saying the process to select him was rushed and even biased.

Many were also unhappy that Omar's death had been kept secret for two years – during which time annual Eid statements were issued in his name.

A breakaway faction of the Taliban led by Mullah Mohamed Rasool was formed last month, in the first formal division in the once-unified group.

But Mansour's group has seen a resurgence in recent months, opening new battlefronts across the country with Afghan forces struggling to beat back the expanding insurgency.

They briefly captured the strategic northern city of Kunduz in September in their most spectacular victory in 14 years and opened new battlefronts across the country.

Speculation about Mansour's death has also threatened to derail a renewed regional push to jump-start peace talks with the Taliban.

Mansour is believed to be a proponent of talks with Afghan authorities, a deeply contentious issue that has prompted much rancor within hardline insurgent ranks.

Pakistan, which wields considerable influence over the militants, hosted a historic first round of peace negotiations in July.

But the dialogue process stalled soon after Omar's death was announced.

The United States and China have been pushing for the process to restart, but frosty ties between Islamabad and Kabul have been hampering those efforts. – Mushtaq Mojaddidi, AFP/Rappler.com

LOS ANGELES, USA – President Barack Obama vowed Saturday, December 5 that America "will not be terrorized" as the Islamic State (IS, formerly known as ISIS or the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq) group praised the couple behind the California mass shooting as "soldiers" of its self-proclaimed caliphate.

"We are Americans. We will uphold our values – a free and open society," Obama said in his weekly radio address. "And we will not be terrorized."

The White House said Obama met with top security officials who indicated that Syed Farook, 28, and his 29-year-old Pakistani wife Tashfeen Malik had been radicalized but that nothing at this point indicated that they were "part of an organized group or formed part of a broader terrorist cell."

The pair massacred 14 people and wounded 21 others at a year-end office party in San Bernardino on Wednesday, December 2 and later died in a shootout with police.

In a radio broadcast in English, the Islamic State group praised the couple as "soldiers of the caliphate" and martyrs but did not specifically say they were members of the extremist group.

The mass shooting, the worst in the United States in 3 years, has again revived the debate on gun control in a country where such killings have become routine.

"Right now, people on the No-Fly list can walk into a store and buy a gun. That is insane," said Obama, who has repeatedly urged the Republican-controlled Congress to adopt tougher gun laws.

"If you're too dangerous to board a plane, you're too dangerous, by definition, to buy a gun."

The New York Times added its voice to the debate, publishing a front-page editorial – the first since 1920 – calling for an end to "the gun epidemic in America."

"It is a moral outrage and a national disgrace that civilians can legally purchase weapons designed specifically to kill people with brutal speed and efficiency," it said.

'Weapons altered'

Authorities said that while the two rifles used by the couple in the massacre had been purchased legally, they had been altered to make them more powerful.

"One of the rifles was modified to accept large capacity magazines and the receiver on the other had been altered to fire as a machine gun but it did not function," Meredith Davis, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

She said the two altered rifles were purchased by a third party being questioned by authorities.

Davis said two handguns also used in the rampage had been purchased by Farook along with a third rifle found at the couple's home with some 5,000 rounds of ammunition, 12 pipe bombs and bomb-making material.

Authorities believe the pair, who married last year in Saudi Arabia, where Malik lived, carefully planned their attack now being investigated as an act of terrorism.

"We have uncovered evidence that has led us to learn of extensive planning," David Bowdich, the assistant FBI director in charge of the Los Angeles office, told reporters.

"There's a number of pieces of evidence that has essentially pushed us off the cliff to say we are now investigating this as an act of terrorism," he said, adding that the couple had attempted to destroy their digital fingerprints.

Bowdich said investigators were examining a Facebook posting in which Malik is believed to have pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, made around the time of the attack.

The massacre, if proven to be terror-related, would be the deadliest such assault on American soil since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Relatives of Farook and his wife have been at a loss to explain what triggered the killing spree, describing them as a quiet couple who kept to themselves.

"I can never imagine my brother or my sister-in-law doing something like this. Especially because they were happily married, they had a beautiful 6-month-old daughter," Farook's sister Saira Khan told CBS News.

"It's just mind-boggling why they would do something like this."

The family's attorneys said the couple were devout, conservative Muslims, but there was no hint they had become radicalized.

Attorney Mohammad Abuershaid said few people came in contact with Malik, who wore the full-face veil.

"The women (in the family) communicated with her. Farook didn't want anyone else to talk to her," he said, adding that the men in the family had never even seen Malik's face.

A US defense official said Farook's brother was a decorated Navy veteran who won medals for his service during America's "war on terror."

'Brilliant student'

In Pakistan, Khalid Janbaz, former dean of the pharmacy department at Bahauddin Zakariya University, described Malik as a "brilliant student."

Former classmate Abdia Rani told AFP that she had "gradually turned religious," and over time became more serious and withdrawn.

"But we never thought that she had extremist links or even can be an extremist," Rani said.

French President Francois Hollande, whose country suffered a series of terror attacks last month that left 130 people dead and were claimed by IS, spoke with Obama to offer his support and condolences. – Jocelyne Zablit, AFP/Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – An expelled Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) minister based in North Virginia is asking finance officers of hundreds of INC congregations in the US to stop their “illegal” practice of converting church offerings into $100-bills and taking them off the books.

Easily “millions of US dollars” in church funds have disappeared, according to American Vincent Florida, a former minister of the Iglesia.

Ordained minister in 1988 and expelled for having resigned on July 30, 2015, Florida told Rappler in a phone interview on December 1 he wants the church’s corporate officers to “declare the money they received as income and pay the appropriate taxes and penalties.”

Otherwise, the Iglesia, which is registered as a church in the US, will lose its “nonprofit status."

The US is home to the most number of Iglesia congregations at 240, located in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia.

Churches like the INC are granted tax-exempt status because they provide “community service for the stability of the communities.” Once funds go to private individuals instead of communities, churches lose their tax-exempt status.

Florida – who has filed a report with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the US tax collection agency – said the 5 or 6 individuals in each of the Iglesia congregations in the US “could be implicated in [the] diversion of funds” once the IRS begins its probe.

“We’re talking about people of the faith, responsible people, people with families, and people with their own houses, with their own jobs here in the United States, in the various congregations, who would be the ones who would be, first and foremost, investigated when it comes to the cash that is being removed from the congregations,” Florida said.

Churches and religious organizations in the US are exempt from paying taxes, but the IRS is specific in referring to rules for 501(c)(3) or tax-exempt organizations: “The organization must not be organized or operated for the benefit of private interests, and no part of a Section 501(c)(3) organization’s net earnings may inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.”

Florida filed a tax fraud report against the INC including its executive minister, Eduardo Manalo, and its auditor, Glicerio Santos Jr, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. He said the INC failed to pay the appropriate taxes in August this year.

Florida, a former Catholic who holds an accounting degree, and who once studied to be an agent of the IRS, defended his decision to report the INC for alleged tax fraud in the US.

“This is to protect the local officers of every congregation and to protect the church. These things, I did out of love, not out of hate.”

Florida used Form 3949-A to report suspected tax fraud activities. It also allows the IRS to “start [its] own investigation into alleged wrongdoings,” he explained.

He said he did not opt to use Form 211 for a “whistleblower award” that would have allowed him to collect up to 30% of the additional tax, penalties, and other amounts collected by the IRS using information provided by him as the whistleblower. This option would have also put the burden of proof on him.

Proof?

In his interview with Rappler, Florida said ministers were instructed to “remove the cash from the offerings, deposit the checks – which the brethren would write as offering – to the bank accounts, because each congregation has an individual bank account, and the cash would then be put together in hundred-dollar increments. This then would be given to the district auditor.”

He said the “removals” from the offerings of the church are not something that should be done by any non-profit organization like the Iglesia because there must be “strict accountability of funds.” 

Asked how he knew about the alleged illegal practices, Florida said that he (and other ministers like him) “remitted that money to the district auditor” who, in turn, would remit the funds to the Central officers during their visits to the US.

The instructions to convert offerings to $100-bills often came, he said, “prior to a visitation” of the INC executive staff to the US.

Ministers knew when the Manila visitors were coming because they received emails from the district staff. They knew that instructions came from the US main office (USMO) of the church in Burlingame, which is the repository of all offerings of the Iglesia congregations in the US.

Florida said ministers were first told to do this in 2012, the same year that Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast. “I informed the district auditor at that time that these actions that we’re doing – converting the offerings to cash and not depositing them – is a violation of the IRS code,” Florida recalled.

Brought to where?

Isaias Samson Jr, another expelled INC minister, said there had been reports of this malpractice even as early as 2011, just two years after the death of Eraño Manalo, the father of current executive minister Eduardo.

“I was bothered by this. Di ako makatulog (I couldn’t sleep). I was trying to find a reason, to justify why they were doing that,” he told Rappler. He said the practice continued until 2014, possibly till 2015.

Florida said there had been reports of the money being transported to the Cayman Islands, a known tax haven, via the Airbus 330 often used by Iglesia ranking officials.

“The only reason why they would go [there]…would be for the purposes of taking the cash and then putting it into…banking institutions there, which the United States cannot be able to look into,” Florida said.

He added, “Why would they go to the Cayman Islands, other than to bring cash there,” especially since there are no INC congregations there?

Criticizing this practice, Florida pointed out, “There’s no accountability, no traceability, when it comes the cash.”

'United in faith'

INC spokesman Edwil Zabala, for his part, refused to comment on Florida's claims about tax fraud and hidden cash in the Caymans.

Zabala said in a text message Friday, December 4: “The leadership shall respond to the allegations of Mr Florida in due time and in the proper forum. As of this moment, we have not received a copy of the supposed complaint.”

He added: “We do not wish to speculate either on its content or the motive behind it. United in our faith in the Almighty and in the fairness of the justice system, we assure the public that we will cooperate with the proper authorities. We are one with you in the desire for truth.”

Zabala then urged INC members “to continue praying for the enlightenment of non-members who wish to create division within the Church.”

“We likewise appeal to the public for restraint and circumspection. Lastly, we urge everyone to resist the temptation for speculation, as it will serve no higher purpose than fuel hatred and division,” he added.

Florida, who joined the INC in 1978 due to its "purity of doctrines," said he filed the report with the IRS not to try to convict or hurt anyone. “I’m asking them to fix it, stop it, and fix it, because of the love I have for the church.” – with Chay F. Hofileña/Rappler.com

ATHENS, Greece – Greek lawmakers approved a "tough" 2016 budget early Sunday, December 6 forecasting near zero growth for 2015 and a small contraction next year for the debt-ridden country in its 6th year of austerity.

The coalition government, which enjoys a narrow majority, managed to push the budget through with 153 votes for and 145 against after a late-night session.

The leftist government of Alexis Tsipras is trying to apply the terms of an unpopular third EU economic bailout, enacted in July in return for safeguarding the country's place in the eurozone by restructuring its economy.

"Nobody can cheer for this tough budget", Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said late on Saturday, December 5 during the tumultuous parliamentary discussion.

The 2016 budget, the first by the leftist Syriza-led government, expects zero economic growth in 2015 – better than an October forecast of a 2.3% contraction.

For 2016, it projects a 0.7% contraction, again better than the initial 1.3% forecast in the draft budget.

"Behind the [budget's] numbers anybody can see the agonizing effort to support the working classes" Tsipras said early Sunday, describing the budget as "a difficult exercise".

The Greek government has already seen its parliamentary majority dwindle from 155 to 153 seats in its effort to implement the tough measures imposed by its creditors.

Measures facilitating foreclosures against people who cannot pay their mortgages led to the loss of support from two lawmakers who refused to back the bill.

Plans to slash the minimum monthly pension have caused two general strikes in a month, a sign that Tsipras faces a rough ride despite being reelected in September on the bailout program.

After first storming to power at the beginning of this year promising to free Greece from the restrictions of bailout program, Tsipras in July accepted a 3-year, 86-billion-euro ($93-billion) rescue deal with strict conditions to enact further cutbacks.

As part of the agreement, Greece is set to introduce new pension cuts next to keep its shaky retirement system viable.

"They are getting ready to turn the pensions into tips", interim head of the New Democracy right-wing main opposition party Yiannis Plakiotakis said on Saturday.

He added that the budget is "anti-growth" and "socially unfair". – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Facing accusations of money laundering, the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) dared its critics to prove it is hiding cash in offshore bank accounts in the Cayman Islands or in Switzerland.

“If they can prove that any of our INC leaders have offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands or in Switzerland, they can have the cash in all of them,” INC spokesman Edwil Zabala said Friday, December 4.

Zabala also said the INC is “willing to sign a waiver” to make this happen.

The INC spokesman issued this statement after expelled INC ministers, Vincent Florida and Isaias Samson Jr, said there have been reports that INC leaders keep church funds in offshore bank accounts.

Florida cited reports that an INC-owned airbus has been spotted flying to countries where the INC has no congregations. 

Rappler reported in July that INC leaders, including INC executive minister Eduardo Manalo, have used its Airbus 330 for trips abroad.

The INC’s airbus was later set to be sold.

Florida said, “The only reason why they would go to countries like that – like for instance, the Cayman Islands – would be for the purposes of taking the cash and then putting it into banking institutions there.”

One in 'desire for truth'

Samson, another expelled minister, relayed the same reports.

In a teleconference with Rappler on Tuesday, December 1, Florida said the hidden funds include donations from INC members in the US. 

He said the INC failed to declare these donations to the US tax collection agency, the Internal Revenue Service.

Reacting to Florida’s claims, Zabala said on Friday: “The leadership shall respond to the allegations of Mr Florida in due time and in the proper forum. As of this moment, we have not received a copy of the supposed complaint.”

He added: “We do not wish to speculate either on its content or the motive behind it. United in our faith in the Almighty and in the fairness of the justice system, we assure the public that we will cooperate with the proper authorities. We are one with you in the desire for truth.”

Registered in the Philippines in 1914, the century-old church is facing its worst crisis after siblings of its leader, Manalo, exposed the alleged wrongdoings within the INC. 

The crisis has prompted INC leaders like Florida to also speak up. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Here's some good news for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Italy planning to come home to the Philippines for the holidays.

The labor department has instructed the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to come up with easier requirements so that OFWs in Italy can get their exit passes or the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) .

This has been a problem for more than 180,000 OFWs living in Italy, since immigration officials in Manila would not honor their work permits and would instead insist on a POEA OEC or an embassy exit pass from returning OFWs as proof they legitimately work in Italy.

This has discouraged many OFWs from Italy to come back to the Philippines for vacation.

In her recent trip to Italy, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz met with migrant leaders there and had dialogue with different groups representing thousands of OFWs.

Baldoz has since instructed Labor Attaché Loreta Bisquera Vergara to implement new requirements for the issuance of the OEC to OFWs:

For OFWs with no work and who are not registered with Italian authorities but have a valid passport:

1. Permesso di Soggiorno (Permit to stay)
2. Certificato di Residenza (Residence Certificate)
3. Certificato di so-called Collocamento (Certificate to find a new job)
4. Plane ticket (round-trip)

For OFWs with work and permit to stay:

1. Valid passport
2. Permit to stay
3. SSS (INPS) contributions
4. Pay slip
5. New contract if new employer
6. Plane ticket (round-trip)

For OFWs below 23 years of age and currently working, the same requirements apply. Prior POEA registration is needed for monitoring purposes. – Rappler.com

BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi – Government agencies here have intensified its campaign against Trafficking in Persons (TIP) which has become a top international issue and a regional concern.

Thousands of Filipinos are using Tawi-Tawi as the "backdoor" entry point, to enter Malaysia illegally.

Police Inspector Elmira Relox, Chief of the Provincial Police's Women and Children Protection Desk said that in 2014, the Provincial Interagency Council Against Trafficking (PIACAT) have rescued 387 persons and up until November 2015, 396 persons.

Romualdo Seneris, regional coordinator for Central Visayas of Visayan Forum Foundation, Non-government organization campaigning against human trafficking said that on an average, at least five people enter Malaysia each day.

On the other hand, Malaysia in 2014 deported 8,158 persons and this year 9,441, including those who were trafficked.

Lawyer Milagros Isabel Cristobal, board member of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration-Women Sector Representative, reported that the Philippine government is making significant efforts to comply with the requirement of the United States Trafficking in Persons Act.

In the global scenario, it is estimated that 2.5 million people from 127 countries are trafficked annually, according to the data of United Nation's Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking (UN-GIFT).

"Fifty-six percent of the global human trafficking are happening in Asia Pacific, to which the Philippines is part," Cristobal said.

TIP has morphed into a global enterprise with an estimated worth of $32 billion and is related to illegal drug and guns trade.

Seneris said that in Tawi-Tawi, 98% of trafficked are women who are exposed to sex trade, bondage labor and drug running.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said sexual exploitation is the most common form of human trafficking at 78%, followed by forced labor at 18%.

Most of the victims are hired as waitress or Guest Relations Officers or household and plantation workers. 

The Philippines is a source country, while Tawi-Tawi serves as the transshipment point for most trafficking cases. (READ: How to report suspected cases of human trafficking)

They would enter Malaysia without any passport, working visa or any documents.

"The traffickers are using the islands in Tawi-Tawi as the main staging points for the entry into Malaysia," Seneris said.

Cristobal showed that the top destination for undocumented Filipino workers are Malaysia, Singapore, Macau, Italy, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Israel, Italy, France and the USA.

"After they enter into Malaysia, some would just disappear and some would fly out from there," Seneris said.

The human trafficking route

Seneris and Cristobal revealed a high organized and funded trafficking route starting in Metro Manila where victims are housed and is taught on what they needed to do.

The human traffickers use the internet and mobile phones to plan and deliver the victims.

The victims are transported by plane or by land trip from Manila all the way to Zamboanga city where they would then travel to Bongao via boat.

Tawi-Tawi consists of 106 islands across Sulu and  which make it almost impossible for law enforcement to stop all trafficking activities.

From Bongao, the victims would be taken to any of the island, with Sitangkay and Turtle Island near the Municipality of Mapun which is just 20 kilometers away from from Sabah as the main exit points to Malaysia.

"The traffickers are using social media to recruit and coordinate the trafficking and most of the time, the victims do not know who are the recruiters," Rosabella Delfinado, the Municipal IACAT coordinator of Bongao.

"Just last week, a 16-year old girl was trafficked in Bongao and she was raped by her contact," Delfinado said.

While the perpetrator were arrested for trafficking and raped, most of the victims would blend with the crowd and the MIACAT would not know where the trafficked went.

"Some of them are met on the seas while the boat is still on the way to the port, they would jump into smaller boats and speed away," Delfinado said.

While some boat trips have sea marshal for law enforcement, not all ships have one, so they MIACAT tapped the help of the ship's crew to report any suspected human trafficking.

Lack of opportunities in PH

When asked why people would put themselves in harm's way just to be able to work overseas, Cristobal said that the number one reason is economic gains.

"There is no or not enough opportunities here in our country and they victims thought that they will have better lives if they work overseas, even if it means going out illegally," Cristobal said. (READ: Desire to work abroad exploited by human traffickers)

The absence of a work and equal opportunities here have pushed thousands of Filipino to seek work overseas and the constricting rules on working overseas makes it more attractive for them to gamble the backdoor exit.

"They need to work, but what the victims do not know is that they will be going in for a dangerous situation, but they would gamble anyway," Seneris said.

The fact that the victims knew of the uncertainty they are facing, it is still a better alternative than to sit down at their own homes and not having any income.

Seneris estimates that the cost of trafficking a single person to Malaysia would cost up to P30,000, "and the victims thought that they are going in for free, but in fact it they have to pay for it thrice of even more."

The risk of sexual exploitation is also high and the fact that they don't have any legal documents means that they may not be able to access government programs and services while overseas.

"Working illegally in other countries can both work for or against you," Cristobal said.

No halfway house

While the MIACAT works and does all it can within its capacity, there is a need to establish a halfway house or rescue center to accommodate rescued TIPs.

At the current framework, rescued TIPs are brought to provincial police office where they would be house and the TIPs feels like they are criminals, instead of victims.

The implications here is that the TIPs would be become more defensive as they have not committed any crime but they are housed in a police compound, guarded.

The halfway house staff with social workers would then help in the change of perspective and feelings of the TIPs.

"We have made them understand that they are being rescued and not arrested," Delfinado said.

When will it stop?

Tawi-Tawi Governor Nurbert Sahali that dealing with trafficking and deportation is one of the biggest challenges the province is facing.

"When will the deportation stop? It is not our fault that we are here in this place," Sahali said.

While Tawi-Tawi wants to keep a good relationship with Sabah as 70% of their goods are from Malaysia, dealing with deportations and trafficking also affects that relationship.

Having to deal with almost 10 thousand deportation including trafficked cases annually, without support from the national government means that funds for other social services would have to spend for the support of the deportees.

Norzalina Alcala, the focal person of the Department of Social Welfare and Development for TIP said that at times, they have to personally spend for the food of the trafficked and deportees because they have limited funds.

"Just the fare for bringing them to Zamboanga City alone is already costing us money," Alcala said.

Some would even seek Sahali's help for fare going back to Malaysia because the deportees have already established there.

"There's nothing we can do, we need to spend for this people, provide them with services, and almost all of them came from other provinces that we need to send them back," Sahali
said.

Seneris said that there is a need to strengthen government institutions and coordination to address trafficking and the issue of deportation.

For an exit point, there is no presence of the Department of Foreign Affairs here and the POEA office here is only manned by one person.

"Let's face it; the numbers of deportees reflects the average of people who enters Malaysia illegally-the trafficked women and children and we have no support for them," Seneris said.

Seneris said that there is a need to disrupt the trade route of human trafficking but there is also a need to address the economic reasons why people do it in the first place.

Cristobal said that there is a need for the government to review the rules and regulations of the POEA to make it up to date and responsive to the changing times.

"Increasing penalty does not stop human trafficking, it does not lower trafficking incidents," Cristobal added.

As for the law enforcement offices in Tawi-Tawi, the cat and mouse game continues, with the mouse often, getting away from the chase, taking off in one of the 106 islands in the vast Celebes seas, disappearing like a mist into the island called Sabah. – Rappler.com