PNP & New York Police Department (NYPD) Open new office in Camp Crame Manila

NYPD will open a new office in Camp Crame Manila. NPA Said: Philippine police, NYPD sign agreement that will lead to more human rights abuses

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) denounced the memorandum of agreement between the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the New York Police Department (NYPD) signed Oct. 31, as "part of heightening U.S. government intervention in the Philippines."

The Communist Party of the Philippines further said that "the agreement with the U.S. NYPD, one of the most notorious fascist police organizations in the world, can only lead to worse human rights abuses by police operatives under the Aquino regime."

The memorandum of agreement was signed by PNP Chief Nicanor Bartolome and the head of the NYPD's Singapore satellite office, Lieutenant Gustavo Gutierrez. It purportedly serves to advance "cooperation in addressing transnational crimes" and "capacity building and training" between the PNP and the NYPD. According to information earlier released by the PNP, the NYPD will open a satellite office inside the Philippine National Police's general headquarters in Camp Crame.

"The PNP-NYPD memorandum of agreement will only serve as an additional legal cover for the U.S. government's heightening intervention in the Philippines. It will lead to more extensive and intrusive intelligence and other types of operations by U.S. police and military agents in the country," said the Communist Party of the Philippines.

"Even before the memorandum of agreement, U.S. police and federal agents have already been operating in the Philippines clandestinely with the cooperation of the local police." The CPP pointed out that political prisoners detained at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame were able to uncover the presence of agents of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) maintaining their own offices within the camp and in a condominium unit nearby.

Several Indonesian nationals accused of being 'terrorists' and arrested by U.S. agents in Indonesia and Malaysia have been renditioned by the U.S. government and given false Filipino identities at the behest of the FBI to justify their detention at Camp Crame. This is in violation of Philippine national sovereignty and the Indonesian detainees' human rights, added the CPP.

"The NYPD is notorious for being a fascist tool of suppression against the American people," said the CPP. "Recently, the NYPD was employed in the suppression of protest actions at Zucotti Park near Wall Street by American workers, students and ordinary people against the pro-big monopoly policies of the American government," said the CPP.

"Following the pattern of its new partner, the PNP is bound to become even more brutal in dealing with protests, urban poor anti-demolition barricades and other mass actions," said the CPP.

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Philippines Inflation Rate Slows down to 3.1% In October 2012

The Philippines' rate of inflation continued to decrease in October from the previous month, indicating that the country's inflationary pressures are well contained, providing room for further monetary easing policy measures required to boost economic growth.

The rate of inflation fell to 3.1 percent in October compared to the same month last year, down from 3.6 percent in September, according to the data released Tuesday by the National Statistics Office. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy items, fell to 3.6 percent in October down from 3.8 percent in September.

The diminishing inflation should be good news because it can help the government invigorate growth without much concern about the rising prices. Inflation may no longer be the main concern of policymakers and the government may have more space to loosen the monetary policies and make supporting economic growth a priority.

This report comes after last month Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) cut its key policy rate by 25 basis points to an all-time low of 3.5 percent, citing benign outlook for inflation and worries over growth prospects. The cut was the fourth since the start of the year and takes total cumulative easing since the start of 2012 to 100bp.

"We believe inflationary pressures will remain weak. A combination of weaker growth in the Philippines and falling global commodity prices mean price pressures are likely to remain subdued in the coming months," Capital Economics said in a note.

The central bank has its next meeting in December, when investors expect the rates will be left unchanged as the BSP takes time to monitor the impact of last month's cut. However, if global growth remains as weak as expected over the next year and the crisis in the euro zone continues to intensify, further loosening is likely in 2013.

The continuing debt crisis in Europe and the tentative U.S. recovery have hurt the demand for exports, the key driver of the Philippines' economy. Policymakers understand that export- and investment-driven economic model was no longer sustainable for Philippines and reforms are needed to prevent a sudden slump in growth.

Investors expect that instead of fighting inflation, the most urgent priority for the Philippines appears to be the pro-growth policy stance against the current uncertain global situation.

International Business Times (USA)

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