It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
Police Lt. Samad Baharan was gunned down by two men riding a motorcycle along Tandang Sora Avenue in Barangay Culiat, Quezon City on Saturday.
Another PNP officer assassinated.
Despite having the highest audit rating in government the Office of the Vice President (OVP) was still flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA) for its slow use of medical assistance program funds which could have aided more people.
According to COA’s audit report of the OVP for 2019 dated Friday, the office still has yet to utilize its P122.8 million pending medical assistance program (MAP) funds for 2019 — now totaling at P195 million — which could have facilitated financial aid for hospitalized indigents all over the country.
As a result, lesser patients were given assistance. COA said this goes against Presidential Decree 1445 or the Auditing Code of the Philippines, which mandates the efficient management of funds.
The OVP and Vice President Leni Robredo noted that the delays in the disbursement of funds were not due to any corruption-related issue, but more on an issue of prudence as they were not allowed to make expenditures for their programs due to 2019 being an election year.
The OVP is flagged for not distributing medical aid funds fast enough but Robredo claims it was due to rules regarding spending during an election year.
A barangay official and 9 others will be facing charges for violating Presidential Decree 449, or the illegal cockfighting law, after getting caught participating in an illegal cockfighting activity (tukis or tigbakay in Cebuano) on Sunday afternoon in Barangay Bayacabac in Maribojoc town.
Police arrested Jiovanni Lerin Rojas, 41, barangay captain of Calayugan Norte in Loon town, Bohol province.
Mayor Sara Z. Duterte lauded the efforts of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) for the arrest of a village chief and a councilor of Barangay 10-A here for participating in illegal cockfighting on Sunday afternoon.
“We need to thank them for their efforts and for taking time in finding and arresting these barangay officials. They do not shirk from their job on law enforcement,” Mayor Sara said in a radio interview on Monday.
Duterte said that they have been receiving reports that Barangay 10-A village chairperson Marc Cayetano and barangay councilor Romeo Mamontayo have long been engaged in illegal cockfighting, despite the stern warning from the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) and the city government because of the prevailing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
“We have long been hearing reports from their constituents. These government officials are supposed to be law-abiding citizens,” she said.
Everyone loves cockfighting in the Philippines. Even LGU officials.
Mayor Arvin Salonga of this town and his bodyguard survived an ambush in nearby Jaen town early on Tuesday (Sept. 8), police said.
Col. Marvin Joe Saro, provincial police director, said the attack was captured by security cameras, which showed at least four assailants with two on a motorcycle.
Investigators said Salonga, who was unhurt, was driving his car when the assailants shot his car around 8:30 a.m.
Another assassination attempt against a mayor.
A policeman who had gone absent without leave (AWOL) was killed by four unidentified assailants at past 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10, in Barangay Tisa here.
Ruben Quita suffered several bullet wounds on different parts of his body.
His son, Gavin Rheuben Quita, who was with him during the ambush, also suffered gunshot wounds and is in critical condition in a hospital.
Police Capt. Jonathan dela Cerna, Labangon Police Station chief, said Quita was with his son and two other companions onboard a Toyota Revo when the suspects riding two motorcycles waylaid the victim’s car and shot him several times.
“They (the suspects) were using rifles. Their target was Quita but since his son was sitting beside him in the front seat, the son was also hit,” he said.
Before the ambush, Dela Cerna said Quita was assigned in Mindanao.
An AWOL cop who was assigned to Mindanao was killed by rifle-wielding motorcycle assassins. So far no motive and no more information as the investigation remains ongoing.
On Tuesday, Governor Victor Yu ordered the suspension for 60 days of Mayor Ruel Molina who is facing an administrative case before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan filed by officials of a village in the town, allegedly for abusing his authority.
Molina’s preventive suspension was recommended by the provincial legislature to prevent him from influencing witnesses or posing a threat to the safety and integrity of records relevant to his case.
With Molina’s suspension, Vice Mayor Allan Damas was expected to take over the Office of the Mayor as officer in charge.
However, on Tuesday evening, operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group arrested Damas by virtue of a warrant released on July 10, 2020, for a graft conviction.
In a June 22, 2018 decision, the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division found Damas guilty of nepotism by appointing a relative as municipal treasurer in 2006, when he was the town’s chief executive.
The anti-graft court ordered Damas imprisoned from six to eight years, and imposed on him a perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
Damas and Molina ran under the ticket of Gov. Yu during the 2019 midterm polls.
Top councilor Raniel Dormitorio was designated as the town’s officer -in-charge.
The Mayor of Kumalarang, Zamboanga del Sur has been preventively suspended because he is charged with abuse of authority and the Vice Mayor has been arrested on a graft charge from 2006. Both of these men ran on the same party ticket as the governor. How is it that the vice mayor was convicted in 2018 but no warrant was issued for his arrest until 2020 thus allowing him to run for office?
A total of 211 elected public officials in the country are facing criminal charges over issues related to the national government’s social amelioration program (SAP), the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported Thursday.
During the hearing of the House committee on appropriations on the budget proposal of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for 2021, recently-installed PNP chief Gen. Camilo Cascolan said that 447 individuals are facing criminal charges related to SAP.
Of this number, 211 are elected public officials, 104 are barangay officials, and 132 are civilians.
That's really 315 LGU officials facing criminal raps over SAP anomalies.
During the House hearing on PCOO’s budget, House committee on appropriations chairperson Rep. Eric Yap asked Andanar whether PTV aims to compete with big networks, such as GMA Network when it comes to ratings since ABS-CBN is now shuttered since it was denied a franchise.
(Now that ABS-CBN is out, do we have aspirations, goals for PTV-4 to compete with GMA, other networks?)
To which, Andanar answered: “Yes, we have a plan to at least be able to compete as far as ratings are concerned.”
“The PTV, being a government-owned and controlled corporation, it also has to make its own money from advertisers.”
Andanar said the PTV has likewise “beefed up” its news from morning to evening.
Unless they will be bringing back Probinsihyano I wouldn't count on it!
In a press statement, Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) chief, Brig. Gen. Ronald Lee, said Staff Sgt. Jonathan de la Cruz, currently assigned at the intelligence division of the Norzagaray Municipal Police, was arrested in an entrapment operation at the police station on Wednesday afternoon.
Lee said de la Cruz was using a motorcycle that was found to be not included in the inventory of items they confiscated during a drug operation last August 26.
“It was learned that the accused took custody of the motorbike and demanded PHP10,000 for its release. We are assuring the public that there is no letup in our campaign against misfits and scalawags in the force as ordered by PNP Chief, Gen. Camilo Cascolan. Everyone should know what to do and do it right,” he said.
Aside from the motorcycle, recovered from de la Cruz were PHP10,000 in boodle money and a mobile phone.
Another cop busted for extortion. He was took a motorbike that was confiscated during a drug operation and demand P10,000 for its return.
A former vice mayor of Pamplona in Negros Oriental was gunned down Wednesday evening for a still unknown motive.
A report from the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NORPPO) on Thursday identified the victim as Kent Zerna Divinagracia, who was the civil security officer of the town at the time of his death.
Initial police investigation showed that Divinagracia, who also became town councilor, was shot at around 8:40 p.m. at the town proper by suspect/s riding on a motorcycle.
Divinagracia, 45, was rushed to the Silliman University Medical Center in this capital city, where he was declared dead upon arrival around 9:15 p.m.
A former vice mayor of Pamplona now town councilor and civil security officer for the town was shot dead by motorcycle assassins.
The Department of Justice has reopened its probe into the quarantine protocol breach complaint against Sen. Koko Pimentel — this time to include a narration from the Makati Medical Center in the investigation.
The investigating prosecutor will now also consider the incident report from the Makati Medical Center Medical Director Saturnino Javier, who said in March that Pimentel “violated his Home Quarantine Protocol [and] entered the premises of the Medical Center Delivery Room Complex.]”
“In view of the foregoing and in line with the policy of admitting all evidence that could assist in the judicious resolution of complaints, the preliminary investigation of this case is hereby re-opened,” it added.
The DOJ on July 24 wrapped up its preliminary investigation into Quicho’s complaint, after both Quicho filed a reply and Pimentel filed his own rejoinder.
The DOJ closed its probe without taking into consideration all relevant evidence? Ridiculous but par for the course.
Sara Duterte saying government officials suppose be law abiding? That's pretty hypocritical coming from a Duterte.
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