It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
Police here are hunting down motorcycle-riding assailants who shot down a village councilman and wounded two seniors in separate incidents the past two days, an official said Friday.
“We are looking at several persons (and are) digging deeper into this case,” said Major Amil Andungan, police station 2 commander, as he bared Thursday's murder of 43-year-old Alberto Tampos of Barangay Rosary Heights 9.
Tampos was driving along Governor Gutierrez Avenue on his motorbike at around 11 a.m. when two motorcycle riding assailants sped from behind and shot him.
“He sustained four gunshot wounds in the head,” Andungan said. He told reporters that he managed to speak to the slain official’s family who said Tampos has no known enemies.
“The family could not explain why he was murdered,” Andungan said. Tampos has been serving as village councilman for the past five years.
He was the second village official slain in a gun attack in this city since January.
A village councilor has been assassinated by unknown gunmen.
Members of the anti-scalawag unit of the Philippine National Police (PNP) have arrested an active police officer in Bulacan for driving a confiscated motorcycle that has been declared as evidence.
In a statement Friday, Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) chief, Brig. Gen. Warren de Leon, said Patrolman Marvin Salim, 40, an intel operative of the Obando Municipal Police Station, was arrested Tuesday evening in front of a convenience store along Joaquin Street in Barangay Pag-asa, Obando, Bulacan by joint elements of the Southern Police District, National Capital Region Field Unit, and Team 3 of the Luzon Field Unit, along with other PNP units.
De Leon said Salim has been the subject of monitoring after being reported to be using a recovered blue Yamaha Sniper motorcycle, with MV File No. 1303-082277, which was declared as evidence, as indicated in the spot report of the Obando police on Oct. 2, 2020.
In addition, IMEG agents discovered that the suspect had been regularly using the motorcycle as if it was his own.
The arrested cop is currently detained at the IMEG Custodial Facility in Camp Crame, Quezon City, and will be subjected to inquest proceedings before the Department of Justice in Manila for the filing of appropriate charges for violation of Republic Act 11235 or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act.
A cop has been arrested for using a confiscated motorcycle as his personal vehicle.
Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag is suspended for 90 days to give way for a “fair, impartial investigation” on the death of a detainee at the New Bilibid Prison who is said to be one of two “middlemen” in the fatal ambush of radio commentator Percy Lapid.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla announced this at a press conference on Friday, saying that he was acting on orders from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to show that there are “no sacred cows in this administration.”
Remulla initially said that Bantag is suspended indefinitely, but the formal notice of his suspension said that he is suspended for 90 days effective immediately.
Department of Justice spokesperson Mico Clavano said the period of suspension may be extended either with the help of the Office of the President or the Office of the Executive Secretary or with the consent of Bantag.
Stepping in as officer-in-charge at the BuCor is former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief-of-staff Gregorio Catapang Jr., who Remulla said was Marcos' personal pick.
The BuCor Chief has been suspended after an inmate was killed.
A city councilor here on Thursday posted bail for cyberlibel charges filed against him by a congresswoman.
Councilor Plaridel Nava secured temporary liberty after he posted a bail of P576,000 for 12 counts of cyberlibel under Republic Act No. 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012) at the Regional Trial Court Branch 90 in Quezon City.
The charges stemmed from cases filed by Iloilo City Lone District Rep. Julienne Baronda, who was a subject of Nava’s ire since she returned to politics in 2019.
All of the cases were based on Facebook posts made by the city councilor who at the time was a private citizen after losing the vice mayoral race in 2019.
In his Facebook post on Thursday evening, Nava said he could not discuss the merits of the case but then proceeded to taunt Baronda.
“I cannot discuss the merits of the case by virtue of the sub judice rule. However, I can only say that Baronda filed the complaint because according to her she felt humiliated and embarrassed. In court, she has the burden to prove that these are all false and malicious without forgetting that truth is a valid and acceptable defense in libel,” Nava said.
An Iloilo City Councilor has been charged with cyberlibel by the local district representative over Facebook posts which disparaged her.
Police in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental continues pursuit operations against the suspects in the slaying of a village councilman on Friday noon.
Col. Jonathan Pineda, officer-in-charge provincial police director, told the Philippine News Agency that he has directed the Bayawan City police chief to “exhaust all means” in identifying the perpetrators and the motive behind the killing of Diosdado Gemina.
Gemina, 52, a barangay “kagawad” of San Miguel, Bayawan City, was shot dead around 12:20 p.m. at Sitio Cabcabon in Barangay Banga of that southern city.
He was declared dead on arrival at the hospital, Pineda said.
Initial investigation revealed that unidentified suspects wearing jackets and black ballcaps and riding tandem on a motorcycle shot the victim while he was driving his own motorcycle.
The motive for the shooting is still undetermined.
A village councilor has been assassinated for unknown reasons by unknown gun men.
The Sandiganbayan has convicted former Bukidnon Rep. Candido Pancrudo Jr. and Mark Espinosa of Uswag Pilipinas Foundation, Inc. (UPFI) of graft and malversation of public funds for the illegal use of the former legislator’s P7.9 million in priority development assistance fund (PDAF) in 2009.
Pancrudo and Espinosa were convicted of two counts of violations of Section 3(e) of R.A. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and one count each of malversation of public funds and malversation through falsification of public documents.
Pancrudo and Espinosa were sentenced to jail terms ranging from six to 10 years for each count of graft; two to six years for malversation; and 14 to 15 years for malversation through falsification of public documents.
The prosecution said that in 2009, Pancrudo selected the non-government organization UPFI to implement the P7.9 million livelihood projects in Bukidnon even if UPFI was not an accredited foundation.
At the same time, the prosecution said that UPFI was chosen without the benefit of public bidding, and the accused failed to verify UPFI’s existence or capacity to deliver.
The accused even facilitated the approval of vouchers and the release of the amounts of P1,193,100.00 and P6,760,900 despite inconsistencies in the supporting documents, the prosecution also said.
In its decision, the Sandiganbayan said the accused acted in conspiracy and executed a “devious scheme” to misappropriate the public funds.
A former Representative has been convicted of graft by choosing UPFI to implement projects worth millions despite not being accredited and without public bidding.
The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) announced the relief of its 11 Regional Headquarters Support Unit officers in connection with the case of four missing sabungero (cockfight enthusiasts).
In a statement on Sunday, NCRPO chief Brig. Gen. Jonnel Estomo said the sacked officials are placed under restrictive custody due to the gravity of offense filed against them by the National Bureau of Investigation-Task Force Against Illegal Drugs (NBI-TFAID) over the disappearance in Cavite.
Ordered relieved were former Regional Drug Enforcement Unit chief Lt. Col. Ryan Orapa; Lt. Jesus Menez; Staff Sergeants Ronald Lanaria, Ronald Montibon, Troy Paragas, Roy Pioquinito, and Robert Raz Jr.; and Corporals Christal Rosita, Denar Roda, Alric Natividad, and Ruscel Solomon.
They are charged with kidnapping and serious illegal detention as well as violation of the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act.
The NBI-TFAID filed the complaint on October 19 over the disappearance of siblings Gio and Mico Mateo, Garry Matreo Jr., and Ronaldo Anonuevo in Dasmariñas City on April 13, 2021 during an anti-drug police operation.
11 cops have been dismissed for kidnapping.
A town councilor here was shot dead by still unidentified gunmen along the national highway in Barangay Pagagawan at noontime Monday.
Lt. Nurjhasier Sali, acting police chief of Datu Montawal town, told reporters that Councilor Mubarak Moby Abubakar had just alighted from his red Mitsubishi pick-up beside the highway to buy fish when attacked.
While Abubakar was talking to a fish vendor of the roadside stall, one of two men on board a motorbike arrived and one of them opened fire, hitting the town official at the back of his head and body.
Village watchmen and police rushed Abubakar to the Deseret Surgimed Hospital in Kabacan, Cotabato but he died along the way.
A village councilor has been assassinated by unknown gunmen for unknown reasons.
Operatives of the Philippine National Police's (PNP) anti-scalawag unit arrested two police officers and their cohorts for extorting money from a resident whom they accused of involvement in illegal drugs.
In a statement Tuesday, Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) chief Brig. Gen. Warren de Leon identified the police officers as Senior Master Sgt. Michael Familara, 47, a desk officer of Sub-Station 7, Station 2 (Pasig) of the Eastern Police District (EPD) and Cpl. Nathaniel San Buenaventura, 30, designated as beat patroller of the same station.
Also arrested were their two civilian cohorts Juan Carlo Fernandez Zapanta and Carl Gorgonio Anito.
The suspects were arrested by members of the Integrity Monitoring Action Team (IMEAT) around 9 p.m. Monday in Cainta, Rizal.
“A complainant went to our office to seek help. According to her alleged four men forcibly entered their house on Oct. 18 and took her money amounting to PHP10,000 and the coin bank of her daughter. The complainant was allegedly arrested for illegal drug use and was brought to the vicinity of Pasig City Police Station but was not detained,” de Leon said.
The suspects demanded PHP100,000 which was lowered to PHP10,000 to be paid via GCash in exchange for not filing a criminal case against her.
The complainant sent PHP6,000 via GCash on Oct. 19. On the afternoon of the same date, she was brought back to her residence.
The suspects kept on contacting her asking for the remaining balance.
Out of fear, the complainant went to the house of her siblings in Taguig City and told them about the incident on Oct. 23.
De Leon said the law enforcement operation was launched after one of the suspects texted the complainant that he will get the balance of PHP4,000 they agreed upon on Monday evening.
After a few minutes, the suspects arrived at the house of the complainant and asked for the balance.
During the arrest, confiscated from the suspects were four pieces of PHP1,000 bill genuine (dusted money); a small transparent plastic sachet containing a white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu; a Glock 9mm Pistol with serial number BYG606 and two magazines loaded with live ammunition (Not PNP issued firearm); a Taurus 9mm pistol with serial number TLT94397 and three magazines loaded with live ammunition (Issued PNP firearm); a caliber 45 (airsoft); a motorcycle and three cellular phones.
“Upon record check, the arrested suspects are in the Counter Intelligence Watchlist. San Buenaventura for his involvement in mauling incident and illegal discharge of firearm and Familara for estafa /swindling.” de Leon said.
The suspects will be charged with robbery (extortion), violation of RA 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, and violation of RA 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
2 PNP officers have been arrested for extortion.
A village chief was wounded in a stabbing incident Monday in San Jose town in Camarines Sur province.
Colonel Julius Caesar Domingo, Camarines Sur police chief, on Tuesday, Oct. 25, said the victim was Jeffrey Ortiz, 40, of Barangay Del Carmen.
Initial investigation said Carlos Masille, 68, caused a commotion at 8:35 p.m. outside the residence of Joy Sarmiento in the village.
After a few minutes, Ortiz approached Masille, who stabbed him twice on his left arm.
Police arrested Masille after a hot pursuit operation and took Ortiz to a hospital for treatment.
The police are still investigating the incident.
A village chief was wounded in a stabbing incident.
Retired Philippine Navy rear admiral Gilmer Batestil was found guilty of 20 counts of malversation and 16 counts of graft by the Sandiganbayan 3rd Division for anomalous medical procurements from 1990 to 1991.
In the 586-page decision of the anti-graft court promulgated on September 16, 2022, Batestil was sentenced to imprisonment of 6-10 years for each of the graft cases and 12-18 years for each of the malversation cases and was ordered to pay P17.093 million for the amount he malversed.
The court said Batestil allowed the taking of public funds by signing purchase orders and disbursement vouchers which resulted in the payment of items.
The court likewise sentenced private individual Edna Gianan, a representative of a private supplier, to imprisonment for graft and malversation cases and ordered to pay a fine of P7.699 million.
The cases stemmed from the special audit conducted by Commission on Audit state auditors Jeremia Lagunda, Melba Acquabera and Mila Lopez.
The court stressed that Batestil allowed Gianan to take government money by falsifying documents to make it appear that there were deliveries of alleged purchased items.
“The truth, however, is that there were no deliveries at all,” the court said.
A former Navy Admiral has been found guilty of graft and malversation over anomalous medical procurements.
A retired police officer in City of San Jose del Monte in this province was arrested after he allegedly shot dead his son following a heated argument while on a drinking spree on Monday, Oct. 24, authorities said.
Col. Relly Arnedo, Bulacan police director, identified the suspect as Enrique Galapate, 62, and the victim as Erickson Galapate, 26.
The two were in a drinking session at their house in Barangay Narra around 3: 3:30 a.m. when the suspect reportedly called his son a “thief.”
Irked, the victim argued with his father, which prompted the latter to get his firearm and shoot his son in the head, police said.
Investigators said the victim died instantly.
Police recovered two fired cartridges, deformed fired metal fragments, a loaded magazine, and a Pietro Beretta .9 mm-caliber from the crime scene.
The suspect was already charged with parricide before the San Jose del Monte Prosecutor’s Office.
A retired police officer shot and killed his son during a drunken argument.
A Tanjay City government utility worker, who is a son of an incumbent councilor, was arrested early Tuesday by anti-illegal drugs operatives at his house during the service of a search warrant.
A report from the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) identified the suspect as Neil June Café Manso, 37, of Barangay 4.
City police chief Lt. Col. Ronoel Fungo said a team led by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the province arrested Manso following the recovery of eight plastic sachets containing suspected shabu from his home.
The suspected shabu weighed around 10 grams with an estimated street value of PHP68,000.
Fungo said Manso is considered a “high-value individual” on the police’s list of suspected drug personalities.
A government employee who is also the son of a councilor has been arrested on drug charges.
Six police officers who robbed and injured a sidewalk vendor in Caloocan City last April have been dismissed from the police service after being found guilty of administrative charges and grave misconduct, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said.
The NCRPO on Thursday said the six officers, all police corporals, were removed after the Philippine National Police’s Internal Affairs Service (PNP-IAS) found them unfit and unworthy of the police service.
Ordered dismissed were Noel Espejo Sison, 33; Rommel Toribio, 29; Ryan Sammy Gomez Mateo, 32; Jake Barcenilla Rosima, 35; Mark Christian Abarca Cabanilla, 31; and Daryl Calija Sablay, 29.
“Recently, six police officers of Caloocan City Police Station who were found guilty of administrative charges for grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer are now dismissed from the police service,” the NCRPO said.
“A few months back, news about six erring cops who allegedly took P14,000.00 cash from a vendor in Caloocan flooded the social media and other news platforms. Consequently, the Internal Affairs Service resolved to recommend the dismissal of these former police officers for being unfit and unworthy of the trust and confidence of the people we ought to serve and protect,” the NCRPO added.
The six dismissed officers who were members of the Caloocan City Police Station’s Drug Enforcement Unit, were reported to have stopped the sidewalk vendor sometime in April while the latter was on the way to a fast food restaurant to buy food for his children.
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras caught the six officers stopping the vendor. The vendor later said around P14,000 was taken from him. A security camera footage also showed the officers as they were hitting the vendor’s head.
Six cops dismissed from service for robbing a street vendor.
A police intelligence operative was gunned down in Barangay Salasa here on Thursday, October 27th.
Colonel Jeff Fanged, Pangasinan Police Provincial Office officer-in-charge, identified the victim as Staff Sergeant Jeffrey Ignacio, assigned to the local police.
Police said Ignacio was conducting surveillance in the area onboard his car when he was shot several times by a lone gunman.
Ignacio was taken to the Jesus Nazarene General Hospital in Lingayen, Pangasinan where he was declared dead.
Motive and identity of the gunman have yet to be determined.
A cop has been shot dead by an unknown man for unknown reasons.
The Commission on Audit (COA) has ordered Cebu City officials and employees to refund the P84.48 million in financial calamity assistance (FCA) they received in 2013 because the disbursement of the fund was “not compliant with laws, rules, and regulations.”
The order was issued as COA denied the petition for review filed by Cebu City Mayor Michael L. Rama and officer-in-charge City Budget Officer Marietta L. Gumia. COA affirmed the Notice of Disallowance (ND) Nos. 14-001-101(13) to 14-130-101(13) dated June 23, 2014.
“The payees are required to refund the amounts they each received and the approving and certifying officials remain to be solidary liable under the NDs,” the dispositive portion of the COA ruling said.
The COA also said that the grant of the FCA was not sourced from the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (LDRRMF) or Calamity Fund but was instead charged against the appropriation of the Office of the City Administrator and was recorded as donations.
The COA has ordered city officials to refund millions in disaster relief funds which were “not compliant with laws, rules, and regulations.”
