It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/05/20/raps-filed-vs-183-village-heads-over-sap-distribution-anomalies-89-suspended-ao |
More than 200 barangay chairpersons allegedly involved in anomalies in the distribution of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) aid during the COVID-19 pandemic are either facing charges or have been suspended, Interior and Local Government Sec. Eduardo Año said Thursday.
Año said 183 barangay heads are currently facing charges while 89 have already been suspended.
The mayor of Panglao town in Bohol province and her 16 companions are facing charges for violating community quarantine protocols when they traveled to Cebu without securing the necessary health clearances aimed to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease.
Provincial legal officer Nilo Ahat said Montero and her companions did not secure an authority to travel from Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap when they went to Marina Bay Seaview in Cebu province on Sept. 16 aboard a private yacht to attend a conference with a high-ranking official of the Philippine National Police.
“They only had a medical clearance from a physician here (Bohol) before heading to Cebu. When they went back to Bohol, they failed to present a medical clearance issued by a Cebu physician,” he said.
“The mayor’s claim that she underwent isolation upon her arrival from Cebu may not be true since she was seen in public places while she was allegedly under quarantine,” he added.
Ahat said Montero and her companions also breached health protocols by not securing prior clearance from Mandaue City where their private yacht docked, and from Cebu City where they attended an event and stayed until the following day, Sept. 17.
He stressed that Montero and company could not be considered as authorized persons outside residence (Apor) since they did not apply for it.Montero claimed she obeyed all health protocols when she returned to Panglao, including isolating herself in a place prepared by the municipal health office.
“If it is a sin to serve my community even at the risk of one’s health and well-being, then I am guilty. But no one can ever … accuse (me) of being negligent of my responsibilities as a mayor and as a leader to my town and my fellow Panglaoanons,” she said.
Montero believed the complaint against her was a “demolition job” by her political enemies.
“I love myself. I have my children, the people of Panglao. I know what I am doing,” she said.The issue stemmed from a complaint filed by two Panglao residents who learned about the mayor’s travel to Cebu.
The amor of a town in Bohol has been charged with violating quarantine protocols for not having the proper travel clearance. She claims its a demolition job by her political enemies.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1357515/ncrpo-tags-suspended-cop-girlfriend-in-slay-of-foreigner-in-pasay |
A police corporal, who was recently suspended, and his reported girlfriend were subject of a manhunt operation after being tagged in the Oct. 27 killing of Cameroon national Divine Komfun, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said Friday.
In a report, Police Major General Debold Sinas, chief of NCRPO, said the alleged gunman Police Corporal Leonel Abellera Layson, assigned at Sub-Station 6 of the Muntinlupa City Police Station, and the Abellera’s girlfriend Kathrina Fernandez, were reportedly behind the fatal shooting of Komfun at Pasay.
Sinas said police investigators were able to identify the suspects after reviewing a CCTV footage showing the conduction sticker of the suspects’ vehicles.
Also, Layson was suspended from the PNP since November 1 to 5, 2020 due to simple neglect of duty.
However, the motive in the murder of Komfun was still not established in the report.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1357553/tawi-tawi-board-bans-judge-over-poll-ruling |
The provincial board of Tawi-Tawi declared a local court judge “persona non grata” over her recent decision on an election protest that cut a town mayor’s term short.
The judge dismissed the move by the local legislators as something done in “ignorance.”
In the resolution filed by board members Abduljamil Ishmael and Sabuddin Abdurahim, the provincial legislators said Tillah “[had] not been faithful in the exercise of her duties and functions.”
They said Tillah, who lives in Zamboanga City, reported for work irregularly and had not been conducting regular hearings in the RTC, resulting in postponements and delays in court proceedings, including the release of detainees and posting of bail bonds.
All these, they said, redounded to undue delay in the dispensation of justice.
But the resolution also underscored Tillah’s decision on an electoral protest filed against then Simunul Mayor Wasilah Abdurahman, who was later unseated and replaced by Benzar Tambut, who placed third in the balloting.
In a decision issued on Oct. 5, the judge nullified Abdurahman’s victory “on the grounds of massive fraud, anomalies and other electoral irregularities,” deducting more than 5,000 votes from the incumbent mayor’s tally and reducing it to 799.
It was less than Tambut’s revised count of 1,328. However, Tillah’s decision made no mention of the candidate who placed second, Pirza Bulante, who got 2,887 votes.
In declaring Tambut as the duly elected mayor of Simunul, the judge described him as “the winning candidate with the highest number of plurality of valid votes cast.”
The Tawi-Tawi board members assailed the decision for being “unjust” and “a flagrant miscarriage of justice,” noting how Tillah’s ruling also raised tensions in Simunul.
Sought for comment on Friday, Tillah said the board resolution was “a disservice to the community” and borne out of “ignorance.”
A judge has been accused of being derelict in her duty and not dispensing real justice. As a result she has been declared persona non grata. She says the people are simply being ignorant.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1121016 |
The city government is working with the police here to help settle its accumulated unpaid electric bill to the tune of PHP4 million.Councilor Franklin Gacal said Friday they are exploring possible funding sources to help cover the outstanding electric bill of the city's police headquarters and its eight police stations.“We might not be able to cover everything, but we’re working to help them eventually settle it,” he told reporters.Gacal said the local government is working to increase the current budget for electricity by the local police.He lamented that their unpaid electric bill does not reflect their actual usage, as the city police compound hosts several other national support units of the PNP.“We also have detachments and police stations to maintain,” he said, adding the local police allocates a monthly payment of PHP90,000 for its electric bill from its maintenance and other operating expenses.
If they are using less then maybe the PNP should dispute the bill.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1358305/p1-8m-shabu-seized-from-govt-worker-in-nueva-ecija |
A government employee was caught with P1.8 million worth of “shabu” (crystal meth) during a buy-bust operation here on Sunday night.
Police Col. Marvin Joe Saro, Nueva Ecija police director, identified the suspect as Larry Torres, 46, a resident of Barangay Poblacion IV.
Investigators have yet to disclose where the suspect works.
Seized from Torres were 265 grams of shabu and drug paraphernalia, police said.
A government employee caught with drugs. No word on which department he works in.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1121206 |
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he is not discounting the possibility of holding prison officials liable following Monday morning's incidence of violence between prison gangs inside the New Bilibid Prison Maximum Security Compound in Muntinlupa City.
In a message to newsmen on Monday, Guevarra expressed concern over the latest affray, a repeat of a previous riot involving gang members.
“The BuCor (Bureau of Corrections) Security Force, PNP SAF (Philippine National Police Special Action Force), and PNP NCRPO SWAT (National Capital Region Police Office Special Weapons and Tactics) are conducting clearing operations. The DOJ has ordered the BuCor to submit a detailed report (as soon as possible),” Guevarra said.
The DOJ chief said he will also direct the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a parallel investigation or expand its ongoing probe into the previous violence.
“These BuCor officials should have learned their lesson from the previous violent incident where several PDLs were killed,” Guevarra said, when asked whether the DOJ will look into possible negligence on the part of BuCor officials including Director Gerald Bantag.
Another riot in Bilibid Prison and those in charge will be likable blamed. Perhaps the problem is the prison itself with all the overcrowding and the lack of any proper security. Drug dealing still happens from inside Senator Bato admitted earlier this year.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1121209 |
Former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. formally asked the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) on Monday to direct Associate Justice Marvic Leonen to recuse himself from participating in his election protest case against Vice President Ma. Leonor "Leni" Robredo.
In a 22-page motion submitted to the High Court, Marcos cited Leonen’s alleged well-documented bias against him and his family as one of the main reasons why the latter intentionally sat on his election protest for almost a year.
Marcos is also asking the Supreme Court, sitting as the PET, to re-raffle his case and resolve all pending incidents relating to his electoral protest with less than a year and a half into the next presidential elections in May 2022.
Leonen replaced Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa as the assigned justice of the case in October 2019.
“It is clear that we’ll never get justice if Leonen is around because of his hatred towards me and my family. This is evidenced by his past decisions where he unequivocally condemned me and my family. It's obvious he’s doing everything in his power to suppress the real story behind the 2016 Vice-Presidential elections, disenfranchising millions of Filipinos who wanted nothing but credible elections," Marcos said.
There has been a growing backlash against SC Justice Leonen from certain quarters which appear to be seeking his dismissal from the court for allegedly not filing his SALN's. Now Marcos is accusing him of being biased against him which is why his election petition has not been resolved. It appears there will be no resolution anytime soon.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1121321 |
An employee of the local government here was shot dead by a still unidentified gunman early Tuesday morning.In an interview, San Jacinto chief of police Maj. Edgar Allan Serquina identified the victim as Ofelia Castillo, 56, a resident of Barangay San Jose.She was the town’s head of the Human Resource (HR) department, and was a former news writer at a local radio station in Pangasinan.Serquina said around 8:30 a.m., Castillo was on the way to work, riding a tricycle driven by her son when a still unidentified man onboard a Yamaha Mio scooter tailed them and shot her.Witnesses said they heard two gunshots, one hitting Castillo in the head.
The head of a town's HR department was gunned down by scooter assassins.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1358237/sinas-not-cleared-yet-over-mananita-mess-despite-appointment-as-pnp-chief |
Newly appointed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Debold Sinas is not yet off the hook over the mañanita controversy, Malacañang said Monday.
“I don’t think so po, that’s not how our laws operate,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an online briefing when asked if Sinas’ appointment clears him from charges.
Sinas and 18 other police officers are facing criminal charges for allegedly violating quarantine protocols during the celebration of the now-top cop’s birthday.
Sinas apologized over the fiasco but insisted that he and other police officers followed health protocols during the mañanita, the traditional dawn serenade for a senior PNP official.
The newly appointed PNP Chief is still facing charges for violating quarantine protocols over a party a few months ago.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/763473/ombudsman-orders-suspension-of-3-philhealth-execs-over-anomalous-it-project/story/ |
Ombudsman Samuel Martires has ordered a six-month suspension without pay of three Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) officials over an alleged anomalous IT project.
Ordered suspended were PhilHealth Senior Vice President Jovita Aragona, Acting Senior Manager of PhilHealth IT and Management department Calixto Gabuya, Jr. and Bids and Awards Committee Secretariat Elena Castismo of PhilHealth Regional Office-NCR.
The PhilHealth officials are under probe over alleged grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service.
Back in August, former PhilHealth Head Executive Assistant Estrobal Laborte questioned the bidding process on the IT procurement, alleging that most of the IT contracts were awarded as a single calculated bid, and that almost no contracts were awarded to the lowest bidder.
3 PhilHealth officials suspended over anomalous IT procurements. Almost no contacts awarded to the lowest bidder.
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| https://www.philstar.com/nation/2020/11/11/2056187/manila-judge-shot-inside-courtroom |
A Manila trial court judge was shot dead inside her court room on Wednesday afternoon.
The victim was identified as Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 45 Judge Ma. Theresa Abadilla (44). The incident report named her chief of court clerk, lawyer Amador Rebato (42), as the suspect.
A follow up report from Special Mayor’s Reaction Team (SMaRT) chief Police Major Jhun Ibay said that Abadilla arrived at the emergency department of the hospital at 2:45 p.m.
She was declared dead at 3:15 in the afternoon.
In a separate report from Police Lt. Col. Arsenio Riparip (Ret.) for Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, the city security force said initial investigation showed that Abadilla was talking to Rebato about the latter’s performance “which seems unfavourable.”
The incident happened at around 2:45 p.m. on the fifth floor of the Manila City Hall.
Citing a witness’ account, Riparip, chief of the city security force, said Rebato recently got infected with COVID-19, which “affected his performance wherein he was planning to file his resignation.”
Riparip added that prior to the shooting, Rebato was seen “feeling uneasy and shuddering” while she was being questioned by Judge Abadilla.
He then shot the judge in the head and then took his own life with his own firearm of unknown caliber, the report read.
A judge was shot dead by her chief of court of clerk and then he shot himself.
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/11/20/awol-na-pulis-isa-pa-arestado-sa-panghoholdap-umano-sa-maynila |
Two men on motorcycles went missing when they were intercepted at the Sta. Cruz Police on Aurora Boulevard at midnight on Tuesday.
They were found without a helmet but it was found that they were carrying a .38 caliber gun.
They were the suspects in the robbery of a couple in Sampaloc, Manila before being spotted at the checkpoint.
According to the victims, the riding-in-tandem stole the P7,000 they would have invested in their business.
They did not leave after being shot and threatened by the men.
From Valenzuela, the victims were also followed on a motorcycle until they reached Manila.
CCTV footage of Barangay 477 shows the suspects from Dapitan Street until they left Vicente Cruz Street.
Reynaldo Nuque, Jr. was arrested. and Elizardo Pablico who was found AWOL police officer.
He used to be a policeman in Caloocan and served as a beat patroller until he went AWOL in 2017.
According to Lt. Col. John Guiagui, commander of Sta. Cruz Police, the two suspects previously had a record of theft.
More Cebu City Hall employees are failing the surprise drug tests conducted by the City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (COSAP) in the past weeks.
COSAP head, Jonah John Rodriguez, expressed dismay over the turnout of the surprise drug test conducted at the Market Operations Division (MOD), where seven employees returned positive results.
Six of them are job-order employees while one is a regular employee. This would be the sixth regular employee that has failed the drug tests since the start of Mayor Edgardo Labella’s administration.
Seven Cebu City Hall employees test positive for drugs. Only one is a full time employee. The other six are temps.
