Thursday, April 7, 2022

Coronavirus Lockdown: Rise in Index Crimes, Economic Growth, and More!

More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government. 

The government really wants you to get a booster shot. They are thinking of ways to force you to get one.

A health official on Thursday said setting an expiration date on vaccination cards would be a “good strategy” to encourage Filipinos to get booster shots against COVID-19.

“Yes, that’s also a good strategy,” National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) chairperson Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said in a Teleradyo interview when asked about suggestions to put an expiration date on vaccine cards.

Cabotaje, however, also stressed the need to have stricter checking vaccination cards.

(Those who are checking the vaccine cards, they don’t even check if the card is yours or when your vaccination was, so we might go into more detailed enforcement.)

How would this scheme even work? Suddenly voiding everyone's vaccination card would not be "encouraging" them to get booster shots it would be more akin to forcing them to do so. Would the vaccine card issued after the booster shot have an expiration date?

Another tactic the government is considering is redefining what it means to be fully vaccinated.

The government is looking at including booster dose as a requirement for an individual to be considered as fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday.

In a radio interview, Health Undersecretary and National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) chairperson Dr. Myrna Cabotaje said the World Health Organization (WHO) defined the term “fully vaccinated” as those who have had the primary vaccine series.

This then is being discussed by local officials to determine if a booster dose could be added as a requirement for fully vaccinated individuals to encourage more people to get their third dose or booster jabs.

(We are looking at the possibility of adding a booster dose, maybe it could be fully vaccinated or updated vaccination, to encourage more people to get boosters. The studies are currently being discussed to see what else we can do to have our people get boosted.)

But why would they even consider this when they know redefining what it means to be vaccinated would cause confusion?

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/01/22/redefining-fully-vaxxed-to-cause-confusion-doh
Government's health experts have yet to recommend updating the definition of "fully vaccinated" to include COVID-19 booster shots because it will cause confusion, the Department of Health said Friday.

The proposal to change the meaning of full vaccination aims to raise the uptake of booster jabs, which have been received by only 12 million out of 65 million individuals with primary shots. 

Experts studied other countries' practices such as the US, wherein those who received a booster shot only had their vaccination status updated, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

(The main reason why our experts do not yet want to recommend changing the definition of a fully vaccinated individual is because it’s going to cause confusion since are still unvaccinated.)

(Second, the primary series still gives us some sort of protection.)

The redefinition can also cause confusion on whether vaccination is mandatory or voluntary, Vergeire said.

(if we redefine it, there can be confusion again on mandatory versus voluntary vaccination.)

(We just want to implement what is being practiced in other countries, what has more evidence, and what we think will be better for our compatriots.) 
If it doesn't cause confusion it had better cause anger. The government is moving the goalposts and soon it will be an annual shot.

DILG Secretary Año wants the entire nation on alert level one to stimulate the economy.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año wants the entire country under COVID-19 Alert Level 1 to boost the economy.

Año on Monday said that with several areas still under Alert Level 2, the economy’s growth would not be maximized.

(Our objective here is for the entire Philippines to be under Alert Level 1 because many provinces and municipalities are left behind under Alert Level 2, we cannot maximize our economic growth.)

Año stressed that the goal is to impose the most relaxed alert level in the entire country.

(That is the goal, the entire Philippines under Alert Level 1 so the restriction would only be observing minimum public health standards, and the different towns would thrive and take off.)

Sounds good but there is only one problem. DILG Secretary Año says a relaxation of restrictions has led to an increase in crimes.

Increased mobility due to relaxed restrictions under Alert Level 1 may have contributed to the rise of index crimes like theft.

In a radio interview on Sunday, Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said more people going out means they and establishments should be more alert. He also assured police visibility.

“(More people are able to go outdoors. In malls, wet markets, there is a rise in the number of pickpockets there),’’ Año said.

Index crimes include murder, homicide, physical injury and rape, and crimes against property, such as robbery, theft, carnapping/carjacking and cattle rustling.

Murder, homicide, rape, and cattle rustling are all under the same index? Is cattle rustling up too? It's a double edged sword. Relax restrictions and the economy improves. Relax restrictions and crime goes up. Perhaps all the PNP officers out patrolling for mask-less pedestrians can also patrol actual criminals? 

If you are still hesitant to get a booster shot or to be vaccinated at all just know your refusal means the Philippines has wasted taxpayer money.

Some 27 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines the Philippine government has acquired are going to expire in three months if unused, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose “Joey” Concepcion III warned over the weekend.

Concepcion lamented that the country has received 237 million vaccine doses, but only 140.7 million have been administered, with 27 million shots expiring in July.

“Let’s not allow 27 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to go to waste,” Concepcion said in an emailed statement.

“Time is of the essence. This is why I am calling it out now while there is still time before these vaccines expire,” he pointed out.

In January, the Department of Finance (DOF) said the country has so far secured $800 million or P40 billion worth of loan financing from multilateral lenders to finance its booster shots.

“If we don’t use these vaccines, we will have wasted the Filipino taxpayers’ money. It’s money the Philippines can’t afford to waste,” Concepcion said.

Concepcion has repeatedly flagged the low booster uptake in the country, as he proposed that “fully vaccinated” be redefined only as individuals who have received their booster dose.

“By the second half of the year, the majority of the population will have waning immunity. If cases rise, we will lock down again. And if the conflict in Ukraine drags on, we will lock down in the midst of rising commodity prices and logjams in the supply chain,” Concepcion warns.

“Unless we finish all the vaccines in stock and booster everybody that needs it, we risk going back to square one by year end,” he added.

Not only does not getting a booster mean money has been wasted but it means risking "going back to square one." He's using the threat of lockdowns to persuade people to get a booster shot. And what will happen when the effectivity of the booster shot wanes?

Did you know the lockdowns have caused children's reading skills to decline?

Less than 15 percent of schoolchildren in the Philippines, or about three in every 20, can read simple texts in large part due to the longest schools closure of more than 70 weeks as of the middle of February caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) said in a report.

The latest Unicef assessment translates to a learning poverty—defined by the World Bank as the share of 10-year-olds who cannot read or understand a simple story—of more than 85 percent, which is slightly better than the World Bank estimate of as high as 90 percent in November of last year.

Learning poverty in 2019, or before the pandemic happened, was 69.5 percent, according to the World Bank.

We urgently call for the full resumption of face-to-face learning in areas under alert level 1. We already have most elements in place to enable our full recovery in 2022. The biggest piece missing is our education sector. More than the foregone economic activity, we are concerned for the learning and future productivity of our children. Under alert level 1, children are allowed to engage in leisure and recreational activities for all indoor and outdoor venues, but the most important activity of children—going to school and learning fully—continues to be restricted,” according to Chua.

Why are face-to-face classes still restricted in the Philippines when they are open in the rest of the world? It makes no sense and shows just how awful the government's response to the pandemic is.

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Hi, my name is...23

It's time for another "Hi, my name is..." This week it's the sex offender edition! Many of these people are living overseas but their crimes were committed in the Philippines.

Hi, my name is Benjamin Walter and I am from Alabama. I just received a 160 year jail sentence for abusing Filipino kids online. But it wasn't I who did the abusing. See, I tracked down poor vulnerable women and paid them money to abuse their children and their relatives. Some women I also had them arrange gang rapes on children. I did this for three years at $50 and $25 dollars a pop. Rather cheap.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1169136

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday said the Philippine government will leave no stone unturned in going after online sexual predators as it lauded a United States court for sentencing a man who victimized Filipino children as young as five years old.

The DOJ was informed that 41-year-old Benjamin Walter of Alabama state was sentenced to 160 years in prison on October 2021 -- four counts of producing and attempting to produce child pornography and one count each of receiving and distributing child pornography.

He used the internet to seek images and live transmissions of the violent sexual abuse of Filipino children.

Walter, the US DOJ said, used two web service provider accounts to seek women in the Philippines to sexually abuse even their own children and relatives.

Walter’s deals spanned approximately three years and included directions to arrange gang rape and sexually assault children.

He sent money to the Philippines for the videos, images, and live transmissions in USD25 to USD50 increments.

He also sent and received emails to which senders attached images and videos of children engaged in sexual acts with adult men.

Hi, my name is Edward Sanchez. I am a 59-year old man living in Corpus Christi, Texas. I travelled to the Philippines several times posing as an educational benefactor. In reality all I wanted was sexual relationships with the students which I got after I convinced some of the girls to share nudes. I then used those pictures to extort them sexually. My defense claimed that my actions were lawful by Filipino standards and that the USA is racist. The jury did not buy it and now I will be in prison for the rest of my life.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/corpus-christi-man-gets-life-exploiting-filipino-children

A 59-year-old local resident has been ordered to serve the rest of his life in federal prison following convictions for several child exploitation offenses including foreign travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct with three minors, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

A federal jury convicted Edward Sanchez July 26, 2021, following a week-long trial and approximately 10 hours of deliberation.

Today, U.S. Nelva Gonzales Ramos handed Sanchez life sentence. Sanchez will also be ordered to register as a sex offender. At the hearing, the court heard evidence of his attempts to solicit and coerce additional schoolmates of the victims as well as testimony from a mental health professional regarding the effects of his actions. In imposing the sentence, Judge Ramos noted Sanchez’s complete lack of remorse for his actions.

At trial, evidence showed Sanchez had traveled to the Philippines where he posed as a benefactor to a school. However, he ultimately sought sexual relationships with students. The jury heard from three minor victims who testified about his activities, which included requests for pornographic images. These were later used to extort the children into meeting for sexual encounters, some unprotected, in the Philippines. Sanchez often provided victims with “morning after pills” to prevent conception.

The jury also heard about and viewed social media messages detailing Sanchez’s attempts to arrange access to the child victim’s family members to another adult male for sex. During their deliberations, the jury poured through thousands of pages of social media messages detailing his exploitation of the victims.

The defense attempted to convince the jury his conduct was lawful by Filipino standards and that United States laws were racist. The jury did not believe those claims, ultimately finding Sanchez had sexually exploited three minor children between March 5, 2016, and Nov. 21, 2018, in the Philippines and while in the United States using social media.   

Hi, my name is Jacob Daylen Ross. I am a 47-year old man from North Carolina who has been in-and-out of the prison system all my life. Now I will be going back to prison for 55 years which is basically the rest of my life. My crime was contacting Filipina women on WhatsApp and convincing them to sexually abuse their children over a livestream. I took pics of the livestream and stored them on my phone and my Google account. 

https://wlos.com/news/local/marion-man-sentenced-to-55-years-in-prison-child-pornography-charges-overseas-livestream-sexual-abuse-jacob-daylen-ross

A North Carolina man with a lengthy criminal rap sheet received a 55-year sentence for paying people overseas to sexually abuse children over a video livestream.

Jacob Daylen Ross, 47, has been cycling in and out of prison for years on a slew of offenses ranging from fraud, forgery, driving while intoxicated, larceny and other offenses, North Carolina prison records show.

In June 2020, the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office learned through an informant that Ross had been engaged in the online sexual exploitation of “numerous prepubescent children,” according to his criminal complaint.

Ross communicated with a woman in the Philippines through the encrypted messaging platform WhatsApp and paid her to sexually abuse her young children while he watched on via a video livestream, prosecutors say.

“A forensic analysis of Ross’s seized cell phone revealed that he possessed 28 images of child pornography, which were screenshots taken during a livestream video chat,” federal prosecutors from the Western District of North Carolina wrote in a press release. “Furthermore, law enforcement located in Ross’s Google accounts additional screenshot images of the livestreamed sexual abuse of children.”

In March 2021, Ross was convicted of five counts of producing child pornography and one count of possessing it.

U.S. Attorney Dena J. King said that Ross’s lengthy sentence reflects the “depravity” of his crimes.

“Perpetrators who rely on the anonymity of the internet to skirt our nation’s laws and engage in webcam sex tourism, or any other lewd conduct harmful to minors, ought to know that federal prosecutors and our law enforcement counterparts will do whatever it takes to protect all children—within our borders and beyond,” King wrote in a statement.

Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger, a George W. Bush appointee, sentenced Ross on Thursday.

According to Ross’s criminal complaint, Ross was charged with possessing crack cocaine weeks after receiving their tip about his procuring childhood sexual abuse materials.

Hi, my name is Grandpa. My real name is being withheld to protect my granddaughter who I molested 1,487 times over a period of 5 years. It started when she was in third grade. At first feeling powerless, she eventually she got fed up and ran off to tell the authorities despite me telling her I would stab her to death if she did so.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1922880/manila/local-news/elderly-man-with-nearly-1500-rape-charges-nabbed
POLICE have arrested an elderly man who has nearly 1,500 standing arrest warrants over charges of rape, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said on Monday, March 7, 2022.

CIDG Director Major General Eliseo Cruz said “Alex” (real name withheld to protect the victim), a 63-year-old fisherman and the number 5 most wanted person in Bicol Region, was arrested on March 2 in Barangay Supang, Caramoran, Catanduanes.

Judge Genie Gapas-Agbada of the Branch 42 of the Virac, Catanduanes Regional Trial Court issued arrest warrants against the suspect over 900 counts of statutory rape under Article 266-A paragraph 1(d) of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), 382 counts of rape under Article 266-A paragraph 1(a) of the RPC, 55 counts of rape and 150 counts of statutory rape.

Cruz said Alex victimized his own granddaughter from July 2016, when the victim was then in the third grade, until October 2021.

“After that carnal incident, the suspect threatened the victim that he would kill her by stabbing her if she tries to tell anyone,” he said.

“He abused the victim 20 times every month. But in the afternoon of November 6, 2021, after another abuse from his grandfather, the victim, who can no longer bear what was done to her, finally sought the help of her relatives,” he added.

“Being abused and molested once is hell to begin with –– how much more for a defenseless child who had gone through the trauma for 1,487 times. The victim suffered for years, unable to fend herself from the physical, emotional, and psychological damage this immoral act has inflicted,” he said.

Hi, my name is Kene Brian Lazo. You might remember be as the guy carrying the Filipino broom inside the U.S. capitol on January 6th, 2021. I plead guilty to that and got 6 months in prison plus a $500 fine. But I also have to face charges for sexually assaulting a child who is a family member.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/news/824346/walis-tambo-man-in-us-capitol-siege-plead-guilty-for-role-in-attack/story/

The Filipino who brought a walis tambo when protesters breached the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 has pleaded guilty before a US court in connection with the violent incident.

Kene Brian Lazo admitted that he was the protester who wore what looked like a Captain America costume when Trump supporters attacked the US Senate while it was certifying the results of the US presidential elections which Joseph Biden won.

The Filipino said he was a supporter of former President Donald Trump but expressed regret over his participation in the attack which resulted in the deaths of five persons and injury to scores of others.

The Washington D.C. court will sentence Lazo in July after he entered into a plea agreement in connection with cases of misdemeanor.

Lazo, who hails from Ilocos, is expected to be sentenced to six months in prison and pay a $500 fine.

He is also facing a case of sexual battery of a child in Virginia a few months after the incident at the capitol.


Kene Brian Lazo was arrested over the weekend and accused of several charges including contributing to the delinquency of a child under the age of 13; aggravated sexual battery of a child under 13; intercourse by force, threat or intimidation; forcible sodomy by force, threat, or of an incapacitated or physically helpless person over the age of 13; and two counts of simple assault.

https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/norfolk/norfolk-man-arrested-after-u-s-capitol-riot-now-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-child/

Hi, our names are being with held from the public. One of us, who is 50, is the 5th most wanted person in San Jose. The other, who is 19, is the 4th most wanted person in Tanjay City. Together we are, "The two most wanted rape suspects in Negros Oriental."

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1169392

Police have arrested the two “most wanted” persons for rape on separate operations in Negros Oriental.

Reports from the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) on Wednesday said the suspects, whose real names are withheld, are from Tanjay City and the municipality of Mabinay.

Around 5:20 p.m. Tuesday, police arrested the 50-year old suspect from Mabinay at his residence in Barangay Tapon Norte, San Jose.

He was identified as the 5th Most Wanted Person in San Jose.

Judge Rosario Santos Carriaga of Regional Trial Court Branch 75 of Bais City, Negros Oriental issued the arrest warrant in relation to two counts of rape filed against him.

Meanwhile, the other suspect, a 19-year-old from Barangay Novallas, Tanjay City, was arrested on the same day. He is ranked as the 4th Most Wanted Person in Tanjay City.

No bail was recommended for both of the accused.

The arrests came in the midst of the observance of Women’s Month this March.

Hi, my name is Aldrin Pansit. I am 19. At a party I met a lovely 14-year old girl. But instead of being nice to her I accompanied her to the store to get more drinks and then forced her to a cemetery where I raped her. I was arrested a few hours later.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/429155/case-readied-against-man-accused-of-raping-minor-in-carcar

A 19-year-old man is now behind bars after he was accused of raping a minor in Carcar City, southern Cebu.

Enforcers from Carcar City Police Station is set to file on Thursday, March 10, rape charges against Aldrin Pansit after he was arrested for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl. 

Police Lt. Col. Ardioleto Cabagnot, chief of Carcar City Police Station, said the suspect would be facing criminal cases for violating the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act (Republic Act No. 7610) which would be filed today, March 10, 2022.

In a text message, Cabagnot said the victim and her mother reported the incident before the police, leading to the suspect’s arrest on Monday evening, March 7, in a barangay in Carcar City. 

Initial findings from investigators showed that the suspect or accused was a guest in a party hosted by the victim’s family on Sunday evening, March 6. 

It was also the first time the victim met the suspect. 

He accompanied the victim to buy more drinks to a nearby store, however, he reportedly forced her to go to a cemetery, where the alleged crime took place.

The victim and her mother reported the incident on Monday morning, prompting investigators to conduct a follow-up operation that led to the suspect’s arrest a few hours later. 

Hi, my name is Cyrus Rafael Ramos. I have been arrested for sex trafficking. I did this by pimping girls on Facebook. When a potential customer hit me up I told him I would meet him at a motel with the girls and he could choose which he wanted. All for a mere P2,0000. I brought six girls, four who were minors. But, just my luck, it turns out my customer was the NBI!

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2022/03/13/2166919/man-held-sex-trafficking

A man was arrested in Pasay City for allegedly pimping females on social media platform Facebook.

The National Bureau of Investigation’s anti-human trafficking division caught Cyrus Rafael Ramos in an entrapment operation on March 3, the NBI said in a statement on Friday.

Ramos reportedly used the name “Arnie Resgonio Dolindo” to offer the sexual services of females, including minors, for P2,000. He would bring the girls to a motel in order for the client to choose, the NBI said.

Three agents acted as Ramos’ clients and met him at a motel. Ramos was arrested after the agents chose four out of the six females, four of whom were minors, the suspect brought, according to the bureau.

Hi, my name is Anthony Ternate. I had a quarrel with the lady next door over a plant. See, she placed it on the side of the road and it was blocking my way, making it difficult for my car to pass, as it was partially blocking the road. After they argued I had had enough and I went inside to get my gun. I stormed out of the house and instead of destroying the plant I shot my neighbor dead. Now I am facing a murder charge and so is my wife because she did not try to stop me.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/429795/quarrel-over-a-plant-led-to-killing-of-housewife-arrest-of-neighbors-wife-manhunt-of-neighbors-husband
An argument or a quarrel over a pot of plant placed at the side of the road in Compostela town in northern Cebu on March 14 ended in the killing of a 39-year-old housewife, the arrest of the victim’s neighbor’s wife, and a police manhunt of the suspected killer, the victim’s neighbor’s husband, who remains at large as of this posting.

Police Lieutenant Samuel Negro, Compostela Police Station chief, said that the victim, Nina Cadungog, was washing clothes at the front of her house in Barangay Canamucan in this northern Cebu town after she argued with her neighbor’s wife, Madelyn Ternate.

(They argued over the road. The victim had allegedly placed a pot of plant on the road leading to their houses. And this caused difficulty for neighbor’s husband to pass the road as plant was partially blocking the road. So this started the argument between the victim and the neighbor’s wife, Madelyn.)

Negro said that Anthony Ternate, Madelyn’s husband, allegedly went inside after the wives’ argument and came out with a gun.

The Compostela Police Chief said that Anthony Ternate then approached Cadungog and shot her dead.

Witnesses later told police that it was Anthony Ternate, who killed Cadungog.

Negro said that they were also arresting Madelyn Ternate as an accessory to the crime, considering that she started the argument, and she did not stop her husband from shooting to death Cadungog.

He said that murder complaints would be filed against the suspects — Madelyn and Anthony Ternate.

([They will be facing] Murder [complaint]. Yes, the two of them. We are considering the wife because she started this all. Then there is superior strength. The elements that we saw that she did not advised her husband “not to do it”.)

(She did not have a warning or word against the killing of her neighbor. That she did not want that thing to happen, but there was nothing. So we considered her as an accessory to the crime.) 

Negro also said that they were still conducting a hot pursuit operation in locating Anthony while his wife was detained at Compostela police station.
Hi, my name is Allan Arena Sr. I have been accused of raping my older neighbor but that is not what happened. She claims I busted in her house when she was alone and that a second time a neighbor walked in on us. Then she and her daughter went to tell the police. But the truth is we were in a relationship. At this point she is probably dead anyway.
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1924214/cebu/local-news/man-nabbed-for-raping-an-octogenarian

AFTER almost two years in hiding, a 52-year-old man who allegedly raped his octogenarian neighbor was finally arrested during the police operation dubbed "Oplan Pagtugis" in Barangay Busay, Cebu City around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 19, 2022.

Colonel Ireneo Dalogdog, head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7), together with the Regional Intelligence Unit (RIU-7) and the Balamban municipal police station conducted the operation that led to the arrest of Allan Arena Sr., 52, who works as a steel man in Busay, but hails from Barangay Buanoy, Balamban town in southwest Cebu.

According to Staff Sergeant Rose Ann Portal of the Women and Children's Protection Desk of Balamban Police Station who is handling the case, that the 80-year-old Nanay Delia (real name withheld), together with her daughter, went to their station two years ago to report the rape incident.

Nanay Delia alleged that Arena Sr. raped her twice in August 2020. She said she was watching television on both occasions when the suspect, who was then 50 years old, barged inside her home while her children were not around.

However, their sexual pleasure was cut short during the second rape incident when they were caught by their neighbor, who stood as witness to the crime.

Arena Sr. is now in the custody of CIDG-7.

According to the initial investigation, the victim admitted having a relationship with Nanay Delia.

But Portal described the suspect's admission as an excuse to be absolved of the case, which is non-bailable.

Portal said they are now trying to locate the victim, since there were reports that the latter had already died.

Hi, my name is Louell Vincent Austria. Girls online are so easy and gullible. I paid a few of them to send me some sexy movies of themselves. Then I turned around and said I would show them to everyone if they did not have sex with me. It worked quite a few times and I am not the only one to use this trick. But then my luck ran out and instead of a girl showing up at my room it was the NBI.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2022/03/23/2169334/schemer-using-facebook-sex-minors-arrested-iligan-city

A scheming netizen using Facebook to lure women into illicit sex was entrapped here Tuesday by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation.

Lawyer Abdul Jamal Dimaporo, head of NBI’s office here, on Wednesday identified the suspect as Louell Vincent Austria, 28, now detained, awaiting prosecution.

Dimaporo told reporters Austria would first offer women money in exchange for footages of them naked via online Messenger and threaten to circulate the obscene video clips if they refuse to have sex with him.

The plot to entrap Austria was hatched after a victim reported to the NBI’s office here her experience with Austria.

Austria did not resist arrest when NBI agents pounced on  him while in a room in a lodging house in Barangay San Miguel here, waiting for her victim who had sought help from the bureau.

Hi, my name is Carlos Castillo. When I was 11 my family moved from the Philippines to Canada. After finishing school I got a job in construction. In March of 2021 a friend and I killed a 49 year old woman named Maria Cecilia Loreto. We waited for her at house. When she arrived I punched her out with one blow. My accomplice then stabbed her twice and she died. To cover up our crime we wrapped her body up in a blanket and took it to a park where we set it on fire. 

I plead guilty to homicide, negligence, and one count of "accomplice after murder." That means I do not admit I am the main culprit, my accomplice is. Because my accomplice is a minor Canadian law forbids revealing her name. But anyone who knows me can put two and two together. See, I was in a sexual relationship with my accomplice who happens to be our victims daughter. Aside from the murder charge I am also facing charges of sex with a minor. That minor is my accomplice.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/news/826449/pinoy-sentenced-to-10-years-in-jail-for-death-of-pinay-in-canada/story/

 One of two Filipinos who was charged for the death of a Filipina in New Westminster was sentenced to 10 years in jail.

New Westminster Judge Peter La Prairie accepted the early guilty plea of Carlo Castillo Tobias, 22, in the case of the death of Maria Cecilia Loreto.

Tobias was sentenced to a 10-year jail term for manslaughter and acting as an accessory to the crime of murder after the fact.

The body of Loreto, 49, was discovered in March last year in Burnaby Park in New Westminster.

Tobias admitted that he and his co-accused waited for Loreto to come home to her rented apartment on March 17 last year.

He said he hid behind the door of the said apartment, and when she entered the unit, he punched her in the face, which made the victim unconscious.

According to the medical and autopsy reports, Tobias' co-accused, a 15-year-old, allegedly stabbed the victim twice while she was on the floor until she died.

After this, the two accused wrapped the victim's body in a blanket and brought it to Burnaby Park where they set it on fire.

Hi, my name is Marshall Ruskin. I'm a Canadian, eh.  I've been living up here in Winnipeg for a while but I have travelled to the Philippines many times between 2013 and 2016. Do you remember Peter Scully.?You might remember him for being the creator of the awful video Daisy's Destruction which is only the most notorious and heinous videos ever made. I sent Scully's girlfriend $3,000 CDN to watch that incident live.

The Canadian police have not filed any charges against me but they did raid my home after the Philippine authorities contacted them. They took all my gadgets but joke's on them! I have them encrypted so hard that they will never be able to unlock them which means I am still a free man because they have zero evidence.


https://usa.inquirer.net/97588/canadian-webmaster-is-wanted-in-ph-for-child-sex-abuse

One of three men wanted in connection with a notorious child sex abuse case in the Philippines is living in Winnipeg, but police have not been able to arrest him because the incriminating evidence is deeply hidden in his electronic devices.

Marshall Ruskin, 63, a former civilian webmaster for the Department of National Defence in Winnipeg, allegedly wired thousands of dollars to dark web operators in the Philippines who make “heinous child sexual abuse videos,” including the series “Daisy’s Destruction,” according to CBC News.

Police have Ruskin’s electronic devices, which they seized in an August 2019 search of a Garden City home he shares with his wife.

Police said they believe he recorded the sexual abuse bur have been unable to get into his devices because they are heavily encrypted.

Police have had to apply several times since 2019 to continue holding on to Ruskin’s devices until they can decrypt them.

According to three arrest warrants issued in the Philippines in October 2016, Ruskin is wanted for acts of neglect, abuse, cruelty or exploitation and conditions prejudicial to a child’s development

Winnipeg police learned of the Philippines investigation in February 2017. They raided Ruskin’s Winnipeg home in 2019 but there are no Canadian charges against him yet.

Ruskin figures in the Philippine investigation focused on an Australian named Peter Scully, who was arrested in 2015 after a global manhunt.

Scully made the “Daisy’s Destruction” video series, which featured the rape, torture and murder of an 11-year-old girl, as well as sexual abuse of other children, including an 18-month-old child.

Scully’s ex-girlfriend, Liezyl Margallo, has also been arrested and charged with helping carry out his sexual crimes against kids.

The court documents allege Ruskin wired a total of more than $3,000 Cdn in 13 Western Union transfers to Margallo. Police allege the money was for Ruskin to watch the sexual abuse of the 11-year-old girl live on video.

Hi, our names are Mark Rhayan Bilocura, John Lord Bilocura, Jessica Jane Alonzo, and Marisol Topacio. We ran a spa that gave extra services. The customers could choose from a secret menu and could even select which girl they wanted. We knew these girls were good at what they did because they were required to perform on the owner, Mark, before being hired. We had 11 girls but now all we have is jail time.


https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/433882/spa-owner-arrested-for-human-trafficking-11-rescued

At least four individuals, including the owner and a manager of a massage and spa chain in Metro Cebu, are now facing human trafficking charges.

The suspects were identified as Mark Rhayan Bilocura, 24, owner and proprietor of McShield Spa; John Lord Bilocura, 19, manager, and receptionists Jessica Jane Alonzo and Marisol Topacio. 

Lawyer Renan Augustus Oliva, director of NBI-7, said the masseurs and therapists were required to do lewd acts upon their clients’ requests. 

“Otherwise, they (management) would threaten them to be assigned in a branch they liked the least or they will be heavily admonished,” said Oliva.

Among the evidence agents gathered from the massage parlors, which began operations last May 2021, included two different sets of “menu.” 

One consisted of the spa’s regular services while the other, hidden from plain sight, will only be provided to patrons who want to avail of the “extra services.” 

“They are also using Facebook as a platform for their operations as well as tablets (devices) for the customers to choose which therapists they would like,” Oliva said. 

Citing testimonial evidence from the rescued victims, the NBI-7’s top official also said that applicants would have to perform “lingam massage” on the owner himself as part of their pre-employment requirements.

“Meaning they had to perform lingam, or masturbation, on the owner himself before they were hired,” explained Oliva. 

Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Insurgency: Trumped-Up Charges

The CPP-NPA-NDF are not good guys.  They are terrorists who have waged a war against the Philippine government for 53 years. One does not need to make up things about them to paint them as being awful but that is not stopping the government from doing so.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1170890

The Philippine Army has raised concern about the recovery of suspected shabu from the hideout of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in the hinterlands of Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental last weekend.

The 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) said based on the information they received, NPA leaders are using illegal drugs to “lure and psychologically control their members”.

As of Tuesday, the 303rd Infantry Brigade is awaiting the result of the examination of the recovered prohibited drugs, which they turned over to the forensic laboratory.

It is alarming the CPP-NPA terrorists are starting to force their members to use illegal drugs. (This) command, through the engaged units, will coordinate with the Philippine National Police and other concerned agencies in filing appropriate charges related to this discovery,” Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, commander of 3ID, said in a statement.

Based on information they received from whom? That the CPP-NPA is forcing their members to take drugs is not believable in the slightest. It's cartoony and over the top. Maybe it is true but it seems doubtful. The AFP and the PNP really cannot be trusted when it comes to making accurate accusations against suspected terrorists. Time and again they have gotten judges to issue wonky warrants to bust in and arrest suspects only to have those warrants tossed out. This week the same has happened once again.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1576007/court-frees-doc-calls-pnp-action-repugnant

A court has junked the kidnapping charges against Dr. Maria Natividad Castro, a human rights and public health advocate, and ruled that the manner of her arrest by the police last month was “repugnant to [her] right to liberty.”

The doctor’s elder brother, Delfin “Jun” Castro Jr., said she walked out of detention on Wednesday and had a tearful reunion with her siblings and several fellow public health workers who worried about her safety as she was immediately flown to Mindanao by the police after he arrest, leaving her whereabouts unknown to her family.

The arrest of the 53-year-old doctor drew outrage from her colleagues in the medical profession, her high school and college alma maters, and human rights groups.

In a March 25 resolution, the Bayugan City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 7 said it found no probable cause against Castro and ordered her release from the Agusan del Sur provincial jail, where she was detained for more than 40 days.

“Without probable cause, the court did not acquire jurisdiction over the accused, which warrants the dismissal of this case,” said acting Presiding Judge Fernando Fudalan Jr.

Fudalan cited two grounds for dismissing the case — the denial of Castro’s “substantive right” to due process and lack of jurisdiction over the doctor.

Castro’s lead counsel Wilfred Asis, a member of the Free Legal Assistance Group (Flag), filed a petition to dismiss the kidnapping and serious illegal detention case against her as there was no preliminary investigation conducted before she was arrested in her home in San Juan City on Feb. 18.

There was no subpoena issued to Castro and she was arrested through a warrant that contained the names and aliases of 468 suspects. In addition, she was not properly identified in the warrant, which had only listed a certain “Dra. Maria Natividad.”

“A preliminary investigation without a subpoena being issued to the respondent is offensive to due process,” Fudalan ruled. “Either intentional or a product of omission, the same produces a serious effect repugnant to respondent’s right to liberty.”

The court also stressed that “cutting off the processes” of issuing a subpoena to respondents in the conduct of a preliminary investigation “defeats the purpose of preventing the innocents exposing to the risk of incarceration, inevitable anxiety, aggravation, humiliation, not to speak of expense, and the right to an opportunity to avoid a painful process is a valuable right.”

Fudalan said issuing a subpoena directing a respondent to submit evidence “is the most important aspect of the preliminary investigation that safeguards the right to due process.”

“No amount of reason, like what the prosecution raised that respondent is an NPA (New People’s Army) member and have no permanent address, would ever justify its non-issuance,” the judge said.

Another baseless warrant junked. This time the issues were lack of jurisdiction and lack of sending the accused a subpoena and lack of a preliminary investigation. Among the 468 people listed in the warrant Castro was not even properly identified. 

The PNP stupidly replied to the junked warrant that this is a learning experience. 

https://mb.com.ph/2022/03/31/pnp-junking-of-case-vs-community-doctor-naty-castro-a-learning-experience/

“Our highest respect for judicial authorities is dutifully expressed in our prompt and responsive compliance to every mandate of the Court to implement its orders to make arrests, search and seizures; and to serve other court processes that require police intervention,” it added.

“We do not see this particular case involving a ranking member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines, as a setback in the continuing campaign to account for persons wanted by the law, especially those identified with domestic terrorist groups and its affiliate organizations,” it stated.

Rather we find this learning experience as another opportunity to further strengthen police systems and procedures to address organizational weaknesses and institutional dysfunctions as an integral component of the criminal justice system,” the statement added. 

What a joke. How many times do they have to issue faulty warrants before they learn their lesson. Of course the government gave their full support to the PNP despite them being in the wrong and lambasted by the court for their errors. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/822533/dilg-defends-pnp-slams-critics-over-arrest-of-dr-naty-castro-probing-possible-violations/story/

In a statement, DILG Secretary Eduardo Año pointed out that Philippine National Police (PNP) officers were just performing their duties when they served the warrant of arrest against the doctor on Friday.

“The PNP was just doing their jobs. Why gang up on them? This was not a warrantless arrest. The RTC issued a warrant and it’s their duty to serve it,” he said.

“The basis of Castro’s arrest by the PNP is a judicially issued warrant based on the criminal charges against her,” he added.

Año said Judge Fernando Fudalan of Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 7 in Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur issued the warrant.

Año also hit back at FLAG and the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) after the groups raised concerns on the arrest of doctors.

“FLAG, the NUPL and other lawyers of Castro had every opportunity to quash the charges against her at the level of the City Prosecutor during the preliminary investigation and even with the court,” he said.

For him, these groups could have used legal remedies to appeal the arrest of Castro “instead of maligning the PNP, the judicial system and making a media circus out of this issue.”

That statement was made in February before the judgement came down and the warrant was tossed. Año looks like a fool now. Apparently there was no preliminary investigation and the warrant was faulty.

The DOJ says despite the warrant being tossed they are still going after Castro and that it's up to her to disprove the allegations against her.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/03/31/doj-can-hold-another-preliminary-investigation-on-criminal-charges-filed-vs-dr-natividad-castro/
“(If she was not given the chance to submit her counter-affidavit during the preliminary investigation to refute the allegations, it does not mean it can just end there),” Guevarra said.

“(The DOJ can conduct another preliminary investigation so she can be given the opportunity to show that there is no probable cause against her concerning the charges that were lodged against her),” he said.
That statement is fundamentally wrong and it comes from the mouth of no less than the Secretary of the Department of Justice who is the nation's top lawyer. That should tell you just how backwards the legal system in the Philippines is. The government has to prove probable cause. The defendant does not have to prove there is no probable cause because the defendant is always presumed innocent. That is basic law and the DOJ Secretary seems to not understand that.

The NTF-ELCAC also issued a statement condemning the court for overturning the warrant. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1171160

“Amid the apparent legal blunders that the court committed, we are still hopeful, in faith, in full trust and respect that the RTC reconsiders its decision and allow the case to see the light of a full-blown trial because the People of the Philippines is more than ready to present its overwhelming evidence that would surely lead to Castro’s conviction beyond a reasonable doubt,” the NTF-ELCAC’s legal cluster said.

It's not only this court that the NTF-ELCAC is condemning. Recently Lorraine Badoy, unbeknownst to the DOJ, sat down for an interview with convicted Major General Jovito Palparan. He was convicted of kidnapping  two UP students accused of being communists. They have never beens found and were likely murdered.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1576399/badoy-claims-retired-gen-palparan-a-victim-of-trumped-up-charges

National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) spokesperson Lorraine Badoy has claimed that retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan is a victim of “trumped-up charges” fueled by the “lies” of the New People’s Army (NPA).

Badoy was among those who interviewed Palparan in a program aired on SMNI News Channel on Wednesday. The interview was also shared by the NTF-Elcac on its Facebook page.

At the start of the interview, Badoy said that among the reasons why they invited Palparan as guest is to “vindicate” him.

“We are so happy that you could join us. The reason why we have invited you is of course to honor you, to vindicate you, and to show the Filipino people the harm that the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front-NPA) has done to us as people,” she told Palparan.

“Mga sinungaling kasi ‘yan, sir (They are liars, sir). Alam natin ‘yan (We know that), and it was because of their collusion, it was because of them and the lies that they spread about you and their collusion with these unprincipled politicians that these trumped-up charges were [filed against you], that’s why this is where you are now. We want to hear from you,” she added.

In 2018, the Malolos Regional Trial Court found Palparan guilty of kidnapping and serious illegal detention related to the disappearance of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno in 2006.

What is the point of this interview? Is this a prelude to freeing a man who was full convicted by the Philippines justice system? Badoy is now claiming the Philippine justice system is unreliable and influenced by the CPP-NPA!! A government employee wants to overturn the government's decision as being unjust. Now who is the rebel?

If Badoy has evidence that this man is innocent and that the CPP colluded with "unprincipled politicians" then she should take it to the court and get the man a new trial. Upon his conviction in 2018 no less than the DOJ Secretary Guevarra said Palparan's conviction is proof that the Philippine justice system is working.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1048209

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday said the guilty verdict against retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. and two others for kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges means that justice is alive and attainable for victims of crimes.

“Justice may come a bit late, but it does come. Let’s believe in that,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said in a text message.

“All things considered, the evidence of the prosecution indubitably proved beyond reasonable doubt that the aforementioned elements of kidnapping and serious illegal detention obtain in the two cases at bar and the three accused should be penalized accordingly,” read the decision.

If Palparan is innocent why did he try to flee to Singapore? Why did he remain a fugitive for two years? This is all ridiculous and apparently Lorraine Badoy has no respect for the Philippines' justice system. When will the nation be rid of this worthless woman?