It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195938 |
The Sandiganbayan has sentenced a former barangay chairperson from a town in Leyte province to up to 8 years imprisonment for his part in the illegal demolition of houses in an ejectment case.
In its 33-page decision dated Feb. 17, the anti-graft court affirmed the decision of a Tacloban City regional trial court (RTC Br. 34) finding former Barangay MH Del Pilar chair Jovito Tupaz of Dulag town guilty of violating RA 3019, otherwise known as the “Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,” and sentenced him to the prison term and perpetual disqualification from public office.
Aside from time behind bars, Tupaz was likewise ordered to pay the complainant, Lutgarda T. Arceo, PHP100,000 in damages.
A co-accused, former barangay secretary Alexander R. Cagara, died in 2021 during the pendency of the case.
The complainant claimed that in 1999, as the demolition was being undertaken by a team personally supervised by Tupaz and Cagara, she reminded that 1/3 of the portion of the lot belonged to her, having purchased the same from its owners under a deed of sale two years earlier. She even reminded Tupaz that the latter was a signatory in the document.
Tupaz however turned a deaf ear and insisted that the demolition was covered by a court order. The demolition was completed by noon along with three other houses.
“A public officer who seriously breaches his or her duty in a blatant and extremely careless manner with conscious indifference to consequences insofar as other persons may be affected is guilty of gross inexcusable negligence under RA 3019 regardless of whether such breach of duty was done with malicious intent,” the Sandiganbayan said in its decision.
“(A) public officer’s failure to appreciate the extent of his or her basic power is gross negligence amounting to gross bad faith and manifest partiality,” the tribunal said.
A village councilor has been sentenced to 8 years for illegal demolition.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195898 |
Anti-narcotics agents have arrested an employee of the Surigao del Norte provincial hospital during a buy-bust operation, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Caraga Region (PDEA-13) reported on Thursday.PDEA-13 identified the captured suspect during Tuesday's operation as Garry Asumen, 42, of Barangay Bad-as in Placer town, Surigao del Norte.“The arrested suspect is classified as a high-value target,” PDEA-13 said in its report, adding that the suspect yielded a plastic sachet containing a gram of shabu with a street value of PHP10,000.Charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2022 was filed against the suspect.
A government employee who is a high-value target has been arrested on drug charges.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195950 |
A provincial government employee, who was previously assigned as acting municipal treasurer of Isabela town in Negros Occidental province has been preventively suspended for 60 days after being charged with administrative offenses over the alleged loss of PHP6.4 million in local funds last month.
Nenette Escarda, a Cashier I at the Provincial Treasurer’s Office, received Thursday the copies of the memorandum order and the formal charge signed by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson on Feb. 22.
After completing the preliminary investigation on Wednesday, Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas Jr. said his office submitted the report to the governor, who immediately approved the findings and issued the formal charge to Escarda.
In Administrative Case No. 23-002, Escarda has been charged with grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and malversation of public funds.
“Considering that she is under the provincial government, she is under our jurisdiction, we will handle the administrative case but we will coordinate closely with the Municipality of Isabela,” Nellas told reporters.
Lacson directed Escarda to “answer the charge in writing, under oath, with the option to submit additional evidence or that of her witnesses within three days from receipt thereof”, adding that “failure to file an answer within the above-stated period shall be considered a waiver to submit the same and the case shall be decided based on available records”.
The formal charge stated that sometime in January, Escarda, “in the performance and taking advantage of her official and administrative functions, with grave abuse of confidence, and without authority from the municipal mayor (Irene Montilla) or the national government, took and removed municipal funds amounting to approximately PHP2.6 million in cash and PHP3.8 million in checks from its usual place of safekeeping at the Municipal Treasurer's Office in Isabela and brought the said funds to her home in Bacolod City”.
It added that the respondent “consented or permitted, through abandonment or negligence’ to the taking and loss of the abovementioned municipal funds while it was in her unauthorized possession to the damage and prejudice of the Municipality of Isabela, the national government, and public interest”.
The governor ordered the 60-day prevention suspension of the respondent after the issuance of the formal charge against her.
A town treasurer who took money home with her and then lost it has been formally suspended.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1734478/maguindanao-town-mayor-hurt-in-ambush-try-in-pasay-city |
The mayor of Datu Montawal in Maguindanao has escaped death in a gun attack along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City.
The ambush attempt happened on Wednesday evening (February 22), but the Southern Police District (SPD) released a report on the incident on Friday, citing information from the Pasay City Police.
In the report, police said Mayor Ohto Caumbo Montawal sustained a gunshot wound on his hip and left arm following the assault.
Based on the account of witness Ronald Caumbo, Datu Montawal town planning officer and companion of the mayor during the attack, they were heading toward Gil Puyat Avenue on board a van when two unidentified armed men came closer to their vehicle. It was not clear if the suspects were on foot or were riding a motorcycle.
“One of the suspects pulled out a gun and fired toward their vehicle. After the incident, the suspects fled away going to Buendia, Pasay City, while the victim was rushed to Ospital ng Maynila and later transferred to Asian Hospital, Muntinlupa City,” the SPD said in the report.
Authorities also said the investigation is still ongoing, including a review of the footage captured through a closed circuit television installed in the vicinity of the crime scene.
This is the latest case in a string of recent attempts on the lives of local officials over the past few days.
A mayor has been wounded in an assassination attempt.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195991 |
A police officer and two others were arrested during an anti-drug operation here Thursday evening.
Agent Jocelyn Mary, spokesperson of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-BARMM), said Pat. Jassim Aking and his two colleagues were nabbed in a buy-bust operation along San Isidro Street, Barangay Rosary Heights 10.
An undercover agent managed to buy PHP340,000 worth of suspected shabu from the suspects inside a suspected drug den, Mary said.
She identified the two other arrested suspects as Sindatu Macmud and Fatima Usman.
"We recovered 11 sachets containing about PHP400,000 worth of shabu,” Mary said, adding that a subsequent search also resulted in the recovery of mobile phones that the suspects used in the drug transaction, including a multicab vehicle.
“We have been following him (Aking) for the past few months; he was placed under surveillance for so long,” Mary said of the arrested police officer.
Charges are being prepared against the suspects, who are now detained at the PDEA-ARMM detention facility in this city.
A cop has been arrested on drug charges.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2023/02/27/village-chair-gunned-down-in-front-of-wife-in-batangas/ |
A barangay captain was gunned down on Sunday morning, Feb. 26, in Barangay San Carlos here.
Police identified the victim as Vivencio Palo, chairman of Barangay San Carlos.
Palo was unloading merchandise for his store at about 5:20 a.m. when an unidentified man appeared and shot him in the presence of his wife.
The suspect fled onboard a car while the victim was taken to a hospital here where he died.
Police have yet to determine the motive for the killing and the identity of the suspect.
A barnagay captain was assassinated in front of his wife.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2023/02/27/ex-basilan-mayors-executive-assistant-gunned-down-in-zamboanga-city/ |
An assistant of a known politician in Basilan was shot dead here on Saturday, Feb. 25, in what was suspected as an act of ‘rido’ or clan feud.
Paruk Taguri Majirul, an assistant of former Basilan mayor Cherry Akbar, was driving his pick-up vehicle with six passengers on board when he was ambushed by motorcycle-riding gunmen upon reaching a flea market in the Canelar Moret area.
Taguri was said to have continued driving but his vehicle hit a store.
The suspects fled towards the direction of Barangay San Jose.
Majirul was rushed to a local hospital where he expired. His passengers were unharmed.
Police are still investigating the incident.
A former mayor's executive assistant has been assassinated.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/02/27/2248044/dotr-suspends-naia-security-staff-alleged-have-stolen-thai-tourist |
The Department of Transportation – Office for Transportation Security said Monday that it has relieved and suspended personnel involved in a viral video which supposedly showed them stealing from a Thai tourist who was passing through security screening.
The OTS said its investigators are now preparing to file criminal complaints against the security personnel and will seek the cooperation of the foreign national.
"These illegal acts will not be tolerated and we will apply the full force of the law to penalize the perpetrators," it said in a statement.
It added the OTS personnel "shall not only be dismissed from the service but shall also be put behind bars for their criminal acts that tarnish the reputation and integrity not only of OTS but the entire country in general."
Thai national Piyawat Gunlayaprasit posted last Wednesday a video that has since made rounds on social media which appeared to show security personnel taking cash from the wallet of another Thai tourist, Kitja Thabthim, before it went through an x-ray machine at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
"I saw the Philippine officer doing it secretly and took a photo. It turns out that she put the money that she had stolen from a Thai brother to put it in the pocket of a short-haired officer," Gunlayaprasit said in a Facebook post.
He said when they complained about the missing money, the officer told them to contact the central office as there were no CCTV cameras in that area.
In another clip also posted on social media, a female security officer is seen apparently returning a total of 20,000 yen or around P8,000.
Senate public services chairperson Grace Poe told reporters that she is "enraged and ashamed" over the incident, which she said could adversely affect the country’s tourism campaign.
Poe also shared that one of her staffers also had the same experience at NAIA where they lost an Apple Watch after passing security.
"They should not just be suspended because their jobs are very sensitive. And it would not set a good precedent if they are only suspended and they get to return to work," she said in a media briefing in Filipino.
But she quipped that security personnel at NAIA might be stealing from passengers because they are not paid enough.
"There is no excuse in committing illegal acts even if you’re needy," Poe said. "But the reality is if you are sorely lacking because you are not paid right, it is much more enticing to do this nonsense."
Airport staff caught on camera stealing have been suspended.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1196225 |
The Sandiganbayan has upheld a jail sentence of up to 14 years on the former cashier of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) - Valenzuela City District Office for malversation involving PHP3.07 million in collections more than a decade ago.
The anti-graft court's Third Division affirmed the decision of the Valenzuela Regional Trial Court Branch 75 and dismissed the appeal filed by Marites Lopez.
"The court finds that the prosecution was able to establish all the elements of the crime of malversation of public funds, through the documentary and testimonial evidence on record. The appellant's conviction for the said crime must therefore be sustained," read the 19-page resolution dated Feb. 27 and published online Tuesday.
As acting cashier from December 2008 to January 2011, Lopez’s duties included receiving payments for license fees and depositing the collections to the Land Bank of the Philippines daily.
LTO audit analyst, Lorna De Leon, discovered that Lopez incurred a shortage of PHP3,077,392.03 from December 2008 to December 2010.
Lopez did not comply with demand letters to produce the missing amount.
The Sandiganbayan has upheld the conviction and jail term of a local LTO official.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1196245 |
The Sandiganbayan has ordered the arraignment of an official of the PITC Pharma Inc. (now the Philippine Pharma Procurement Inc. or PPPI) implicated in an anomalous government supply contract for medicines in 2007.
The graft court's Third Division turned down the motions of Jesus Biscocho Cantos, then the PITC vice president for logistics and supply chain of PITC, for lack of merit and set his arraignment on March 10.
"Cantos' motion is highly improper considering that this Court has already found probable cause in this case when it issued the warrant of arrest against him on Nov. 17, 2022. In fact, accused Cantos has already posted bail for his provisional liberty on Dec. 19, 2022," the tribunal said in its Feb. 27 decision made public Tuesday.
Cantos, chief operating officer Teddie Rivera, vice president for finance Jacqueline Mendoza, and managers Elvira Aspa and Krisanto Nicolas were charged for allegedly violating Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Prosecutors claimed Cantos gave unwarranted benefits and advantage to Biolink Pharma, Medgen Laboratories and Alphamed Pharma Corp., which provided branded medicines through direct contracting in violation of the procurement law.
The acquired medicines, the prosecutors said, were more expensive by about PHP19.69 million compared to the generic counterparts, causing undue damage to the government.
A former official for the Philippine Pharma Procurement Inc. has been arraigned on graft charges for anomalous purchases.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1737368/cop-falls-in-drug-buy-bust-in-cavite |
Police arrested a fellow cop in a drug buy-bust operation Wednesday in Imus City, Cavite.
The Police Region 4A, reported Thursday that anti-illegal drugs operatives collared Patrolman Albert Lorenz Reyes, 34, at 9:50 p.m. after he sold shabu worth P40,000 to an undercover cop in Barangay Malagasang 1-F.
The suspect, formerly assigned to the Cavite police drug enforcement unit before being suspended due to an unspecified offense, was found in possession of 20 grams of shabu.
The confiscated meth was worth P136,000.
The police also confiscated a .45 pistol loaded with four bullets from the suspect. The report did not specify if the firearm has valid government documents.
The suspect was detained and is facing criminal charges.
Another cop has been busted for drugs.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1196383 |
The Sandiganbayan has convicted a former cashier of the National Food Authority (NFA) for malversation and sentenced her up to 17 years in prison in connection with the loss of PHP10.105 million stolen in 2008.
The anti-graft court's first division, in its 19-page decision dated March 1 and written by Associate Justice Efren N. Dela Cruz, sentenced Maria Theresa G. Gutierrez, a former cashier of the National Food Authority North District Office (NFA-NDO) in Valenzuela City.
In the weekend of May 30, 2008, a break-in robbery in the said office resulted in the loss of PHP10.105 million in cash representing collections from the sale of NFA rice, licensing fees, and other payables related to NFA transactions.
The cash was left inside a wooden cabinet instead of the office vault, which only contained part of the collections amounting to PHP790,772 and still had space for more cash. The robbers who were not caught did not touch the vault.
The tribunal citing the Supreme Court ruling in precedent cases said a government cashier "who is found negligent in keeping the funds in his or her custody cannot be relieved from his or her accountability for amounts lost through robbery" and held that "she was liable for the funds lost on the occasion of the robbery."
Aside from the prison term, the court also ordered the accused to pay PHP10.1 million representing the amount lost.
A former cashier for the NFA has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for not properly storing money which was eventually stolen due to her negligence.
