It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
A barangay councilor in Cansomoroy, Balamban town, west Cebu was gunned down by still unidentified motorcycle-riding assailants on Thursday, October 6.
Anastacio Pacquiao, who is also running for village chief of Barangay Cansomoroy in the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, was driving his motorcycle at past 5 p.m. when the perpetrators shot him in the head.
Balamban Police Chief Lt. Glenn Hife said the shooting incident happened in Barangay Prenza also in Balamban town, which is some 50 kilometers west of Cebu City.
The 60-year-old Pacquiao was rushed to the hospital but died on the way.
Hife said witnesses heard only one gunshot during the incident.
Investigators were able to secure closed-circuit television footage in the area that may help them identify the perpetrators.
The victim’s family told the police that the village councilor did not receive any threat to his life.
Police said they have yet to establish the motive behind the killing.
A barangay councilor has been assassinated.
A barangay councilor running for chairman in the barangay elections on October 30 was wounded in an ambush in Barangay Gracia Village, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan on Tuesday night, October 3.
Police identified the victim as Salvador Tan Garcia, 45, a resident of Barangay Asin East, Malasiqui, Pangasinan.
Garcia was driving his black Nissan Terra on the way to his house in Barangay Gracia Village when he was shot several times by an unidentified gunman.
The victim sustained bullet wounds and brought himself to the Urdaneta District Hospital in Barangay Dilan-Paurido, Urdaneta City.
He was later transferred to the Sacred Heart Hospital, Barangay San Vicente, Urdaneta City.
Police have conducted checkpoint and dragnet operations against the suspect.
Pangasinan police chief Police Col. Jeff E. Fanged said that an in-depth investigation on the incident is ongoing.
A barangay councilor running for chairman has been assassinated.
A village treasurer in Leyte town was killed while his companion was wounded when unidentified gunmen fired at them in Barangay Cahigan in the municipality of Villaba on Thursday afternoon.
Mateo Rasonable, 41, treasurer of Barangay Mataloto in Leyte town, and his companion Gelyn Gulane, 86, were on board a motorcycle when the assailants attacked them, said Villaba Police Station Chief Major Edwin Tolibas.
Gulane managed to run despite having gunshot wounds in the different parts of his body.
A thorough investigation is being conducted by the Villaba police to identify the perpetrators and the motive behind the killing.
A village treasurer has been assassinated.
The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the graft conviction of incumbent and former officials of Patnongon town in Antique and a private individual in the irregular transfer of ownership of the municipality's P9.9 million rice mill in 2007 and 2008.
Denied were the motions for reconsideration filed by Patnongon Mayor Johnny Flores Bacongallo, Vice Mayor Thomas V. Bacaoco, Councilors Felix Gregorio G. Barrientos and Al Brian T. Crespo; and former mayor Henry A. Mondejar, former councilors Erika C. Orcasitas, Rene Philip G. Cayetano, and Teopisto C. Estaris, Jr.; and Greater Antique Development (GRAND) Cooperative Chairman Efren G. Escavilla.
The criminal charges filed against them stated that in January 2007 to 2008, they conspired with Escavilla and caused the transfer of ownership, operation and maintenance of the P9.9 million rice mill which was intended for the municipality of Patnongon and funded from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of former lone district of Antique Rep. Exequiel B. Javier.
The transfer was reportedly made in favor solely of Grand Coop without any financial consideration, research, study or justification of the necessity of entering into such partnership, the charges also stated.
They were found guilty of violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, in a decision promulgated on April 14, 2023. They were also banned perpetually from holding public office.
In denying their motions, the court said that "the evidence and the totality of the circumstances surrounding the transaction point to the existence of the concerted action of the accused-movants and Grand Coop. in causing undue injury to the government, and giving unwarranted benefits, advantage, and preference to Grand Coop."
"In sum, this Court, after revisiting the facts and circumstances surrounding this case and with a further meticulous scrutiny of the arguments and counter-arguments respectively raised by the accused-movants and the prosecution, this Court, as earlier revealed, finds no cogent reason to alter, amend, revised, or even reverse its decision promulgated on April 14, 2023," the resolution said.
The Sandigan has upheld the conviction of several current and former Antique executives for graft.
The police officer responsible for halting traffic flow along Commonwealth corner Tandang Sora Avenue to allegedly let the convoy of Vice President Sara Duterte pass through has been relieved from his post, according to the Quezon City Police District (QCPD).
QCPD issued a statement and likewise apologized after the video of a police officer identified as a certain Sergeant Pantallano went viral on social media Thursday afternoon.
“We would like to apologize for the inconvenience we have brought to the motoring public due to the stopping of the traffic flow along Commonwealth westbound,” the QCPD said in a statement.
“That the said incident stemmed from a confusion and lapse in judgment of our policeman (Pantallano) manning the traffic during that time,” it added.
According to QCPD, Pantallano “overreacted” and cleared the traffic “as a sign of courtesy and security” when he mistakenly heard the word “VP” and assumed that Vice President Sara Duterte would pass through the area.
The vice president had been in Agusan del Norte since Wednesday. She attended the 122nd Police Service Anniversary of the Philippine National Police Regional Office 13 and the World Teachers’ Day Celebration on Thursday.
(I apologize for my mistake. Forgive me, I thought a VIP will pass through.)
“I have ordered the relief of my policeman and put him under investigation to determine administrative liability for his actions. We assure the public that this incident will not happen again,” Holy Spirit Police Station commander Lt. Col. May Genio said.
A cop who claimed VP Duterte wanted traffic stopped has been dismissed.
Four former executives of the defunct Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) will face up to 47 years in prison after the Sandiganbayan convicted them of graft and malversation in connection with the misuse of Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) of former lawmaker Marc Douglas Cagas IV.
The anti-graft court’s Third Division on Friday found former TLRC deputy director general Dennis Cunanan, former group manager and legislative liaison officer Maria Rosalinda Lacsamana, former budget officer Consuelo Lilian Espiritu and former chief accountant Marivic Jover guilty of 2 counts of graft, malversation of public funds and malversation of public funds through falsification.
Each of them is also fined P5.4 million and all were ordered to jointly return to the government P5.4 million plus legal interests.
They were also perpetually disqualified from holding any public office and their retirement or gratuity benefits were forfeited.
The case involves a series of transactions in February 2008 whereim Cagas, then the House representative for the first district of Davao del Sur, endorsed to his chosen NGO, the Farmerbusiness Development Corporation (FDC), PDAF funds ranging from P600,000 to P6 million, supposedly for livelihood and development projects.
Cunanan, Lacsamana, Jover and Espiritu signed the disbursement vouchers.
In convicting the 4 execs of graft, the anti-graft court said the unilateral endorsement of funds to FDC violated procurement and appropriation laws and regulations because FDC was not among the listed implementing agencies of PDAF-funded livelihood projects and the endorsement did not go through bidding nor was it a negotiated procurement.
The transfer of funds also violated circulars of the Department of Budget and Management and the Commission on Audit, the court added.
Four former government executives have been convicted of graft over misuse of PDAF money.
A candidate for barangay councilor was gunned down by motorcycle-riding assailants along the national highway in Barangay Casab-ahan, Gandara town, Samar on Friday, October 6.
Roldan Pesidas, 43, supervisor of Achiever Security Agency Philippines, was driving his motorcycle at around 3 p.m. when the perpetrators on board their motorcycle suddenly fired at him.
The victim suffered gunshot wounds in his body.
The suspects fled towards Catbalogan City, according to witnesses.
Police investigators said Pesidas was a candidate for councilor in Barangay Canhawan Gote, Catbalogan City, Samar.
The Gandara police are conducting an investigation to identify the suspects and the motive behind the killing.
A candidiate for village councilor has been assassinated.
A candidate for councilor or kagawad in the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on October 30 was stabbed to death in front of his house in Barangay San Felix in this town on Saturday, October 7.
Police identified the victim as Marvin Laluz, 29, a former barangay councilor from 2013 to 2018.
Investigation said Laluz was drunk and last seen with an unidentified man at about 12:01 a.m. in Purok 1 on his way home.
Laluz’s sister heard him seeking help but paid no attention, thinking that he was just drunk. Minutes later, the victim was found bloodied with multiple stab wounds in the body.
He was taken to the Bay Medical Center in Bay, Laguna where he was declared dead.
Police arrested “Jerry” in a follow-up operation at 9:30 p.m. Saturday in Sitio Tanza, Barangay Tubuan, Pila, Laguna, for concealing and facilitating the escape of the suspect “Jerome.”
Jerry was earlier seen in Barangay Cagaras, Magdalena, Laguna in a surveillance footage driving a scooter and Jerome as back rider on their way to the house of uncle “Jonathan” to seek refuge. Jonathan rejected Jerry’s request to stay and asked them to leave.
Jerome is at large and is the subject of a police manhunt.
A candidate for barangay councilor who was also a former councilor was assassinated.
A police officer is in hot water for allegedly planting evidence in a “sari-sari” (community) store in Limasawa, Southern Leyte, recently.
A video, which has been making rounds online, showed Police Corporal Ruel Arot, assigned to the Limasawa Police Station, allegedly planting cigarettes in a store owned by one Raniel Salomon after his alleged informant was able to buy a pack from him.
He was also caught issuing a citation ticket and reading Salomon's rights which he refused to sign.
Arot and Police Lt. John Michael Crispino, Limawasa chief of police, have been relieved to give way to an investigation by the Southern Leyte Police Provincial Office.
Police Col. Hector Enage, Southern Leyte police director, said Arot will be assigned to the Provincial Holding and Accounting Unit (PHAU).
Enage added that an administrative or criminal case will be filed against Arot if evidence warrants.
A special team of investigators from the Provincial Investigation and Detective Management Unit (PIDMU) has been tasked to supervise the investigation.
Police Major Marjorie Manuta, regional public information officer, said the Police Regional Office-8 has not yet released a statement on the September 30 incident since they are still awaiting updates from the SLPPO.
Arot defended himself in media interviews and social media posts. "I did not, I am not overacting (OA) to get a search warrant...When you see someone illegally selling cigarettes, you can apprehend him," Arot said in an interview.
He added that they have received reports that Salomon has been selling cigarettes.
A cop has been accused of planting evidence.
The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the conviction of former Corella town mayor in Bohol and now incumbent councilor Vito Beltran Rapal over his unliquidated cash advances and for pocketing money intended for tarsier preservation.
In a 15-page decision promulgated on Aug. 16, 2023 but uploaded on the Supreme Court website on Sept. 28, the high court’s first division reaffirmed the decision of Sandiganbayan’s 4th division that found Rapal guilty of four counts of graft, estafa and failure to render accounts.
Rapal was sentenced to up to 22 years in prison. He was also ordered perpetually disqualified from holding public office and to pay the Corella municipal government P1,088,252.20 and P92,239.70 which is equivalent to the amount involved in the cases.
The criminal cases arose from incidents which occurred during Rapal’s incumbency as mayor of Corella town.
Rapal used the proceeds of the municipality from its 40 percent revenue share in its joint undertaking with the Philippine Tarsier Foundation, Inc. (PTFI), for the operation of the Philippine Tarsier and Wildlife Sanctuary from October 25, 2008 to June 15, 2009 amounting P92,239.70.
The court cited the testimonies of former mayor’s office secretary Celerina Varquez and municipal tourism officer Maria Asuncion Pandan that they received the Tarsier Funds from PTFI and gave the whole amount to Rapal, following the latter’s instructions instead of remitting the amount to the municipal treasurer’s office.
In his defense, Rapal denied having received the Tarsier Funds. He attacked the credibility of witnesses Varquez and Pandan, stressing that they had motive to ascribe blame on him in order to evade liability for the missing funds themselves.
Rapal was also found guilty of failing to account for P1,088,252.20 worth of cash advances from a budget intended for the town’s intelligence and confidential, travel and miscellaneous fund and other expenses.
The court agreed with the Sandiganbayan that the government suffered undue injury from Rapal’s failure to liquidate or settle the amount of P1,088,252.20 in public funds.
The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a former mayor for unliqiuidating cash advances.
The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has summoned its former employee caught on video supposedly "bullying" a delivery rider over a traffic incident in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.
In a statement, LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II said a summon has been issued against Gregorio Glean for him to appear before the Central Office this week for investigation.
Glean was formerly a "job order" worker at the Driver’s Licensing and Renewal Office of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.
"I expect him to honor the summon. Failure to do so means that he is waiving his right for all the measures that we would take against him not only as a driver’s license holder but also a former LTO personnel who is supposed to be a model of courtesy and discipline on the road,” said Mendoza.
Mendoza said he ordered the regional office where Glean was formerly employed to "make sure that Glean will no longer be hired by the LTO, especially that the LTO Chief found out that Glean was appealing to the LTO-Region 3 to go back to his old job."
The LTO said initial investigation indicated that Glean was supposedly armed.
A former LTO employee has been summoned over a road rage incident.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday suspended Teofilo Guadiz III from his post as Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chair amid reports of alleged corruption.
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) announced the suspension in a statement, stating that Marcos already instructed an investigation on the matter.
“The President does not tolerate any misconduct in his administration and has instructed the immediate investigation of this matter,” the PCO said.
“He strongly condemns dishonesty and duplicity in public service,” it added.
The LTFRB Chairman has been received over alleged corruption.
Criminal and administrative complaints were filed on Wednesday, Oct. 11, before the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) against Panabo City, Davao del Norte Mayor Jose E. Relampagos in the appointment of the city's budget officer as officer-in-charge when he travelled abroad from Sept. 21, to 23, 2023.
The complaints against Relampagos and City Budget Officer Joven M. Sepe were filed personally by Vice Mayor Gregorio U. Dujali at the OMB's offices in Quezon City for violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and grave misconduct.
Neither Relampagos nor Sepe could be contracted for their comments as of posting.
The complaint stated that Relampagos issued last Sept. 19 Memorandum Order No. 674, series of 2023, addressed to Sepe who was assigned as the city's officer-in-charge from Sept. 21 to Sept. 23, 2023.
Dujali said in his complaints that he should have been assigned as officer-in-charge to assume the responsibilities and carry out the functions of the city mayor while Relampagos was away.
"It is crucial to emphasize that the law does not bestow upon the mayor the unilateral authority to designate an alternative officer-in-charge in such situations," he said.
He also said that while Relampagos was away, Sepe issued Memorandum No. 892, series of 2023, which suspended work in all local government unit (LGU) offices on Sept. 22 and approved a Purchase Order for P4,510.
He pointed out that the Sangguniang Panlungsod did not receive any documentation regarding Relampagos' leave of absence, which was supposed to have been approved by the provincial governor.
At the same time, Dujali accused Relampagos of reporting back to work on Sept. 26, which he said was confirmed by the Office of the City Legal.
"Alarmingly, no written declaration from the respondent (Relampagos) confirming his return to office was provided, as mandated by Section 46(b) of the Local Government Code. This significant omission raises serious questions regarding the adherence to proper procedures and the timing of the respondent's resumption of duties, further casting doubt on the legitimacy of his actions," Dujali's complaint also stated.
Thus, Dujali said, Relampagos portrayed a "wanton, deliberate, and capricious disregard for the rule of law" because he did not follow "established legal procedures."
Since Relampagos only appointed Sepe as OIC from Sept. 21 to 23, Dujali said that there was a "leadership hiatus" from Sept. 24 to 25 because Relampagos returned to his office only on Sept. 26.
"This glaring incongruity between the designated period of absence and the actual return date had profound and far-reaching consequences," Dujali said.
Since Relampagos' apointment of Sepe lacked legal basis, the latter acted with manifest partiality when he acted "in favor of the mayor, even in the absence of proper authority."
"Respondent's willingness to carry out actions stemming from an invalid designation, despite the potential harm and confusion it could cause to the local government, certainly demonstrates evident bad faith on the part of the respondent," Dujali also said.
Criminal charges have been filed against a mayor for not appointing the vice mayor as city's officer in charge.
Seven of the eight Cavite police officers who were caught on video while ransacking the house of a retired professor in an anti-drug operation have been dismissed from the service.
In a press briefing in Camp Crame, Quezon City on Wednesday, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said top cop Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. has signed the dismissal order against Staff Sergeants Jesus Alday, Julius Barbon, and Emil Buna; Corporals Jenerald Cadiang and Lew Amando Antonio; and patrol officers Reymel Czar Reyes and Rene Mendoza.
“They will be slapped with six counts of grave misconduct, two counts of less grave misconduct, one count of grave irregularity in the performance of duty, grave dishonesty and conduct unbecoming of a police officer,” Fajardo said, adding that Acorda based his decision on the recommendation of the police force's Internal Affairs Service.
This stemmed from the Aug. 2 operation of the members of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG) unit, who were in civilian clothes when they forcibly entered the house of 67-year-old suspect Rebecca Caoile in Barangay Alapan 1-A, Imus City, Cavite.
In a viral video, Caoile was heard screaming for help during the incident. It also showed that other cops who remained outside of the suspect's residence were tinkering with a parked motorcycle and some police officers carrying some items from her house, including a tire and a motorcycle rim.
The police officers also allegedly took cash, a laptop, and other items from Caoile's residence. Caoile was then arrested.
They were relieved and taken into police custody after the incident pending criminal and administrative investigation. Charges of robbery were later filed against them.
Seven cops have been dismissed for robbing a house.
A municipal mayor in Maguindanao del Sur province was arrested Wednesday night by agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (CIDG-BARMM) after he was linked to the murder of a town councilor last April.
Mayor Solayman Sandigan of Datu Salibo town did not resist arrest when law enforcers presented him with the warrant of arrest issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 15 in Cotabato City.
The CIDG, backed by Datu Piang municipal police office personnel and the military’s 601st Infantry Brigade, served the warrant at around 7 p.m. in his home in Datu Piang town.
Sandigan was linked to the April 17, 2023 murder of Datu Salibo Municipal Councilor Demsom Silongan.
Silongan, 50, had just alighted from his pickup truck that time to attend a session at the town’s Sangguniang Bayan building when shot dead by a gunman.
The councilor’s driver, John Madzig, was injured in the incident.
The arrested mayor denied the charges and insisted he was innocent of the crime.
Following his arrest, Sandigan was brought to the CIDG detention facility in this city.
The court recommended no bail for the mayor’s arrest. Four other individuals who were listed in the warrant of arrest with Sandigan have voluntarily surrendered, according to the CIDG-BARMM.
A mayor has been arrested for the murder of a town councilor.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Wednesday said charges have been filed against six persons, including three officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA), in connection with the alleged manipulation of onion prices in the country.
In a press briefing, Remulla said charges of hoarding, falsification and profiteering were filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against Bonena Multipurpose Cooperative (Bonena) officials Israel Reguyal, Mary Ann dela Rosa and Victor dela Rosa Jimenez.
Meanwhile, the NBI has also filed charges of violation of Republic Act 3019 (Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) against DA Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista, Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS) officer in charge (OIC) Junibert de Sagun and Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) director Gerald Panganiban.
The DA officials were also charged administratively for insufficiency and incompetence of official duties under the Revised Administrative Code.
“We expect warrants of arrest to be issued once the case we file the case before the courts. We have raised the standards of evaluating cases. Our standard now is, reasonable certainty of conviction. We may be a little slower but we are more sure of the cases,” he added.
The cases involved 8,000 bags of onion in December 2022 transacted with the Food Terminals Inc. (FTI) in Taguig City investigated by the NBI.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. earlier ordered law enforcement agencies to go after speculators and hoarders of onions, after prices soared to nearly PHP800 per kilo even as farmgate prices were only below PHP20 at the time.
“We’re talking about years and years of records, congressional records, and the thousands of pages of transcript. so we have to dig through all of these. So far this is what we have obtained through our efforts but we are looking at filing charges against other past officials and present officials of the DA and other offices,” Remulla said.
Remulla had previously directed prosecutors to ensure a sufficient case buildup for a conviction before cases are filed.
Three DA officials are being charged with onion price manipulation.
