It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
A female barangay kagawad was gunned down by motorcycle-riding assailants in Quiapo, Manila on Aug. 13, the Manila Police District (MPD) reported yesterday.
Barangay 383 councilor Stella Mangalino Lim, 45, was walking with her 11-year-old son along Hidalgo street when she was attacked at past midnight on Aug. 13, according to television reports.
A former Barangay 383 councilor, Zacaria Baulan Disomangcop, was arrested and charged with murder before the Manila prosecutor’s office on Aug. 14.
The MPD, however, failed to catch alleged assailant Amanudin Sarip Macadaag and the unidentified motorcycle rider.
Police recovered the motorcycle and the two crash helmets near the Manila Golden Mosque.
Prior to his arrest, Disomangcop had gone to the MPD headquarters, claiming Lim’s assailants had asked him for soft drinks.
A witness identified Disomangcop as the mastermind in Lim’s killing, prompting his arrest.
MPD investigators found surveillance footage showing that days before the attack, Disomangcop talked to Macadaag and the motorcycle rider near where Lim sold balut or boiled duck egg.
According to reports quoting MPD director Brig. Gen. Arnold Ibay, Disomangcop planned to replace Lim as barangay councilor.
A female barangay kagawad was gunned down by motorcycle-riding assailants who were hired by a lady who hoped to replace her after her death.
The Sandiganbayan has sentenced four former officials of the Philippine National Police to up to eight years in prison for graft in connection with an allegedly anomalous PNP helicopter procurement in 2009.
In a 346-page decision promulgated yesterday, the court’s Seventh Division found former PNP bids and awards committee vice chairman Director Luizo Ticman and BAC members Directors Ronald Roderos, Romeo Hilomen and Leocadio Santiago Jr. as well as private defendant Hilario de Vera guilty of violating Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
They were sentenced to a minimum of six years and one month to a maximum of eight years of imprisonment with the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
They were also ordered to jointly or individually pay the government P11.377 million for each of the two secondhand helicopters found to have been illegally procured, or a total of P22.754 million for the two units.
Roderos was also found guilty of falsification of public documents under Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code. He was sentenced to four years and two months to up to eight years of imprisonment for the offense. He was also ordered to pay a fine of P5,000.
The cases stemmed from the PNP’s purchase of three helicopters from Manila Aerospace Products Trading Corp. in 2009, which included two standard Robinson R44 Raven I light police operational helicopters worth P62.672 million and one fully equipped Robinson R44 Raven II LPOH worth P42.313 million.
The ombudsman said a resolution issued by the National Police Commission in 2008 required that the three helicopters to be purchased by the PNP should be brand new.
In its investigation, the ombudsman revealed that only the Robinson R44 Raven II was brand new while the two Robinson R44 Raven I were pre-owned by former first gentleman Mike Arroyo, resulting in an overpayment of about P34 million.
The Sandiganbayan has sentenced four former officials of the Philippine National Police to up to eight years in prison for graft in connection with an allegedly anomalous PNP helicopter procurement in 2009.
The Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office ordered the release of a police officer and his wife who were suspected of stealing and selling government-issued bicycles pending further investigation.
An inquest resolution from the Office of the City Prosecutor said the suspect, a police officer and his wife purportedly admitted to stealing and selling the government-issued bicycles leading to their arrest.
During the inquest proceeding, however, the prosecutor said arrest of the suspects cannot be considered a valid warrantless arrest.
“A judicious scrutiny of the facts of the instant case reveals that the respondents’ apprehension, arrest, and detention do not fall within the purview of a lawful warrantless arrest under Rule 113, Section 5 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure to be a proper subject of inquest proceedings,” read the resolution.
Rule 113 Section 5 provides a list of situations when a warrantless arrest can be considered lawful such as when caught red handed, when the arresting person has personal knowledge of facts regarding the crime committed or when the arrested person is an escapee.
“Considering that this case is recommended to be referred for further investigation, the arresting officers are directed to release the respondents unless detained for a lawful cause,” the resolution also states.
The prosecutors added that there are also matters that need to be clarified by the police.
Seven government-issued mountain bikes worth P223,475 were discovered missing last August 2 at the headquarters of the Quezon City Police District in Camp Karingal.
Authorities conducted an investigation and found that the bikes were being sold by a certain Calvin Distor Santillan on Facebook Marketplace two days after they were discovered missing.
Santillan, however, told the police that the bikes had been sold to him by the police officer and his wife from July 28 onward, or days before they were discovered missing.
“Immediately thereafter, Santillan returned the said bikes to the complainant on 05 August 2024, and they were able to confirm that those were the same bikes missing from Camp Karingal,” according to the resolution.
The police officer and his wife reportedly admitted to taking the bikes and surrendered to the police on August 7. The next day, the police filed a theft complaint against the couple before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.
The Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office ordered the release of a police officer and his wife who were suspected of stealing and selling government-issued bicycles pending further investigation.
Pasig City Mayor Vico N. Sotto now has two graft complaints filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB).
The graft charge that was received by the OMB last July 30 involved the receipt by Pasig City employees of commemmorative t-shirts instead of P1,500 cash allowance during the 2024 Araw ng Pasig celebration last July 2.
The complaint was received by the OMB last July 30. Aside from Mayor Sotto, also charged in the complaint filed by Michelle Gonzales Prudencio were Human Resources Development Office (HRDO) Head Elvira R. Flores, City Administrator Jeronimo U. Manzanero, and Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Head Josephine C. Lati-Bagaoisan.
Aside from graft, Prudencio asked the OMB to charge Sotto and his group with violation of Republic Act No. 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act
Early this month, Mayor Sotto was also charged with graft before the OMB for allegedly giving a 100 percent tax discount to Converge ICT Solutions, Inc.
Also charged in the complaint filed by Ethelmart Austria Cruz were Business Permit and Licensing Department (BPLD) head Melanie B. De Mesa and City Administrator Manzanero.
Sotto and Manzarero were also charged with violations of Section 4 Paragraphs (a) and (b) of RA 6713, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Employees. Complainant Cruz also wanted them held liable for the administrative offenses of grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and dishonesty.
Prudencio's complaint stemmed from the issuance of Executive Order No. PCG-28, series of 2024 on June 27, which prescribed a grant of allowance worth P1,500 for every employee in Pasig City for the purpose of purchasing two commemorative shirts for the 2024 Araw ng Pasig celebration.
During the date of release that started on June 29, Prudencio alleged that employees were required to acknowledge the receipt of P1,500 cash allowance. However, the T-shirts employees received bore a design commemorating the "450th" Araw ng Pasig instead of the "452nd" anniversary design that was required for 2024, Prudencio also alleged..
Given the timeline for the t-shirt distribution, Prudencio said in her complaint that "it would have been physically and legally impossible for the purchase of the t-shirts to have undergone the proper procurement process as required by law."
"The timing of the issuance of the EO and the subsequent distribution of the t-shirts defies logic and reason. Even if the EO had provided for the distribution of t-shirts, which it did not, the procurement of these t-shirts failed to undergo the proper bidding process mandated by law," the complaint also stated.
"There was no advertisement or posting of any bid invitation for the procurement of the Araw ng Pasig t-shirts. This blatant disregard for the legal requirements of the procurement process suggests either gross negligence or intentional circumvention of established rules," it added.
Since the Pasig City failed to allot the proper timeline for the procurement and distribution of the t-shirts, Prudencio claimed there was a "blatant disregard" of the law and the respondents exhibited "gross incompetence or deliberate manipulation of the procurement process."
Another graft complaint has been filed against Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto this time in connection with the purchase of T-shirts. A village chairperson and his wife were killed Sunday by still unidentified gunmen in Sultan Kudarat town, Maguindanao del Norte.
Esmael Mustapha, chairman of Barangay Bulibod, and his wife Rahima, the barangay secretary, were walking home from the town center when unidentified gunmen attacked them in an isolated spot of the village, about a kilometer away from the Cotabato East Diversion Road, where there were no streetlights, said Lieutenant Colonel Esmael Madin, Sultan Kudarat municipal police station chief.
The two village officials, who earlier joined the foundation day activities at the town gymnasium, had no armed escorts when attacked.
Police found several empty shells at the crime scene near the bodies of the victims.
A village chairperson and his wife were assassinated by unidentified gunmen in Sultan Kudarat town, Maguindanao del Norte.
A Sangguniang Kabataan chairman was shot and wounded in Barangay Salomague Norte here on Saturday, August 17.
Police identified the victim as Efren Cacdac dela Cruz, 23, resident of Barangay Salomague Norte.
Investigation said Dela Cruz was driving a motorcycle on his way home when a man onboard a bicycle hiding in a dark portion of the highway shot him several times.
The victim sustained bullet wounds and taken by barangay officials to a hospital.
Recovered at the crime scene were eight empty caliber 9mm shells.
The suspect who was wearing a black jacket and black pants fled towards the town of Aguilar, Pangasinan.
A Sangguniang Kabataan chairman was shot and wounded in Barangay Salomague Norte.
A village official was shot dead by a still unidentified gunman here about 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19, police said.
Lt. Colonel Julius Malcontento, Isulan municipal police station chief, said Amado Serra, 62, the barangay chairperson of Barangay Laguilayan, Isulan town, was driving his sedan on the way to Purok 7, Barangay Laguilayan when shot by one of two gunmen on board a motorbike.
Physicians, however, declared Serra dead at the hospital due to the multiple gunshot wounds on his body.
Another barnagay chairman has been assassinated by an unknown gunman.
A graft complaint has been filed against Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Erwin M. Garcia and seven other poll officials before the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday, August 20, in connection with the P18-billion contract awarded to South Korean firm Miru Systems for the 2025 automated elections.
Also charged were Comelec Electoral Contest and Adjudication Department Director IV Allen Francis B. Abaya, Education and Information Department Director IV John Rex C. Laudiangco, Election and Information Department Director IV Divina E. Blas-Perez, Assistant Regional Election Director Jovencio G. Balanquit, Education and Information Department Director III Abigail Claire C. Llacuna, Election Records and Statistics Department Director IV Celia B. Romero, and Political Affairs and Finance Department Head Efraim Q. Bag-id.
The complainant, former Caloocan congressman Edgar "Egay" Erice, wanted to hold the Comelec officials accountable for purchasing another set of vote-counting machines (VCMs) even though the ones it earlier purchased from Smartmatic during the 2010 and 2013 elections can be replaced free of charge.
Comelec Commissioner Rey Bulay proposed on March 27, 2023 that the VCMs purchased from Smartmatic be declared "unserviceable," and his proposal was approved on March 29. This caused Comelec to execute a contract agreement with Miru on March 11, 2024 for the lease of VCMs and other election paraphernalia needed for the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC) project.
Erice said in his complaint that the warranty provided in the contract between Comelec and Smartmatic should have covered the "unserviceable" VCMs and there was no need for Comelec to enter into a new contract with Miru.
"The VCMs declared unserviceable were still covered by a warranty, hence may be replaced free-of-charge. Chairman Garcia acted with manifest partiality when he decided to unilaterally abandon Comelec's contract with Smartmatic and award the FASTrAC project in favor of Miru," Erice alleged.
Erice also claimed that Miru made "misrepresentations" when it presented itself as being in a joint venture when it placed its bid for the FASTrAC project, since it was not such. The fact that Garcia and the special bids and awards committee for automated election systems (SBAC-AES) declared Miru as post-qualified showed the "favor" they gave the company,he futher alleged.
"The government already spent for the acquisition of the VCMs from Smartmatic and spent again for the refurbishment of the same VCMs. With the FASTrAC project, Chairman Garcia made the government spend again for lease of VCMs despite the government already having functioning VCMs," Erice's complaint stated.
"Even if the Smartmatic VCMs were unserviceable, the government need not spend again for the lease of another set of machines when the purportedly unserviceable VCMs can be replaced free of charge," it added. |
A graft complaint has been filed against Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Erwin M. Garcia and seven other poll officials before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the P18-billion contract awarded to South Korean firm Miru Systems for the 2025 automated elections.
Another local chief executive in Cebu has been placed under suspension by the state’s anti-graft investigating body.
The Office of the Ombudsman meted a one-year suspension against Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes for grave misconduct.
The case stemmed over cases lodged against Cortes accusing him of illegal appointment within the Mandaue City Government.
The suspension made against Cortes came just a month after he belied similar rumors in July. Cortes is the second elected official the Ombudsman has placed under suspension.
The Mandaue City Mayor has been suspended for a year as he is being investigated over grave misconduct for making an illegal appointment.
Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro and three other city officials are facing a technical malversation complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman for reportedly misallocating P130 million in Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) funds.
Marikina resident Sofronio Dulay filed a criminal complaint for violation of Article 220 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and an administrative case for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service against Teodoro, City Accountant Erlinda Gutierrez Gonzales, City Treasurer Nerissa Calvez San Miguel, and Assistant City Budget Officer Jason Rodriguez Nepomuceno last May 15.
Based on a copy of the complaint Dulay released on Tuesday, the four were accused of misusing PhilHealth payments meant for health system improvements under the Universal Health Care Act.
Dulay’s complaint disclosed that Teodoro and the others passed City Ordinance No. 066, Series of 2023, and City Ordinance No. 002, Series of 2024, which allocates P130 million to various budgetary items in Marikina.
Dulay claimed that the four reportedly allocated the money (P130 million) on “IT equipment, repair and maintenance of infrastructure and/or donations,” amounting to P35,250,000, while the remaining fund P94,750,000 were used for “other supplies and materials expense.”
According to the complainant, the passage of the city ordinances mentioned above violated the provision of Republic Act 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act.
In response to this, the four submitted a joint counter-affidavit last month, wherein they “strongly deny all the allegations in the complaint as nothing but a mere product of misapprehension and misunderstanding of the facts” concerning the P130 million PhilHealth reimbursement received by Marikina City.
Teodoro and the others claimed that elements of technical malversation under Article 220 of the RPC are not present in the case.
“It is clear that for technical malversation to exist, it is necessary that public funds or properties had been diverted to other public use other than that provided for by law or ordinance, and when funds were not earmarked for a particular project, there is no technical malversation,” the document reads.
“In this case, the complainant did not present any evidence proving that the subject P130,000,000 was indeed applied for other purpose,” it adds.
The respondents also disclosed that the PhilHealth fund remains “intact and fully accounted for.”
Using the same argument, Teodoro and the others claimed that they “did not commit any act constituting grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.”
Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro and three other city officials are facing a technical malversation complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman for reportedly misallocating P130 million in Philippine Health Insurance Corporation funds.
A complaint related to the demolition of the historic Iloilo City public market, popularly known as Central Market, and its art deco facade was filed against Mayor Jerry Treñas on Thursday.
Jose Nereo Lujan, chief information officer of the Iloilo provincial government, through a complaint, asked the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas to hold Treñas liable for grave misconduct, grave abuse of authority, conduct unbecoming and conduct prejudicial to the public interest.
Lujan’s complaint came more than a month after Treñas sued him for cyberlibel for allegedly maligning the mayor and his family about the legality of demolishing the Central Market and other issues.
Sought for comment, Treñas maintained that the demolition of the historic structures was legal and implemented in accordance with Republic Act No. 11966, or the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Act.
“I cannot give a [detailed] statement until I see the complaint. I have always done everything legally in accordance with the PPP law,” he said.
The Central Market was demolished in February under a PPP between the city government and a major property developer.
In his complaint, Lujan said the market’s art deco facade was a protected heritage structure under National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) Resolution No. 3 Series of 2014.
The Central Market, he said, is classified as an “important cultural property” and is among the 32 buildings in Iloilo City recognized for their historical value, being over 50 years old.
The Iloilo City Public Market was opened to the public on Jan. 15, 1912, while the art deco facade was put up in 1938.
The market was a popular destination for both residents and tourists with its array of stalls offering not only fresh produce but also native products, “pasalubong” (gifts), traditional medicine, local coffee, condiments, baked goods, and affordable meals.
The NHCP had designated the Central Market as a Cultural Tourism Heritage Zone in 2013 and a Historic Center in 2014.
Under Section 5 of RA 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, the Central Market’s facade is presumed to be an important cultural property, due to its existence of more than 50 years.
But the same provision allows the city government, as property owner, to file a petition to remove such presumption, and Section 8 of the same law also provides for the delisting process, which will ultimately allow for its demolition.
A letter from then NHCP Chair Rene Escalante, dated Feb. 20, 2023, showed that the commission was amenable to the development plans for the Central Market.
The letter, however, did not indicate the demolition of its facade or whether the commission approved it.
Different groups, as early as 2022, had sought to stop the planned demolition of the Central Market, citing concerns over alternative preservation methods.
A complaint related to the demolition of the historic Iloilo City public market, popularly known as Central Market, and its art deco facade was filed against Mayor Jerry Treñas.
