It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
The Sandiganbayan ordered the arrest of a father and son, who were both former mayors of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, and two others for their participation in the alleged malversation of PHP81 million in public funds representing the share of the town from the excise tax on locally manufactured cigarettes.
Edgardo Zaragoza and his son, Zuriel; municipal accountant Melody Cadacio; and education research assistant Mario Cabinte have been charged with malversation and graft under Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The court set the bail at PHP210,000 each.
Narvacan Mayor Luis “Chavit” Singson sued them for misappropriating the funds for farmer-beneficiaries, obtained from the excise tax of the Farmers Association of Narvacan.
The respondents forged records to pad the number of farmer-beneficiaries of the excise tax, according to Singson’s complaint.
“The people of Narvacan suffered due to the abuses committed by local officials,” Singson said.
The Zaragozas and the other accused are questioning the sufficiency of the accusation largely based on the testimony of another co-accused turned witness, Constante Cabitac, the farmers’ association president who claimed he was made to encash checks more than 10 times, including one worth PHP35 million, in exchange for grocery allowance.
Two former mayors of the same town who happened to be father and son have been charged with graft for malversation of funds over excise tax on local manufactured cigarettes.
A Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) was created to investigate the death of the 32-year-old policeman assigned in Masbate province, an alleged victim of hazing by his own senior officers.
In a belated report issued on Thursday, July 28, police said Patrolman Jaypee Ramores, assigned at the 503rd Maneuver Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion Bicol, was taken to Ticao District Hospital in San Jacinto town at around 1 p.m. on July 26.
Report said Ramores died while being treated at around 9:30 p.m. on the same day.
Photos posted by a concerned citizen on Facebook showed that Ramores had cigarette burns, severe bruises at the back of his body and his legs, and other signs of torture.
Before the incident, initial investigation revealed that on July 22, the victim was also brought to the hospital after he collapsed while performing a road run around the town. He was discharged from the hospital at around 5 p.m. on the same day.
Police Major Maria Luisa Calubaquib, spokesperson of Bicol police, said the SITG Ramores led by Police Colonel Rodolfo Castil, deputy regional director for operations, would be conducting a detailed and thorough investigation of the incident.
Calubaquib said the National Bureau of Investigation conducted an autopsy to determine the cause of death of the police officer.
A statement released by the Bicol police said that their agency would be stringent in dealing with the case.
“By the time it has been proven that there were irregularities and loopholes that happened, this unit ensures that those who are culpable of the incident shall be dealt with accordingly. We do not tolerate any misdeeds or physical abuse in our ranks,” Bicol police said.
It seems a PNP officer died at the hands of his fellow officers during a hazing ritual and they covered it up.
Four of the 75 members of the city tourism auxiliary force have tested positive for illegal drug use, authorities said.
In a statement on Thursday, July 28, Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. said the four civilian law enforcers will undergo rehabilitation.
Lazatin said he has already directed the Angeles City Anti-Drug Abuse Council to endorse the four city government employees to the drug rehabilitation center in Magalang, Pampanga.
On July 25, the 75 members of the city’s tourism auxiliary force were subjected to a surprise drug test.
Lazatin said he wanted to ensure that there were no drug users among the city’s government employees.
“In my second term, we will ensure that City Hall will be drug-free,” he said.
Members of the auxiliary unit assist police officers in maintaining peace and order in tourist areas of this city, particularly in places frequented by foreigners.
Four tourist cops tested positive for drug usage.
The Sandiganbayan has junked due to lack of merit the bid of former Iloilo lawmaker Niel Tupas, Jr. to dismiss the graft and malversation charges against him involving the transfer of his discretionary fund to a nongovernment organization (NGO) in 2008.
This developed after the anti-graft court, in a Resolution dated July 26, denied Tupas' demurrer to evidence, a pleading seeking the dismissal of the case due to weak prosecution evidence and without the defense presenting its own.
"We are not persuaded. Passing through the assertions of the prosecution in their Comment/Opposition [on Tupas' demurrer to evidence] and the evidence presented, it is ostensible that they were able to build up the case against the accused," the anti-graft court said.
Tupas, the Sandiganbayan said, was a member of the House of Representatives at the time material to the case and may have acted with manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence considering his admission in his counter-affidavit containing his statement recommending NGO Kabuhayan at Kalusugan Alay sa Masa Foundation Inc. or KKAMFI as project partner of then state-run National Agribusiness Corporation or NABCOR.
"It is quite definite that the public fund supposedly earmarked for the project is now unaccountable," the Sandiganbayan added.
The anti-graft court also cited prosecution's argument that being a member of the House of Representatives entitled to discretionary Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to subsidize his projects, Tupas should have effective control over the fund which was considered personal.
"In short, the motion of accused Tupas is not adequate to rebut the presumption of malversation enshrined in Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code. At this point, the Court has sufficient reason to believe that the prosecution is on the right track in establishing and substantiating the material allegations in the foregoing information unless derailed by competent evidence by the accused," it added.
Proceeding with the trial of Tupas, the Sandigabayan said, is in the interest of fair play that would allow the accused to present evidence to defend himself.
The Sandiganbayan has refused to junk the case of a former member of the House of Representatives graft case.
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Chief Maj. Gen. Felipe Natividad ordered an immediate investigation into a rape case involving a Pasig City police officer.
In a statement on Wednesday, Natividad assured that the suspect, 41-year-old Cpl. Mario Maramag, would be punished accordingly if found guilty of the accusation.
Citing reports reaching his office, Natividad said the 29-year-old victim went to the Pasig City Police Station (CPS) and filed a complaint against Maramag.
The incident happened at a motel in Barangay Bagong Ilog in Pasig on Monday.
On Tuesday afternoon, Maramag surrendered to Lt. Jazon Lovendino, officer in charge of the Pasig CPS Sub Station 2.
He is currently under detention at the Pasig CPS pending investigation while the victim was brought to the PNP Forensic Unit in Camp Crame, Quezon City for a medico-legal examination.
A PNP officer has been arrested on suspicion of rape.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) failed to implement the Smart Campus Development Program due to the six months it spent vetting and approving proposals, the Commission on Audit(COA) said in a 2021 report.
Aside from the lengthy time the agency took evaluating proposals, the state auditors said the P1.958 billion transferred to 89 state universities and colleges (SUCs) for the program was not returned to the national treasury after the validity of the Bayanihan 2 law ended on June 30, 2021.
This ended up “depriving the SUCs [of] the development/upgrading of their information and communications technology (ICT) equipment and capabilities toward a smart campus.”
The Commission on Higher Education has been flagged for failing to implement IT projects.
The Sandiganbayan junked the motion of three Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers to quash the graft charges filed against them in connection with the "Pastillas scam the bribery scheme that allegedly allowed the illegal entry of Chinese citizens into the country, due to lack of merit.
In a July 27 Resolution, the anti-graft court dismissed the motion to quash filed by Aurelio Lucero III, George Bituin, and Salahudin Hadjinoor, all ranked Immigration Officer 3.
Government prosecutors charged the BI officers and 39 others with graft, alleging that these BI employees conspired with each other and Liya Wu of Empire International Travel and Tours, to "willfully, unlawfully... give unwarranted benefits, preference or advantage to foreign passengers, particularly Chinese nationals" by supposedly collecting a P10,000 fee per passenger for a total amount of P1.43 million.
The Sandiganbayan cited the Supreme Court decision in the People v. Dapitan case which provides that Republic Act 8249, which established the anti-graft court, says the Sandiganbayan exercises jurisdiction over all officials occupying positions in the government, whether in a permanent, acting, or interim capacity.
"We deny the motion to quash for lack of merit. [The] accused do not dispute that a Deputy Commissioner [like their co-accused Marc Mariñas] falls under Salary Grade 27. The fact that Mariñas' appointment did not become permanent is of no moment," the Sandiganabayan said.
"The Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction over the offense and the accused. There is no doubt that Mariñas' designation as officer-in-charge is either in an acting, or interim capacity. Precisely, within the jurisdiction of this Court," the Sandiganbayan added.
The Sandiganbayan then said that Mariñas, being under Salary Grade 27 during his tenure, is sufficient for the court to exercise its jurisdiction.
Likewise, the anti-graft court cited that the graft raps filed by government prosecutors were sufficient in form and substance.
The Sandiganbayan has junked a motion to quash an immigration officials' request to dismiss his case in the pastille scheme for lack of merit.
The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Department of Education (DepEd) over “deficiencies” in the utilization of funds amounting P4.527 billion intended for the implementation of the Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP), also referred to as distance learning program, for school years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022.
In its 2021 annual audit report on the DepEd, the COA noted that of the P16.405-billion fund allocated by Congress to the DepEd under Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan I) and RA 11494 or the “Bayanihan to Recover as One Act” (Bayanihan 2) for the implementation of the BE-LCP, a total of P12.07 has already been downloaded to the DepEd Central Office, regional offices (ROs) and schools division offices as of Dec. 31 last year.
The audit, however, said a review of the implementation of the BE-LCP revealed several deficiencies covering funds worth P4.527 billion, among them “lapses in budget utilization” by the ROs of the National Capital Region (NCR) and Regions 3, 7, 8 and 13 totaling P506.315 million; “non-/incomplete submission of the required documents regarding BE-LCP” fund utilization worth P205.8 million by ROs 5, 6 and 8; and “non-/delayed submission of perfected contracts and Purchase Orders” worth P390.761 million by ROs NCR, 1, 3, 9 and 13.
Also flagged was P1.752-billion worth of BE-LCP-related procurements by ROs NCR, 1, 3, 4-A, 5, 8, 9, 10 and 13 for “non-compliance” with the implementing rules and regulations or IRR of RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act, and other issuances on government procurement.
Meanwhile, P917.876-million worth of disbursements and procurements still by the ROs NCR, ROs 1, 3, 4-A, 9 and 13 as well as 4-B were flagged for “inadequate supporting documents and other deficiencies.”
The ROs NCR 1, 3, 5 and 13 were likewise called out for non-preparation of the prescribed forms or improper recording of inventory items, though the value of the items was not indicated in the audit report.
Lastly, the COA flagged the “flawed/incomplete/delayed procurement, reproduction and delivery of self-learning modules (SLMs) worth P753.88 million by the ROs NCR, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), 1, 3, 4-B, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13.
“Considering the urgency and importance of the printed materials, the incomplete/non-availability of modules on the period in which it is supposed to be used deprived the learners of better learning opportunity and hampers the continuity of the learning process of students during this time of pandemic contrary to the program’s objective,” the COA said.
The CO was likewise called out for the purchase, through the Department of Budget and Management - Procurement Service (DBM-PS), of 39,583 laptops for public school teachers amounting P2.4 billion.
The purchased items were “pricey” for an entry-level type of laptop, thus, resulting in “significant decrease in the number of units provided to intended users,” according to the COA.
“Apparently, the supposed number of laptops to be procured of 68,500 units was significantly reduced to 39,583 units which was mainly due to the huge increase of estimated cost from P35,046.50 (per unit), based on the DepEd’s submitted and approved Agency Procurement Request, to P58,300 (per unit) anchored on the DBM-PS’ recommendation, which was duly accepted by the DepEd,” the audit body said.
Lastly, RO 5 was called out for various deficiencies in the utilization of P41.91 million of its COVID funds, such as the non-delivery of its procured health and safety supplies, failure to impose liquidated damages against erring suppliers and lack of distribution lists of its COVID-19-related procurements.
“The inability to deliver the aforesaid Health and Safety Supplies on time also deprived the beneficiaries to timely enjoy the benefits extended by the Program,” the COA said.
