It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption and murder in Philippine politics.
The Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) has filed a case of kidnapping with serious illegal detention before the Department of Justice against former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and three other individuals.
Based on the complaint document furnished by the CIDG Friday, the case was filed on August 15, 2019 against Trillanes, Fr. Albert Alejo, lawyer Jude Josue Sabio and a certain Sister Ling of the Convent of Canossian Sisters.
The CIDG said the case was based on the complaint of a certain Guillermina Lalic Barrido alias Guillermina Arcillas who claimed she was brought on December 6, 2016 from the Convent of Canossian Sisters to the Holy Spirit Convent in Quezon City where she was held until December 21, 2016 and forced to sign a “ready-made affidavit to destroy the reputation of the present administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.”
In April 2017, Barrido surfaced in a press conference in Davao City where she claimed she was “coached” and bribed by a group composed of Trillanes, Alejo, and Sabio – the lawyer of self-confessed Davao Death Squad (DDS) hitman Edgar Matobato – to link Duterte to the illegal drug trade.
The CIDG said that Barrido also executed an affidavit dated April 7, 2017 where she said the group generated propaganda linking Duterte to murder cases, corruption, the Davao Death Squad, and illegal drugs.
The CIDG said that Barrido volunteered this affidavit to form part of the complaint for inciting to sedition the police unit also filed against several opposition personalities including Trillanes based on the statements of Peter Joemel Advincula alias “Bikoy” who appeared in the “Ang Tottong Narcolist” (The Real Narcolist) videos.
Barrido volunteered her affidavit to strengthen the claim of Advincula that “indeed, it became a modus operandi of the said group in getting people and allow them to surface in social media to discredit a legitimate government.”
This lady alleges she was kidnapped in Decemeber 2016, forced to sign an affidavit linking Duterte to drugs in a bid to destroy his presidency, showed up at a press conference in April 2017 to make these allegations, but is only now pressing charges in 2019 in order to strengthen the sedition case brought by Bikoy. Who is this lady? Why did she not think this matter was serious enough to press charges in 2017? More circus sideshow for us to watch!
In his bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday night, President Rodrigo Duterte insisted that the 2016 Hague ruling on the South China Sea was “final, binding and not subject to appeal,” but the Chinese leader rejected the Philippines’ legal victory.
In a statement early Friday, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte was “steadfast in raising with President Xi concerns central to the Philippines’ claim in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), which include the ruling held by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague.”
“He said that the arbitral award is final, binding and not subject to appeal,” Panelo said.
Xi, however, refused to recognize the ruling.
“President Xi reiterated his government’s position of not recognizing the arbitral ruling as well as not budging from its position,” he said.
Panelo said, both leaders agreed to work together, on the basis of mutual trust and good faith, to manage the South China Sea issue, and to continue to dialogue peacefully in resolving the conflict.”
After three years of ignoring this ruling and calling it unenforceable and allowing China to roam about freely in the WPS it is pretty pointless to be bringing it up now.
“The President said, ‘I didn’t want to alarm you with what I’m about to raise because of your problem in Hong Kong, which is why I’m asking for forgiveness, but I need to say this because I promised my countrymen,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said on Sunday, quoting the President as telling Xi.
This is what the Palace calls being steadfast? What a joke! A very sad joke.
His wife who was with him at that time said she did not know of anyone who had a grudge against her husband. There were no threats to his life either, she added.
“But definitely it was well-planned. They wanted him dead,” said Police Maj. Allan Rainier Cabral, Muntinlupa police investigation chief.
As for rumors that Traya’s death might be related to the botched release of former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez from New Bilibid Prison (NBP), Cabral said they “would look into it.” But he admitted their probe would only move forward after getting information from BuCor officials.
Traya was a non-uniformed personnel with a rank of chief administrative officer 3 assigned at the BuCor’s Inmate’s Document Processing Division.
BuCor spokesperson Sonny del Rosario earlier said the division was in charge of collating and processing all paperwork regarding the recomputation of the credits of around 11,000 convicts’ good conduct time allowance under the retroactive application of Republic Act No. 10592.
It is more than just odd that this man who was in charge of GTCA records was murdered after all this mess about GTCA and the release of thousands of criminals including rapist/murdered Antonio Sanchez.
If the President dies and then all of his constitutional successors are captured by terrorists, who will lead the country?
Legislation loosely based on a popular Netflix political thriller called the “Designated Survivor” have been filed in the Senate and the House of Representatives to deal with such a situation.
In the show, actor Kiefer Sutherland plays Housing and Urban Development Secretary Tom Kirkham, who is hidden away during the State of the Union. He was thrust into the US presidency when the Capitol building is bombed during the address, killing the president and everyone in it.
The Philippine proposal is called the Presidential Succession Act, referred to simply as the designated survivor bill.
Sen. Ping Lacson wrote the Senate version of the bill, while Quezon City Rep. Precious Hipolito introduced the House counterpart proposal.
Lacson told reporters on Thursday that his proposal was inspired by the Netflix series.
They literally crafted a bill fashioned after an unlikely scenario from a fictional Netflix show!!
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) confirmed that four convicted Chinese nationals who Senator Panfilo Lacson said have been released from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) are already in their custody.
BI’s Deputy Spokesman Melvin Mabulac said Chan Chit Yue, Kin San Ho, Ching Che, Wu Hing Sum are currently detained at the Bureau of Immigration Warden’s Facility in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig.
Mabulac said summary deportation order has been signed and already approved by the Board of Commissioners on Aug. 23.
“Implementation of the same will be ASAP as soon relevant documents are complied [such as] NBI clearance,” Mabulac said, adding that the BI exercises its ministerial function to deport foreign nationals who completed the service of sentence in Philippine prison.
Lacson said the four Chinese nationals were previously detained at the Building 14 of the Bilibid’s Maximum Security Compound. Inmates detained at Building 14 are high-risk inmates believed to still manage to have contact outside and continuing their criminal activities.
There are many questions here like when were these men sentenced? How long did they serve? Were they still conducting business while behind bars? Were they released due to good conduct or not? Will they really be deported? The whole GCTA law is a debacle with the BuCor releasing violent criminals left and right in huge numbers!
Three convicts in the 1997 rape-slay of Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong have been granted early release this month, according to documents signed by Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Nicanor Faeldon.
CNN Philippines on Friday obtained copies of the release orders of Josman Aznar, Alberto Caño, and Ariel Balansag— three of the seven suspects in the controversial Chiong sisters’ case who benefitted from the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA), a provision in the Revised Penal Code which shortens jail time for good behavior.
The release orders, dated August 16, said the three have already served 40 years upon retroactive application of Republic Act No. 10592.
This law is manifestly unjust. 1997 was only 22 years ago not 40. And since they committed a heinous crime they are not supposed to be allowed to avail of this law. They should not have been released.
Former Councilor Pedy Dalaota of Pitogo town in Zamboanga del Sur was shot dead by a man outside a cockpit in Purok Banana in Barangay Poblacion on Saturday.
Maj. Joenery Ojas, chief of the Pitogo Municipal Police Station, said Dalaota came out of the cockpit at 4:30 p.m. and was about to get on his motorcycle parked outside when an unidentified gunman shot him several times.Former Councilor Pedy Dalaota of Pitogo town in Zamboanga del Sur was shot dead by a man outside a cockpit in Purok Banana in Barangay Poblacion on Saturday.
Maj. Joenery Ojas, chief of the Pitogo Municipal Police Station, said Dalaota came out of the cockpit at 4:30 p.m. and was about to get on his motorcycle parked outside when an unidentified gunman shot him several times.
Another ex-LGU official gunned down!
However, the simultaneous implementation of some of these “Build Build Build” projects is proving to be more of a bane than boon to weary commuters, as displaced vehicles are diverted to already clogged alternate routes.
According to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) own count, 16 roads and bridges are currently affected by ongoing projects in the National Capital Region.
Sevilla Bridge, San Juan Bridge, Jacinto-Tomas Claudio Bridge and Araneta-Aurora Bridge have been closed to make way for the Skyway Stage 3 project while Marcos Bridge, Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, Binondo-Intramuros Bridge, and Lawton Avenue-Sta. Monica Bridge are under construction or rehabilitation.
On the other hand, the following roads in Quezon City have been partially closed for the Metro Rail Transit 7 project: North Avenue, Elliptical Road near Quezon Memorial Circle, Commonwealth Avenue, Regalado Avenue, Mindanao Avenue and Quirino Highway. Add to these the ongoing rehabilitation of Edsa and the reblocking done on weekends.
One has to wonder how it was decided that implementing all these projects at once was a good idea. What exactly was their plan? Was there a plan?
The court cited several inconsistencies in the prosecution’s evidence, such as the absence and actual distance of Baldo from the scene of the crime, that the spent shells and slugs found the crime scene did not match any of firearms owned by Baldo — registered or not.
“The above are just some of the reasons why this Court is convinced that evidence of Baldo’s guilt is not strong enough. Juxtaposed with the fact that he appears to be a productive member of society, with an established family that has its roots in the province, the Court is inclined to grant his motion to fix bail,” the order signed by Presiding Judge Maria Theresa San Juan-Loquillano said.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) pinpointed Baldo as the mastermind behind the killing of Batocabe and Diaz. People insist that he was the one who could have benefit most from Batocabe’s death, as the latter sought to challenge the former mayor’s grip on the town in the last 2019 elections.
Remember when the PNP insisted that this case was solved? It seems that is not the case at all!
Eight months after the murder of Vice Mayor Al-Fred Concepcion of Balaoan town in La Union, the National Bureau of Investigation has filed criminal charges against two gunmen who turned out to be active policemen in the province.
The conclusion of the monthlong probe led the NBI Ilocos regional office to file complaints of double murder and multiple counts of attempted murder against Police Master Sgt. Dario Cahigas and Police Senior Master Sgt. Arnald Calzado and several still unidentified suspects in the Department of Justice (DOJ).
How many more assassins are PNP officers?
Seventy-one police personnel assigned at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame have been dismissed from service after being linked to various administrative cases, the PNP-Internal Affairs Service (IAS) said on Tuesday.
In a memorandum, PNP-IAS said five police officers were demoted while 13 others were suspended from February 3, 2017 to August 31, 2019 also for administrative cases.
Meanwhile, 199 administrative cases filed against PNP personnel remain pending with the PNP-IAS.
“This is the very reason why we have to intensify our counter-intelligence efforts against these rogue cops because we are sincere in our campaign in ridding the PNP organization of scalawags,” Albayalde said in a press conference in Camp Crame.
It appears this is only over a two and a half year period. With 199 cases still pending and more being brought every day it seems as if there is no end to the depth of corruption in the PNP.
“Ang for active and for validation ay 391 [391 active police officers included in the watchlist are for validation.] 441 are already inactive and separated from police service,” PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde said in a press briefing.
Albayalde noted that more than 800 police officers were included in the drug watchlist of President Rodrigo Duterte from July 2016 to August 2019.
Albayalde also said a watchlist by the PNP counter-intelligence unit has recorded 727 police officers with suspected links to illegal drugs.
That's a lot of corrupt cops!
Former First Lady Imelda Marcos asked President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017 to consider granting executive clemency to convicted rapist and murderer former Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez.
At Tuesday’s Senate hearing prompted by the foiled release of Sanchez under a law increasing the number of days credited to good conduct time allowance (GCTA), Sanchez’s wife said she had asked several officials to vouch for the former mayor’s good conduct.
Among them was Marcos.
“We wrote [to] Rep. Imelda Marcos, asking help also from her,” Sanchez’s wife, Elvira, said, adding that she also asked multiple mayors and vice mayors from Laguna for the recommendations for good and moral character of her husband.
In a letter dated May 29, 2017, Marcos cited Sanchez’s “advanced age and failing health” as among the reasons for him to be released from prison.
“He has served more than twenty-four (24) years of his sentence and with the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) considered, would correspond to an estimated thirty-two (32) years of service,” Marcos, who was then Ilocos Norte 2nd District representative, said in the letter.
“Former Mayor Sanchez has also been granted with a Penal Colonist Status since June 14, 2012. Now seventy-one (71) years old, he hopes to be released from prison due to his advanced age and failing health,” she further pointed out.
Marcos then said that “the aforesaid circumstances represent a valid attention as regards to his behavior, character antecedents, mental and health condition” which she said “likewise justify a recommendation for executive clemency.”
It seems the plan to release this rapist/murderer goes back a few years. Old age is no excuse to release anyone from jail though that is the reason why Imelda is not in prison right now but is free on appeal.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday night fired Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Nicanor Faeldon for “disobeying” his order not to allow the release of nearly 2,000 heinous crimes convicts supposedly eligible under the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.
“I am demanding the resignation of Faeldon immediately. Second, that I am calling for an investigation to be handled by the Ombudsman,” Duterte said in a televised press briefing in Malacañang.
Asked to clarify if his call for Faeldon’s resignation meant he was firing the Bucor chief, Duterte said: “Yes.”
“Faeldon has to go because Faeldon disobeyed my order,” Duterte said, referring to his instruction to Senator Christoper “Bong” Go to tell Faeldon to prohibit the release of the 1,900 heinous crimes convicts.
He should have fired Faeldon a long time ago instead of recycling him. It's good to see him go but who will take his place?
One may have to spend millions in pesos to be released from prison through the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) given to prisoners, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said.
Sotto made the revelation on Wednesday as reporters at the Senate were asking him if he thinks those illegally released from prison should be rearrested.
If he has names and bonafide reports he had better share them.
A village official was killed in an ambush while a former barangay executive was injured in another incident here in the region, a police official said Thursday.
Maj. Helen Galvez, Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) information officer, identified the victims as Mario Japal, a councilor in Barangay Maligue, Isabela City, Basilan; and Tuayong Salam Laudin, 68, former barangay chairperson of Suhaile Arabi, Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte.
Galvez said Japal was killed in an ambush around 6 a.m. Thursday in Barangay Maligue, Isabela City, the capital of Basilan province.
Galvez said investigation showed Japal was driving his motorcycle on his way to report for work in Barangay Cabunbata in the same city when ambushed by an unidentified gunman.
Galvez, meanwhile, said Laudin was shot and wounded around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday in Sitio Kalayaan Island, Barangay Suhaile Arabi, Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte.
She said Laudin was walking home from his fishpond when repeatedly shot by an unidentified person.
Two village officials ambushed. One wounded and one dead.
A police officer here was tagged as a "person of interest" in a deadly brawl outside a popular night club here last Tuesday that left two persons dead.
Maj. Benhur Catcatan, chief of the Lagao police station, said Thursday S/Sgt. Clifford Randel Bayangdan, intelligence officer of the San Isidro police station, is now being investigated in connection with the incident.
Citing accounts from witnesses, he said Bayangdan was seen in the vicinity of Xplore Bar along Ariola St. in Barangay Lagao before the deadly fracas broke out around 2 a.m.
The incident resulted in the killing of customers John Vincent Lopez and Jay Napalit. Lopez was stabbed dead while Napalit was gunned down while reportedly attempting to flee from the scene.
Catcatan said they recovered from the scene several spent shells from a 9mm handgun, the same type of firearm carried by the police officer.
"He has been relieved and placed on restricted status," he said, citing a directive from Col. Aden Lagradante, the city police director.
If true it wouldn't be surprising.
A police officer was killed Thursday when two-motorcycle riding men shot him in Quezon City.
Police Patrolman Michael Delos Reyes, 36, was on his way to fetch his children from school aboard his motorcycle about 1:30 p.m. when the suspects attacked him.
No motive so far which means it could be anything including drugs.
The memorandum order signed by sacked Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Nicanor Faeldon is a release order, an official told a Senate hearing on Thursday.
This was contrary to Faeldon’s earlier claim that the memorandum order or memorandum of release for persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) was not a release order.
So Faeldon lied to the Senate and to the public. Sanchez really was going to be released and at his behest!
A forest ranger of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was hacked dead by suspected illegal loggers in El Nido, Palawan, police said on Thursday.
Police identified the 44-year-old victim as Bienvenido Severino Veguilla Jr., while the suspects were identified as Cardo Fulgencio, Glen Fulgencio, Fernan Flores, and three John Does.
A government worker killed on the job by illegal loggers.
A lawmaker questioned on Thursday the legality of the order to re-arrest heinous crime convicts who were freed because of the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.
Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) if freed convicts could be rearrested without a court order or a warrant should they choose not to surrender.
Zarate then questioned how “evading sentence” is determined when it is the presumption of the convict that he or she was freed under the GCTA law.
He added that the granting of time allowance to convicts is “irrevocable” under the said law.
Guevarra said the DOJ understands the argument of Zarate and acknowledged that the rights of certain people are at stake in this issue.
“I guess, only the courts can determine if in fact arresting them (freed convicts) without a warrant on the theory that they are evading sentence which is a crime by itself, is something that is contrary to law,” Guevarra said.
“Hopefully somebody would bring up this matter to court and the court will make the appropriate resolution or decision,” he added.
The GCTA debacle has opened up a whole can of legal worms. Duterte is ordering freed prisoners to return voluntarily or face wantless arrests even though they have been lawfully released and warrantless arrests are illegal. The DOJ recognises the fact that people's right are at stake in this issue as well though the seem to not care much. What a mess corruption brings to the country and the legal system.
Senator Panfilo Lacson said Wednesday that former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief and now Senator Ronald Dela Rosa should explain the release of 120 heinous crimes convicts from the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) due to the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) rule.
Lacson noted that Dela Rosa should be made accountable for it especially if proven that the proper procedure was not followed when the heinous crime convicts were freed during his time.
(If there is a violation of the law in the sense that the department order that the release should be approved by the Secretary of Justice first was not followed, we cannot deny that Senator Bato should also be held accountable or have something to explain.)
I think the law give him immunity while in office. But once he is out? Look out!
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