It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
 |
| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1392222/ex-iloilo-official-faces-arrest-for-maligning-drilon |
A former provincial administrator of Iloilo, already facing arrest for a libel conviction, has again been convicted of libel by a regional trial court in Pasay City.
In a decision dated Jan. 25, Judge Wilhelmina Jorge Wagan found Manuel “Boy” Mejorada guilty of four counts of online libel for his Facebook posts in 2016 and 2017 accusing Sen. Franklin Drilon of corruption in infrastructure projects in Iloilo, including Iloilo Convention Center and road projects.
Wagan sentenced Mejorada to a prison term of at least two years and five months to four years and five months. In a separate order on Jan. 27, she issued an arrest warrant against the accused.
The judge said Mejorada’s criminal complaint against Drilon and several others for alleged corruption and malversation had been dismissed in 2015 by the Office of the Ombudsman.
But “Mejorada did not pause to recalculate his options after his complaint was dismissed,” the ruling said. Instead, it added, he “relentlessly went on public reiterating the same accusations of corruption and defaming the private complainant.”
“Such is a clear indication of his intent to malign,” Wagan said.
The court found Mejorada guilty of four counts of libel in relation to his social media posts and blogs that accused Drilon of involvement in irregularities in infrastructure projects in Iloilo. It sentenced him to a jail term of at least two years, four months and one day to four years and two months.
“If imprisonment would be the price for courageously exposing the truth, I have prepared myself and my family to accept my fate,” he said in a statement issued after the Supreme Court ruling.
Mejorada is also facing libel cases filed by former Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr.
A formere Iloilo official field charges against Dilion years ago but the car was tossed out. He continued to oct accusation on Facebook. Now he will facing up to 2 years in prison. But he maintains he is correct and is "courageously exposing the truth."
 |
| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1129858 |
A village councilor and a local peacekeeping member were killed by gunmen riding-in-tandem in Barangay Lambakin here on Friday night.
Maj. Baltazar Corpuz, town police chief, said on Saturday the victims were Councilor Florencio Cajucom and Bantay Bayan member Armando Pring, both of Barangay Santo Tomas Norte.
Corpuz said the investigation showed that the victims were on board a single motorcycle when successively shot by the still unidentified suspects at 8:40 p.m.
Another village councilor assassinated by unknown gunmen.
 |
| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1392673/napoles-jaraula-guilty-in-pork-barrel-scam |
The Sandiganbayan on Friday convicted Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged brains of the P10-billion pork barrel scam, former Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Constantino Jaraula and several former government employees of graft and malversation of public funds amounting to P28 million.
After a five-year trial, the antigraft court handed down its second conviction related to the pork barrel scam on Napoles, who was found guilty of plunder in 2018 in a case where her coaccused Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. was acquitted.
The Sandiganbayan’s First Division cleared several Department of Budget and Management (DBM) officials of the charges that stemmed from the diversion of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the now defunct pork barrel fund for lawmakers, to bogus nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
According to the Ombudsman’s charges, Jaraula received at least P20.8 million in kickbacks, citing the ledger of rebates of principal whistleblower Benhur Luy, a former employee of Napoles.
For the misuse of public funds, Napoles, Jaraula and the three others were sentenced to serve a prison term of 12 years and one day to 18 years, eight months and one day for each count. They were also ordered to pay another P28 million, equal to the amount funneled to Cared.
Jaraula was also found guilty of three counts of direct bribery for accepting P2 million grease money from Napoles. He was sentenced to imprisonment of up to nine years, four months and one day for each count.
A program celebrating the arrival of a tunnel boring machine for the country’s first subway system unexpectedly turned into a venue for presidential spokesperson Harry Roque to gloat over the project, lashing back at President Duterte’s critics and telling all of them to “drop dead” (manigas kayong lahat).
Roque was one of the top officials who spoke on Friday at the unveiling of the machine’s massive cutterhead at the Manila Harbour Centre. The 74-ton equipment was the first to be shipped to the country out of the six tunneling machines from Japan that will be used for the P393-billion, 36-kilometer Metro Manila Subway project.
“Let today’s event be recorded in the annals of Philippine history as another first of the Duterte administration,” he said. “And to his critics I have only this to say: Manigas kayong lahat.”
That's just rude and uncalled for.
 |
| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/02/06/2075706/court-orders-forfeiture-p102-million-assets-retired-comptroller |
The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan has ordered the forfeiture of P102 million worth of “unlawfully acquired” properties of retired military comptroller Jacinto Ligot, his wife Erlinda and their three children.
In its 70-page decision promulgated on Feb. 3, the court’s Second Division said the prosecution team of the Office of the Ombudsman was able to prove that the total value of the properties, acquired between 2001 to 2004, was “manifestly out of proportion” to Ligot’s compensation and other lawful income during his term in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
“In like manner, respondent Ligot’s family members failed to present evidence to show that they had any lawful source of income to controvert petitioner’s evidence, which show that only respondent Gen. Ligot could have afforded the purchases made in their names,” read a portion of the decision.
The court cited Section 2 of Republic Act 1379 or the Forfeiture Law, which states that any unexplained wealth or property disproportionate to the public official’s lawful income is considered to be unlawfully acquired and thus must be forfeited in favor of the government.
It noted that at least 13 of the properties registered under Ligot’s name or that of his children and wife were not even declared in Ligot’s statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).
“At first glance, the total value of respondent Gen. Ligot’s acquisitions from 1982 up to his retirement in 17 August 2004 – both declared and undeclared in his SALNs – amount to P110,916,521.95, while his total disposable income for the same period only stands at P9,154,686.90,” the Second Division noted.
“His income from lawful sources was simply not enough to support the mass of his acquisitions. His expenditures surpassed his disposable income by at least P101,761,835.64,” it said.
The ombudsman, which filed the petition for forfeiture in 2005, originally prayed to the court to forfeit in favor of the government a total of P135.28 million of real and personal properties of Ligot and his family acquired during his entire years of service in the AFP from 1982 to 2004.
The court, however, lowered the total amount to be forfeited to P102.126 million, as it excluded the properties under the names of Ligot’s brother-in-law Edgardo Tecson Yambao and wife Maria Isabel Yambao for failure of the prosecution to establish the properties’ link to Ligot.
The court also limited the coverage period to 2001 to 2004, saying the value of the properties acquired in prior years cannot be considered as “manifestly out of proportion” to Ligot’s lawful income.
Ligot has another forfeiture case pending at the Second Division pertaining to his and his family’s bank deposits and investment accounts totaling P55.596 million which were also allegedly disproportionate to Ligot’s lawful source of income for 1998 to 2003.
The Sandiganbayan has ruled that retired military comptroller Jacinto Ligot's income between 2001-2004 did not match the amount of his acquired properties and therefore they must be forfeited. The assumption is that he was involved in corrupt activities but what those may be are not stated.
 |
| https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/362439/defeated-mayoral-candidate-injured-in-boljoon-shooting |
A man who lost his 2019 election bid for mayor in Boljoon town sustained a bullet wound on his knee after he was allegedly shot by a cousin.
Jose Emmanuel Serna Derama, 62, is now in a stable condition and is recuperating in a hospital in Cebu City.
Quoting the outcome of their initial investigation, Oyao said that a recent argument involving the two men may have caused Derama’s shooting.
He said that at about 9 a.m. on Saturday or an hour prior to the shooting incident, Derama and Perello engaged in an argument and challenged each other to a fistfight.
Both agreed to meet at the vicinity of the public cemetery in Barangay Granada.
Oyao said that two men had a history disagreements that have remained unresolved for years now.
Thinking that Perello would not heed the challenge, Oyao said that Derama left their residence past 10 a.m. on Saturday to do an errand in Santander town, located in Cebu province’s southern tip.
Oyao said that Derama passed by the public cemetery during his travel.
It was there that he saw Perello who appeared to be waiting for his arrival. The suspect was sitting on his motorcycle.
Thinking that Perello would engage him in a fistfight, Derama parked his motorcycle 15 meters away from where the suspect was. He disembarked from his motorcycle and opened its utility box to retrieve his knuckles.
But as he was opening his motorcycle’s utility box, Perello started to fire shots at his direction hitting Derama on his right knee.
 |
| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1129964 |
A former police officer who went rogue and now listed as one of the country’s most wanted persons was arrested in Negros Occidental, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Debold Sinas said on Monday.
Sinas identified the suspect as Anecio Lapara Jr., aka "Dondon"/"Junior Pulis", who was arrested by police operatives around 8:30 p.m. Sunday along Lapaz Street, Barangay 1 Poblacion in La Carlota City.
Lapara is accused in three separate criminal cases for robbery and illegal possession of firearms. He escaped from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) facility in Ormoc City while awaiting trial for his criminal cases.
The report also revealed that the suspect was a member of the Philippine Constabulary Class 88 and was absorbed in the PNP in 1991 but was separated from the service in 1999, and led a criminal gang operating in Regions 7 (Central Visayas) and 8 (Eastern Visayas).
That is one bad cop. Robbery, illegal possession of firearms, escape, and leader of a criminal gang.
 |
| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1129997 |
A policeman assigned at the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) in Cordillera was here.In an interview also on Monday, Pangasinan Police Provincial Office (PPPO) spokesperson, Maj. Arturo Melchor II, identified the victim as Cpl. Reynald Reyes, 29, a resident of Barangay Poblacion in Anda town.Melchor said the Sual police earlier received details on a reported vehicular traffic incident.However, upon confirmation, two slugs of still unidentified gun caliber fell from the victim’s helmet after it was removed by the first-aiders from the town’s primary health care infirmary.Further inspection revealed that Reyes sustained two gunshot wounds in his head and neck.Reyes was immediately rushed to the nearest hospital for possible resuscitation but was pronounced dead on arrival.
It sounds like this SWAT officer might have been shot over a traffic accident but it's not clear.
 |
| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/775005/suspect-throws-grenade-at-house-of-jaen-nueva-ecija-mayor/story/ |
An unidentified suspect hurled a grenade at the house of Jaen, Nueva Ecija Mayor Sylvia Austria before dawn on Saturday.
Footage from closed-circuit television showed the exact moment two suspects riding in tandem on a motorcycle passed in front of the mayor's house.
The back rider threw something at the gate, then the suspects sped off, according to a report on GMA News' Unang Balita on Monday.
Investigation is ongoing regarding the incident.
In December last year, two explosions from an improvised explosive device rocked the gate of the municipal hall in Jaen.
Tension also gripped Jaen in the last week of January this year during a confrontation at the municipal hall of supporters of Austria and Antonio Esquivel.
Austria was declared the winner in the May 2019 elections but she stepped down from office in December after the Regional Trial Court Branch 87 handed down a decision in favor of Esquivel's election protest.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) second division, on January 12, 2021 however issued a status quo ante-order reinstating Austria as the mayor of Jaen.
Esquivel, however, did not accept the Comelec order and the resolution of the Sangguniang Bayan recognizing Austria as the duly elected mayor
Rivalry in Jaen between competing mayors might lead to bloodshed. Amazing that they forgot to pull the pin on that grenade.
 |
| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1393865/village-chief-nabbed-over-illegal-guns-in-cagayan-town |
A 52-year-old village chief in Cagayan province was arrested after he yielded guns and bullets during a search on Monday, police said.
Col. Ariel Quilang, Cagayan police director, identified the suspect as Ruben Salvador of Barangay Agaman Norte in Baggao town.
The search in Salvador’s house was carried out based on a warrant issued by Judge Sheila Gacutan-Labuguen of the Municipal Trial Court-Baggao.
The police seized a mortar, various guns and ammunition, and assorted communist documents from the suspect’s residence.
Salvador will be charged with illegal possession of explosives and firearms.
The police said they received information that Salvador was harboring communists visiting the village.
A village chief was arrested for illegal possession of firearms and it also seems he was harboring communists.
 |
| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1130221 |
A retired member of the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) yielded PHP1.3 million worth of shabu in an anti-drug operation in Makati City, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said on Wednesday.
In a report to NCRPO chief, Maj. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr., local police identified the suspect as Rufino Advincula Jr., 53, who was arrested in the operation along Avocado Street in Barangay West Rembo at around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Another former member of the AFP arrested for drugs.
 |
| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1130117 |
A Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) official and five others were arrested while some PHP166,600 worth of suspected shabu was seized in separate anti-drug operations in the region, police said Tuesday.Capt. Edwin Duco, Police Regional Office- (PRO-9) information officer, identified the SK official as Glenn Celeste Jr., 21, the SK chairperson of Barangay Culasian, Titay, Zamboanga Sibugay.Celeste, who was arrested in an anti-drug operation Monday evening in Barangay Culasian, Titay, yielded some PHP2,500 worth of suspected shabu and other pieces of evidence, police said.Duco identified the other arrested suspects as Titing Sadjali, 51; Nurdiana Abdulbakhadz, 23; Elizalde Bejerano, 48; Dadifred Lastimado, 26; and, Escobar Lakim, 38.
Another LGU official arrested for drugs.
 |
| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1394637/govt-employee-face-raps-for-unlicensed-firearm-ammunition-explosive-in-samar |
A government employee is facing charges for allegedly keeping an unlicensed firearm, ammunition, and explosive in an entrapment operation in Calbiga town, Samar on Wednesday, Feb.10.
Amador Cardeño, 29, was arrested by the combined force of Samar provincial unit of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and local police of Sta. Rita, also in Samar.
Seized from him were a 357 Smith and Wesson magnum, three pieces of live ammunition for a caliber-357 gun; and a hand grenade.
How do you even obtain a hand grenade?
 |
| https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/363040/mabatid-im-not-afraid-to-divulge-ongo-in-city-hall-if-bullying-power-tripping-continues |
Cebu City Councilor Prisca Niña Mabatid is warning a political entity in the Cebu City Hall, whom she has tagged as “ongo” or monster, that if this person does not stop his bullying and power tripping amid these crucial times, she will reveal that person’s identity in the proper forum.
Mabatid has been vocal of her frustrations about a certain official at the City Hall, who, she says, has been against her projects for the betterment of the Cebu City residents.
In her February 6, 2021 post, Mabatid said that an “ongo” at the City Hall has been making the shots in the operations of the city, despite not having the authority to do so.
Mabatid told reporters in a phone interview that she does not wish to divulge the name of the “ongo” as she fears for her life. She said that the “powerful politician” can create black propaganda against her through the troll accounts at social media sites.
However, the councilor said that if that “ongo” will continue to block projects that would help Cebuanos, power trip his way to corruption, and become a hindrance to the city’s progress, she will not hesitate to name the person.
” I want to warn him to stop. If he doesn’t stop, I will really reveal him in the right forum,” said the councilor.
At this point she might as well name the guy. What's the point of this statement anyway? He knows who she means so why not just name him?
No comments:
Post a Comment