Retards in the Government 206

  It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.

 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1139324

A dismissed Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel and three others who were arrested Wednesday at a checkpoint in Vallehermoso, Negros Oriental are facing murder raps in relation to the daytime gun-slay of a village chief in Dauin, a town about 30 minutes south of this capital.

Capt. Louie Batoto, Dauin police chief, in an interview Thursday, said three of the suspects are now in their custody while the fourth, the suspected gunman, is in a hospital here recovering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on his leg.

The suspects are from Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur, although their names were withheld pending further police investigation, he said.

A dismissed cop is among the four charged with killing a barangay captain. His name is Jhal Salapudin II but it is unclear why he was dismissed.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1139351

A businessman escaped unscathed in a botched robbery hold-up while the three suspects, including a soldier, were arrested in pursuit operations in Zamboanga Sibugay province, a top police official said Thursday.

Col. Albert Larubis, Zamboanga Sibugay police director, identified the victim in Wednesday afternoon's robbery attempt in Barangay Mate, Titay town, as businessman Dande Calago.

Larubis identified the arrested suspects as Felix Salazar, 40, his younger brother, Jovanie, 37, and Joven Ocmer, 30, a member of the Army’s 42nd Infantry Battalion based in Kalawit, Zamboanga del Norte.

Police investigation showed that before the incident, Calago was driving his pick-up type vehicle with Felix and Ocmer aboard on the way to Barangay Mate to inspect a parcel of land being sold to him by Jovanie, Larubis said.

Larubis said Felix and Ocmer at gunpoint declared the heist and tied the hands of Calago with masking tape.

However, the vehicle fell on its right side at the shoulder of the road as Calago resisted and stepped on the accelerator to speed up before the suspects managed to commandeer his pick-up truck.

Larubis said one of the two suspects shot but missed as Calago took the opportunity to escape through the shattered windshield and sought help in the village.

Felix and Ocmer carted away the cash and other valuables Calago left in his vehicle and fled to the bushes, where Felix allegedly called Jovanie to pick them up.

A group of would-be robbers was thwarted when the truck they were in fell on its side as the driver resisted. One of them is a solider in the Army's 42nd Infantry Battalion.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1139508

A police personnel allegedly selling handguns was killed in a shootout with the police during an entrapment operation in Daraga, Albay on Friday, according to a police report.

Maj. Maria Luisa Calubaquib, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office 5, identified the slain police officer as Corporal Joel Tualla of Libmanan, Camarines Sur, who was assigned at the Polangui Municipal Police Station.

The report said Tualla attempted to sell a .9mm KG9 sub-machine gun and .45 caliber pistol to a police undercover agent in Barangay Bañag at around 11:05 a.m.

“Tualla, sensing that it was police set up, he drew his service firearm and fired at the approaching police operatives, forcing the police raiding team to retaliate, killing the suspect on the spot,” Calubaquib said.

A PNP officer was shot dead by his colleagues after he attempted to see a pistol and a sub-machine gun to an undercover cop.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1139564

Police recovered at least eight illegal firearms, including five high-powered rifles and assorted ammunition, while being transported to this city by an active policeman from Sultan Kudarat province and a dismissed colleague on Friday.

Lt. Col. Alan Ladra, chief of the Regional Highway Patrol Unit (RHPU) 12 (Soccsksargen), said the illegal items were seized from Staff Sgt. Abdul Gani Macadla, 36, and former Police Officer 1 Warden Husain Legawan, 39.

The two were intercepted by operatives in a checkpoint in Barangay Apopong aboard a car en route to the city proper at about 12:30 p.m.

Ladra said their men were conducting an operation under Oplan Lambat Bitag when they flagged down a white Toyota Vios sedan with an unauthorized license plate and noticed that its driver was not wearing a seatbelt.

He said the two men on board reportedly acted suspiciously, prompting the team to conduct a “plain view” inspection of the vehicle.

“They initially spotted some suspicious items and eventually found the illegal firearms and ammunition,” Ladra told reporters.

Recovered were a 9mm Glock pistol loaded with 21 ammunition, 9mm pistol with 15 bullets, a caliber .45 handgun with six bullets, five M-16 Armalite rifles, five steel boxes containing 1,000 rounds of M-16 ammunition, and 44 long steel magazine for M-16 rifle.

An active duty PNP officer and one who was dismissed were caught running illegal guns.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/08/21/dilg-issues-warning-20-lgus-illegal-unreported-fishing

Twenty local government units have been warned by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for their failure to regulate commercial fishing in their localities last year, the agency said Saturday.  

The DILG, in partnership with environmental group Oceana Philippines, said they were able to detect illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUUF) in these places through satellite technology. 

The basis of the warning issued by the agency were the number of violations allegedly committed under the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, such as the commercial vessels' use of "super light" or artificial light to attract fish during nighttime and their "intrusion and encroachment" in municipal waters that remain unreported.  

Using such artificial light sources for fishing is prohibited under the law.  

"Despite the pandemic, we want to remind LGUs of the protection of our aquatic resources which, unfortunately, is still an issue in the country.... mahigpit ang ating paalala na pangalagaan ang ating mga karagatan,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año was quoted as saying. 

(This is a stern warning to localities to take care of our oceans.) 

LGUs are failing to regulate commercial fishing in their respective areas.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1429276/cagayan-barangay-captain-shot-dead

A barangay captain in Buguey, Cagayan was shot dead by two gunmen on Saturday, the local police reported.

Based on initial investigation, Barangay Fula captain Renante Ritarita was driving his mini-dump truck and was on his way home when he was ambushed at around 4:45 p.m.

Citing witnesses, Police Captain Joel Labasan, Buguey police chief, said the masked assailants were seen alighting from a car  before the attack and hid in the nearby bushes.

Senior Master Sergeant Arnel Tumanu, Buguey chief investigator, said they recovered 16 empty shells for an M-16 Armalite rifle from the site.

Police also found Ritarita’s bag with P11,890 cash, two magazines for .45-caliber pistol, a mobile phone and a handheld radio.

Another barangay captain shot dead. But the contents of his bag including cash gun magazines is rather interesting. Why didn't the assailants take the money? Why did he have so much cash on him as well as the magazines? 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1139701

The Caloocan City government is set to file charges against village officials and the owner of the Gubat sa Ciudad Resort that was found operating despite the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) implemented in the city, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said on Monday.

“The LGU will file cases against the barangay officials and the concerned violators regarding the Gubat as Ciudad Resort incident. The business permit has been revoked already and the resort was closed down as of 5 p.m. yesterday (Sunday). The Philippine National Police (PNP) is working closely with Caloocan LGU on the ongoing investigation and subsequent filing of cases,” Año said in a message sent to the Philippine News Agency (PNA) when sought for a comment.

Año said the local police has also summoned Barangay 171 chairperson Romeo Rivera while contact tracing and testing of all those who visited the resort are underway.

Caloocan Mayor Oscar Malapitan has already revoked the resort's business permit following its closure on Sunday afternoon.

LGU official are set to be charged because a resort was operating during MECQ.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1139761

Police is investigating the identity of the lone gunman behind the killing Monday of a village official in Isabela City, the capital of Basilan province.

Lt. Colonel Junpikar Sitin, Isabela City police chief, identified the victim as Jamirun Amigos, the village chief of Marang, Sumisip, Basilan.

Amigos was walking in front of a food chain outlet around 2 p.m. Monday in Barangay Isabela Proper Isabela City when shot to death by the gunman, Sitin said.

Sitin said the suspect already fled when the responding policemen arrived at the crime scene.

Local village chief shot dead by an unknown gunman for unknown reasons.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1430580/sandiganbayan-oks-plea-bargain-deal-with-ex-dpwh-exec-orders-to-return-around-p1-4-m

In the decision dated May 7, the Sandiganbayan Seventh Division granted the deal struck by state prosecutors with Juanito Padilla Abergas, former Central Visayas director of the DPWH, provided that he would return around P1.484 million of the public funds he was accused of misspending.

Padilla is facing three criminal cases before the anti-graft court. He was accused of releasing reimbursements for and collecting his extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses, local travel expenses, and actual and/or incidental expenses that were used for activities not related to his work.

According to the Information filed against Padilla, he used the allocations and public funds from 2002 to 2005 to pay for personal hotel bills, meals, drinks, grocery items, and even to buy “pasalubong” — or souvenirs.

Instead of being sentenced for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, he would be convicted for the lesser offense of failure of an accountable officer to render accounts.

The Sandiganbayan explained that the decision was reached as the prosecution was also unable to present several original disbursement vouchers that resulted in the striking out of some exhibits — which would have been in favor of Padilla.

“It is not denied that during the trial, the originals of 52 Disbursement Vouchers subject to these cases were not produced by the Prosecution, resulting even to the exclusion of exhibits […] which in the end, would clearly have an adverse effect on the judgment to be imposed,” the court said in the decision penned by Seventh Division chair Associate Justice Ma. Theresa Gomez-Estoesta.

“The prosecution, however, is aware of its flaw and by the time that it terminated with the presentation of its evidence has only produced four photocopies of Exhibits ‘AA’, ‘BB’, ‘CC’, and ‘DD’, being the only Disbursement Vouchers admitted by the Court in its Resolution dated September 28, 2018,” it added.

The Sandiganbayan has entered into a plea bargain with a corrupt DPWH worker because the government prosecution could not prove their case. So you have a corrupt government employee and incompetent government lawyers. It is not clear when this trial began but the DPWH employee began stealing between 2002 and 2005 so 16 years it seems. 16 years and the government could not prove its case.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1139990

The Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) has filed a case against National Electrification Administration (NEA) Administrator Edgardo Masongsong over his supposed inaction on the supposed use of public funds for a party-list's campaign activities.

In a Laging Handa briefing on Wednesday, PACC chairperson Greco Belgica said his office lodged on Monday an “online” case against Masongsong.

Results of the PACC investigation found that Masongsong never expressed objection to electric cooperatives’ (ECs) continuing financial support to the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (Philreca) party-list, Belgica said.

“(The result is electric cooperatives are financing party-lists like Philreca),” he said. “(Based on our investigation, we have proven that there is probable cause for the Ombudsman to probe him).”

The NEA, a state corporation created on August 4, 1969 by virtue of Republic Act 6038, is in partnership with 121 ECs. It is tasked to provide financial, institutional, and technical services to the ECs to make them become more efficient, reliable, and globally competitive.

Philreca, the umbrella organization of the 121 ECs nationwide, has received financial assistance from them to finance the campaign of its party-list group, Belgica noted.

Hence, Masongsong violates Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines, Belgica said.

“(Mr. Masongsong violates the law, including RA 3019 and Omnibus Election Code because it is prohibited to contribute funds for the campaign of a candidate or party-list using government funds),” he said.

This is a weird case. It seems that the head of the National Electrification Administration, which oversees all the local electoral cooperatives, did not take any action when several EC's were using funds to support the party-list Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (Philreca). Hopefully the PACC investigates those EC's that are committing the actual crime and not just the head of the NEA.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1139864

Two communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, one of whom happens to be a village councilor, surrendered to government authorities in the province of Zamboanga del Norte, a top police official said Tuesday.

Brig. Gen. Ronaldo Genaro Ylagan, Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) director, identified the NPA surrenderers as Marcos Pajuay and his daughter, Josephine.

The father and daughter surrendered following series of negotiations around 9:15 a.m. Monday in Barangay Mawal, Leon Postigo town, Ylagan said.

Ylagan said the elder Pajuay is an incumbent councilor in Barangay Mawal, Leon Postigo, Zamboanga del Norte.

So, it turns out there really are communists in the government.