Retards in the Government 221

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

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151112

Police authorities arrested Friday the 49-year-old barangay chairperson of Bulaoen West here for alleged violation of the illegal gambling law.

 

In a phone interview, Sison police investigator, Pat. Allan John Tacderas, identified the suspect as barangay chairman Noli Quirante.

 

Quirante was nabbed by virtue of a warrant in violation of Presidential Decree 1602 prescribing stiffer penalties on illegal gambling dated August 19 issued by Hon. Trinidad Abad-Ferrer.

 

“He was caught along with others engaging in card gambling a few months ago, but he evaded the arrest then,” Tacderas said.

 

The barangay official was released after paying the bail but was expected to appear on the set trials, he added.

Village Chief busted for illegal gambling.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151181

President Rodrigo Duterte has fired National Electrification Administration (NEA) Administrator Edgardo Masongsong due to the latter’s supposed involvement in corrupt activities.

Duterte made the pronouncement in his pre-recorded Talk to the People delivered Friday night but aired Saturday morning.

The President said he booted Masongsong out of office upon the recommendation of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC).

“I dismiss him from public service,” he said. “PACC conducted an investigation and made the recommendation for his dismissal. So, I have approved.”

In May, the PACC disclosed that it had filed a case against Masongsong before the Office of the Ombudsman over his supposed inaction on the alleged use of public funds for the campaign activities of the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (Philreca) party-list.

The commission said Masongsong has violated Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines when he allowed the electric cooperatives’ (ECs) continued financial support to Philreca.

NEA administrator Masongsong has been fired over alleged corruption at the recommendation of the PACC.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/20/21/anti-red-tape-body-failed-to-submit-docs-for-audit-coa

The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) failed to submit documentary requirements to the Commission on Audit (COA), which prevented the proper audit of its funds in 2020.

Instead of a full audit report for 2020, ARTA got a management letter because of its incomplete set of books. 

“The ARTA’s non-submission of financial reports and other documents prevented timely detection of any deficiency thereof and the corresponding corrective actions to be undertaken,” the audit team said. 

The ARTA, headed by Jeremiah Belgica, is an agency under the Office of the President mandated to implement the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Services Delivery Act of 2018. 

COA noted that the ARTA failed to submit financial statements and other documents. ARTA cited as reasons the COVID-19 pandemic and lack of manpower being a newly created agency. 

ARTA management also told the audit team that the previous personnel in its finance and administration department resigned without proper turnover of the financial documents, with the incumbent accountant informing that numerous vouchers were with incomplete supporting documents. 

The ARTA failed to submit the proper documents to the COA for an audit.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/21/21/coa-flags-ncip-over-p1m-cost-of-ntf-elcac-workshop

The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) over its regional office's transactions related to an anti-insurgency "workshop" that cost over P1 million, saying the lack of documents casts doubts on its "propriety." 

"[M]eals and accommodations of NCIP RO XIII (Caraga) amounting to P1,064,219.06 for NTF-ELCAC Regional Action Planning Workshop were not duly supported with sufficient and complete documentations... casting doubts on the propriety and regularity of the transaction... Moreover, the procurement was not done through a competitive public bidding," COA said in its annual audit report on NCIP. 

NCIP is the lead government agency responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies, plans, and programs to protect the rights the indigenous peoples (IPs). 

State auditors flagged NCIP-Caraga for overpaying on food and accommodations when it overestimated the number of participants in the workshop.

"The number of accommodations should have been equal to the number of participants indicated per meal or lower but not higher." 

COA also said it discovered revisions in the attendance sheet of the NTF-ELCAC event. 

"Further scrutiny of the attendance sheet disclosed that there are alterations made with the date, and there are names listed that did not bear signatures of the participants," COA said. 

Financial irregulars in an NTF-ELCAC event held by the NCIP. They overpaid on food and accommodation and did not have the proper paperwork.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151247

The anti-scalawag unit of the Philippine National Police (PNP) arrested a police officer for alleged extortion in an entrapment operation in Zamboanga City on Saturday.

Brig. Gen. Flynn Dongbo, the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) Director, identified the suspect as Cpl. Alexis Garcia, an investigator of the Drug Enforcement Team Police Station 11 of the Zamboanga City Police Office.

He was nabbed during an entrapment operation along Mayor Climaco Avenue shortly after he received marked money from a complainant.

Recovered from the suspect were one PHP1,000 marked money, one bundle boodle money, PNP identification card, one pistol, 22 live ammunitions, and firearms license card.

In a statement on Sunday, Dongbo said they have received numerous complaints on Garcia allegedly extorting money from the family of suspects in exchange for the dismissal of cases or assurance that the suspects will not be transferred to the Zamboanga City Jail.

One walk-in complainant alleged that the suspect demanded PHP120,000 so that an arrested drug offender will remain at Police Station 11.

Another PNP officer arrested for extortion.

https://www.panaynews.net/dbm-unit-sat-on-p10-87-billion-for-years-coa-finds/

The Procurement Service (PS) of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) failed to remit to the national treasury P10.87 billion in unutilized funds that were meant for the purchase of common-use supplies and equipment for government agencies. 

The Commission on Audit (COA) said the unused funds were “dormant for years” and deprived the government of cash that could have been used for other programs. 

This figure includes P10.864 billion in unused balances from government agencies for two years or more, and P5.957 million in dormant funds since 2011. 

“The nonremittance of the total advances of P10.87 billion, or P10.864 billion plus P5.957 million representing unutilized or undelivered [supplies and equipment] and unidentified depositors in the books, deprived the government of the use of funds in the implementation of its projects/programs,” the 2020 audit report read.

How was this missed for so long?

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1478868/pagadian-barangay-chief-shot-dead

A barangay chief in this city was gunned down just outside his house on Wednesday morning.

Raymundo Albiar, chair of Barangay Tuburan, was cleaning his sheep when shot by an unidentified gunman on a motorcycle, according to Col. Ruel Lami-ing, chief of the Zamboanga del Sur Police Provincial Office.

Witnesses said the gunman wore a black jacket, cap, and face mask.

Another barangay captain assassinated by unknown persons.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/25/21/unethical-watchdog-blasts-comelecs-deal-with-f2

An election watchdog on Wednesday branded as "patently unethical" the partnership between the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and F2 Logistics Philippines, said to be owned by Davao tycoon Dennis Uy, for a crucial delivery service for Halalan 2022. 

Comelec commissioner Marlon Casquejo earlier confirmed that the poll body en banc has awarded a P1.61-billion logistics contract to F2, making it in charge of transporting, delivery, and warehousing of election materials, equipment, and other paraphernalia for the May 2022 elections.  

"It just so happened that we are just following the GPPB (Government Procurement Policy Board) rules as I have said that we have to comply with the lowest calculated bid... F2 Logistics [has] the lowest calculated bid in the deployment of AES supplies," Casquejo said.

But for Kontra Daya, the issue goes beyond the legality of the deal.  

"A major campaign contributor of the Duterte presidential campaign gets to be in charge of transportation of election paraphernalia, equipment and supplies. There is clearly something wrong with this picture that no amount of legal technicalities can debunk," Arao said.  

While Uy has not publicly confirmed or denied his ownership of F2 Logistics, ABS-CBN News has obtained an annual report of Phoenix Petroleum Philippines submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2020, where it listed F2 Logistics as a subsidiary of Udenna Management & Resources Corp., under the parent company Udenna Corporation in which Uy sits as chairman and president.  

A Wall Street Journal profile also listed Uy as chairman at F2 Logistics. 

Perhaps the Comelec could have disqualified F2 because of the Dennis Uy connection rather than plead they were just following the rules. Could this lead to long drawn out recounts next year? Time will tell.