It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1162244 |
The Police Regional Office in Caraga (PRO-13) has reported a total of 70 administrative cases filed against police personnel involved in different offenses this year, as the command ramped up efforts in disciplining and cleaning its ranks.
In a statement Thursday, PRO-13 Regional Director Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr. said the number is based on the records provided by the Discipline, Law, and Order Section (DLOS) of PRO-13.
“Of the 70 cases filed, 58 are considered solved with 32 personnel penalized,” Caramat said.
He said of the 32 police officers penalized, five were dismissed from the service, 10 were suspended, another 10 reprimanded, and seven were either forfeited of their salary, restricted to specified limits or demoted.
“Twenty-six police officers were also exonerated and therefore absolved from their cases after due consideration,” he said.
Three of the five dismissed from the service, he pointed out, committed grave neglect of duty after they went on AWOL or absence without official leave, another committed a homicide offense, while one violated the provisions of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 by using illegal drugs.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1162221 |
Personnel of the National Capital Region Office (NCRPO) are warned against using sirens and blinkers in their vehicles to ensure that these equipment remain symbols of authority, not abuse.
NCRPO chief Vicente Danao Jr. also warned police officers who deliberately use recovered motor vehicles and motorcycles for personal use, saying these violate existing laws and standard operating procedures.
"Our Chief Philippine National Police (Gen. Dionardo Carlos) is firm in his warning to fire any police officer who will be found using recovered motor vehicles and motorcycles. This call shall be implemented strictly in this region and I will personally make sure that police officers found guilty of violating this order shall be dealt with accordingly," Danao said.
"This is part of our effort to instill discipline among our men to ensure that we keep a strong sense of moral fiber in our ranks. This is the very foundation of public service and one of the most definite ways to regain the trust and confidence of the citizenry to their police," Danao said.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1162511 |
The Philippine National Police (PNP) leadership on Sunday reminded its personnel to strictly adhere to the provisions of the "Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees” as reiterated by the Civil Service Commission, especially during the Yuletide season.
PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos vowed tougher sanctions against police operatives found involved in illegal activities.
“We can’t tolerate any form of bribe in the organization. The PNP has been living up to its core values to protect its integrity. We want to keep it that way,” Carlos said in a statement on Sunday in line with the organization’s “no-take policy”.
He cited Section 7 of Republic Act 6713 that states, “Public officials and employees shall not solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or anything of monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties or in connection with any operation being regulated by, or any transaction which may be affected by the functions of their office".
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1162544 |
The Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) has launched manhunt operation to arrest the two suspects who shot and wounded a policeman in this southern port city over the weekend.
Col. Rexmel Reyes, ZCPO director, said in a statement Monday that one of the subjects of the manhunt operation was identified as Ian Rodriguez while the other one remained unidentified.
Reyes identified the wounded policeman as Staff Sgt. Joseph Robles of the ZCPO’s Station 5, who was shot and wounded by the suspects around 4:40 p.m. Saturday in Purok 3, Barangay Lumbangan, this city.
Robles and a companion whose identity was withheld for security reasons were conducting surveillance on the conduct of illegal gambling in the area when the suspects riding tandem on a motorcycle appeared and opened fire.
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| https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/417069/cop-to-face-criminal-raps-over-road-incident-that-killed-two-people-in-bohol |
Charges of reckless imprudence resulting in double homicide, multiple physical injuries, and damage to properties will be filed against a police officer who hit several vehicles that killed two people and injured several others over the weekend.
Col. Osmundo Salibo, provincial director of the Bohol Police Provincial Office (BPPO), identified the police as Patrolman Ruben Digawan Ayuban, 31, a resident of Sierra Bullones town who was currently assigned at Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB)-7 in Catagbacan Norte in Loon town, Bohol.
Salibo said the suspect, who was still wearing his police uniform, was arrested by the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT).
Based on the initial investigation of the traffic section of the Tagbilaran City Police Station (TCPS), the suspect’s vehicle hit two women identified as Lisa Orias Jimenez and Aileen Felisilda Apatan on the night of December 12.
Jimenez and Apatan were brought to the hospital but were pronounced dead on arrival by the attending physician.
Ayuban also collided with a motorcycle and hit two other persons that same night, police said.
The suspect did not stop and eventually bumped a tricycle on CPG North Avenue.
A cop in uniform was arrested after ramming through a car, a motorcycle, and a tricycle.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1162605 |
The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) has filed corruption complaints against some of its current and former officials, engineers, and private contractors involved in the “anomalous” purchase of PHP170.3-million worth of substandard equipment for the LRT Line 2 (LRT-2).
In a statement on Monday, the LRTA said included in the complaints filed before the Office of the Ombudsman were Engr. Fernando Quiambao (former LRTA Head Executive Assistant); Antonio R. Laigo Jr. (LRT-2 Operations Department Manager and designated representative to the Procurement Service – Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) Bids and Awards Committee (BAC); Engr. Julito Bernales (Manager, Project Management Office (PMO) for Rehabilitation Projects); Engr. Rommel Correa; and Engr. Robert Ruiz as well as the Kempal Construction and Supply Corp. and the Joint Venture of Ma-an Construction, Inc., and IFE Elevators, Inc.
“The filing of cases is in support of the anti-corruption efforts of the Duterte Administration and DOTr [Department of Transportation] Secretary Art Tugade’s call to provide comfort and to protect the interest of the riding public," LRTA officer-in-charge Paul Chua said.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1162680 |
A man convicted in 2017 by a Cotabato court of illegal drugs and illegal explosives possession has been acquitted by the Supreme Court (SC) for lapses in handling evidence.
The SC Second Division ordered the release of Parok Guman, who was found guilty by the Kabacan, Cotabato Regional Trial Court Branch 22 of selling illegal drugs and possession of explosives during a buy-bust in 2010.
In 2019, the Court of Appeals (CA) overturned Guman’s conviction in view of law enforcers’ non-compliance with the chain of custody but affirmed the illegal possession of explosives charges.
In setting aside the CA ruling and ordering Guman’s acquittal in the explosives charge, the SC said “the presumption that the authorities regularly performed their duties cannot stand due to the discrepancies in the police officers’ testimonies, not only as to the identity of the sachets of shabu but also for the allegedly confiscated hand grenade”.
“The police officers’ unexplained procedural lapses are definitive proof of irregularity. And any taint of irregularity affects the whole performance, making the presumption unavailable,” the SC said in its December 2 decision that was uploaded recently.
The court noted that the arresting officer, SPO1 Edward Clarete, after the supposed seizure of the hand grenade, did not even bother to mark the same as evidence, just as he failed to mark the sachets of suspected shabu.
Afterwards, Clarete surrendered the hand grenade to Chief Inspector Sofronio Cornelio Jr., their supervisor at the time, even if the latter was not the assigned investigator of the case.
Cornelio then turned it over to the investigator, PO3 Randyl Aguba, and also mentioned a certain PO2 Lagutang.
“Indeed, the involvement of a few police officers who did not testify raises doubt regarding the personalities who handled the grenade after it left the hands of SPO1 Clarete and PCI Cornelio. Both PO3 Aguda and PO2 Lagutang did not even execute any affidavit to explain how the explosive was handled and stored. Simply put, their unexplained involvement is suspect,” the SC said.
“Evidently, these findings point to the failure of the prosecution to establish an unbroken chain of custody of the grenade allegedly seized from Guman,” the court said, adding that “there is no way for this court to verify if the links in the chain of custody remained unbroken”.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1527818/2-leyte-provincial-employees-attacked-in-tacloban-1-dead |
Two employees of the Leyte provincial government were ambushed by still unidentified assailants in Tacloban City past 9 p.m. on Tuesday (Dec. 14).
One of the targets of the attack—Gil Bobaris—died while the other—Victorio Pineda—survived.
The two were on board a sports utility vehicle at the village of 110 in Utap, Tacloban when fired upon.
Bobaris was driving the SUV with Pineda as passenger beside him.
They were on the way to the provincial capitol from Abucay also in Tacloban City.
An investigation showed four men, who were on separate motorcycles, were involved in the attack.
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| https://www.philstar.com/nation/2021/12/13/2147548/evidence-strong-vs-ex-pnp-execs-rifle-scam |
The Sandiganbayan has maintained that ombudsman prosecutors were able to present strong evidence against former officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) who are facing graft cases in connection with the AK-47 rifle scam in 2013.
In a resolution promulgated on Dec. 2, the anti-graft court’s Sixth Division warned four of the defendants that the prosecution’s evidence is “sufficient to support the graft charges” filed against them, if unrebutted.
The Sixth Division said the arguments raised by Estilles, Catiis, Meneses and Rentoy in their respective motions for reconsideration “are evidentiary in nature and are matters of defense, which may be best passed upon after a full-blown trial.”
The former PNP officials asked the court to reconsider its July 28 resolution, which denied their joint motion for leave to file a demurrer to evidence.
Last month, the Sandiganbayan also denied the motions for reconsideration filed by former FEO chief Raul Petrasanta and former Senior Superintendent Allan Parreño.
A demurrer would have allowed Petrasanta and his co-defendants to seek the dismissal of the 13 counts of graft filed agains them without presenting their defense, but solely on the ground of the supposed weakness of evidence of the prosecution.
In its new resolution, the Sixth Division clarified that the defendants may still file their demurrers without a leave of court, but subject to the legal consequence that they “shall waive their right to present evidence and are submitting the case for judgment based on the evidence adduced by the prosecution.”
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