Retards in the Government 277

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

  

 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1184397

Operatives of the Philippine National Police's (PNP) anti-scalawag unit arrested the deputy chief of police of the Balayan Municipal Police Station in Batangas for extorting money from a resident whom he accused of operating the illegal numbers game “loteng”.

In a statement Friday, Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) chief Brig. Gen. Warren de Leon said Capt. Ruben Marilag was arrested in an operation at around 5 p.m. Thursday in front of a bank near their station by the IMEG Field Unit and local police.

"The operation stemmed from a complaint lodged against him for coercing and intimidating the complainant/victim into paying a weekly payola for the victim’s 'loteng' operation. Accordingly, the said 'loteng' operation had already been stopped since March of 2021 when the victim was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer. Despite this, the suspect insists that the victim must pay for his weekly payola amounting to PHP2,000," de Leon said.

Recovered pieces of evidence were boodle money, the suspect’s service firearm with a magazine containing 14 live ammunition, an inside holster, smartphones, a cap with artificial hair and a wallet containing cash, and the suspect’s PNP ID.

The suspect is now under the custody of IMEG Headquarters at Camp Crame, Quezon City for investigation and proper disposition.

A police captain has been arrested for extortion in relation to a numbers game

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1670898/ex-sra-chief-serafica-cited-for-contempt-to-be-detained-for-15-days

A former chief of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) was cited for indirect contempt of court for issuing a memorandum allowing the importation of sugar despite a writ of preliminary injunction issued by the court.

Hermenegildo Serafica was ordered imprisoned for 15 days and to pay a fine of P30,000 by Judge Walter Zorilla of the Regional Trial Court Branch 55 in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental on Monday, September 26.

The judge on March 2, 2022, issued a writ of preliminary injunction directing the SRA, its agents and representatives or persons acting on its behalf to cease and desist from implementing the sugar importation program embodied under Sugar Order No 3, Series of 2021-2022.

On May 4, 2022, Serafica issued SRA Memorandum Circular No. 11, Series of 2021-2022, allowing the importation of 200,000 MT of sugar in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, except in Region 6, the judge said.

“Serafica willfully disregarded and manifestly disobeyed the writ of preliminary injunction when he issued memorandum circular 11,” the judge said.

The former head of the SRA was cited for contempt for dispelling a writ of preliminary injunction.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1671139/martires-admits-corruption-exists-within-office-of-ombudsman

Corruption exists within the Office of the Ombudsman, its top official Samuel Martires himself admitted on Tuesday.

Surprisingly, he made the revelation when asked by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III if the Office of the Ombudsman’s P4.781 billion 2023 budget was adequate to cover the expenses for its activities during a hearing before the Senate committee on finance.

For Martires, the fight against corruption is not easy, no matter how many billions are spent.

(In my opinion, the fund of the Ombudsman is sufficient. But it is not enough to fight corruption even if you give us P100 billion.)

“I must admit to you, Your Honor — this is not to destroy the Office of the Ombudsman — we ourselves are fighting corruption within the office,” he added.

Since they don’t use their phones or landlines, Martires said they can’t present any proof of wrongdoing by their staff.

Instead of meeting at the office, he said these workers choose to do business over meals. Although the Ombudsman wanted to eavesdrop, the head of security wouldn’t let him.

(We have employees who are corrupt. The problem is that we cannot find concrete evidence. I did everything I can.)

Martires also stressed that their office had forgotten its program that aims “to address the causes of inefficiency and red tape.”

Martires, appointed by former President Rodrigo Duterte, earlier said that it is nearly impossible to cleanse corruption in the government.

The head of the Office of the Ombudsman admits his office is with rife corruption and it is nearly impossible to clean the problem.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/09/28/cop-killed-by-own-gun-in-abra/

A member of the Abra Provincial Police Office died after he accidentally shot himself while fixing his own gun at the motor pool of Camp Juan Villamor in Barangay Calaba here on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

Police identified the victim as Corporal John Paul Belisario Ayon-Ayon, 30.

The victim was assigned to the Abra PPO General Services and a resident of Barangay Napo, Santo Domingo, Ilocos Sur.

The Bangued Municipal Police Station said they received a call at 2:20 p.m. regarding an accidental firing inside the motor pool.

Initial investigation showed that the victim was removing the slide assembly of his 9mm Taurus service firearm when he accidentally squeezed the trigger and fired towards himself.

Ayon-Ayon sustained a bullet wound in the chest. He was taken by colleagues to the Abra Provincial Hospital where was declared dead.

Another PNP officer killed himself with his own gun. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1672456/sc-affirms-conviction-of-ex-leyte-mayor-for-allowing-illegal-cockfights

The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the conviction of a former mayor in Leyte for allowing members of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) to hold illegal cockfights.

Charita Chan, who served as mayor of Babatngon town from 2007 to 2016, was found guilty for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

She was meted imprisonment of six to seven years and disqualification from holding a position in the government.

The High Court said Chan issued a permit in favor of the Liga ng mga Barangay, allowing it to hold cockfighting in a licensed cockpit every Saturday.

Under Presidential Decree (PD) 449 or the Cockfighting Law of 1974, and Municipal Ordinance No. 281, cockfighting in a licensed cockpit shall be allowed only on Sundays, legal holidays, during local fiestas, agricultural, commercial or industrial fairs, carnivals, or expositions in the municipality for not more than three consecutive days, and upon a valid resolution passed for that purpose.

In its 12-page decision, the SC’s first division ruled that by issuing a permit for a cockfighting event on April 13, 2012, Chan violated PD 449 and Municipal Ordinance No. 281.

The conviction of a mayor for allowing illegal cockfighting has been upheld. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/28/22/ca-fails-to-act-on-nominations-of-tulfo-calida-13-others

Fifteen appointees of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. were bypassed by the Commission on Appointments (CA), the body said Wednesday.

According to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, who serves as CA chairperson, the body failed to tackle the appointments of the 15 due to "lack of material time."

The first regular session of Congress is set to pause from Oct. 1 to Nov. 6.

"There was a lack of material time... If we pursued Sec. Tulfo and Bonoan, we would have finished at 7 p.m. and would have started the Senate session at 7:30 pa. Hindi puwede yan... We cannot also sacrifice our work in the Senate," Zubiri said.

According to him, the 15 bypassed officials would have to seek reappointment from Marcos.

"All the Secretaries... who have not been confirmed will have to seek a reappointment by the President as they would all be considered bypassed," Zubiri said.

The Commission on Appointments failed to do its job due to lack of time which is not a valid excuse at all.