Retards in the Government 315

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

 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/6/17/bulacan-village-chief-peppered-with-bullets-to-death

A village chief was shot to death by unidentified armed men Friday night on Eden Ville Road in Barangay Partida, Norzagaray, Bulacan

Police identified the victim as Marcelino Correa Punzal, 63, village chief of Barangay Bangkal, Norzagaray.

In the initial report he sent to Central Luzon police director Brig. Gen. Jose S. Hidalgo Jr., Norzagaray acting police chief Lt. Col. Lynelle F. Solomon  said they were informed by a concerned citizen about the shooting incident.

Norzagay police immediately proceeded to the crime scene where they saw the victim already dead inside a Mitsubishi Estrada with plate number XJV-160.

The victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds in the head and body.

Personnel from the Bulacan Police Provincial Forensic Unit recovered from the scene several pieces of fired cartridges and a slug from a .45-caliber gun.

Another barangay captain has been assassinated. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/6/17/batangas-town-mayor-brothers-yield-guns-in-cidg-ncr-raid

The mayor of this town and his two siblings were arrested after unlicensed firearms were seized from them during a raid by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-National Capital Region in their houses here on Saturday, June 17.

The raids against Mayor Nilo Villanueva and brothers Bayani, a barangay chairman and president of the Association of Barangay Chairman (ABC), and Oliver Villanueva, 46, a former police officer, were carried out through search warrants issued by Antipolo City Regional Trial Court Branch 74 Executive Judge Mary Josephine Lazaro.

The CIDG-NCR and Special Action Force (SAF) first raided the house of Oliver in Sitio Pook, Barangay Pulong Niogan at 4:20 a.m.

Found in the house were a caliber .22 pistol, caliber .45 pistol, two magazines for a caliber 5.56mm rifle, three magazines for a caliber .45 pistol, a hand grenade, 16 rounds of ammunition for a caliber 5.56mm rifle, and 55 rounds of ammunition for a caliber .45 pistol.

Oliver is facing charges for violating Republic Act (RA) 10591, the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulations Act, and RA 9516, law on explosives.

Mayor Villanueva's house at Villanueva Compound, Sitio Silangan, Barangay Santo Tomas, was raided 10 minutes later at 4:30 a.m. Seized from the house was a pouch containing a suspected explosive device but no firearms were found. The local chief executive is facing charges for violating RA 9516.

Bayani’s house was last to be raided at 5:25 a.m. in Sitio Silangan, Barangay Santo Tomas. Found were a Bushmaster caliber 5.56mm rifle, a magazine for a caliber 5.56mm rifle, 10 rounds of ammunition for a caliber 5.56mm rifle, and a MK2 hand fragmentation grenade.

He is facing charges for violating RA 10591 and 9516.

Lawmen also raided the house of another sibling, Ariel, at around 5:30 a.m. in Sitio Kanluran, Barangay Sampaguita, but he was not present but they recovered a Bushmaster caliber 5.56mm rifle, a magazine for a caliber 5.56mm rifle, and 10 rounds of ammunition for a caliber 5.56mm rifle.

The operation is part of “Oplan Paglalansag Omega,” a flagship project of the CIDG.

Mayor Villanueva and his siblings have been taken to CIDG headquarters in Camp Crame in Quezon City.

A mayor and three of his brothers, one who is a former cop and one who is a barangay chairman, have been busted on weapons charges. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/6/19/dismissed-cop-nabbed-for-unlicensed-guns-in-laguna

A dismissed police officer was arrested for unlicensed firearms in Calamba City, Laguna on Sunday, June 18.

Police Col. Randy Glenn Silvio, Laguna police director, identified the suspect as “Arnold” of Tondo, Manila.

Police Lt. Col. Milany Martirez, Calamba police chief, said the suspect yielded firearms in a checkpoint and introduced himself as a police officer.

The suspect presented documents for his firearms which later turned out to be spurious and he was also found out to be a police officer dismissed from the service in 2018.

He was arrested and a preventive search discovered a Taurus caliber .45, a Norinco caliber .45, magazines, ammunition, two cellphones, a flashlight, a green bag, a black holster, seven Philippine National Police identification cards, a driver’s license, a national ID, a Police Security Protection Group ID, an Imex ID, a Social Security System ID, two vaccination cards, assorted keys, and P5,840.

Suspect is in the custody of the Calamba police station and faces charges for usurpation of authority and violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.

Confiscated guns were submitted to the Crime Laboratory for ballistic examination.

A dismissed cop has been arrested for weapons violations. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1203876

Some 8,313 firearms with expired licenses belong to elected officials, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters in Camp Crame, PNP Civil Security Group (CSG) director Brig. Gen. Benjamin Silo Jr. said the figure comprises 27 percent of 30,068 firearms registered to elected officials.

"What we did in CSG is we provide extra special effort to encourage these people, elected officials to renew their expired licenses. Our safe estimate is 50 percent of these expired firearms are from barangay officials. Aside from our internal efforts to encourage them to renew their firearms, we will be coordinating with barangay affairs of DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) for them to help us encourage barangay officials so that they can renew their licenses especially that the BSKE (Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections) is approaching," Silo said.

He added that they will also furnish the Commission on Elections (Comelec) with a list of barangay officials owning firearms with expired licenses.

Silo said elected officials should set a good example to civilians in terms of firearms ownership through the regular renewal of their gun licenses

“It’s more on encouraging them to comply with the provision of RA (Republic Act) 10591. It's more on encouraging them to comply with the provision of RA 10591. The first ones who must follow the rules and provisions of the law are government officials and elected officials. I hope we can be a model so that we can make sure that the coming BSKE will be peaceful, quiet and orderly,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, a total of 19,000 out of a total of 539,000 firearms with expired licenses belong to police and military personnel.

He said they already conveyed this matter to the offices of the concerned personnel.

Silo said that those PNP personnel will face administrative cases once they violate any provision of penal laws to require their members to comply with the requirements of the law.

Thousands of elected officials and police and military personnel have expired firearms licenses. 

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1964599/cebu/local-news/4-mandaue-traffic-personnel-axed-for-misconduct

AT LEAST four personnel of the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) were dismissed from service last month due to "misconduct."

Edwin Jumao-as, head of Team, said on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, that the dismissed employees have already been replaced.

Jumao-as said the personnel were recommended for termination following an investigation on complaints made by several motorists.

The Team head, however, declined to identify the erring personnel and the nature of their offenses.

(There are complaints at the office, and these are being looked upon. Some of them had previously committed offenses that were repeated, leading to suspensions on both occasions and a final suspension that led to termination.)

Jumao-as said they do not tolerate erring personnel and encouraged all motorists or drivers that have complaints against his men to feel free to go to their office.

Jumao-as said the employees admitted their mistakes, while others chose to retire.

Data shared by Team revealed that there are already 13 Team personnel who have been dismissed from service since 2021.

Four traffic enforcement agents from Mandaue have been dismissed for misconduct. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/21/23/3-zamboanga-cops-sacked-after-waiter-dies-in-custody

Three officers of the Zamboanga City police were relieved from their posts following the death of a waiter under their custody, its chief said Wednesday. 

The 3 police officers are being investigated by the Philippine National Police's Regional Internal Affairs Service (RIAS) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Zamboanga City police chief Col. Alexander Lorenzo told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

Lorenzo said RIAS has obtained a copy of the autopsy on the corpse of Reynaldo Paragas Jr., a waiter who died while being escorted by police following an altercation with a retired police major at the bar where he was working.

(The RIAS is now looking at the victim's bruises and injuries and basing their investigation on the autopsy results on his corpse. Up until then, the only available evidence was footage from a CCTV camera in the restaurant, which is in a remote barangay in Zamboanga City.)

The incident stemmed from a brawl between Paragas and a retired police major identified only as a certain "Cuartocruz."

Lorenzo said Cuartocruz, a stroke victim, was persistently asking Paragas to serve him beer, even if he was advised against doing so by his fellow retired officer and his son.

Paragas refused Cuartocruz's requests, resulting in a heated argument that later allegedly escalated into a fistfight.

Officers had told Paragas' kin that the victim had died after jumping out of a police car following the brawl.

But Paragas' relative "Cecilia," quoting a doctor, told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo on Tuesday that the victim might have been hit by a "hard object" based on his head injuries.

"Cecilia" further alleged that when Cuartocruz learned Paragas was dead, he immediately went to where the waiter's remains were found and said "buti nga sa iyo" (serves you right).

(We don't know where to get justice.)

Lorenzo said that as of Wednesday, the 3 police officers were already under the PNP's administrative custody while the investigation on Paragas' death was ongoing.  

3 cops have been relieved after a waiter died in their custody.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1791555/nbi-sacks-security-management-chief-for-letting-detainee-go-out

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has relieved the chief of the Security Management Section after a high-profile detainee, Jose Adrian “Jad” Dera, was reportedly allowed to go out of the bureau’s detention facility on Tuesday evening.

“The NBI assures the public that our organization will not condone acts of betrayal of public trust. The Chief of the Security Management Section was already relieved from his post pending the investigation of the case,” the bureau said in a statement on Wednesday.

It added: “Rest assured that the tasked investigators will thoroughly look into the bottom of the incident, including the possible  involvement of other personalities, and will immediately file the appropriate criminal and administrative cases.”

The statement did not name the security management chief nor was the name indicated on the NBI website.

Dera was later caught as he was returning to the NBI compound in Manila.

In a TV5 interview, Dera’s lawyer, Raymund Palad, said his client was allowed to go out to get medical attention. Dera, he added,  left the detention center on a marked vehicle with six NBI security escorts.

Dera is also among the co-accused in the illegal drug trade case that former Sen. Leila de Lima is facing at Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court.

Aside from this, Dera is also accused of acting as a bagman of Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., who is suspected of being the mastermind in the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo.

The NBI's Security Chief has been let go for allowing a detainee to leave the NBI facility.