It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
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| https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/544152/former-barangay-councilor-nabbed-with-p136000-shabu-in-cebu-city |
A former councilor of Barangay Sto. Niño in Cebu City will be spending some time in jail after authorities caught him with P136,000 worth of suspected shabu during a buy-bust operation in Barangay Quiot Pardo on Thursday morning, December 7, 2023.
The arrested person was identified as 47-year-old Brian Dwight Gaviola, who formerly worked as a barangay councilor and is now jobless.
The alleged suspect is a resident of Barangay Quiot Pardo, Cebu City.
The anti-illegal drugs operation was conducted at around 9:30 a.m. which lead to the arrest of the suspect.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) also described the arrested person as a drug personality listed in the PDEA-PNP regional target list.
Gaviola reportedly served as a councilor in Barangay Sto. Niño until October 2023 after the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.
According to Leia Alcantara, PDEA-7 spokesperson, they initially received reports about Gaviola’s involvement in illegal drugs activities while he was still in the position.
Operatives then validated the information they received until they were able to gather enough evidence against Gaviola. Alacantara relayed that the case buildup took one month before the buy-bust was implemented.
She said that based on their observation, Gaviola could dispose around 30 grams of illegal drugs per week.
During the operation, personnel confiscated 5 packs of illegal drugs believed to be shabu weighing around 20 grams. The seized illegal drugs had a market value of P136,000.
They also confiscated one cellular phone, IDs, one motorcycle, and cash amounting to P3,000.
According to the agency, the pieces of drug evidence will be submitted to the laboratory for chemical analysis and proper disposition.
The buy-bust operation was conducted by joint forces of PDEA-7 and Labangon Police Station.
As of this writing, Gaviola has been placed under custody pending the filing of appropriate charges against him.
Charges of possession and selling of dangerous drugs will likely be filed against the former barangay councilor, stated PDEA-7.
A former barnagay councilor has been arrested for selling drugs.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1872511/rejecting-claims-of-evidence-planting-chain-of-custody-violation-ex-ozamiz-city-vice-mayor-nova-parojinog-gets-life-for-drugs |
Former Ozamiz City Vice Mayor Nova Parojinog has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Quezon City Court despite her claim that the police planted evidence following her family’s inclusion in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s “narco list.”
Parojinog was meted with a penalty of life imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of P500,000 after she was found guilty of illegal possession of 677.6796 grams of shabu.
“There is no doubt in the mind of the Court that the prosecution has proven beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of illegal possession of 677.6796 grams of shabu,” the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 228 said.
Parojinog was arrested on July 30, 2017, in Barangay San Roque in Ozamiz City during a raid where her father, former mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr., mother Susan, her brother and sister, and 12 others were killed.
Her defense centered on her claim that the government was “impelled by an evil motive” following her family’s inclusion in Duterte’s narco list. She said the policemen planted shabu inside her cabinet drawer to justify the case against her.
But the court said: “When the case is up for trial, the judicial head is empty as to facts involved, and it is incumbent upon the litigants to establish by evidence the facts upon which they rely.”
However, the court said the claim of planting evidence was bare and “unsupported by proof.”
A former Vice Mayor has been convicted on drug charges.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1872548/village-chief-in-pangasinan-town-slain |
The village chief of Poblacion in this town was shot to death late Thursday, Dec. 7, by still-unidentified assailants, police said.
Investigators said Melinda Morillo, 60, was attacked at 6 p.m. as she was driving her sports utility vehicle while heading to her second house in Barangay Tebag.
Police said Morillo’s car was shot several times, causing her to suffer multiple gunshot wounds.
The victim was taken to the Region I Medical Center Annex in Bonuan, Dagupan City, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Policemen were searching for possible witnesses and reviewing security camera footage to identify the suspects and their escape route.
Another village chief has been assassinated.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1215078 |
The Sandiganbayan has convicted of graft charges former Lazi, Siquijor mayor Orville Fua and four others for their part in the purchase of PHP4.99 million worth of fertilizer in 2004.
The anti-graft court, in its 85-page decision dated Dec. 7, also found guilty town secretary Sue Agnes Castillon, municipal engineer Natalio Jumawan Jr, municipal treasurer Rose Marie Tomogsoc, and private individual Merlyn Lu, a representative of the firm Mangopina Trading, which figured in the transactions.
They were sentenced to a prison term ranging from six to 10 years and barred perpetually from holding public office.
They were charged for their part in entering into a contract for the town’s purchase of 2,096 bottles of MRG Liquid Fertilizer at PHP1,550 per bottle and 1,258 bags of Del Gro Super Foliar Fertilizers at PHP1,550 per bag for a total of PHP4.99 million after tax.
The transaction had been in violation of Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act. Other charges include the premature issuance of the purchase request, reference to brand names, lack of performance security bond, and lack of proof of the project’s implementation.
"In sum, the court holds that accused Castillon, Jumawan, Tomogsoc and Fua's blatant violations of the applicable procurement laws, rules, and regulations reveal their common criminal design to rig the purported public bidding in this case to unduly favor Mangopina,” the court said.
A former mayor and four others have been found guilty of graft.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/8/sandigan-laments-kamag-anak-preference-in-gov-t-transaction-affirms-conviction-of-barangay-officials-on-graft-charge |
In a decision written by Associate Justice Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta, chairperson of the court’s seventh division, the Sandiganbayan affirmed the judgment of conviction meted out by the regional trial court (RTC) on two barangay officials for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act
The RTC found Barangay Captain Roy Hunnob of Dulao, Lagawe, Ifugao and Treasurer Salvador Galeon guilty of graft. They were sentenced to six to nine years imprisonment with perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
Initially, the RTC ruling was elevated to the Court of Appeals (CA) which affirmed the conviction. However, the Supreme Court (SC) – ruling that the CA has no jurisdiction on the appeal – vacated the CA’s decision and remanded the case to the Sandiganbayan.
The charge against Hunnob and Galeon arose from the payment in 2007 of P67,200 to Caroline B. Hunnob, sister of the barangay captain, for the “fictitious delivery” of a 25-horsepower speedboat.
In their appeal, the barangay captain and the treasurer told the anti-graft court that the RTC erred in its finding that they gave unwarranted benefits, advantage, or preference to Caroline in the discharge of their functions.
They claimed that Hunnob's relationship to the speedboat supplier is not proof enough to hold them liable for graft because both of them acted in good faith.
In affirming the conviction, the anti-graft court said: "What happened in this case is the very evil the law sought to avoid. Despite a failed public bid, assuming one was indeed made in the first place, the fact that the contract was eventually awarded to the sister of the barangay captain, who had control over the procurement process as head of the procuring entity, spells nothing but suspicion of favoritism and anomalies in the execution of public contracts."
The court said that Caroline should have been automatically disqualified from the procurement process, and failing to disqualify her was a "blatant disregard of the law and legal processes."
A barangay captain and town treasurer have been found guilty of graft.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/9/leyte-village-dad-nabbed-in-buy-bust |
A 51-year-old barangay councilor or “kagawad” was nabbed in a buy-bust operation in interior Barangay Quezon, MacArthur, Leyte, on Friday, December 8.
The suspect was identified as Joel Coderes, 51, a resident and official of Barangay Quezon.
Coderes was listed as a high-value individual in the illegal drugs trade by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-8 (Eastern Visayas) and the Philippine National Police.
He was apprehended by a joint PDEA-Leyte and MacArthur Municipal Police Station team after he sold P500 worth of suspected from a poseur-buyer.
Coderes yielded 4.02 grams of shabu with an estimated value of P27,700.
The suspect was previously arrested for the same offense and had been monitored for alleged illegal drug activities.
Coderes was taken to the MacArthur MPS and drug-related cases are being prepared against him.
A barnagay councilor has been arrested for drugs.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/9/drunk-disordely-cop-chief-in-misamis-oriental-sacked |
The municipal police chief of Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental was sacked from his post after he went viral on social media for brandishing his gun to a group of young individuals while allegedly drunk before dawn on Friday, December 8.
Viral videos posted by Facebook user Narabo Costo that had 3,000 shares showed a policeman allegedly under the influence of alcohol harassing a group of young individuals in the town plaza around 3 a.m.
Costo said in a post that the victims were just in the area to eat in a street food stall when the police officer shouted at them and drew his service firearm.
The uploader added that they went to the Tagoloan police station to report the incident but police personnel at that time did not listen to them and even asked him to delete the video as this could ruin their reputation.
In a statement released on Friday, the Misamis Oriental Police Provincial Office confirmed that Tagoloan Municipal Police Station chief Police Capt. Enrique Dungog was the police officer involved in the incident.
Misamis Oriental police chief Police Col. Cholijun Caduyac said they are currently conducting a thorough investigation on the incident and vowed that any misconduct committed by their policemen would be dealt with accordingly.
“MORPPO strongly condemns the wrongdoing of our men. We guarantee that there will be no whitewash in the investigation, and any infractions and misconduct perpetrated by our policemen will be dealt with accordingly and will never be tolerated,” Caduyac said.
Dungong and two other police personnel have been relieved from their positions and assignments to prevent them from influencing the investigation.
A local police chief has been relieved of his position after being caught on video being drunk and waving his gun around.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1875258/quezon-village-councilman-nabbed-for-illegal-firearms-bullets |
Police arrested on Wednesday, Dec. 13, a barangay (village) councilor in San Antonio town in Quezon province for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
The Quezon police reported Thursday, Dec. 14, that law enforcers swooped down on the suspect’s house, identified as alias “Jacinto,” 55, in Barangay Callejon on Wednesday morning.
The raiders, armed with a search warrant issued by Judge Agripino Bravo of the Regional Trial Court in this city, found one caliber .30 carbine with a magazine, 25 bullets; one caliber .38 pistol, two magazines, 24 bullets; one caliber .9mm pistol, two magazines, 19 bullets; and seven bullets for caliber .40 pistol, all undocumented.
The suspect is detained at the local police jail and faces charges of violating the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.
The confiscated firearms would be subjected to ballistic and cross-matching examinations to determine if they had been used in past crime incidents.
A village councilor has been arrested for illegal possession of firearms.
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