Retards in the Government 344

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

 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1215962

An incumbent village councilman here was shot dead by a still-unidentified suspect on Christmas Day.

Capt. Eduardo Malicdem, Police Station 4 chief, said village councilman Datu Macmod Lauban and his son were sitting on a waiting shed at 3 p.m. when two men on board a motorbike arrived, then shot them at close range but the son was unhurt. 

Lauban, 59, a resident of Barangay Bagua 1, died instantly, Malicdem said.

“Lauban sustained gunshot wounds in different parts of his body and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital,” Malicdem said.

Responding police found three empty shells of caliber .45 pistol at the crime scene.

The motive of the attack could be “rido” (family feud) or personal grudge, police said.

A village councilman has been assassinated.

https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/26/sandigan-affirms-conviction-for-malversation-of-public-funds-of-ex-benguet-provincial-cashier

The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the conviction for malversation of public funds involving P4.08 million in 1997 of the former provincial cashier of Benguet.

Affirmed were the judgments of conviction in 12 cases of former cashier IV Esther S. Pagano who was sentenced by the regional trial court (RTC) to prison terms ranging from two to seven years in 11 cases, and from 10 to 16 years in one case.

Pagano was convicted when she incurred cash shortage of P1,051,124.17 and P3,029,675.40 or a total of P4,080,799.57.  She was responsible for collecting cash and checks under the province’s General Fund then depositing these with the depository banks maintained by the province of Benguet.

However, the trial court found that the shortages were incurred because of Pagano's failure to issue official receipts for the purpose of acknowledging several checks intended as interest payments.

Pagano appealed the trial court’s ruling before the anti-graft court.  She claimed that the RTC erred in convicting her because the mandatory element of misappropriation or conversion is absent in this case.

The Sandiganbayan disagreed. "The prosecution proved all the elements of malversation beyond reasonable doubt," it said in its decision dated Dec. 20, 2023.

"Time and again, the Supreme Court has emphasized that an accountable public officer may be convicted of malversation even if there is no direct evidence of misappropriation and the only evidence is that there is a shortage in his/her accounts which he/she has not been able to explain satisfactorily," the anti-graft court said.

The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the conviction of a provincial cashier. 

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2023/12/27/2321647/cop-axed-accidental-firing

A police officer was removed from his post and placed under restrictive custody after he accidentally fired his gun in Malabon City.

Col. Jean. Fajardo, chief information officer of the Philippine National Police, said the police officer, whom she did not identify, is under investigation.

“He is under custody and his firearm was confiscated,” she told reporters in a phone interview yesterday.

Fajardo said the incident occurred in Malabon on Dec. 23.

Seven people have been accosted so far for illegal discharge of firearms during the Yuletide season. Two of the violators are police officers, two more are military personnel while the rest are civilians.

Fajardo warned gun holders not to use their firearms in celebrating Christmas and New Year since they would face criminal charges if they are caught.

She also urged the public to report people indiscriminately firing their guns and to document the incident to serve as evidence.

A cop has been arrested for accidentally firing his gun. 

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/bacolod/not-alarming-seven-more-provincial-govt-employees-test-positive-for-drug-use

Seven more employees of the Negros Occidental provincial government were tested positive for use of illegal drugs.

This brings the total number to 27 Capitol employees who were found using drugs during its mandatory drug test.

Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said Wednesday, December 27, that five of the employees are from the Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City and two are from the Cadiz District Hospital.

However, Diaz said he will not reveal how many of them are regular, casual, contract of service, or job order employees.

"We will reveal it only after their confirmatory tests come out in January next year," he said.

The results also show that five of the employees use shabu, while the other two use marijuana.

The results of 16 other employees also showed traces of shabu.

Earlier, 20 out of the more than 3,200 provincial government employees tested positive for drugs this month.

"It is not alarming, but they will suffer the consequences; that was their choice to do what they did," Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson warned.

He added, “we will purchase additional drug testing kits to cover the remaining employees assigned at the district hospitals operated by the provincial government.”

Seven more Negros Occidental employees have tested positive for drugs. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/28/dot-overspent-p2-6-m-in-hotel-accommodations-in-2022-coa

The Department of Tourism (DOT) overspent P2.6 million for its hotel accommodations in 2022, the Commission on Audit (COA) said in its annual audit report (AAR).

In its AAR, COA recommended that the DOT refund the excessive costs incurred by concerned officials and employees and strictly adhere to Executive Order No. 77 when preparing the Budget Estimate or Terms of Reference for the contracts of its programs and activities to avoid excessive expenditures for hotel accommodations and meals.

COA pointed out that Section 5 of Executive Order No. 77 provides the maximum allowable Daily Travel Expenses (DTE) to government personnel. These include local travel, hotel accommodation or lodging, meals, and incidental expenses including the cost for local or inland transportation.

It said that when state auditors reviewed 10 sample contracts from the DOT’s Office of the Secretary (OSEC) for the period of Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, 2022, they discovered that the rates provided in the Budget Estimate of eight contracts exceeded the amount prescribed under EO No. 77 by P1,547,913.80.

"It was concluded that the DOT OSEC's procurement of hotel accommodation/lodging was not in compliance in all material respects with the provisions of Section 5 of E.O. No. 77," the report said.

Similar observations were noted in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and Regions III and IX, it said.

The maximum amount allowed per audit for the OSEC was P539,000, but the actual expenses made by the OSEC was P962,679. The allowable amount for CAR was P267,300, but the region spent P560,630. Region III was allowed P1,267,500, but it spent P2,159,450, while Region IX was allowed P608,450 but spent P1,610,769.60. All in all, COA said the DOT overspent P2,611,278.60 for hotel accommodations and lodging.

The DOT overspend 2.6 million pesos in hotel accommodations.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/892346/pnp-at-least-7-incidents-of-illegal-discharge-of-firearms-reported-so-far/story/

At least seven incidents of illegal discharge of firearms have been reported so far ahead of the New Year celebration, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Tuesday.

PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said two cops, two soldiers, a civilian, and two unidentified persons were involved in these incidents.

“From December 6 to yesterday, we recorded seven incidents of illegal discharge of firearms,” Fajardo told GTV’s Balitanghali.

“Two police officers and two soldiers were included in that list."

The incidents involving two police officers were reported in Davao and Manila.

One of them fired a gun three times on the ground outside of residence due to a family problem. The other cop also shot on the ground when he was ignored by some residents he scolded for being noisy.

Both of them used their service firearms in the incidents, according to Fajardo. These guns have already been confiscated.

Except for the two unidentified suspects, all of them have been arrested and are facing criminal complaints.

Two cops and two soldiers have been arrested for illegal discharge of firearms. 

https://www.ndbcnews.com.ph/news/5-killed-armed-clashes-pikit-north-cotabato

Five gunmen, including a village councilman, who were followers of a village chair and field commander of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were killed in clashes that erupted Saturday afternoon, police here said.

Major Arvin John Cambang, Pikit municipal police chief, said the fighting between Chairman Sindatok Karim of Barangay Lagunde, and Basit Nando, alias Commander Abu Sabaya, head of MILF 118th base command, erupted at about 3 p.m. in Sitio Edzap, Barangay Lagunde, Pikit, North Cotabato.

Barangay Lagunde is one of the 63 villages now under the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Cambang identified the fatalities under the group of Chairman Karim as village councilman Malik Karim, Sammy Nawal Salik, a Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT) member.

At the same time, those injured were BPAT members Saddam Salaban, 33, and Karnain Esmael, 33, both residents of Barangay Lagunde. Killed on the side of Commander Abu Sabaya were Kena Abdillah, 35 Omar Abdillah, 38, and an unidentified person.

Elements of the 90th Infantry Battalion backed the Pikit PNP in disengaging the warring armed groups and the recovery of the fatalities.

“They are locked in long-standing ‘rido’ or family feud over a territorial misunderstanding,” Cambang said in the vernacular.

Cambang said the group of Chairman Karim claimed that they were working on a barangay road project when the group of Commander Abu Sabaya arrived and opened fire, triggering a firefight that lasted for about an hour.

Cambang quoted Abu Sabaya as telling police probers that the group of Chairman Karim entered his area of operation without coordination.

But Cambang said Abu Sabaya has a grudge against Chairman Karim because he suspected that the village officials’ followers were behind the murder in November of his two relatives.

Soldiers from the 90th IB and personnel from Police Mobile Force Battalion 14 are now in the area to serve as peacekeepers and prevent the escalation of hostilities. Several families have fled to nearby villages.

A village councilman has been slain in a clash with the MILF.