It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1232679 |
A police officer is facing dismissal from the service for shooting and killing a 19-year-old fisherman in General Santos City in February.
Inspector Gen. Brigido Dulay, Philippine National Police-Internal Affairs Service (PNP-IAS) chief, said Thursday he has submitted to the office of PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil the recommendation to dismiss the police corporal, whose name was withheld, after he was found guilty of grave misconduct.
“Their badge will not shield them from felonious behavior or conduct. As law enforcers, they are duty-bound to abide by and uphold the law, whether in or out of uniform,” Dulay said in a statement.
Witnesses said the incident occurred inside a videoke house in General Santos City on Feb. 21, where the police officer was drinking with a group of men last February.
The victim identified as Marvin Bahian and his companions were also drinking at another table outside the establishment.
For still unknown reasons, a heated argument ensued between the cop and the victim, with the suspect drawing his firearm and shooting the victim multiple times.
Bahian died instantly from several gunshot wounds, while the cop fled the scene.
Police eventually arrested the suspect on Feb. 22.
The suspect was charged with the administrative offense of grave misconduct while a criminal case for murder was filed against him by the General Santos City Prosecutor's Office.
Reports showed that the officer had previously been involved in another physical altercation while drunk.
A police officer is facing dismissal from the service for shooting and killing a 19-year-old fisherman in General Santos City in February.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/9/6/ex-aurora-gov-7-others-convicted-of-graft |
The Sandiganbayan has convicted former Aurora governor Gerardo "Jerry" A. Noveras and seven others of their graft charge involving the irregular repair of a bridge and road in 2014.
Noveras, together with Provincial Administrator Simeon A. De Castro, Provincial General Services Officer Ricardo Q. Bautista, Provincial Budget Officer Norma R. Clemente, Provincial Legal Officer Paz L. Torregosa, Assistant Provincial Engineer Benedicto S. Rojo, Executive Assistant IV Isaias A. Noveras Jr., and private individual Manding Claro R. Ramos of RMCR Construction, were sentenced to six to 10 years imprisonment with perpetual disqualification to hold public office.
Their criminal act stemmed from the undue advantage given to RMCR Construction when the company was awarded the contract for the repair of the Dimalang Bridge Approach of the Casiguran-Dilasag Provincial Road and the Road Section of the Casiguran-Dilasag Provincial Road even though there was no public bidding conducted for it.
The prosecution said in the charge sheet that the accused "rigged the bidding process" for the said transaction, since RMCR had already implemented and almost completed the repair projects even before the procurement process was concluded.
"After a thorough review of the documentary and testimonial evidence on record, as well as the stipulations between the prosecution and the defense, the court finds that the evidence presented proved beyond reasonable doubt that accused Noveras, De Castro, Torregosa, Bautista, Rojo, Noveras Jr., Clemente, and Ramos violated Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019," the court ruled.
The court found that the prosecution was successful in proving that the projects were completed as early as Aug. 15, 2014, contrary to the Sept. 24, 2014 completion date stated in the Certificates of Final Project Completion.
"It is impossible for the Repair of Bridge and the Repair of Road to be finished in one day given that they were estimated to take between 30 and 60 calendar days to complete, respectively," the court said. "It was likewise impossible to have finished both projects on Aug. 15, 2014 because the Notices to Proceed allowed RMCR Construction to begin only on Aug. 25, 2014."
Since RMCR Construction started both projects early even before the bidding process began, the court said that manifest partiality was clearly given to the company.
The 49-page decision dated Sept. 4 was penned by Associate Justice Karl B. Miranda with the concurrence of Sixth Division Chairperson Associate Justice Sarah Jane T. Fernandez and Associate Justice Kevin Narce B. Vivero.
Noveras won as Aurora's vice governor in the 2022 elections; however, he was unseated by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) after it was found that he used the provincial government's tarpaulin printer to create his campaign materials.
The Sandiganbayan has convicted former Aurora governor Gerardo "Jerry" A. Noveras and seven others of their graft charge involving the irregular repair of a bridge and road in 2014.
A barangay councilor in Bogo City, northern Cebu was gunned down by two still unidentified gunmen on Saturday, September 7.
The police in Bogo City confirmed that a shooting occurred at Purok 6, Brgy. Cogon around 8:45 p.m. last Saturday.
The victim was later identified as Antonio Harry Godinez, a barangay councilor in the same barangay where the shooting happened.
Based on initial investigations, witnesses claimed seeing Godinez riding his motorcycle and heading towards his home around 8:30 p.m.
Suddenly, two men chased him down the road, with one pulling out the gun and firing it multiple times towards the barangay official from the back.
The suspects immediately left the scene on foot, reports added. Meanwhile, Godinez was rushed to nearby hospital, but the attending physician declared him dead on arrival.
The victim sustained at least six gunshot wounds on different parts of his body.
Police continue to conduct further investigation into the crime, including the possible motives behind it.
Another barangay councilor has been assassinated.
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| https://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/coa-flags-mandaue-for-p62m-backhoe-rental-lapse |
THE Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Mandaue City government for deficiencies in its P6.2 million backhoe rental agreement.
The state auditor also scrutinized the City’s rental expenditures from 2021 to 2023, which exceeded P22.1 million.
COA, in its 2023 audit report, a copy of which was obtained by SunStar Cebu, said that the City’s framework agreement with the supplier did not comply with the revised implementing rules and regulations or Republic Act 9184, which governs procurement practices.
Additionally, the contract was not recorded as payable, breaching International Public Sector Accounting Standard 1.
These issues, COA said, have raised concerns about the transparency and accountability of the city’s procurement processes.
The report highlights that the rental costs incurred over the two years could have been used more effectively.
COA recommended that Mandaue City develop a plan to purchase its excavators, which would be a more efficient and cost-effective use of public resources. This suggestion aligns with Section 2 of Presidential Decree (PD) 1445, which advocates for the efficient utilization of public funds.
COA issued several recommendations for Mandaue City’s management. These include the submission of a written explanation by the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) and other officials regarding the noted deficiencies.
COA also advised that the city accountant prepare journal entries to acknowledge the payable amount.
To prevent future issues, COA urged the BAC to conduct a cost-benefit analysis before entering into framework agreements to ensure they are “practical, economical, and beneficial to the City.”
Additionally, COA has tasked the City Engineering Office with reviewing all projects involving backhoe excavators to determine if purchasing equipment would be more cost-effective than renting from private entities.
In response, City Administrator Jamaal James Calipayan told SunStar Cebu via phone interview on Saturday, Sept. 7, that purchasing equipment would be disadvantageous due to higher maintenance costs over time.
“Yes. We have answered this na. The only deficiency is the fact that in a usual framework agreement, delivery is staggered depending on the needs of the end user. While in our case, the delivery was done only once,” he said.
“As we know, a motor vehicle is not an asset but a liability because of its increasing maintenance costs...How many times has the City purchased heavy equipment before? Due to the difficulty in maintaining it, it easily breaks down,” Calipayan said in a mix of English and Cebuano.
THE Commission on Audit has flagged the Mandaue City government for deficiencies in its P6.2 million backhoe rental agreement.
A 23-year-old Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council) chairman was shot and wounded on the Aringay-Tubao Provincial Road in Barangay San Simon East here on Sunday, September 8.
Police identified the victim as John Joaquin Macabinta, SK chairman of Barangay San Simon East.
Investigation said Macabinta was driving a motorcycle and stopped in an intersection to talk to the driver of a black Toyota Fortuner which was following him.
Macabinta left after a few minutes but the suspect fired at the victim thrice.
Macabinta was taken to a hospital for a bullet wound in the body and is in stable condition.
The suspect escaped and the subject of a pursuit operation.
A 23-year-old Sangguniang Kabataan chairman was shot and wounded in an assassination attempt.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/09/10/2384148/bi-chief-sacked-over-guo-escape |
Following the escape of dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo, the first head to roll is that of immigration commissioner Norman Tansingco.
President Marcos had vowed that “heads will roll” in the wake of Guo’s departure from the Philippines.
Tansingco’s dimissal “has already been approved by the President,” Secretary Cesar Chavez of the Presidential Communications Office said in a text message to reporters yesterday.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Marcos accepted his recommendation to sack Tansingco.
“Yes, the President and I have come to an agreement… He (Tansingco) will be replaced,” Remulla said, explaining that the recommendation he made was due to a number of issues, which include Guo’s escape despite being on the immigration lookout bulletin.
“I’m not satisfied. Marami kaming naging problema (We had a lot of problems),” Remulla told reporters.
He said among the problems was Tansingco’s inaction on the reported issuance of working visas to fake companies, which allowed undesirable aliens to enter the country.
“I called his attention to it, wala siyang ginawa (he did nothing),” Remulla said.
“I’ve completely lost any trust or confidence in him,” he said in a separate interview over ANC.
He said he also called out Tansingco for failing to inform him immediately about Guo’s exit from the country.
“That is why we are no longer on speaking terms. That kind of behavior, it is not right for him not to inform the DOJ secretary about what is going on with your office,” Remulla said.
Both Malacañang and Remulla did not say whether the Bureau of Immigration chief abetted Guo’s escape. In an interview last month, Marcos warned “heads will roll” if government personnel were found to have aided Guo’s escape.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian had said the BI was aware of Guo’s escape but it kept the President in the dark on her whereabouts.
Bureau of Immigration commissioner Norman Tansingco has been dismissed following Alice Guo's escape.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/9/10/ex-baseco-board-member-convicted-in-p102-m-graft-cases |
The Sandiganbayan has convicted former Bataan Shipyard and Engineering Corp., Inc. (Baseco) board member Agustiniana C. Avelino of 13 graft charges for the withdrawal of P102 million from 2008 to 2010 without proper justification.
Avelino has been sentenced to six to eight years imprisonment for each graft conviction and perpetually disqualified from holding public office.
She was also ordered to return and reimburse the government, through the Bureau of Treasury, the amounts of P500,000; P700,000; P31,466.66; P6,043,500; P6,042,168.72; P516,826.50; P33,214; P20,953,817.45; P20,000,000; P20,000,000; P10,000,000; P14,250,000; and P3,000,000 or a total of P102,070,993.28.
The case against retired Navy Capt. Proceso L. Maligalig, former president of the government-owned firm, had been dismissed in light of his death during the pendency of the Sandiganbayan proceedings.
Government prosecutors said that Maligalig and Avelino made the withdrawals "without prior authorization from the Baseco Board of Directors and without any justification for the said withdrawals."
They told the court that the accused also failed to "account for the same public funds, and thereafter diverting the amount to their personal use and benefit, to the damage and prejudice of the government in the afore-stated amount."
In her defense, Avelino told the court that the signatures on the 13 withdrawal slips were not hers, and she even affirmed that she was not familiar with the 13 withdrawal slips and has never been to the bank.
However, the court junked her defense as it ruled that the signatures in the withdrawal slips and bank documents were "unquestionably" hers.
It said that if Avelino truly believed her signatures were forged, she should have referred it to a handwriting expert but she failed to do so.
"The Court finds that the prosecution has sufficiently proved that the accused withdrew or caused the withdrawal of Baseco funds from its Peso Savings Account No. 049112000852 with PS Bank - Paco Branch without prior authorization from the Baseco Board of Directors," the decision stated.
"The injury to the government is apparent considering that the prosecution was able to prove that the amount withdrawn in Baseco's Peso Savings Account No. 049112000852 with PS Bank - Paco Branch was without justification and the accused failed to account for the stated amounts," it added.
The 92-page decision was written by Associate Justice Ronald B. Moreno with the concurrence of Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Bernelito R. Fernandez.
The Sandiganbayan has convicted former Bataan Shipyard and Engineering Corp., Inc. board member Agustiniana C. Avelino of 13 graft charges for the withdrawal of P102 million from 2008 to 2010 without proper justification.
A joint anti-illegal drugs operation by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Philippine National Police busted on Friday evening the meth-vending activity of a school teacher in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay.
PDEA-9 regional director Maharani Gadaoni-Tosoc confirmed the arrest of Gemma Lahaman Isnain, 59, of Kong-Kong Laminusa village in Siasi, Sulu, during a buy-bust operation in Poblacion, Ipil.
Operatives seized three heat-sealed sachets containing about 150 grams of suspected meth with an estimated market value of P1.02 million.
A case for violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act is being prepared against the suspect, Tosoc said
A teacher has been busted for selling drugs.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/9/11/sandigan-affirms-graft-conviction-of-ex-dotc-execs-businessman |
The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the conviction of four former Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) officials and a private individual over the irregular purchase of P6 million worth of cellular telephones in 2005.
Denied were the motions for partial reconsidetration filed by former DOTC directors Ildefonso T. Patdu, Jr., Elmer Soneja, and Rebecca S. Cacatian; legal officer Geronimo V. Quintos, and businessman Samuel Jonathan L. Ng.
The former DOTC officials were sentenced to five to 10 years imprisonment because of the manifest partiality given to Ng's company, which was awarded the contract for the procurement of mobile phones even without the conduct of public bidding. The Commission on Audit (COA) even flagged Ng's company, West Island Beverages Distributor, for not being an authorized dealer of cellular phones.
The main accused, former Iloilo 2nd District Rep. Judy J. Syjuco, already entered into a plea bargaining agreement with the prosecution and pleaded guilty to defrauding the public treasury.
In their motions, those convicted claimed there was no act of conspiracy to commit graft, as they insisted that the purchase of cell phones was done in accordance with the procurement law and rules.
However, the anti-graft court found their motions lacking in merit. The court said that the accused cannot "feign ignorance" regarding the procurement law. As members of the bids and awards committee, the court said that they should have, at the very least, held an independent determination to verify the exclusivity of the source of the cell phones - which is the only time direct contracting is allowed.
"In sum, the Court finds no new and/or substantial arguments raised by the accused-movants in their partial motions for reconsideration that would warrant a reconsideration of the Court's Decision promulgated on June 7, 2024," the court said.
The 25-page resolution was written by Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang with the concurrence of Associate Justices Bernelito R. Fernandez and Ronald B. Moreno.
The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the conviction of four former Department of Transportation and Communications officials and a private individual over the irregular purchase of P6 million worth of cellular telephones in 2005.
Five garbage collectors from the Department of Public Service (DPS) of the Cebu City government were caught allegedly stealing steel components of a bridge that they tried to hide in a garbage truck by covering the stolen items with garbage.
This was however found out by personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH-7) and they made a citizen’s arrest and held the 5 suspects, whom they turned over to the policemen of the Mambaling Police Station.
The theft attempt was done inside the compound of the DPWH-7 compound at the South Road Properties (SRP) in the afternoon of September 10.
The 5 suspects are currently detained at the Mambaling Police Station.
According to Police Major Efren Diaz Jr., chief of Mambaling Police Station, the suspects were garbage collectors and subcontractor personnel of DPS who were detailed at DPWH-7.
They were caught in the act of stealing the steel components of a bridge stocked at the DPWH-7compound, were arrested by DPWH-7 personnel, and turned over to the Mambaling Police Station.
Diaz said that this was the first time the suspects committed the crime.
However, based on the information from the DPWH-7, they noticed that some of their construction materials went missing for several days.
The construction materials that they stole were sold to a junkshop.
“Worth 300,000 ang mga materyales nawala kagahapon”, Diaz said.
(The materials that were lost yesterday were worth at least P300,000.)
Five garbage collectors from the Department of Public Service of the Cebu City government were caught allegedly stealing steel components of a bridge that they tried to hide in a garbage truck by covering the stolen items with garbage.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1982382/ex-palawan-gov-joel-reyes-wanted-for-killing-broadcaster-surrenders |
Former Palawan Governor Joel Reyes, who was wanted for his alleged connection with the killing of broadcast journalist Gerry Ortega in 2011, has turned himself in before the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) office in Metro Manila.
The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) made the announcement in a Facebook post on Wednesday evening, which it said came from a source it did not name.
According to the task force, it will provide more details later.
Citing reports, PTFoMS said Ortega was a “well-known critic of local government corruption during the term of Reyes.”
In 2023, a regional trial court (RTC) in Puerto Princesa, Palawan issued an arrest warrant against Reyes.
Palawan RTC Branch 52 Presiding Judge Angelo Arizala signed the arrest warrant on July 20, 2023, after the Supreme Court first division released its March 29, 2023, ruling ordering to rearrest Reyes and subsequent resumption of the murder trial.
Based on previous reports, Ortega was shot and killed in a thrift store in Barangay San Pedro on January 24, 2011, after his radio program.
Former Palawan Governor Joel Reyes, who was wanted for his alleged connection with the killing of broadcast journalist Gerry Ortega in 2011, has turned himself in before the National Bureau of Investigation’s office in Metro Manila.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/9/9/soldier-shot-dead-in-zamboanga-del-sur |
A soldier on furlough was gunned down in Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur on Saturday, September 7.
Police identified the victim as Private First Class Mark Leo Jay Capute of the 44th Infantry Battalion.
Capute was shot in the head and died on the spot.
Police are conducting follow-up investigation and hot-pursuit operations against the gunman.
A solider on furlough was gunned down.
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