It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2025/01/24/2416441/coa-flags-p256-million-idle-rain-stations |
The Commission on Audit (COA) has called out the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) over P256.07 million worth of hydrometeorological or hydromet stations set up nationwide which remain idle for over a year.
In its 2023 annual audit report on PAGASA, the COA said a validation by its audit team revealed that over a hundred hydromet stations installed in strategic places nationwide, with an estimated value of P256.074 million, were no longer operational or were “no longer sending rainfall/water level data” to the state weather forecasting bureau’s central server in Quezon City.
The audit body said the hydromet stations, if only continuously maintained and utilized, could have “marginally improved” the agency’s rainfall forecasting and warning system and information dissemination especially to flood-prone communities.
The COA said that of the 1,825 hydromet stations inspected by the audit team in September 2022, 13.48 percent or 246 stations were “not operational and cannot be rehabilitated anymore” while 10.08 percent or 184 stations “needed rehabilitation.”
The Commission on Audit has called out the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration over P256.07 million worth of hydrometeorological or hydromet stations set up nationwide which remain idle for over a year.
Murder charges were filed against a former Court of Appeals associate justice and five other persons for the killing of a barangay official in Leyte.
Vicente “Ching” Veloso, a former magistrate and congressman of the third district of Leyte; Nicolas Banez, alias “Butoy,” William Louise Languido, Richan Dejon Pernis, Edwin Mulle, and Edwin Comendador were charged before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The complaint was filed on Wednesday, Jan. 22, by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Major Crimes Investigation Unit (CIDG-MCIU).
The charges stemmed from the murder of Anthony Sevilla Nuñez, a councilor of Barangay Malawaan, Tabango, Leyte. Nuñez was shot inside a cockpit on Jan. 23, 2016.
The CIDG-MCIU said that a case was filed in relation to the murder but it was dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
The CIDG-MCIU disclosed that on Aug. 14, 2024, the CIDG director “issued verbal instructions” to investigate the killings in the third district of Leyte that led to the reopening and further investigation of Nuñez's murder.
During the course of the investigation, Pernis surrendered to the CIDG-Regional Field Unit Eastern Visayas where he allegedly admitted his participation in the murder of Nunez.
“His surrender was prompted by threats to his life from an individual named Ching Veloso. He voluntarily submitted himself into custody of CIDG RFU 8 for him to seek protection,” a portion of the documents submitted by CIDG-MCIU to the DOJ said.
According to the CIDG-MCIU, Pernis is a New People’s Army rebel and is wanted for a murder case in Barangay Guinsiaman, San Miguel, Leyte.
The CIDG-MCIU added in August 2015, Languido admitted his participation in the crime. Languido, also a former member of the NPA, is currently detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-Biliran.
As the investigation continued, the CIDG-MCIU said a 45-year-old resident of Barangay Basud, San Isidro, Leyte came forward and testified that he positively identified the gunman in the killing of Nuñez. The witness identified the gunman as Banez.
In his sworn statement, Pernis said Banez was his former platoon commander in the NPA since 2001. He said it was Banez who persuaded him to work in Veloso’s farm in Barangay Guinsiaman.
While working as a security guard in the farm, Pernis said he came to know Languido and Comendador.
The CIDG-MCIU said that Pernis claimed to have been paid an additional P5,000 for “violent tasks.”
Pernis alleged that Veloso ordered Butoy to carry out a certain “job” which turned out to be the assassination of Nunez.
In his own admission, the CIDG-MCIU said Languido recounted that their group gunned down Nuñez in a cockpit in Barangay Manlawan, Tabango at 4 p.m.
Banez was the alleged gunman while Languido served as a lookout and the driver of the get-away vehicle.
The CIDG-MCIU said that the killing of Nuñez was politically motivated as he was a known supporter of Veloso’s political rivals.
Murder charges were filed against a former Court of Appeals associate justice and five other persons for the killing of a barangay official in Leyte.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1242628 |
An active and a deserting member of the Philippine Army were arrested here Friday following an entrapment operation for allegedly selling illegal firearms.
Lt. Juaren Caang, spokesperson of the Cotabato Provincial Police Office, identified the suspects as Pfc Jay Clinton Delgado Paguntalan, 30, an active member of the Army's 39th Infantry Battalion based in Makilala town, and Sarif Dasil Mungkas, 35, an Army deserter.
"We are still corroborating all information and evidence to determine if they belonged to a large syndicate," Caang said in a statement released Saturday.
According to him, the Military Intelligence Battalion led the operation and coordinated the local police for the entrapment that led to the arrest of the suspects along the national highway in Barangay Lika at about 3:30 p.m.
Authorities recovered three M16 rifles from the suspects, including the PHP200,000 in buy-bust money.
Police are preparing cases against the suspects for violating Republic Act 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, and the Commission on Elections gun ban under the Omnibus Election Code before the Provincial Prosecutors Office in Kidapawan City.
The Army’s 39th Infantry Battalion, in a statement, also lauded the arrest of the suspects.
An active and a deserting member of the Philippine Army were arrested here Friday following an entrapment operation for allegedly selling illegal firearms.
Seven agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) are now the subject of follow-up operations after a Pasay City court ordered their arrest for a case of kidnapping for ransom and serious illegal detention.
Those ordered arrested were Vidal Bacolod, Efren Esteban, Xeres Angelo Galutera, Renato Flores, Jan Alexis Mateo and Alex Ramos, all PDEA agents assigned Central Luzon.
In this regard, the PDEA appealed to the public to provide them through 0995-345-7070 or contact the nearest Philippine National Police (PNP) office if they have information that may lead to their apprehension.
When pressed if they are still with the agency, PDEA personnel Glenn Malapad confirmed that the seven are still in “active status for now’’ but the administrative case filed against them is ‘undergoing’ and is up for resolution.
But he said the seven agents were already barred from joining anti-illegal drugs operations.
“Hindi pwedeng AWOL (absence without leave), kasi needed 30 working days pa bago pa ma declare silang AWOL (They cannot be charged with AWOL since 30 working days are needed before they are declared AWOL),’’ Mapalad explained.
Seven agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency are now the subject of follow-up operations after a Pasay City court ordered their arrest for a case of kidnapping for ransom and serious illegal detention.
A total of 903 police officers were dismissed from service last year due to various offenses, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
PNP’s 2024 data showed that 5,457 police officers were charged administratively.
Of this figure, 903 officers were dismissed, including five lieutenant colonels, six majors, 12 captains and five lieutenants.
Close to 3,000 police officers were sanctioned in 2024 for various violations committed while on duty, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Sunday.
Official data show 5,457 officers faced administrative charges and were involved in 3,751 cases.
Among them, 2,765 officers received penalties, while 2,691 were exonerated.
Records showed that among those penalized, 1,112 received suspensions including a colonel, 19 lieutenant colonels, 29 majors, 30 captains, and 22 lieutenants.
Close to 3,000 police officers were sanctioned in 2024 for various violations committed while on duty, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Sunday.
A reelectionist municipal councilor from Caoayan, Ilocos Sur was gunned down in Barangay Tamag, Vigan City, Ilocos Sur on Saturday morning, Jan. 25.Police identified the victim as Anthony Verzola, a resident of Barangay Callaguip, Caoayan.Investigation said Verzola was sitting in front of a restaurant at about 6 a.m. when unidentified persons riding a motorcycle appeared. One of them disembarked and shot the victim the head.The suspects fled and the victim was taken by the police to a hospital in Vigan City where he was declared dead.Police recovered an empty .45 caliber shell at the crime scene.Lawmen are reviewing surveillance footages and conducting follow-up investigation.
By pleading guilty to a lesser offense, the treasurer of Caraga town in Davao Oriental evaded a possible longer jail term in his graft case.
After his Sandiganbayan arraignment and before the prosecution could start presenting its evidence, treasurer Jaime D. Labasano filed a plea barganing agreement with the prosecution.
He changed his not guilty plea and, instead, pleaded guilty to a lesser of offense of violation of Section 6(b) in relation to Section 52(b) of Republic Act No. 8291, the law on social security and insurance benefits for government employees.
Section 6(b) of RA 8191 provides: "Whoever shall obtain or receive any money or check invoking any provision of this Act or any agreement thereunder, without being entitled thereto with the intent to defraud any members, any employer, the GSIS, or any third party, shall be punished by a fine of not less than five thousand pesos (P5,000) nor more than twenty thousand pesos (P20,000) or by imprisonment of not less than six (6) years and one (1) day to twelve (12) years, or both, at the discretion of the court."
The jail term for violation of Section 3(e) of RA 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, for which Labasano was charged, is a minimum of six years and a maximum of 15 years with permanent disqualification to hold public office.
Labasano was indicted for failing to turn over and remit the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) premiums and contributions of the officials and employees of the municipality amounting to P1,471,461.58.
The municipality and the GSIS then entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) and the amount was reduced by 50 percent with an interest of P1,931,062.66. The municipality agreed to pay the interest charge amounting to P965,531.33 and both Labasano and his co-accused, former Caraga Mayor William Sobiaco Duma-an, agreed to pay the remaining interest.
Labasano entered into a plea bargaining agreement with the prosecution. Plea bargaining is “a process of negotiation between the prosecution and defense in a criminal case whereby the accused – in return for leniency or a lighter sentence – agrees to plead guilty to a lesser offense.”
Approving the plea bargaining, the Sandiganbayan found Labasano guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the lesser offense of Section 6(b) in relation to Section 52(b) of Republic Act No. 8291. He was ordered to pay a fine of P5,000.
The anti-graft court noted "the payment made by Labasano in the amount of P965,531.33, representing the subject interest, which is considered full settlement of accused's civil liability."
Associate Justice Gener M. Gito wrote the 12-page decision with the concurrence of Fifth Division Chairperson Associate Justice Zaldy V. Trespass and Associate Justice Maryann E. Corpus-Manalac.
By pleading guilty to a lesser offense, the treasurer of Caraga town in Davao Oriental evaded a possible longer jail term in his graft case.
Six police officers in Malabon have been relieved amid alleged lapses in serving a search warrant.
City police chief Col. Jay Baybayan said the officers were reassigned to the Malabon police headquarters pending a probe into the incident.
The subject of the search warrant identified only as “Tarajen” claimed that three plainclothes officers handcuffed him and failed to read his Miranda rights on Jan. 21.
Police searched his house and allegedly recovered a .38-caliber handgun.
Tarajen accused the police of planting evidence, saying they “immediately retrieved the gun from a box as if they already knew where it was hidden.”
He was released from detention after the prosecutor dismissed the charges.
A video of the alleged anomalous operation circulated online.
Six police officers in Malabon have been relieved amid alleged lapses in serving a search warrant.
The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) over its 13 dormant bank accounts with over P6 million in deposits as it warned that failure to properly handle the accounts might lead to misappropriation or misuse of funds.
In its audit report, the COA said that the DPWH regional office in the National Capital Region has one bank account containing P2,267,996.24 which has remained idle and unused for more than 10 years.
It said the Nueva Vizcaya 1st District Engineering Office (DEO) has one bank account that was created for cash deposits and payments by creditors with contracts from other government agencies. Its P104,374.14 in deposit has been dormant or inactive for more than nine years.
The Leyte 2nd DEO has four bank accounts that have been inactive for six to eight years already, while the Leyte 3rd DEO has three dormant bank accounts that have remained inactive since 2020. Biliran DEO has two bank accounts deemed inactive and for closure, it also said.
It added that the Isabela City DEO in Basilan has two bank accounts containing P3,644.277.15 that have remained dormant for more than 10 years.
The COA said that when state auditors inquired with the DPWH about these dormant bank accounts, the DPWH officials said the purpose for which the bank accounts were established have already been completed and are no longer applicable.
"Thus, the non-closure of unnecessary and dorman bank accounts not only raises the inaccuracy and unreliability of the reported balance of the cash accounts as [of] year end but also exposes the balances of these accounts to the risk of possible misappropriation/misuse," it said in its report.
The Commission on Audit has flagged the Department of Public Works and Highways over its 13 dormant bank accounts with over P6 million in deposits as it warned that failure to properly handle the accounts might lead to misappropriation or misuse of funds.
A 37-year-old former soldier was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Barangay Handumanan here on Wednesday, Jan. 22.
The victim was identified as Arnold Caballes of Barangay Cabug here.
Police Capt. Glenn Montaño, head of Police Station 10, said the victim, who had been working as a security guard, was driving a motorcycle on his way home when the suspect appeared.
The suspect who was also driving a motorcycle chased the victim who lost his balance and crashed.
The victim pleaded to the suspect to spare his life but was shot. Caballes crawled to a grassy area to escape but the suspect followed and shot him again. The victim sustained bullet wounds and was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead.
Montaño said the victim was recently involved in a misunderstanding during a personal transaction and figured in an argument with a man who was interested in his live-in partner. Police already have a person of interest.
Two barangay security officers were killed and three colleagues were wounded in a drive-by shooting in Barangay Labu-Labu, Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur on Monday night, Jan. 27.
Police identified the victims as a 17-year-old Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team member and Esmael Singh, 20, both residents of Barangay Labu-Labu Mother, Shariff Aguak.
Wounded were Anwar Banalan, 20; Mohamad Husain, 30, and another 17-year-old male, all from Barangay Labu-Labu Mother.
Investigation said the victims were manning a BPAT checkpoint at 7 p.m. on the national highway when motorcycle-riding gunmen arrived and fired at them with an automatic rifle.
Police said this was the second gun attack on BPAT members in Shariff Aguak in less than a week. A BPAT member was killed and another was injured in the town’s public market on Jan. 22.
Police are conducting follow-up investigation and have identified several persons of interest in the incident.
Two barangay security officers were killed and three colleagues were wounded in a drive-by shooting in Barangay Labu-Labu, Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur on Monday night, Jan. 27.
With the country entering a “postpandemic phase,” the Commission on Audit (COA) has warned that P152 million worth of ultra-low-temperature freezers procured by the government for its COVID-19 vaccination program were in danger of going to waste.
Based on the special audit it conducted from May 2023 to January 2024 on the national vaccination drive vs COVID-19, the COA noted that several ultra-low-temperature freezers remain “idle or unutilized” while these could be repurposed for keeping cancer medicines, clinical specimens, microorganisms, and other “sensitive” biological products for research.
“This nonrefocusing or nonrepurposing of these valuable assets, with an estimated total value of P152,118,000, hinders their potential to contribute to other critical healthcare needs,” read the COA audit findings released in December 2024.
“Failure to properly repurpose these freezers could also result in failing to maximize the government funds spent and the value of donations on the said equipment,” it noted, adding that the freezers could last up to 10 years.
Of the 243 freezers in “good condition” as of July 2024, 166 were purchased by the government. The rest came from donors.
The equipment was used to store specific COVID-19 vaccines, especially the Pfizer-BioNTech brand that needed to be kept and transported at temperatures ranging from minus 90 degrees Celsius to minus 60 C. The government bought these freezers to comply with the operational guidance for an ultra-cold-chain system set by the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund.
The same guidelines, however, urged countries to come up with a transition and maintenance plan on how the freezers could be used beyond the COVID-19 vaccination program.The COA cited the disease prevention and control bureau of the Department of Health (DOH), which stated that the procured freezers were “versatile units [that] can serve as essential equipment for local health systems in clinical and research applications.”
Among the bureau’s suggestions were to transfer the equipment to government-run research facilities such as the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, San Lazaro Hospital, and national warehouses or regional hubs to “allow rapid deployment of ultra-low-temperature vaccines … in case of future needs.”
The COA recommended that the DOH collaborate with other hospitals and local government units to ensure that any efforts to repurpose the freezers were “aligned with the needs of the healthcare system.”
A separate COA audit report covering the year 2023 showed that more than P11 billion worth of drugs, medicine, and supplies, including 7 million vials of COVID-19 jabs, expired that same year.
The DOH responded by defending the procurement of millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines that eventually went to waste, saying it was done to save lives during a global emergency.
“The COVID-19 vaccination exercise did not have the benefit of years of planning and preparation like other routine and established vaccination programs. It was an emergency, a matter of life and death,” it said in a statement.
Latest DOH data showed that more than 177 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including booster shots, have been administered nationwide since the government’s inoculation program was launched in 2021.
With the country entering a “postpandemic phase,” the Commission on Audit (COA) has warned that P152 million worth of ultra-low-temperature freezers procured by the government for its COVID-19 vaccination program were in danger of going to waste.
