It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1241399 |
Local government officials have been charged over the presence of Philippine Overseas Gaming Operations (POGOs) in their localities, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) revealed Thursday.
PAOCC Executive Director Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz announced that cases have been filed against local executives due to their negligence and failure to address the widespread POGO activities within their jurisdictions.
Cruz emphasized that local officials cannot claim ignorance, especially since these operations are often active within barangays, where they should be aware of such businesses.
“As President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has pointed out, these operations would not have existed if local governments were unaware of them, particularly at the barangay level,” Cruz said in an interview over state-run PTV.
“These businesses don’t just sprout overnight like mushrooms,” he added.
Cruz, however, did not divulge how many local officials have been charged.
Local government officials have been charged over the presence of Philippine Overseas Gaming Operations in their localities, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission revealed Thursday.
A Regional Trial Court (RTC) has found a mayor guilty of indirect contempt for defying an order to remove barricades blocking access to a local supermarket built on a lot leased by the municipal government.
Mayor Teresa Alegado of Consolacion town in north Cebu was facing both incarceration and fine for disobeying a court order to remove the barricades at Fooda Saversmart.
“Given by the circumstances of the case and the prayers of the petitioners, this court finds that she should be indefinitely incarcerated for disobeying the assailed writ until such time she is able to comply with the same,” said Judge Merlo Bagano of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 14 in Cebu City.
“On the alternative, if the respondent mayor has already complied with the assailed writ, she shall be penalized for a fine of P30,000,” the judge added.
Bagano’s decision was promulgated on Dec. 19, 2024, but copies of the ruling were secured by reporters only on Jan. 8.
The Inquirer tried but failed to reach Alegado for a statement on Thursday, Jan. 9.
But according to lawyer Paulo Sucalit, legal officer of Consolacion town, the mayor plans to file a motion for reconsideration to contest Bagano’s ruling.Sucalit, in a statement, emphasized that the ruling was not yet final and that they would exhaust all legal remedies to challenge the decision.
The case stemmed from a lease dispute between Alegado’s administration and Fooda Saversmart in 2023.
The supermarket owners alleged that local authorities had unjustly placed barricades around their leased property.
These barricades, they said, blocked access to the property and disrupted their operations.
The disputed lots, identified as Lot Numbers 604 and 11222, are located in Barangay Poblacion, Consolacion.
Fooda Saversmart, along with its president Patrick Ngochua, filed a petition for a writ of preliminary injunction to secure continuous access to the property.
The Cebu court eventually granted the petition and ordered the immediate removal of the barricades.
However, Alegado did not follow the court’s directive, prompting Bagano to hold the mayor liable for indirect contempt.
Under the Rules of Court, a person is guilty of indirect contempt if he or she disobeys or resists a lawful writ, process, order, judgment, or command of the hearing officer.
If the respondent is found guilty of indirect contempt, he or she may be punished by a fine not exceeding P30,000 or imprisonment of not more than six months or both.
A Regional Trial Court has found a mayor guilty of indirect contempt for defying an order to remove barricades blocking access to a local supermarket built on a lot leased by the municipal government.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted 30 members of the Philippine National Police, including two generals, for allegedly simulating arrests and planting evidence during an alleged drug raid in October 2022 resulting in the largest drug haul in the country.
According to the DOJ on Friday, it had already filed charges of violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act (Republic Act No. 9165) against the officers in the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 175.
The case stems from the supposed Oct. 8, 2022, drug raid on a company called Wealth and Personal Development Lending Inc. (WPD Lending) where 990 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride (“shabu”) worth P6.7 billion were seized.
Police Master Sgt. Rodolfo Mayo, a member of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group (DEG) and one of the respondents, was supposedly arrested following a “hot pursuit” at Quezon Bridge in Quiapo, Manila. The “arrest” of Mayo and a certain Ney Atadero in an alleged buy-bust operation was cited in the “simulating arrests” case.
“CCTV footage presented by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the National Police Commission (Napolcom) revealed inconsistencies in the police narrative,” the DOJ said in a statement.
“The footage, also shown by former Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. during a press conference, allegedly showed Mayo in handcuffs as early as Oct. 8, contradicting claims of his arrest the following day,” the DOJ added.
In April 2023, following a fact-finding inquiry, Abalos made public video footage of Mayo’s arrest by several officers, showing that instead of leaving immediately, the handcuffed Mayo and other officers entered a building multiple times, transferring bags and luggage to various vehicles.Seen arriving and entering the establishment were high-ranking officials, including Police Lt. Col. Arnulfo Ibañez; Col. Michael Angelo C. Salmingo; Col. Julian Olonan; Brig. Gen. Narciso Domingo, a former chief of the DEG; and Lt. Gen. Benjamin Santos Jr., former deputy chief for operations, the third-highest official in the PNP.
They were later seen in conversation before Olonan and Salmingo joined Mayo in a vehicle. Mayo’s handcuffs were removed before finally leaving the premises.
Police officers were also seen removing the handcuffs on Mayo in at least four instances before he entered the WPD Lending office on the day of the raid.
Abalos said Mayo was even listed as an arresting officer in a separate drug operation on the day of the raid even though he had already been caught in a buy-bust operation earlier.
The DOJ said that Mayo was seen being brought to WPD Lending while Atadero was observed moving freely in the same location.
From the CCTV footage, the PNP discovered that at least two DEG officers—Master Sgt. Lorenzo Catarata, Senior Master Sgt. Jerrywin Rebosora—took 42 kilos before the 990 kilos of shabu were inventoried.
The stolen shabu was recovered on Oct. 15, 2022, in an abandoned car parked along Boni Serrano Avenue in San Juan City near Camp Crame.
“We can conclude from the complaints that Mayo was already arrested earlier in Bambang, Tondo, Manila, for allegedly possessing 2 kilograms of shabu. Atadero can also be seen from CCTV footage freely roaming the WPD Lending office. Hence, the subsequent arrests were staged,” according to the DOJ statement quoting the indictment resolution.
The DOJ prosecutors noted that while charges had been filed in court against Mayo and Atadero for drug offenses previously, the new indictment was based on the alleged simulated arrests and planted evidence.
The indicted officers were Santos, Domingo, Olonan, Ibañez, Salmingo, Police Lt. Col. Dhefry Punzalan, Lt. Jonathan Sosongco, Master Sgt. Carlos Bayeta, Patrolman Hustin Peter Gular, Patrolman Rommer Bugarin, Patrolman Hassan Kalaw, Patrolman Dennis Carolino, Cpl. Joshua Ivan Baltazar, Patrolman Nathaniel Gomez and Lt. Ashrap Amerol.
The others were Rebosora, Catarata, Senior Master Sgt. Marian Mananghaya, Staff Sgt. Arnold Tibay, Lt. Col. Glenn Gonzalez, Lt. Randolph Piñon, Patrolman Mario Atchuela, Patrolman Windel De Ramos, Lt. Silverio Bulleser II, Police Chief Master Sgt. Emmanuele Docena, Master Sgt. Alejandro Flores, Cpl. Jhan Roland Gelacio, Patrolman James Osalvo, Patrolman Darius Camacho and Master Sgt. Rodolfo Mayo.
The Department of Justice has indicted 30 members of the Philippine National Police, including two generals, for allegedly simulating arrests and planting evidence during an alleged drug raid in October 2022 resulting in the largest drug haul in the country.
Nineteen employees of the Negros Occidental provincial government have tested positive for the use of illegal drugs.
These include three permanent employees, seven job order (JO) workers, three contract of service workers (COS), and six blue guards, according to Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz on Monday, Jan. 13.
The contracts of the COS and JO workers that ended in December, he said, were not renewed for the New Year.
The blue guards, who belong to an agency, were not allowed to continue work at provincial government facilities.
Diaz said the permanent employees were subjected to confirmatory testing and have the option to undergo rehabilitation if they wish to be reinstated.
“If they do not undergo rehabilitation, they will be charged with grave misconduct,” he said.
The 19 employees who tested positive for the use of illegal drugs were among the 1,800 who underwent drug tests on Dec. 17, 18, and 19 at the Capitol in Bacolod City.
Random drug testing is a mandatory requirement of the Civil Service Commission through Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 for a drug-free workplace.
The Negros Occidental provincial government has an ongoing drug testing program to make sure their employees are free from narcotics and perform their duties well.
Nineteen employees of the Negros Occidental provincial government have tested positive for the use of illegal drugs.
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https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/1/14/sandiganbayan-affirms-conviction-of-ex-gsis-official-over-p8-m-fictitious-claims-1457
The Sandiganbayan has upheld the conviction of a former Government Insurance System (GSIS) official for malversation and graft over P8 million worth of fictitious claims. |
Two former executives of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) posted bail for four counts of graft charges filed against them by the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with a controversial P2-billion vessel monitoring system (VMS) project in 2018.
In an order by Branch 141 of the Antipolo City Regional Trial Court, former agriculture undersecretary and BFAR national director Eduardo Gongona and Demosthenes Escoto, who also served as BFAR national director, each paid a cash bond worth P360,000 on Jan. 7, 2025, a day after they were ordered arrested by the court.
Their arraignment and pre-trial have been set on Jan. 22 and Feb. 26 at 1:30 pm.
Looking back, a complaint was filed in 2022 by lawyer James Mier Victoriano on alleged irregularities in the procurement of VMS transreceivers for BFAR’s Integrated Marine Environment Monitoring System (IMEMS) Project Phase II. The contract was worth P2.09 billion and awarded to the British company SRT Marine Systems Solutions Ltd.
Both Gongona and Escoto have been charged with two counts of violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act (RA) 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, as well as one count each of violation of Sections 3(g) and 3(j) of the same law, for their alleged involvement in the “improper awarding” of the contract to the British company.
Simon Tucker, chief executive officer of the solutions provider, is a co-accused, too.
Victoriano’s complaint in 2022 asked the Ombudsman to charge Gongona, Escoto, Tucker, former agriculture assistant secretary Hansel Didulo, and SRT Marine Systems Solutions Ltd. chief financial officer Richard Hurd with violations of RA 3019, as well as the Government Procurement Reform Act.
This, as the initial invitation to bid in 2017 for the IMEMS Project Phase II stated that the project was to be funded by the French Republic and through a loan agreement. The initial invitation to bid had an Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) of P1.6 billion.Victoriano said the loan agreement required that the bidder must be either a French national or possess a joint venture agreement with a French national, and that the goods must be of French origin. However, “despite the requirement, SRT participated in the bid and was declared by DA-BFAR to be eligible and eventually won the bid.”
Victoriano said it was clear that DA-BFAR did not comply with the conditions provided in the initial invitation to bid and would have continued with the award if not for the disapproval by the French government, which resulted in the cancellation of the loan agreement.
The procurement proceeded with the use of local funding.
Back in October 2018, BFAR conducted the last bidding with an ABC of P2.09 billion. SRT Marine Systems Solutions Ltd. was eventually awarded the contract to equip fishing vessels with VMS transceivers, which are seen to help in protecting marine resources by keeping track of commercial fishing vessels.
The project’s scope eventually expanded to include 5,000 VMS transceivers for commercial vessels and satellite service subscriptions, significantly increasing the government’s obligations, which was initially set at only 3,736. This made the contract “disadvantageous to the government.”
The complaints against Didulo and Hurd were dismissed for lack of evidence.
The Ombudsman affirmed its February 2024 decision by denying in October 2024 the motions for reconsideration filed by the respondents. Escoto has already been dismissed from government service by the Ombudsman after being found guilty of grave misconduct in relation to the same transaction.
Two former executives of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) posted bail for four counts of graft charges filed against them by the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with a controversial P2-billion vessel monitoring system (VMS) project in 2018.
A sedition complaint was filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday, Jan. 15, against a vlogger who allegedly called on the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to topple the government.
Charged was Elemente Enrique, also a former Philippine Army officer with the rank of captain, in the complaint filed by PNP Brig. Gen. Nicholas D. Torre, chief of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG).
Sedition is a crime in the Philippines that involves inciting people to violently revolt against the government or its authorities. The crime includes spreading false information to cause panic.
The complaint against Enrique was filed in relation to the Cybercrime Law, Torre told journalists.
“There were many instances he was calling for sedition against the government and even during the time when I was regional director of Davao during the hunt for Quiboloy,” said Torre.
Prior to being PNP-CIDG chief, Torre headed the Police Regional Office 11 of the Davao Region that arrested Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder and pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy who is facing non-bailable charges of qualified trafficking in persons.
“‘One of the things he did was to ask law enforcement to drop the implementation the arrest warrant against Quiboloy,” cited Torre.
“And now, he is calling on the Armed Forces and the PNP to abandon this government and topple it, to withdraw the support," he added.
He said that “in a democracy, everybody has the right to express their grievances.”
“That’s the beauty of democracy you can express your own opinion. However, there are limitations. It should be made within the bounds of the law,” he pointed out.
A sedition complaint was filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday, Jan. 15, against a vlogger who allegedly called on the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to topple the government.
The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the city government of Baguio for having P4.43 billion in time deposits and several high yield savings accounts (HYSA) amid unpaid obligations and unimplemented priority development projects.
In a 2023 audit report on Baguio, the COA said the funds, placed under HYSA/time deposit and approximately totaling P4.45 billion as of December 2023, were in excess by P3.7 billion or 537 percent of idle funds amounting to P695 million.
The audit breakdown showed that 17 of the HYSA/time deposit accounts were with the Land Bank of the Philippines and have a yearend balance of P3.32 billion.
Seven other accounts were with the Development Bank of the Philippines, with a total yearend balance of P1.11 billion.
Based on COA Circular Nos. 92-382 and 92-382-A, only idle funds of local government units (LGUs) can be placed in time deposits and HYSAs.
The audit body said a review of the city government’s financial statement showed Baguio has idle funds of only P695 million as of December 2023, which should have been placed under time deposit during the first quarter of 2024.
“Apparently, the fund placed under time deposits were obtained from funds intended for payment or settlement of current liabilities and to cover the budgeted regular and recurring operating expenses for calendar year 2024,” the COA said.
It said that such conditions resulted in the accumulation of liabilities to suppliers and contractors, unsettled obligations to officers and employees, and unremitted amounts in favor of other government agencies.
The Commission on Audit has flagged the city government of Baguio for having P4.43 billion in time deposits and several high yield savings accounts amid unpaid obligations and unimplemented priority development projects.
A former policeman was arrested when law enforcers raided a suspected drug den in Barangay Duljo Fatima here on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
The suspect, a certain Ruel, was the alleged maintainer of the drug den raided by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Cebu Provincial Office and operatives of the Cebu City Police Station 11.
Two other men, a 61-year-old on-call driver, and a 46-year-old parking attendant, were also arrested after they were caught inside the drug den.
Among the items confiscated during the operation were seven packs of suspected shabu with an estimated average market value of P122,400.
Leia Alcantara, information officer of PDEA-Central Visayas, said the operation materialized after a one-week case buildup.
Alcantara said Ruel had gone absent without official leave after serving for 18 years in the police organization.
The suspect was also arrested in 2016 for illegal drug charges but was acquitted in 2022.
Charges for violation of Sections 5, 6, 7, 11, and 12, Article 2, of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 will be filed against the former policeman and two other suspects, Alcantara said.
A former policeman was arrested when law enforcers raided a suspected drug den.
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