It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2025/06/20/barangay-official-nabbed-for-shooting-scavenger-in-malabon |
A 37-year-old barangay official was arrested after allegedly shooting a scavenger during an altercation in Malabon City on Thursday, June 19.Personnel from the Malabon City Police Station – Substation 6 said that the suspect, who is a barangay kagawad of Barangay Ibaba, was involved in the shooting incident that occurred around 5:35 a.m.Based on the police report, the official was conducting his regular patrol duties on a motorcycle when he encountered the victim—a 39-year-old scavenger and a resident of Barangay Acacia—who was allegedly obstructing his path.The confrontation escalated when the suspect reportedly pushed the victim, who in turn shouted at him and allegedly pulled out a bladed weapon.The official fired his service firearm, hitting the victim on the left thigh. The suspect claimed he acted in self-defense.The injured victim was brought to the Tondo Medical Center for medical treatment.The barangay official was immediately arrested.Police recovered a 9mm pistol from the suspect, which was loaded with three live rounds. Authorities confirmed that the firearm is licensed and valid until March 2032.The suspect also holds a License to Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF) valid until March 1, 2027, but his Permit to Carry Firearm Outside Residence (PTCFOR) is still under processing.The suspect will face charges of attempted homicide.
The Dumanjug Police Station has arrested two individuals suspected in the killing of a barangay secretary from Purok 5, Barangay Tubod-Dugoan, Dumanjug town, on Friday morning, June 27, 2025.
Barangay secretary shot dead in Dumanjug; two suspects arrested
The victim was identified as Celsa Regidor Redondo, who was found lifeless inside her room that morning. Authorities confirmed that she sustained gunshot wounds to the head and abdomen.
Police Captain Eden Rex Baguio, chief of the Dumanjug Police Station, said that witnesses were able to describe the suspects, which helped identify them.
The suspects were arrested in the same barangay with the help of barangay officials during a hot pursuit operation.
Police arrested alias “Teban,” 51, allegedly the lookout, and alias “Conrad,” 35, the suspected gunman. Conrad also has a pending murder case from a previous shooting incident.
(There were really only two suspects, according to the victim’s companion, who also said there was a woman present. But they only heard two voices talking. No one else was seen. Only those two entered, barged into the victim’s room—one shot her while the other acted as a lookout outside.)
Among the possible motives police are looking into is mistaken identity.
This is due to the fact that the victim had two helpers, and one of the helpers’ brothers also stayed in the house.
Authorities believe that the real target may have been alias “Kikil”, the helper’s brother, who previously worked with the victim at her coconut farm.
Kikil allegedly borrowed a large sum of money from the 51-year-old suspect and left without paying him back.
(It’s highly possible that Kikil was the real target of the two suspects, so we’re continuing to interview this person. Our investigation into the motive is still ongoing.)
Baguio also said that although the barangay secretary was known to be strict and outspoken in her work, she never got into any serious fights or arguments, and that people in their community were already used to her demeanor.
Currently, police are preparing to file murder charges against the two suspects.
Barangay secretary shot dead in Dumanjug; two suspects arrested
A Manila court has voided the Tarlac town mayorship of Alice Guo, who has been suspected as a foreign spy, as it ruled that she is “undoubtedly a Chinese citizen.”
In a 67-page ruling dated June 27, the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 34 ruled Guo is “nothing more but a usurper” of the Office of the Mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, since she was not only disqualified to hold the position but also from running for the post in the first place as only natural-born Filipinos can run for office under the Constitution.
It said it did not matter if Guo was elected as mayor in 2022 since this does not cure her of being disqualified due to lack of Philippine citizenship, which the court said, “was already existing at the time of the filing of her certificate of candidacy.
“It follows, therefore, that her proclamation was deemed void. Alice Guo is found disqualified from and is hereby adjudged guilty of usurping and exercising the Office of the Mayor of Bamban, Tarlac. Accordingly, she is hereby ousted and altogether excluded therefrom,” Manila RTC Branch 34 Judge Liwliwa Hidalgo-Bucu said in the ruling.
The ruling stemmed from the quo warranto petition filed by the Office of the Solicitor General. It is an exclusive power of the solicitor general to remove a public official who it deems holding a position unlawfully because seen as unqualified or ineligible.
The court found that Guo is “undisputedly” a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping, who was born of Chinese parents Guo Jian Zhong and Lin Wenyi. She and her parents are holders of Chinese passports.
The Manila RTC also noted that there exists no birth, death and even marriage records of Guo’s purported parents Angelito Guo and Amelia Leal.
The court also gave weight and credence to the expert testimony of Alfredo Kahanding, chief of the Dactyloscopy Division of the National Bureau of Investigation, that Guo matched fingerprints of Chinese citizen Guo Hua Ping, who arrived in the Philippines from Fujian, China in July 1999, with her parents Guo Jian Zhong and Lin Wenyi.
Guo Hua Ping was only nine years old then, and was given an investor’s visa as the minor dependent of her parents who were granted Special Investors Resident Visa.
Guo earlier testified before the Senate that her mother is a full-blooded Filipino named Amelia Leal but she had never met her. Amelia Leal was allegedly the maid of her father Angelito Guo and Alice was their lovechild.
Meanwhile, her birth certificate says Guo was born on July 12, 1986 in Tarlac to Angelito and Amelia who were allegedly married in 1952. The birth certificate was registered only in 2005, or when Guo was already 19 years old.
Kahanding had concluded that the fingerprints were from the same person and that Alice Guo is actually no other than Guo Hua Ping.
The court said Kahanding’s testimony “deserves full weight and credence” since fingerprint evidence is infallible and faultless because no two people, even identical twins, have the same fingerprint, and that fingerprints cannot be forged.
“Alice Leal Guo has utterly failed to prove that she is a Filipino citizen, absent any credible evidence to rebut the petitioner’s evidence… It can, thus, be safely concluded that Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese national, assumed the identity of one Alice Leal Guo, representing herself as a Filipino citizen. Simply, Guo Hua Ping is Alice Leal Guo,” the court said.
“Just imagine a foreign individual, who was allowed to stay in the Philippines, was able to circumvent the law by posing herself as a Filipino citizen in order to meet the citizenship requirement to enter public office and ultimately, assumed the powers and functions of Mayor of Bamban, Tarlac. Such a situation posed a risk to national security which is far more than real,” the court said.
“There is more than meets the eye because Guo Hua Ping assumed the identity of Alice Leal Guo and posed herself as a Filipino citizen to be able to run for, voted upon and be elected for a public position,” it added.
The OSG was assisted by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission in securing needed documents for the trial and coordinated with the presentation of Kahanding, one of the key witnesses.
The Manila court’s ruling confirming Guo’s Chinese citizenship and declaring her guilty of usurping the mayoralty of Bamban, Tarlac affirms long-held concerns over her eligibility, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said yesterday.
“The court ruling affirming that Alice Guo is a Chinese national and finding her guilty of usurping and exercising the Office of the Bamban Mayor validates what we’ve long been saying – that she was never qualified to hold public office,” Gatchalian said.
“Still, the government must rigorously pursue all cases against her and hold her accountable for her illicit activities. She should also be prohibited from owning land,” he added. “I also urge the government to go after those who aided and protected her. Foreigners must never be allowed to use government for their own selfish interests.”
A Manila court has voided the Tarlac town mayorship of Alice Guo, who has been suspected as a foreign spy, as it ruled that she is “undoubtedly a Chinese citizen.”
A police chief in Rizal province has been relieved from his post over alleged inefficiencies, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Monday.
At a press briefing, PNP chief Police General Nicolas Torre III said the removal of the official stemmed from the “lazy” handling of complaint filed by a businessman over a missing amount of money.
“Ayaw ko sanang i-mention 'yung lugar kasi syempre may career pa rin naman 'yung tao, may mga kamag-anak ang ating pulis, at opisyal pa rin natin 'yan,” Torre said.
(I don’t want to mention the place because of course that person still has a career, has relatives, and he’s still our officer.)
“Pero you know I have to put my foot down on these inefficiencies na nakikita natin. Our kababayan do not deserve those kind of services…Gawaing tamad naman talaga 'yun e,” he added.
(But you know I have to put my foot down on these inefficiencies that we see. Our countrymen do not deserve those kinds of services…It’s really lazy work.)
Torre said that over the weekend a businessman sought the help of the concerned police unit after two of their workers and P600,000 went missing.
For Torre, the concerned police personnel could have traced the location of the suspects behind the missing money.
Upon checking the blotter, Torre said the police just reported that “documentation is now being prepared for filing of the appropriate case in court.”
The police also ordered the businessman to go home, according to the PNP chief.
Torre has been conducting inspections in different areas in the country to assess the capabilities of the police as he pushes for a faster response to crimes and emergencies.
A police chief in Rizal province has been relieved from his post over alleged inefficiencies.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1253285 |
Seven police officers assigned at the Manila Police District (MPD) are facing dismissal from the service after they were accused of extorting money from a 49-year-old man, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said on Tuesday.
In a statement, NCRPO chief Maj. Gen. Anthony Aberin said the police officers – a lieutenant, three staff sergeants, and three patrolmen, all detailed at the Anti-Drug Unit of Police Station 5 – were arrested inside the station in Ermita, Manila late Monday night.
The operation stemmed from the arrest of the complainant on June 20 based on made-up drug cases. While he was in police custody, the involved officers allegedly extorted PHP50,000 from his spouse in exchange for release.
Although only PHP20,000 was eventually paid via mobile transfer, the complainant was freed without charges. When the officers learned that a formal complaint had been filed, they returned the money in an apparent attempt to dissuade legal action.
Seized from the police officers were seven mobile phones used in the alleged extortion, five official police IDs, screenshots of digital transactions and conversations and remittance records of the extorted amount.
“The arrests were carried out following the swift validation of reports and complaints that exposed the involvement of the said personnel in illegal activities while in the performance of their duties,” said Aberin.
“The immediate arrest of involved PNP (Philippine National Police) personnel reflects the uncompromising enforcement of accountability within the police force. Internal cleansing remains a top priority, and NCRPO is committed to ensuring that only those who embody professionalism, discipline, and integrity will remain in service.”
The arrested officers were put under restrictive custody, awaiting charges for robbery-extortion, grave threats, arbitrary detention and violations of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; and Presidential Decree 1829, which pertains to obstruction of justice.
Aberin said the operation was in line with the instruction of national police chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III to focus on police accountability.
“There will be no second chances for police scalawags. NCRPO will not allow these criminals to taint the integrity and dedication of those who are doing good in the service. Rogue policemen will be arrested, detained, charged and removed from the service, based on due process of law,” said Aberin.
Aberin ordered a conduct investigation and relieved the commander in Police Station 5 for command responsibility for failure to act on the case.
Seven personnel of the Manila Police District were arrested after taking a man into custody under "fabricated" drug charges.
Robert Dean Barbers, former general manager of the defunct Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA), was sentenced to up to eight years in prison for graft over alleged irregularities in the award and construction of a sports complex project in Intramuros, Manila that was eventually demolished for being illegal.
In a 100-page decision promulgated on June 27, the Sandiganbayan Special Sixth Division has found Barbers guilty of one count of violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
He was sentenced to a minimum of six years and one month to a maximum of eight years of imprisonment with the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
Barbers, together with the other convicted accused, was also ordered to jointly pay the government P3.7 million, equivalent to the amount of public funds found to have been misused.
Apart from Barbers, convicted of one count of graft was former PTA deputy general manager Jose Dion Diaz, while former PTA department manager Armando Miranda and former deputy general manager Edgar Bocar were convicted of two and three counts of graft, respectively.
They were likewise sentenced to six years and one month up to eight years of imprisonment for each count of the offense.
Apart from jointly paying with Barbers the amount of P3.7 million, Miranda and Bocar were also ordered to jointly pay additional P5.1 million, representing the amounts of partial payments released to the contractor I.A. Bosque Construction Corp.
Filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2021, the graft cases stemmed from the alleged irregularities in the awarding of the sports complex construction project in Intramuros, Manila in 2005.
The ombudsman said the project, with a total contract price of P24 million, was awarded to I.A. Bosque Construction despite lack of approval from the PTA Board as well as from the Intramuros Administration (IA).
The ombudsman said that despite the irregularities, Barbers signed a disbursement voucher for the release of P3.71 million to I.A. Bosque Construction, representing mobilization fees for the start of the project. The ombudsman said this was even if the construction project at that time still lacked building and development permits, locational clearance and IA approval.
Meanwhile, the ombudsman said Miranda and Bocar also released P1.05 million and P4.06 million, representing the first and second partial payments, respectively, to I.A. Bosque Construction.
The project was eventually declared illegal and was ordered demolished by Branch 52 of the Manila Regional Trial Court.
In convicting Barbers and his co-accused former officials of the PTA (now known as the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority or TIEZA), the Special Sixth Division said the prosecution panel of the ombudsman was able to establish their “implied conspiracy” to give unwarranted benefit to I.A. Bosque Construction to the prejudice of the government.
“As pointed out by the prosecution, the accused were given every chance to rectify their errors, but they remained adamant, resulting in the disbursement of funds for nothing. Their open defiance of the law did not merely result in the loss of government funds but also incurred the risk that the project would not comply with the minimum safety standards, as signified by the required permits and licenses,” the court’s decision read.
“To the court, this is not simply overzealousness in the exercise of one’s duties – this is breach of duty in a blatant and extremely careless manner,” it added.
Robert Dean Barbers, former general manager of the defunct Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA), was sentenced to up to eight years in prison for graft over alleged irregularities in the award and construction of a sports complex project in Intramuros, Manila that was eventually demolished for being illegal.
Officials of the Makati Fire Station, whose parked private vehicles were blocking the station’s fire truck bay, were sacked on Tuesday, July 1, during the surprise inspection of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Juanito Victor ‘Jonvic’ Remulla.
Remulla saw the parked vehicles of the concerned personnel obstructing the entry and exit points of fire trucks and emergency response ambulances.He said the obstruction will cause a huge delay in responding to fires and other public safety emergencies where lives and properties are on the line.The DILG did not disclose the identities of the fire officials.The DILG explained that Republic Act (RA) 9514 or the Fire Code of the Philippines of 2018 and the 2019 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) provide that there should be no obstructions in the ingress and egress of fire trucks and emergency response vehicles nor should there be any prevention, interference or obstruction of any operation of the fire service.“Officials found violating the said provisions may be held administratively liable for willful impropriety or gross negligence in the performance of his/her duty in accordance with Section 11 of the Fire Code,’’ the DILG noted.To ensure clear exit routes of fire response assets, the DILG called on fire station chiefs to prohibit any parking in front of or near fire trucks and order the immediate removal of all unauthorized parked vehicles blocking fire response units.
Officials of the Makati Fire Station,whose parked private vehicles were blocking the station’s fire truck bay, were sacked on Tuesday, July 1, during the surprise inspection of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Juanito Victor ‘Jonvic’ Remulla.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2025/07/02/ex-ilocos-sur-town-mayor-convicted-in-p81-m-graft-case |
The Sandiganbayan has convicted former mayor Zuriel S. Zaragoza of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur in the reported misuse of P81 million share of the municipality in excise taxes on locally-manufactured Virginia-type cigarettes in 2016.In a decision promulgated last June 30, the anti-graft court sentenced Zaragoza to a prison term ranging from six to 10 years with perpetual disqualification to hold public office.However, Zaragoza was acquitted of malversation charge together with his father, also former mayor Edgardo Zaragoza, and former municipal accountant Melody L. Cadacio and education research assistant Mario G. Cabinte.Former mayor Edgardo, Cadacio, and Cabinte were also acquitted of graft charge for failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.In criminal charges filed on July 18, 2022, the prosecution accused them of misappropriating P81 million intended for the benefit of the Federation of Famers of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, Inc. (FFNII).The amount was sourced from the local excise taxes on locally-manufactured Virginia-type cigarettes under Republic Act No. 7171, An Act to Promote the Development of Farmers in the Virginia Tobacco Producing Provinces.The Sandiganbayan found that the farmer beneficiaries did not receive their allocated financial assistance and FFNII was merely made a conduit for Zuriel to receive the money.Because of Zuriel’s actions, the anti-graft court said the municipal government lost the opportunity to implement meaningful programs that would have benefited the farmer beneficiaries.On the malversation charge, the court said the prosecution failed to prove that the accountable public officers received the money and later failed to account for it.All in all, their collective participation in the alleged conspiracy appears to be more imagined than real. Surely, criminal liability may not be had simply on the basis of acts that can be taken independently and do not show a unity in person, the court also said.The 47-page decision was signed by Presiding Justice Geraldine Faith A. Econg with Associate Justices Edgardo M. Caldona and Arthur O. Malabaguio.
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