It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/14/lanao-sur-town-councilor-nabbed-in-p6-8-m-quezon-city-drug-sting |
Government anti-narcotics authorities arrested on Wednesday night, March 13 a Lanao Del Sur municipal councilor and another suspect during a buy-bust operation in Quezon City.
In an initial report, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said that the operation resulted in the arrest of Maguing, Lanao del Sur councilor Norhan Haron Ampuan, 31, and Jalanie Haron Mama, 30, who are both included in the agency’s high-value target (HVT) list.
After the surveillance, the PDEA and local police operatives mapped out a plan that led to the arrest of the suspects at around 8:45 p.m. along Doña A. Roces Avenue in Barangay Paligsahan.
Apart from the 1,000 grams of suspected shabu concealed in a transparent plastic sachet, authorities also seized three deposit slips, three identification cards, a black wallet containing eight of various cards, a genuine P1,000 bill placed on top of one of the 10 bundles of boodle money, a black Toyota Avanza and two cellular phones.
The confiscated illegal drugs have a street value of P6.8 million.
A city councilor who is also a high value target has been arrested for drugs.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/14/village-dad-shoots-tanod-dead-in-leyte |
A barangay "tanod" or watchman was gunned down by a barangay councilor in an interior barangay here on Tuesday night, March 12.
Police identified the victim as Francis Berones of Barangay Bagacay East here.
Investigation said Berones figured in a heated altercation with the suspect, Julio Custudio, during the birth anniversary party of Custodio's daughter earlier that day.
Berones was driving his motorcycle on his way home when the suspect blocked his path. The suspect drew a firearm and shot Berones multiple times.
The victim was taken to a hospital in Burauen, Leyte where he was declared dead.
Custodio was arrested following the incident while he was drinking with friends.
A barangay tanod has been assassinated by a barangay councilor.
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| https://www.philstar.com/nation/2024/03/14/2340562/soldier-companion-hurt-maguindanao-del-sur-ambush |
An off-duty motorist soldier was wounded in the neck in an ambush at a stretch of the Cotabato-Davao Highway in Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur that also left his civilian companion injured on Wednesday.
Col. Roel Sermese, director of the Maguindanao del Sur provincial police, told reporters on Thursday that the victims, Private 1st Class Roberto Dela Cruz Desierto Jr., and Eugenio Lamoste Gurang were riding a motorcycle headed somewhere when they were attacked by pistol-wielding men in Barangay Galakit, Pagalungan.
Desierto, who belonged to the Army’s 92nd Infantry Battalion, was assigned in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur.
Desierto’s motorcycle swerved toward the side of the highway and crashed after he was hit by a bullet in the neck, Sermese said, citing a report from the Pagalungan Municipal Police Station.
Gurang, who fell from the motorcycle as it flipped, rolled over and landed at one side of the concrete highway, sustained abrasions in his arms and legs.
Their attackers hurriedly escaped when they sensed that the gunshots that reverberated through the scene caused a commotion among villagers in houses nearby.
Sermese said responding policemen and emergency responders from the Pagalungan local government unit immediately brought the duo to the hospital for treatment.
A soldier has survived an attempted assassination.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/14/driver-hurt-as-gunmen-shoot-mayor-s-vehicle |
A driver was injured and his companion was unharmed when gunmen fired at their vehicle owned by the mayor of San Isidro, Leyte in Barangay Dapdap, Alangalang, Leyte, on Thursday, March 14.
Police identified the wounded as driver Ranel Batiquin Reubal, 44, from Barangay Linao, San Isidro.
Investigation said gunmen onboard a gray pickup shot the vehicle on its way to Alangalang town proper.
Reubal was wounded in the back and his companion, Carlo Emman Pauligue, 44, a resident of Barangay Daja Dako, San Isidro, was unscathed.
The suspects' vehicle maneuvered to Santa Fe and Reubal proceeded to Alangalang proper.
However, the pickup truck’s tires burst in Barangay Santo Nino, which prompted them stop in front of Alangalang National High School. Reubal was taken to the hospital.
The driver of the mayor's vehicle was hurt in an attempted assassination on the mayor who was luckily not in the car at the time.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1918884/raps-filed-vs-ched-chief-over-rigged-bidding |
Suspended Commissioner Aldrin Darilag of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) on Thursday said the criminal charges—including graft and grave abuse of authority—he filed against his superior, Chair Prospero de Vera, stemmed from concerns raised by some heads of state universities and colleges (SUCs).
In his five-page complaint affidavit filed on Tuesday, Darilag claimed that De Vera forced him to favor pharmaceutical company Aspen Philippines as a provider of medical supplies for various SUCs during a series of biddings last year.
Knowing that the firm was incompliant with procurement laws, Darilag said he ignored De Vera’s directive.
In a message to the Inquirer, Darilag said he decided to file charges of graft, grave abuse of authority, harassment, and oppression, after a number of SUC presidents, whom he refused to identify, brought to his attention the alleged rigged procurement process last year for medical supplies.
“There are SUCs who don’t receive funding if they don’t let Aspen win the bidding as a supplier,” Darilag said, quoting the affected SUC heads.
Darilag, who oversees teacher education, gender and development, and extension programs, was suspended in mid-January for 90 days for alleged grave misconduct, neglect in the performance of duty, and oppression.
De Vera earlier noted that the order came from Malacañang. It also directed the agency to conduct a fact-finding investigation “to determine the existence of a prima facie (self-evident) case” to serve as basis for the filing of formal charges against Darilag.
But the commissioner doubted that the ongoing probe against him would be fair because he was never furnished a copy of the complaint or the order, which he said was “a violation of his right to due process.”
“They conducted the investigation, but I didn’t receive even a single complaint. Also, the head of the investigation committee is known to be an ally of De Vera,” he told the Inquirer.
Darilag accused De Vera of being “hostile to me throughout my stint as commissioner.”
This, Darilag said, was evident in the sudden ban allegedly imposed on his staff to enter CHEd premises and perform their work.
“In fact, they were subjected to needless inspection of their clothes and belongings every time they came out of my office,” he said in his affidavit.
The reason behind “De Vera’s hostility is not difficult to discern,” Darilag said, adding that the opposed De Vera’s recommendation to disallow Biliran Province State University to open a maritime program.
He also surmised that De Vera may suspect that he revealed the chair’s “wrongdoings” in the budget hearings in the House of Representatives last year.
De Vera, for his part, denied Darilag’s allegations, clarifying that he was not part of the bids and awards committee in the CHEd or in any similar committees in any SUC.
“I am not in a position to manipulate procurement activities,” De Vera said in the statement to reporters.
Charges have been field against the CHED Commissioner for rigged bidding.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1919758/police-colonel-faces-criminal-raps-for-blackmail-using-sex-video |
A police officer is facing a string of criminal complaints for recording his sexual encounters with a woman he had an illicit affair with and allegedly using the recordings to blackmail her for wanting to end their relationship and pay off his debt.
The police officer is facing a complaint before the Quezon City Prosecutors’ Office for violating Republic Act (RA) 9262, the Anti-Violence against Women and their Children Law; RA 9995, the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act; RA 11313, the Safe Spaces Law; RA 10173, the Data Privacy Act; RA 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Law.
He also faces complaints for grave coercion, intrigue against honor, and unjust vexation.
He was already relieved from his post.
In her complaint, the victim said she met the respondent when he sent her a friend request on Facebook in December 2020.
From there, she said they became friends as the police official provided her with emotional support because she was suffering from depression due to personal problems at the time.
She first met the respondent when she delivered the nameplate he ordered and talked about her money-lending business over lunch. She said this was also the first time the respondent kissed her without her consent.
On their second meeting, she said he invited her for a meal but took her to a hotel instead. She said this was where they first had sex. Then, he showed her the video “for fun.”
She said she tried to snatch the phone to delete the video, but the police officer refused, saying he would be the one deleting the video.
From then on, the victim stated that she felt unable to refuse the respondent’s request because he continually threatened her with the video.
In June 2023, she said she met the police colonel who started borrowing money from her. The total amount he borrowed was P245,000 with increments of P50,000, then P65,000 and P130,000.
In January 2024, she demanded payment and threatened to take the case to the barangay, to which the police officer said he would just tell the village chief that they had a relationship and show their sex video.
In the same month, a person who claims to be the policeman’s wife messaged her on Facebook, saying she had copies of their sex videos. The same social media account sent one of the videos to her daughter, who was then at school.
A day later, the video was also sent to her husband.
The case is currently undergoing preliminary investigation.
A PNP officer is facing charges of blackmail over a sex video.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1221076 |
The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the dismissal from the service of former North Cotabato 2nd District congressman Gregorio Ipong in connection with irregularities in the use of pork barrel funds in 2007.
In a 13-page resolution released online last week, the SC Second Division affirmed the Court of Appeals (CA) which found Ipong administratively liable for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service in the transactions involving PHP4.9 million.
The Court, however, ruled Ipong’s liability as grave misconduct only and deleted the finding of administrative liability.
“Here, since the acts complained of relates to Ipong’s official functions and duties as a member of the House of Representatives and that the same are tainted with the elements of corruption and/or flagrant disregard of an established rule, the Court finds him administratively liable for grave misconduct only,” the SC said.
The SC said grave misconduct is a “grave offense” which is punishable with dismissal from the service, along with accessory penalties of cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification from re-employment in the government service.
“In the event that the penalty of dismissal can no longer be enforced due to petitioner’s separation from the service, the same shall be converted into a fine, equivalent to petitioner’s salary for one year, payable to the Office of the Ombudsman, and may be deductible from petitioner’s accrued leave credits or any receivables from their office,” the SC said.
The administrative case against Ipong was filed following his election as vice governor of North Cotabato in May 2016.
Ipong was forced to vacate his post following the ruling of the Ombudsman dismissing him from the service.
The Department of Budget released Ipong’s Priority Development Assistance Fund to finance and implement his livelihood programs.
Ipong endorsed Aaron Foundation to the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC), the implementing agency of PDAF, as partner for his projects.
The amount was transferred to Aaron Foundation on the sole basis of Ipong’s endorsement without TLRC conducting a public bidding and despite the absence of an appropriation law or ordinance authorizing the foundation as the implementing agency.
Aaron Foundation was a bogus non-government organization, the Ombudsman said.
Investigators also found that the municipalities of Kidapawan and Makilala in North Cotabato did not actually receive any funded livelihood programs.
In September 2022, the Sandiganbayan sentenced Gregorio Ipong and TLRC Chief Accountant Marivic Jover up to 27 years of imprisonment for graft and malversation.
The decision was upheld a month later.
The SC has upheld the dismissal of a former Solon over PDAF misuse.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1221117 |
Death threats in recent months culminated in a gun attack on the vehicle of Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. at the Skyway in Quezon City on Tuesday morning.
The bulletproof pickup truck with plate no. WDQ 811 was on its way to pick up Deputy Director General for Administration Al Perreras.
Driver Cornelio Colalong and companion Leonardo Cabaniero, both Corrections Officers 1, were unharmed.
The BuCor report said unidentified suspects on board a gray sedan overtook the back-up car, carrying BuCor officers Edwin Berroya and Michael Magsanoc, and fired at the pickup.
The vehicle was hit at the rear windshield, which shattered the bullet proof glass without penetration.
The suspects' car fled toward the Nagtahan exit going to Manila.
“Catapang said that both he and Perreras have been receiving death threats since they implemented various reforms in the agency and this incident will not deter them from continuing what they started,” BuCor said in a statement.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/20/cop-nabbed-for-raping-14-year-old-daughter-in-cebu |
A police officer was arrested for allegedly raping his 14-year-old daughter on multiple occasions in Cebu.
The suspect, who used to be a member of a special unit of the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO), was arrested in a manhunt operation on Tuesday night, March 19, in Asturias town, western Cebu, by operatives of the Liloan Police Station.
Police Major Windel Abellana, information officer of the CPPO, said the victim was last raped at past 1 a.m. on Sunday, March 17.
The victim, accompanied by her mother, went to the police station to report the incident. The suspect fled after he learned that his wife and daughter reported the sexual abuse.
“According to the minor victim, her father abused her sexually on different occasions," said Abellana.
The Police Regional Office-Central Visayas (PRO-7) assured that appropriate action will be taken against the suspect.
Police Lt. Col. Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson of PRO-7 chief Police Brig. Gen. Anthony Aberin, said there will be no whitewash in the investigation.
"We reiterate the instruction of our regional director that there will be no sacred cows. Everyone will be treated fairly. If someone commits a crime, even if he is a police officer, we will file the necessary charges, administrative, criminal and civil if the evidence warrants,” said Pelare.
Pelare said after a criminal charge is filed, the filing of an administrative complaint will follow.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/metro/901175/mmda-traffic-aide-picked-out-of-line-up-tagged-in-alleged-extortion/story/ |
A traffic enforcer of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) suspended after he was seen on a viral video allegedly extorting money from a motorist on Commonwealth Avenue.
According to Raffy Tima’s report on “Saksi”, the MMDA asked the victim to identify the suspect from line-up of made up of traffic enforcers deployed in the area.
(You were identified with or without a mask. This is not the first time it happened. It's the second.)
(We will give you the chance to answer the accusations against you. Until such time, you will report at the headquarters.)
The victim said the incident happened on Friday after he took a U-turn at the Technohub area, going to to Tandang Sora Avenue. The enforcer allegedly flagged him down for using his mobile phone while driving and for not using his seatbelt.
When he denied the accusations, the traffic enforcer accused him of having an expired vehicle registration. The suspect asked him to pay P15,000 worth of fine but decreased it to P5,000. After saying he had no cash, the MMDA personnel allegedly told him to transfer the money via e-wallet.
The victim caught the incident on a video and posted it on social media.
(I checked the tickets while he was pretending to write. I logged in on my e-wallet, transferred the money, sent it to my sibling, and then left P2,500.)
If proven guilty, the MMDA said the suspect will be relieved from his post and may be charged criminally.
