It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption and murder in Philippine politics.
A former ex-officio provincial board member of South Cotabato province who was tagged by police as a “narco-politician” was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in a village in Polomolok town at past noon Thursday.
Lt. Col. Lino Capellan, public information officer of the Police Regional Office (PRO)-12, said Vicente Yungco Jr., 47, was driving his white Isuzu Crosswind along Dahlia Street in Barangay Poblacion when he was waylaid by two motorcycle-riding suspects around 1 p.m.
Capellan said Yungco, who was an incumbent councilor of Barangay Poblacion, came from his house in Purok Malinawon and was with his wife and youngest son when the shooting happened.
Yungco bore multiple gunshot wounds on the head and body, and was declared dead upon arrival in a nearby hospital.
He was arrested by operatives of the PRO-12’s anti-illegal drugs special operations task group during a raid at his house on Oct. 13, 2016 for illegal possession of firearms. The guns turned out to have been issued by the provincial government.
The PRO-12 then described Yungco as a narco-politician and was allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade as protector.
A local government official accused of being a narco-politician gunned down by motorcycle assassins. Nothing new here.
A policeman allegedly intoxicated by alcohol was arrested in a bar after he allegedly fired his gun indiscriminately in Pasig City.
Police on Friday identified the suspect as Staff Sgt. PercilIto Club, who was arrested at about 5:20 a.m. on Thursday along J. Vargas Avenue in Barangay Ugong.
According to police, personnel of the Pasig City Police Community Precinct 10 were conducting establishment visitation at the bar when they suddenly heard a gunshot at the entrance.
When the policemen went to check, they saw a man holding a firearm.
Police said they noticed that the man, who later introduced himself as a police officer, was “very drunk.”
A drunk policeman firing off his weapon. Nothing new here.
The Sandiganbayan third division has found former Isabela governor Grace Padaca guilty of graft and malversation in connection her involvement in the alleged misuse of some P25 million in agricultural funds in 2006.
In a decision rendered in open court, the Sandiganbayan found Padaca guilty and sentenced her to up to 14 years for the graft charge, and up to 10 years for the malversation charge.
The court also allowed Padaca to double her bail bond of P70,000 for her provisional liberty while she appeals the verdict.
For her part, an emotional Padaca said she was surprised by the verdict, and maintained that she did not personally benefit from the P25 million.
“I don’t even know what to say. With the P25 million, I didn’t personally gain even one cent. That all went to the farmers of Isabela,” Padaca said, adding that the program was put into place so that the farmers don’t have to take out disadvantageous loans with traders and financiers.
Padaca also said she had the blessing of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan before entering into the Memorandum of Agreement.
“They gave me authority to enter into the MOA, this was notarized, which if why the decision baffles me,” she said in Filipino, adding that she is hopeful that the decision will be reversed.
A Filipino politician convicted of graft to the tune of millions but how is really innocent. In fact she really might be innocent and something corrupt is going on. Nothing new here.
“We should not telegraph our moves to the drug dealers.”
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said this Saturday as he expressed agreement with Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Aaron Aquino on not giving a list of high-value drug targets to the Vice President.
Aquino previously said that there is no need for Vice President Leni Robredo to obtain a list of high-value targets, saying it is not part of their mandate as co-chairpersons of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD).
Sotto said a list of the drug syndicates will “merely leak if agencies concerned will submit to the ICAD.”
Sotto also warned the media not to publicize ICAD’s strategies and planning against high-value drug personalities.
“ICAD should inform media when there are major achievements and accomplishments, not when planning strategies,” he said.
This is total hypocrisy. Duterte's modus operandi has been to wave around a narco list and threaten to kill everyone on it. The PDEA recently called out by name an alleged drug queen and she was able to flee the country before they could arrest her. The Duterte administration has constantly telegraphed all of its moves through the media. All Robredo is asking for is a list of high value targets and everyone is losing their mind. Could it be that Duterte will dismiss her from the post as drug czar on a pretext?
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1190795/duterte-to-remove-robredo-from-anti-drug-post-if-she-reveals-state-secrets-to-foreign-entities-palace |
“The President stated that disclosing classified information of the Philippine government to foreign individuals and entities will cause the removal of the Vice President from her current post,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement on Sunday.
This comes after Robredo, who the was designated as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), held meetings with anti-drug officials from the US and the United Nations.
Despite all the cooperation between the security forces of the US and the PHL who knows but Duterte could suddenly decide Robredo's consolation with the US and UN could be treasonous. After all he says he does not trust her.
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| https://www.rappler.com/nation/245348-duterte-does-not-trust-robredo-no-cabinet-post |
Going against his own word, President Rodrigo Duterte said he did not appoint Vice President Leni Robredo to a Cabinet post simply because he does not trust her.
In a late night press conference on Tuesday, November 19, the President said he disliked how Robredo began consulting foreign organizations like the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) after she agreed to be co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD).
(The problem with Robredo is that, right after she was appointed, she began talking publicly about inviting the Human Rights Commission. She was talking to the United Nations. She wants to talk to the European...and she said so many things. If that's the case, I said, I cannot appoint her as a Cabinet member.)
(If that's the way her mouth behaves, there can never be a position for her. Because if she's in the Cabinet, she would be an alter ego of me. The problem here is this: I cannot trust her not only because – not only, okay? – not only because she is with the opposition; I do not trust her because I do not know her. I don't know who she was talking to before, who were the politicians and the people she's talking to.)He cannot trust her because, among other things, he does not know her. That is pathetic. Robredo is the Vice President and they should have been working together for the past 3 years. Is there any other nation where the Vice President and the President are strangers to one another?
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| https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/270801/cop-accused-of-shooting-man-in-a-wake-in-dalaguete-surrenders |
The cop who was accused of shooting a man who refused to continue to play a card game in Dalaguete town, southern Cebu was turned over to the police station in-charge by his station commander.
Police Staff Sergeant Mario Cartociano, who was assigned as an investigator at the Waterfront police station in Cebu City, was brought to Dalaguete police station around 10:45 p.m. on Sunday, November 17, 2019.
He was to be investigated for the accusations that he shot a certain Bobet Delpuso, 30, in Barangay Langkas, Dalaguete, Cebu, for refusing to continue playing the card game ‘tong-its’ during a wake.
Pomarejos added that if ever his officer will be found guilty, certain consequences will eventually be imposed.
This cop is accused of shooting a man for not wanting to play cards at a wake. How about don't play cards at a wake? How about don't have a weeklong 24 hour a day vigil with people drinking? How about respect the day and bury them as soon as possible without any shenanigans?
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/11/17/1969442/duterte-admits-suffering-illnesses-related-old-age |
President Duterte admited that at his age, 74, he is suffering from health woes that come with a person getting older.
“At kung sabihin mong may sakit ako, meron (If you talk about my being sick, yes). You name it, I have it. Para wala na lang (So there won’t be any) debate,” said Duterte.
Duterte said he has been beset by various illnesses related to his being 74-years-old.
“Lahat ng sakit, nandito na sa akin kasi matanda na ako. Kung sabihin mo, OK ka ba President (All the sicknesses, I have them because I’m old. If you ask me, are you OK Mr. President)? Are you in the best of health? Of course not. I am old, life has begun to take its toll on my health,” Duterte told GMA TV during a trip to Tacloban City the other day.
Hopefully we can put this all to rest now. Duterte is old and sick. But we already knew that. Nothing new here.
Unidentified gunmen shot dead a village councilor in Kabacan, North Cotabato on Monday, a police official said.
Col. Maximo Layugan, North Cotabato police director, identified victim as Freddie Balansiawan, 49, a village councilor in Barangay Cuyapon in Kabacan.
Layugan, quoting a report from the Kabacan police station, said Balansiawan was riding his motorbike when waylaid along a dirt road in Barangay Lower Paatan, also in Kabacan at about 3:30 p.m.
“The victim sustained fatal gunshot wounds in the head and body,” Layugan said.
Witnesses told police investigators that they saw four men leaving the crime scene after the shooting.
Another village councillor shot dead. Nothing new here.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1190385/another-warrant-of-arrest-issued-vs-ilocos-sur-town-mayor-over-serious-illegal-detention |
Another warrant of arrest was issued against former Cabugao, Ilocos Sur Mayor Josh Edward Cobangbang over the padlocking of a local beach resort—trapping its operator, her four-year-old son, and several employees inside.
The warrant, dated October 22 and signed by Executive Judge Gemma Bucayu-Madrid of the Regional Trial Court Branch 12 of Sanchez Mira, Cagayan, orders the arrest of Cobangbang and 19 others over the non-bailable offense of serious illegal detention.
Records showed that Ong took over the operation of the resort following Valera’s filing of a quit claim in 2016.
The municipality, however, passed a municipal ordinance and refused to accept Ong’s payment for monthly rental.
Cobangbang then asked Ong to vacate the property, which she refused to do and led to the padlocking of the property that trapped her, her four-year-old son, and several employees inside until the following day when their lawyer and the police arrived.
This case has been ongoing for a while now. No resolution in sight!
Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa believes he could be the “most effective” head of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) should he be given the chance to do so.
During the Senate deliberation on the proposed 2020 budget of CHR on Monday, Senator Panfilo Lacson suggested in jest that Dela Rosa should be appointed as the next chair of the government’s rights body.
This after Dela Rosa went on about how reformed heinous crime convicts should be given a second chance in life.
(If the person really changed, why won’t we give him a second chance? A lot of inmates really underwent reform inside Bilibid… but due to public uproar, the issue was politicized, suddenly there were no more GCTA which the purpose of which was to give everyone a chance, a second life. That’s my take on that. Please don’t get me wrong).
(Many inmates are crying inside ‘Sir, our lives would have been better. Before we die, we want to feel the fresh air outside Bilibid but now because there’s no more GCTA, our lives have become worthless).
Bato is so dumb. It's not even endearing but it will give life to this blog for the next six years. Is he talking about rapist/murderer Antonio Sanchez? Is he really saying the man reformed but because of public uproar he was not able to go free? Is he saying that if he was CHR head he would let rapist/murderers go free? It sure seems that way!
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/19/19/amid-graft-complaint-labor-chief-says-foreign-trips-authorized-by-duterte |
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Tuesday said all his overseas trips were work-related and authorized by President Rodrigo Duterte, as he faced a graft complaint filed against him by a radio commentator.
In a 78-page complaint, Adolfo Paglinawan said Bello made "at least 40 trips abroad from January 2017 to October 2019" and accused the labor chief of graft and corruption over his travels, which Paglinawan said cost government at least P40 million.
So the DOLE Secretary is being accused by a RADIO COMMENTATOR of graft but he says all his trips were authorised by the President. Maybe that's true, maybe it's not but why is he being sued by a radio commentator? What standing does that man have to sue the DOLE Secretary??
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1191236/bacolod-bishop-slams-locsin-for-calling-cbcp-head-moron |
Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon has slammed Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin Jr. for calling Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President Romulo Valles a “moron” in a “white Mu-Mu.”
“He puts not just himself but his country to shame,” Buzon said.
Locsin, who on November 5 was named an Outstanding Negrosanon in public service, criticized Valles in a Tweet after the latter urged Catholics to pray for Vice President Leni Robredo when the latter accepted the position of co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD).
“Say Thank You to the President you moron in a white Mu-Mu. Without him, she’d be stuck with her retarded retinue and ecclesiastical idiots like you. How did you pass theology? You’re a disgrace to what is supposed to be the world’s most intellectual religion,” Locsin said in a Tweet on Thursday that has since been removed.
Buzon reminded Locsin to act accordingly.
“It’s just unfortunate that he speaks in a way that is unbefitting of his position,” he said.
Bishop Buzon really sums it up when he says. "It’s just unfortunate that he speaks in a way that is unbefitting of his position." Teddyboy is constantly tweeting out so much dreck it is ridiculous. He should delete his Twitter account or at least refrain from tweeting all his unfiltered thoughts.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1191957/order-to-suspend-yap-as-bohol-governor-for-90-days-handed-over |
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Tuesday, Nov. 19, served an order on Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap suspending him for 90 days for alleged involvement in a scam involving pork barrel, or the now notorious Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
Yap has been charged at the Ombudsman with misusing the pork funds of Misamis Occidental Rep. Marina Clarete when Yap was still agriculture secretary under then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Yap issued a statement denying the charge that he helped Clarete misuse her pork barrel funds through projects in the Department of Agriculture that either involved overpriced fertilizers or were simply nonexistent.
Yap pointed to a manifestation filed by the Office of Solicitor General at the Supreme Court as part of his denial. He said the OSG manifestation stated that there was no evidence of Yap’s involvement in anomalous transactions involving Clarete’s pork barrel funds.
In a radio interview, Yap said the OSG had asked the Supreme Court to stop the Ombudsman from further prosecuting him and nullify the anti-graft body’s resolution suspending Yap for pork anomalies.
Another politician involved in the PDA scam this time for buying overpriced fertilisers. Why do politicians buy so much fertiliser? This time however he has the OSG behind him.
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| https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/11/20/2-taguig-city-employees-nabbed-for-extortion/ |
Taguig City Mayor Lino Cayetano lauded the arrest of two city hall employees for alleged extortion in an entrapment operation led by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday.
Cayetano commended PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica for the arrest of Emma Robianes and Edward Buncab of the Local Building Office.
The two were apprehended at the Taguig City Satellite Office at the SM Aura Office Tower in Bonifacio Global City by joint police operatives along with the PACC and the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA)
The suspects, according to police, allegedly tried to extort P10,000 from a complainant, Rodrigo Cueta, a building permit applicant.
LGU officials committing extortion. Nothing new here!
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| https://www.rappler.com/nation/245382-pnp-arrest-vape-users-without-duterte-executive-order |
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has begun its crackdown on vape use effective Wednesday, November 20, even without an executive order from President Rodrigo Duterte clearly outlining the grounds for making the arrests.
"PNP officer-in-charge Lieutenant General Archie Francisco Gamboa has directed, effective today, all police units nationwide to enforce the ban on use of vapes; ensure that all violators will be arrested and properly recorded in the police blotters; confiscated items are accounted for and disposed of properly; and coordinate with local government units and agencies, vape stores and owners to enhance the enforcement of the ban," the PNP said in a statement sent to police reporters.
The PNP's sweeping reaction stemmed from President Rodrigo Duterte verbally ordering them on Tuesday night to arrest people who used vape, also known as electronic cigarettes. This is the latest case of the PNP eagerly enforcing a high-stakes campaign even with just the President's vague and emotionally charged words as basis.
"I'm now ordering all law enforcement agencies to arrest everybody vaping in public, that like smoking...you contaminate people," the President said in his briefing.
No EO, no law, no nothing, and yet they will be arresting papers for violating......what exactly? How is this not unconstitutional? Furthermore Duterte has even warned the judiciary to not mess with him regarding vaping.
What kind of garbage is this? This not separation of powers. Is this the dictatorship Duterte promised?
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/20/19/duterte-warns-judiciary-vs-interfering-with-vaping-ban |
President Rodrigo Duterte warned the judiciary on Wednesday against interfering with his order to arrest people vaping or using e-cigarettes in public, as well as those engaged in their importation.
Should a court decide to block Duterte’s directive, the President warned that he would not heed it.
“Judges, I warn you, do not issue restraining orders to the Customs, to the Coast Guard,” he said in a speech during the 80th anniversary celebration of the Department of National Defense in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
“I will not obey your order because of the peculiar situation this country finds.”
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1086686 |
Police and anti-narcotics operatives here arrested in a predawn raid Thursday a former soldier for drug peddling and illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Lt. Colonel John Calinga, Midsayap police chief, said joint operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency–Region 12, the police’s Special Action Force, and members of the local police who were armed with a search warrant raided the house of Mark Macasarte, 44, in Barangay Bual Norte here.
“The 3 a.m. raid surprised Macasarte, a former Army corporal,” Calinga said.
Calinga said Macasarte’s home yielded 50 small sachets of shabu weighing 12 grams and with a street value of PHP100,000; a fragmentation grenade, three magazines for the M16 rifle, a 9mm pistol, and several bullets.
“Macasarte was kicked out of military service because of his alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade,” Calinga added.
Macasarte, who was once detained for selling illegal drugs, was placed under surveillance for three weeks before Thursday’s law enforcement operation.An AFP Colonel involved in the illegal drug trade.
