Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Hi, My Name is...26

Have you ever met any of these people? If not then it's time to say hello and make new friends. 

Hi, my name is Sunny Miller. I am a 64 year old man from Michigan in the USA. I bought some seaside property here and, well, the locals simply do not respect my property rights. Little children swim in front of my house and I have to chase them off.  Some of these people harass me and steal my stuff which is why I have prevented them from using a road near my house. The BI finally arrested me after getting so many complaints and it was then that the realized I had been over staying. But much to the chagrin of my neighbors they released me. Now these folks want me gone.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/18/cebu-townsfolk-want-unruly-american-neighbor-deported/

A group of residents in San Remigio, Cebu staged a protest rally Sunday, July 17, calling for the deportation of their unruly American neighbor arrested by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) last May.

Carrying placards, about 100 residents of Barangay Punta assembled outside the house of Sunny Miller around noon.

They called on government officials to intervene and help address their plight.

“We humbly implore President Bongbong Marcos, Senators Raffy Tulfo, Pia Cayetano, and Risa Hontiveros to intercede and help us to have Miller deported immediately,” said Alfredo Arcipe, president of the Punta Fisherfolks Association. 

The residents want Miller be deported as they accused him of harassing them ever since he arrived in their place in 2018. 

They alleged that some of them were accused of being thieves and they were not allowed to use a road near his house.

The American was also accused of throwing stones at children who swam in the sea in front his house.

Miller arrived in the place in 2018 and claimed to own a 4,000-square meter lot in a coastal area. 

The American had several physical encounters with some residents because of his boorish behavior, the residents said.

Because of the complaints against Miller, the barangay council declared him persona non grata in a session on July 16, 2021.

Miller, a 64-year-old native of Michigan, was arrested by operatives of the Intelligence Division of the BI.  

He was arrested after the BI acted on the complaints of residents.  

Immigration officials later discovered that Miller has been overstaying in the country. 

After his arrest, Miller returned to the place early this month.

“We are devastated and frustrated with the Immigration for allowing Miller to come back in the area,” said Alma Patalinghug, president of the barangay’s women’s association.

Hi, my name is being withheld because I am a minor. My mother is an OFW and she and my dad would get into arguments on the phone. Afterwards my dad would take his frustration on me and my siblings. We had noisy arguments that the neighbors knew about but they shrugged it off as nothing. Well, I got tired of it and so after one heated argument I stabbed him in the chest and abdomen killing him. I am sorry I did it though. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1629279/son-who-killed-father-in-cotabato-town-a-battered-child-police-probe-shows

A police probe has recently established that a minor who killed his father in Libungan town, Cotabato province last Tuesday is a battered child who has borne physical abuse for over two years.

Citing the account of neighbors in Barangay Ulamian, Maj. Jojie Barotas, Libungan police chief, said Rafael, 44, had a heated argument with his 15-year-old son prior to being stabbed to death at around 6 a.m.

Barotas added that the suspect confessed to being mauled by his father that morning after quarreling over the phone with his mother who is working abroad.

The battering prompted the suspect to grab a knife and stab his father in the chest and abdomen.

According to Barotas, the physical abuse of the 15-year-old boy and his three other siblings happens every time Raphael had a quarrel over the phone with his wife who left for overseas work in 2019.

“Actually, the neighbors are used to it already. But they didn’t expect that it would worsen into having the son kill his father,” Barotas added.

Barotas said that while undergoing interrogation, the minor showed remorse for the incident, admitting that he was overrun by anger.

Hi, my name is Jeovanie Castillo Collado. I work as a driver and am married.  But on the side I have a lover. Of course my wife's womanly instincts eventually went off and she filed a complaint with the cops. They acted on it and caught me with my girl and a sachets of shabu. Now I will probably lose my wife and my freedom.  

https://mb.com.ph/2022/06/26/driver-lover-caught-high-thanks-to-mans-wife-who-got-wind-of-affair/

Two alleged lovers were caught by the police in a pot session in San Juan here Saturday, June 25, after the man’s wife filed a complaint that her husband has an affair.

Police identified the lovers as Jeovanie Castillo Collado, 30, driver, of San Juan, this city, and Rizza Duli Agosto, 28, single, unemployed, of Magsaysay here. 

According to the local police, Jeovanie’s wife, Emy Jane, 33, accused her husband of having an affair and intelligence operatives led by Police Lt. Dalmacio Mangigil acted on the complaint.

Police found the lovers engaging in a pot session in a house at around 9:05 a.m. and seized from them 12 plastic sachets in various sizes containing suspected shabu weighing five grams with an estimated value of P34,000.

Also recovered from the suspects were a weighing scale, five used lighters, a plastic heat sealer, a roll foil, a small surgical scissor, a plastic bag of used foil, and an improvised tooter.

Hi, my name is Ronald Coronel Mayormita. I practice spearfishing for a living. One night it was raining heavy and there was a lot of lighting. Not minding the weather I lifted up my spear intending to thrust it through a fish but the lightning cracked and the bolt was attracted by my long metal spear held aloft like a lightning rod. I was immediately electrocuted to death. 


https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/442754/lightning-kills-fisherman-who-went-spearfishing-in-badian-cebu

A 33-year-old fisherman, who went spearfishing on Saturday evening, May 21, 2022, was apparently hit by lightning and was found dead inside his boat off the waters of Barangay Zaragosa in Badian town in southwestern Cebu.

Another fisherman found the body of Ronald Coronel Mayormita inside his boat on the early morning of Sunday, May 22, and reported this to the police, said Police Staff Sergeant Goeffrey Badilles, desk officer of the Badian Police Station.

Police responded and rushed Mayormita to the Badian District Hospital where the attending physician declared him dead on arrival.

The physician also told police that Mayormita died due to an electric shock caused by lightning.

Police Staff Sergeant Badilles said that the live-in partner of Mayormita told them that Mayormita left their house in Barangay Banhigan, Badian town at around 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 21,  to go spearfishing.

Barangay Zaragosa, where the victim’s body was found off the barangay’s waters, was around 20 to 30 meters away from the victim’s residence in Barangay Banhigan.

Badilles also said that Mayormita was probably alone spearfishing when he was hit by lightning.

Badilles said that spearfishing was the victim’s source of income.

Hi, my name is Noel Abaquita. I love mahjong. It is a very addicting game and this has plunged me into debt and a lot of trouble. To pay off those debts I resorted to stealing bikes and pawning them. The latest bike I stole was worth P30,000. But the cops were hot on my trail and now I am in jail. This is not the first time I have been arrested for this crime and it probably won't be the last time either.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/445297/man-who-turned-to-stealing-bicycles-to-pay-off-his-gambling-debts-lands-in-talisay-jail

A 52-year-old man, who was allegedly addicted to gambling, particularly, playing mahjong, ended in jail after he was caught stealing a bicycle that he pawned to raise money to allegedly pay off his debts.

Noel Abaquita of Hanging Bridge, Barangay Lagtang in Talisay City, was detained at the Talisay City Police Station detention cell pending the filing of charges.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Randy Caballes, chief of Talisay City Police Station, said that Abaquita, during interrogation, admitted that he had allegedly resorted to stealing bicycles to raise money to pay off his debts, and so that he could allegedly continue to play mahjong.

Abaquita told police that that this was because he could not get out of his addiction to mahjong.

He said that prior to the theft of Ruiz’s bicycle, there were three other bicycles that were stolen in the past two weeks.

Caballes also said that Abaquita was also arrested for a similar offense in the past.

He, however, did not say what year Abaquita was arrested.

The police chief described Abaquita as someone, who allegedly had been doing this illegal activity for quite awhile now.

Hi, my name is Noel delos Santos. I was waiting in a store along a railroad track around 1:35 pm when I decided to lay down on the tracks. Naturally a train ran right over me and I was dismembered. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1632809/man-killed-after-lying-on-train-track-in-quezon

A 61-year-old man died Friday (July 22) afternoon after he was hit by a passing Philippine National Railway (PNR) train in this city, authorities said.

Lt. Col.  Reynaldo Reyes, Lucena police chief, identified the victim as Noel delos Santos, a city resident.

Quoting witnesses, the police said Delos Santos was waiting in the store along the railroad track in Barangay Ibabang Iyam around 1:35 p.m. when he suddenly lay down on the steel track as the San Pablo-bound train was approaching and consequently ran him over.

“As a result, the victim’s body was dismembered,” the police said.

Hi, I don't have a name. In fact I don't even have a mother. Just after I was born she abandoned me in an empty lot. She not bother to clothe me or cut my umbilical cord. It was only when a tricycle driver went to urinate that I was found. I was covered in dirt and animal bites. The police said they will try to find my mother but she has already made it clear that she does not want me.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/454443/baby-girl-found-in-vacant-lot-in-lapu-lapu-barangay-is-rescued

A tricycle driver, who was answering the call of nature, found an abandoned five-day old baby girl on a vacant lot in Sitio Sangi, Barangay Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City on Saturday afternoon, July 23, 2022.

Pajo Barangay Captain Lyndel Bullos told CDN Digital that the tricycle driver happened to be a tanod of the barangay, who immediately reported the baby at the lot to him.

The vacant lot, where the baby was found, is just adjacent to the Mactan Airbase gate.

Bullos said that the baby girl when found still had her umbilical cord and had already smelled.

He said that the baby had no clothes on her when she was found, and she had wounds on her back, which were believed to be caused by animal bites.

The baby was really dirty when she was found and when she was brought to the Lapu-Lapu City Hospital, the nurses there immediately cleaned her up and bathed her.

Bullos said that the baby was then cared and treated at the hospital.

The Pajo barangay captain also said that the attending physician described the baby to be five days old.

Hi, my name is Villadolid or that was my last name. My mom told me to go to sleep but when checked later at 1 am I was still awake. To punish me she made me do squats and when I failed to do them my parents beat me. They said they used slippers but the bruises on my arms and legs and the fact that I am dead prove otherwise. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1603710/8-year-old-boy-in-pasig-dies-after-alleged-beating-for-staying-up-late

An 8-year-old boy from Barangay (village) Rosario in Pasig City died after he was allegedly beaten up by his mother and his stepfather for allegedly staying up late, police said.

The suspects were identified by the police as Kimberly Villadolid, 29, and Germarc Franklin Villadolid, 39.

According to the Eastern Police District, the victim was rushed to the hospital by his stepfather and his mother on Friday afternoon. The boy was declared dead at around 3:51 p.m.

The suspects, who both work as call center agents, admitted punishing the boy for staying up late, Pasig City Police chief public information officer Resel Guevarra told INQUIRER.net on Saturday.

“The mother told the child to go to sleep. Then at around one am, when the mother suddenly woke up, she saw that the child was still awake. That’s where it started,” Guevarra said in Filipino over the phone when asked what the motive was.

The EPD said the parents admitted having punished the boy by forcing him to perform squats.

The suspects said they only hit the boy with slippers when he failed to do his squats. However, examination showed that the boy sustained bruises in his legs and arms, the EPD said.

Hi, my name is Regie Castino. I drive a tricycle but on the side I have some fighting cocks. Maybe one day I will hit the jackpot in the cockpit. One night I was watching over my fighting cocks when I saw a guy steal a few of my birds. Naturally I ran after him and stabbed him twice. Turns out it was some 17 year old...Kid? Man? Teen? The cops pulled out the cocks he had stuffed his bag. More of my cocks had being stolen previously but I am not sure if it was this guy. I was able to reach a settlement with the family so I did not go to jail.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/06/06/teen-stabbed-over-stolen-fighting-cocks-in-negros-occidental/

A teenage boy was wounded after he was stabbed by a tricycle driver who allegedly caught him stealing his fighting cocks in Sitio Tuyuman, Barangay Caradio-an, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental last Sunday, June 5. 

Police Lt. Markelly Laganipa, deputy chief of the Himamaylan City Police Station, said 33-year-old Regie Castino was watching over his fighting cocks when he saw an unidentified man allegedly stealing his fighting cocks tied in the yard of his house.

Castino chased the suspect and caught up with him. However, out of anger, Castino allegedly stabbed the 17-year-old suspect twice, Laganipa said.

The suspect managed to escape but he was later caught by the victim’s neighbor in a sugarcane plantation.

Police recovered from the suspect a backpack containing the two stolen fighting cocks valued at P2,500 each.

The suspect was brought to Gov. Valeriano Gatuslao Memorial Hospital in Himamaylan.

Laganipa said the victim’s other fighting cocks were also reported stolen in the past days. Castino, however, could not identify if the same suspect was behind those incidents.

Laganipa said that both parties already had an initial settlement.

Hi, my name is John (not my real name) and my wife's name is Diane (not her real name.) I had a suspicion that Diane was having an affair so I followed her around. She got into a company-owned car with a workmate and they drove off to a condominium. When the went into the room together that is when I immediately called the police. They kicked in the door like gangbusters. It was great to catch her in the act but also heartbreaking and pitiful because we have two children. She begged for forgiveness and I gave it to her. Hopefully she does not do it again. 

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/451428/husband-catches-wife-having-an-affair-but-still-forgives-her

A husband decided to forgive his wife, whom he caught having a relationship with another man on Tuesday, July 5, 2022.

Personnel from the Waterfront Police Station responded to a call for assistance from a man who found out about his wife’s infidelity with her officemate in a condominium in Cebu City.

Police Major Henry Orbiso, chief of Waterfront Police Station, said they responded to the call from the husband John (not his real name) and went to the condominium where they caught his wife Diane (not her real name) with another man.

However, instead of filing a case against his wife, the husband opted to forgive her as long as she goes back to him and their two children.

(The husband is very kind. He forgave his wife even if he caught her with another man in a room.)

After the incident, the couple went back to their home in Barangay Pardo.

Police said Diane, who is in her 40s, was found having a relationship with her workmate, a division manager of a big company in Cebu City. Diane is also a manager of a separate division in the same company

John already suspected that his wife was seeing another man.

On Tuesday morning, he decided to follow his wife run some errands. She was reportedly seen boarding a company-issued car with her workmate.

Police said John followed the two to the condominium in Cebu City. He reportedly followed his wife until he saw her go inside a room. This is when John called the police for assistance.

The responding policemen, together with John, went inside the room and saw the wife and her workmate there.

John did not pursue filing a formal complaint against his wife after the latter begged for forgiveness.

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Insurgency: NPA Turns to Spotify to Recruit Members

With a new administration peace talks are again be flouted by both the government and the CPP. The NTF-ELCAC says the only acceptable peace talks are of the localized variety.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1628589/ntf-elcac-to-focus-on-localized-peace-talks-with-reds

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) said Friday it would focus on localized peace talks with communist rebels, with one of its officials saying “nothing good came out” of negotiations on a national scale.

Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity Charlie Galvez said localized peace talks with communist rebels are still ongoing.

He said the government had tried a national approach in peace talks in the past, but it “ended up to nothing” compared to local peace engagements.

(We are still waiting for guidance. Now, peace talks are still ongoing, but we localized it.)

(Based on our assessment, within the more than 50 years of our negotiations, nothing good came out of national peace talks.)

In explaining the choice of NTF-Elcac to focus on localized peace talks, Galvez stressed that the “dynamic of conflicts is different in different areas.”

(It’s different. It’s different for Bangsamoro, the Visayas, and Central Mindanao and Southern Mindanao.)

(Localized peace engagement is better. We can see the interest and issues addressed by our local agencies.)

Asked if this means the NTF-Elcac does not have a recommendation on the national peace talks, National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos, who serves as the vice chairperson of the task force, said: “They are all localized.”

The CPP has rejected this method calling it " a smokescreen for psywar."

“The Party … reject[s] the ‘localized peace talks’ of the NTF-Elcac,” said CPP spokesperson Marco Valbuena in a statement.

Valbuena added that the proposal is nothing but “a smokescreen for psywar (psychological warfare), pacification and suppression operations” of the military.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1629059/cpp-rejects-ntf-elcac-backed-localized-peace-talks

PNP Chief Danao is against peace talks altogether because the NPA assassinated a PNP officer recently.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/838492/danao-frowns-on-possible-peace-talks-with-reds-after-supposed-attack-vs-pro8-cops/story/

Philippine National Police (PNP) Officer-in-Charge Police Lieutenant General Vicente Danao Jr. on Monday expressed disapproval of peace talks between the government and the communist rebel group.

In his speech after a flag-raising ceremony at Camp Crame, he hit the “leftist group” after it allegedly ambushed cops of Police Regional Office 8 who were distributing aid to poor communities on Saturday.

“They are there to give assistance to the poorest of the poor. Pero (But) unfortunately you ambushed them. O tapos (and then) now you are talking peace talks. Anong klaseng peace talks 'yan (What kind of peace talks is that)?” Danao said.

A police patrolman died in the incident, according to Danao. The PRO8 identified the fatality as Police Patrolman Mark Monge.

According to PRO8, the police were conducting humanitarian activity in the towns of San Jose de Buan and Gandara in Samar province when around 10 communist rebels allegedly fired at them.

Danao threatened to ambush communist rebels himself if the situation could be reversed.

(If the government can be reversed, I myself would ambush you, to be honest. It hurts.)

Ambushing the NPA is exactly what the AFP and PNP should be doing. But instead they are attempting to bribe them to surrender. 

The NPA continues to set off landmines. The AFP says they are doing this as a show of strength to force the government into peace talks.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179328

The recent attack by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) insurgents against soldiers in Northern Samar are part of their efforts to project strength through terror in a bid to force the government to return to the negotiating table.

"The violent actions of the CPP-NPA are expected. They are meant to strengthen the CPP’s hold on their dwindling and demoralized fighters and increase the pressure to the government to resume the peace talk according to their terms. They will not succeed in their underhanded scheme," said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) acting spokesperson, Col. Medel Aguilar, in a message to reporters Wednesday.

This came after a soldier from the 20th Infantry Battalion was killed while five others were wounded after the NPAs detonated anti-personnel mines in the remote Osang village in Catubig, Northern Samar on Tuesday.

The fatality and injured soldiers were among the 24 troopers patrolling the vicinity belonging to the Community Support Program (CSP) team assigned to Osang and Nagoocan villages.

The CSP is a flagship program of the AFP used to clear communities of NPA infestation and to bring the government closer to the people through faster delivery of basic services.

The AFP gave as another reason that the NPA uses landmines is because they want to hinder development.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179321

The detonation of anti-personnel mines in Northern Samar is a manifestation of the New People’s Army’s (NPA) opposition to the implementation of the Barangay Development Program (BDP), an official of the Philippine Army said on Wednesday.

Lt. Col. Joemar Buban, commander of the Philippine Army’s 20th Infantry Battalion, on Wednesday said the attack of the communist group on the soldiers belonging to the Community Support Program (CSP) was a strategy to delay projects since these soldiers are tasked to secure BDP projects.

BDP projects are socioeconomic development undertakings geared towards the provision of farm-to-market roads, health centers, electrification, water and sanitation facilities, schools, and livelihood.

Buban said Osang village in Catubig town, Northern Samar where the NPA planted the mines is a recipient of a PHP20-million BDP funded by the central government.

Among these projects are infrastructure, agriculture, livelihood programs, and handicraft training.

Goodness knows what their real motivation is since the NPA has been using landmines for quite sometime now and show no signs of stopping. One former NPA rebel says resumption of peace talks would be a betrayal of Filipinos.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179331

Resuming peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) is a betrayal to the Filipino people and a disgrace to the government's success in dismantling the group, an ex-NPA cadre said Wednesday.

“The goal of 'negotiation' is to buy time to buttress a position—military, political, social, or economic—and to wear down, frustrate, and harass the state and its security forces,” Arian Jane Ramos, known as Ka Marikit, when she was secretary of the Guerrilla Front 55 under the NPA's Southern Mindanao Regional Command.

Ramos’s reaction came following a statement issued by CPP founding chairman Jose Maria “Joma” Sison that he was always open to peace negotiations with the Government of the Philippines (GPH), whoever the president is.

Ramos, also former chairperson of Gabriela Youth–University of the Philippines Mindanao, said such negotiations served only the rebels' propaganda objectives and are not to reach peaceful agreements.

“The CPP-NPA-NDF will never compromise, concessions are only made to advance its strategic plan,” she said in an interview.

If the CPP-NPA-NDF is successful in capitalizing on the momentum in their favor, Ramos said the rebel group will continue to “commit acts of terror across the entire nation.”

Being an ex-rebel she should know what she is talking about right? Surely she doesn't harbour any grudges or wish to sow disinformation about her ex-comrades right? Who knows but some of these ex-rebels seem to sure know what the NPA is doing despite no longer being a part of the group.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179144

Communist rebel recruiters have turned to other online platforms such as the popular digital music and podcast service Spotify after their websites were blocked by the National Telecommunications Commission.

Joy James Saguino, a former high-ranking leader of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) turned anti-rebel advocate, said the group is being actively assisted by its umbrella organization, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), to explore and use online platforms to “dupe” potential recruits.

“They are exploiting all information platforms to expand their machinery of indoctrination and radicalization, especially that Spotify is widely used by the youth,” Saguino, a former secretary of the New People's Army (NPA) Guerrilla Front 20, said in a phone interview Monday.

Saguino said CPP-NPA-linked organizations are using Spotify to create podcasts to disseminate propaganda and recruit young people into Asia's longest-running insurgency.

The government, she said, must take action “on removing such content on social media platforms. This is plain rebellion taught in online platforms and must be dealt with seriously by the government.”

The blocking of several websites happened only recently and many of those websites are still accessible yet we are supposed to believe that these organizations, in a quick turnaround, began podcasts directed at the youth? That is not believable. Is Spotify going to be red-tagged next? Perhaps.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179549

Children should be spared from digitalized recruitment schemes of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) and its front organizations, the leader of a parents’ group said Friday.

The League of Parents of the Philippines (LPP) appealed to the national government to investigate the use by the CPP-NPA of Spotify, an audio streaming and media services provider, and other social media platforms to entice more children to join the communist armed struggle.

“We strongly condemn the deception of our children by these communist terrorist groups and its sympathizers using the Spotify platform,” said Remy Rosadio, LPP president, in a text message on Friday.

Rosadio said the government must probe the infiltration of communist groups in various social media platforms.

“I am appealing to President Bongbong Marcos, Vice President Sara Duterte, and all the concerned government agencies to look into this matter and to restrict all CPP-NPA accounts and investigate the other outlets being used by their front organization for deception and recruitment,” she said.

Rosadio said Duterte, as Education Secretary, can do something about the reported recruitment.

“Innocent children are their easy preys in online videos. Almost all children staying at home are relying on YouTube and other online entertainment like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Spotify to ease their boredom while staying at home,” she said.

Rosario added that other groups like Anakbayan, League of Filipino Students, and Kabataan are similarly invading Spotify to attract the attention of children.

She said even former CPP-NPA rebels attest that there is massive exploitation of children by spreading communist ideologies online, even if the National Telecommunications Commission has already blocked websites connected with the CPP-NPA-NDF.

She said the course on Maikling Kurso sa Lipunan at Rebolusyong Pilipino (MKLRP, loosely translated as Short Course on Society and the Revolutionary Filipino) is being played on Spotify as an educational podcast under the “History” category.

The first chapter of the audiobook became available to the public in October last year while the latest episode was aired just on Wednesday.

Other communist-related audiobooks on Spotify are Rakenrol: Salaysayan sa Araling Pilipino with 26 episodes and Aling Aktibista (The Activist), popularly known as ARAK, reportedly a required course for activists.

While Spotify itself is not hosting podcasts, any user with an account can upload a podcast by providing the link to the RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed and hosting partner.

Hard to believe that someone would listen to a history lecture and then abandon society for the mountains with the NPA. What are the stats for these shows and how have they actually influenced people to join the NPA? None of the podcasts listed are new which voids the idea that they have anything to do with recently blocked websites. This particular lecture series is being hosted by Mon Sy who is a professor at UP-Diliman and he has been doing so since 2020. What are the implications of this? Will he be charged or arrested or red-tagged? Here is a tweet he retweeted praising the nurses of the NPA.

https://twitter.com/YearoftheMonSy/status/1479445621551484929

What's a surrendered rebel to do? You got your money, you got your free housing, you got your job assistance, what now?  There is one thing The State cannot give you and that is your soul.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179424

Ten former communist New People's Army (NPA) rebels decided to restore their Christian faith through baptism and vowed to abandon the communist ideology.

In an interview Thursday, Davao Oriental information officer Karen Lou Deloso said the rebels were baptized by a team of volunteers from the Lighthouse Church on July 18, the same day they graduated on July 18 from the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).

A surrenderer only known as "Red", 29, said he was thankful for being allowed to change as he vowed not to waste such a “rare opportunity” for them.

“We are grateful for being taught about goodness and transformation. The hatred and grudges in our hearts are now gone, and I am truly thankful I have changed,” he said.

"Dodong", another surrenderer who used to work in the “white areas“ of the communist movement, urged his former comrades to “genuinely transform and embrace the life of peace.”

Deloso said the former rebels are also thankful for the Happy Home, the provincial government-run halfway house and processing center for former rebels, which was conceptualized and initiated by Governor Corazon Malanyaon in 2013.

“They said that if it weren’t for the Happy Home, they would not have gone through spiritual processing because it’s different from the ideology they were taught in the communist movement,” she said.

Since then, services and facilities have evolved and become the E-CLIP implementation model in the country.

Currently, Deloso said hundreds of former rebels are "living their best lives" after receiving scores of benefits from Happy Home, including financial assistance, educational services, livelihood assistance, skills training, housing, spiritual services, and moral recovery activities.

There is so much here that is unsaid. It is deserving of a documentary or at least a full write up. If these killers can redeem their souls then that is a good thing. In fact it is the only thing that matters.

Monday, July 25, 2022

The DILG and DOJ Admit the Duterte Drug War is an Abysmal Failure

The war on drugs, wherever it has taken place, has always been a failure. Now we have concrete evidence that this is the case in the Philippines. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1632340/pnp-record-1-conviction-per-5-drug-cases-filed

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have ordered a review of the qualifications of police investigators in the country, citing the dismal conviction rate of crime suspects arrested.

In a press conference on Thursday at the Philippine National Policeheadquarters in Camp Crame, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla cited the need for capable police investigators as one of the requisites for criminal cases lodged in court to lead into conviction, and improve the criminal justice system in the country.

According to Remulla, the current conviction rate for criminal cases filed in courts stood at “less than 25 percent.”

“This means that we are not really getting a passing grade. This is not a standard that we can live with for the next few years, so we have to change it drastically,” the justice secretary said.

“When the conviction rate is very low, the certainty of punishment goes down. Then the criminals have a heyday, [because they have an] easy time with the law,” Remulla added.

Citing data from 2016 to July 2022, Abalos said that only 21 percent or 62,061 of the 291,393 drug-related cases led to conviction. The majority of these cases at 223,579 or 77 percent remained pending before different courts, while the rest were dismissed or led to acquittal.

He attributed this dismal performance to the lack of training in the judicial process of investigators-on-case, particularly on the police’s failure to follow the chain of custody of evidence under the law due to lack of witnesses.

Drugs are bad m'kay? But look at those stats!! During Duterte's term only 21 percent of drug cases led to a conviction. 77 percent remain pending and the rest have been acquitted due to chain of custody issues. That is abysmal. There is no other word to describe it. The new DILG Secretary wants to reassess training for police investigators. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/07/21/2197010/dilg-push-reassessment-training-police-investigators

The Department of the Interior and Local Government said Thursday that it would advocate for a reassessment of the training and qualification for police investigators, especially those participating in the government's anti-drug efforts. 

At a joint press briefing Thursday morning between the Justice and Interior Departments, DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos questioned the training of the country's cops, pointing out as an example that only 123 of the 22,774 police investigators in the country are graduates of law. 

Citing data from 2016 to July 2022, Abalos said that only 62,000 or just 21% of the some 291,000 drug cases filed by the Philippine National Police have landed convictions. Abalos pointed to lack of training in the judicial process. 

"Whatever they have, we will supplement it...There should be a reassessment of those who were chosen. What were their qualifications? What seminar did they undergo?" Abalos said in mixed Filipino and English. 

"What is important is not the quantity of the cases filed but their quality. So we will discuss this with our people and we will have to review it. How do we get our investigators? Is there a volunteer system or an examination they have to take?"

Abalos lamented what he said was the high volume of cases being dismissed on technicalities under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. 

In particular, he pointed to Section 21 of the law, which requires anti-drug personnel to immediately conduct an inventory of seized drugs, while all anti-drug operations should be carried out in the presence of members of the media, officials of the barangay, or a representative of the Department of Justice.

"It's a waste to do all that work only to have cases dismissed on technicalities."

Is this only coming to light now?  Did no one in the Duterte administration fail to recognize these kind of failures? It's hard to believe. Look at this number "123 of the 22,774 police investigators in the country are graduates of law." That means less than 1% of all police investigators are law graduates!



How can anyone look at these numbers and claim that the Philippines justice system is not only functional but world class?? You would have to be stupid to say such a thing.


Drugs are a scourge and need to be eradicated  but you cannot just go in guns blazing and that has been the modus operandi for the past six years. If the majority of these cases do not stand the scrutiny of the law then there is a real problem. Perhaps this new administration can fix it. But I won't hold my breath.

Friday, July 22, 2022

Retards in the Government 268

It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.

  


https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/15/jail-guard-in-laguna-nabbed-for-illegal-drug-activities/

A 35-year-old Bureau of Management and Penology (BJMP) member was arrested in a buy-bust operation in Sitio 5, Barangay Bagumbayan, this town, Thursday, July 14.

The suspect was identified as Eugene Bactad, a resident of Barangay Bagumbayan, and listed by the police as a high-value individual in the illegal drugs trade.

Police received a report that Bactad is involved in illegal drug activities. The report was validated and a buy-bust operation was conducted leading to the arrest of the suspect.

Seized from Bactad were three sachets of suspected shabu with an estimated weight of 10 grams and marked money.

A jail guard was arrested for selling drugs.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/15/drunk-trigger-happy-cop-in-gensan-charged/

A happy-trigger policeman is facing administrative and criminal charges after he indiscriminately fired his firearm while drunk in Barangay Lagao here Tuesday, July 12.

Police Lt. Col. Aldrin Gonzales, spokesperson of the General Santos City Police Office, said charges for illegal discharge of firearm and grave misconduct have been filed against Police Corporal Grecar Paras, assigned to the Mobile Patrol Unit, after he, together with several companions, figured in a shooting spree in Barangay Lagao.

Gonzales said Paras surrendered to this superior, Police Lt. Col. Ramon Gencianos, Wednesday, July 13, in Camp Fermin Lira here after he was positively identified through a closed-circuit television camera footage as one of two persons who indiscriminately fired a gun in front of a convenience store in Pioneer Village, Barangay Lagao.

The store owner, Mark Anthony Lansangan, reported the incident to Police Station 3 which immediately dispatched responding policemen to the scene.

Police Capt. Miguel Angelo Quidilla, Police Station 3 chief, said the suspects had fled the area when responding policemen arrived at the scene.

Gonzales said the Philippine National Police-Internal Affairs Service is set to probe the administrative case of grave misconduct against the erring cop while that of the criminal case of indiscriminate firing will be conducted by Police Station 3.

A police officer is being charged for indiscriminately firing his weapon while being drunk.

https://www.panaynews.net/sc-upholds-graft-conviction-of-iloilo-medical-supplier/

The president of a medical supply company has been found guilty by the Supreme Court of violating Republic Act (RA) No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for conniving with local public officials by participating in a flawed bidding, resulting in unwarranted benefits and advantages in his favor.

This case is related to the February 2015 Sandiganbayan conviction – affirmed with finality also by the Supreme Court in March 2019 – of former Janiuay, Iloilo mayor Frankie Locsin for graft regarding the purchase of medicines from two companies that were owned by one person.

Villanueva and several local government officials of Janiuay, Iloilo were charged by the Office of the Ombudsman with violation of RA 3019 for allegedly conniving with each other for the purchase of medicines worth P13,191,223 from Europharma, notwithstanding the fact its accreditation was still pending with the Department of Health (DOH) when it was awarded the contract, thus disqualifying it from bidding.

It was also alleged that Villanueva was the sole proprietor of Mallix Drug Center (Mallix), a supplier which participated in the same public bidding and was awarded P1,744,926.  

The Sandiganbayan held that all the accused conspired with each other and were guilty of violating Section 3 (e) of RA 3019 for awarding the contracts for the purchase of medicines to the business entities of petitioner.

The president of a medical supply company who conspired with local officials for a no-bid purchase has had his graft conviction upheld.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/15/22/coa-flags-dpwh-over-delay-defects-in-thousands-of-infra-projects

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) failed to establish the viability of 3,440 infrastructure projects worth P245.021 billion which resulted in either delayed completion or non-implementation of the projects, a report from the Commission on Audit (COA) showed.

In their 2021 audit report, state auditors said the DPWH's projects were contrary to the provisions of Republic Act No. 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

The projects include school buildings and farm-to-market road projects across the country, including 437 projects amounting to P10.939 billion which have not been started at all. 

Several reasons were cited in the report, such as typhoons, prolonged acquisition of road right-of-way, permits and clearances from other government agencies, unsatisfactory performance of contractors, revisions in feasibility studies, and engineering plans. 

“Except for the COVID-19 pandemic and adverse weather conditions, the other identified causes of the delay in the implementation of infrastructure projects reflect the inadequacy of planning, supervision and monitoring of management relative to the project implementation,” the audit team commented. 

Unsupported expenditures amounting to P11.538 billion were also made by the DPWH without proper and complete supporting documentary requirements, contrary to Presidential Decree No. 1445 or the Auditing Code of the Philippines. 

The disbursements include payments of advances to contractors, fuel oil and lubricants payments, COVID-19 hazard pay, as well as salaries and wages of job order, contractual, and budgetary personnel. 

“The above disbursements/payments made without proper or complete documentation rendered the transactions of doubtful legality, propriety, or regularity; hence, the same shall be suspended in audit until the requirements are duly complied with,” the audit team said.

The audit team also noted technical defects in 369 infrastructure projects with total contract cost of P11.860 billion, resulting in deficiencies of at least P508.581 million. 

Among the cited defects were major scaling and multiple cracks on concrete pavement as well as defects in masonry, structural concrete and painting works and curbs and gutters in the Cordillera Administrative Region. 

The DPWH has been flagged by the COA over a number of issues. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1629569/coa-flags-delays-in-14-dotr-projects-worth-p1-6-trillion

Fourteen foreign-assisted projects of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) worth P1.61 trillion suffered “setbacks” in implementation last year, forcing the government to pay P128.42 million in additional fees to several lenders financing them, according to the Commission on Audit (COA).

State auditors reviewed the projects’ status as of the end of 2021 and found common problems in implementation, among them issues in procurement, and financial and technical concerns. In a 2021 audit report on the DOTr, the COA said these led to prolonged implementation and changes in project cost and scope, and caused some to be restructured.

“It bears stressing that the issues encountered in the implementation of the projects should be immediately addressed to prevent further extension of services/project’s completion/implementation period, and consequently incurrence of additional commitment fees/charges in case of extension of the loan validity period,” the COA said.

The COA report said the 14 projects faced similar issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project site’s condition or availability, and design, scope, and technical concerns.

State auditors lamented that issues in the implementation of the projects, which included the improvement of rail systems, replacement of license plates, and the public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program, affected “the timely usage and enjoyment by the public of the benefits that could be derived therefrom.”

The COA has flagged the COA for delays in projects which cost the government millions in extra fees. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1630213/coa-flags-robredos-ovp-for-hiring-lawyer-without-approval

The Commission on Audit (COA) may have an unmodified opinion of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) under Leni Robredo, but it still flagged the OVP for hiring a private lawyer, supposedly without adhering to COA rules.

According to the 2021 COA report,  the OVP engaged the services of a private lawyer as a legal consultant without the prior approval of the COA and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).

Without such approval, public funds used to pay the private lawyer may be disallowed or ordered returned, as stated in a circular that COA released in April 1986.

According to the 2021 COA report, the payments “are considered irregular and unnecessary expenditures” and “shall be the personal liability of the officials concerned.”

The COA audit team also found out that there was no valid reason for hiring a legal consultant necessary. It noted that the OVP created its own Legal Affairs Division in 2020 with two legal officers employed “as part of its institutional strengthening efforts.”

“It is believed that the contracted legal services can be handled by OVP’s legal officers. As such the hiring of a legal consultant is not justifiable,” the COA report said.

COA urged OVP to hold accountable those who approved the contract and the payments and have them refund the money paid to the private lawyer.

It also advised the current OVP to appoint someone to head the Legal Affairs Division.

The COA has flagged the OVP for hiring a lawyer without the approval of the OSG. The OVP has since said that they have appealed this decision to the COA.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179293

An election official was shot to death in Isabela City, Basilan, while supervising the ongoing registration of voters for Al-Barka municipality in the province Tuesday.

Lt. Col. Junpikar Sitin, Isabela police chief, identified the victim as Ruayna Sayyadi, the election officer of Al-Barka town.

Sitin said Sayyadi was in front of the Al-Barka satellite municipal election office in Barangay Doña Ramona, Isabela City, when a gunman approached and shot her around 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Sayyadi was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician.

Sitin said the suspect fled on a motorcycle towards the city proper of Isabela, based on information gathered from witnesses.

Lawyer Roberto Dela Peña, the Basilan provincial election supervisor, strongly condemned Sayadi's killing and urged the police to  investigate and solve the crime.

An election official has been shot dead.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179327

The Sandiganbayan has sentenced a former Samar town mayor to up to eight years in prison on graft charges filed by a municipal employee who exposed anomalies in the local government unit (LGU).

In a decision dated July 18 penned by Associate Justice Alex Quiroz, the anti-graft court convicted former San Sebastian town mayor Arnold Abalos for removing municipal planning and development coordinator Robert O. Rebosura from his post, after he shed light on unremitted workers' contributions to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) in 2012.

The mayor had been earlier convicted on separate graft charges.

The accused claimed he decided to relieve Rebosura, citing absenteeism where the complainant was allegedly reporting to work only thrice a week.

Rebosura, meanwhile, said his replacement stemmed from his and other municipal employees’ previous filing of cases against the mayor, including a complaint for the non-remittance of GSIS contributions.

In convicting Abalos, the court, among other things, said the complainant was denied the opportunity to explain his side and that the manner of his removal from the post was "attended by irregularity" as it was only done "by means of a mere memorandum, unsupported by any complaint, investigation or formal charge”.

A former mayor has been convicted of graft in connection with firing an employee who exposed his financial shenanigans.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1631135/cotabato-village-chief-killed-in-gun-attack

Unidentified gunmen ambushed and killed a village official in Pikit town, Cotabato province on Wednesday morning.

Maj. Maxim Peralta, Pikit police chief, said Datu Jalandoni Matalam Akas, 58, village chief of Barangay Macabual, was on a motorbike with his wife when they were attacked by still unidentified gunmen along the national highway in Barangay Nalapaan.

Akas died on the spot while his wife was unharmed in the gun attack that happened around 8 a.m.

The gunmen on board separate motorbikes then fled after the shooting, heading for the town proper.

It was the second daylight shooting in Pikit in two days.

“Hot pursuit operation is still ongoing,” Peralta told a local radio station in an interview.

Matalam’s relatives claimed that the victim had no known enemies and roamed around without firearms or armed escorts.

On Tuesday afternoon, unidentified gunmen also ambushed and killed Alex Salcedo, 58, an employee of Pikit Water District.

He was on motorbike when the suspect shot him from behind in Barangay (village) Batulawan at around 2 p.m.

Unidentified gunmen killed both a village chief and a water district employee in Cotobato province.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179270

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Erwin Tulfo proved once more that he won’t tolerate abuses after two erring employees were meted out disciplinary actions.

The DSWD said on Tuesday that one employee assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and another at the satellite office in Tagbilaran City, Bohol were relieved from their posts for inappropriate behavior.

They were also reprimanded and made to undergo retraining on proper treatment of clients, according to a news release on Tuesday.

"Instead of assisting them to make them comfortable from their travel abroad, the action of the said (NAIA) employee toward the mother and child was not in accordance with the health standards set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases for arriving minors," Tulfo reported, without specifying what the employee violated.

The Tagbilaran City employee, on the other hand, “rudely” talked to a client who inquired about inclusion in the “Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program”, the conditional cash transfer program.

On July 7, Tulfo posted an apology on Facebook and vowed to investigate the incident. 

Five other employees assigned at the hotline center were reprimanded and duly warned for not responding to calls.

“(Five employees assigned to our hotline operations were reprimanded and warned for not answering calls. What is the use of hotline numbers if no one will answer the calls)?" Tulfo said in a statement. 

Two DSWD employees have been relived and 5 warned for unprofessional behavior.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179426
The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan has fined four Sipalay City, Negros Occidental town officials for “frauds against the public treasury” in connection with anomalies in equipment lease contract with a private firm in 2008.
 
In its three-page decision written by Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang and promulgated July 15, the court found former city treasurer Renato Manilla, budget officer Fernando Balbin, engineer Porferio Calderon Jr., and general services officer Elizer Balbin guilty and sentenced them to a fine of PHP40,000 each.
 
Two accused, former mayor Soledad Montilla and executive assistant Alfredo Lim, had died while the case remained pending. 
 
Montilla and the other accused were originally charged with violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019) on June 29, 2018 for alleged anomalies in a deal with the city government in 2008 where they were accused of giving unwarranted benefits and preference to D.K. Jocson Construction.
 
The irregularities allegedly occurred when the firm’s contract for the lease of heavy equipment used in the rehabilitation of a dike and graveling of farm-to-market roads in the city was renewed from March to December 2008.

Four town executives have been fined for irregularities in giving a contract for road construction.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/453909/coa-questions-talisay-citys-purchase-of-high-end-pcs-laptops

The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the decision of the Talisay City Government to purchase high-end laptops and personal computers (PC) used for engineering and video editing purposes. 

In its 2021 Annual Audit Report for Talisay City, the state auditing body called the city government’s attention to justify its procurement of five PC sets, and two high-end laptops amounting to a total of P610,750.

COA described the cost incurred by the local government as ‘imprudent use of government funds’ since the latter was unable to sufficiently defend the necessity to buy high-end consumer electronics. 

Citing COA Circular No. 2012-003, state auditors said ‘high-end or expensive models/brands of electronic gadgets such as mobile phones, desktops, and laptops, are considered unnecessary expenditures’ unless they are properly justified.  

The five PC sets and one of the high-end laptops were intended for the City Engineering Office. Another high-end laptop was charged under the Office of the City Mayor.

The purchases were made between May and June of 2021, the report showed. 

“While the procurement of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Equipment such as laptops and desktops are necessary for effectively discharging the two Offices’ duties and responsibilities, prudence in the use of funds must be always taken into consideration so that public procurement is done in the most judicious and economical manner,” portions of the COA report stated.

Talisay City has been flagged by the COA for high-end electronics purchases.