Assassinated Businessmen April to June 2023

This is a list of more businessmen assassinated in the Philippines for the second quarter of 2023. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/05/23/businessman-shot-dead-outside-makati-home

A businessman was shot dead by an unidentified assailant outside his home in Makati City on Tuesday night, his family said. 

The victim, Gilberto Cayetano, was resting inside his parked car in front of his residence in Barangay Pio del Pilar, when a man passed by and shot him before running away. 

(I was sleeping. We heard a gunshot, so we went down. They were screaming. He was already sprawled inside the vehicle when we saw him.)

The victim was already lifeless upon arrival at the hospital. 

This is the second time that the victim was involved in a gun attack, his sibling said. 

“Noong pandemic po inattempt pero di natuloy, 'di pumutok baril, 2020 ito,” his sister said. “Nasa labas kami lahat mag-outing. May tumutok ng baril.”

(During the pandemic, someone attempted to shoot him, but the gun jammed. This was in 2020. We were on an outing. Someone pointed a gun at him.) 

She said she had no clue on who the assailant could be. 

“Wala siya nabanggit na kaaway tahimik kasi yun sa problema. Kaya di namin alam kung sino puwede gumawa nito…. Kahit ng araw na iyon, 'di namin alam sino may galit,” she said. 

(He did not mention any enemy because he keeps quiet with his problems. We don't know who could have done this. Even on that day, we don't know who could be carrying a grudge against him.)

“Kyung sino man gumawa niyan sa kapatid ko, wala naman siya ginagawa masama. Kung may nagawa siya na masama, sana hindi sa ganito. Pwede naman pag-usapan. May mga anak pa po iyon na maliit. Sana makonsensya kayo. Kung ano ginawa niyo sa kapatid ko, Diyos na ang bahala,” she added. 

(If he did something wrong, it shouldn't have led to this. We could have talked it out. He has young children. I hope your conscience hounds you.)

Police are still investigating the incident. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1755018/mango-trader-shot-dead-in-digos-city-davao-del-sur

A mango trader was gunned down early Tuesday, April 11, along the national highway in Barangay Aplaya of this city, adding another incident to the crime wave that hit Davao del Sur in the last two weeks.

Lieutenant Colonel Hamlet Lerios, Digos police chief, identified the victim as Janilo Alferes Mondejar, 46.

Witnesses told investigators that Mondejar was just sitting on a bench of a sari-sari store near his house when two still-unidentified individuals arrived onboard a motorcycle. Suddenly, one of them pulled a handgun and fired at the victim without any provocation.

Mondejar was hit on the left chest and died instantly, the police said.

https://mb.com.ph/2023/5/4/businesswoman-live-in-partner-shot-dead-outside-batangas-trial-court

A businesswoman and her live-in partner were gunned down outside the municipal trial court here on Wednesday morning, May 3.

Police identified the victims as Rosola Vivas and her live-in partner Clement Jalijali, residents of Paseo de Murcia, Terrazas de Punta Fuego, Barangay Natipuan, here.

Investigation said the couple had just left the municipal trial court after attending a hearing and were walking towards their parked vehicle when they were shot by a lone gunman.

Vivas sustained multiple bullet wounds in the body and died on the spot. Jalijali was taken to the hospital where he was declared dead due to bullet wounds.

Police officers inside the trial court immediately responded but failed to arrest the suspect who reportedly fled on a motorcycle parked not far from the crime scene.

Investigation is ongoing to determine the motive of the killing and identity of the assailant.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1766696/vietnamese-national-slain-driver-hurt-in-palawan-shooting

A Vietnamese national died while his Filipino driver was hurt in a shooting incident on Monday night in this city.

Initial investigation by the Puerto Princesa City police revealed on Tuesday, May 9, that businessman Kim Vu Dang, 39, who was engaged in lobster buy-and-sell, was inside the stockroom at the back of his house in Purok (zone) El Rancho, Barangay Sta. Monica when the unidentified gunman, who was posing as a lobster seller, arrived around 7:30 p.m. and shot Dang several times.

Dang died due to two gunshot wounds in his head and one in his stomach.

His driver Mark Nephi Ramos, who was also in the stockroom, suffered a gunshot wound in his right palm. He was taken to a hospital for treatment.

The suspect fled after the shooting.

https://mb.com.ph/2023/5/15/lady-trader-tied-to-investment-scheme-shot-dead-inside-car-in-davao-city

A 51-year-old businesswoman linked to an investment scheme was gunned down inside her vehicle by three unidentified assailants here on Saturday, May 13.

Police Major Catherine dela Rey, Davao City Police Office spokesperson, identified the victim as Annabelle Cosido Elizagaque.

Dela Rey said on Monday, May 15, that authorities are thoroughly investigating the incident on  Diversion Road in Barangay Maa at 2 p.m.

Investigators have yet to check surveillance cameras in the area that could help them unmask the identity of the gunmen.

Dela Rey added that they would look into the victim’s previous business transactions to determine the possible motive for her death.

She said investigators have yet to find out if Elizagaque received any threats to her life from individuals with whom she had transactions.

Elizagaque was reportedly among the individuals behind the now defunct Rigen investment scheme which offered investment packages similar to the Ponzi scheme that promised high returns to investors, information released by police said.

“Atong ginapaningkamutan nga masolbad kining kaso ug para mahatagan sila og hustisya (We are doing our best to resolve this case and give her justice),” Dela Rey said.

She said that police are not discounting the possibility that her death might have been motivated by her involvement in Rigen or in her other businesses.

https://mb.com.ph/2023/6/11/couple-robbed-killed-in-cagayan

A couple engaged in money lendijng was robbed and killed in Barangay Punta, Aparri, this province, on Friday, June 9.

Police Corporal Dharyl Jhon Bingil, duty investigator of the Aparri police station, identified the victims as Derlina Bambalan, 47; and Ramon Ramones, 67.

Bingil said Ramones’ sibling discovered the victims lying in their house with severe wounds in their bodies at about 7:30 a.m.

Bambalan was already dead while Ramones was taken to the hospital where he died hours later due to severe head wounds.

Police theorized that the unidentified suspect used a hard object in mauling the victims.

Investigators are looking at robbery or business in the crime.

During follow-up investigation, Bingil said they found out that two bags containing still unknown amount of money with a logbook containing names of people who owed money from the couple are missing.

He said that they are determining if there are closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the place of incident and the escape route of the suspect.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/s-porean-businessman-shot-in-the-head-in-popular-philippine-resort-town

A Singaporean businessman was gunned down on Monday at a popular resort town in Batangas province, south of the Philippine capital Manila.

Mr Chan Kim Tay, 66, had just left his grocery shop at a public market in Lian town and was heading home at around 6pm on Monday when someone walked up to him and shot him in the head, Sergeant Arthur Rosales, the case officer, told The Straits Times.

Lian is about three hours south of Manila by car. 

Mr Chan was taken to a hospital in nearby Nasugbu town, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Sgt Rosales said police are checking security cameras near where Mr Chan was killed for clues as to the shooter’s identity.

He added that investigators are looking into a couple of leads, including the likelihood that a domestic dispute might have led to Mr Chan’s killing, and that the Singaporean might have been killed by a hired gunman.

Mr Chan had been in the Philippines for about 30 years. He was married to Mrs Marife Chan, 49, a Filipino. Their three children are 28, 17 and seven years old.

The God Culture: Apocrypha Scrolls Found In Qumran And Those Not Present, Vol. 1

Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture has released another book. This is volume one of a two volume series "testing" the apocryphal books. This book is part of his project to rewrite what he calls "the Pharisee Bible" and "restore the true Bible." It's a lot of Godless, Christless, faithless nonsense and quite frankly there is so much written about these books we really do not need the ridiculous armchair ravings of a magazine editor who knows neither Greek nor Hebrew except from what he gleans on the internet to tell us about them! Let's take a look anyway.

Apocrypha Scrolls Found In Qumran And Those Not Present. Vol. 1

Thankfully this book does not insert the Philippines where it does not belong but it does follow the pattern of Tim's other editions of Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha (Enoch, Jubilees, and 1st and 2nd Esdras.) He begins his "foreward" by dumping all over scholars of every stripe. This tirade continues all throughout Tim's introductory materials. Here is one of many examples. 

For those scholars requiring that Pharisee to tell the truth in quoting Baruch, perhaps someday they will mature to elementary levels where we could allow them to participate in discussion. For now, many undermine their own credibility.

pg. 81

Next there is a long section about who really lived in Qumran followed by a "Torah Test" for the books in this volume. That would be The Wisdom of Sirach, The Prayer of Manasseh, Baruch including the Letter of Jeremiah, and additional proof for 1st and 2nd Esdras being found in Qumran. 

His interpretation of the material is tedious and longwinded and I will not attempt to unravel them.  Funny enough Bigfoot makes an appearance for his "case!"

Another text by perhaps the brother, mentioned a creature akin to Big Foot thus, that must be discredited because modern scholars cannot capture and prove there is such a creature. Again, that is their paradigm and their shortcoming they then, apply to everyone else in a false paradigm blocking knowledge. That is as Pharisee as any behavior could be. They would ignore even former President Teddy Roosevelt as not academic enough nor credible enough for them when he wrote of an account of a Big Foot-like creature in Idaho and Montana in The Wilderness Hunter published in 1893. Another scholar would pile on in consensus noting that there were no known Big Foot legends in that area in 1850 but not until 1912.

In other words, that scholar would be claiming this could not be the first legend because other scholars already decreed the 1912 was the first. Do they even know that? No. Did Big Foot, or whatever creature this may have been mistaken, come into existence in 1912? Would not the very fact that it is reported in that area in 1912 prove this family history credible whether it was Big Foot himself or not? How could one call themselves academic and even think that way? They do.

pg. 47-48

Yes dear readers, Big Foot is real!!  Tim writes in these ridiculous terms because he despises academia and is appealing to the lowest common denominator.

This is why we are publishing this series in layman’s terms as we have had enough of the so-called academic rhetoric that surrounds the Dead Sea Scrolls, and really the entire Bible.  

pg. 50

That is what we are up against here folks. 

In this review I will focus on several huge errors Tim makes that shows he is totally unreliable as a "scholar." Of course that is always the case with Tim. He sounds like he knows what he is talking about but when one washes away the mud his deceit is made plain.

The first major error, and the one that shuts down his entire project, is that the only test of what is true scripture is what was found or not found at Qumran. If it was found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls it is scripture, if it was not found then it is not scripture.

We will determine which of these was and still is Bible Canon and which should not be. We will use the Qumran Scrolls as a framework as well as establish historicity continued from there to the Early Church. 

pg. 13

The first and sole true judge of historicity is whether or not a text was found affirmed in the Dead Sea Scrolls where the Temple Priests were who kept the only official Bible Canon to the First Century. 

pg. 68

This is problematic on many levels and not just because it eliminates the New Testament which was not found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls. I will let Bible scholar Lee McDonald speak.

What was discovered in and around Qumran cannot be affirmed to be a complete library of what was actually stored there, for the residents made no list of what they stored, and we do not know if one day another cave will be discovered with many more ancient manuscripts. Therefore, a certain amount of caution is necessary before making strong statements about the contents of the Qumran library. And because of this uncertainty, it is wise to soften conclusions about what was not found there.

Lee Martin McDonald, The Biblical Canon, pg. 131

“There is no way to know with certainty whether either collection in 4 Ezra included Ruth, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Ecclesiastes, or Song of Songs, the books more commonly disputed in the rabbinic tradition. Also, it is not certain that Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach were excluded. One should be very careful about attributing to 4 Ezra a definition of canon that cannot be established. Nothing prior to the second century C.E. identifies which books made up the sacred writings in the various sects of Judaism at the turn of the era. It is possible to hazard a guess of the identity of some of the books in the emerging biblical canon by observing the way that various writings were cited at Qumran or by Josephus, but what specific books were in these categories is debatable.”

Lee Martin McDonald, The Biblical Canon, pg. 163

There was no list of official books found at Qumran nor does Josephus provide a list. He only gives a number which could mean any number of things. Yet Tim is quick to condemn Josephus for not including Baruch in his list of Bible Canon. 

When Josephus, then, quotes a list of what is referred to as Bible Canon, he most certainly is not representing the true sons of Zadok who were exiled by these factions to Qumran/Bethabara. 

pg. 11

However, even closer in 90 A.D., Josephus, who was a Pharisee who did not include Baruch in his Pharisee Bible which is impertinent to any discussion, well knew the skill of Baruch, not just as Jeremiah’s scribe but as the mouthpiece of the prophet.

pg. 81

How does Tim know that Josephus did not include Baruch in his Bible canon? He does not. He is making stuff up because he despises Josephus. Tim admits Baruch was usually compiled with Jeremiah into one book.

In fact, you will find the Book of Baruch confused with Jeremiah often in ancient times because it was once part of the Book of Jeremiah in treatment. 

pg. 78

It could very well be the case that Josephus's unnamed canon included Baruch as part of Jeremiah. 

Tim even claims that the Protestants derive their canon from Josephus!

No Pharisee ever qualifies as being ordained to keep Bible Canon to the First Century either but the opposite. This includes especially Josephus, the Pharisee, whose publishing of the Pharisee Canon now proves archaeologically to be a changing of Bible Canon also coalescing with the Pharisee Council of Jamnia oddly the same year. Generally, the Protestant Old Testament Canon today is driven by Jospehus’ listing from 90 A.D. or so and one could not be more uneducated especially in the face of the many rebukes of Pharisee doctrines, oral traditions and their Canon.

pg. 8

Tim offers ZERO PROOF for that claim which is no surprise because there are many claims made in this introduction which he never backs up. Claims such as The Wisdom of Sirach being penned by a family of "Biblical sages."

He and his grandfather share the same name but this is a family effort of Biblical sages qualified to write scripture. Thus, there are three consecutive generations of Sirach’s who authored or contributed to the content of this book as a grandfather, father and the culmination written by the grandson, “the son of Sirach” identifying the wisdom of “My grandfather Yahusha.”

pg. 39

What is Tim's proof that the author of Sirach is part of a family of Biblical sages? What does it even mean to be part of a family of Biblical sages? Tim never says. He makes this assertion and never proves it!

This is a good segue into his other test of canonicity and that is that the book must prove to be a "second witness" to the Bible. 

This is a basic foundational principle that undermines the whole of scripture as they censored witnesses to the Bible that the Bible requires, per scripture, as where are the second witnesses especially of some of the most important doctrines of both the Old and New Testaments?

pg. 9

Tim never explains what it means that the Bible requires second witnesses attesting to its veracity. His argument is actually circular as he says the Bible requires the Bible to prove itself! The Bible needs to refer to itself to be deemed true? SAYS WHO!? Again, he does not say. Likely this false hermeneutic is based on the following scripture:

Deuteronomy 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

THAT is a judicial principle and not a hermeneutical principle. In his introduction Tim takes this principle to the most ridiculous extreme and says Jesus derived his doctrine from the Wisdom of Sirach!

Is there ancient precedence for Yahusha’s famous statement about knowing men by their fruits? This is extremely significant as he was quoting the Wisdom of Sirach, not creating new doctrine. Yahusha says: “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” This is worded even more closely in the NRSV Sirach as “...the fruit discloses the cultivation.” Yahusha quoted the Wisdom of Sirach. Why would any church avoid it? The scoffer may exclaim these are different because Yahusha editorializes as if the Son of Yahuah is not allowed to do so. We all know that is just plain stupid.

Messiah expresses He is the vine and we are the branches. He speaks of the sinner’s heart representing rocky soil in which good seeds cannot take root. The sinner does not bring forth many branches as a result and bad fruit, if any. This is all wrapped up together with the previous wisdom that you shall know them by their fruits. Believers bear good fruit and are pruned and flourish. The wicked will be cut off and burned in the fire. This entire analogy is not original to Yahusha. He read and understood the Wisdom of Sirach. One of the most important passages in all of the New Testament where Yahusha defines salvation, derives from the Wisdom of Sirach. He quoted it and editorialized in deeper explanation. 

pg. 71

Imagine that! God manifested in the flesh gets his salvation message from Sirach! Funny that the Apostles who Tim claims knew and quoted Sirach did not understand his parables which were lifted from Sirach.

Mark 4:10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.

11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all thesethings are done in parables:

12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.

13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?

Why were the people astonished at Christ's teaching if he lifted it from Sirach and Sirach was widely known?

Matthew 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

He even says Sirach is the second witness of Christ's words. 

One can read many commentaries and books which note Yahusha’s words that one who will not forgive their brother will not be forgiven. Oddly, most of those scholars do not research the origin of such a paramount statement which better come from scripture with a second witness. There are even some who will assert this was Messiah creating new doctrine which is illiterate. For Yahusha was quoting Sirach 28 in this regard.

pg. 72

Furthermore Tim says not every book of the Bible contains a prophecy of Christ though many force such an interpretation!

Of course, not all Old Testament books contain prophecy of the coming Messiah. One can force archetypes or types of Christ as some attempt, but there is never a need to do so and we will not in this testing in which all six of these texts already pass as identifying with Biblical Israel. 

pg. 90

This betrays a complete misunderstanding of the scriptures. Let's hear what Origen has to say. 

...we must approach the whole of Scripture as one body, we must not lacerate nor break through the strong and well-knit connections which exist in the harmony of its whole composition, as those do who lacerate, so far as they can, the unity of the Spirit that is in all the Scriptures.

https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/101510.htm

If you cannot see Christ in all the scriptures then you are blind. This quote is important because Tim calls Origen to the bar as a witness for his lies. 

Note, this account is specifically affirmed by Origen around 200 A.D. as he quotes First Esdras with attribution in his response to the scoffer, Julius Africanus who sounded like many modern scholars. Origen wrote he was reading 1st Esdras as historical and Biblical fact one would call inspired. He confuses Nehemiah and Zerubbabel which is a simple mistake as both were involved in the rebuilding.

185-254: Origen:

“Again we read in Esdras, that Neemias, a cup-bearer and eunuch of the king, of Hebrew race, made a request about the rebuilding of the temple, and obtained it...” – Origen’s Letter to Africanus 

pg. 54

This is false.  1st Esdras does not contain this story.  But the book of Nehmiah does!  This error stems from the fact that Tim does not understand that in the early Church Ezra-Nehemiah were combined into one book known as 1st Esdras while what we know as 1st and 2nd Esdras were called 3rd and 4th Esdras and were not included in the canon.  He further complicates his error in the following passage:

We also know historically, there was a practice among the very early church that included 2nd Esdras as the same book as 1st Esdras.

“Origen, in his Commentary on Ps. i, gives the second list that we know of, which belongs to a time not later than A.D. 231 ; he reckons as belonging to the Canon the twenty-two books of the Hebrew Old Testament. But, strange to say, Origen includes in his list the First Book of Esdras (he treats 1, 2 Esdras as one book) and the Epistle of Jeremiah, neither of which had ever been regarded as canonical by the Jews. Origen’s list is adopted by Athanasius, Cyril, and Epiphanius, as well as in the Laodicean Canon, in each case with the addition of Baruch.

Scholars noting that some quote or kept 1st Esdras but not 2nd Esdras because they do not break it out in the ancient mindset, do not represent the ancients and do not understand the pattern associated with how they kept scripture.  

pg. 65-66

Any honest examination of canonical lists shows beyond dispute that Ezra-Nehemiah were combined into one book known as 1st Esdras while 3rd and 4th Esdras were EXCLUDED from the canon. Historically speaking 1st Esdras is Ezra, 2nd Esdras is Nehemiah, and 3rd and 4th Esdras are what we know today as 1st and 2nd Esdras.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esdras#Naming_conventions

It can be a little confusing but Tim cannot even handle the title of Ecclesiasticus for the Wisdom of Sirach so it's no wonder he gets this wrong. 

Some refer to it as Ecclesiasticus as well, though a confusing title. 

pg. 38

Let me conclude with Tim's contradictory statements about Jesus Christ and Josephus. As I noted above Tim takes umbrage with the fact that Josephus cites Baruch but never names him. However he claims Jesus Christ cited Sirach, never named him, and to think that he would do so is illiterate. 

For those that require Messiah to always attribute every word He spoke to the book from where it originated, that is one of the most illiterate of false paradigms. 

pg. 70

Except that is exactly what Jesus does. Every time he cites scripture he says IT IS WRITTEN. While Jesus may echo the sentiments of Sirach he never says IT IS WRITTEN and then cites Sirach. But he does that with Moses and the Prophets of which Sirach is not a part. Sirach even acknowledges that the book is neither law nor prophets in in the prologue.

1 

The Prologue of the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach. Whereas many and great things have been delivered unto us by the law and the prophets, and by others that have followed their steps, for the which things Israel ought to be commended for learning and wisdom; and whereof not only the readers must needs become skilful themselves, but also they that desire to learn be able to profit them which are without, both by speaking and writing: my grandfather Jesus, when he had much given himself to the reading of the law, and the prophets, and other books of our fathers, and had gotten therein good judgment, was drawn on also himself to write something pertaining to learning and wisdom; to the intent that those which are desirous to learn, and are addicted to these things, might profit much more in living according to the law. 

pg. 104-105 

One last thing and that is Tim's comments on Acts 20:35:

I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” 

Tim says this is a quote not from the Lord Jesus Christ but from Jesus Ben Sirach!

Also, Acts 20:35 credits Yahusha for saying “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” That is not a quote documented of Yahusha Messiah. This is a quote from Yahusha Ben Sirach 4:31 exactly.

pg. 73

Really?  Despite the text saying that is a quote from Jesus Christ Tim claims it is not! Now he is contradicting the scriptures. And what does Ben Sirach 4:31 say?

Let not thine hand be stretched out to receive, and shut when thou shouldest repay.

Does that look like an exact quote to you? Even the sentiment is wrong because this verse is not about GIVING but about REPAYING! His note on the text says:

Cf. Acts 20:35, credits Yahusha for saying: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” He has no such quote in the Gospels but Yahusha Ben Sirach does.

Does Tim honestly believe that EVERYTHING Jesus spoke or did was written down? Even the Gospels say this is not the case!

25 

John 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Acts 20:35 is often cited as a proof text for the authority of unwritten tradition but you won't find Tim wading into those waters. He can hardly swim as it is!

To put it bluntly this book showcases how Tim undermines the Scriptures and thinks he knows more than anyone else especially scholars who have devoted their entire lives to studying the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures. This man is ignorant beyond belief and every publication reveals his stunning lack of basic knowledge when it comes to these things. As I noted at the beginning there are so many commentaries and papers about these books that we do not need the musings of Timothy Jay Schwab to muddy the waters. 

Retards in the Government 316

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

 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1791911/raps-filed-vs-dera-6-nbi-security-officers-for-sneaking-out-of-jail

Detainee Jad Dera and six security officers from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) sought a preliminary investigation on the criminal complaint filed against them following their arrest for allegedly sneaking out of detention at midnight Wednesday.

Dera is facing a complaint of Corruption of Public officials and Employees under the Revised Penal Code, while the six NBI security officers are facing complaints for infidelity in the custody of prisoners/detained person and violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft Law.

Lawyer Mark Anthony Te, counsel for Dera, said they opted to sign a detention waiver as a requirement for a preliminary investigation so they can respond to the accusations and submit supporting evidence.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed that Dera managed to sneak out of detention Tuesday evening and returned at midnight Wednesday, where he and his NBI escorts were arrested.

Te said that Dera had been feeling ill and had requested permission to consult a doctor.

[He did not feel well. He needed to go out and inform the NBI personnel and was allowed to do so.]

He said Dera was suffering from gastritis.

He, however, refused to comment on reports that Dera was spotted dining at a restaurant.

As evidence, the NBI submitted a joint affidavit of arrest, photos, and videos of the arrest, and a screenshot of CCTV footage of Dera eating at a buffet restaurant in Makati.

6 NBI security officers have been arrested for escorting an inmate outside of the facility. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1204151

The Court of Appeals (CA) has upheld the sentence of up to eight years imprisonment imposed by a regional trial court on a policeman and his companion who waylaid a couple in 2006 and ran off with more than PHP3.5 million in cheques and cash.

The CA Fifth Division affirmed the conviction of PO1 Dennis Salviejo and Roseno Colendrino, positively identified by the victims as the persons who apprehended them while they were on their home from a bank at about 11 a.m. on May 18, 2006 in Santiago City, Isabela province.

Salviejo denied the allegations, saying at the supposed time and date of the robbery, he was on his way to Camp Adduru, the Police Regional Office 2 headquarters in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.

"The defenses of the accused, unsubstantiated by clear and convincing evidence, cannot prevail over their positive identification by (victim) Raul," read the CA decision dated June 19 and made public Friday.

Salviejo and Colendrino shot at the two front tires of the couple's car, ordered them to step out and hand over their money, and fled on a motorcycle.

The victims immediately reported the incident and recognized the two men from photos shown to them.

Aside from the PHP3 million in checks and cash, the duo also took the credit cards and mobile phones of the victims.

A cop who robbed a couple of millions of pesos has been convicted. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1204199

Four ex-officials of the regional agriculture office here facing graft charges were arrested, the Police Regional Office in the Caraga Region (PRO-13) said Friday.

“We are tasked to enforce the law in a manner that treats all individuals equally, regardless of their social status or positions,” PRO-13 chief, Brig. Gen. Pablo Labra II, said in a statement.

Those arrested were Edgardo Dahino, 67, former Department of Agriculture-Caraga (DA-13) assistant regional director; Jessica Da-An, 62, ex-chief administrator and finance officer; Merylinda Santos, 65, former budget officer; and Gerry Leop, 54, ex-regional accountant.

They are connected with the 2004 fertilizer fund scam allegedly masterminded by Janet Lim-Napoles, the so-called pork barrel queen.

The four former officials were allegedly responsible for the Agricultural Reinforcement Project entered into by the municipality of Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte with Napoles-linked non-governmental organization Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc.

They were separately arrested Thursday in this city by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Agusan del Norte.

All four are facing charges for violation of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices) and Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code for malversation.

A bail bond of PHP210,000 each was set by the Sandiganbayan 4th Division for their temporary liberty.

4 former DA employees have been charged with graft.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2023/06/25/2276422/marikina-cop-sacked-gunrunning

A policeman assigned in Marikina City was sacked from his post for allegedly moonlighting as a gunrunner, the Eastern Police District (EPD) reported yesterday.

EPD director Brig. Gen Wilson Asueta has ordered the administrative relief of Cpl. Carmelo Frias, who was disarmed and reassigned to the personnel holding and accounting unit of the Marikina police.

“We initiated a pre-charge investigation,” Asueta said in a text message.

Frias’ administrative relief came after he was identified by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) as a member of a gunrunning syndicate.

He was spotted by CIDG agents with his cohorts at the Armscor firing range in Barangay Fortune in Marikina at around 1:25 p.m. on June 21.

CIDG director Maj. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr. said Frias and the suspects were under surveillance due to reports they were illegally selling firearms and ammunition.

The syndicate operates in Rizal and nearby cities, negotiating with clients using social media platforms, Caramat said in a statement.

Acting on the information, the CIDG set up an entrapment operation against Frias and the suspects.

The policeman’s alleged cohorts – namely Jeffrey Dimaano, 30, and Joey Espana, 47 – were arrested after they received P45,000 in marked money from an undercover CIDG officer.

Frias, however, managed to escape.

Seized from the suspects were a 9mm Uzi pistol, a 9mm pistol, 32 rounds of ammunition, two cell phones and a motorcycle.

Frias and the other suspects were charged with violating Republic Act 10591, the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition.

A cop has been sacked for gunrunning but remains on the lam. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/6/27/barangay-captain-in-iloilo-arrested-for-shabu-unlicensed-firearms

Police arrested a barangay captain in San Enrique town, Iloilo province in a buy-bust operation on Monday, June 26.

The Police Regional Office-6 identified the suspect as Elvie Jirao Paez, 47, of Barangat Palje.

Paez was arrested after he sold a sachet of shabu worth to a police poseur-buyer.

Suspect yielded P35,000 worth of shabu, a 12-gauge shotgun, a revolver, and ammunition in the joint operation of the San Enrique Municipal Police Station led by Police Capt. Johnny Oro.

The PRO-6 lauded the arrest of Paez.

“An elected government official engaging in illegal drugs has no place in Western Visayas,” said Police Brig. Gen. Sidney Villaflor, PRO-6 acting director, in a statement on Tuesday, June 27.

He cited the people for providing police with information on the suspect’s activities.

“The police cannot do it alone. We thank the community for giving us valuable information that resulted in this high-impact accomplishment,” added Villaflor.

Suspect is facing charges for violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act and the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.

A barangay captain has been arrested on drugs and weapons charges. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1781619/sandiganbayan-orders-arrest-of-antique-gov-for-graft

The Sandiganbayan has issued an arrest warrant against Antique Gov. Rhodora Cadiao on accusations of violating the country’s anti-graft law.

Associate Justice Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta, chairperson of the anti-graft court’s seventh division, ordered on Wednesday, June 7, the local police and the National Bureau of Investigation to arrest Cadiao.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Provincial General Services Office head Antonio Dela Vega, who was reassigned to their Culasi satellite office located 100 kilometers away from the provincial capitol in the capital San Jose town.

The Civil Service Commission eventually ordered his reinstatement.

In 2018, Dela Vega also filed a complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas, claiming that the governor did not sign his Daily Time Record, which led to the non-release of his benefits by the provincial accountant and provincial treasurer amounting to P1,664,810.

Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Paul Elmer Clemente found probable cause to charge the governor in court in a September 2, 2019 resolution.

The findings were approved by Ombudsman Samuel Martires in 2021.

The Governor of Antique has been arrested on graft charges. She has denied the charges and called for unity. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/27/23/ex-water-district-exec-found-guilty-over-p10-m-ghost-project

Former Tugaya, Lanao del Sur Water District acting general manager Jamaloden Hadgi Faisal was found guilty by the Sandiganbayan 3rd Division over a P10 million fictitious water supply project in 2011.

In the decision of the court promulgated on June 23, 2023, Faisal was sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua for malversation of public funds as well as 6 to 10 years for graft.

The court also ordered him to pay a fine equal to the amount malversed. 

“The injury to the government is apparent considering that the prosecution was able to prove that the water supply improvement project of Tugaya Water District was neither implemented nor partly completed and that accused Faisal was able to appropriate the said funds by utilizing the falsified accomplishment report,” the court said. 

The court noted in the decision that during the trial, defense witness Sahania Sumndad-Amito was not allowed to testify. But her counsel made a tender of excluded evidence that if she were allowed to testify, she would say that the appointment letter of Faisal was not an official form.

But the court noted that aside from his appointment paper signed by the town mayor, the prosecution also presented documentary evidence that Faisal was one of the authorized signatories who could transact with the Philippine National Bank on behalf of the water district.

The court underscored that based on the verification done by the National Bureau of Investigation, the supposed project was neither implemented nor partly completed.

“The court finds that the Tugaya Water District, under the leadership of accused Faisal, did not implement the water supply improvement project,” the court said.

A former water district executive has been found guilty of malversation over a ghost project. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/6/25/teacher-nabbed-for-rape-in-laguna

Police apprehended a teacher for rape in Rizal, this province, on Friday, June 23.

Police Col. Randy Glenn Silvio, Laguna police chief, identified the suspect as “Joven.”

Police Capt. Rolly Dahus, town police chief, said Joven was tagged as the most wanted person on the regional level and apprehended at 6:15 p.m. based on a warrant of arrest issued by Judge Ave Zurbito-Alba, acting Presiding Judge, Branch 8, Family Court, City of Calamba, Laguna for rape under Republic Act (RA) 7877 (Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995).

Suspect is in the custody of the Rizal municipal police station.

Silvio said there is no letup in their campaign to arrest wanted persons in Laguna.

“Our law does not discriminate, no matter who you are or whether you are a government employee or not if you have committed a crime against the law, you must be held accountable,” he said.

A teacher has been arrested on rape charges.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/512612/coa-flags-liloan-for-buying-207-pieces-of-lechon-totaling-p1-357-million

The Liloan Municipal Government purchased “207 pieces of lechon totaling P1.357 million for team buildings, religious activities, founding anniversaries of private groups, graduation exercises, general assemblies, get-togethers, among others” that were deemed “irregular and unnecessary” by the Commission on Audit (COA).

Government auditors said some of the purchases violated the prohibition on the spending of government funds for “religious or private purposes.” Auditors reported that Liloan Mayor Aljew Frasco already prohibited the granting of all future requests for lechons for any activity or gathering.

We asked Mayor Frasco for a comment on the COA findings through his protocol officer and were told that he will give his side on Tuesday.

The lechon purchases were among the key findings by government auditors in the 2022 annual audit report of the town’s finances released recently by COA.

COA said in its report that the lechon purchases deprived “the constituents of projects or services that could have been derived from the use of the said funds.”

Auditors also pointed out that Section 335 of R.A. No. 7160 or the Local Government Code “provides that no public money or property shall be appropriated or applied for religious or private purposes.”

COA said some of the lechons were purchased for “Pastoral Parish Council and other religious groups such as the Knights of Columbus for their events, team buildings, get together, induction, oathtaking, thanksgiving and assemblies.”

Mayor Frasco told auditors that Liloan did not buy the lechons but “simply made a cash donation for cultural activity.” He said it was the recipients who decided to buy lechon “in consonance with the Filipino tradition of highlighting any gathering with (roast pig).”

Auditors, however, contested this, saying “the disbursement vouchers and its supporting documents (show) it was the Municipality’s BAC who procured these lechons.”

The Liloan Municipal Government has many financial anomnalies including buying a million pesos worth of lechon for various groups.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1204422

A security screening officer was arrested for allegedly stealing a mobile phone at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1, the Officer for Transportation Security (OTS) bared on Tuesday.

The alleged theft happened around 6:30 p.m. Monday when Rudolf Aquinde apparently took a mobile phone from a charging station inside the terminal, OTS Public Affairs Division officer-in-charge Kim Marquez told the Philippine News Agency.

The OTS on Tuesday said that upon review of the security camera footage, Aquinde was seen taking the mobile phone and placing it inside his safety vest.

The phone reportedly belongs to an airport wheelchair attendant.

"The APD (Airport Police Department) immediately went down to the baggage make-up area and identified Aquinde who was then wearing the same vest and eyeglasses. The latter was invited for inquiry, and during this time, Aquinde took out from his pocket the said missing mobile phone, and he was subsequently arrested," the OTS report stated.

Marquez said that at around 10 p.m., Aquinde was brought to the Police Intelligence and Investigation Division for further investigation and subsequent inquest proceedings.

An airport screener has been busted for theft.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/regions/874057/ex-sulu-town-vice-mayor-pando-mudjasan-recruiting-potential-armed-group-ahead-of-bske-pnp/story

Former Maimbung, Sulu vice mayor Pando Mudjasan has been recruiting civilians for a potential private armed group that may be used in the upcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE), the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Tuesday.

Interviewed on GMA Integrated News’ Unang Balita, PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said this is one of the reasons why law enforcement authorities conducted an operation against Mudjasan last Saturday.

(The joint forces of the PNP and AFP launched the law enforcement operation because we monitored he was already recruiting armed civilians.)

(And we already classify it as a potential armed group that, we believe, may be used in the upcoming BSKE.)

Aside from serving arrest warrants for murder to Mudjasan, Fajardo said authorities were also supposed to implement search warrants against the former vice mayor over supposed illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

A firefight broke out between state forces and Mudjasan's group during the operation but authorities failed to arrest the former official. The firefight left six people dead, two of them perishing while undergoing treatment.

“Isa po namatay sa government side, 'yung Special Action Force trooper po, and five sa enemy side po (One fatality was reported from the government side, a Special Action Force trooper, and five from Mudjasan’s side),” Fajardo told GMA News Online in a message.

A former vice mayor wanted for murder is amassing a private armed group.