It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/9/26/three-lto-officials-employees-under-probe-for-fixers |
Two local officials of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and another employee of the agency are now under investigation for their alleged involvement in the operation of fixers for the processing of driver’s license and vehicle registration.
LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Vigor D. Mendoza II did not name the three LTO employees but said two of them are assigned in Bulacan while the third is an employee at the agency’s Central Office in Quezon City.
“On the very first day of my assumption as LTO Chief, I made it clear that I will be running after all the fixers and their cohorts in our agency. We will not allow these people to taint the name of our agency for their money-making schemes,” said Mendoza.
The two LTO officials were investigated after a successful operation of agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on September 24 wherein a certain Michael Mendoza was arrested for assisting and receiving money from an NBI agent.
On the same day, intelligence agents of the LTO, backed by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), arrested a 40-year old woman who was accused of offering fast issuance of driver’s license during an entrapment operation in Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City.
Nabbed was Desire Daginod, a resident of Pandi, Bulacan. Her other cohort, identified as Gerlo Gomez, 35; was able to elude arrest.
Mendoza said the operation was in response to the reports that several fixers were again offering services to motorists. In the case of the arrested suspect, she had been arvertising her illegal activities through her Facebook account.
“This should send a strong message that we will not allow this kind of illegal activity, nor tolerate any of our personnel to connive with these fixers,” said Mendoza.
“We will always make sure that they are arrested and face the consequences of their illegal activities,” he added.
Two LTO officals are under investigation for being fixers.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/9/27/sk-chair-in-cebu-nabbed-for-carting-p35-000-from-mayor-s-office |
A Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairman in Tuburan town, Cebu was arrested after he was caught stealing cash in the mayor’s office.
The theft was caught on CCTV (closed-circuit television), police said.
Police identified the suspect as Matthew John Barangan, the 21-year-old SK chairman of Barangay Bakyawan.
Police said the incident happened on Thursday afternoon, September 26, when the suspect visited the office of Tuburan Mayor Aljun Diamante.
While in the office, Barangan was entertained by Steve Cesar Salipot, the executive assistant of Diamante.
Salipot went out of the office for a while and left a bag containing P35,000 on top of a table, police said.
Police Lt. Col. Glenn Hife, chief of the Tuburan Police Station, said Barangan had left when Salipot discovered that the cash inside the bag was already missing upon his return
Salipot reported the theft to the police.
Hife said investigators reviewed the footage of the security camera and discovered that it was the SK chairman who took the cash from inside the bag.
Barangan was arrested in his home in a follow-up operation conducted by the police.
Police also recovered what was left from the stolen money amounting to P3,200.
The suspect admitted failing to resist the temptation and disclosed that he used some of the stolen money to shop, police said.
A Sangguniang Kabataan chairman in Tuburan town, Cebu was arrested after he was caught stealing cash in the mayor’s office.
The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the municipality of South Ubian in Tawi-Tawi for its failure to insure with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) its property, plant and equipment (PPE) worth P69.9 million.
In its audit report, the COA said that South Ubian's failure to insure its PPE with the General Insurance Fund (GIF) of the GSIS violated COA Circular No. 92-390 dated Nov. 17, 1992.
South Ubian's uninsured PPE included Other Land Improvements (P5,848,110.98), Infrastructure Assets (P47,053,680.98), Buildings and Other Structures (P16,363,750.64), Machinery and Equipment (P118,428), Transportation Equipment (P495,709.22), and Other PPE (P44,567.25), it said.
"Verification of the municipality's PPE disclosed that insurable assets particularly its buildings and other structures are at risk of loss without indemnification in case of fire or other fortuitous event because they were not insured with the property insurance with the GIF of the GSIS," the report stated.
"Despite this recurring observation and recommendation, the management fails to comply with the requirements of this circular since the local government unit is in process of conducting surveys and assessments to acquire land titles where these infrastructures are located and which requires them ample time to be able to complete the whole process of registration," it added.
Again, the COA recommended that the Municipal Treasurer or Property Officer of South Ubian prepare the report of properties that require insurance coverage and submit this to the GSIS. After which, the audit team should be furnished with a copy for review and verification, it said.
The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the municipality of South Ubian in Tawi-Tawi for its failure to insure with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) its property, plant and equipment (PPE) worth P69.9 million.
The chief of the Land Transportation Office in Bustos, Bulacan was arrested in an entrapment operation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for allegedly conniving with fixers operating within the area.
Catherine Nolasco-Illescas, NBI Public Corruption Division (PCD) chief, said the LTO head, whose name is withheld, was arrested after ordering his staff to process a fixed application for renewal of driver's license.
Illescas said an NBI-PCD agent posed as an applicant for license renewal.
A fixer allegedly offered an expedited processing for P7,000, promising that the applicant need not take the required exam.
When the agent agreed, the fixer assisted the applicant in filling out forms and also instructed him to pretend to be taking the exam, even when the answers were already provided.
Illescas said that despite the applicant bypassing several steps, including the examination, the LTO office approved the license.
“Based on the transaction, the fixer handed all the documents to the chief, and then the chief handed them to the staff to process,” Illescas said.
The NBI alleged that the fixer’s family owns both the driving school and the land where the LTO office is located.
Both the fixer and the LTO chief are facing charges for violating the Anti-Red Tape Law and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The chief of the Land Transportation Office in Bustos, Bulacan was arrested in an entrapment operation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for allegedly conniving with fixers operating within the area.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Monday announced the filing of criminal charges against one of its agents who acted improperly during a raid last Sept. 11 on a Makati clinic allegedly operating without a license.
The operation resulted in the arrest of three women: Vietnamese national Nguyen Thu Ha aka Mei Naa, and her Filipino employees –Demi Robles and Mary Frinces Dalaguite.
NBI director Jaime Santiago ordered the filing of criminal charges following an investigation by the Internal Affairs Division (IAD).
He also ordered the temporary grounding of the NBI’s Special Task Force (STF), an ad hoc team which handles national security related cases.
“When the report came in positive, the Director himself confronted the agent involved. In his embarrassment, the agent decided to tender his resignation from the service which was accepted by the Director. Knowing that a mere resignation was not enough, the NBI also filed the appropriate criminal charge against the said agent before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Makati City,” the NBI said.
The statement did not elaborate on the identity of the NBI employee and the case filed.
“The filing of cases underscores the policy of non-tolerance for any improper and irregular behavior. This incident, however, exceeds mere impropriety and irregularity by far. It is illegal, unlawful, unethical, gruesome, grotesque and outrightly unacceptable,” Santiago said.
The NBI has filed charges against one of heir agents for acting improperly during a raid.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1234417 |
Two police officers assigned to the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) have been relieved from their posts amid the reinvestigation into the killing of retired police general and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga.
In a press briefing at Camp Crame, Quezon City on Monday, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said a relief order was issued to Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza and Col. Hector Grijaldo last week.
"Mendoza was relieved and he was put under restrictive custody at the Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit in Camp Crame to ensure his appearance in the investigation that we would undertake," Fajardo said.
She said the order came after PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil directed the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to lead the reinvestigation, reevaluate all evidence and work closely with other relevant agencies to ensure the process is thorough, impartial, and transparent.
She said the CIDG would do a backtracking and determine whether there was negligence and cover-up on the part of the police investigators who handled the case.
“Based on the statements of the chief PNP, one thing is clear. As to whom this investigation would point to, he doesn't care. We will proceed where the evidence will lead us. There would be no sacred cows in this investigation," Fajardo said.
During last week's hearing of the House Quad Committee (QuadComm), Mendoza implicated former PCSO general manager Royina Garma in the 2020 assassination of Barayuga in Mandaluyong City.
Grijaldo, meanwhile, was the chief of police of Mandaluyong City when Barayuga was killed.
Mendoza said he was contacted by National Police Commission Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo in October 2019 and said Barayuga was a high-value target due to his alleged links with illegal drugs.
Mendoza said he was convinced by Leonardo to talk to police informant Nelson Mariano and find out if he can find somebody who can kill Barayuga.
Mendoza alleged Mariano hired a certain “Loloy” to carry out the assassination.
Fajardo said Mariano, along with other resource persons, would be secured during the re-investigation.
Reports showed that a motorcycle-riding gunman shot Barayuga who was inside his car on Calbayog St. in Barangay Highway Hills, Mandaluyong City in July 2020.
Two police officers assigned to the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group have been relieved from their posts amid the reinvestigation into the killing of retired police general and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office board secretary Wesley Barayuga.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/10/2/three-cops-face-dismissal-over-disappearance-of-2-people |
Three policemen, including an official with a rank of lieutenant colonel, are now facing dismissal from the service for their alleged involvement in the disappearance of two people they allegedly arrested in a checkpoint in Cavite last year.
Lawyer Brigido Dulay, inspector general of the Philippine National Police-Internal Affairs Service (PNP-IAS), said they have already sent a recommendation to Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil for the dismissal of the three policemen.
The three policemen, one of them has a rank of Patrolman and the other is a Police Chief Master Sergeant, were charged in connection with the arrest of two people in an authorized checkpoint in Imus.
The three cops denied the allegation but Dulay said there were witnesses and CCTV footage showing that they took custody of the two motorcycle-riding men they arrested on July 13 last year.
The two men were later detained and after an hour, they were seen being escorted out of the police station. They were never seen since then.
"We will not tolerate any abuse of power or egregious misconduct, especially from those sworn to protect and serve the public, whether in uniform or not," said Dulay.
"We hope that our resolution provides a small measure of justice to the families of the disappeared, who continue to suffer from the pain of loss, fear, and the uncertainty of closure," Dulay added
Dulay added that at the time of the incident, the three cops were not supposed to be on duty and therefore, had no authority to conduct a checkpoint.
The two people arrested were accused of possessing marijuana and illegal drugs paraphernalia.
But a verification made by IAS disclosed that these were not declared in the police report.
Three policemen, including an official with a rank of lieutenant colonel, are now facing dismissal from the service for their alleged involvement in the disappearance of two people they allegedly arrested in a checkpoint in Cavite last year.
A policeman who threatened a truck driver during a road rage incident along the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) in Valenzuela City was relieved from his post yesterday.
The incident was recorded on video, which went viral on social media.
Maj. Gen. Edgar Allan Okubo, director of the police Civil Security Group, sacked the police officer who is assigned with the CSG’s National Capital Region field office.
Okubo did not disclose the name and rank of the policeman, who is under investigation for possible administrative lapses.
The incident occurred along the NLEX Mindanao Avenue toll plaza in Barangay Ugong on Monday.
In the video, the policeman was seen ordering the driver to go down from the truck.
The police officer, who was in civilian clothes, appeared to have kicked the driver and pushed him face first on the ground.
The policeman chased the driver after the truck hit his vehicle and damaged it.
The truck driver did not stop after hitting the car.
A policeman who threatened a truck driver during a road rage incident was relieved from his post yesterday.
