Japanese probe on 2 Pinoy suspects in Tokyo killings
nearly done: DFA
BY Ashzel Hachero
JAPANESE investigators are set to finish their probe on the two Filipinos arrested for allegedly abandoning the dead bodies of a couple in Tokyo last January, the Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene Garcia Albano has informed the department the investigation on the case is now nearing completion.
“According to Ambassador Garcia, they have a few more days to wrap up their investigation. We will know roughly by March 23 what cases will be filed, if they will be charged for double murder or not,” de Vega told the Bagong Pilingas Ngayon public forum.
He said embassy officials have visited the two Filipinos under Japanese policy custody but added the request of their families for a visit was denied while the investigation is ongoing.
“Under Japanese rules, family visits are still off limits,” he added.
De Vega reiterated that Japanese authorities have yet to confirm reports by Japanese media that the DNA of one of the two has matched the DNA found in the murder weapon.
De Vega previously said the two are being investigated for leaving the body of a Japanese couple identified as Norihiro and Kimi Takahashi in a flat and are not considered suspects.
The bodies of the Japanese couple who appeared to be stabbed were found last January 16.
The two Pinoys were rearrested last week while Japanese authorities are continuing with their probe.
One of the arrested, Hazel Ann Baguisa Morales, has denied the allegations against her.
P238.2M dried marijuana in balikbayan boxes seized in Manila port
BY VICTOR REYES
AUTHORITIES seized 12 balikbayan boxes from Thailand containing 198.5 kilos of dried marijuana worth P238.2 million at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) in Manila last week.
The MICP requested the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for the issuance of an alert against the balikbayan boxes after receiving “derogatory information” that they contained illegal drugs, “misdeclared and underdeclared items.”
The balikbayan boxes were inspected from March 3 to March 8 jointly by the BOC, the Philippine Coast Guard, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
During the inspection, five of the balikbayan boxes, consigned to two individuals, were found to contain 126 packages of marijuana weighing 65 kilos worth P78 million.
Five other balikbayan boxes, consigned to “BKKCHCF SHN,” were discovered containing 138 packages of marijuana weighing 70 kilos worth at least P84 million.
Two other balikbayan boxes, consigned to two persons, contained 63 kilos of marijuana worth P76.2 million. They were concealed in food packages and blankets.
BOC intelligence group deputy commissioner Juvymax Uy said the boxes of marijuana were brought back to the container and then padlocked and sealed.
The container will be under BOC safekeeping until a full inventory and turnover to the PDEA.
“While these groups and individuals regularly come up with an array of concealment methods to smuggle dangerous drugs into our country, the work shown by our agents this past week is one of the many reasons why they will not succeed,” Uy said.
3 illegal recruitment victims barred from leaving
BY ASHZEL HACHERO
IMMIGRATION officers at the Clark International Airport in Pampanga have stopped three females allegedly illegally recruited to work as entertainers in South Korea from leaving the country.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said officers of the Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section intercepted the three on March 10 after they gave conflicting statements during an interview with immigration agents and referred them for secondary inspection.
The three claimed they were bound for Thailand as tourists, together with another female companion.
“During the interview, the three victims admitted that their companion is actually their recruiter, and that they were bound for South Korea where they were promised work as singers,” Tansingco said, adding the three were supposedly offered P40,000 as their monthly salary.
Tansingco said the three told immigration officers that they wanted to process their documents legally, but their recruiter insisted that they pose as tourists and hide their final country of destination.
“According to them, their recruiter planned to escort them to Korea and was supposed to return to the Philippines alone,” the BI chief said.
The three and their recruiter, who was also arrested, were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking headed by the Department of Justice for further investigation.
Tansingco said charges are being readied against the recruiter whom he did not identify due to the ongoing probe.
In another case, immigration officers arrested a Taiwanese and South Korean in Makati and Parañaque who are both wanted in their respective countries.
The two were identified as Taiwanese Li Ming Hsiu and South Korean Joo Han Wong.
They were apprehended on March 5 and 6 and are presently detained at the BI warden facility in Taguig City while awaiting deportation.
Tansingco said Li and Joo will be deported to their home countries where they are wanted by authorities to stand trial for serious crimes.
“They will also be included in the BI blacklist to prevent them from re-entering the Philippines,” Tansingco said.
Liu is the subject of an arrest warrant that was issued by the Taichung District Prosecutor’s Office for allegedly violating Taiwan’s money laundering act.
Tansingco said Taiwanese authorities alleged that Liu has been a ranking of member of a syndicate involved in large-scale money laundering since last year when it operated multiple scamming centers in Taiwan and abroad that defrauded victims.
As for Joo, Tansingco said, he was the subject of an Interpol red notice after the Seoul Dongbu district court issued a warrant for his arrest based on charges that he was engaged in cybercrime activities.
Joo allegedly conspired with other suspects in developing a computer program that was used to hack and illegally obtain personal information from over 66,500 personal messaging application accounts.
The victims’ data were eventually sold to a third party which used it to employ voice phishing and other telecom fraud activities on many victims.
Tansingco said Liu and Joo are already undocumented aliens as their passports were already revoked by their respective governments.
Court declares invalid suspension of agency chief
BY ASHZEL HACHERO
THE Court of Appeals has declared invalid the 2022 suspension of the chairperson of the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (KWF).
In a decision promulgated on February 28, the appellate court Special Seventh Division held that Arthur Casanova’s suspension had no legal basis as the members of the commission have no authority or power to discipline a presidential appointee.
The power to suspend Casanova, according to the CA, is with Malacañang and not the KWF board of commissioners.
The appellate court also said Casanova was deprived of due process as he was suspended without any formal charge.
“Unless otherwise provided by the Constitution, such concomitant power of the appointing authority to remove cannot be attenuated by allowing even his alter ego to discipline and worse, to remove the former’s appointee, lest the executive department would be put into a precarious situation where the very person particularly chosen by the President will be removed by his own subordinate without his prior express conformity,” said part of the CA ruling penned by Associate Justice Edwin Sorongon.
It said Casanova was suspended without a preliminary investigation, a show-cause order for him to explain his side, or a formal charge, denying Casanova the right to challenge the move and defend himself.
“Such wanton disregard of the proper procedure in administrative investigations cannot be countenanced,” the CA added.
The KWF chair was suspended based on a resolution signed by Commissioners Carmelita Abdurahman and Benjamin Mendillo Jr, who issued a memorandum in 2022 stopping the publication of five books that supposedly promote “anti-government ideologies.”
The reason for Casanova’s suspension was his supposed failure to call for and preside over KWF meetings.
Casanova questioned his suspension, saying it was signed by only two of the eight KWF commissioners, in contravention of provisions of Republic Act 7104, otherwise known as the Commission on the Filipino Language Act.
He added three commissioners — Angela Lorenzana, Jimmy Fong and Abraham Sakili — even opposed the resolution.
Casanova elevated his suspension to the Manila Regional Trial Court which junked his plea, saying he should have exhausted administrative remedies before seeking the court’s intervention.
This prompted Casanova to elevate the case to the CA which overruled theCHED okays Doctor of Medicine Program of Samar State University
BY Ashzel Hachero
MEDICAL education is not set to become more accessible to students in the Eastern Visayas Region after the Commission on Higher Education approved the application to operate the Doctor of Medicine Program at the Samar Island Institute of Medicine (SIIM) of Samar State University (SSU).
The SIIM is the country’s 20th medical program in public universities approved by CHED.
Before the passage of Republic Act 11509 or the Doktor Para sa Bayan Law in 2021, there were only eight state universities and colleges with medical schools, five of them in Luzon, two in the Visayas and one in Mindanao
There are now eight SUCs with medical programs in Luzon, five in the Visayas and seven in Mindanao.
“The expansion of medical education in Samar will facilitate the implementation of RA 11509 as there is no state college or university in Eastern Visayas where poor but deserving students can become doctors,’ CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera said of the agency’s decision to approve the doctor of medicine program at SIIM.
De Vera said the University of the Philippines School of Health in Palo, Leyte has a medical program using a ladderized system but its students are scholars of local governments and does not allow direct enrollment of students.
The latest medical program, according to De Vera, will help increase the number of doctors who would serve in far-flung areas by establishing a medical scholarship and return service program for poor students.
CHED data showed that 2,689 students currently enjoy scholarships in public and private medical schools in the country under RA 11509.
“They will practice in underserved areas upon graduation through a return service agreement as part of their scholarship program,” he said.
SSU President Marilyn Cardoso said CHED’s granting of their application represents a “significant milestone” in the history of the university as it is the first program of its kind in Eastern Visayas.
“The program is more than just an addition to our academic offerings; it represents SSU’s commitment to rewriting the narrative of Samar, to transform the healthcare landscape, and to ensure that the people of Samar and beyond will have access to world-class medical training and care. It is a testimony of our shared aspirations turning into reality,” Cardoso said.
PCSO’s appeal on disallowed P254M allowances,
bonuses denied: COA
BY Peter Tabingo
A petition for review filed by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) seeking the lifting of the disallowance issued against its payout of P254.8 million in unauthorized allowances and benefits in 2013 has been denied by the Commission on Audit.
In an 11-page decision released last week, the COA en banc declared that the PCSO’s petition for review filed on August 12, 2015 was “devoid of merit.”
“The approving and certifying officers are solidarily liable to refund the amount disallowed; while the recipient-payees are liable only to the extent of the amount they received. Although they committed no fraud in obtaining these benefits, it is against equity and good conscience for them to continue holding on to them,” the Commission said.
The decision was signed by Commissioners Roland Café Pondoc and Mario G. Lipana. Chairperson Gamaliel A. Cordoba did not take part, having earlier inhibited from the case.
Based on the breakdown provided in the ruling, P99.019 million was released as collective negotiation agreement (CNA) Christmas Bonus, P39.3 million for Christmas grocery bonus, P33.54 million for weekly draw allowances, P19.45 million for cost of living allowances, P17.9 million for monthly hazard pay, P13.08 million for revenue performance incentive pay, P10.74 million for monthly medicine allowances, P9.85 million for monthly staple food allowances, P8.85 million for excess representation and transportation allowances (RATA), and P3.065 million for excess annual uniform/clothing allowances.
Auditors issued the notices of disallowances, noting that the RATA and uniform allowances exceeded the rates provided under the 2013 budget, the COLA was deemed already included in the regular pay of PCSO personnel, the officials and employees of the state lottery firm are non-public health workers who are entitled to hazard pay, the CNA Christmas bonus and grocery bonuses were illegal for lack of prior approval of the Office of the President, while the weekly draw allowances was unauthorized for being contrary to the Joint Resolution of Congress No. 4 (2009) as it was paid to officers and employees without actual performance of work.
“Clearly, PCSO has no unbridled financial independence to grant myriads of allowances and benefits contrary to existing laws and regulations,” the COA said.
Sweeping aside the PCSO’s argument that the disallowance would result in a reduction of benefits, the commission said that the principle would only apply if the benefits were valid.
“The disallowance of the subject benefits and allowances is consistent with and does not defeat the principle of non-diminution of benefits. The petitioners do not have vested rights on unauthorized benefits. There could be no diminution of benefits when the recipients thereof are not entitled to it in the first place,” the COA said.
PNP generals’ appeal on disallowed
P131M procurement of fast boats junked
BY Peter Tabingo
APPEALS filed by former Police Generals Luizo Ticman, Jefferson Soriano, and Romeo Hilomen and Police Col. Luis Saligumba for the lifting of disallowance on the P131.55 million procurement of rubber boats in 2009 have been thrown out by the Commission on Audit.
In an 18-page decision, the COA en banc denied the Consolidated Appeal Memoranda filed by the four former PNP officials as it upheld the findings of the special team fielded by the Fraud Audit Office (FAO) that the transaction violated existing procurement laws.
Auditors said the supply contract was unlawfully split into three among different suppliers, skirted the requirements on competitive public bidding, incurred delays totaling 257 days, but waived payment by the suppliers of liquidated damages amounting to P8.506 million.
Based on the Annual Procurement Plan of the PNP for 2008, it was supposed to acquire delivery of 75 police rubber boats (PRBs) with complete accessories and 93 outboard motors.
However, on November 24, 2009 the PNP Bids and Awards Committee recommended doing away with the public bidding and resorted instead to negotiated procurement, citing “emergency relief and rescue” requirements for flooded areas affected by Tropical Storm Ondoy and Typhoon Pepeng.
Since none of the suppliers contracted could handle the bulk of 75 PRBs, this was distributed to Enviro-Aire Inc. (24 PRBs and 94 outboard motors) P72.135 million, Geneve SA Philippines Inc. (41 PRBs with no engines) P47.765 million, and Bay Industrial Philippines (10 PRBs without engine) P11.65 million.
“It must be noted that the primordial consideration in awarding separate contracts was to ensure the expeditious delivery and acquisition of the needed PRBs and OBMs for relief operations in times of calamity. However, this was defeated by such unjustified delay,” the COA said.
Worse, the technical review revealed the outboard motors were incompatible with the rubber boats, which rendered both unusable.
At the same time, the outboard motors were delayed by two months beyond the two-week period approved by the PNP while the rubber boats exceeded the delivery deadline by between eight to ninety-five days.
“Thus, the justification of an alleged emergency due to a national disaster resulting from Typhoons Ondo}? and Pepeng which necessitated the negotiated procurement is not supported by the circumstances and the records herein, since the deliveries were made long after the typhoons occurred, and that said the equipment could not be used due to functional incompatibility,” the Commission pointed out.
COA chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba signed the ruling together with Commissioners Roland Café Pondoc and Mario G. Lipana.
Ex-senator sues YouTube channel over domestic abuse rumors
BY ASHZEL HACHERO
FORMER senator Francis Pangilinan yesterday filed a cyber libel complaint before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against the management of YouTube channel “Bungangera TV” for allegedly making it appear that he physically abuses his wife, actress Sharon Cuneta, and their children.
Also included in the complaint for violation of Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, are the authorized representatives, officers and or directors of Google and YouTube Philippines for “aiding or abetting” the commission of cybercrime for allowing the uploading of the said videos on the online platform.
Pangilinan’s complaint centered on several videos posted by Bungangera TV on December 28, 2023 entitled, “Gabby Concepcion Sinugod si Kiko Pangilinan Dahil sa Ginawa Nito Kay KC Concepcion,” referring to Pangilinan’s stepdaughter.
The video thumbnail, according to the complaint, contained the text “Baboy Ka, Pati Anak Ko Hindi Mo Pinalampas.”
Pangilinan said that as of January 23, 2024, the said video has already garnered 266,775 views.
On December 29, 2023, he said Bungangera TV authored and posted another video entitled, “Bistado! Frankie Pangilinan Sinugod si KC Concepcion Matapos Makipagrelasyon Kay Kiko Pangilinan,” and another video which says, “KC Concepcion Inamin Na Ang Ginawa Sa Kanya Ni Kiko Pangilinan.”
The video also alluded to the former senator as being an abusive and unfaithful husband to Cuneta and their children.
“The videos authored and created by Bungangera TV created in the minds of the viewers that I am a husband who physically abuses his wife and children. The titles, thumbnails, and all other contents of the videos pertaining to me and my family are all false, have no factual basis and are intended to destroy or damage my reputation as a public servant, and a husband to one of the most beloved celebrities in the Philippines, Sharon Cuneta Pangilinan,” the complaint said.
“The libelous videos are not only intended to destroy my relationship with my wife but also meant to destroy my relationship with our children,” he added.
Pangilinan said malice is very evident in the videos posted through the use of thumbnails with texts showing statements that allegedly there is an issue between him and Cuneta and their children.
“The other thumbnails also mislead the viewers that I have a sexual relationship with my daughter. These video thumbnails containing false statements were used to attract viewers to click and watch the videos which are utterly libelous,’ he said, adding that even after his wife denied the issue, Bungangera TV still did not take down the videos.
In an interview with reporters, Pangilinan said his camp has yet to identify the person behind Bungangera TV that is why they are also seeking the assistance of YouTube and Google, as well as the National Bureau of Investigation-Cybercrime Division to unmask them.
“We are appealing to YouTube and Google to help us in identifying them. Of course, the NBI and the cybercrime division of the DOJ. They have the capacity, they have the technology so panahon na lang ang binibilang para malaman natin ang mga tao sa likod nitong mga channel na ito at mga videos (it will take a short time now to identify those behind this channel and the videos they have created),” he said.
Pangilinan at the same time bewailed what he described as the “continuing inaction” of the management of YouTube, saying that they have been reporting the said videos to the management since December last year but has yet to receive until now any update on what action/s it has taken.
“Since December nirereport na natin, March na ngayon pero wala pang aksyon. Parang ang tingin ko arrogance na rin na hinahayaan nila ang ganitong pagwasak ng pagkatao (We have been reporting [these videos] since December. It’s already March and they have not acted on our complaint. I see this as an act of arrogance on their part [YouTube] that they allow videos [to be uploaded] that malign people),” he said, adding that his camp again wrote another letter to YouTube yesterday morning asking for updates.
At the same time, Pangilinan called on the DOJ to expedite the resolution of similar cases he lodged against other YouTube channels that he said maligned his and his family’s reputation.
In July 2021, Pangilinan sued before the DOJ the owners of YouTube channels Starlet and Latest Chika, as well as Google’s country manager for posting videos claiming he physically abused his wife.
Google acquired YouTube in 2006.
In YouTube’s Terms of Service, the entity providing the service or its service provider is Google.
In 2022, Pangilinan also filed a complaint against those responsible for the creation and management of the YouTube channel “Maharlika” for posting videos attacking him.
“I hope that the DOJ will act swiftly on this. May panawagan tayo dahil meron pa tayong isang reklamo na nai-file na hanggang ngayon ay under investigation pa din. Sana mapabilis din itong panawagan natin lalo na iba na ang administrasyon (We are calling for a swift resolution on this case since we still have one complaint under investigation. We hope the resolution of this will be expedited considering we have a new administration),” the former lawmaker said.
In 2022, over 80 fact-checking organizations around the world admonished YouTube for its failure to effectively address online disinformation and misinformation.
Consultancy firms’ illegal recruitment activities
target more countries
By Gerard Naval
MORE countries are now being targeted by visa/immigration consultancy firms engaged in illegal recruitment activities as potential destinations for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
In a social media post, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said there are more than 10 countries that are being offered to OFWs as potential work destinations by different visa/immigration consultancy firms.
Among them are Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Poland, Germany, Italy, the United States, Japan, and the Czech Republic.
Because of this, the DMW reiterated its reminder to aspiring OFWs that recruitment activities involving visa/immigration consultancy firms are considered illegal.
“These visa/immigration consultancy firms have no license or authority from the DMW to conduct recruitment of OFWs to work in other countries,” said DMW.
“These offers by visa/immigration consultancy firms for Filipinos to work abroad sans any licenses from the DMW are considered as illegal,” it added.
The Department also urged those victimized by visa/immigration consultancy firms to report to the DMW.
“Report them us so that we can hold these firms and their agents accountable,” said DMW.
TESDA to LGUs: Engage in tech-voc training
By Gerard Naval
THE Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) yesterday called on all local government units (LGUs) to invest in technical vocational education and training (TVET) in their respective jurisdictions.
In a statement, TESDA Director General Suharto Mangudadatu said they are urging LGUs to promote TVET at the community level in a bid to mainstream the program.
“We aim to extend the reach of the agency to the barangays, and to mainstream TVET at the community level to benefit more Filipinos,” said Mangudadatu.
“Additional investments in the education sector and the strengthened linkages between the government sector, industries, and the academe will pave the way for an improved and sustainable future for millions of Filipinos and for the generations to come,” he added.
In doing so, the TESDA chief said LGUs should view it as an investment in human capital development.
“It enhances the people’s employability, productivity, and capacity to pursue employment and livelihood, thus enabling them to contribute to our local economy and the society,” he said.
Mangudadatu said interested LGUs may tap the “TESDA Sa Barangay” program of the agency, wherein the local government will conduct training programs on lower-level qualifications, such as NC I and NC II, for the benefit of their constituents.
“TESDA will then develop and offer more diploma programs or higher-level TVET qualifications once LGUs offer lower-level qualifications,” said Mangudadatu.
The “TESDA sa Barangay” program aims to improve accessibility to quality tech-voc training programs; professionalize constituents at the barangay and local level; and develop trainers and barangay workers.
TESDA said the program also seeks to strengthen the collaboration with barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials in the implementation of TESDA’s projects and programs.
Senate probe sought on smuggling of luxury cars
BY RAYMOND AFRICA
SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian has filed a resolution seeking an investigation on the smuggling of two luxury sports cars in a bid to address revenue leakages due to the illegal entry of expensive cars to the country.
Gatchalian filed Senate Resolution No. 954 wants the proper Senate panel to look into how two luxury Bugatti sports cars were able to enter the country without going through the regular customs clearance.
The two cars do not have import documents, as confirmed by the Management Information System and Technology of the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
“There is a need to determine the lapses and loopholes in government processes that lead to the continuous persistence of outright smuggling of luxury items in the country, including cars, that deprive the government revenues and poses a serious and great threat to the national economy,” Gatchalian said.
He said an investigation will enable the government to assess the scale of car smuggling in the country, enhance border control measures, deploy cutting-edge methods and technologies to combat luxury car smuggling, and address tax leakages.
After receiving information in November last year, the BOC conducted an investigation into reports that the said luxury vehicles entered the country without going through regular customs clearance.
Subsequently, the agency issued a warrant of seizure against the two undocumented Bugatti Chiron vehicles which were seen around Metro Manila and adjacent cities.
The BOC has said that the owners of the two luxury sports vehicles, worth P165 million each, did not pay custom duties and taxes. The cars are registered under a certain Menguin Zhu and a certain Thru Trang Nguyen.
At 50 percent excise tax, the government should have collected P165 million from the importation of the two vehicles, Gatchalian said.
P19.5M high-grade marijuana seized at MICP last week
BY VICTOR REYES
AUTHORITIES seized P19.5 million worth of high-grade marijuana at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) in Tondo, Manila last Thursday, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported yesterday.
PDEA said the contraband, contained in two balikbayan boxes, was seized in an interdiction operation conducted by the PDEA, Manila Police District and Bureau of Customs.
They were seized specifically at MICP’s Designated Examination Area, Container Freight Station 3.
The balikbayan boxes were found to contain a container drum with 13 kilos of dried marijuana leaves worth P15.6 million.
Also found were three kilos of marijuana worth P3.6 million concealed in a bedsheet and three boxes of cereals containing 250 grams of marijuana worth P300,000.
PDEA did not provide other details of the operation.
It said the incident is “subject to investigation and regular filing of case.”
PDEA spokesman Derrick Carreon could not immediately confirm reports about the seizure of 122 kilos of marijuana worth P146.4 million at the New Warehouse 3, ATI Container Yard at the Port of Manila also last March 7.
The contraband, reportedly concealed in five balikbayan boxes, was supposedly seized during a similar interdiction operation conducted by PDEA, Manila Police District and the Bureau of Customs.
Carreon said he is aware of an operation at the Port of Manila but he has no official report as to the result so far.
9 NPA rebels surrender in Agusan, Surigao
BY VICTOR REYES
NINE New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, including five women, have surrendered to the military in Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Sur, the military said yesterday.
The Army’s 901st Brigade said five of the rebels surrendered last Sunday to the 29th Infantry Battalion, under Lt. Col. Cresencio Gargar, in Agusan del Norte.
Four them were females — Maria Sila Galupo alias Rod, Hanah Sarah Galupo alias Jane, Narlyn Conseugra alias Nadine, and Urily Nakila alias Jean. The fifth was Manuel Nakira Jr alias Nickel.
The five turned over two M16 rifles, an AK47 rifle and a grenade launcher during their surrender.
The five communist rebels are members of the Regional Headquarters of the Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee.
In Surigao del Sur also on Sunday, the four other rebels surrendered to the 36th Infantry Battalion, under Lt. Col. Vincent Viray.
The four were identified as Mary Koy Cuarteron alias Grey, Bernabe Pamad alias Depor, Ronel Estano alias Lito, and Lito Montenegro alias Judge.
The four yielded an AK47 rifle and a cal. 45 pistol.
The nine rebels who surrendered are all members of the Guerrilla Front 30 which the military has tagged as “weakened,”
The Guerrilla Front 30 operates under the North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC). Two other guerrilla fronts under the committee have been dismantled.
The 901st Brigade said the nine rebels escaped from their groups and surrendered “due to fear of being hit by the continuous combat operations” of government troops.
Brig. Gen. Arsenio Sadural, 901st Brigade commander, said the surrender of the nine rebels is an indication the NEMRC is on the brink of collapse.
“These remaining CNTs (CPP-NPA Terrorists) have no other option (but) to surrender to the government,” he said.
“We are now at the stage wherein insurgency is at its lowest point and nearest extinction. It’s the right time to unite and embrace peace,” he added.
168 boat passengers rescued in Romblon
BY VICTOR REYES
In a statement yesterday, the PCG said it was still determining the cause of the incident.
The MV SWM Salve Regina ran aground off Sitio Agbuyog, Barangay Capaclan in Romblon town, at 11:45 p.m., nearly three hours after leaving Magdiwang Port in Magdiwang town, also in Romblon, on the way to Romblon town.
After learning of the incident, personnel from the Coast Guard Station Romblon were dispatched to the scene of the incident.
They checked on the condition of the 168 passengers and 55 crew members who the PCG said “were all in good physical condition.”
The PCG and other and agencies rescued the passengers and were subsequently brought to the Romblon Public Plaza.
The crew members stayed at their ship “for vessel monitoring,” the PCG said.
The PCG said its personnel “continuously monitored the status of the aground vessel, and no signs of oil spillage or flooding were observed on the vessel.”
Meanwhile, a fisherman was rescued by the PCG in Agno town in Pangasinan also on Sunday or three days after he went missing.
Dexter Abalos, 32, of Agno town, went on fishing last March 7. While on the way back later that day, his boat “was suddenly hit by a dolphin which caused it to capsize,” the PCG said.
“Fortunately, he managed to swim towards a fish marker, locally known as payao, and tied his motor banca to it. Mr Abalos stayed there for days waiting for a rescue to arrive,” the PCG added.
A PCG aircraft spotted Abalos about 30 nautical miles from Agno town, leading to his rescue.
8 more inmates released
BY ASHZEL HACHERO
EIGHT more inmates regained their freedom yesterday through the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s granting of executive clemency to 22 inmates last Saturday.
“This is only the initial wave of persons deprived of liberty being released, more is expected in the days ahead,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said in a statement announcing the recent release of qualified inmates.
Remulla said the release of the eight is part of the DOJ’s effort to address the problem of prison congestion not only in the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City but also in the six other prison and penal farms operated by the Bureau of Corrections.
“Decongestion of our prison facilities is a humanitarian moral obligation and the first step in providing persons deprived of liberty a more decent and conducive environment most suited for their reformation. This best portrays our full resolve to attain an efficient restorative justice system and give our persons deprived of liberty a second chance to reintegrate themselves in their communities,” he said. .
Last month, 706 inmates from the NBP and other operating prison and penal farms of BuCor also regained their freedom either through acquittal, completion of maximum sentence, granted bail or being pardoned or paroled.
This brought to over 12,000 the total number of inmates released since Marcos Jr. came into power in 2022.
Remulla said more qualified inmates will be released in the coming days as the DOJ and BuCor are currently streamlining the process that the inmates need to do if they are seeking pardon or parole.
He said the DOJ is also working with the Public Attorney’s Office, digitizing over 48,000 records of inmates with the Single Carpeta System, and simplifying the parole and clemency processes.
In December last year, officials from the DOJ, Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Supreme Court came together to address the congestion in the country’s prison and penal facilities through a National Jail Decongestion Summit.
The NBP and the six other operating prison and penal farms of BuCor – the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong City, Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga city, Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan, Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog, Leyte and the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Davao del Norte – hold over 50,000 prisoners, although their total capacity is only around 12,000, or an average congestion rate of 310 percent.
