4 gov’t execs face dismissal for graft

By Jocelyn Uy
Inquirer
Last updated 05:39am (Mla time) 07/10/2007

MANILA, Philippines — Four government officials were ordered dismissed Monday by the Office of the Ombudsman for violating the anti-graft law.

 

The anti-graft body identified them as Insp. Joel Candelario of the Bureau of Immigration; Leovigildo de los Reyes Jr. and Elizabeth Driz, division chief and computer programmer respectively, of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and Evelyn Ancheta, a revenue collection officer in Tabuk town, Kalinga province.

 

According to case records, Candelario was caught receiving a bribe of P20,000 during an entrapment operation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation.

 

The operation stemmed from a complaint filed by Roy Rarang alleging that Candelario had demanded P20,000, in addition to the P104,000 he had paid earlier for the speedy processing of a friend’s permanent visa.

 

The visa which Candelario facilitated later turned out to be fake and his friend’s name was not recorded in the immigration bureau’s official list, Rarang’s complaint said.

 

On the other hand, the two employees of the PCSO On-Line Division were dismissed for allegedly failing to remit lotto sale proceeds worth more than P380,000 from May 21 to June 3, 2001.

 

A complaint lodged by the PCSO said Driz was responsible for remitting the daily sales of the lotto outlet, while De los Reyes was in charge of ensuring that the money was promptly deposited in the bank.

 

A Commission on Audit report said the missing proceeds were not immediately turned over to the bank.

 

In their counter-affidavit, De los Reyes and Driz denied the charges. But the anti-graft body rejected their claims, stating that there was sufficient cause to believe that they had connived with each other to appropriate the missing funds.

 

At the same time, the Ombudsman also found revenue collection officer Ancheta guilty of misappropriating public funds worth more than P260,000 based on a complaint filed by the Commission on Audit.

 

The COA said that despite repeated demands, Ancheta failed to liquidate the missing amount or submit her counter-affidavit.

Palace to CBCP: ‘Help explain, not fight, anti-terror law’

Palace to CBCP: ‘Help explain, not fight, anti-terror law’

Anti-terror council no longer drafting IRR

By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 04:52pm (Mla time) 07/10/2007

MANILA, Philippines — (UPDATE) Instead of criticizing the anti-terror law, officially named the Human Security Act (HSA), the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) would do better by helping make people understand that the controversial measure is meant to protect them, Malacañang said Tuesday.

 

Members of the Anti-Terror Council, on the other hand, reiterated that the HSA will take effect on July 15 with no need for implementing rules and regulations (IRR).

 

In fact, members of the council led by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, chairman and vice-chairman respectively, said they will no longer draft an IRR for the law.

 

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye insisted the new law, which the CBCP had said could be used by authorities to quell popular dissent against the Arroyo administration, is “vital to our nation’s security.”

 

“Any delay in its implementation could embolden terrorists more, while depriving our people of stronger protection,” Bunye said.

 

But CBCP spokesman Monsignor Pedro Quitorio said Malacañang had misread the bishops’ sentiments on the HSA.

 

“The CBCP is not fighting anti-terror law…they have a wrong reading of the [CBCP] statement,” he said in Filipino. “What we are saying is that they study it first before they implement it…review some provisions…before they implement [the HSA] immediately…especially with the disappearances and [extrajudicial] killings…it does not look as if this will help the people, especially the victims,” he said.

 

Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol also said that criminal laws like the HSA do not need an IRR before they can be implemented.

 

The HSA “is very detailed in the law, the provisions, on how to implement it,” Gonzalez told reporters at the Manila airport Tuesday morning before flying to Cagayan de Oro for a security cluster summit with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

 

Bunye said the law will be fully operational “with full respect to civil liberties and our Constitution.”

 

“The goal of the HSA is to secure our people from the scourge of terrorism,” he said.

 

“The CBCP and other groups are encouraged to link up with government in a comprehensive effort to inform the public about this law and help monitor its implementation,” Bunye said.

 

“We call on all sectors to let government do its job in implementing this law,” he added.

 

In an interview in Manila early in the day, Ermita gave reporters a one-page summary of some provisions of the HSA titled “The Truth about the Human Security Act of 2007.”

 

The summary contains “myths” and “facts” about the law and a comparative matrix between the HSA and the anti-terrorism law of other countries.

 

Ermita said that contrary to fears raised by some groups about the law, the HSA is full of safeguards against abuse.

 

In fact, he said 59 of the HSA’s 62 sections are about protecting human rights.

Freed Beltran wants to join SC summit on killings

By Norman Bordadora
Inquirer
Last updated 06:37pm (Mla time) 07/10/2007

MANILA, Philippines — Having been freed after the Supreme Court threw out a rebellion case filed against him by the government, 74-year-old Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) Representative Crispin Beltran appears ready to start working even before Congress convenes for its first session on July 23.

 

Beltran immediately made known his desire to attend the High Tribunal’s summit on civil rights and extrajudicial killings on July 15 to 16 after learning that the Supreme Court had dismissed with finality the rebellion case against him and his five fellow left-wing party-list representatives.

 

Beltran was arrested and detained for that case for more than a year. Due to his chronic hypertension, he was placed under hospital arrest.

 

“I beg for the indulgence of Chief Justice Reynato Puno and ask for an invitation to the summit. I wish to be able to share my experience as a Filipino and a progressive lawmaker who was arrested and detained for speaking out against the unjust and anti-poor policies of the Arroyo government,” Beltran told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.

 

“The fight for civil rights in the Philippines must be strengthened and civil rights defended at all costs. We cannot be denied our basic rights and freedoms by a government that never had the legal mandate of the Filipino people,” he added.

 

As of Tuesday morning, his blood pressure was a relatively normal 140 over 90. In the afternoon, when he learned of the Makati Regional Trial Court’s order for his release, Beltran said he felt well and expressed doubt his blood pressure went up due to excitement.

 

“I was not overly excited. I was just happy with the Supreme Court decision and the Makati court’s order for my release,” Beltran said.

 

“I am ready to go and return to Congress to continue the fight for Anakpawis. I am ready to start working. I can again file bills and resolutions,” he added.

 

However, one source of stress for Beltran could be the more than P800,000 in bills that he has incurred since he was placed under hospital arrest at the Philippine Heart Center in April 2006.

 

But a member of his staff said the bill would be settled with the hospital management and would not stop Beltran’s release.

 

“We’ve been told by the hospital that we should at least pay P100,000 up front. The hospital and the party are now discussing how the bill can be settled,” Beltran said.

 

Ina Silverio, Beltran’s chief of staff, told the Inquirer that their group had guarantee letters and some “cash on hand” to address the problem with the hospital bill.

 

“We don’t see it as a hindrance to his release,” said Beltran, who was at his hospital room with Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance) chair Carol Araullo, activist-priest Fr. Joe Dizon and Anakpawis members.

 

His co-respondents in the erstwhile rebellion case were also expected to arrive at the hospital before his release. His co-accused in the dismissed rebellion raps included Bayan Muna representatives Satur Ocampo, Teodoro Casiño and Joel Virador, Anakpawis’ Rafael Mariano and Gabriela’s Liza Maza.

 

Beltran’s wife Rosario was at their Quezon City home preparing his homecoming, while their children were with lawyer Romeo Capulong in Camp Crame to secure his release from police custody.

 

The solon first left the hospital in June when the House went through the last of its session days before the 13th Congress adjourned sine die. The Supreme Court had just handed down its decision dismissing the rebellion charges against Beltran and his fellow militant legislators. But the government filed a motion for reconsideration with the high court.

 

Clad in a red barong, the congressman at that time immediately took the floor to deliver a privilege speech. He went to the House complex in an ambulance and a convoy of police escorts.

 

Beltran was the principal author in the last Congress of the P125-across-the board hike in minimum wage. The piece of legislation passed the House but was taken back by the chamber after questions about its legality was raised by a number of congressmen.

 

“I am glad that the High Court stood firm on its decision to uphold my innocence. It has been 16 months since my arrest and I am greatly looking forward to my freedom and resuming my work as a legislator of Anakpawis in the 14th Congress,” Beltran said.

 

“I owe my freedom to the thousands of Filipinos who campaigned on my behalf and against the political repression of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration. I also express gratitude to my lawyers, namely my kumpare [friend] Atty. Romeo Capulong, Atty. Rachel Pastores, and Atty. Amyln Sato. They have all worked very hard to assert my innocence and to gather the biggest number of support for my case,” he said.

 

Beltran also thanked friends and allies in the House of Representatives and those “who crossed party-lines and extended both their moral and financial help to me during the last 16 months.”

 

He thanked Senator Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal “who frequently made visits and helped keep my spirits up by assuring me of her support” and outgoing Zamboanga del Sur Representative Roseller Barinaga, “who fought for the P125-wage hike bill in Congress with the same fervor and energy as I would have, had I not been incarcerated on these ridiculous charges of rebellion.”

First 13 party-list winners proclaimed

By Nikko Dizon, Jocelyn Uy
Inquirer
Last updated 03:42am (Mla time) 07/10/2007

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections Monday proclaimed the first 13 winners in the party-list elections held on May 14, allowing at least their first nominees to finally sit in the 14th Congress.

 

In a six-page resolution, the Comelec, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers, proclaimed Buhay with 1,163,218 votes; Bayan Muna, 927,730; Cibac, 760,260; Gabriela, 610,451; Apec, 538,971; A Teacher, 476,036; Akbayan, 470,872; Alagad, 423,076; Butil, 405,052; Coop-Natco, 390,029; Anakpawis, 376,036; Alliance of Rural Concerns, 338,194, and Abono, 337,046.

 

This is “without prejudice to the proclamation of the other party-lists which will get 2 percent of the total number of party-list votes,” it said.

 

The resolution, read before the national canvassing began at around 4 p.m., caught everyone at the Comelec session hall in Intramuros, Manila, by surprise.

 

Even Bayan Muna’s third nominee and legal counsel, Neri Colmenares, had to ask the NBC if this was indeed the official proclamation of the party-list groups.

 

“We were not even invited or notified about our own proclamation. This proves once again the Comelec’s dismissive and discriminatory attitude toward the party-list system,” said Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros in a text message to journalists.

 

‘Party, not nominee’

 

Explaining why the poll body did not invite the nominees to the proclamation, Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos Sr. said in a press conference early Monday night: “It’s the party that has been proclaimed and not the nominee.”

 

The Comelec proclaimed those that had already garnered at least 334,462 votes, the equivalent to 2 percent of the projected maximum total party-list votes pegged at 16,723,121.

 

Only the winning groups’ first nominees are recognized at the moment, Abalos said. But he added that it would be safe to say that Buhay, which garnered more than a million votes, bagged three seats.

 

The Comelec resolution cited the first-party rule, or the Veterans Federation of the Philippines (VFP) formula in determining the additional number of seats for the party-list groups after Buhay. Also known as the Panganiban formula, the VFP formula means that the additional number of seats of a party-list group is pegged on the number of votes of the first, or No. 1, party.

 

The Supreme Court upheld the formula in April, which was derived from its ruling of the VFP case in October 2000.

 

VFP formula

 

Cibac has explained the scheme, through Dr. Felix P. Muga II of the Mathematics Department of the Ateneo de Manila University:

 

The formula allocates one seat to the parties with at least 2 percent of the total party-list votes. The additional number of seats is computed by dividing the number of votes of the concerned party by the number of votes of the first party. The quotient is multiplied by the additional number of seats of the first party.

 

The integer part or the whole part of this computation is the additional number of seats of the concerned party.

 

The Supreme Court refers to the “first party” as the party-list group that obtained the highest votes in the party-list election. The first party has one additional seat if it garnered at least 4 percent but less than 6 percent of the total number of party-list votes, or it has two additional seats if it obtained at least 6 percent of the total number of party-list votes.

 

The formula imposes a three-seat cap consistent with the provision of the Party-List System Act, or Republic Act No. 7941.

 

Colmenares told reporters Monday that Bayan Muna will ask the Supreme Court to declare the first party rule unconstitutional.

 

Various party-list organizations had been asking the Comelec to proclaim those that had already reached the 2-percent threshold. They stressed that the marginalized sectors had become “disenfranchised” in the 14th Congress, which has begun important activities such as the selection of the next House Speaker.

 

Buhay factions

 

Even if it was already assured of three seats in the House of Representatives, Buhay still has to contend with a problem of which of its two factions will represent the group.

 

“Only the Commission on Elections, acting as a court of law, can decide on that matter and there can only be one decision — either they grant our petition or the other group’s petition,” Buhay Rep. Hans Christian Señeres told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone Monday.

 

Two sets of nominees have been submitted to the Comelec. Buhay president Mel Robles, an El Shaddai leader who heads the Light Rail Transit Authority, sent one list naming Rene Velarde, son of the Catholic charismatic movement’s top personality Bro. Mariano “Mike” Velarde, Ma. Carissa Coscolluela, William Irwin Tieng, Melchor Monsod and Teresita Villarama.

 

The other list was submitted by Señeres, Buhay acting secretary general who represented the group in the 13th Congress together with the young Velarde. Robles, he noted, was already considered resigned when he forwarded his own set of nominees before the elections.

 

When asked if he was willing to accept or offer an amicable settlement with Robles’ group, Señeres said: “The party-list law is very strict; we can’t just change the nominees even if someone asks for a negotiation.”

 

He said the Comelec could not even offer such idea because it was not a mediation board.

 

But Señeres was optimistic that it will uphold his list of nominees composed of himself, Hermenigildo Dumlao, Antonio Bautista, Victor Pablo Trinidad and Eduardo Solangon Jr.

 

‘Better late than never’

 

In a press statement, detained Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran, the group’s first nominee, was relieved over the Comelec’s announcement and called for the immediate formal proclamation and swearing in of the winners.

 

“Better late than never. There have been strong suspicions that the Comelec has been deliberately sitting on the results of the party-list polls and delaying the announcement of winners in acquiescence to some scheme of Malacañang and the National Security Council to deny the progressive party-lists Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP) of their hard-earned victory,” said Beltran.

 

“The Comelec should immediately expedite the process of the swearing in of the nominees of the winning party-lists. No time should be wasted. There has been too much delay already. We fought long and hard for our victory, and it’s an insult against our members and supporters that we have yet to be proclaimed,” he added.

 

The proclamation of the party-list group Batas was deferred pending the Comelec’s resolution of a petition to cancel its registration.

 

The list of proclaimed winners will be forwarded to the House of Representatives.

Copyright 2007 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This m

6 military men linked to Burgos abduction

Colonel, 5 others face NBI inquiry By Leila Salaverria
Inquirer
Last updated 02:06am (Mla time) 07/10/2007

MANILA, Philippines — Ten weeks after activist Jonas Burgos mysteriously disappeared, the search for his abductors has led the country’s top civilian investigating body to the military’s doorstep.

 

Acting on tips provided by an informant, a Department of Justice (DoJ) prosecutor Monday directed the National Bureau of Investigation to question six members of the military — including a woman — and verify leads about their alleged involvement in the abduction of the son of the late press freedom advocate Jose (Joe) Burgos Jr.

 

Of the six, three were purportedly assigned to the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), while the rest belonged to the Army — the 56th Infantry Battalion based in Bulacan province and the Escort and Security Battalion.

 

Senior State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco, who heads the Presidential Task Force Against Media Harassment, named five of the six as:

 

• Philippine Air Force members M/Sgt. Aron Arroyo and Cpl. Maria Joana Francisco, purportedly also members of Military Intelligence Group 15 of the ISAFP.

 

• T/Sgt. Jason Roxas of the Army.

 

• 1st Lt. Jaime Mendaro of the Army, who is also assigned to the 56th Infantry Battalion.

 

• Lt. Col. Noel Clement of the Army and assigned to the Escort and Security Battalion.

 

The sixth military man was a certain T.L. or “team leader,” supposedly also with MIG 15 of the ISAFP.

 

“If the source is to be believed, it is political,” Velasco said when asked the reasons for Burgos’ abduction. “He is allegedly a member of the NPA (New People’s Army).”

 

Velasco said the plan to abduct Burgos was supposedly hatched in October last year.

 

Clement denies involvement

 

Velasco said he had directed the NBI to also summon Clement because the license plate of the vehicle identified as the one used in Burgos’ abduction was later traced to the 56th IB, where Clement had been previously assigned.

 

Clement was the predecessor of Lt. Col. Melquiades Feliciano at the 56th IB. Feliciano was earlier placed under preventive suspension while the provost marshal investigated how the license plate ended up on the alleged kidnap vehicle.

 

Clement expressed surprise he was included in the investigation but said he was ready to face it.

 

Clement denied involvement but said “I will always be available for investigation.”

 

Two names dropped

 

Velasco’s directive came four days after the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported an intelligence agent as saying that a unit within the AFP’s intelligence service was behind Burgos’ disappearance.

 

ISAFP chief Maj. Gen. Delfin Bangit said the names of officers mentioned by Velasco do not appear in his agency’s roster, the Associated Press reported.

 

Apparently dropped from the DoJ’s list of suspects were two other Army soldiers who were earlier linked to the abduction — Cpl. Castro Bugalon and Pfc. Jose Villena, both of the 56th IB.

 

Bugalon and Villena’s names surfaced during police investigation after the license plate of the vehicle seen used by Burgos’ abductors was traced to another vehicle which the two soldiers impounded in an anti-illegal logging operation in Bulacan last year.

 

The two soldiers later denied any role in Burgos’ disappearance before investigators in Camp Crame and the Commission on Human Rights.

 

Esperon’s reservations

 

Away on a trip to Malaysia, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. Monday night said he had yet to see the DoJ directive but he would ask Bangit to check.

 

“If that is allowed as a legal procedure, then so be it,” Esperon said in a phone interview.

 

But he expressed some reservations on the DoJ’s reliance on an “anonymous informant.”

 

“They (informants) should also come out so we can face the proper forum,” Esperon said.

 

Velasco said the NBI was also asked to look into the purported similarities between the artist’s sketches of the male and female suspects in the Burgos disappearance with the sketches of the suspects in the abduction of the “Erap 5” urban poor leaders, or supporters of former President Joseph Estrada.

 

“The cartographic sketches were furnished by two different police units or agencies,” he pointed out.

 

Backup vehicles

 

Velasco also said two other vehicles were allegedly used in Burgos’ abduction and that he had likewise asked the NBI to investigate this.

 

The two vehicles — a red Mitsubishi Lancer (WAM-155) and a maroon Toyota Altis (XBC-881) — were allegedly used as backup vehicles.

 

Velasco also told the NBI to place two witnesses, a security guard and a restaurant employee, under the Witness Protection Program.

 

“I asked the NBI to come up with their initial report within 10 days because what is involved here is the life of Mr. Burgos. We are racing against time,” he told reporters.

 

Burgos was abducted by three men and a woman from the Ever Gotesco Mall on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, on April 28.

 

NBI Director Nestor Mantaring and Deputy Director Reynaldo Esmeralda were present at Velasco’s announcement at the Department of Justice.

 

Higher interest at stake

 

According to Velasco, his leads came from an informant who approached him last week. He declined to provide details about the informant for the latter’s safety.

 

Asked how confident he was about the information he got from his source, he said: “That’s why we are asking NBI to double-check the information.”

 

Velasco said he was not saying the military men were already guilty, when asked if he wasn’t being unfair to the six military personnel.

 

“No, we said ‘allegedly.’ But remember, there is a higher interest at stake here. The higher interest here is the life of Mr. Burgos. It’s most unfair if we will not do anything to find him. That’s the higher interest, there is a hierarchy of values,” he said.

 

He said the military personnel could not ignore the NBI summons to appear, saying they had to respect other government agencies.

 

The NBI will also request pictures and the personnel data sheets of the military personnel.

 

Informant’s motive

 

Velasco said the informant came out because the latter wanted to help save Burgos.

 

Esmeralda also said the NBI had asked the Land Transportation Office for the identity of the owners of the two supposed backup vehicles.

 

Burgos’ mother, Edita, who has pointed to the military as being behind her son’s disappearance, could not be reached for comment on Velasco’s announcement despite repeated calls to her phone.

 

But hours before the announcement, during a meeting with Velasco at the DoJ, Edita said she was grateful that people were coming out to share information about her son’s disappearance.

 

She also said she would rather wait for the information given him by Velasco to be verified.

 

Jonas’ mother

 

“It’s something new, and we welcome all new leads and until it’s confirmed, I cannot be convinced. But we welcome these people who have the guts to come out and add information to what we already have,” Edita told reporters.

 

She also said she believed that her son was still alive, pointing out that University of the Philippines student Sherlyn Cadapan turned up at a relative’s house months after she went missing.

 

“I believe he’s still alive. (In) the case of Sherlyn, after 11 months she surfaced alive and well. So I really pray that Jonas is OK,” she said.

 

Asked if she thought the military would investigate its own people in light of reports that some people in ISAFP might be responsible for her son’s disappearance, Edita said remarks by Esperon were very telling.

 

She said Esperon had labeled the accusation about the ISAFP as “fantastic.”

 

“Well, you can draw from that,” she said.

 

No answer

 

Burgos, 36, had conducted a farming seminar on the day he disappeared. He was later to meet family members but never showed up and did not answer calls to his mobile phone.

 

Burgos’ abduction is the most high-profile in a series of attacks on left-wing activists.

 

The local human rights group Karapatan has reported more than 800 people, about half of them left-wing activists, have been killed in politically motivated attacks by suspected security forces since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took office in 2001. With reports from Volt Contreras, Christine O. Avendaño and Associated Press

Lim turns down Friday rally in Mendiola

By Allison Lopez
Inquirer
Last updated 03:31am (Mla time) 07/10/2007

MANILA, Philippines — As if to show who’s boss, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim yesterday “modified” the permit to rally of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) from July 13, a Friday, to July 14, a Saturday—in keeping with his earlier statement allowing rallies at the historical bridge only on weekends and holidays.

 

Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr. said moving the date meant, in effect, that the mayor had denied their application to assemble on Friday.

 

“We will question his decision because the approved permit did not show evidence on ‘clear and present danger,’ which could be the only basis for denying or modifying a permit,” said Reyes, citing Batas Pambansa No. 880, the act that guarantees the right to assemble peacefully.

 

Lim announced earlier that he was limiting the rallies at Mendiola so as not to inconvenience students and motorists. On Sunday, only a few supporters of deposed President Estrada attended the first approved rally at the bridge since Lim assumed office.

 

Secretary to the mayor Rafaelito Garayblas, who signed the permit, justified the move transferring the rally to a weekend, saying it was the “right of the state to enforce peace and order. They (activists) should look at the side of the students and commuters.

 

Adding that the rallyists could still go to other areas “as long as they do not obstruct traffic,” Garayblas said the move did not curtail Bayan’s “freedom to express their views.”

 

Reyes said they wanted to speak to the mayor before he decided on the permit, but they were not given time to do so.

 

The secretary general of the activist group said they were planning to push through with the mass action on Friday.

 

He previously said the gathering would not bother students since it would be held during classes from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 

Lim’s refusal to grant rallyists access to Mendiola Bridge on Friday, added Reyes, also “did not look good” since it came after the mayor’s recent meeting with President Macapagal-Arroyo. The mayor assured her that he would not allow chaos in areas close to Malacañang until 2010.

2 men die in shootout with Quezon City cops

By Jeannette Andrade
Inquirer
Last updated 03:31am (Mla time) 07/10/2007

MANILA, Philippines — Two men were killed in an alleged shootout with policemen before dawn yesterday on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

 

One of the fatalities was Danilo Enriquez, a resident of Sumpang Matanda, Malolos City. He was identified through a police clearance certificate found in his wallet. The other suspect, who was wearing a red polo shirt, denim pants and a pair of black slippers, has yet to be identified.

 

A report of the Quezon City Police District said that the incident happened at 1:15 a.m. on Commonwealth Avenue in front of the University of the Philippines Atomic Center.

 

Members of the QCPD District Police Intelligence Operations Unit Special Intelligence Action Service led by Supt. Alexander Sintin were on routine patrol against suspected robbery groups when they spotted a gold Mitsubishi Adventure with no license plates bound for Elliptical Road.

 

The policemen flagged down the vehicle for inspection but the driver of the van stepped on the gas, leading to a chase.

 

The report said the occupants of the Adventure fired first on the policemen, who were forced to shoot back. The two suspects were hit and died on the spot.

 

Policemen later found empty shells for automatic rifles and .45 caliber pistols at the crime scene and a pair of license plates (XAX 854). Recovered from one of the slain men was a caliber .38 revolver with four live ammunition.

 

According to a police report, the gold Mitsubishi Adventure was stolen in Bulacan. It was registered in the name of Violeta Tejuco.

Victim cops tell NBI their boss recruited them in scam

Victim cops tell NBI their boss recruited them in scam
By Tina Santos
Inquirer
Last updated 04:43am (Mla time) 07/10/2007

MANILA, Philippines — At least 11 people, including policemen, went to the National Bureau of Investigation on Monday, claiming they all fell victim to the “Francswiss” investment scheme, one of the pyramiding scams proliferating on the Internet.

 

Ruel Lasala, chief of the NBI National Capital Region, said the complainants were reluctant to lodge a complaint against the incorporators and officials of Francswiss for fear that they too would become suspects.

 

“There were several others who were calling us up, saying they feared that they too would be arrested. Because even if they were victimized, they too recruited other people to join the pyramiding scheme,” Lasala said.

 

The policemen, reportedly members of the Manila Police District, refused to be identified because they were recruited by their superior.

 

“They don’t know now what to do because it was their boss who enticed them to join,” Lasala said.

 

Another complainant, a female employee, claimed that about 20 of them in her company also fell victim to the scam.

 

She said she was able to recover the first P47,500 she invested.

 

“It was good at first. I was really earning money. But then I invested another P95,000 for the two more accounts I got which I put under the name of my child and a friend,” she said.

 

Greed, she said, drove her to invest in Francswiss.

 

“Before I decided to join, I observed others who were already members and I was so amazed because they had lots of money,” she told reporters.

 

A pyramiding scheme involves paying abnormally high, short-term returns to investors out of the money raised from new investors, rather than from profits generated by any real business.

 

The new scam lures unsuspecting victims to the Internet using websites like http://www.francswiss.biz and http://deutchfrancs.com.

 

SEC names other groups

 

Prospective investors are asked to invest $1,000 in francswiss.biz and $10,000 in deutchfrancs.com that promise to double their money in 22 days.

 

“This group (Francswiss) promises interests bigger than those offered by banks,” said Lasala. “This type of investment scheme usually collapses as fast as they are created while investors are left unable to recover their investments.”

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission has identified other Internet-based pyramiding schemes — Swiss Cash, Universal Forex System, Global America and Private Forex Trade Inc.

 

These groups are not registered with the SEC and have no permit to solicit investments from the public, according to the commission.

 

Some of the complainants at the NBI refused to be named, saying they were embarrassed by what happened to them.

 

They said they were forced to borrow money from friends just so they could join Francswiss.

 

Celebrities, too?

 

Another complainant from Baguio City told the NBI that he had invested P332,500 for the seven accounts he got.

 

There had been talk that famous celebrities and politicians also fell prey to operators of Francswiss.

 

Reynaldo Esmeralda, deputy director for Regional Operations Service, said his group is still in the process of verifying the information.

 

Arrested

 

He said it was possible that those behind Francswiss were using the names of prominent people to entice prospective investors into joining the investment scheme.

 

On Wednesday, the NBI arrested Eleazard Castillo, 26, a native of Cabuyao, Ilocos Sur, and allegedly the chief financial adviser of Francswiss Investment (FS Investment), in an entrapment operation in Baguio City.

 

Castillo, who by himself allegedly defrauded investors of about P200 million to P300 million, was charged with syndicated estafa at the Department of Justice.

 

“Francswiss” was believed to have gypped unsuspecting investors in the Philippines of P1 billion, the NBI said.

Koreans welcome but not as traders

Inquirer
Last updated 05:45am (Mla time) 07/10/2007

MANILA, Philippines — South Koreans are very welcome in the country as tourists but not as retailers, the Bureau of Immigration said Monday as it ordered a crackdown on foreigners illegally doing business in the country.

 

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said foreigners, most of them Korean, had been “blatantly” violating the country’s immigration laws by operating retail stores and using Filipinos to front for them.

 

Only Filipino citizens may ply the retail trade, Libanan said in a statement.

 

“A foreigner who engages in the retail trade is liable for deportation as the act is a violation of the conditions of his admission and stay in the country,” he said.

 

Licenses, permits

 

Libanan also appealed to local government officials throughout the country not to issue licenses and permits to foreign-owned retail businesses in their areas.

 

The bureau will coordinate with the Department of Trade and Industry in going after the illegal foreign traders, Libanan said.

 

The BI’s campaign against alien retailers is expected to be initially tested in Baguio City as the local government there announced it had formed a task force with BI and DTI officials to go after Korean-owned establishments in the city.

 

Similar Korean-owned establishments have been reported in Manila, Pasay and Makati cities, Libanan said.

 

Koreans are among the top three tourist groups that come to the country.

 

RA 8762

 

Republic Act No. 8762, or the Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000, opened the retail trade to foreigners. The law introduced three categories where a foreigner may partly or wholly own a retail business worth between $2.5 million and $7.5 million.

 

The restrictions of the law, however, do not apply to businesses with a capital of P100,000 or less, restaurants that are operated by hotel owners or innkeepers irrespective of the amount of capital, as well as the sale of farm products and other goods produced, manufactured, processed or assembled in a single outlet. Jerome Aning

Compostela activist slain in own home

By Jeffrey M. Tupas
Mindanao Bureau
Last updated 01:23pm (Mla time) 07/10/2007

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Unidentified gunmen shot and killed the municipal coordinator of the left-wing party-list group Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) in Nabunturan town, Compostela Valley on Saturday, the human rights group Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights) and the military said Tuesday.

 

Alfonso Capiales, 72, was inside his house in Barangay (village) Magsaysay when he was shot by one of two gunmen according to Kelly Delgado, Karapatan secretary general in Southern Mindanao said.

 

Capiales was also chair of the Magsaysay Farmers Association (Mafa) and an officer of the Nagkahiusang Mag-uuma sa Nabunturan (Namana or United Farmers in Nabunturan).

 

Delgado quoted a witness as saying one of the assassins, identified only as Lucio, entered the victim’s house and peppered Capiales, who was then with his children, with bullets.

 

Major Randolph Cabangbang, spokesperson of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, confirmed the incident but claimed Capiales was a military informer.

 

Delgado rejected this, saying they have no doubt state agents were behind Capiales’ death.

 

Three days before he was killed, Delgado said Capiales was summoned by the military to the barangay hall in Magsaysay on suspicion he was a member of the New People’s Army (NPA).