(Kasi sila sa Palace eh above the law?)
SAN JUAN, Batangas , Philippines – Malacañang yesterday reminded pardoned former President Joseph Estrada and Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay that they are not above the law and that they should be responsible for their actions.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde was commenting on the complaints of Estrada and Binay that they are being harassed after Philippine National Police (PNP) officials said they would be investigated for violating a law banning the display and possession of real-looking firearms.
The two opposition leaders were seen riding a restored World War II US army jeep with a mounted .30 caliber machine gun replica during their “Lakbay Pasasalamat” tour in Cebu last March 4. “Officials in the administration of President Arroyo, the sitting President, when going around the provinces, do not ride vehicles with a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on them,” Remonde said in a radio interview.
He said Binay and Estrada should explain their actions instead of crying political harassment.
PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa has said that authorities are investigating if charges can be filed against the two. Verzosa said the Central Visayas Police Office (Region 7) in Cebu had confiscated the machine gun replica. Police revealed that the restored army jeep is owned by the husband of Carmen Mayor Sonia Pua and had recently won in a vintage car show in Cebu.
Verzosa directed PNP-Civil Security Group director Chief Superintendent Ireneo Bacolod to monitor the investigation of the incident. Bacolod said Estrada’s group might have violated Letter of Instruction (LOI) 1264, signed by former President Ferdinand Marcos in 1982, that bans the import, sale and public display of gun replicas.
He said a technical working group would discuss the issue of gun replicas as part of the effort to amend the law on controlling firearms. The PNP has decided to regulate the proliferation of gun replicas, which are sometimes used by criminals in carrying out illegal activities, including bank robbery.
A case of ‘serious sunstroke’
However, Binay said Malacañang is just suffering from “serious sunstroke” and that it is not in a position to give him a lecture on respect for the law. “There are far larger violations of the law that have been committed right inside Malacañang. Yet they choose to hang us for riding a jeep with a replica machine gun,” he said. The feisty local executive said he is ready to face the charges in court, and even dared Mrs. Arroyo, her husband Jose Miguel and other Palace allies to do the same for violations of the law. Binay had earlier dismissed the “gun toting” charges as absurd and ridiculous. “These allegations should be ignored but under Mrs. Arroyo, the absurd and ridiculous are used as evidence in court cases against the opposition,” he said, adding the administration has started its demolition job on them.Estrada, on the other hand, challenged the PNP to file the charges in court, saying its officials are “a bunch of ignoramus.”
(Comments: Hay naku, nag-away ang dalawang grupo ng mga corrupt! Nagtapunan ng parehong baho ang mga kulugo! Waste of ime, money, and effort lang ito. Kapag ang dalawang parehong me baho ay nagsalubong, siguradong wala bangong maibibigay ang mga ito sa mga tao. I suggest na huwag na nating botohan ang lahat na mga kandidatong nanggagaling sa malalaking partido at oposisyon (kuno) since pareho namang mga corrupt ang mga ito. Vote for independent candidates who have no parties, no huge amount to bribe the voters, at saka dahil lamang sa kilala at sikat ang mga ito (dating mga artista). Putulin na rin natin ang pagboboto sa mga kandidatong anak ng dating politiko at galing sa pamilya ng mga politiko dahil wala rin namang plano ang mga ito sa mga Pilipino. Inuuna pa nila ang pansariling interes bago ang mamayan. For more than 40 years, ganito na ng ganito sa bansa. Hindi pa rin ba tayo nagsasawa? Hindi na ba natin mahal ang puturo ng mga anak natin ngayon sa mga magigi nilang mga anak? Kung ang sagot n'yo ay "Oo", then botohan 'nyo ang mga ito.
Hindi pa ba natin napapansin na kahit na sinong politiko ang umupo sa puwesto, wala pa rin tayong asenso. For so many years now, political dynasties had brought no richness and development to the country except corruption, extortion, cheating, embarassment to the people, killings of media practitioners, bad image to the country, insensitivity to the real needs of the poor, unemployment, widening war and misunderstanding in Mindanao, loss of respect of the people to the government (so, the government people just steal their money), illiteracy of the masses, cultural and religious divisions, high prices and inflation, and countless sufferings of the people. Four decades ago, the Philippines is the envy of Asians. Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and even China were all looking up to us as the future competitor of Japan. Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea were just pieces of rocks. Isang malaking pantalan lang ang Hong Kong at Singapore. Pero dahil binigyan nila ng halaga ang kanilang puturo, ang kanilang boto, naging maunlad silang pareho. Ngayon, tayo ang mga alila nito. Now, all these countries (and even other western and eastern countries are looking down at us like shit (and these "S.O.Bs" in the government (and many of their cohorts don't even give a damn about it! As long as they can squeeze zillions of cash from the people - including OFWs - they are happy and can sleep well at night. What if we, OFWs, exchange positions with these dirty politicians? Let them come to Hong Kong or Saudi or America to work as amahs and engineers or musicians working 12-18 hours a day with no protection or securities or being paid less than what they are supposed to earn? Or being kicked, slapped or dumped in jails because their employers do not like their smell? Can you imagine Mrs. Arroyo being kicked or spat upon in her face by her Chinese employer here in Hong Kong because she can't iron their clothings well? Or Erap, Mar Roxas, Nograles, or Chiz Escudero receiving 12 lashes per day for 4 weeks in a Saudi jail because they're being accused of stealing from their employers? Can we imagine Mr. Enrile or Manny Villar working in Hong Kong as drivers and are asked to clean their employers' swimming pools, scrubbing their toilet bowls or washing their cars or being insulted by their "amos" calling them stupid because their government cannot provide decent jobs for them in the country? Can we imagine Meriam Defensor being scolded and hout upon while removing the shit-filled bed pan of her senile employer? Ano kaya kung sila ang magtrabaho sa abroad and mga OFWs ang umupo sa kanilang puwesto? Finally, siguradong lilinis ang gobyerno natin! Kung talagang nasa puso ng mga lider natin na tawagin tayong mga bagong bayani, sana matagal na nilang binigyang pansin kung papaano tayo makakauwi sa ating mga mahal sa buhay dahil mas mahalaga sa ating mga Pilipino ang pamilya kaysa kita sa malalayong bansa.
Sana matagal na nilang ginamit ang kinurakot na pera sa pagbukas ng mga negosyo para magbigay ng trabaho sa mga OFWs. Ilang milyong kabataan ngayon sa bansa ang nagsilaking walang ama at ina? Marami ang naging mga drug addict, prostitutes, walang natapos at nalulong sa mga sindikato. Sa Hong Kong lang ako nakakita ng tatlong henerasyong lahat naging katulong: yung lola, ina, at babaing anak puro katulong ang kinahitnan dito. Sigurado akong ang magiging anak ng babaing anak na ito ay magiging katulong din pagkatapos nitong mag-aral. Kailan pa natin puputulin ang katarantaduhang ito dahil walang magawang solusyon ang gobyerno ngayon--- at ang magiging kapalit nito kung hindi natin ihahalal ang may tama at tunay na hangarin para sa 88 milyong Pilipino? Gising na, kababayan ko!
Ano nga ba talaga ang nagawa ng maraming politikong naka-upo ngayon sa ating mga Pilipino at sa mga politkong nakaraan na sa ating ekonomiya? Sa ating image sa abroad? Sa ating employment? Sa ating security? Sa ating environment? Sa ating health protections? Sa ating mga paaralan na delapidated na? Sa ating mga public infrastructures? Basura pa lamang sa Metro Manila eh hindi nila mabigyan ng tamang solusyon! Kidnapping na walang katapusan! Gutom! Marami ang namamatay dahil mahal ang hospital at medisina! Maraming kababayan natin ang pumapatol na lamang sa kung sino-sinong banyaga makaahon lamang sa gutom. Marami ang inililibing na walang tamang respeto dahil walang pambayad? Maraming Pilipino ang mistulang tulala at magpakumbaba dahil lumaki silang "sir" at "mam" ang tawag sa mga taong umaabuso naman sa kanilang kahinaan. Tingnan na lamang natin ang simpleng problema sa mga "casual" workers sa bansa. Dahil marami ang walang trabaho, tyaga na lamang sila sa pagiging "casual" kahit college graduate naman ang mga ito. Kaso, inaabuso naman sila ng mga malalaking shopping malls at ibang negosyo sa bansa. Bakit hindi natin baguhin ang sistemang ito? Lalong yumayaman ang mga mayayaman at lalong naghihirap ang maraming mahihirap.
Nasaan na ang ating national pride, mga kapatid? Where is our diginity? Matuto na tayo, mga kababayan ko! Let's clean and make good changes in the country for the benefit of our posterity!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
DPWH executives in World Bank mess face raps - Ombudsman
MANILA, Philippines - Former secretary Florante Soriquez and 16 other officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are facing charges of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and other offenses after the Office of the Ombudsman found documentary evidence linking them to alleged anomalous biddings for World Bank-funded road projects.
Assistant Ombudsman Mark Jalandoni told The STAR the anti-graft agency and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will jointly probe alleged collusion between private contractors and government officials in the supposed anomaly. The investigation of their Field Investigation Office (FIO) covers only the first phase of the fact-finding process since the Office of the Ombudsman does not have jurisdiction over private contractors, he added. Jalandoni said First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo was implicated in the alleged bid-rigging in a World Bank report based on alleged interviews with unnamed witnesses.
Mr. Arroyo can only be probed based on the testimonies of private contractors in the Senate hearings since the witnesses were never named, and the report was confidential, he added.
Jalandoni said their FIO tried to make use of the copies of the testimonies sent to them by the Senate by asking the World Bank to authenticate them. However, the World Bank refused their request, he added. The joint probe with the NBI will have to again call on the witnesses and have them testify on Mr. Arroyo’s supposed involvement in the anomaly, as well as other government officials mentioned in the Senate hearings, he said. Jalandoni said Soriquez, now a DPWH undersecretary, leads the list of officials who are being charged for grave misconduct, dishonesty, conduct prejudicial to the interest of the service, and neglect of duty based on provisions of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Government Officials and Employees before the Office of the Ombudsman’s Preliminary Investigation and Administrative Adjudication and Monitoring Office.
Soriquez, as acting DPWH secretary when the biddings were held, should have rejected all bids that went beyond the approved budget for the contract, he added. The strongest evidence against the respondents are documented bidding records that show supposed irregularities or anomalies in the process, he said. Jalandoni said the World Bank rejected all three winning bidders due to findings that the detailed analysis of the original bids themselves reveal clear patterns of collusions among the bidders, and that in all three occasions, the lowest bids are some 15 percent higher than the estimate cost, which is indicative of alleged bid-rigging.
Graft investigators found sufficient documentary evidence to show that a violation of the Procurement Law has been committed, he added.
All 17 DPWH officials are being charged for approving bids that went beyond the approved budget of the $150-million National Road Improvement and Management Project-Phase 1, Jalandoni said. Charged with Soriquez were Undersecretary Manuel Bonoan as chairman of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) for Visayas and Mindanao projects; BAC Assistant Secretaries Bashir D. Rasuman, Salvador Pleyto, Juanito Abergas as BAC members; Mocamad M. Raki-in Sr., as Vice Chairman for the Mindanao area; and Rafel C. Yabut as Vice Chairman for Operations for Area III. The anti-graft agency’s investigators also found sufficient grounds to charge BAC members Emerson L. Benitez, who is also a Project Manager III and head of the BAC-Technical Working Group; Baliame P. Mamainte, project director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development-Project Management Office (IBRD-PMO); Lope S. Adriano, the project director of the IBRB-PMO; lawyer Joel I Jacob, officer-in-charge (OIC) of the legal service; Camilo G. Foronda, OIC of the Comptrollership and Financial Management Services; Director Walter R. Ocampo of the Bureau of Construction; and Florencio I. Aricheta, a representative of the National Constructors Association of the Philippines and the Philippine Construction Association.
Part of the World Bank-funded project covers the rehabilitation of the Marihatag-Barobo/Tagbina-Hinatuan section of the Surigao-Davao Coastal Road Contract Package, according to Jalandoni. A bidding was held on Nov. 20, 2002 wherein the BAC recommended the awarding of the project to China Geo Engineering Corporation which had a bid that was 15.59 percent higher than the approved budget for the contract (ABC) worth P967,012,362.15.
The second part of the NRIMP-1 covers the rehabilitation of the Kabankalan-Basay/ San Enrique-Vallehermoso Road Hinobaan-Basay/La Castellana-Canlaon Section Contract Package or CW-RU-1.6, which was later split into two projects as CW-RU-1.6A and CW-RU-1.6B.
For CW-RU-1.6A, a bidding was held on Aug. 8, 2006 wherein the BAC recommended that the project be awarded to the China Road and Bridge Corporation which had a bid that was 13.38 percent higher than the ABC of P682,396,537.65, according to graft investigators.
For CW-RU-1.6B, a bidding was also held wherein the BAC recommended that the project be awarded to China Wuyi Co. Ltd., which again had a bid that was 16.85 percent higher than the ABC worth P640,574,987.79.
Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez was not present during yesterday’s presentation of the initial findings on the World Bank case as she was allegedly out attending to other matters.
(Comments: Hay, grabe na 'to, nakakahiya na talaga. Halos lahat na yata ng departamento ng gobyerno sa atin ay corrupt! Again, pera ng tao ito at pera ng mga gustong magpahiram sa atin para maibsan ang kahirapan -- na ninanakaw naman ng mga corrupt officials sa atin na kasabwat ng mga taong kasama sa anomalous bidding na ito. Kelan pa natin susugpuin ang salot na ito, kababayan? Lately lang, 'nabigyan' ng bagong award ang ating bayan na pinaka-corrupt na bansa sa buong mundo!)
Assistant Ombudsman Mark Jalandoni told The STAR the anti-graft agency and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will jointly probe alleged collusion between private contractors and government officials in the supposed anomaly. The investigation of their Field Investigation Office (FIO) covers only the first phase of the fact-finding process since the Office of the Ombudsman does not have jurisdiction over private contractors, he added. Jalandoni said First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo was implicated in the alleged bid-rigging in a World Bank report based on alleged interviews with unnamed witnesses.
Mr. Arroyo can only be probed based on the testimonies of private contractors in the Senate hearings since the witnesses were never named, and the report was confidential, he added.
Jalandoni said their FIO tried to make use of the copies of the testimonies sent to them by the Senate by asking the World Bank to authenticate them. However, the World Bank refused their request, he added. The joint probe with the NBI will have to again call on the witnesses and have them testify on Mr. Arroyo’s supposed involvement in the anomaly, as well as other government officials mentioned in the Senate hearings, he said. Jalandoni said Soriquez, now a DPWH undersecretary, leads the list of officials who are being charged for grave misconduct, dishonesty, conduct prejudicial to the interest of the service, and neglect of duty based on provisions of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Government Officials and Employees before the Office of the Ombudsman’s Preliminary Investigation and Administrative Adjudication and Monitoring Office.
Soriquez, as acting DPWH secretary when the biddings were held, should have rejected all bids that went beyond the approved budget for the contract, he added. The strongest evidence against the respondents are documented bidding records that show supposed irregularities or anomalies in the process, he said. Jalandoni said the World Bank rejected all three winning bidders due to findings that the detailed analysis of the original bids themselves reveal clear patterns of collusions among the bidders, and that in all three occasions, the lowest bids are some 15 percent higher than the estimate cost, which is indicative of alleged bid-rigging.
Graft investigators found sufficient documentary evidence to show that a violation of the Procurement Law has been committed, he added.
All 17 DPWH officials are being charged for approving bids that went beyond the approved budget of the $150-million National Road Improvement and Management Project-Phase 1, Jalandoni said. Charged with Soriquez were Undersecretary Manuel Bonoan as chairman of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) for Visayas and Mindanao projects; BAC Assistant Secretaries Bashir D. Rasuman, Salvador Pleyto, Juanito Abergas as BAC members; Mocamad M. Raki-in Sr., as Vice Chairman for the Mindanao area; and Rafel C. Yabut as Vice Chairman for Operations for Area III. The anti-graft agency’s investigators also found sufficient grounds to charge BAC members Emerson L. Benitez, who is also a Project Manager III and head of the BAC-Technical Working Group; Baliame P. Mamainte, project director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development-Project Management Office (IBRD-PMO); Lope S. Adriano, the project director of the IBRB-PMO; lawyer Joel I Jacob, officer-in-charge (OIC) of the legal service; Camilo G. Foronda, OIC of the Comptrollership and Financial Management Services; Director Walter R. Ocampo of the Bureau of Construction; and Florencio I. Aricheta, a representative of the National Constructors Association of the Philippines and the Philippine Construction Association.
Part of the World Bank-funded project covers the rehabilitation of the Marihatag-Barobo/Tagbina-Hinatuan section of the Surigao-Davao Coastal Road Contract Package, according to Jalandoni. A bidding was held on Nov. 20, 2002 wherein the BAC recommended the awarding of the project to China Geo Engineering Corporation which had a bid that was 15.59 percent higher than the approved budget for the contract (ABC) worth P967,012,362.15.
The second part of the NRIMP-1 covers the rehabilitation of the Kabankalan-Basay/ San Enrique-Vallehermoso Road Hinobaan-Basay/La Castellana-Canlaon Section Contract Package or CW-RU-1.6, which was later split into two projects as CW-RU-1.6A and CW-RU-1.6B.
For CW-RU-1.6A, a bidding was held on Aug. 8, 2006 wherein the BAC recommended that the project be awarded to the China Road and Bridge Corporation which had a bid that was 13.38 percent higher than the ABC of P682,396,537.65, according to graft investigators.
For CW-RU-1.6B, a bidding was also held wherein the BAC recommended that the project be awarded to China Wuyi Co. Ltd., which again had a bid that was 16.85 percent higher than the ABC worth P640,574,987.79.
Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez was not present during yesterday’s presentation of the initial findings on the World Bank case as she was allegedly out attending to other matters.
(Comments: Hay, grabe na 'to, nakakahiya na talaga. Halos lahat na yata ng departamento ng gobyerno sa atin ay corrupt! Again, pera ng tao ito at pera ng mga gustong magpahiram sa atin para maibsan ang kahirapan -- na ninanakaw naman ng mga corrupt officials sa atin na kasabwat ng mga taong kasama sa anomalous bidding na ito. Kelan pa natin susugpuin ang salot na ito, kababayan? Lately lang, 'nabigyan' ng bagong award ang ating bayan na pinaka-corrupt na bansa sa buong mundo!)
Plunder raps filed vs National Printing Office officials
By Rainier Allan Ronda, Philstar
MANILA, Philippines - The owner of a private printing firm filed plunder charges before the Office of the Ombudsman against officials of the National Printing Office (NPO) for the alleged anomalous biddings of an estimated P141-million worth of contracts for the printing of official forms of various government agencies and local government units last January and February.
Guillermo Sylianteng Jr., general manager of Ready Form, Inc., filed charges of plunder, dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the civil service against former acting NPO director Enrique Agana; NPO officer-in-charge Dionisia Valbuena; Miguel Arcadio, chairman of the NPO’s Bids and Awards Committee; and BAC members Eddie Vista, Florencia Reyes, Federico Ramos, Elsa Calma, and Sol Tamayo.
Charges were also filed against Evelyn Perlado, chief of the NPO’s Production, Planning and Control Division; and legal consultant Phio Viovicente. Private printers who participated and bagged contracts in the three public biddings were also included among those charged as private respondents. In his plunder complaint filed before the Ombudsman last Feb. 13, Sylianteng accused the NPO officials of presiding over three alleged “fixed biddings” on Jan. 13 and 19 and Feb. 6 to award multi-million peso printing contracts to produce the standard and official accountable forms of different national government agencies and LGUs.
Sylianteng said that during the Jan. 13 and 19 bidding during which Agana was still the NPO acting director, there was no public notice made of the bidding. In the secret biddings, only the “pre-selected and invited” private printers were able to participate and bag the printing contracts. Among the agencies that gave the NPO their printing contracts were the Land Bank of the Philippines, the Philippine Ports Authority, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, the Manila International Airport Authority, the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, and many others.
Sylianteng said that the officials had falsified bidding documents to make it appear that the two biddings were conducted on Dec. 24, 2008. He said the NPO held the two biddings secretly after he notified the agency that subcontracting of government printing contracts to favored private printers is illegal. The NPO resorts to subcontracting the printing of government forms if the printing agency cannot accommodate more printing jobs for government agencies. The Jan. 13 bidding involved an estimated P50-million worth of contracts of 11 government agencies including the LBP, the Philippine Ports Authority, the Western Visayas State University, Baguio City Hall, Pasig City Hall, and the province of Mindoro Oriental.
The Jan. 19 bidding reportedly involved P60-million worth of printing contracts of about 23 agencies including the LBP, the MIAA, the SBMA, the Philippine National Police, the provincial governments of Aklan, Bukidnon, Negros Occidental, and Antique, the National Children’s Hospital, and many others. After Agana was relieved from the NPO, the agency, then headed by Valbuena as OIC, again held another subcontract public bidding for 61 printing jobs referred to them by other government agencies. The Feb. 6 public bidding involved some P31-million worth of printing contracts. The STAR could not contact Valbuena to get her comment on the plunder charges filed against her and her colleagues. Valbuena stepped down as OIC and resumed her previous post as deputy director last Monday to give way to recently appointed NPO director, retired police general Servando Hizon.
Sylianteng said that the government agencies were prevented from getting cheaper printing services due to the rigged biddings. He cited Executive Order 378 issued by President Arroyo on Oct. 25, 2004 that took away the NPO’s exclusive jurisdiction over the printing of official accountable and standard forms of government agencies. Last Feb. 24, Malacanang’s legal office, through Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs Manuel Gaite, issued a legal opinion declaring that the NPO should no longer conduct such “sub-contract” public biddings of multi-million peso printing contracts. Gaite said that E.O. 378 was issued to ensure that government “benefits from the best services available from the market at the best price.” “Clearly, the NPO no longer has exclusive jurisdiction over the printing service requirement of the government over standard and accountable forms. In fact, it has to compete with the private sector, except in the printing of election paraphernalia which could be shared with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,” said Gaite, who was recently appointed as commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The legal opinion was sought by the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Local Government Finance, which has complained of delays in the delivery of vital forms such as official receipts by the NPO’s contracted private printers. Currently, many government agencies still go to the NPO for the printing of official accountable forms such as official receipts printed despite E. O. 387.
Due to its lack of modern printing facilities, the NPO merely farms out these contracts by holding public biddings wherein they select the private printers that will undertake the printing of government forms. The NPO charges the government agency a 15 percent “service fee” for the supposed printing of the forms that was actually undertaken by a winning private printer.
The NPO, it was learned, has around 33 “accredited” private printers that could bid for the subcontracted printing jobs. Official accountable forms are those which the printing office and government agencies have to strictly keep track of and account for, such as official receipts and registration documents such as those issued by the Land Transportation Office for motor vehicle registration and driver’s licenses, money order forms issued by the Philippine Postal Corporation, and the official receipts issued by local city and municipal treasurers to payers of local taxes such as real property taxes, and the receipts and other forms issued by government banks such as the Land Bank of the Philippines.
(Comment: Hay naku... sinabi ko na, kapag corrupt sa taas, corrupt din sa ibaba! At the expense of poor Filipinos, these people in the government treat their jobs as their own business na. Wala ng delikadesa, wala pang kahiya-hiya. Lantarang pang-aabuso sa pera ng tao na para bang isang napakalaking sindikato na ang ating gobyerno. Again, when corrupt leaders govern, the people suffers. I suggest a strong leadership with strong political will will finally eradicate corruption in the country and finally put these corrupt officials into JAIL!)
MANILA, Philippines - The owner of a private printing firm filed plunder charges before the Office of the Ombudsman against officials of the National Printing Office (NPO) for the alleged anomalous biddings of an estimated P141-million worth of contracts for the printing of official forms of various government agencies and local government units last January and February.
Guillermo Sylianteng Jr., general manager of Ready Form, Inc., filed charges of plunder, dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the civil service against former acting NPO director Enrique Agana; NPO officer-in-charge Dionisia Valbuena; Miguel Arcadio, chairman of the NPO’s Bids and Awards Committee; and BAC members Eddie Vista, Florencia Reyes, Federico Ramos, Elsa Calma, and Sol Tamayo.
Charges were also filed against Evelyn Perlado, chief of the NPO’s Production, Planning and Control Division; and legal consultant Phio Viovicente. Private printers who participated and bagged contracts in the three public biddings were also included among those charged as private respondents. In his plunder complaint filed before the Ombudsman last Feb. 13, Sylianteng accused the NPO officials of presiding over three alleged “fixed biddings” on Jan. 13 and 19 and Feb. 6 to award multi-million peso printing contracts to produce the standard and official accountable forms of different national government agencies and LGUs.
Sylianteng said that during the Jan. 13 and 19 bidding during which Agana was still the NPO acting director, there was no public notice made of the bidding. In the secret biddings, only the “pre-selected and invited” private printers were able to participate and bag the printing contracts. Among the agencies that gave the NPO their printing contracts were the Land Bank of the Philippines, the Philippine Ports Authority, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, the Manila International Airport Authority, the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, and many others.
Sylianteng said that the officials had falsified bidding documents to make it appear that the two biddings were conducted on Dec. 24, 2008. He said the NPO held the two biddings secretly after he notified the agency that subcontracting of government printing contracts to favored private printers is illegal. The NPO resorts to subcontracting the printing of government forms if the printing agency cannot accommodate more printing jobs for government agencies. The Jan. 13 bidding involved an estimated P50-million worth of contracts of 11 government agencies including the LBP, the Philippine Ports Authority, the Western Visayas State University, Baguio City Hall, Pasig City Hall, and the province of Mindoro Oriental.
The Jan. 19 bidding reportedly involved P60-million worth of printing contracts of about 23 agencies including the LBP, the MIAA, the SBMA, the Philippine National Police, the provincial governments of Aklan, Bukidnon, Negros Occidental, and Antique, the National Children’s Hospital, and many others. After Agana was relieved from the NPO, the agency, then headed by Valbuena as OIC, again held another subcontract public bidding for 61 printing jobs referred to them by other government agencies. The Feb. 6 public bidding involved some P31-million worth of printing contracts. The STAR could not contact Valbuena to get her comment on the plunder charges filed against her and her colleagues. Valbuena stepped down as OIC and resumed her previous post as deputy director last Monday to give way to recently appointed NPO director, retired police general Servando Hizon.
Sylianteng said that the government agencies were prevented from getting cheaper printing services due to the rigged biddings. He cited Executive Order 378 issued by President Arroyo on Oct. 25, 2004 that took away the NPO’s exclusive jurisdiction over the printing of official accountable and standard forms of government agencies. Last Feb. 24, Malacanang’s legal office, through Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs Manuel Gaite, issued a legal opinion declaring that the NPO should no longer conduct such “sub-contract” public biddings of multi-million peso printing contracts. Gaite said that E.O. 378 was issued to ensure that government “benefits from the best services available from the market at the best price.” “Clearly, the NPO no longer has exclusive jurisdiction over the printing service requirement of the government over standard and accountable forms. In fact, it has to compete with the private sector, except in the printing of election paraphernalia which could be shared with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,” said Gaite, who was recently appointed as commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The legal opinion was sought by the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Local Government Finance, which has complained of delays in the delivery of vital forms such as official receipts by the NPO’s contracted private printers. Currently, many government agencies still go to the NPO for the printing of official accountable forms such as official receipts printed despite E. O. 387.
Due to its lack of modern printing facilities, the NPO merely farms out these contracts by holding public biddings wherein they select the private printers that will undertake the printing of government forms. The NPO charges the government agency a 15 percent “service fee” for the supposed printing of the forms that was actually undertaken by a winning private printer.
The NPO, it was learned, has around 33 “accredited” private printers that could bid for the subcontracted printing jobs. Official accountable forms are those which the printing office and government agencies have to strictly keep track of and account for, such as official receipts and registration documents such as those issued by the Land Transportation Office for motor vehicle registration and driver’s licenses, money order forms issued by the Philippine Postal Corporation, and the official receipts issued by local city and municipal treasurers to payers of local taxes such as real property taxes, and the receipts and other forms issued by government banks such as the Land Bank of the Philippines.
(Comment: Hay naku... sinabi ko na, kapag corrupt sa taas, corrupt din sa ibaba! At the expense of poor Filipinos, these people in the government treat their jobs as their own business na. Wala ng delikadesa, wala pang kahiya-hiya. Lantarang pang-aabuso sa pera ng tao na para bang isang napakalaking sindikato na ang ating gobyerno. Again, when corrupt leaders govern, the people suffers. I suggest a strong leadership with strong political will will finally eradicate corruption in the country and finally put these corrupt officials into JAIL!)
'Arroyo behind charter change - de Venceia'
MANILA, Philippines—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is behind a move to amend the Constitution that is being pushed by her son in Congress. Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo attempted but failed to enlist the support of Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia in exchange for his reinstatement as House Speaker, the former Congress leader said. De Venecia on Wednesday said that Representatives Arroyo and Martin Romualdez came to his office two days before the House adjourned for a Lenten break March 5 to request him to shepherd the passage of the draft resolution calling for a constituent assembly (Con-ass). In return, De Venecia said he was offered back the speakership stripped from him in what was described as a “political assassination” after his namesake son exposed the NBN-ZTE deal with China. Mikey and his brother-congressman, Dato, engineered the ouster.
“I preempted them by saying ‘no,’” De Venecia told reporters. “I turned down the request for me to help because they are not telling the Filipino people the truth,” he said, pointing to the obvious motive of Con-ass—“so that Gloria’s term can be extended.” De Venecia said as long as administration allies could muster the 197 votes in the House and get the Supreme Court to uphold their move, “there will be no stopping Cha-cha.” Mikey denied De Venecia’s allegation. “I never offered him the speakership,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net). “What will I offer him? He’s the one who volunteered to help.” “All these people crucifying this resolution must have first the decency to read the resolution. It hasn’t even been filed yet,” Mikey said, adding that the measure neither calls for scuttling next year’s balloting nor extending the term of sitting elective officials.
Malacañang also scoffed at claims that the administration was bent on amending the Constitution ahead of the 2010 elections to pave the way for a parliamentary form of government. Secretary Gabriel Claudio, presidential political adviser, said that Malacañang, which approved the P11.3-billion budget for poll automation on Monday, was all psyched up for the May 2010 elections.
Palace on election mode
Claudio said the Commission on Elections had gone “full blast” preparing for the first nationwide computerized elections, even as the administration coalition “is pursuing its selection process in earnest.” “The whole country, the administration included, is on election mode,” he said.
“I can feel that they still need 20 votes to obtain the required 197 votes,” De Venecia said, referring to the magic number which represents three-fourths of the combined Senate and House membership to effect any changes in the 1987 Constitution. Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte has said the House could push through Con-ass despite the Senate’s strong objection if it could get 197 signatures. Villafuerte disputes the contention that the Constitution provides a two-thirds vote of members of the House and the Senate, voting separately, was needed to call a Con-ass.
Hopeless proposition
De Venecia stressed that even the separate Cha-cha resolution filed by Speaker Prospero Nograles was only a “decoy,” pointing out that limiting amendments to purely economic provisions was a “hopeless” proposition. “The Nograles resolution is just a decoy and the Villafuerte resolution does not say anything, except to get the Supreme Court to rule favorably on a constituent assembly,” De Venecia said.
Afraid of plunder cases
“They will buy her (Ms Arroyo) immunity. They are afraid of the plunder cases to be filed against them. If the Cha-cha move has no go-signal from the President, will they get 177 votes?” De Venecia said. He was referring to reported Palace efforts to keep Ms Arroyo as transition president or prime minister if the move to abolish the presidential system to pave the way for parliamentary or federal system pushes through. As of February, 180 congressmen had signed the Con-ass resolution, other Congress sources said. Should the Con-ass bid succeed, De Venecia said Congress could then push for a transition period that would extend the terms of all elected officials by one or two years after 2010 to allow the Con-ass to revise the Constitution.
Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Francis Pangilinan called on Ms Arroyo to break her silence on Con-ass. They said her unclear position was only fueling rumors that she really wanted to stay on as President beyond June 30, 2010. Cayetano said that after years of “undeclared strong-arm rule, many still can’t believe that she will simply leave in 2010 without a Plan A and C in place.”
Cha-cha is Plan A
“Everyone knows that Cha-cha is Plan A, emergency rule is Plan B and support for a candidate or an opposition Trojan horse is Plan C,” Cayetano said. “They are playing with fire and making a costly mistake if they think they can ram Cha-cha down the throats of people already sick and tired of abuses and corruption in government,” Pangilinan said. He said administration officials were afraid they would lose their immunity after the 2010 elections and face “a string of nonbailable plunder cases and jail.” Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. said that the off-and-on move of Malacañang and its allies to revive Cha-cha was an exercise in futility “because the means with which they are pushing for it is unconstitutional.”
No time left
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said there was no time for Charter change. “It’s difficult to go through that. We don’t even know how it will be done. They are quarreling in the House if it will be treated like an ordinary bill or it will be separately done,” Enrile said in an interview.
Even if Charter change proponents get the required number, it will face rough-sailing, he said.
“If they will disregard the Senate, it will have to go to the Supreme Court. They have to remember that we’re a bicameral Congress. The House of Representative is not the Congress of the Philippines, neither is the Senate,” Enrile said. “And my guess as a lawyer … they will lose if they will do it alone. The Supreme Court cannot skirt the issue. Once you are appointed as a member of the Supreme Court, you are only beholden to your conscience, to God and to history,” Enrile stressed.
Plebiscite needs funding
The Senate president said that funding a plebiscite to ratify the new Constitution also needed the support of the Senate because it would entail appropriation. “If the plan is to bypass the Senate, then I will be the first to challenge it before the Supreme Court,” said Sen. Francis Escudero, who is the chair of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of laws. “If by any chance it passes the Supreme Court, then I am sure that the people will reject it,” Escudero added. Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III said that Ms Arroyo should come clean on the Con-ass by asking her son to withdraw his support from the draft resolution to parry charges of “collusion” between mother and son. “If they have the chutzpah to assume that they can violate the rules of the House, our laws and the Constitution so they can push for Con-ass, then they should at least have the guts to come out,” Akbayan party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel said.
Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, president of the United Opposition, said Ms Arroyo’s failure to make a categorical statement that she would step aside in 2010 meant she was endorsing Charter change. “Ms Arroyo is feeding their optimism by not publicly disavowing any plan to stay in power beyond 2010,” he said.
Arroyo’s men unfazed
But the President’s allies stood firm. “The House is mandated to act and decide on any Cha-cha proposal after it has been filed. The Palace has nothing to do with our action or decision on any Cha-cha proposal,” said House Deputy Speaker Simeon Datumanong. With reports from Leila B. Salaverria, TJ Burgonio and Allison W. Lopez
(Comment: Hay naku, taghirap na nga ang mga kababayan natin, patuloy pa rin ang CIRCUS at SARSWELA ng mga politiko! Ang kapal na talaga ng mga mukha ng mga ito. Everyone is trying to hold on to power and everyone is 'screwing' everyone just to stay on top. KASO, naiiwan ang taong bayan na naka-tanga sa kahirapan at kawalang direksiyon! Sa akin lang, wala pa sa 500 katao itong mga nasa puwesto na parang mga batang naghaharutan at nag-aaway-away to the expense of the hungry Filipinos! I say we kick the hell many of these corrupt officials and elect young, vibrant, and idealistic Filipinos whose loyalty is to the country first, then to their parties second).
“I preempted them by saying ‘no,’” De Venecia told reporters. “I turned down the request for me to help because they are not telling the Filipino people the truth,” he said, pointing to the obvious motive of Con-ass—“so that Gloria’s term can be extended.” De Venecia said as long as administration allies could muster the 197 votes in the House and get the Supreme Court to uphold their move, “there will be no stopping Cha-cha.” Mikey denied De Venecia’s allegation. “I never offered him the speakership,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net). “What will I offer him? He’s the one who volunteered to help.” “All these people crucifying this resolution must have first the decency to read the resolution. It hasn’t even been filed yet,” Mikey said, adding that the measure neither calls for scuttling next year’s balloting nor extending the term of sitting elective officials.
Malacañang also scoffed at claims that the administration was bent on amending the Constitution ahead of the 2010 elections to pave the way for a parliamentary form of government. Secretary Gabriel Claudio, presidential political adviser, said that Malacañang, which approved the P11.3-billion budget for poll automation on Monday, was all psyched up for the May 2010 elections.
Palace on election mode
Claudio said the Commission on Elections had gone “full blast” preparing for the first nationwide computerized elections, even as the administration coalition “is pursuing its selection process in earnest.” “The whole country, the administration included, is on election mode,” he said.
“I can feel that they still need 20 votes to obtain the required 197 votes,” De Venecia said, referring to the magic number which represents three-fourths of the combined Senate and House membership to effect any changes in the 1987 Constitution. Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte has said the House could push through Con-ass despite the Senate’s strong objection if it could get 197 signatures. Villafuerte disputes the contention that the Constitution provides a two-thirds vote of members of the House and the Senate, voting separately, was needed to call a Con-ass.
Hopeless proposition
De Venecia stressed that even the separate Cha-cha resolution filed by Speaker Prospero Nograles was only a “decoy,” pointing out that limiting amendments to purely economic provisions was a “hopeless” proposition. “The Nograles resolution is just a decoy and the Villafuerte resolution does not say anything, except to get the Supreme Court to rule favorably on a constituent assembly,” De Venecia said.
Afraid of plunder cases
“They will buy her (Ms Arroyo) immunity. They are afraid of the plunder cases to be filed against them. If the Cha-cha move has no go-signal from the President, will they get 177 votes?” De Venecia said. He was referring to reported Palace efforts to keep Ms Arroyo as transition president or prime minister if the move to abolish the presidential system to pave the way for parliamentary or federal system pushes through. As of February, 180 congressmen had signed the Con-ass resolution, other Congress sources said. Should the Con-ass bid succeed, De Venecia said Congress could then push for a transition period that would extend the terms of all elected officials by one or two years after 2010 to allow the Con-ass to revise the Constitution.
Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Francis Pangilinan called on Ms Arroyo to break her silence on Con-ass. They said her unclear position was only fueling rumors that she really wanted to stay on as President beyond June 30, 2010. Cayetano said that after years of “undeclared strong-arm rule, many still can’t believe that she will simply leave in 2010 without a Plan A and C in place.”
Cha-cha is Plan A
“Everyone knows that Cha-cha is Plan A, emergency rule is Plan B and support for a candidate or an opposition Trojan horse is Plan C,” Cayetano said. “They are playing with fire and making a costly mistake if they think they can ram Cha-cha down the throats of people already sick and tired of abuses and corruption in government,” Pangilinan said. He said administration officials were afraid they would lose their immunity after the 2010 elections and face “a string of nonbailable plunder cases and jail.” Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. said that the off-and-on move of Malacañang and its allies to revive Cha-cha was an exercise in futility “because the means with which they are pushing for it is unconstitutional.”
No time left
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said there was no time for Charter change. “It’s difficult to go through that. We don’t even know how it will be done. They are quarreling in the House if it will be treated like an ordinary bill or it will be separately done,” Enrile said in an interview.
Even if Charter change proponents get the required number, it will face rough-sailing, he said.
“If they will disregard the Senate, it will have to go to the Supreme Court. They have to remember that we’re a bicameral Congress. The House of Representative is not the Congress of the Philippines, neither is the Senate,” Enrile said. “And my guess as a lawyer … they will lose if they will do it alone. The Supreme Court cannot skirt the issue. Once you are appointed as a member of the Supreme Court, you are only beholden to your conscience, to God and to history,” Enrile stressed.
Plebiscite needs funding
The Senate president said that funding a plebiscite to ratify the new Constitution also needed the support of the Senate because it would entail appropriation. “If the plan is to bypass the Senate, then I will be the first to challenge it before the Supreme Court,” said Sen. Francis Escudero, who is the chair of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of laws. “If by any chance it passes the Supreme Court, then I am sure that the people will reject it,” Escudero added. Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III said that Ms Arroyo should come clean on the Con-ass by asking her son to withdraw his support from the draft resolution to parry charges of “collusion” between mother and son. “If they have the chutzpah to assume that they can violate the rules of the House, our laws and the Constitution so they can push for Con-ass, then they should at least have the guts to come out,” Akbayan party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel said.
Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, president of the United Opposition, said Ms Arroyo’s failure to make a categorical statement that she would step aside in 2010 meant she was endorsing Charter change. “Ms Arroyo is feeding their optimism by not publicly disavowing any plan to stay in power beyond 2010,” he said.
Arroyo’s men unfazed
But the President’s allies stood firm. “The House is mandated to act and decide on any Cha-cha proposal after it has been filed. The Palace has nothing to do with our action or decision on any Cha-cha proposal,” said House Deputy Speaker Simeon Datumanong. With reports from Leila B. Salaverria, TJ Burgonio and Allison W. Lopez
(Comment: Hay naku, taghirap na nga ang mga kababayan natin, patuloy pa rin ang CIRCUS at SARSWELA ng mga politiko! Ang kapal na talaga ng mga mukha ng mga ito. Everyone is trying to hold on to power and everyone is 'screwing' everyone just to stay on top. KASO, naiiwan ang taong bayan na naka-tanga sa kahirapan at kawalang direksiyon! Sa akin lang, wala pa sa 500 katao itong mga nasa puwesto na parang mga batang naghaharutan at nag-aaway-away to the expense of the hungry Filipinos! I say we kick the hell many of these corrupt officials and elect young, vibrant, and idealistic Filipinos whose loyalty is to the country first, then to their parties second).
2 Alabang kids snatched; P1.5M ransom paid
MANILA, Philippines—Two brothers, both high school students, were kidnapped on March 19 and were released five days later upon their parents’ payment of P1.5 million in ransom, according to police sources.
Teresita Ang-See of the Citizens’ Action Against Crime and Corruption (CAACC) Wednesday confirmed the kidnapping, saying it was only one of a series of abductions that suddenly became frequent in the first quarter of the year.
Ang-See said the boys—one studying at the Beacon School and the other at the British School of Manila, both located in Taguig City—were released on Tuesday afternoon. Police sources said the brothers were abducted by armed men while they were on their way to school between 6 and 7 a.m. on Thursday from their residence in Ayala Alabang Village in Muntinlupa City.
The kidnappers were said to have originally demanded ransom of $2 million in the belief that the parents, both currency traders, could afford it.
Pure Filipinos
Ang-See said the kidnappers eventually settled for P1.5 million, after the parents swore that the amount was all the money they could raise in cash at the moment. “The parents tried taking out a bank loan, but practically all their money had gone to the construction of a big house, and the kidnappers wanted cash quick,” Ang-See said. She said she was not able to talk to the family, but added that the brothers were pure Filipinos and not Chinese-Filipinos—the usual targets of kidnapping-for-ransom syndicates. The family did not report the kidnapping to the Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response (PACER), the Philippine National Police’s special anti-kidnapping unit, and personally handled the negotiation for the boys’ release, police sources said.
P24M in 3 months
According to information gathered by the CAACC, there were 17 kidnap victims in January, 20 in February and 12 in March, including the two brothers. All of the victims were released after payment of ransom, and the CAACC monitored more than P24 million paid to various crime syndicates in the last three months. “We are really very bothered that there’s a sudden escalation of kidnapping incidents in the first quarter of this year. In the last two years, there was none. It was quiet. Now the kidnappers are hungry,” Ang-See lamented. She said there was not a single kidnapping case in the last two years, particularly because of the Chinese-Filipino community’s vigilance and continuous cooperation and dialogue with PACER. But according to the PACER chief, Senior Supt. Leonardo Espina, only four kidnapping-for-ransom cases had been reported since January.
Twelve such cases were reported to PACER last year, Espina said. The figure excludes terror-related abduction cases in Mindanao, which the PNP accounts for separately, he said.
“I can say that the situation in the first quarter of 2009 is pretty much the same in 2008 in terms of the situation on kidnapping-for-ransom syndicates ... There are only a few groups now,” Espina said.
Of the four cases, one has been solved. PACER is building up cases against the suspects tagged in the three other incidents and has intensified “coordination with territorial police units where these cases happened,” he said.
Different style
Ang-See said the current modus operandi was to hold the victims for only five to seven days and release them for any amount offered by their families. “Now the kidnappers’ style is different—fast, no protracted negotiation, quick payment of ransom,” she said. The ransom demand is initially high but the actual amount paid ranges from P500,000 or P800,000 to P1 million, Ang-See said. She observed that among the kidnapping cases in Metro Manila and Luzon, the ransom paid for the brothers released on Tuesday was the highest. “Times are hard. The families of kidnap victims can no longer afford to meet big ransom demands,” she said.
Espina made a similar remark, saying the kidnapping trend had developed into smaller-time, quick-money abduction schemes pulled off by maids or even gang members holding children and demanding a release fee of as low as P2,000. “That’s what is increasing the figures. There are many cases not perpetrated by syndicates but by maids, relatives, friends and the like out to make money from their friends or relatives,” he said. Ang-See said that with the similar modus operandi in the cases monitored by the CAACC, the kidnappings could have been pulled off by just one group.
Admit the problem
She said she was not discounting the possibility that this group was being protected by corrupt police and military personnel, whether active or retired. Citing earlier arrests made by PACER, Ang-See said former police and military officers were behind kidnapping-for-ransom activities. She said that in one such case, an active member of the PNP Special Action Force was among those arrested.
But Ang-See expressed confidence in the capability of PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa and PACER to identify and arrest the groups behind the sudden escalation of kidnappings, especially in Metro Manila. She said stamping out kidnapping for ransom should start with the first step—“to admit that there is a problem.” With a report from Tarra Quismundo
(Comment: How can we invite investors and tourists to visit our country if our authorities can't even handle kidnappers and corrupt authorities? Sinabi ko na long before that corruption means hardships to our people (including authorities). No amount of pa-pogi points will eradicate these bad elements in our society when we have a weak government with no political will.) Hindi nila masupil and corruption kasi sila corrupt din.
Teresita Ang-See of the Citizens’ Action Against Crime and Corruption (CAACC) Wednesday confirmed the kidnapping, saying it was only one of a series of abductions that suddenly became frequent in the first quarter of the year.
Ang-See said the boys—one studying at the Beacon School and the other at the British School of Manila, both located in Taguig City—were released on Tuesday afternoon. Police sources said the brothers were abducted by armed men while they were on their way to school between 6 and 7 a.m. on Thursday from their residence in Ayala Alabang Village in Muntinlupa City.
The kidnappers were said to have originally demanded ransom of $2 million in the belief that the parents, both currency traders, could afford it.
Pure Filipinos
Ang-See said the kidnappers eventually settled for P1.5 million, after the parents swore that the amount was all the money they could raise in cash at the moment. “The parents tried taking out a bank loan, but practically all their money had gone to the construction of a big house, and the kidnappers wanted cash quick,” Ang-See said. She said she was not able to talk to the family, but added that the brothers were pure Filipinos and not Chinese-Filipinos—the usual targets of kidnapping-for-ransom syndicates. The family did not report the kidnapping to the Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response (PACER), the Philippine National Police’s special anti-kidnapping unit, and personally handled the negotiation for the boys’ release, police sources said.
P24M in 3 months
According to information gathered by the CAACC, there were 17 kidnap victims in January, 20 in February and 12 in March, including the two brothers. All of the victims were released after payment of ransom, and the CAACC monitored more than P24 million paid to various crime syndicates in the last three months. “We are really very bothered that there’s a sudden escalation of kidnapping incidents in the first quarter of this year. In the last two years, there was none. It was quiet. Now the kidnappers are hungry,” Ang-See lamented. She said there was not a single kidnapping case in the last two years, particularly because of the Chinese-Filipino community’s vigilance and continuous cooperation and dialogue with PACER. But according to the PACER chief, Senior Supt. Leonardo Espina, only four kidnapping-for-ransom cases had been reported since January.
Twelve such cases were reported to PACER last year, Espina said. The figure excludes terror-related abduction cases in Mindanao, which the PNP accounts for separately, he said.
“I can say that the situation in the first quarter of 2009 is pretty much the same in 2008 in terms of the situation on kidnapping-for-ransom syndicates ... There are only a few groups now,” Espina said.
Of the four cases, one has been solved. PACER is building up cases against the suspects tagged in the three other incidents and has intensified “coordination with territorial police units where these cases happened,” he said.
Different style
Ang-See said the current modus operandi was to hold the victims for only five to seven days and release them for any amount offered by their families. “Now the kidnappers’ style is different—fast, no protracted negotiation, quick payment of ransom,” she said. The ransom demand is initially high but the actual amount paid ranges from P500,000 or P800,000 to P1 million, Ang-See said. She observed that among the kidnapping cases in Metro Manila and Luzon, the ransom paid for the brothers released on Tuesday was the highest. “Times are hard. The families of kidnap victims can no longer afford to meet big ransom demands,” she said.
Espina made a similar remark, saying the kidnapping trend had developed into smaller-time, quick-money abduction schemes pulled off by maids or even gang members holding children and demanding a release fee of as low as P2,000. “That’s what is increasing the figures. There are many cases not perpetrated by syndicates but by maids, relatives, friends and the like out to make money from their friends or relatives,” he said. Ang-See said that with the similar modus operandi in the cases monitored by the CAACC, the kidnappings could have been pulled off by just one group.
Admit the problem
She said she was not discounting the possibility that this group was being protected by corrupt police and military personnel, whether active or retired. Citing earlier arrests made by PACER, Ang-See said former police and military officers were behind kidnapping-for-ransom activities. She said that in one such case, an active member of the PNP Special Action Force was among those arrested.
But Ang-See expressed confidence in the capability of PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa and PACER to identify and arrest the groups behind the sudden escalation of kidnappings, especially in Metro Manila. She said stamping out kidnapping for ransom should start with the first step—“to admit that there is a problem.” With a report from Tarra Quismundo
(Comment: How can we invite investors and tourists to visit our country if our authorities can't even handle kidnappers and corrupt authorities? Sinabi ko na long before that corruption means hardships to our people (including authorities). No amount of pa-pogi points will eradicate these bad elements in our society when we have a weak government with no political will.) Hindi nila masupil and corruption kasi sila corrupt din.
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