News Roundup 22 July 2022
Jul 22, 2022 • 5 min Read
Court upholds graft conviction of ex-PNP chief, five other officials | INQUIRER.NET – The Sandiganbayan has upheld the 2021 graft conviction of former Philippine National Police chief Jesus Verzosa and five other retired police officials in connection with the purchase of rubber boats and outboard motors for the PNP in 2009. The antigraft court’s Third Division denied the motions for reconsideration filed by Verzosa and the other officers involved in the P131.5-million transaction, namely retired police Lieutenant Generals Benjamin Belarmino Jr. and Jefferson Soriano; retired Major Generals Luizo Ticman and Romeo Hilomen; and retired Brig. Gen. Villamor Bumanglag. In their motions filed last year, the former PNP officials sought the reversal of the court’s June 25, 2021, decision that sentenced them each to six to eight years of imprisonment and barred them from public office. In a 23-page resolution issued on July 19, the court found no merit in Verzosa argument that invoked the Arias doctrine, which basically holds that superiors like him have to trust and rely on the “good faith’’ of subordinates involved in the bidding and negotiations, and that he as PNP chief “was not involved in the nitty-gritty of the procurement process.” “As indicated in the assailed decision, accused-movant Verzosa should have noticed financial weakness of the suppliers and functional incompatibility of the PRBs (police rubber boats) and OBMs (outboard motors),” read the resolution penned by Associate Justice Bernelito Fernandez with concurrence of Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Ronald Moreno. “Instead, he (Verzosa) remained silent, thus, his actions clearly showed manifest partiality,” the court added. In the 2021 decision, Verzosa and the other officials—all former members of the national headquarter’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC)—were found guilty of graft for proceeding with the procurement of the boats and the motors, which were later found to be incompatible. They were found to have conspired with one another to give “unwarranted benefit, advantage and preference’’ to three suppliers—EnviroAire Inc., Geneve SA Corp. and Bay Industrial.
PNP record: 1 conviction per 5 drug cases filed | INQUIRER.NET – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have ordered a review of the qualifications of police investigators in the country, citing the dismal conviction rate of crime suspects arrested. In a press conference on Thursday at the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla cited the need for capable police investigators as one of the requisites for criminal cases lodged in court to lead into conviction, and improve the criminal justice system in the country. According to Remulla, the current conviction rate for criminal cases filed in courts stood at “less than 25 percent.” “This means that we are not really getting a passing grade. This is not a standard that we can live with for the next few years, so we have to change it drastically,” the justice secretary said. “When the conviction rate is very low, the certainty of punishment goes down. Then the criminals have a heyday, [because they have an] easy time with the law,” Remulla added.
QC gov’t to ‘review counter-points’ in denial of permit to rally vs Marcos SONA | PHILSTAR.COM – The Quezon City local government said Friday it would review its decision to deny the rally permit requested by progressive group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, which earlier questioned the reasoning behind the denial. In a statement sent to reporters Friday morning, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said that she was recently made aware of requests to reconsider the city hall’s initial denial of the progressive groups’ request to stage a rally on the day of Marcos’ SONA. This comes after the Quezon City Police District and the Philippine National Police declared Commonwealth Avenue a “no rally zone” in the days leading up to the SONA — despite rally permits being decided on by the local government units and not the police force, according to no less than the Department of the Interior and Local Government. “I have instructed the Quezon City Department of Public Order and Safety to carefully review the counter-points that were presented, and to determine if there are any possible accommodations or middle ground that they can agree upon. The same will also be applied to all rally permits that are currently with the DPOS,” she said. Belmonte added that she was currently out of the country representing Quezon City for the International Visitor Leadership Program’s Summit for Democracy Initiative. In most cases, the vice mayor serves as officer-in-charge on matters decided upon by the local chief executive, including granting rally permits in the locality. Philstar.com sought comment from Quezon City Vice Mayor Gian Sotto and Quezon City chief of staff Weng Macatao, who signed the denial letter, the day before the latter was issued but received no response. “Rest assured, all these shall be discussed during our final SONA coordination meeting, which will happen today,” Belmonte also said. To recall, Belmonte’s city hall initially denied the request for permit, claiming that Batasan Road is not a freedom park and that a rally in the Commonwealth Area would cause heavy traffic. Bayan questioned the reasoning behind pointing to traffic as the basis for the denial of a permit, saying it should “at least have been granted a hearing” before the denial was issued.
