News Roundup 08 April 2023
Apr 08, 2023 • 4 min Read
Cadaver of missing Aeta chieftain found after fishing vessel sunk by hotel speed boat | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Three days since he failed to return from a fishing trip, the body of the missing Aeta chieftain whose fishing boat collided with a hotel speed boat in Boracay has been found, according to the Department of Interior and Local Government.
DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos said they retrieved the body of 64-year-old Ernesto Coching, chieftain of the Malaynon ATI Tribe Association, off the waters of Malay, Aklan near Sitio Airport, Barangay Caticlan Saturday afternoon.
Coching’s motorized boat was hit by a hotel speed boat late Wednesday night, which sunk him and his companion, Ricky Valencia, according to a report by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime Group. Valencia was immediately hospitalized following the incident.
More than 35 volunteer divers, including foreign divers, joined the Saturday retrieval operation on short notice, Abalos said in an earlier statement. They dived 15 to 25 meters under water covering 250,000 square meters to search for Coching’s body.
Members of the PNP, Philippine Coast Guard and local authorities from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council also joined the search and rescue operation, Abalos said.
Full Story at: Cadaver of missing Aeta chieftain found after fishing vessel sunk by hotel speed boat | Philstar.com
Filipino trafficking victim scammed by online company paid ransom for release – BI | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino woman who was trafficked to Myanmar to work for an online company without compensation had to pay her employers before she was allowed to return to the Philippines, the Bureau of Immigration said.
According to the bureau’s statement on Saturday, the trafficking victim had to find three other Filipinos to replace her before she could leave and eventually seek from the Philippine Embassy.
The trafficking victim was tricked into agreeing to a job offer after recruiters contracted her through Facebook. She was offered a $1,000 salary as a customer service representative in Thailand, the bureau’s statement read.
The victim was then instructed to pose as a tourist during immigration inspections and was then transported to Myanmar in a private car. She was then made to work as a marketing scammer targeting Indian nationals to invest in a platform known as “Pacific Mall.”
Immigration officials said the Filipina worked for almost 16 hours a day without a day off and without compensation. The ordeal ended when she was eventually able to contact a friend in the Philippines, who provided fake flight itineraries that made it look like four people were coming to Thailand to replace her.
Full Story at: Filipino trafficking victim scammed by online company paid ransom for release – BI | Philstar.com
NCRPO dismisses QC restaurant robberies as ‘fake news’ | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) on Saturday asked the public to beware of fake news circulating on social media recently on supposed robberies in three different restaurants in Quezon City – a Japanese restaurant, a well-known coffee shop, and a Chinese restaurant.
“Please be informed that the NCRPO takes all reports seriously and after monitoring the said message circulating on several communication platforms, we immediately investigated and validated the said information. As a result of our investigation, we categorically state that these alleged incidents are false and or misleading,” said the NCRPO in a statement.
The NCRPO said the false post claimed that armed men robbed restaurant guests and employees.
“The alleged incident that transpired at a certain Japanese restaurant happened more or less four years ago, and since then, the establishment has already put [into place] improved security protocols to protect their business, with no untoward incident reported to date. While the alleged incidents involving the known coffee shop and the Chinese restaurant are both found to be baseless and untrue,” said the NCRPO.
According to the NCRPO, false news like these has potential damage. It urged the public to be more vigilant of misinformation.
Full Story at: NCRPO dismisses QC restaurant robberies as ‘fake news’ | Inquirer News
Outrage, cry for justice ring as Davao de Oro college exec gunned down in Tagum City | INQUIRER.NET – TAGUM CITY — An official of a local government-run college in Davao de Oro province was shot dead by a lone gunman in this city on Black Saturday.
Colleagues and students of Mark Aldhrin Daquio were shocked and saddened following his murder in Barangay Magugpo South past 9 a.m.
Daquio was the guidance counselor of Kolehiyo Ng Pantukan (KNP), a tertiary institution run by the municipality of Pantukan in Davao de Oro province.
Lt. Col. Edgardo Bernardo, acting Tagum City police chief, told Inquirer by phone the incident happened as the victim was meeting with a lesbian woman who was selling a motorcycle unit to him outside an eatery along Mabini Street at around 9:30 a.m.
The police official said the victim was browsing the papers of the motor vehicle he was planning to buy when a man walked up to him, pulled a handgun and shot him twice on the head before speeding off on a motorcycle.
Daquio died at the scene.
Full Story at: Outrage, cry for justice ring as Davao de Oro college exec gunned down in Tagum City | Inquirer News
