News Roundup 28 October 2023
Oct 28, 2023 • 5 min Read
2 Pogos raided in Pasay City; trafficking victims rescued | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Trafficking victims were rescued after two Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) were raided in Pasay City on Friday night.
According to information shared by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), Freego Computer Gaming OPC and Xushen Technology Corp., whose licenses were revoked by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, are now operating under a new name.
Through a search warrant for violation of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act amended by the Expanded Anti-Trafficking Persons Act, law enforcement officers raided the compound where the Pogos were operating.
A report from PAOCC said that upon announcing the raid, two Chinese workers informed officers that they were being kept against their will. Torture marks were also seen on their bodies, with torture devices recovered on one of the floors in the Pogos’ building.
One said that he was kidnapped and sold by another Pogo for P500,000 five months ago, while the other said that he has been held for more than a year and is required to work twelve to fifteen hours a day.
During the search, 731 Filipino and foreign workers were discovered, the report shows. Seven Filipinas were discovered in an “aquarium-style” viewing chamber of the building.
Full Story at: 2 Pogos raided in Pasay City; trafficking victims rescued | Inquirer News
SC sets guidelines for establishing administrative warrants’ validity | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — To prevent administrative agencies or officers from legally performing oppressive acts, the Supreme Court (SC) established a set of conditions for administrative warrants to be considered valid and justified.
According to the SC on Friday, it recognizes the need to fix a set of guidelines regarding administrative warrants, which are writs directing or authorizing an administrative body to search for violations of administrative rules and regulations.
The following are the conditions laid by the court, which must be present and strictly complied with in validating and justifying administrative warrants:
- The danger, harm, or evil sought to be prevented by the warrant must be imminent and must be greater than the damage or injury which will be sustained by the one who shall be temporarily deprived of a right to liberty or property;
- The warrant’s resultant deprivation of a right or legitimate claim of entitlement must be temporary or provisional, aimed only at suppressing imminent danger, harm, or evil, with such deprivation’s permanency strictly subjected to procedural due process requirements;
- The issuing administrative authority must be empowered by law to perform specific implementing acts pursuant to regulatory purposes;
- The issuing administrative authority must be necessarily authorized by law to pass upon and make final pronouncements on conflicting rights and obligations of contending parties, as well as to issue warrants or orders that are incidental to the performance of the executive or administrative duty entrusted to it;
- The issuance of an administrative warrant must be based on tangible proof or probable cause and must state a specific purpose or infraction allegedly committed, with particular descriptions of the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized;
- The warrant issued must not pertain to a criminal offense or pursued as a precursor for the filing of criminal charges and any object seized pursuant to such writ shall not be admissible in evidence in any criminal proceeding;
- The person temporarily deprived of a right or entitlement by an administrative warrant shall be formally charged within a reasonable time, if no such period is provided, and shall not be denied access to a competent counsel of his or her choice. In cases where a person is deprived of liberty by virtue of an administrative warrant, the administrative body that issued said warrant shall immediately submit a verified notice to the RTC nearest to the detained for purposes of issuing a judicial commitment order; and
- A violation of any item of these guidelines is a prima facie proof of usurpation of judicial functions, malfeasance, misfeasance, nonfeasance, or graft and corrupt practices on the part of responsible officers.
Full Story at: SC sets guidelines for establishing administrative warrants’ validity | Inquirer News
Voters dismiss fiesta-like campaigning barangay polls as ineffective, annoying | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — It’s October. People clad in vibrant colors of green, yellow and orange while wearing festival masks fill the streets, dancing to the merry tunes of a marching band.
Behind them are throngs of people in political party colors holding liturgical banner-like posters of not saints but ordinary citizens. Dancing. Cheering. Partying.
Around them, streamers and banners beaming with portraits outline buildings, houses, and at times, electric posts and lines.
Tricycles and motorcycles equipped with speakers boom and blare parodies of hit Original Pilipino Music songs and original campaign jingles.
No, it’s not the Masskara nor Ati-Atihan festivities — it is the campaign season for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections or BSKE.
This festive mood of these campaigns, a first for BSKE since the COVID-19 pandemic and after three postponements dating back to 2018, is not sitting well with some voters.
Voters lamented that the “new” fiesta style of campaigning by candidates, which involves marching bands and parades, is just “pure noise” and “hassle.”
Full Story at: Voters dismiss fiesta-like campaigning barangay polls as ineffective, annoying | Philstar.com
60 more OFWs set to return to the Philippines from Israel | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) announced on Saturday the return of 60 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) along with two infants from Israel.
This marks the fourth batch of Filipinos coming home to the Philippines due to the ongoing conflict.
During the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, DMW officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac said the repatriation is the result of cooperation among DMW, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Philippine Embassy in Tel-Aviv.
Full Story at: 60 more OFWs set to return to the Philippines from Israel | Philstar.com
