News Roundup 16 June 2024
Jun 16, 2024 • 4 min Read
Criminal raps vs Guo to be filed this week – PAOCC | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — With strong evidence to prove her direct connection with an illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in Tarlac’s Bamban town, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) is set to file criminal complaints against suspended mayor Alice Guo and other personalities.
The charges will be filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday and would detail Guo’s alleged involvement in Zun Yuan Technology Inc. – a POGO hub located at the Baofu compound behind the Bamban municipal hall, which was raided in March after reports of human trafficking and other illegal activities.
Asked what are the cases they intend to file, PAOCC spokesman Winston John Casio said: “The cases must be related to the search warrant. The search warrant was for human trafficking.”
Casio said at a news forum in Quezon City yesterday that the complaint, apart from Guo, would also include the POGO firm’s incorporators and several other people whom he did not identify.
Officials from the PAOCC and other government agencies will meet on Tuesday to decide on the cases to be filed against Guo and other individuals, which Casio said are serious and non-bailable offenses.
Full Story at: Criminal raps vs Guo to be filed this week – PAOCC | Philstar.com
Philippines eyes VFA-type defense pact with New Zealand | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is looking to forge a defense cooperation agreement with New Zealand similar to the country’s Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. met with New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Right Honorable Winston Raymond Peters early last week to discuss the agreement, among other matters.
The Department of National Defense (DND) said it is the first time that an official of such a level from New Zealand visited.
Peters was on a two-day official visit to Manila from June 10 to 11 as part of New Zealand’s efforts to maintain and boost engagements in Southeast Asia.
Teodoro expressed appreciation for New Zealand’s staunch support for the Philippines and the timeliness of the two countries’ enhanced defense cooperation, which is a good step towards the negotiations of a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement.
Peters, for his part, underscored the elevation of both nations’ defense relationship as a bulwark to address potential challenges in the West Philippine Sea and noted the efforts undertaken by the Philippines to make its diplomatic alliances more robust.
He also lauded the DND’s efforts to combat transnational organized crime and improve its intelligence efforts as the Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement, a framework which facilitates the provision of logistics support between the Philippines and New Zealand, was signed.
Full Story at: Philippines eyes VFA-type defense pact with New Zealand | Philstar.com
Disgruntled janitor admits torching school, mayor’s house in San Carlos | INQUIRER.NET – BACOLOD CITY – An angry janitor claimed responsibility for setting a school on fire, which spread to the houses of Mayor Renato Gustilo and his grandfather at Ylagan Street in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, Friday afternoon, the police said on Sunday, June 16.
Destroyed in the fire was Daisy’s ABC School, and the two houses in an adjacent compound owned by the mayor’s family.
The 58-year-old janitor said he was angry because he was informed that he would be laid off from the school effective June 15 so he decided to burn it, said PLt. Col. Nazer Canja, San Carlos police chief.
The janitor identified only as “alias Rec,” said he bought a gallon of gasoline which he placed beside a lighted candle in the school stockroom.
Canja said the janitor surrendered on Saturday, June 15.
Full Story at: Disgruntled janitor torches school, mayor’s house in San Carlos (inquirer.net)
LTO to charge dealers of cars, motorcycles for late issuance of OR/CR | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Consequences await agents and dealers of cars and motorcycles who fail to release license plates and Official Receipt/Certificate of Registration (OR/CR) on time, according to the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said they already started to process measures to combat erring motor vehicle agents and car and motorcycle dealerships that refuse to follow the agency’s guidelines on releasing the documents.
“We already have an initial list of the agents and their dealerships that were recommended for sanctions, including fines and suspension of accreditation,” Mendoza said in a statement on Sunday.
Mendoza said the agency’s move was also under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s order, instructing the Department of Transportation to address the issue.
“In a memorandum issued to the DOTr, Malacañang emphasized that all vehicle dealers must comply with the LTO’s prescribed processing timelines for the release of motor vehicles plates.
Included in the memorandum is the imposition of the necessary penalties, such as termination of dealership, on dealers who fail to comply,” the statement reads.
Full Story at: LTO to rap dealers of cars, motorcycles for late issuance of OR/CR (inquirer.net)
