News Roundup 27 December 2023
Dec 27, 2023 • 5 min Read
SC upholds conviction of Manila cops for robbery | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed the conviction of two police officers from Manila who were found guilty of robbery by extortion.
Former Police Officer 2 Ireneo Sosas Jr. and Senior Police Officer 3 Ariel Salvador will then face up to eight years of imprisonment.
“Law enforcement officers who abuse their authority to intimidate persons under their custody for money are guilty of robbery by extortion,” the SC said.
The high court denied the petitions Sosas and Salvador challenging the decision and the resolutions of the lower courts convicting them of robbery.
The information for robbery against Sosas and Salvador was first filed by the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices following a complaint from Janith Arbuez.
Arbuez, a salesperson at a cellphone shop in Isetann Mall, Manila, alleged that respondent cop Sosas escorted her from the store to the mall’s administrative office to report her sale of stolen items.
According to the complaint filed before the Ombudsman, Sosas then brought Arbuez to the police station where she was led to a room with fellow cop, Salvador. Sosas subsequently suggested that Arbuez would not face any criminal charges for violating the Anti-Fencing Law if she provided the officers cash amounting to P20,000.
The complainant Arbuez said she negotiated for a lower amount. However, Sosas said he would only agree if they will engage in a romantic relationship.
Arbuez later declined and contacted her sister-in-law to deliver the money requested by the cop to the police station.
Arbuez was released the following day after Sosas received the funds from her sister-in-law. She was in police custody for almost 18 hours.
Full Story at: SC upholds conviction of Manila cops for robbery | Philstar.com
Billions in funding cuts restored: SUCs to get higher budget in 2024 | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — State universities and colleges (SUCs) were granted a P21 billion increase in their overall budgets for 2024, according to publicly available budget documents, handing out a win to the widespread pushback against the government’s earlier plan to cut billions from state-run schools’ funding.
SUCs will get around a total of P128 billion next year, according to the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA), higher than the P107 billion it received in 2023 and the P100 billion originally allocated for SUCs in the proposed spending plan for 2024.
This comes after a wave of protests led by educators and their students, as well as a signature campaign involving at least 36 SUC presidents, that sought to restore P6 billion in budget cuts believed to mostly impact public universities’ capacity to improve facilities and equipment.
According to 2024 budget documents uploaded on the website of the Department of Budget and Management, Congress bumped SUCs’ budgets up by about P27 billion — 27% higher than their original allocation in the 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP).
Full Story at: Billions in funding cuts restored: SUCs to get higher budget in 2024 | Philstar.com
PNR reopens Naga-Legazpi rail line after six years | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The train operations from Naga City in Camarines Sur to Legazpi City in Albay reopened to the public on Wednesday after a six-year suspension, the Philippine National Railways (PNR) said.
According to PNR, its trains once again resumed services on the routes after a temporary suspension in April 2017 due to a lack of enough train coaches and locomotives.
“Ngayong umaga, December 27, matapos ang higit na anim na taon, muling tinahak ng mga PNR trains ang 101-kilometrong rutang Naga-Legazpi-Naga sa Bicol Region,” PNR said in a press release.
(This morning, December 27, after more than six years, PNR trains once again traveled the 101-kilometer Naga-Legazpi-Naga route in the Bicol Region.)
“Sa pag-arangkada ng mga PNR trains sa nasabing ruta, naisakatuparan ang hiling ng mga Bicolano na unti-unting magbalik ang serbisyo nito sa kanilang mga bayan at rehiyon,” it added.
(With the launch of PNR trains on the said route, the request of the Bicolanos to gradually return its service to their towns and regions has been fulfilled.)
Full Story at: PNR reopens Naga-Legazpi rail line after six years (inquirer.net)
Army prepares for NPA reprisal after attack | INQUIRER.NET – CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Government forces are preparing for possible retaliatory attacks by communist rebels after a Christmas Day operation that scuttled a planned gathering in time for the 55th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Tuesday in the hinterlands of Malaybalay City in Bukidnon province.
“We are prepared for any retaliation by the NPA (New People’s Army). I have instructed all units to be vigilant; we will not lower our guards,” Maj. Gen. Jose Maria Cuerpo II, commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday.
According to Cuerpo, the planned gathering in the mountains of Barangay Can-ayan, some 20 kilometers from the city center and accessible only through unpaved roads, is a major event for local communists as they have not held such public rites since the pandemic broke out in early 2020.
“Had it pushed through, it would have been the first [after four years],” Cuerpo added.
Monday’s attack began with aerial bombings and artillery strikes at dawn, followed by the onslaught of ground troops who chased off the rebels, estimated to be around 40, into the villages of Kibalabag, Mapulo and Kulaman.
The number of suspected NPA rebels killed in the military operation rose to 10 while eight weapons were recovered from the area.
Full Story at: Army prepares for NPA reprisal after attack | Inquirer News
