PNP: Number of Comelec gun ban violations now over 700

 News
Feb 102013
 
PNP: Number of Comelec gun ban violations now over 700

The number of violations of the Commission on Elections’ gun ban breached the 700 mark as of Sunday afternoon, the Philippine National Police said. Law enforcers have also seized more than 600 firearms and 4,000 rounds of ammunition since the ban started Jan. 13, radio dzBB’s Divine Caraecle reported. As of Sunday, the report said at least 704 violators had been arrested for violating the ban, 626 of them civilians. Other arrested violators included three soldiers, 12 PNP personnel, one Bureau of Fire Protection personnel, 11 government employees, and 50 security guards. The gun ban will remain in effect until June 12. While the gun ban is in effect, only law enforcers in uniform and on duty are allowed to carry firearms outside their homes. In general, permits to carry firearms outside residences are suspended. — LBG, GMA News

US Navy pushes back USS Guardian salvage ops due to rough seas

 News
Feb 102013
 
US Navy pushes back USS Guardian salvage ops due to rough seas

Poor sea conditions forced the US Navy on Sunday to push back the operation to dismantle USS Guardian, a minesweeper ship, to pull it out from the Tubbataha Reef where it has been grounded since Jan. 17. The US Navy team would continue the salvage operation when the bigger crane ship Jackson 25 arrives, said Coast Guard Palawan District chief Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista. Earlier reports said the first crane ship Smit Borneo from Singapore encountered anchoring problems last Saturday, causing a delay in the start of the salvage operation. “Smit Borneo is there but could not anchor due to weather. Its anchoring should be precise. It tried (to anchor) but so far, out of the four anchors, only one had a good bite at seabed,” said Evangelista. After the Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board approved the salvage plan crafted by the US Navy, Coast Guard commandant Rear Adm. Rodolfo Isorena announced on Wednesday the dismantling of the USS Guardian may start Sunday or Monday. However, the operation hit a snag due to anchoring problem. Citing information from US Navy officials, Evangelista said Jascon 25 departed Singapore around 4 p.m. Saturday and is due to sail directly to Tubbataha Reef. He said the bigger crane ship is expected to arrive around 9 p.m. Friday. The USS Guardian ran aground on Tubbataha Reef last Jan. 17, after a port call at Subic Bay, a former base of the US Navy. Latest estimate showed that the grounding of the ship has damaged 4,000 Read More …

China ships in disputed waters as tension runs high

 News
Feb 102013
 

Agence France-Presse 2:25 pm | Sunday, February 10th, 2013 TOKYO – Four Chinese ships were spotted Sunday in disputed East China Sea waters, Japanese officials said, as Tokyo considered disclosing video footage and pictures as evidence of a Chinese frigate’s alleged radar-lock incident. For the first time after Tokyo made the allegation last week, China sent maritime surveillance vessels near Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea, known as Senkaku in Tokyo and Diaoyu by Beijing, which also claims them. They were seen sailing in the contiguous waters near one of the outcrops as of 0000 GMT, the Japan Coast Guard said. Tokyo accused a Chinese frigate of locking its weapons-tracking radar on a Japanese destroyer — the first time the two nations’ navies have locked horns in the territorial dispute that has provoked fears of armed conflict breaking out between the two. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday demanded Beijing apologize and admit to the incident, which occurred late January, after Chinese authorities flatly denied Tokyo’s accusation. Japan’s Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said on Fuji TV on Sunday that Tokyo was carefully studying whether or how to disclose military data as evidence. However he also said he did not think China would “admit to it even if Japan discloses a variety of evidence, because it is trying to protect its national interest”. Onodera on Saturday told the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper that Tokyo had “evidence to show the fire-control radar chased after the ship (of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces) for Read More …

Palace: 2 offices reviewing NBI findings on Atimonan incident

 News
Feb 102013
 
Palace: 2 offices reviewing NBI findings on Atimonan incident

At least two offices in Malacañang are now reviewing the findings of the National Bureau of Investigation on the shooting incident that killed 13 people in Atimonan, Quezon last Jan. 6. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said President Benigno Aquino III wants the review to be more thorough than speedy. “Gusto ng pangulo, thorough at exhaustive ang pagtingin kesa i-sacrifice natin ang quality for speed,” she said on government-run dzRB radio. The findings are now in the offices of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. and chief presidential legal counsel Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, she said. In the meantime, she appealed to the public for patience while the two offices conduct their study. “I’m sure our officials are getting on with that study,” she said. Aquino earlier tasked the NBI to probe the incident, which police initially said was a shootout between them and members of a criminal gang engaged in gun-for-hire activities. But an investigation was triggered after it was found that some of the fatalities had included an environmentalist. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima had also said earlier that the evidence gathered so far indicated what happened was not a shootout. — LBG, GMA News

DOJ counsel heading to Malaysia for Amalilio extradition

 News
Feb 092013
 
DOJ counsel heading to Malaysia for Amalilio extradition

(Updated 5:14 p.m.) Philippine government lawyers are heading to Malaysia to start formal efforts for the extradition of Manuel Amalilio, the alleged brains behind a P12-billion investment scam, Malacañang said Sunday. “Kahit wala tayong extradition treaty with Malaysia, Malaysian law allows extradition under certain [circumstances],” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. In a separate interview on Sunday, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima denied reports that Malaysia had turned down the Philippines’ request for Amalilio’s extradition. “It was in fact among the outcomes of the February 6 talks with our counterpart, the Attorney General, that the Philippines can commence the extradition process immediately,” she said. Amalilio’s extradition does not answer the question of his citizenship, de Lima added. “We made a formal request for such freezing of Amalilio’s assets, such as company shares, stocks, land assets, etc., under the ASEAN Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty… and in such a process, we understand that Amalilio’s citizenship is not an issue, and both sides can cooperate,” she said. Amalilio was arrested in Malaysia last January for possession of a fake passport. He pleaded guilty to violating Malaysian passport laws and was sentenced to two years’ jail there. Last weekend, Malaysian authorities said they have ordered Amalilio’s assets frozen. On the other hand, two members of Malaysia’s Parliament visited the Philippines last weekend to gather facts about Amalilio. They also hinted the loot from his scam may be used to finance the campaigns of some politicians running in Malaysia’s coming elections. Read More …

Malaysia says it’s keeping Amalilio

 News
Feb 092013
 
Malaysia says it’s keeping Amalilio

By Jerome Aning Philippine Daily Inquirer 3:03 am | Sunday, February 10th, 2013 MANUEL AMALILIO. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Malaysia has no plans to extradite Manuel Karingal Amalilio (aka Mohammad Kamal Sa’ad), who is wanted by Philippine authorities for allegedly swindling 15,000 Filipinos of P12 billion in a fraudulent investment scheme, but who has been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment by a Sabah court for possession of a fake Philippine passport. In a statement reported in Malaysia’s Star newspaper on Saturday, Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail said Malaysia would not extradite “Mohammad Kamal” since he is a Malaysian citizen holding a valid and active identification card. However, relevant authorities have been directed to check and freeze all financial records and assets belonging to Amalilio and his associates, the Star quoted Gani as saying. In the same statement, Gani said the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur had requested  Amalilio’s extradition. He said Philippine Justice Undersecretary Jose Vincent B. Salazar had also requested that the Malaysian government freeze Amalilio’s assets, savings and investments and those owned by people related to him. He also said that the Attorney General’s Chambers had received a formal request from the Philippines’ Department of Justice to hand over Amalilio to the Philippines under the Asean Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act of 2004. Separate court Gani said the request was being handled by the international affairs division of the Attorney General’s Chambers, a separate court for the states of Sabah and Sarawak which deals with civil law matters Read More …

Heroic ‘yaya’ hugging boy, escape from their kidnappers

 News
Feb 092013
 
Heroic ‘yaya’ hugging boy, escape from their kidnappers

Philippine Daily Inquirer 1:01 am | Sunday, February 10th, 2013 OZAMIZ CITY—The family of the 1-year-old Filipino-Canadian boy kidnapped in Pagadian City on Thursday morning credited his 17-year-old nanny for his safe return on Friday. The boy was snatched along with his nanny at around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday after armed men barged into the family’s house on Sto. Rosario Road in Dau village. Karen Maata, mother of the kidnapped boy, said nanny Carolyn Remetre seized an opportunity to flee when the kidnappers briefly left them unguarded in a safe house here on Friday afternoon. Maata, who came over to fetch her son, Timothy Sokolov, and the nanny after the escape, recounted to reporters the girl’s story—how, in her determination to escape from captivity, she hugged Timothy tight, double-checked that nobody was watching them and dashed to freedom. “She was crying and distraught and decided to go inside Gaisano Mall,” Maata said, noting that the girl did not know who to run to for help. She said Remetre decided to sit in a corner inside Gaisano Mall while trying to compose herself and thinking of a place to go when local policeman PO1 Alex Bentero saw her crying. Maata said that initially, the nanny refused to open up to Bentero because he was a stranger despite his being in uniform. But she finally talked when he persisted in questioning her, she said. Bentero then took Remetre and Timothy to the city police station, where Maata said she and the Zamboanga Read More …

Police nab members of syndicate involved in telephone racket

 News
Feb 082013
 
Police nab members of syndicate involved in telephone racket

By Jaymee T. Gamil Philippine Daily Inquirer 6:21 pm | Friday, February 8th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Careful with cheaper international calls to the Philippines. It may be the work of a “transnational” criminal syndicate. The National Capital Region Police Office reported on Friday the arrest of two members of a syndicate that uses computers and other devices to convert inbound international calls to local calls, shortchanging telecommunications companies, and the Philippine government, of millions of pesos in revenue. In a press conference at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig, NCRPO spokesperson Chief Insp. Kimberly Molitas Gonzales revealed that on Thursday, the regional intelligence operations unit arrested Korean female Yooun Nayong, 37, in a condominium unit on  Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City, and Filipino caretaker Carlo Dadulla, 21, in another unit in Bagong Barrio, Caloocan City, on the complaint of Globe Telecom. The two stand accused of violating the Access Device Regulation Act of 1998, after they were caught in possession of GSM modems with SIM ports, hundreds of Globe and Touch Mobile SIM cards, Internet modems and gateways, cellphones, laptops, antenna consolidators, computer cables and other peripherals, believed used to bypass Globe’s system and to convert calls from abroad into local calls. Globe-NCR representative Gerald Bechayda explained that with the networked devices, the syndicate allows calls to bypass the Globe International Gateway Facility. The syndicate converts the international caller’s number into a local cellphone number, so the call will be charged local instead of international rates. Gonzales said the two suspects cater mostly Read More …

Comelec to release ad urging public to report campaign violations

 News
Feb 082013
 
Comelec to release ad urging public to report campaign violations

The Commission on Elections is set to release an advertisement urging the people to report campaign violations or file complaint against candidates. “Meron ako[ng] [i]lalabas na ads. Ang sasabihin ko, isumbong mo sa Comelec. Hindi kanino man, isumbong mo sa Comelec,” poll chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said Friday. “Mag-uumpisa na ang campaign sa February 12, meron ng mga violation sa campaign. Kung meron kayong makita, isumbong nyo sa Comelec at kami ang bahala sa kanila,” he added. Further, Brillantes said the public can report violations by calling the Comelec and the poll body will check if the complaint has basis. “Kung gusto mong magpresent ng evidence, sa hearing na. Magsumbong ka lang, pwede mong itawag, kami na ang bahala. Ite-check namin kung may basis, aaksyunan namin. Ibig sabihin, pag may sumbong, titingnan namin, ipapa-check natin sa election officer,” he said. In a separate interview, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the public can tweet the picture of the supposed violation to the poll body. He said the complainant needs to give his name, contact number, location and other details of the violation. He said these information are needed so they will be able to get in touch with the person but it will be kept confidential unless the complainant himself files the case. “The whole idea here is to get the public to report these violations. Basically, this is social media versus guns, goons and gold. That’s the philosophy we are working on,” said Jimenez. — Amita Legaspi/RSJ, GMA News

New LPA tracked off GenSan as Amihan returns

 News
Feb 082013
 
New LPA tracked off GenSan as Amihan returns

Satellite image at 7 a.m., 8 Feb 2013. Satellite image at 7 a.m., 8 Feb 2013 Weather Central State weather forecasters on Friday afternoon started tracking a potential cyclone —a low-pressure area— off Mindanao, even as the northeast monsoon is starting to make itself felt again. PAGASA, in its 5 p.m. bulletin, said the LPA was estimated at 500 km east of General Santos City, even as the northeast monsoon is affecting Extreme Northen Luzon. However, PAGASA did not immediately say if the LPA has a strong chance of intensifying into a cyclone. If it becomes a cyclone, it will be codenamed Crising. Earlier, PAGASA had said there may be “zero to one” cyclone that may enter the Philippine area of responsibility in February. Rain over parts of PHL For the next 24 hours, PAGASA said Batanes and Calayan islands will experience cloudy skies with light rain. “Mindanao will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms,” it added. The rest of the country will be partly cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms particularly over Bicol and Eastern Visayas. Also, PAGASA said moderate to strong winds blowing from the northeast will prevail over Luzon, Eastern Visayas and Eastern Mindanao and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the northeast with slight to moderate seas. — TJD, GMA News

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