PH, Taiwan probers finish fact-finding on death of Taiwanese fisherman

 News
May 302013
 
PH, Taiwan probers finish fact-finding on death of Taiwanese fisherman

By Nancy C. CarvajalPhilippine Daily Inquirer 12:56 am | Friday, May 31st, 2013 Taiwanese investigators rides a rubber boat as they inspect a ship involved in the alleged shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman while they continue their probe in Manila on Tuesday, May 28, 2013. They have completed their investigation into the death of the fisherman off Balintang Island in northern Philippines, with the evidence collected by the National Bureau of Investigation, Yang Wan-Li, head of the delegation, said on Thursday night. AP PHOTO/AARON FAVILA MANILA, Philippines—Taiwanese investigators have completed their investigation into the death of a Taiwanese fisherman off Balintang Island in northern Philippines, with the evidence collected by the National Bureau of Investigation, Yang Wan-Li, head of the delegation, said on Thursday night. In a late night joint press conference with the NBI, the Taiwanese team also expressed satisfaction with the assistance given to them during the entire investigation. The Taiwanese team is returning to Taiwan on Friday and an NBI team that has also done its cooperative investigation in Taiwan is expected to arrive in Manila in the afternoon. NBI director Nonnatus Rojas said they made all evidence they gathered available to the Taiwanese investigators. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: death of a Taiwanese fisherman , Read More …

Daughter of dead Taiwanese fisherman files murder case

 News
May 292013
 
Daughter of dead Taiwanese fisherman files murder case

By Nancy C. CarvajalPhilippine Daily Inquirer 3:25 am | Thursday, May 30th, 2013 Taiwanese investigators rides a rubber boat as they inspect a ship involved in the alleged shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman while they continue their probe in Manila on Tuesday, May 28, 2013. The daughter of the Taiwanese fisherman allegedly killed by Filipino coast guards filed murder charges during joint proceedings held by Taiwanese and Philippine prosecutors in Pingtung County on Tuesday. AP PHOTO/AARON FAVILA TAIPEI—The daughter of the Taiwanese fisherman allegedly killed by Filipino coast guards filed murder charges during joint proceedings held by Taiwanese and Philippine prosecutors in Pingtung County on Tuesday. “Hung Tzu-chen, who acts as the spokesperson of the family, filed a murder case in the (National Bureau of Investigation) in accordance with Philippine laws (requiring that) a complaint must be filed before an official investigation is conducted,” said Chih Ming-hsieh, one of two head prosecutors of Pingtung County who is assisting the NBI in its own probe into the May 9 shooting death of 65-year-old fisherman Hung Shih-chen. Chih said no particular person was named in the complaint. “In Taiwan, if you file a complaint, it’s not necessary to identify somebody who did the crime. You just have to indicate that somebody was responsible for the crime,” Chih said. Chih did not disclose the details of Hung Tzu-chen’s complaint. Hung was present during the proceedings. She was accompanied by her lawyer. Crew questioned The NBI team headed by the bureau’s foreign liaison chief, Read More …

Taiwanese probers quiz Coast Guard, BFAR men on Balintang Channel incident

 News
May 292013
 
Taiwanese probers quiz Coast Guard, BFAR men on Balintang Channel incident

NBI, Taiwanese probers inspect DA-BFAR vessel. At the Manila Port Area on Tuesday, NBI and Taiwanese investigators inspect the DA-BFAR Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS-3001) vessel that was used by PHL Coast Guard personnel in a shooting incident that killed a Taiwanese fisherman in Balintang Channel on May 9. The investigators checked every inch of the boat for new evidence. Danny Pata Visiting Taiwanese investigators on Wednesday quizzed 18 personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) as part of the parallel probe on the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman off Balintang Channel in northern Philippines early this month. Taiwanese prosecutor Lin Yeng Liang, however, kept mum on the details of their interview with the Filipino personnel embroiled in the incident. “It’s confidential,” Lin said when asked what questions they posed to the Filipinos. “With the assistance of the National Bureau of Investigation today we started to investigate and collect evidence both from the BFAR and PCG,” he added. The Taiwanese prosecutor, however, stressed that three days since arriving in Manila for their own probe, the Taiwan team has yet to reach a conclusion. “We will continue doing the investigation… We will complete the investigation within two days,” he told a group of reporters, composed of both Filipino and Taiwanese journalists. For his part, NBI Deputy Director Virgilio Mendez, head of the NBI team separately probing the incident, observed that the Taiwanese probers were “doing their best” to finish their investigation Read More …

PCG ‘open’ to inspection of PH vessel by Taiwanese probe team

 News
May 272013
 

By Jerry E. Esplanada Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:04 pm | Monday, May 27th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines -The Philippine Coast Guard is “open” to allowing visiting Taiwanese investigators to inspect the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel involved in the May 9 incident in the Balintang Channel where a Taiwanese fisherman was reportedly shot dead by PCG personnel, the PCG commandant said Monday. Rear Admiral Rodolfo Isorena, however, said they would only do so with the permission of the National Bureau of Investigation, which is looking into the case. He told reporters that the 17 PCG crew of the BFAR monitoring control and surveillance ship (MCS 3001) “will be made available anytime” to the Taiwanese investigation team. “The PCG [crewmen] are under custodial investigation [by the command’s Internal Affairs Office]. Anytime they’re called, andyan lang sila (they are just around),” he said. The two other crew members of the MCS 3001 are personnel of BFAR, an agency attached to the Department of Agriculture. Commander Armand Balilo, the Coast Guard spokesperson, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer their Internal Affairs Office was “almost done” with its own investigation of the incident. “It is investigating what really transpired during the incident. However, Internal Affairs’ findings will not be made public,” said Balilo, also chief of the PCG Public Affairs Office. Earlier, the Coast Guard said the unnamed PCG personnel aboard BFAR ship first fired warning shots at the Taiwanese boat after it made a hostile maneuver, and later shot directly at the fleeing Read More …

De Lima wants Mancao coddlers unmasked

 News
May 062013
 
De Lima wants Mancao coddlers unmasked

Investigators are currently zeroing in on the coddlers of fugitive murder suspect Cezar Mancao II, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Monday. “I don’t think mag-isa siya (Mancao). May kasama siya [at] may ibang nagpo-protekta sa kaniya. Iyon ngayon ang pinapahanap ko,” De Lima said. De Lima also said they are determining Mancao’s possible real agenda in escaping, among these to put the Department of Justice in bad light and to push for his candidacy for local position in Compostela Valley, his home province. Mancao, a suspect in the high-profile Dacer-Corbito double murder case, escaped from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) compound last Thursday, the same day he was about to be transferred to the Manila City Jail. In various interviews after his escape, Mancao cited fear for his life as reason for his escape. De Lima said Mancao could have another agenda for escaping, although investigators have yet to confirm this. “I hope wala nang ibang agenda. Ang sinasabi niya kaya siya tumakas dahil mamamatay lang siya sa city jail,” De Lima said. “Pero what if kung may mga tao na ibang agenda na somehow maa-access siya?” Sabotage the DOJ De Lima noted the possibility that Mancao’s escape was part of a plan to “sabotage” the DOJ and the NBI. “Ayoko nag-iisip ng ganoon. Pero I also want to think ahead. Sa trabahong ito, hindi puwedeng hindi ka paranoid paminsan-minsan,” she said She said whoever could be coddling Mancao probably wants to “destroy the reputation and put to Read More …

Family of murdered Pangasinan mayor clears solon, governor

 News
Apr 302013
 
Family of murdered Pangasinan mayor clears solon, governor

No less than the family of slain Infanta, Pangasinan mayor Ruperto Martinez have said that suspect Pangasinan governor Amado Espino Jr. and Pangasinan Rep. Jesus Celeste could not have been involved in the killing. In a sworn statement submitted during Tuesday’s preliminary investigation of the murder complaint, the victim’s widow, Crisanta Martinez, admitted being “surprised” when the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) informed them that Espino and Celeste were implicated in the killing. “Pilit kaming pinapipirma ng reklamo ng NBI laban kina Governor Espino at Congressman Celeste subalit kami ay tumanggi dahil alam namin na walang katotohanan ang paratang na iyon,” Mrs. Martinez said. “Sinabi namin sa NBI na imposible ang paratang na iyon dahil sina Governor Espino at Congressman Celeste ay parehas malapit at kaalyado ng aming ama sa ilalim ng partidong Nationalist People’s Coalition,” she added. The Martinez family claimed that it was even Celeste who immediately contacted the NBI to seek help for the killing that happened last December 12, 2012 in Infanta. “Hindi kami naniniwala o sumasangayon sa pagsampa ng NBI kay Gov. Amado Espino at Congressman Jesus Celeste dahil ito ay pawang walang katotohanan,” the widow said. She said her family had already asked the NBI to instead investigate lawyer Florante Miano, who the family thinks is the man behind the killing. They said Miano was the victim’s “known political foe.” Mrs. Martinez, however, said the NBI investigators refused to heed their request. “Sa halip, isasampa daw nila ang kaso kahit ayaw namin,” she said. Read More …

Soldiers in Atimonan bloodbath ask DOJ to drop charges against them

 News
Apr 242013
 
Soldiers in Atimonan bloodbath ask DOJ to drop charges against them

The soldiers implicated in the killing of 13 people in the infamous Atimonan bloodbath have asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to dismiss the multiple murder charges filed against them. In their joint counter-affidavit, the soldiers, led by Lt. Col. Monico Abang, denied that they conspired with the policemen in carrying out what investigators from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said was a case of ambush. The group reminded the prosecution team that it was from a soldier where the NBI found out that the police manning the checkpoint with them had tampered with the evidence at the crime scene. “We would not have disclosed what we saw, taking into consideration that the police actions may be considered as our own act,” the soldiers argued. “Without the statement of the undersigned respondents… the NBI would have not learned of this fact,” they added. They also said they found nothing “suspicious” about the operation, which the police claimed was against a criminal group led by Vic Siman, who was among the 13 fatalities. “There was nothing suspicious in the request made by the police that should have aroused our suspicion that our forces were tapped to form part of a concerted effort to perpetrate the commission of any crime,” they said. “Aside from the sole request for military augmentation, there was no independent indication that the checkpoint will be used to camouflage in any case, the commission of a crime,” they added. In its report, the NBI used one of Read More …

South African woman caught with 2 kg of shabu charged

 News
Apr 182013
 
South African woman caught with 2 kg of shabu charged

By Erika Sauler Philippine Daily Inquirer 3:14 pm | Thursday, April 18th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—A South African woman, who was arrested last week by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation, was charged in a Manila regional trial court with illegal transport of more than two kilograms of “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride). The NBI Reaction, Arrest and Interdiction Division filed the complaint against Caroline Mmantoa Obijiofor, 50, a resident of the Republic of South Africa, after 940 grams of yellowish crystalline substance and 1.295 kg of white crystalline substance found in her possession tested positive for the dangerous substance. Agents of the NBI-RAID Anti-Illegal Drugs Task Force acted on intelligence information that Obijiofor would be entering the country on April 10 to transport illegal drugs to another African national. Upon confirming her arrival through a flight manifest, NBI agents followed Obijiofor from the airport to a hotel in Malate, Manila, where a room was reserved and paid for by another person. As the events matched the received information, an NBI agent introduced himself to Obijiofor and asked if the brown traveling bag she was carrying was hers. She said the clothes were hers but the luggage was provided by a group of men in Abedian, Africa. Obijiofor agreed to a search after canine dogs sniffed the bag and indicated the presence of illegal drugs. Two rectangular boxes containing the crystalline substances wrapped in plastic and blue carbon paper were found in the bag. Obijiofor was arrested and charged with violation of Read More …

NBI to meet with Jonas Burgos' kin for security arrangement

 News
Apr 152013
 
NBI to meet with Jonas Burgos' kin for security arrangement

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is set to meet with the family of missing political activist Jonas Burgos to discuss the security arrangement that the government wil be extending to them. The move came following last week’s Supreme Court ruling ordering the Department of Justice and the NBI — a constituent agency under the DOJ — to give protection to the Burgos family in light of new evidence presented in court supposedly pinning the military in Jonas’ disappearance in 2007. “Hindi pa nare-receive ‘yung SC [ruling], but NBI is willing to do that, that’s why they are set to meet with Mrs. Burgos,” De Lima told reporters in Manila on Monday, adding the NBI is “willing and will be able comply with the SC order.” Last week, the SC Public Information Office said the high tribunal issued a temporary protection order after considering claims by Jonas’ mother, Edita, that she is fearing for her life because of the “sensitive nature” of the new evidence she presented in court last April 1. The set of evidence was attached to a petition seeking a re-investigation on her son’s case. The SC directed “the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation to provide security and protection to the petitioner Edita T. Burgos and her immediate family as provided above, pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Rule on the Writ of Amparo.” The high court also ordered the two agencies to submit within five days after the receipt of the order Read More …

NBI intensifies manhunt ops vs Rasuman co-accused

 News
Apr 042013
 
NBI intensifies manhunt ops vs Rasuman co-accused

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is stepping up its efforts to locate Cagayon de Oro investment scam ringleader Jachob Rasuman’s co-accused, some of whom are reportedly in Metro Manila. The intensified operations came following the arrest of Rasuman’s wife, Princess Tomawis Rasuman, in Quezon City Wednesday night. “I directed NBI Director Nonnatus Rojas to intensify the manhunt for the other co-acuused of Coco Rasuman kasi wala pa sila. Hindi pa sila nahuhuli,” De Lima told reporters. “Ang balita namin, mukhang dito lang sila (sa Metro Manila) kaya pinapa-intensify ko na iyong manhunt para makuha sila para kumpleto na sila,” said De Lima, insisting that all of the suspects should get arraigned soon. In a counter-affidavit he submitted to the special panel of prosecutors last March, Rasuman asked the DOJ to dismiss the case against him as he denied that he duped supposed investor-complainants, who he said he has never even met before. Rasuman’s camp insisted that syndicated estafa charges should never have been filed, adding that if ever there was a crime, “it’s simple estafa.” Rasuman’s camp also belied accusations he was engaged in a Ponzi scheme, which entices investors to put money in the company in exchange for huge returns in two months. According to Investopedia, a Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investing scam promising high rates of return with little risk to investors. The Ponzi scheme generates returns for older investors by acquiring new investors. Mr. Rasuman claimed he is operating a legitimate business of car trading Read More …

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