(Second of two parts)
PNP recruitment scam
At least 47 individuals sought the help of law enforcement agencies after they were scammed for recruitment to the Philippine National Police (PNP) in September.
The victims — 37 from La Castellana, two from Bacolod City and six from Moises Padilla town — have paid P247,000 to P300,000 each for admission to the PNP, even if they were ineligible.
They were also promised that their oath taking would take place in Kabankalan City, after they paid an additional P25,000 fee for their lodging and uniforms.
Eleven large-scale estafa charges were filed against La Castellana Councilor Donato Dumaguit and Mary Jun delos Santos in connection to the alleged recruitment scam.
Dumaguit admits that he is now in hiding, claiming that he discovered an alleged plot on his life.
He issued an apology over his alleged involvement in the recruitment scam, claiming he was also victimized by Delos Santos, the alleged primary suspect in the scam.
The councilor said he is prepared to surrender to the authorities once law enforcement track down and arrest Delos Santos.
The La Castellana Sangguniang Bayan has unanimously suspended Dumaguit, and slapped a P3,000 fine against the councilor over his failure to attend regular and special sessions, as he committed a total of 13 unexplained absences.
Himamaylan massacre
A couple — 52-year-old Rolly Fausto and 49-year-old Emilda — and their two sons, aged 11 and 15, succumbed to gunshot wounds at their home at Barangay Buenavista’s Sitio Kangkiling in Himamaylan City on June 14.
Emilda and her sons were found riddled with bullets inside their house, while Rolly was found some 50 meters away from their home.
Around 15 armed individuals were suspected to have been involved in the massacre, police said.
More than 50 bullet shells were recovered from the crime scene.
The Himamaylan City Police Station considered the massacre as insurgency-related, based on the initial investigation.
The Commission on Human Rights in Negros Occidental said Fausto’s home was ransacked several times prior to their massacre.
The New People’s Army (NPA) later denied the allegations that they were involved in the massacre, but instead accused the Philippine Army’s 94th Infantry Battalion of being behind the murders.
The village is one of the NPA-influenced villages in central Negros, where clashes claimed the lives of several communist rebels and government troops for years.
An investigation revealed that Rolly Fausto was serving as a military informant and was involved in facilitating the surrender of several NPA members.
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson also called for justice in the brutal killing of four family members.
In October, the only surviving kin in the massacre intended to file criminal charges against the 10 suspects in the murder, believed to be NPA members.
Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office director, Colonel Leo Pamittan, said Emily Germino finally resurfaced four months after the massacre.
Pamittan refused to say the whereabouts of Germino due to security reasons.
However, he said Germino will personally file criminal complaints against the suspects before the Himamaylan police.
Israel-Hamas war fatality
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed the death of the missing Negrense overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Israel, following an attack at a music festival by the Palestinian-militant group Hamas in October.
Loreta Alacre, who worked as a caregiver in Israel for 15 years, is the third Filipino fatality in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The 49-year-old Negrense OFW succumbed to wounds as she attended the ill-fated Tribe of Nova Music Festival in Kibbutz Reim town in southern Israel.
At least 260 people were killed while an undetermined number of attendees were allegedly kidnapped by the militants and were taken to the Gaza Strip.
Kibbutz Reim is six kilometers away from the Hamas-held Gaza Strip.
Her remains arrived back at her home in Cadiz City’s Barangay Cadiz Viejo on October 22.
It was initially believed that Loreta was among those allegedly abducted by Hamas militants, as information surfaced that she and her boyfriend were ambushed in their car.
The DFA and the Embassy of Israel in the Philippines confirmed the tragic deaths of two other Filipinos in the conflict.
Missing fertilizers
The Negros Occidental provincial government has dismissed employees from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) involved in the disappearance of 789 fertilizer sacks worth P2,367,000 at the Negros First Rice Processing Center at Barangay Tabunan in Negros Occidental’s Bago City.
Provincial Legal Office (PLO) head, Atty. Alberto Nellas Jr., said they served the dismissal order for administrative charges of grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and malversation of public funds of property against OPA personnel, agriculturist Hermenegildo Basilio.
Agriculturist Joy Cardinal also admitted signing the form to receive the fertilizers.
Nellas said Cardinal’s contract as OPA’s casual employee would no longer be renewed.
The fertilizers were discovered missing after the Cauayan municipal government visited the warehouse to get its share of the fertilizer bags on April 3.
The persons-in-charge said they received 2,000 bags of fertilizers from the Department of Agriculture (DA) for safekeeping and distribution to local government units in Negros Occidental.
Nellas said there were no signs of forced entry to the warehouse.
The fertilizer bags stored in the warehouse were given as a grant by the DA.
The DA in Western Visayas (DA-6) called on the Negros Occidental provincial government to replace the allegedly stolen P2.3 million worth of fertilizers.
DA-6 executive director, Engineer Albert Barrogo disclosed that the local government units of the cities of Kabankalan, Cadiz and Bago, as well as Cauayan town have formally requested their share of the fertilizers.
The fertilizers, part of the agency’s calamity fund, were intended to aid farmers affected by Super Typhoon “Odette” in 2021.
Severed hands
Police recovered two severed human hands in a plastic container with sour beef stew or linaga in Bacolod City’s Barangay 2 on January 25.
The container also included a list of 22 individuals who were allegedly involved in illegal drug activities.
The Philippine National Police’s Scene of the Crime Operatives confirmed that the severed hands were real, but evidence suggests that the hands were not cooked with the stew or “linaga.”
Police Station 2 commander Captain Jonito Pastrana said they have also recovered footage from a closed-circuit television camera, which shows that at around 3:00 a.m., a white van stopped at the area where the container with the severed hands was recovered.
Pastrana also confirmed some of the persons on the list were no longer residing in the village and are now living someplace else.
He also affirmed that some of the listed individuals were drug surrenderers.
Missing municipal funds
The Negros Occidental’s Isabela local government unit has yet to file charges against former town treasurer Nenette Escarda.
Nellas said hard evidence is needed for the filing of a criminal case.
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson dismissed Escarda for alleged grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and malversation of public funds.
Escarda was perpetually disqualified from holding public office, barred from taking civil service examinations and forfeited retirement benefits.
The Commission on Audit conducted an investigation on Escarda, as they discovered irregularities in her cash accountabilities, such as collections amounting to P6,629,146 which remained undeposited, and unliquidated cash advances of P972,000 as of the cut-off date.
Escarda brought the municipal government’s funds to her home in Bacolod City’s Barangay Taculing, with the intention of depositing them in the bank the next day.
It was later found that Escarda was not authorized to bring home the municipal government’s funds to her home in Bacolod City, as another person was assigned to deposit the funds in the bank.
Her dismissal was in relation to an alleged burglary incident in January, where the robbers carted away P3.8 million in bank checks and P2.6 million in cash.
Around P3.1 million worth of checks has been recovered by the municipal government.
Isabela Mayor Irene Montilla said the decision to dismiss Escarda was “fair” as it was evidence-based.
Escarda filed an appeal before the Civil Service Commission (CSC) for review of the Capitol’s decision.
Her legal counsel, Atty. Cesar Beloria Jr., said they decided to submit an appeal to CSC national office, but opted not to file a motion for reconsideration.
He said his client does not believe the charges are commensurate with the offense.
Beloria also revealed that Escarda is consistent with her position that she will repay whatever funds lost.
Academic calendar revert
A teachers’ group in Bacolod City joined calls of the education sector to revert to the old academic calendar and to bring back the school break in April and May.
Richard Gelangre, Bacolod City Public School Teachers Federation President, said the current school year caused not only the students to complain over the uncomfortable summer heat, but also the teaching staff.
He said the students are unable to concentrate well on their studies.
Gelangre said, based on their survey, the majority of the students and teachers have agreed that the semestral break should be during summer.
He pointed out that holding the vacation period in the months of April and May would offer greater efficiency.
The teaching staff and students will be refreshed when classes resume in June, he added.
Students from various schools in Negros Occidental complained of excess heat brought by the dry weather conditions inside classrooms.
Department of Education (DepEd) Negros Occidental spokesperson, Ian Arnold Arnaiz later admitted that schoolrooms in the province lack additional electric fans that would help cool students down.
Arnaiz said that at least two additional electric fans are needed for 45 students in a standard classroom.
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson was in favor of a proposal by the Senate for returning to the old academic calendar.
However, Lacson said the current school calendar needs a rethinking.
The dry season’s scorching heat is not conducive for learning, as a high heat index could affect learning performance and even the students’ health, he said.
The DepEd adopted the current August-to-July academic calendar during the onset of COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020.
The Senate said it is also time for the country’s academic calendar to return to its previous schedules.
Two public high schools in Bacolod City have shortened class hours to combat the effects of hot weather conditions during face-to-face classes.
Several schools in Negros Occidental’s Cadiz City also switched to blended learning after several students fell ill due to high temperatures inside the classrooms.
Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez backs the proposal from several groups in the education sector for a return to the previous March to April school break./WDJ