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Molotov cocktails hit Cuban embassy
A man threw two Molotov cocktails at Cuba’s embassy in Washington on Sunday, according to the country’s foreign minister. Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in a post on X that no embassy staff was harmed in what he described as a terrorist attack. “The anti-Cuban groups resort to terrorism when feeling they enjoy impunity, something that Cuba has repeatedly warned the US authorities about,” Rodriguez said after the attack. The Sunday night attack took place hours after Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel returned to Havana after attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York and other activities with Cubans in the US. This was the second attack against the Cuban mission in Washington in recent years. A man opened fire on the embassy in April 2020 but no one was injured. That shooting left bullet holes in exterior walls and columns, broke a street lamp and damaged several panes of glass and moldings on the front of the building. US authorities arrested Alexander Alazo, then 42, for the attack. Alazo was indicted in July 2020 and charged with multiple offenses, including “violent attack on a foreign official or official premises using a deadly weapon,” according to the US Justice Department WITH AFP The post Molotov cocktails hit Cuban embassy appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Venezuela offers a peek at prison run by gang
Venezuela's Tocoron prison was like a town all unto itself, boasting restaurants, a pool, a zoo, a playground for inmates' kids, and so much more as a powerful gang ruled the roost, using the facility as a criminal operations center. "Steak House. Enjoy," reads a sign on the wall of one of the restaurants in the prison, which thousands of soldiers and police stormed this week. Tocoron is now empty of the 1,600 prisoners who lived here and have been moved elsewhere. Gone is the gang that controlled it, called Tren de Aragua, which has tentacles in various countries of Latin America. "Life was nicer and safer in prison than out on the street," said the wife of a prisoner transferred elsewhere, declining to give her name. Venezuelan authorities took some 30-odd journalists on a controlled and limited tour of the prison on Saturday. The reporters did not get to see the concrete tunnels that the prisoners dug -- pictures of them are circulating on social media -- or what is left of the zoo with its pink flamingos. On one door is written "GNB: the train has stopped." That is the acronym of the Venezuelan national guard, and train refers to the gang. That was a message aimed at the visiting journalists but which the government is also presumably trying to spread nationwide amid the embarrassment of having a gang running a prison and living in relative luxury. Interior Minister Admiral Remigio Ceballos has said four prison officials had been arrested and charged with complicity with the criminals. The Tren de Aragua, which reportedly numbers some 5,000 criminals, emerged in 2014, specializing in classic mafia activities: kidnapping, robberies, drugs, prostitution, and extortion. It has extended its influence to other activities, some legal, but also to illegal gold mining. The head of the gang, Hector Guerrero, and other leaders were tipped off before the big raid on Wednesday and managed to flee the prison and the country a week beforehand, according to the Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVV), a group that follows developments in the country's notoriously dangerous detention centers. As reporters toured the prison, bulldozers tore down a small settlement of houses made of brick, wood, and metal. The authorities gave no explanation as the machines rolled noisily over walls, bed linens, curtains, and other housewares. 'Look in the morgue' Rubeles Mejias, aged 25 and the fiancee of an inmate serving a 13-year term for manslaughter, said she lived in the jail for seven months and left only when her four-year-old daughter had to start school. Her man, whom she planned to marry in a few weeks, was one of the so-called "baptized" people in the prison -- devout Christians who wore white and were treated as a separate caste within the prison hierarchy. Gang members would leave them alone. "It was peaceful. There was a swimming pool, a zoo," Mejias, a hairdresser, said Wednesday after the raid as she stood outside the prison. She said her partner worked in a prison shop and sent her money so she could survive Venezuela's hyperinflation and shortages of food, medicine, and other essentials. "It was he who helped me," she said. The few streets that reporters touring the prison were allowed to see were littered with beer bottles, clothing, TVs, appliances, and stuffed animals. Near the pool and a basketball court were abandoned food stands. On the day of the raid, AFP reporters saw police taking away valuables such as air conditioning units, TVs, and motorcycles as women waiting at the gates of the prison for news of their loved ones screamed "Thieves!" On Saturday, three prisoners in yellow jail uniforms walked around the grounds, which include a building labeled as being for "the training of new men." Outside the prison, many people were still waiting, hoping to find out where their loved ones were sent. Claribel Rojas cried as she looked for her brother. Nesbelis Mavares was trying to find her partner, who was in for homicide. "The last message I got from him was a voicemail Wednesday in which he said, 'I love you. God bless you,'" Mavares said. She added: "They are prisoners, not animals. A guard told us to go look in the morgue." The post Venezuela offers a peek at prison run by gang appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Monumental mistake
There has been a rash of vandalism of historical landmarks in Europe by unruly tourists. On 23 August, the 460-year-old Vasari Corridor, a beautiful riverside passageway connected to the famous Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Italy, was sprayed with soccer-related graffiti. Local police used video surveillance footage to identify the vandals, two German students aged 20 and 21, who were staying with other students at a nearby Airbnb. The video footage showed the two spraying black paint on the arches of the elevated passageway running along the Arno River at 5:20 a.m. Italy’s Culture Ministry said the vandalism would require 10,000 euros worth of repairs, CNN reported. Police tracked the location of the two vandals and a search of their room yielded the evidence: two cans of black spray paint and paint-stained clothing. Uffizi Director Eike Schmidt called for the jailing of vandals defacing cultural heritage sites to deter similar violations in the future. In Brussels, Belgium, an Irish tourist visiting the local stock exchange known as The Bourse fancied the statues at the entrance of the building a day after it reopened on 9 September following three years of renovations that cost 90 million euros. A police officer caught on his camera the drunk Irishman climbing on the statue of a naked torch bearer beside a statue of a lion to have his picture taken. When the tourist was dismounting, he held onto the hand with the torch, breaking it with his weight. Police later arrested the Irishman in a nearby fast food restaurant, according to reports. The tourist was charged the cost of repairing the statue, a staggering 17,600 euros. The post Monumental mistake appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Protesters burn mayor’s office over mining
Anti-mining protesters have set fire to a mayor’s office on an Indonesian island and damaged the local parliament building, according to police. Some 2,500 protesters demanding compensation from a gold mining company marched Thursday to the local mayor’s office in Pohuwato regency in Gorontalo province, Sulawesi Island. When no official met them, they set it on fire, local media reported. The protesters then headed to the local parliament to stage another demonstration, and damaged it, according to reports. The demonstrations are now under investigation, Gorantalo police spokesperson Desmont Harjendro said. “Several protesters” were detained and that police were guarding the sites, he added. Harjendro warned other protesters they would be arrested if they engaged in violent attacks or damaged public property. Activists are demanding compensation from PT Puncak Emas Tani Sejahtera, a subsidiary of PT Merdeka Copper Gold which oversees the Pani Gold Project mine in the area. Boyke Poerbaya Abidin, president director of Merdeka Copper Gold and PT Puncak Emas Tani Sejahtera, criticized the demonstrators. “We deeply regret the incident and we condemn the violent acts by the irresponsible protesters that has caused damages,” Abidin said in a statement Thursday. He said the mining project was operating on a government-approved license. WITH AFP The post Protesters burn mayor’s office over mining appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Indon police secure island after violent protest
A 200-strong riot police team secured Rempang Island in Indonesia on Friday in response to a violent protest against a Chinese-funded economic zone and glass factory construction project in nearby Batam Island. Machete-wielding and stone-throwing protesters opposing the project clashed with police in the main city of Riau Islands province on Monday. Dozens of protesters were arrested after the clash outside a government agency, according to a local official. They were part of around 1,000 people protesting against the project as they fear that building the economic zone and factory would displace around 7,500 people. Riau Islands police spokesperson Zahwani Pandra Arsyad said the riot police will maintain security. Jakarta secured a reported $11.5 billion investment pledge from Xinyi Glass Holdings, the world’s biggest glass producer, to build the factory during a visit by Indonesian President Joko Widodo to the Chinese city of Chengdu in July. Widodo responded to the unrest on Thursday, saying anger against the project was caused by miscommunication that could have been prevented if relocation package details, including rent and meal compensation, were properly explained. The government also said the development will create tens of thousands of jobs for Indonesians. It aims to attract more than 300,000 jobs by 2080, according to officials, who have not said when the project is expected to be finished. WITH AFP The post Indon police secure island after violent protest appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Public smoking causes arrest
Operatives of the Manila Police District-Police Station 8 arrested a 24-year-old man who violated a city ordinance against smoking in public Monday morning in Sta. Mesa Manila. P/Lt. Col. Dionelle Brannon, PS8 Station Commander, identified the suspect as Ezra John Villanueva y Yumang, male, 24 years old, single, BPO employee and resident of Bldg A ,Unit 516 El Pueblo, Anonas Sta,Mesa, Manila. Yumang was nabbed in front of Building A, Unit 516 El Pueblo, Anonas Sta. Mesa, Manila Monday at about 11:45 a.m. The suspect was arrested on the strength of a warrant of arrest for the crime of Violation of Section 5, par (a) of City Ordinance No.671,S-2017 as amended by City Ordinance No. 730, S-2019 (Comprehensive Smoke Free Ordinance) issued by Hon. Karyn Lee Tribaco, presiding Judge of MTC Branch C (100), Mandaluyong City with P2,000 bail recommended on his case. The suspect is presently detained at the MPD-PS 8 detention pending the return of warrant of arrest to the issuing judge. The post Public smoking causes arrest appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Gun ban violators netted
The weeklong checkpoints related to the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections logged at least 216 gun ban violators so far, according to the Philippine National Police on Sunday. PNP spokesperson and acting Public Information Office chief Col. Jean Fajardo revealed that the 216 violators were apprehended from 28 August until 2 September 2023, adding that of the total violators arrested, most were civilians while two were security guards and two were military personnel. A total of 130 firearms have been confiscated during the implementation of the gun ban. The establishment of checkpoints was carried out under Commission on Elections Resolution 10924 to effectively implement the ban on firearms and other deadly weapons during the 90-day election period from 28 August to 29 November. The resolution prohibits the bearing, carrying, or transporting of firearms or other deadly weapons in public places, including any building, street, park, private vehicle, or public conveyance, or even if licensed to possess or carry the same, unless authorized by the Comelec. Exempted from the ban are law enforcers but they should have authorization from the Comelec and wear an agency-prescribed uniform while on official duty during the election period. The post Gun ban violators netted appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Blasts rock Quito, inmates take 57 guards hostage
Grenades and car bombs have exploded in Ecuador’s capital, followed by inmates in six prisons taking hostage 57 guards in an apparent retaliation for crackdowns on jail weapons and transfer of notorious prisoners. One of the explosions outside the headquarters of the SNAI prisons authority on Wednesday night was caused by a car rigged with “two gas cylinders with fuel, a slow fuse and apparently dynamite sticks,” the police’s anti-drug investigations boss, General Pablo Ramirez, told reporters Thursday. The other car bomb detonated at a building that formerly housed SNAI offices. Three grenade explosions also hit the capital city, Quito Mayor Pabel Muñoz said. No one was hurt in the explosions. Six people, including a Colombian national, were arrested near the scene of one of these explosions, according to Ramirez. The official said an inmate transfer and the police raid of a prison in the southern city of Latacunga to search for weapons, ammunition and explosives earlier Wednesday may have triggered the blasts. Inmates in Cuenca — hundreds of kilometers away from Latacunga — and jails in five other unnamed locations then took dozens of prison guards hostage. “They want to intimidate the state to prevent us from continuing to fulfill the role of the armed forces and the police in controlling these penitentiary centers,” Security Minister Wagner Bravo told FM Mundo radio. The condition of the hostages is unknown but Interior Minister Juan Zapata expressed concern over their safety during a press conference in the capital Quito. Meanwhile, six people, including a Colombian national, were arrested near the scene of one of the explosions, according to Ramirez. WITH AFP The post Blasts rock Quito, inmates take 57 guards hostage appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Fukushima water release sparks seafood ban, protesters’ arrest
China banned all Japanese seafood imports while South Korean protesters tried to storm Tokyo’s embassy in Seoul on Thursday as Japan started releasing into the Pacific Ocean treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. China’s customs authority said it would “suspend the import of aquatic products originating in Japan from 24 August 2023, including edible aquatic animals”. The decision was taken to “comprehensively prevent the food safety risks of radioactive contamination caused by the discharge of nuclear wastewater from Fukushima into the sea,” the General Administration of Customs said. It would also “protect the health of Chinese consumers and ensure the safety of imported food,” the authority added. Beijing had already suspended all food imports from 10 out of 47 Japanese prefectures in July, with Hong Kong following suit. China imported over $500 million worth of seafood from Japan last year, according to customs data. In Seoul, 16 people protesting the water release were arrested Thursday for trying to enter the Japanese embassy in the South Korea capital, Yonhap News Agency reported. “The police detained them on charges of trespassing and violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act,” Yonhap said. All other protesters had been dispersed and police had restricted access to the building housing the embassy shortly after the incident, an Agence France-Presse reporter saw. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo criticized what he called a “politically driven” campaign against the wastewater release, which was using “fake news” to fan fears. Ahead of the release, about 10 people held a protest near the plant and around 100 others gathered outside TEPCO headquarters in Tokyo, AFP journalists said. Live video provided by plant operator TEPCO showed two engineers clicking on computer mouses and an official saying — after a countdown — that the “valves near the seawater transport pumps are opening.” Monitors from the United Nations atomic watchdog, which has endorsed the plan, were due to be on site for the procedure, while TEPCO workers were scheduled to take water samples later on Thursday. Japanese officials have repeatedly insisted the wastewater release is safe. Three of the reactors at the Fukushima-Daiichi facility in northeastern Japan went into meltdown following a massive earthquake and tsunami that killed around 18,000 people in 2011. WITH AFP The post Fukushima water release sparks seafood ban, protesters’ arrest appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Garbage collector stabs dead fellow garbage collector
Operatives of the Manila Police District PS-1 arrested a 25-year-old garbage collector who stabbed his co-worker Thursday morning in a vacant lot at Building 11, Vitas Katuparan in Tondo, Manila. The suspect who was arrested in a follow-up operation by MPD PS 1 was identified as John Mark Agrada, alias Onyok, a member of the Sputnik gang and residing at the breakwater in Bgy 101, Tondo. While his unknown victim who succumbed to death due to multiple stab wounds in the body was identified only as a male, between 35- to 49-year-old, 5'6" in height, medium built body, and with tattoos on his body. According to Ronald Cusay, a barangay tanod, he saw the actual stabbing by the suspect at 5:40 a.m. in a place where the victim was collecting pieces of material that can be sold at the junk shops. The victim upon seeing the suspect hurriedly left to evade the latter but he was pursued and stabbed repeatedly. Cusay called up for a backup among his fellow tanods to help him brought the victim to Tondo Medical Center, where the victim was declared dead on arrival. Cusay reported the incident to the MPD-PS1 who subsequently conducted a follow-up operation that resulted in the arrest of the suspect. Police theorized that the motive of the killing could be work-related. The body was brought to the Body and Light Funeral Services for autopsy and safekeeping. while the suspect will be charged with murder at the Manila Prosecutors Office. The post Garbage collector stabs dead fellow garbage collector appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Tondo druggies nabbed
Operatives from the Manila Police District Police Station 1 arrested five individuals for drug possession on Saturday night. Authorities identified the suspects as Ian Lipasana, Mark Brillant Paminiano, Argie Garciano, Jessie Morales and Melvin Carlongan, who were arrested in Aroma compound, Building 16, Temporary Housing, Barangay 105 in Tondo, Manila. Police said they arrested the suspects during a foot patrol. They became suspicious of the men when they saw them roaming the streets late at night. The police frisked the suspects and found a sealed plastic container containing 7 grams of suspected shabu. The suspects will be charged with violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. The post Tondo druggies nabbed appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
DOJ indicts over 100 persons arrested from Pasay City POGO
The Department of Justice filed charges against more than 100 of the almost 650 persons arrested and rescued by government law enforcers during the raid of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in Pasay City recently. This was disclosed by DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix L. Ty as he said the filing of the charges during the inquest proceedings was done against Rivendell Global Support Inc. at the SJ Mobile Building in Pasay City where the raid took place. However, Ty, who is in charge of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), which is headed by the DOJ, could not ascertain the charges filed against those subjected to inquest proceedings. The official said the charges were filed against 20 Chinese nationals and more than 80 Filipinos. Ty said during a hearing at the Senate last Wednesday 2 August, the authorities conducted the raid on 1 August against Rivendell and found “around 650 individuals in the establishment.” “Around 180 are foreign nationals and majority of them are Chinese,” he said. One of those arrested during the raid was a Filipino rescued from human trafficking abroad. Ty said they were saddened to know that one of those was a Filipino previously rescued in Myanmar but was found working in the POGO facility in Pasay. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) “provided the initial intelligence that we used to secure the search warrant.” Ty said the information they received is that the POGO is a registered service provider. However, during the raid, it was discovered that most of the rooms were engaged in online scams. Authorities also discovered a few rooms engaged in illegal gambling. Ty said they suspect the gambling rooms were presented whenever there is an inspection but is just a small part of the operation. The post DOJ indicts over 100 persons arrested from Pasay City POGO appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Myanmar’s detained civilian leader Suu Kyi receives partial pardon
Jailed Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been pardoned in five criminal cases, although she still faces 14 others, state media said Tuesday. A military coup in February 2021 plunged the Southeast Asian nation into chaos and widespread violence as the military junta launched a bloody crackdown on dissent. "Chairman of State Administration Council pardoned Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was sentenced by the relevant courts under five cases," a state media broadcast said. The broadcast said the 78-year-old Nobel Peace laureate still faces 14 other cases. Tuesday's announcement was part of an amnesty of more than 7,000 prisoners to mark Buddhist Lent. The junta announced on Monday it would extend Myanmar's state of emergency by six months, state media said, which is likely to delay elections promised for August. Suu Kyi, who has been in detention since 2021, has been sentenced to 33 years in jail for a clutch of charges, including corruption, possession of illegal walkie-talkies and flouting coronavirus restrictions. "She couldn't be freed completely, although some sentences against her were pardoned. She still has to face 14 cases. Only five cases out of 19 were pardoned," a legal source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. Former Myanmar president Win Myint, who was also removed in the 2021 coup, would also be pardoned in two cases, the broadcast said. The announcement said 125 foreign prisoners would be released and pardoned. An unspecified number of prisoners facing the death penalty also had their sentences reduced to life imprisonment, it said. Health concerns Suu Kyi has only been seen once since she was held after the 1 February 2021, putsch -- in grainy state media photos from a bare courtroom in the military-built capital Naypyidaw. There have been concerns about Suu Kyi's health since her detention, including during her trial in a junta court that required her to attend almost daily hearings. She was moved from prison to a government building last week, according to an official from her political party. In July, Thailand's foreign minister said he had met with Suu Kyi, the first known meeting with a foreign envoy since she was detained. A junta spokesman told AFP the meeting had lasted more than an hour but did not give any details about what was discussed. Myanmar frequently grants amnesties to thousands of prisoners to commemorate holidays or special Buddhist dates. The junta released some 23,000 prisoners after the 2021 coup in a move that human rights groups feared at the time was aimed at freeing up space for military opponents. More than 24,000 people have been arrested since the military booted Suu Kyi's government from power, according to a local monitoring group. Almost 20,000 remain behind bars, according to the latest figures. Still popular Suu Kyi remains hugely popular in Myanmar, even after her international image was tainted by a power-sharing deal with the generals and her failure to speak up for the persecuted Rohingya minority. But many fighting for democracy have jettisoned her core principle of non-violence and taken up arms to try and permanently root out military dominance of Myanmar's politics and economy. The military cited alleged widespread voter fraud during elections in November 2020 as a reason for its coup, which sparked huge protests and a bloody crackdown. Those polls were won resoundingly by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, with international observers saying at the time the polls were largely free and fair. Conflict since the coup has displaced more than one million people, the United Nations says. According to a local monitoring group, more than 3,800 people have been killed since the coup, a figure the junta puts at 5,000. The post Myanmar’s detained civilian leader Suu Kyi receives partial pardon appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Suspect for inquest jumps from building
A man who was arrested for firing his gun indiscriminately at the house of his live-in partner after he refused to break up with her reportedly tried to commit suicide on Wednesday morning. The suspect, identified as Lyle Adams Fernandez, was being escorted by police at the Manila City Hall building during a scheduled inquest proceeding when he suddenly jumped from the third floor of the building. The post Suspect for inquest jumps from building appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
83 NBI detainees transferred to NBP
Bureau of Corrections Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang yesterday accepted from NBI Director Menardo de Lemos 83 NBI detainees that were being transferred to the National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City. The detainees were transferred from the NBI detention center to Building 14 of the Maximum Security Compound of NBP. Catapang said persons deprived of liberty who testified against fugitive former BuCor Chief Gerald Bantag will be also be transferred to BuCor custody. Also transferred to NBP are PDLs who testified against former Sen. Leila de Lima, from the Marines detention facility in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City and ISAFP Facility in Camp Aguinaldo. The transferred detainees will not be allowed to leave Building 14 unless there is coordination with the BuCor. The Bureau of Corrections will temporarily house the NBI detainees while the latter’s main building, including its detention facility in Manila, will be demolished and a new building constructed. Last March, the BuCor and the NBI signed a memorandum of agreement where the former would allow the use of its facilities as temporary lock-up facilities for individuals arrested by the NBI, with the latter providing its own personnel to guard and secure the facility and immediate premises. Under the MOA, all persons detained at said facility would be under the responsibility of the NBI, subject to existing rules and regulations of BuCor, which include visiting privileges to be granted by the NBI to the families, friends and lawyers of the detainees. Catapang said that that if there are NBI detainees who will attend hearings or will be brought out for medical check-up, proper coordination should be in place since they will go through their checkpoints. Under the MOA, the NBI shall be responsible for the custody of their detainees including their transfer to attend court hearings. The NBI will also provide sufficient manpower complement for the administration of the said facilities, including the necessary security escort personnel of the detainees. The NBI shall also be responsible for providing its detainees with basic needs such as food, water and other provisions. The post 83 NBI detainees transferred to NBP appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Man collared ‘stealing’ wires
A man was apprehended after he was caught allegedly stealing electric wires and copper tubes in Cainta, Rizal. Cainta police chief Maj. Alfonso Saligumba III identified the suspect as Jeric Aloria, 29, a construction worker, and a resident of Barangay Tumana, Marikina City. They then saw the suspect at the top of the electric post about to go down carrying a sack full of electric wires and copper tubes worth P45,000. Saligumba said the suspect was arrested by personnel of the Municipal Protection and Safety Office at the Molks Realty Development Corporation building along Felix Avenue in Barangay San Isidro. Investigation disclosed that while the MPSO personnel were directing traffic in the area, they heard a loud dropping sound coming from the top concrete electric post. They then saw the suspect at the top of the electric post about to go down carrying a sack full of electric wires and copper tubes worth P45,000. The post Man collared ‘stealing’ wires appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Man with improvised gun in riot arrested
Elements of the MPD-Raxabago PS-1 have arrested a man in possession of a pen gun during a Tondo riot early Monday morning in Tondo, Manila. Police identified the suspect as Glenn Distreza Jr. y Aboga, 19 years old, male, single, jobless, dreaded member of the “Bahala Na Gang” and residing at Building 22, Unit 521, Permanent Housing, Barangay 128, Balut, Tondo, Manila. Based on a report, the suspect was arrested in front of Building 16, Aroma Compound, Barangay 105, Tondo, Manila. The suspect, together with the recovered pieces of evidence, was brought to the station at 7 p.m of the same date. It was learned that the arresting officers were conducting motorized patrol when they saw two feuding groups engaged in a riot. The groups were holding different types of cudgels and weapons while they were throwing stones at each other causing panic to the public. Right there and then, the arresting officers positioned themselves to pacify the incident and upon noticing the presence of police officers, both groups scampered to different locations to evade arrest. Police managed to corner and arrest a suspect while holding an improvised homemade firearm known as pen-gun loaded with one live ammunition. Charges for violation of cases of Art. 155 of RPC (Alarm and Scandal) and RA 10591 (Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Law) will be slapped against the suspect at the Manila City Prosecutors Office. The post Man with improvised gun in riot arrested appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
U.S. shootings leave 5 dead, dozens wounded
Six shooting incidents in the United States over the weekend killed five people and wounded dozens, local reports said. In Willowbrook, Illinois, at least 23 people were shot, one fatally, early Sunday in a suburban Chicago parking lot where hundreds of people had gathered to celebrate Juneteenth, authorities said, according to NPR. A number of people fired multiple shots into the crowd, the DuPage County sheriff’s office said. Juneteenth is a federal holiday on Monday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas in 1865. In the Roseland community in Chicago, also in Illinois, a car drove up on a group of people holding a Father’s Day barbecue in a park and opened fire, hitting five people, Sunday night, police said. The victims were young adults and were taken to several hospitals, 5th District Commander Tyrone Pendarvis said, according to Chicago Tribune. In Washington state, two people were killed and two others were injured when a shooter began firing “randomly” into a crowd at a campground where many people were staying to attend a nearby music festival on Saturday night, police said, NPR reported. The suspect was shot by responding police officers and taken into custody. In central Pennsylvania, a gunman attacked a state police barracks killing one trooper and critically wounding another. The suspect drove his truck into the parking lot of the Lewistown barracks about 11 a.m. Saturday and opened fire with a large-caliber rifle on marked patrol cars before fleeing, NPR quoted authorities as saying on Sunday. The suspect was later spotted by a police helicopter and killed in a shootout with officers. In St. Louis, Missouri, a shooting in a downtown office building killed a 17-year-old and wounded nine other teenagers who were partying at 1 a.m. Sunday, according to the city’s police commissioner. The wounded were 15 to 19 years old. Police arrested the shooter, a minor, and seized an AR-style rifles and other firearms at the scene. Another shooting at a pool party in Carson, California home past midnight left eight people wounded, authorities said Saturday. The victims range in age from 16 to 24, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement, according to NPR. In Baltimore, Maryland, six people were wounded in shootings at around 9 p.m. on Friday. The post U.S. shootings leave 5 dead, dozens wounded appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Unveiling the shabu bust scandal
On 13 June, Secretary Benhur Abalos of the Department of the Interior and Local Government announced that criminal charges have been filed against 50 police officers, including Gen. Benjamin Santos, former PNP-Drug Enforcement Group chief, and Brig. Gen. Narciso Domingo. The investigation leading to the charges was conducted jointly by the National Police Commission and the Philippine National Police’s Special Investigation Task Group which uncovered the officers’ alleged involvement in a coverup in the seizure of 990 kilograms of shabu worth around P6.7 billion in October 2022. They were charged with violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the Dangerous Drugs Act, the Revised Penal Code (specifically, falsification, perjury, false testimony, and malversation of public property), and Presidential Decree 1829, which deals with obstruction of justice. Much of the evidence was obtained from closed-circuit television camera footage which captured the alleged involvement of police officers in the attempt to pilfer 42 kilograms from the total 990 kilograms of shabu seized at WPD Lending, a finance company owned by Master Sgt. Rodolfo Mayo. The CCTV footage taken on 8 October 2022 corresponded to the day Mayo was apprehended during a drug operation at WPD Lending which resulted in the seizure of the 990 kilograms of shabu. What appeared to be a momentous victory for the PNP, however, quickly turned into a massive scandal seemingly straight out of the big screen. On 10 April, Secretary Abalos stepped forward to unveil a complex syndicated coverup surrounding the shabu bust. For the first time in public, he presented the CCTV footage that revealed a stark disparity between the reports filed by the PNP regarding the arrest of Mayo. This revelation, coupled with multiple reports, prompted Abalos to issue a statement exposing the “massive attempt to cover up” Mayo’s arrest and implicating certain PNP officials in the process. Subsequently, the House of Representatives Committee on Dangerous Drugs and the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs initiated separate inquiries into the anomalies surrounding the drug bust. Mayo and several PNP officials were summoned to shed light on the matter during these investigations. During the congressional hearings, Congressmen Barbers and Acop were able to spot several conflicting details from the PNP officials ranging from the date, time, and place of the arrests of Mayo and his alleged accomplice, Ney Atadero. Among those questioned about the conflicting details were Brig. Gen. Narcisco Domingo Jr., Lt. Col. Julius Olonan, and Capt. Jonathan Sosongco. The three officers were among the 10 ranking officers who were placed on leave after an alleged attempt to cover up Mayo’s arrest was uncovered by the National Police Commission’s fact-finding board. Olonan claimed that only Atadero was arrested at 1 p.m. at WPD Lending in Tondo, while Mayo was arrested in Bambang. Sosongco said both Mayo and Atadero were captured at around 4 p.m. at the Western Police District. The CCTV footage, however, showed that on or about 1:40 p.m. at WPD Lending, Mayo appeared in handcuffs as he alighted from a grey SUV while being escorted by the team of Sosongco who were followed by a black sedan from which Sosongco alighted. This was in stark contrast to what was reported by the PNP that Mayo was arrested by a Captain Piñon. The CCTV footage further showed several PNP officers entering and exiting WPD Lending, carrying suitcases that were loaded into vehicles and on a motorcycle. These vehicles and the motorcycle were then driven to a nearby establishment suspected to belong to another PNP official named Jimenez, where the suitcases were believed unloaded. This Jimenez was a subordinate of Colonel Ibañez of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group Special Operations Unit 4A, who was also listed in the Drug Watch list along with Mayo and Jimenez, whom Ibañez specifically asked to be part of his team. Domingo denied a coverup and said that the senior officers seen in the CCTV footage were discussing their next moves. He said efforts were being made to identify other cohorts of Mayo, recover the pilfered drugs, and cooperate with the Department of Justice in building a case against the suspects. The ramifications of these revelations led former president Rodrigo Duterte to accuse the PNP of being the “gatekeeper” of the illegal drug trade and challenged its personnel to resign. He expressed concern about the significant volume of drugs allegedly passing through the hands of the police, even reaching the level of the generals. Secretary Abalos assured Duterte and the public that they were taking action on the issue of alleged drug ties among police officers and that they were actively carrying out their responsibilities and conducting investigations into the matter. As we delve further into the shabu bust scandal, it is crucial that we remain focused on our ultimate objectives: purging the PNP of corruption, rebuilding public trust, and upholding the rule of law. He should be applauded for his courage in exposing the complicity of senior PNP officials, despite the potential risk to his personal safety from both internal and external syndicates. His unwavering resolve to root out drug connections in the PNP and restore its damaged reputation is truly commendable and deserving of our admiration. 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Sandiganbayan clears ex-Tagbina mayor
The Sandiganbayan Third Division recently acquitted former Tagbina town, Surigao del Sur Mayor Rufo Pabelonia of technical malversation as no further evidence was presented to prove ill will on his part, other than discrepancies on computation. The anti-graft court Third Division cleared Pabelonia of alleged technical malversation involving P300,000 in municipal funds. “Reviewing closely the evidence introduced by both parties, this Court is convinced beyond a moral certainty that accused Mayor Pabelonia did not act with evident bad faith in the construction of the gymnasium to the detriment of the government,” said the anti-graft court in a 30-page ruling. Pabelonia, now 70, was mayor from 1986 to 1995. The three charges involved Pabelonia’s part in allegedly diverting P63,000 from local funds appropriated for the construction of the Tagbina Municipal Building to pay for the cash gift of municipal officials and employees, including casual workers, in 1990. The second charge also involved the diversion of P151,642 from funds intended for the Tagongon Barangay Gymnasium to pay the claim of another municipal building contractor, while the third charge was for unexplained expenses worth P54,849 for the same gymnasium. Pabelonia was cleared in other graft raps arising from other projects in 1987, for which he was arrested in Davao City in 2018 for failing to appear in his arraignments. The Sandiganbayan said then that “the prosecution was not able to present proof other than the documents signed by Pabelonia.” Last year, the Sandiganbayan acquitted him of another graft charge stemming from projects for rehabilitating a public school in his town 26 years ago, citing the prosecution’s failure to show evidence other than paperwork signed by the local chief executive. The post Sandiganbayan clears ex-Tagbina mayor appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»