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- PNP identifies cop who shot teen in Laguna
- Active Covid-19 cases fall below 50,000
- Pandemic increases trust in news among Filipinos -- Digital News Report 2021
- 21 cops charged over death of Calbayog mayor
- IAS recommends dismissal of cop who killed woman
- PDEA destroys P1.2-B illegal drugs
- Local Alpha, Beta variant cases detected in regions
| PNP identifies cop who shot teen in Laguna Posted: 23 Jun 2021 08:33 AM PDT THE Philippine National Police (PNP) has identified the policeman who shot and killed a 16-year-old boy and his companion in an alleged shootout during a law enforcement operation in Biñan, Laguna, PNP Chief Guillermo Eleazar said on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. Eleazar said the cop was identified following the conduct of ballistics examination and cross-matching of the slugs recovered from the bodies of 16-year-old Jhondie Maglinte Helis and Antonio Dalit. "The Regional Crime Laboratory Office of Police Regional Office 4A reported that the slugs specimen taken from the cadaver of Jhondie Maglinte Helis matched with a cal. 45 gun submitted by one of the operatives with a rank of Police Senior Master Sergeant," said Eleazar. "A .45 pistol owned by a Police Commissioned Officer also matched a bullet recovered from Dalit's body based on the same report of the RCLO4A," he added. Helis and Dalit each suffered two gunshot wounds after they allegedly engaged policemen in a gunfight. The police had tried to serve an arrest warrant against Dalit for illegal drug charges. Eleazar said both Helis and Dalit tested positive for gunpowder nitrates during the paraffin test conducted on their bodies. "However, while the identities of the policemen were already established, the missing part is the determination on whether or not there was indeed an exchange of gunfire between the police operatives and the two slain subjects of police operation," he said. "Another primary focus of the fact-finding investigation task group is looking into the allegation that Helis was handcuffed at the time he was shot," he added. The family of the victims rejected the police narrative of a shootout and claimed that Helis and Dalit were summarily executed. However, Eleazar said they refused to issue their statements to the investigators of the PNP-Internal Affairs Service (IAS). He said that it was concerning that there seemed to be many witnesses to the incident based on the audible chatting in the video uploaded on social media, but no one has come forward to give a statement. Ten policemen have been placed under restrictive custody while the IAS is investigating the said incident. They are Captain Fernando Lanestosa Credo; Senior Master Sergeant Mark Lester Brondial Yonzon; Ricky Sabatin Sacurom, Elmer Rojas Belaro and Rodrigo Villanueva Velarde Jr., all with the rank of Staff Sergeant; Felix Nico Rumbaoa Agudong, Leonardo Salteras Roldan, Gilbert Tonogbanua Florentino and Christopher Siguenza San Jose, all ranked Corporal; and Patrolman Rowie Carag Cadangan. (SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Active Covid-19 cases fall below 50,000 Posted: 23 Jun 2021 03:29 AM PDT FOR the first time in nearly one month, the number of active coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases fell below 50,000 as new cases remained below 5,000 for the second straight day. In its case bulletin Wednesday, June 23, 2021, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 4,353 new infections and 7,139 new recoveries. There were, however, 119 mortalities which raised the Covid-19 death toll in the country closer to 24,000. Of the 119, 74 were previously tagged as recoveries. As of Wednesday, a total of 23,928 individuals had succumbed to Covid-19. The case fatality rate remained at 1.74 percent. The new infections brought the total case count to 1,372,232, of which 1,298,442 (94.6 percent) were recoveries. Fifteen duplicates, including 12 recoveries, were removed from the total count. With recoveries higher than the new infections, the number of active cases went down to 49,862, the lowest since the 48,109 on May 27, 2021. The testing output on June 21 remained low at 33,413, of which 11.4 percent yielded positive results for Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Six laboratories, which contributed 3.2 percent of the samples tested and 4.5 percent of the positive results in the last 14 days, were unable to submit their data to the Covid-19 Document Repository System on June 21. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Pandemic increases trust in news among Filipinos -- Digital News Report 2021 Posted: 23 Jun 2021 02:58 AM PDT THE Covid-19 health crisis has spurred an increased overall trust in news among Filipinos but has led to waning interest in news products. The pandemic has also hiked concern over online misinformation, especially from the government and politicians. These are among the key findings of the 10th edition of Digital News Report (DNR 2021) released Wednesday, June 23, by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. First launched in 2012, DNR has become the most comprehensive global analysis of news consumption trends. This year's report is based on an online poll of 92,000 people in 46 media markets, representing the views of more than half the world's population. A total of 2,209 Filipino internet users ages 18 and above participated in the survey conducted in late January to early February by the international market research agency YouGov Plc. DNR 2021 shows the proportion of Filipinos who say they trust "most news most of the time" rising to 32 percent from 27 percent from a year ago. In contrast, trust in news from social media has fallen from 22 percent to 20 percent. Trust in media brands, led by GMA News, has remained generally stable except for the beleaguered ABS-CBN and Rappler (each shedding 4 points in their trust scores) and the tabloids Abante and Bulgar (each losing 3 points). Threatened repeatedly with closure by President Rodrigo Duterte, ABS-CBN shuttered its free-to-air stations after its franchise to operate expired in May last year and the House of Representatives refused to renew it in July. Rappler, which Duterte has also attacked, is battling a raft of lawsuits, from tax evasion to cyber libel. Overall trust in the news in the Philippines, however, still remains below this year's global average of 44 percent. The country ranks sixth to the last among the media markets polled. Despite the still turbulent times, Filipinos have shown less interest in the news. The share of Filipinos "very" and "extremely" interested in it has declined from 69 percent to 65 percent, matched by a drop in the proportion that accesses the news at least once a day, from 86 percent to 81 percent. The loss of interest cuts across all ages, except in the 18-24 group, and is most felt among Filipinos with a university education. Expectedly, print consumption, severely battered by mobility restrictions and revenue losses, has shrunk from 22 percent to 16 percent. The Philippines, however, defies the trend in many countries that has seen TV viewing surge as lockdowns grounded people at home. On the whole, TV usage has slipped 5 points to 61 percent. In particular, ABS-CBN's weekly reach has tumbled 21 points to 41 percent and local television's reach 6 points to now just 7 percent. GMA Network, the country's top and most profitable media brand following ABS-CBN's closure, has meanwhile widened its reach by 6 points to 59 percent. Online news consumption continues to expand, growing from 85 percent last year to 87 percent this year. Social media as a source of news have gone up 4 points to 72 percent in this year's survey, with TikTok even becoming a destination for news among Filipinos (6 percent) alongside Facebook (73 percent), YouTube (53 percent), Facebook Messenger (36 percent) and Twitter (19 percent). The good news is, mainstream news brands and journalists attract most attention around news in Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat although they are still no match for celebrities in Instagram and influencers in Tiktok. Across countries, concern about misinformation remains high with 58 percent of the global sample expressing concern about what is true or false on the internet when it comes to news. The figure for the Philippines is slightly higher at 59 percent, up from 57 percent the previous year. More Filipinos say they have seen false or misleading information on the coronavirus (63 percent) than other topics such as politics (57 percent) and celebrities (48 percent). The percentage of Filipinos who have come across misinformation about celebrities is higher than the global average of 29 percent. Likewise, more Filipinos have expressed concern over government and politicians being the sources of misinformation on the coronavirus (34 percent) than other sources, including ordinary people (19 percent), journalists (11 percent), activists and foreign governments (each 10 percent). Facebook remains the key platform for online misinformation, according to half of Filipino respondents, far higher than the 28 percent global average. Amid questions about the fairness of mainstream media, more than half of Filipinos feel that mainstream media have represented their age, gender, social and economic class, ethnicity and their community fairly. However, less than half (45 percent) believe their political views are covered fairly. And amid growing polarization in the country, two in three Filipinos prefer news outlets to stay neutral on every issue, seven in 10 want them to reflect a range of views and let people decide what to think, and three in four say they ought to give equal time to all sides. (Yvonne T. Chua is an associate professor of journalism at the University of the Philippines. She wrote the profile on the Philippines for the Digital News Report 2021.)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 21 cops charged over death of Calbayog mayor Posted: 23 Jun 2021 02:25 AM PDT THE Philippine National Police (PNP) Internal Affairs Service (IAS) has filed administrative charges against 21 policemen over the death of former Calbayog City mayor Ronaldo Aquino in March. Charges of grave misconduct and grave irregularity in the performance of duty were filed against:
Charged for grave irregularity in the performance of duty for not following the PNP operational procedures in the conduct of operations are the following members of the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit:
Colonel Michael David, director of IMEG Visayas, and Lieutenant Colonel Neil Montaño, the Regional Intelligence Division of PRO8 were charged for less grave neglect of duty over command responsibility. IAS Inspector General Alfegar Triambulo said policemen charged for grave misconduct and grave irregularity in the performance may be dismissed from the service. He said all these policemen were under restrictive custody at the PRO 8. "Para 'yung mga witnesses ng biktima para walang influence kasi may politics involve pinatransfer ang venue ng trial dito sa National IAS kaya inulit nanaman namin ang investigation pero nasa summary dismissal proceedings na yan," said Triambulo. The National Bureau of Investigation earlier filed murder and frustrated murder charges against nine individuals, including seven policemen, namely, Sucayre, Tan, Goles, Armeza, Cebu, Omega and Salem, for planning Aquino's killing. The NBI said a whistleblower, Police Master Sergeant Jose Jay Scenario, claimed that Aquino's political rival tapped the PNP to obtain a search warrant against the mayor and tag him as the protector of a policeman involved in the illegal drug trade. He said the ambush on the mayor had long been planned. Aquino and two of his companions were killed in an alleged encounter with the police on March 8, 2021 along Laboyao Bridge in Barangay Lonoy in Calbayog City. Police claimed they were not aware that Aquino was inside the vehicle, noting that his group fired at them first which prompted them to retaliate. Killed on the police side were Captain Joselito Tabada who was the police chief of Gandara Samar and also the acting chief of PDEA, and Staff Sergeant Romeo Cobococ Laoyon of PDEU. A civilian identified as Clint John Paul Yauder was also killed after being hit by a stray bullet during the crossfire. (SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| IAS recommends dismissal of cop who killed woman Posted: 23 Jun 2021 01:21 AM PDT THE Philippine National Police (PNP) Internal Affairs Service (IAS) has recommended the dismissal of the policeman who shot dead a 52-year-old woman following a confrontation in Quezon City last month. IAS Inspector General Alfegar Triambulo said they submitted to PNP Chief Guillermo Eleazar on Tuesday, June 22, 2021, their recommendation to dismiss Police Master Sergeant Hensie Zinampan. "Dismissal, because he did not contest the charge that he killed the woman. But he said he should not be dismissed because he has been in the service long. He said it was a first offense and he was previously the aggrieved person. If the penalty is dismissal, he would forfeit all the benefits," Triambulo said. Under the law, Triambulo said the penalty for serious offenses such as grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming is dismissal. "Hindi mo pwede i-apply ang mitigating circumstances para bumaba," he added. Triambulo said he was confident that Eleazar will approve the recommendation due to his ongoing cleanliness policy in the PNP. Zinampan was charged with grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming for killing his neighbor, Lilibeth Valdez, 52, following a heated argument in Barangay Greater Fairview on May 31, 2021. He was intoxicated when he shot Valdez at point-blank range, causing her instantaneous death. The incident was recorded on a mobile phone video by a witness. Zinampan was charged with murder. He is detained at the Quezon City Police District. Eleazar, in another interview, said he will review the recommendation of IAS before signing it to ensure that Zinampan can no longer go back to service. "Doon ang pupuntahan niyan but we are observing the due process para hindi tayo magkakaroon ng problema...We don't want that the likes of Zinampan ay magkaroon pa ng pagkakataon na mag stay sa ating organization," he said. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| PDEA destroys P1.2-B illegal drugs Posted: 23 Jun 2021 12:58 AM PDT THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) destroyed on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, over P1.2 billion worth of illegal drugs seized during various operations. PDEA Director Wilkins Villanueva said the illegal substances with a combined value of P1,295,050,354.65 were destroyed through thermal decomposition at the Integrated Waste Management Inc. (IWMI), Barangay Aguado, Trece Martires City, Cavite. Those destroyed were methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu), toluene, marijuana, cocaine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or ecstasy, pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, opium, diazepam, nitrazepam, alprazolam, methylephedrine, ketamine, methylphenidate, expired medicines, liquid shabu, and GBL (gamma-butyrolactone) Thermal decomposition, or thermolysis, is the process of breaking down chemical compounds by heat. At 1,000 degrees centigrade, all dangerous drugs are totally decomposed or broken down. Destruction of dangerous drugs is in compliance with the guidelines for the custody and disposition of seized dangerous drugs as contained in Section 21, Article II of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and Dangerous Drugs Board Regulation No. 1, Series of 2002. This is being conducted to ensure that illegal drugs seized during law enforcement operations are not being recycled by erring officials. Villanueva also said 786 kilograms of shabu that were seized recently will be destroyed by July, depending on the court order. He said they are continuously coordinating with the courts to expedite the process for the destruction of all the illegal drugs under their custody. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Local Alpha, Beta variant cases detected in regions Posted: 22 Jun 2021 11:10 PM PDT (UPDATED) There are no local Gamma or Delta variant cases in the Philippines yet, but 14 regions already have local Alpha variant cases while 15 regions have Beta variant cases. All 17 Delta variant cases and two Gamma cases involved returning overseas Filipinos, Dr. Eva Maria Cutiongco-de la Paz, executive director of the University of the Philippines - National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH), said in a media forum Wednesday, June 23, 2021. The Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P.1) and Delta (B.1.617) are the four variants of concern (VOC) of Sars-CoV-2, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). These first emerged in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil and India, respectively. As of June 17, the UP-NIH and UP-Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC) have detected 1,267 Beta cases, 1,085 Alpha cases, 17 Delta cases, 2 Gamma cases and 163 Theta cases. However, less than one percent, or 0.55 percent, out of the confirmed cases in the country have been sequenced. Theta (P.3), which was first confirmed in the Philippines, is a variant of interest (VOI) as more data are still needed to assess its global public health significance. Dr. Alethea de Guzman, director of the Department of Health (DOH) Epidemiology Bureau, said 312 of the VOC cases involved ROFs. The regions with local Alpha cases are Ilocos (11), Cagayan Valley (23), Cordillera (128), Central Luzon (28), Calabarzon (159), National Capital Region (374), Mimaropa (6), Western Visayas (1), Eastern Visayas (5), Caraga (9), Zamboanga Peninsula (2), Northern Mindanao (1), Davao (3) and Soccsksargen (5). Except Eastern Visayas, these regions also have local Beta cases, as follows: Ilocos (5), Cagayan Valley (3), Cordillera (10), Central Luzon (11), Calabarzon (136), National Capital Region (639), Mimaropa (2), Western Visayas (1), Caraga (23), Zamboanga Peninsula (61), Northern Mindanao (3), Davao (11) and Soccsksargen (4). Two other regions, Bicol (2) and Bangsamoro (1), have also reported local Beta cases. No local Alpha and Beta cases were reported in Central Visayas, but the Theta cases originated in this region. To prevent the entry of persons carrying VOCs into the country, De la Paz and De Guzman reminded local government units (LGUs) to strictly enforce border control measures. De Guzman also said any spike in Covid-19 cases in an area must be addressed immediately, and the interval from detection to isolation must be reduced to five days or less, said. Both officials emphasized that all vaccines work in preventing severe infection and those eligible should get the vaccine. They also reiterated strict compliance to the minimum public health standards (MPHS), which include proper wearing of face masks and face shields, and physical distancing. Delta variant Among the four VOCs, studies have shown that the Delta variant has the highest reproduction rate. A person with the original Sars-CoV-2 strain could infect two other people. The Alpha variant, which was first reported in the United Kingdom, could infect four or five other people. The Delta variant, which was first detected in India, could infect up to eight other people, De la Paz said, citing data from Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance. "In the UK, it (Delta) has rapidly overtaken the Alpha variant, which was 40 percent to 50 percent more transmissible than the original Sars-CoV-2 strain identified in Wuhan (China). But Delta is 60 percent more transmissible than the Alpha variant," De la Paz said. Citing Gavi, De la Paz said Delta now accounts for more than 91 percent of the sequenced Covid-19 cases, which in turn constitute about 30 percent of the total case count. It took only four to six weeks for the Delta variant to to cause a surge, she added. As of Wednesday, World Health Organization (WHO) data showed that the Delta variant has spread to 85 countries. The WHO has described it as the "fastest and fittest" variant yet, and it will "pick off" the most vulnerable people, especially in areas with low vaccination rates. De la Paz cited Gavi data that showed Delta may be manifesting different symptoms. In Southeast China, De la Paz said there are reports that patients developed more severe symptoms and their conditions deteriorated quickly. In the United Kingdom, she said a study tracking Covid-19 symptoms via a smartphone app found that headache is the most common symptom. De la Paz also cited reports saying more younger people, who are less likely to isolate as they mistake symptoms for a bad cold, have been infected with the Delta variant. There is also preliminary evidence from the UK that people infected with Delta are about twice as likely to require hospital admission while a study in Singapore said Delta cases are associated with higher odds of oxygen requirement, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, or death. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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