Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales has ordered the filing of charges against Senator gregorio Honasan, II for two counts of violation of the 'Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act'. Also facing graft charges before the Sandiganbayan are Political Affairs/Project Coordinator Chief Michael Benjamin and NCMF executives, namely: Secretary Mehol Sadain, Acting Chief Accountant Fedelina Aldanese, Director III Galay Makalinggan, Chief Sania Busran, Acting Chief Aurora Aragon-Mabang, and Cashier Olga Galido. Focus officers included in the graft case are Giovanni Manuel Gaerlan and Salvador Gaerlan. Photo of Sen. Honasan from facebook.
Senator Gregorio Honasan II and nine others are seen to face graft charges for alleged involvement in the P29-1 million Priority Development Assistance (PDAF) scam.
Ths was learned as Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales has ordered the filing of charges against the senator for two counts of violation of the “Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act”.
The anti-graft body found that in April 2012, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released the amount of P30 million as part of Honasan’s PDAF with the National Council of Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) as implementing agency.
The fund was intended to finance small and medium enterprise/livelihood projects for the benefit of Muslim Filipinos in communities in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Zambales province.
Documents showed that in June 2012, Honasan indorsed Focus Development Goals Foundation, Inc. as non-government organization (NGO)-partner without the compliance on procurement regulations.
The Ombudsman itemized in its resolution approved on Sept. 21, 2016, that the check dated May 30, 2012 and disbursement voucher approving the payment were prepared by public respondents in favor of Focus even before
(1) the NGO was informed that it was found qualified to undertake the project on 04 June 2012;
(2) the MOA was signed by the Office of Senator Honasan, NCMF and Focus; and
(3) Honasan authorized the release of funds to Focus.”
Honasan, and his co-accused, facilitated and approved the payment in favor of Focus via two tranches totaling P29.1 million.
The senator failed to submit his counter-affidavit during the investigation.
“The repeated illegal transfers of public funds to the NGO, resulted in the quantifiable, pecuniary losses to the Government, thus constituting undue injury within the context of Section 3(e) of R.A. No. 3019,” Ombudsman Morales said.
Also facing graft charges before the Sandiganbayan are Political Affairs/Project Coordinator Chief Michael Benjamin and NCMF executives, namely: Secretary Mehol Sadain, Acting Chief Accountant Fedelina Aldanese, Director III Galay Makalinggan, Chief Sania Busran, Acting Chief Aurora Aragon-Mabang, and Cashier Olga Galido.
Focus officers included in the graft case are Giovanni Manuel Gaerlan and Salvador Gaerlan. (PNA / Perfecto T. Raymundo)
Tell us your thoughts on this article. If logged in with any of your Wordpress.com, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or registered on this site before, then you can simply write your comment below. Thanks and appreciate your feedback. Cancel reply
Her story resembles that of a script lifted direct from a tele-novela. This video is another installment in our continuing coverage of ordinary people sharing their experience during their married life. The resource speaker on this video supports the passage of the divorce bill in the Philippine congress. The speaker […]
Did regret came too late? A girl who transitioned to becoming a boy during teenage year speaks of great regret for having done so. Charlie Evans “became” male for close to ten years before making a turn-around from a decision made. Evans detransitioned in 2018. But will it recoup the […]
This is only a passing question for residents living around the City of Naga and also of towns nearby, and maybe of Camarines Sur province, too. Have you visited the Jesse Robredo museum yet? If not, then come on, let’s join Vice-President Leni Robredo show us around. The VPOP is […]
Canadians react with disdain on government officials, which include PM Justin Trudeau and Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, due to garbage dumping in the Philippines. Watch how independent conservative YouTube channel shares reaction and more below: [At 1:40, notice the government official sitting right of President Duterte make face, reacting to […]
Sharing here the attendance of Vice President Leni Robredo during the 121st Independence Day rites this morning at Rizal Park in Manila. And below is the commemorative message of the vice president for the occasion: Sa araw na ito, bilang nagkakaisang lahi, ipinagdiriwang natin ang ika-isangdaan at dalawampu’t isang taon […]
A short clip derived from a PBS (US tv channel) documentary highlights a woman acquiring a “sense of peace” after aborting her two (twin) babies. The woman was shown getting clear instruction from the doctor on the dosage and timing of taking “medical” abortion pills. The doctor was so blatant […]
The most important and relevant documentary movie drops today. Will it be truth bites the plight of mass migration hurting Europe? We are referring to the much awaited “Borderless” movie by independent Canadian activist-journalist Lauren Southern and her team. After months enduring the rigors (and danger) of (clandestine) location filming, […]
Some world leaders, and even the mainstream media, didn’t get it. But at least, Pope Francis on Easter Sunday speaking after the special Easter ‘Urbi et Orbi’ message and blessing, expressed his “heartfelt closeness to the Christian community [of Sri Lanka] wounded as it was gathered in prayer, and to […]
Daring independent journalist Lauren Southern is on the hot trail of the illegal immigration happening now in most of Europe. On this her latest reportage the daring Canadian exposes the alleged human smugglers and traffickers operating in Greece as NGO’s like the Emergency Response Center International. ERCI is a self-described […]
This should be the first walking tour for inmotion channel, I mean, a walking exploration. So here I was at the churchyard of the main Catholic church in my hometown which is the Parish church of Our Lady of La Porteria. Welcome to inMotion. And many thanks and appreciate for […]
Yes, totally true. The epic fails in Ilocos Norte. One of which was the “cable cart” ride which amused the passengers at first. Then afterwards lost the interest for the operator obviously had difficulty maneuvering the cart up its destination and back. But hey, it was a good try. The […]
Culled from the online news portal itself, Rappler reports agents from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested Rappler CEO and executive editor Maria Ressa early Wednesday evening, February 13. The arrest was done in connection with a cyber libel case filed by the justice department. NBI officers in civilian […]
This Philippine province of almost two million people, or 1.9 (1,952,544) million warm bodies according to the official census count of 2015 is the biggest in the Bicol region in terms of population and land area. While it is rich in natural resources and beautiful scenic places, majority of its […]
I am back, yet again, after a long hibernation of sorts. I fixed some personal issues, settled what should have been done before and still in the process of accepting and facing some other health circumstances that is part of life. And then I completely pushed aside into the backburner […]
After posting the article covering the much vaunted Pantao regional port located in Libon town of Albay province we dig a foot deeper and decided to go ahead with an update and rejoinder about the project. Envisioned to boost a “robust economic corridor in southern Luzon, specifically for Daet, Naga […]
Time magazine’s 2018 acknowledged person(s) of the year (POY) received mixed reaction from netizens. Before the end of year, the US-based news magazine picks a POY of their choice who has done the most to influence the events of the year. This 2018, it came out with not one, but […]
As many expected, former Philippine senator Bong Revilla on Friday was acquitted by the Sandiganbayan of the plunder case in relation to the misuse of P224 million pork barrel funds. Pork barrel funds were coated as Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of previous administrations. His co-accused, bussinesswoman Janet Lim Napoles […]
We get it. Bicolanos and travelers to and from the region will have to get used to flying and landing on four dated airports, one each in Legazpi, Pili (for Naga), Virac and Masbate. The one and only, but much vaunted, Bicol International Airport, or the Southern Luzon International Airport, […]
The domestic airport in Pili serving metropolitan Naga and the provinces of Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte will soon be capable of catering to evening flight take-off and landing operations. The Naga airport, which is operated by the Air transportation Office (ATO) of the Department of Transportation and Communications, has […]
To get a good grasp of the illegal immigrant crisis in the United States (America), and in Europe (European Union), we are sharing below two video coverage, one for each. These are different takes on the massive migrant caravan that began marching from Central America, mostly coming from Honduras, with […]
The town of Daraga in Albay province, has total assets of P1.029 billion making it to the top of the list among the richest municipal local government units (LGU) for 2017, besting 106 others in Bicol region, according to the Commission on Audit (COA). Daraga, aside from topping the list, […]
Ownership of the University of Nueva Caceres change hands. Kind of. For decades, the Hernandez family of Naga city and Libmanan town used to own and manage the first and largest university in Bicol. But not anymore as the education arm of the Ayala Corporation, the AC Education, Inc., (AEI) […]
Naga City, Bicol’s financial, business, educational and religious capital now has a total net worth of over P4.675 billion, making it the richest local government unit (LGU) in the region, according to the Commission on Audit (COA). The City of Ligao, in Albay province, followed far second, with a total […]
Why Fuentebella’s Partido Development Administration got the axe. The administration is cleaning up the mess of the past. Or, so it seems. Recently, Malacañang abolished a Bicol-based Government Owned or Controlled Corporation (GOCC) created during the administration of former president Fidel V. Ramos. The Partido Development Administration (PDA) was snapped […]
While I am not required to explain why I am using English as the medium or language of this channel, I am too happy to explain why. Also, I think it is time to share our reason. Hello friends, Thank you for dropping by and watching this post. At the […]
Today, I temporarily place under my drawer the primary concern of growing more subs. Because today we go Chinese. I mean, I will talk in passing about the Chinese Zodiac as very soon the Chinese New Year will come with a bang on Feb 16, 2018 and end on Feb […]
The Malacanang palace on Saturday made known an official denial it has got no hand in the subpoenas issued by the National Bureau of Investigation to online xocial news network publisher Rappler chief executive officer (CEO) Maria Ressa and two others over cybercrime raps, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on […]
President Rodrigo Duterte has designated Undersecretary Rosalina Bistoyong as Officer-In-Charge of the Department of Agrarian Reform. She will occupy the vacated post of Rafael Mariano whose nomination was rejected by the powerful joint congressional Commission on Appointments last September 6. Bistoyong is a career executive service professional in the government […]
The residence of Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog of Iloilo city on Thursday afternoon was the subject of initial inspection from a team of the National Bureau of Investigation.. Witness to the arrival of the inspection team include Ariel Castañeda, the head of the Local Economic Enterprise Office (LEEO) of the […]
My English classes in Grade Six will be the first set of pupils under the K-12 curriculum moving up to Grade 7 come March this school year. At this point, even while it is too early, I try to foresee the probable challenges and impact on their learning curve due […]
President Rodrigo Duterte’s blogger-supporter and now amply rewarded as Assistant Secretary in the office of Presidential Communication Operations Office has courted, again, the ire of netizens, specifically Twitter users. This time, tweets criss cross the internet calling for the ouster or removal of the former sexy dancer from her Malacanang […]
Thanks to the long known advocacy of the Greeenpeace group, the 4th Annual sky lantern flying activity in Legazpi city was eventually canceled by its organizers. The organizers of the 4th Annual sky lantern flying activity have decided today to cancel the event after it was met with strong opposition […]
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas wants you to know that it would be very difficult to produce a counterfeit of the new generation Philippine bank notes now in circulation. With the very stringent process, the bank note paper used made up of cotton with Philippine abaca, and all other security features […]
In its disclosure with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Monday, the Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. (BDO) registered a P13.3-billion net income in the first half of 2017, much higher than the PHP11.7 billion in the same period in 2016. The leading unibank of the country traced the improvement of […]
This should confirm the long suspected plunge of the peso vis-à-vis the US dollar. Now the peso is seen to weaken further beyond the range of 48-50 until the end of year 2017. If it does, which is srongly possible, President Rodrigo Duterte’s economc managers are missing something. Yet, it […]
Albay province will stage a 50-mile run during the celebration of Daragang Magayon Festival on April 6. The marathon will test the endurance and speed of runners who will compete in the Mayon 360º, a run around the circumference of Mt. Mayon. The race is one of the sports highlight […]
After posting the article covering the much vaunted Pantao regional port located in Libon town of Albay province we dig a foot deeper and decided to go ahead with an update and rejoinder about the project. Envisioned to boost a “robust economic corridor in southern Luzon, specifically for Daet, Naga […]
Will Metro Manila commute improve with a new traffic czar? This is in the mind of many as the Secretary of the Department of Transportation Arthur Tugade designates Highway Patrol Group Acting Director Sr. Supt. Antonio Gardiola as Metro Manila’s new traffic czar. That was after the heads gathered together […]
The Sandigan Bayan First Division has been stopped, again, from proceeding with its trial on the plunder case against former President of the Philippines (POTP) Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, now on her second term as the 2nd district congressional representative of Pampanga. The Supreme Court of the Philippines (SCOTP) has extended […]
This is the live streaming of the re-opening of Senate Hearing by the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs (January 27, 2016) on the Mamasapano massacre of 44 members of the elite Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police. Related story here Author Recent Posts Sr. Editorial Staff […]
Three huge National Irrigation Administration projects worth P336,845,505.73 is underway for Ilocos Norte, Bukidnon and Davao Del Sur. The amount is earmarked to rehabilitate, improve irrigation systems and fund the construction of irrigators’ association support facilities. The finalized project contracts under the National Irrigation Sector Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (NISRIP) […]
Fifty eight years last month, in November 18, 1952, the former mayor of Calabanga town unveiled a donation of a (cement) bench located at the plaza. Now with the onslaught of change and modest modernization, the bench still occupies its original location. But it has served its purpose and the passage of time clearly made its mark.
Camarines Sur 1st district congressman Rolando Andaya, Jr., was formally charged by the Office of the Ombudsman, for his role as the secretary of the Department of Budget and Management, in connection with the anomalous utilization of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) released during the term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Leading presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe engaged Vice President Jejomar Binay in heated debate on Sunday over issue of corruption that tainted the candidacy of the vice president. During the second Presidential Debates 2016 held at the University of the Philippines (UP) Performing Arts Hall inCebu City, Poe was asked […]
MANILA, Dec. 8 – Power back to “normal” in many areas after typhoon Ruby. The National Grid Corporation has completed power restoration works in Quezon and Sorsogon provinces after Tropical Storm “Ruby” affected transmission lines last Saturday. The NGCP said on its 7:00 p.m. update, it has restored power in […]
MANILA, March 30 — For travellers going to Baguio city this Holy Week, got to read this. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to implement an experimental one-way traffic scheme at Kennon Road from Holy Tuesday to Good Friday. According to DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson, the […]
We focus our attention on the volunteer devotees, the people that paddles manually the boats all stringed together pulling the “vancuerna” or “pagoda” or the barge that carries about one hundred fifty people including the images of the Virgin of Peñafrancia and the Divino Rostro.
As the last of ’ember months’ end this year, the Department of Labor emphasize it is a must for employers to pay workers’ 13th month pay no later than December 24th. Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III emphasized this on Monday because companies either do not comply with the law […]
I-Witness Account of the Quest for the Largest Human No-Smoking Sign in Albay Last June 28, 2013 on a bright Friday morning Albayanos converged in Albay park and orderly marched towards the football field of the Bicol University main campus. The massive event was in participation to the quest, and […]
When a push become a shove into identifying and funding government projects, what matters most? Before the onset of the official campaign period of the midterm elections, the second engineering district office of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Camarines Sur started a road project in Calabanga. A […]
Her story resembles that of a script lifted direct from a tele-novela. This video is another installment in our continuing coverage of ordinary people sharing their experience during their married life. The resource speaker on this video supports the passage of the divorce bill in the Philippine congress. The speaker […]
Easily, then, Bicol river is both the queen and mother of all rivers in southern Luzon due to its size and influence. It holds sway and impact on the fertile and floodplains of the provinces, dictating the state of economic well-being and status affecting thousands of lives of people- including farmers, fisherfolks, travellers, etc., around its sphere of natural terrain.
Even as I have discussed and recalled memories, stories and current events about Siruma, I kept missing one more place much nearer our residence and of my father’s hometown. In a way, it is my third hometown, though. I am referring to Bolaobalite, which immediately stirred a chord in my […]
The Philippine Coconut Authority is recommending the inter-cropping strategy to coconut farmers after the devastation brought by killer typhoon “Yolanda” in Samar and Leyte provinces. PCA Albay official Ed Bailon said inter-cropping should be introduced as an alternative income of the affected coco farmers while waiting for the total recovery […]
QUEZON CITY, Nov. 10 — The Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board (HRVCB) has clarified all possible claimants application has until 12:00 midnight of November 10, 2014 to file their paperworks in its main office at ISSI, UP Diliman, and including all regional desks. The assurance of Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez […]
Ex-President Fidel Ramos chides P-Noy on Mamasapano incident Former President Fivel V. Ramos sounded off a somewhat spicy message for President Aquino. “You must balance your actions with hot pursuit, this is law enforcement with peacemaking,” former President Fidel V. Ramos said in a speech during ceremonies in Intramuros marking […]
The Department of Labor and Employment said that about 13.90 per cent of Bicol employers do not comply with the current minimum wage rate as specified in Wage Order No. RBV-16 which stipulates P260.00 per day for establishments with more than 10 workers and P236.00 per day for those with […]
Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Occidental was gripped in fear when a man commandeered a passenger van in the airport compound and breached the main gate on Monday. Police identified the suspect as Victor Samban of Malaybalay City, Bukidnon. Junal Andaya, the driver of the commandeered passenger van, said that the […]
Live Stream: Poe-Llamanzares Vs. Comelec 4rth Oral Arguments at SCOTP This is the fourth live stream coverage of the Poe-Llamanzares Vs. Comelec 4rth Oral Arguments G.R. No. 221697 from the Supreme Court of the Philippines (SCOTP). Follow the update on the disqualification case for the presidential run of Senator Grace […]
