news nationinbrief


DOTC SETS CONSULTATION ON LRT FARE HIKE THE Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has calendared hearings or consultations with concerned groups as part of the preparations for the fare hike for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system. Transportation and Communications’ spokesman Dante Velasco on Saturday said in an interview aired over dzBB radio, that the consulta- tions would also tackle improvements in the LRT system, including a one-ticket system and possible insurance for passengers. “Consultation processes will start in October after the new fare rates are announced,” Velasco said..


FRANCIS EARL A. CUETO


PDEA HUNTS DOWN POLICE FOR DISTRIBUTING COCAINE A RANKING police officer who has been tagged as the brain of the syndicate distributing cocaine in Metro Manila and nearby provinces is now being hunted by members of the Philippine Drug enforcement Agency (PDEA). This was revealed by retired General Dionisio Santiago, PDEA director general after they have arrested Frederick Corpuz of Franville II, Camarin, Caloocan City, together with his live-in partner Maria Leyrevic Sillote, spa manager, of 16 Garnet Street, Merry Homes, Novaliches, Quezon City in a buy-bust operation. Santiago said that the contraband is believed to be part of the two tons of cocaine thrown into the high seas by a Chinese vessel sailing towards China from South America after they were tip off that US narcotics agents are waiting for their arrival.


24-HOUR NURSING COMPLEX FOR THE ELDERLY PUSHED A NURSING complex for the elderly that will operate for 24 hours, seven days a


week is being eyed in Tarlac. Rep. Susan Yap of the Second District of Tarlac made the proposal in her House Bill 359 titled Tarlac Elderly Care and Nursing Complex Act of 2010, which will institutionalize the construction of a pilot elderly care and nursing project complex in Tarlac. The proposed complex—envisioned to serve as the testing site and model for nursing home projects nationwide—would be open to all elderly that wish to avail of its services.


The Sunday Times SUNDAY


A 3


September 19, 2010


employees against their will working in country clubs and hotels, the US Justice Department said Friday


SAMMY MARTIN LLANESCA T. PANTI


(Saturday in Manila). Sophia Manuel, 41, and Alfonso Baldonado Jr., 45, were owners of a labor contracting service based in the Florida city of Boca Raton. Manuel and Baldonado “con- spired to obtain a cheap, compliant and readily available labor pool, by making false promises to entice the victims to incur debts,” read a De- partment of Justice statement, quot-


Fire fighters prefer new local firetrucks over used imports


ONE man’s trash is another man’s treasure but this is not the kind of trash-to-treasure the country must accept, that according to a group of firefighters, The country is becoming a junkyard of second-


hand fire trucks that easily wear out and cost more in reconditioning than brand new locally made alternatives, the Retired Firefighters Association of the Philippines (RFAP) said in a statement. According to the group the reason behind fire trucks being weak and unserviceable is that they are “second-hand reconditioned junks imported from our neighboring country.” The group revealed that the Bureau of Fire


Protection (BFP) has been accepting low-quality and nearly junk parts of fire trucks, if not the fire truck itself, from Indonesia and Thailand at a cheap price only to recondition it to a new one. “It is worthy to note that our fire bureau has


allotted a sizable amount of budget for mainte- nance, which is something that seems unreasonable. Their logic [is to] buy cheaper second-hand units and invest in never-ending maintenance of the procured junk,” RFAP said. Today, the power take-off technology of the fire truck only use one engine for both vehicle use and pumping water. This set up makes the engine to wear and tear faster. Ideally, the fire truck’s vehicle and water pump must have two separate engines, RFAP said. According to the group, fire trucks in the country service 64,117 Filipinos, a far cry from the ideal


1:28,000 people ratio.Data from the BFP show that in 2009, there was a fleet of 1,811 units of fire trucks, with only 1,385 or 77 percent being serviceable. A total of 94 trucks are unserviceable. As of July 2010, there are 1,871 fire trucks, of which 79 percent, or 1,482 are serviceable. Unservice- able trucks increased to 100 units. However, the groups said that even if the trucks are serviceable, their quality is questionable and they may have shorter lifespan since they are only reconditioned junk compared to new and local ones available in the market, the group said. “Imagine our safety being entrusted on these machines which are already trash, customized to address a concern as crucial as fire accident. And yet, the [fire bureau] claims to be working for the advancement of its Fire Science and Standards Development,” RFAP said. RFAP added that local ones are cheaper than the combined amount of the purchase and recondition- ing of the imported trucks. Earlier, Rep. Angelo Palmones of Agham party-


list already filed House Resolution 00202 which directs the BFP to shed light in the planned acquisition of imported fire trucks using the power take off mechanism when locally produced trucks with separate power for vehicle engine and water pump are available. The resolution has been already referred to the


Committee on Public Order and Safety. JOHN CONSTANTINE G. CORDON


of stepdaughter for 21 years Woman hides murder Dear PAO,


Sometime in January 1989, I saw my play- mate being strangled to death by her step- mother. I saw her placing the dead body of my playmate inside their car truck and drove away. Her stepmother spread the news that my playmate went to Ormoc City to live with her grandparents. I did not tell this to any- one for fear of my life. What if I will report the crime to the NBI authorities now, would the State still prosecute my playmate’s step- mother? If I am not mistaken, 20 years is the prescriptive period for this case. It is al- ready 21 years?


MCD Dear MCD,


Crimes are prosecuted in the name of the People of the Philippines, and the State has the right to prosecute a case for as long as the same is filed within the prescriptive period as provided for by law. Pre- scription of crimes pertains to the loss or waiver by the State of its right to prosecute an act prohibited and punished by law. This is in line with the policy of the law that prosecu- tions should be prompt and that statutes enforcing that


promptitude should be maintained, these pro- visions being not merely acts of grace but checks imposed by the State upon itself (Peo- ple v Lacson, G.R.149453, April 1, 2003, 400 SCRA 267). You did not mention in your letter if the other relatives, i.e. father, siblings or grandpar- ents of your playmate had already known or discovered that your playmate is already dead. This is a very important fact because the pe- riod of prescription of an offense shall com- mence to run from the day when the crime is discovered by the offended party, the authori- ties, or their agents, and shall be interrupted by the filing of the complaints. The pertinent provisions of the Revised Pe- nal Code, which are applicable to your query, are Articles 90 and 91, thus: “Article 90. Prescription of crime - Crimes punishable by death, reclusion perpetua or


reclusion temporal shall prescribe in twenty (20) years.


Crimes punishable by other afflictive penal- ties shall prescribe in fifteen (15) years. Those punishable by a correctional penalty shall prescribe in ten (10) years; with the excep- tion of those punishable by arresto mayor, which shall prescribe in five (5) years.


The crime of libel or other similar offenses shall prescribe in one (1) year.


The offenses of oral defamation and slander


by deed shall prescribe in six (6) months. Light offenses prescribe in two (2) months. When the penalty fixed by law is a compound


one, the highest penalty shall be made the ba- sis of the application of the rules contained in the first, second, and third para- graph of this article (As amended by Republic Act 4661, approved June 19, 1966.) Article 91. Computation of prescription of offenses - The pe- riod of prescription shall com- mence to run from the day on which the crime is discovered by the offended party, the authori- ties, or their agents. x x x x.” Anent your query if the step- mother will be prosecuted the answer is yes. From the forego- ing provisions, it is clear that the


prescriptive period within which to file a crimi- nal complaint starts to run from the time that the crime is discovered by any of the following, the offended party and the authorities or their agents. Absent a showing that the alleged crime has not yet been discovered by any of the of- fended parties, and the same will only be known and reported to the proper government authori- ties by you, that is the time that the prescriptive period begins to run. The 20-year prescriptive period will begin to run on the day that you reported the alleged crime. The right of the gov- ernment to prosecute has not yet prescribed. We hope that we were able to address your query.


Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Pub- lic Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net or via text mes- sage (key in: Times dearpao and send to 2299).


ing court documents. The co-conspirators promised the


workers high wages and two to three years of steady work in the United States, then had the workers pay “substantial recruitment fees, in- cluding their airfare,” which put them in debt to their US-based em- ployers, according to an indictment earlier this year.


Florida couple pleads guilty to abusing 39 Pinoy workers W


ASHINGTON, D.C.: A Florida couple pleaded guilty


to conspiring to hold 39 Filipino


Once the workers were in the United States, the defendants “com- pelled the victims’ labor and serv- ices through threats to have the workers arrested and deported, knowing the workers faced serious economic harm and possible incar- ceration for nonpayment of debts in the Philippines,” the statement read. When the workers arrived at Manuel and Baldonado’s Florida resi- dence, the couple confiscated their passports and “housed them in over- crowded, substandard conditions without adequate food or drinking water; put them to work at area coun- try clubs and hotels for little or no pay; required them to remain in the de- fendants’ service, unpaid when there was insufficient work.”


They ordered them not to leave


the premises without permission and “threatened to have the work- ers arrested and deported for com- plaining about these terms and con- ditions,” the statement said. Manuel also pleaded guilty to ly- ing in an application filed with the US Labor Department to obtain foreign labor certifications and vi- sas under the federal H2B guest worker program.


“These defendants victimized vul- nerable individuals for profit,” said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division. Agencies involved in investigating the case include Immigration and Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the US Depart- ment of Labor.


AFP Fil-Am state legislator wins crucial election BY JUN MEDINA SENIOR CORRESPONDENT


FORT WASHINGTON, Maryland: Filipino-Ameri- can Kris Valderrama is virtually assured of reelection to Maryland’s House of Delegates (the equivalent of the House of Representatives) thanks to the support of Filipinos who came out in full force in a hard-fought Democratic Primary. The primary is a process of choosing the party’s official candidates for na- tional, state and local posts in the gen- eral elections. Valderrama, 39 and a mother of two,


won 19 percent of the votes to nail down the final third and final berth in the three-man in the Democratic Party- dominated 26th District of Prince George County, despite being junked by her incumbent party mates.


With 99 percent of the votes tallied,


Valderrama won of 1,163 votes over Ollie Anderson, who got 15 percent of the votes. The top finishers were Veronica Turner who got 25 percent and Jay Walker with 23 percent of the votes. “This victory is, oh, so sweet!” exalted


Valderrama who won by about 100 votes in a nail-biter four years ago. “The men, women and children of our communities—Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike—rallied to- gether and fought as one in order to con-


tinue our presence in the Maryland po- litical arena,” Valderrama said. Her reelection is assured because dis- trict 26 has traditionally been a Demo- crat stronghold.


Crucial win It was a crucial win for Valderrama, who


was dropped from the Democratic in- cumbents’ ticket apparently because she is perceived as a threat to the district’s incumbent senator. Valderrama thanked her campaign sup-


porters, especially fellow Filipinos who pounded the streets and burned the phone lines in her fight for political survival. Bing Cardenas Branigin, community and media outreach head of the Na- tional Federation of Filipino Americans (NAFFAA), commended volunteers who came Washington D.C. and nearby Vir- ginia to lend their support. “Obviously Pinoys closed ranks and came in droves to pull for Kris because we was fighting an uphill fight,” Branigin said. “Filipinos al- ways love the underdog and Kris was a big underdog after she was dropped by her fellow incumbents for what- ever reasons.”


Branigin lauded NAFFAA’s Jon Melegrito and overall campaign coor- dinator Kathleen Topacio Flores, who


deployed hundreds of volunteers to hit the neighborhoods of Oxon Hill, Fort Washington, Camp Springs, Forest Heights and Temple Hills, which con- stitute District 26. She said even the Filipino Ameri-


can Republicans of Virginia (FARV) contributed to the campaign, and fielded volunteers, including Maurese Owens, who helped the phone bri- gade get Filipino-American voters to vote for Valderrama.


Hundreds of Filipino teachers in Saint George County—permanent residents or “Green Card” holders who cannot vote—joined in the campaign, knocking on doors, distributing leaflets and later helping man 29 polling places. Lito Serrano, another Pinoy commu- nity leader from McLean, Virginia, said he was heartened by the “massive show of support by our fellow Filipinos dur- ing crunch time.” Serrano, Valderrama’s godfather, said Kris’ victory speaks of the kind of lead- ership and commitment to the commu- nity she has demonstrated in the last four years.


Kris’ father David Valderrama was the first ethnic Filipino to win an elective post in a state legislature in the US main- land, winning his seat in the 26th dis- trict from 1991 to 2003.


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