Bilibid blast mocks maximum security

“Maximum security” may be a misnomer for that special section of the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, where only 228 guards working on eight-hour shifts keep watch over 13,097 inmates.
NBP Superintendent Ramon Reyes cited these figures and apparent lapses on the part of his men, as officials of the country’s main prison facility got another egg on the face following a grenade attack inside the maximum security compound that wounded six inmates Friday morning.
Speaking to reporters, Reyes said the explosion could be related to an ongoing war between prison gangs, noting that the wounded all belonged to one group, Batang City Jail.
The six victims were part of a group of inmates who were out for a morning jog.
Reyes said that after meeting with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima about the incident, he learned that President Aquino himself questioned the NBP’s level of security.
“The President wants to know how someone was able to bring a grenade in,” Reyes said.
Caught on CCTV
Footage from NBP’s closed-circuit television cameras showed that an inmate came up from behind the group of joggers as they were going past the Alternative Learning System building inside the compound.
The suspect then lobbed the grenade which exploded on a concrete bench near the joggers.
Reported wounded in the explosion were Jeric Dioquino, Sabas Lastimoso, Ronnie Franco, Nino Garin, Eddie Boy Oson and Fernando Montemayor.
Recovered from the scene were several bits of shrapnel, including the grenade’s pin and lever, Reyes said.
Reyes admitted that while body-searches and other measures against contraband had been intensified at the maximum security compound, “may nakakalusot pa rin. Pilit natin tinutuklas kung paano (There’s are still some banned items that get through. We are doing our best to find out how this is still happening).”
Reyes said the grenade may have been smuggled into the compound long before the attack. “It was probably buried somewhere and then taken out when it was needed.”
Later in a phone interview, Reyes said it was possible that some inmates were able to smuggle weapons into the compound “in cahoots with some of our employees who could be tempted (with bribes).”
He also noted that vehicles like rice delivery vans, ambulances and NBP’s own multicabs could be used by the smugglers. Firearms, for example, could be concealed in the sacks of rice.
The Department of Justice said the National Bureau of Investigation will conduct a parallel probe into Friday’s grenade explosion.
“The information we got is that it was an inmate who threw it (grenade). The question is how did the grenade get inside; that’s the big question they should answer. I’m sure Justice Secretary Leila de Lima will ask them to explain,” Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III told reporters. With a report from Jerome Aning

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Philippine exports recover in September

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine exports rose at their fastest pace in almost two years in September as the troubled electronics sector recovered and shipments to Japan soared, the government said Tuesday.
September exports rose 22.8 percent from a year earlier to $4.784 billion, the National Statistics Office said in a statement.
This marked the biggest rebound since December 2010, when exports rose 26.5 percent, records showed.
“Improved overall demand for the country’s manufactured exports was mainly due to the generally favorable developments in global industrial production,” the National Economic and Development Authority said in a statement.
Economist Luz Lorenzo of ATR-Kim Eng Securities said exports to Japan, the top market for the month, rose 115 percent to $1.473 billion due to increased demand as the country recovered from a 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
This helped bring double- or even triple-digit growth in Philippine exports of tuna, metal components, bananas, woodcraft and furniture, she said.
“Those are things we export a lot of, to Japan,” Lorenzo said.
The head of the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Sergio Ortiz-Luis, said the September figures were a sign that developed countries were starting to buy electronic products again.
However he expressed doubt that exports would hit the 10-percent growth target earlier set by the government for this year.
“It’s kind of difficult now. We just have three months to go,” Ortiz-Luis said.
Philippine exports had plunged 6.9 percent in 2011 amid a sharp drop in demand for its electronics products.
Total Philippine exports in the first nine months of 2012 year rose 7.2 percent year-on-year to $40.07 billion.
Electronics exports rose 1.1 percent in September. The sector accounted for 38.3 percent of all Philippine shipments for the month.
Electronics exports had plunged 14.9-percent fall in August when overseas demand slumped amid the slowdown in the economies of developed countries.
After Japan, the United States was the second largest export market, buying $602.89 million in September, the government said.
This was a 16.2-percent increase from the same period last year.

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Pilot error, poor maintenance caused Robredo plane crash, official report says

MANILA, Philippines – The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) found pilot error and poor aircraft maintenance as the causes of the airplane crash that killed Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and two others last August.
In a press conference Tuesday, President Benigno Aquino III announced the results of the CAAP investigation of the airplane crash off the coast of Masbate that killed Robredo and pilots Captain Jessup Bahinting and flight student Kshitiz Chand.
“When I read the initial report, I felt a mixture of sadness and dismay,’’ the President said before the committee released details of its investigation report in Malacañang.
The committee, chaired by Capt. Amado Soliman Jr., concluded that when the right hand engine became problematic, Captain Bahinting  committed an error by continuing to “fly away from Cebu’’ instead of turning back. The plane was flying from Cebu to Naga City when it crashed.
Aquino said that Aviatour, the company that owned and operated the ill-fated Piper Seneca carrying Robredo from Mactan Airport last August 18 was found to have lapses in its compliance with requirements of the CAAP.
CAAP said in the report that poor maintenance of the airplane’s right engine had caused it to stall.
CAAP investigators also found that Aviatour management had allegedly connived with CAAP inspectors to allow the aircraft to pass
“The pieces of evidence pointed to one thing: if some people did their job, if the rules of the industry were followed, if those involved were only faithful to their obligations, the tragedy could have been avoided,’’ he continued.
Aquino said Bahinting lacked the proper experience and training for “one-engine inoperative emergency’’ even though some said he was an expert pilot.
“It’s clear he failed to fly the plane safely on one operating engine. Apart from this, 23 minutes after taking off from Mactan, he became aware that the engine malfunctioned, but instead of turning back, they flew ahead to Naga,’’ he said.
“They were airborne for 70 minutes before the plane crashed. That means, if they had turned back immediately to Mactan, there was a high possibility the accident could have been avoided,’’ he continued.
The Piper Seneca, piloted by Bahinting, took off from the Cebu International Airport for Naga City at around 3 p.m. on Aug. 18. At about 4:25 p.m., it crashed into the waters off Masbate City, killing Robredo, Bahinting and Nepalese student pilot Kshitiz Chand.
Robredo’s aide, Senior Insp. Jun Abrazado, survived. He swam out through an opening in the plane and was rescued by a fisherman.
Malacañang organized a state funeral for Robredo. It has announced national days of mourning from Aug. 21, when Robredo’s body was recovered, until his interment.
The CAAP later created a special committee, composed of representatives from various sectors of the aviation industry, to investigate the crash.
The investigating committee, chaired by Capt. Amado Soliman Jr., cited several key errors by the pilot, but the most blatant was: “When the right hand engine became problematic, he continued to fly away from Cebu instead of turning back.’’
While one engine had problems, both engines were still functioning and continued to do so for another 30 minutes. And Cebu has the most modern air navigation and communication equipment, the longest runway, the widest airstrip, the most advanced and most trained crash, fire and rescue equipment and personnel within reach, it added.
“Mostly, it is the pilot’s inability to control that aircraft on an emergency situation where he lost one engine,’’ Soliman said.
The other errors were:
* pilot had no previous experience on the flight route;
* pilot lost situational awareness with regard to the plane’s relative position to Masbate Airport;
* pilot’s license renewal did not cover “one engine inoperative emergency’’ during his proficiency flight;
* upon entering Masbate airspace, the pilot undertook improper approach procedures, such as flight approach heading pattern, premature extension of landing gear and flaps, and improper approach maneuver;
Aquino said Bahinting’s premature extension of the landing gear and flaps ran counter to the Piper Seneca Flight Manual Procedures for twin-engine planes.
“According to the experts, this contributed to the ‘drag,’ that slowed down the plane until this could no longer be controlled and crashed,’’ he said.
Accordingly, pilot error caused the crash, and pilot Bahinting “improperly handled a one-engine inoperative emergency,’’ Soliman said during a PowerPoint presentation.
“Among airline pilots, single engine is just a routine maneuver. I don’t know why in the general aviation, there seems to be a problem. Even if you lose an engine–a twin or a multi-engine aircraft–it doesn’t have to end in an accident. But it will end in an accident if the pilot lacks the training to handle that aircraft during emergency situation flight having lost one engine,’’ he later said in response to reporters’ questions.
“As I was saying, it could have gone back to Cebu and still landed with two engines because the engine conked out 37 minutes after the first indication of trouble. So he was only 23 minutes out of Mactan, it could have very well gone back to Mactan and land with  two engines,’’ he continued.
In its findings on the plane, the committee concluded that the right hand engine experienced “hard starting’’ after the installation of the overhauled propeller, but this was not recorded in the aircraft logbook.
Specifically, two screws that held the idler gear shaft in place had “material failure.’’ The bent edge of the lock plate was supposed to lock the screw in place was also found broken, it added.
The committee concluded that the stoppage of the right-hand engine caused the emergency, the stoppage was “likely caused’’ by intermittent fuel supply and erratic engine firing; and the intermittent fuel supply was caused by parts failure due to bad maintenance.
It also noted that Aviatour was not certified by the aircraft manufacturer and by CAAP to conduct maintenance on the aircraft.
“The checks and balances of Aviatour were also found wanting. The investigation showed that Aviatour’s own mechanics conducted checks on the Piper Seneca when they were not authorized by the manufacturer,’’ the President said.
The committee also found flaws in the management of Aviatour, including improper issuance of airworthiness certificate.
Airworthiness inspector Fernando Abalos approved the test flight permit for renewal for airworthiness certificate for the ill-fated Seneca plane on Jan. 7, 2012, but there was no record on the aircraft logbook for the test flight, the committee said.
A check with Mactan-Cebu International Airport Flight Operations Log showed that no flight plan for the plane was filed on that day, it added.
Capt. Federico Omolon, Aviatour’s flight instructor, testified that Bahinting asked him to sign the flight test report even though he did not fly the plane on Jan. 7 this year, the committee said.
On Jan. 17 this year, Abalos signed and endorsed the company’s application for airworthiness certificate renewal of the ill-fated plane, and an entry in the Civil Aviation Safety Oversight Reporting and Tracking database showed that the documents for such renewal had been reviewed by Abalos.
On Feb. 2, the certificate of airworthiness was released to Armand Gozum of Aviatour, but this was pre-dated Jan. 7, 2012.
“Captain Bahinting connived with airworthiness inspector Abalos to expedite the processing and approval of the certificate of airworthiness,’’ the committee concluded.
“It was clear that they committed deception and fraud. The cost: the life of three people,’’ the President said. “This is a symptom of anomaly in a system that has long prevailed, and which we are now addressing. We will not allow this system to continue. That’s why evidence would continue to be gathered to hold accountable those who have shortcomings on the part of Aviatour and even CAAP.’’
Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II, Robredo’s successor, said he felt “sad” over the reported connivance of Bahinting with CAAP officials.
The President gave the following instructions to the transport officials:
*Audit the permits and licenses issued by CAAP, and recall those that violate standards of the Philippine Civil Air Regulations
* Strengthen the rules for the operations of the flying schools, air taxi, approved maintenance organizations.
*Craft additional mechanisms to strictly enforce industry regulations.
“We don’t want this tragedy to happen to anyone,’’ he said. “More than mourning, more than honor and recognition, Jesse would want us to learn from the tragedy that befell him. Let’s not allow his passing to come to naught.’’
With the release of the investigation report, CAAP director general William Hotchkiss III ordered the creation of a special investigating body to look into administrative and criminal culpabilities of CAAP and Aviatour’s personnel.
“Aviatour has been suspended–its full operation before–but not its personnel, not yet. We need to go through a due process thing,’’ Hotchkiss said.
In consultation with Assistant Director General (Abdiel) Fajardo, Hotchkiss said he would act on the matter of suspending CAAP personnel within the week.
“Whatever is turned up by the investigating body will definitely also feel the brunt of the full implementation of Philippine Civil Air Regulations,’’ he said. With a report from TJ Burgonio

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Palace on RH ‘war’: It’s up to House

MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III will not meddle with the so-called showdown in Congress this week to move the Reproductive Health (RH) bill forward.
RH bill proponents in the House of Representatives plan to get the bill discussed on the plenary floor and force a vote on various amendments. The measure’s supporters and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr have decried the delays.
While Aquino asked lawmakers in August to end debates on the measure, this time Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said the President will just wait for developments.
“I understand that they are expecting a debate because the advocates already want to push the debate to the plenary and to vote on it finally. But we don’t know what will happen. We’re also just waiting on the resumption of the debates in Congress on the Responsible Parenthood Bill,” Valte said in a phone interview on Sunday, November 11.
In a press conference last week, the bill’s proponents said it is high time the chamber votes on the amendments introduced in the so-called compromise bill with RH critics.
“If by next week nothing happens, you can be sure you will hear from us. I’m beyond patience already and ready to lose my temper. I’ll be the one to start the war,” said RH bill co-author Pangansinan Rep Kimi Cojuangco.
Belmonte earlier appealed to his colleagues to move the bill forward.
“We made the bill palatable to the critics and I hope they would stop delaying the proceedings because this is a very important piece of legislation,” Belmonte said. “We should decide on this matter once and for all.”
The amendments are the work of an informal Technical Working Group, composed of both proponents and critics of the bill.
The changes include the shift from “universal access” to RH services to “public access” to “medically safe, legal, accessible, affordable and effective” RH care services and supplies “which do not prevent implantation of a fertilized ovum” as determined by the Food and Drug Administration.
The compromise bill also prioritizes marginalized households in the distribution of RH care services.
 mendments to take forever
Critics of the bill though plan to block any immediate vote on the measure.
Cagayan Rep Rufus Rodriguez has stressed that the substitute bill must go back to the committee level because the rules state that a bill can only be changed for typographical errors.
“If you want amendments, it should be line by line but that will take us ‘til kingdom come that’s why there is no more time left,” Rodriguez said in a mix of English and Filipino.
The window for passing the bill is becoming narrow with time.
RH proponents want the bill approved on second reading before Congress goes on Christmas break on December 22.
After the Christmas break, session will resume for 3 weeks on January 21. Lawmakers will again take a break on February 9 for the campaign period for the May 2013 polls and return only on June 3 to close the 15^th Congress.
Since the RH bill hurdled the period of interpellations or debates in August, it has barely moved in the House. Proponents said those against the measure were using privilege speeches as delaying tactics.
Senate battleground
In the Senate, committee amendments have been introduced and senators have begun raising individual amendments.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile though said that the RH bill will have to take the backseat because the chamber’s priority is to pass the budget and the sin tax bill.
“It’s a second priority. It’s not as urgent,” Enrile said last week.
Sen Pia Cayetano, the bill’s principal sponsor in the Senate, took exception.
“Honestly, I’m a little bit disappointed with all the drama because why do we have to put it aside? We can take it up. We are hardworking. No one here can be accused of not wanting to work. It’s just a matter of if they don’t like it, they don’t, right,” Cayetano said in a mix of English and Filipino.
The RH bill, pending for 17 years in Congress, is one of the most contentious measures in the Philippine legislature. Catholic bishops and the Senate leadership staunchly oppose the measure.
President Benigno Aquino III endorsed "responsible parenthood" but lawmakers remain divided on the issue. – Rappler.com

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4 suspects in model’s slay fall

MANILA, Philippines – It was a “mysterious” case decrypted by a small piece of paper – a McDonald’s to-go receipt which murder victim Julie Ann Rodelas held in her left hand.
The Quezon City Police District on Sunday announced the arrest of four suspects in the death of Rodelas, 20,  a parttime model who was shot dead and dumped in Cubao last November 6.
“That receipt was our first clue to solving the puzzle,” said Chief Inspector Rodelio Marcelo, head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit teams probing the case.
First to be arrested at 6 p.m. Saturday were model Althea Altamirano and her boyfriend Fernando Quiambao Jr., whose black Mitsubishi Montero was used in Rodelas’ abduction in Pasay City.
In a press conference Sunday, QCPD director Chief Superintendent Mario de la Vega said the pair was arrested in follow-up operations led by Inspector Elmer Monsalve at the Quiambao ancestral home in Apalit, Pampanga.
The boyfriend was also linked to the takeout purchase at the McDonald’s UN Avenue branch timestamped at 2:33 a.m. of Nov. 6, or two hours after the alleged abduction.
Marcelo explained that video footage from the fastfood restaurant showed Quiambao buying two cheeseburger meals at that time.
He was later identified as Altamirano’s boyfriend who was often seen bringing his girl to her home in Cavite, as confirmed by Altamirano’s relatives and neighbors.
Dela Vega said that based on Altamirano’s statements to media, Quiambao broached the idea of “teaching Rodelas a lesson” for spreading stories that Altamirano had kids, which brought down her commercial value as a model.
Motive
“As of now, the motive we are seeing a deep grudge as a motive. After all, it was Althea Altamirano who gave Jaja (Julie’s nickname) Rodelas her break in the modelling business and now the victim was allegedly spreading rumors,” the police official said.
The Montero car, Altamirano said, was the vehicle used in the abduction. The car with license plate TWO 505 turned out to be registered to Quiambao’s mother.
Police were able to get the license plate from Altamirano’s relatives who said the boyfriend drove a Montero in bringing her home.
Marcelo said operatives have been keeping close watch on Quiambao’s home since Thursday until Saturday morning when his father left home with a change of clothes.
Policemen trailed the father’s black Toyota Innova which went straight to Apalit, Pampanga where the missing couple and the Montero were found.
However, the Montero yielded no guns at all and police are still looking for the 9 mm and caliber .45 pistols used in killing Rodelas.
At past midnight on Sunday, Quiambao accompanied operatives of CIDU and Cubao police station to a community in Barangay (village) Culiat where his alleged accomplice were hiding.
But policemen were met with gunfire upon arriving at the area, sparking a shootout that left a certain Bob Usman dead, and two men arrested for gun possession.
One of the arrested suspects, Jaymar Waradge, 22, who used a 9 mm Ingram machine pistol, was reportedly identified by Quiambao as involved in the abduction. The other man, Gelan Pasewilan, yielded a 9 mm pistol.
Police are still hunting the triggerman and an accomplice.
Case investigators PO2 Jogene Hernandez and SPO1 Jaime Jimena were preparing murder charges against Altamirano, Quiambao and Waradge. Meanwhile, Pasewilan will be charged with illegal possession of firearms.
According to Marcelo, Waradge said Quiambao would drive the Montero throughout the alleged abduction until Jaja was shot dead and dumped at 5 a.m. of Nov. 6 on 18th Avenue, Murphy.
Quiambao reportedly became friends with men from the Muslim compound as he was often seen bringing expensive liquor from home for his friends there.
“He was a regular visitor there. He is somewhat a VIP, a boss there who gets very special treatment,” Dela Vega said.

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