How true are rumors that

seized drugs are recycled?

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol Oct 24 (PIA) – What happens to drugs and illegal substances seized from drug operations?

While conspiracy theorists have attempted to muddle the minds of people that the proliferation of drugs in the streets is a sign that the drugs obtained from the operations are channeled back to the streets, there are in fact implementing guidelines on the custody of these key pieces of evidence, according to police authorities.

After the police seize these drugs, are there measures to make sure the same quantity and quality of the seized substances are presented as evidence of the case to be filed in court?

According to the implementing guidelines, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) shall take custody of dangerous drugs, instruments, paraphernalia and laboratory equipment which are seized and surrendered.

That is why, after the operations, the apprehending officer inventory, mark, put his initials and signature, and photograph the probable evidence where the search warrant is served, this is to make sure that people who witness the raid can also attest to the volume and items confiscated, according to a police investigator who politely declined to be named.

In cases of warrantless seizures, the marking is done in the presence of the violator, at the place where the drugs were seized or at the nearest police station of the apprehending officer, where the physical inventory and photograph shall be conducted, he continued.

To attest to all these, the physical inventory and photograph of the seized items would be done in the presence of the suspect or representative, with elected public official, a representative of the National Prosecution Service (NPS) or the media, who would all counter-sign the copies of the inventory of the seized items.

Then the marked seized items are sealed in an evidence bag and signed by the apprehending officer for submission to the forensic laboratory for confirmatory examination.

“What is important is that the integrity and the evidentiary value of the seized items are properly preserved by the apprehending officer or team,” police authorities shared.

For this, the chain of custody of evidence places time and place of marking, names of officers who marked, inventoried, photographed and sealed the items, who took custody and received the evidence from one officer to another within the chain, and further indicating the time and date every time the transfer of custody of the same evidence were made in the course of safekeeping.

This happens until the seized items are submitted to laboratory personnel for PDEA, PNP or NBI forensic laboratory for quantitative and qualitative examination within 24 hours upon confiscation, according to the guidelines.

Any where there is a swap of the items, the officer who took custody, according to the chain of custody records is liable.

In all cases, the chain of custody of the seized items shall be observed, documented each time it is handled, transferred or presented in court until its disposal, and every individual in the chain of custody shall be identified following the laboratory control and chain of custody form, the investigating official added.

Violations of RA No. 9165 require positive results of the seized items from laboratory examination to support the charges.

For this, a chemistry report from the forensic laboratory examination results would be issued by the forensic examiner within the prescribed period to enable the filing of criminal charges with the prosecutor’s office.

As the criminal case is filed in the prosecutor’s office, the police or the PDEA can file an urgent motion for the immediate destruction of the seized or surrendered dangerous drugs, instruments, paraphernalia, with prayer for ocular inspection 72 hours, written in conformity of the Prosecutor Office where the confiscation took place, to relieve them of the burden of the custody.

The court usually resolves the motion within 5 days, when a hearing is called for the motion for destruction, and within 72 hours, the court conducts an ocular inspection, takes representative samples of the marked and sealed evidence in the presence of counsel or representative, laboratory personnel, and witnesses, and this shall be retained in the forensic lab custody, to serve as the evidence in criminal case against the violator, so the authorities can proceed with immediate destruction of the drug evidence and items.

The rest of the volume now represented by the sample left at the forensic lab, PDEA and the authorities proceed with the burning of the drug evidence within 24 hours, in the presence of the prescribed witnesses.

Regulations also said, among the prescribed methods of destruction are thermal destruction and other lawful appropriate methods, in consultation with the DENR.

Now, if you still insist that there is a loop hole anywhere in the chain of custody, file a case for you to see. (PIAbohol)

RESPONSE WITHIN STANDARDS

CAAP’s BPIA conducts

airplane crash SIMEX

CORTES, Bohol, Oct 28 (PIA)—After 2:17 seconds, Panglao Bohol International Airport’s (PBIA) Airport Rescue Fire Fighters (ARFF) arrived at the simulated fire scene in the airplane at emergency landing site, sprayed chemical fire retardants to the burning fuselage and contained the fire scene, as the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was simultaneously put up for the Incident Command System (ICS) to initiate its coordinated response to the emergency.

The response time was well within 3:00 minutes, the international standard for airport fire response, according to Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Air and Ground Development Services, who was there to oversee the large-scale simulation exercise (SIMEX).

Not really expected to make a perfect SIMEX, CAAP, which has to comply with the recertification requirements, however came up with a passable SIMEX, scoring 7/10 from no less than Provincial Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Officer Anthony Damalerio, who with TARSIER 117 were there as critics for the drill.

The SIMEX, which entails an Airbus 321 flight from Manila to Panglao experienced vibrations in its starboard engines, which later turned out to be failure of engine number 2 which exploded, sending debris into the fuselage and causing significant damage to the airplane systems which prompted the pilot in command to contact Panglao Air Traffic Control Center for emergency landing.

Before the stricken airplane could even land, air traffic control declared Emergency Condition 4 (EMCON4) for the Full Emergency of an Airborne Aircraft.

This activated the ARFF and the Airport Manager, which deployed the Rescue and Fire Fighting in strategic locations.

Upon the handicapped airplane’s landing, its pilot lost control and the stricken plane swerved to the waterway canal, collapsing its landing gears, a third of the fuselage burst into fire.

That time when EMCON 1 was sounded, ARFF rushed to the site, while airport operation was suspended for the incident, fire crew supervisor temporarily took command of the incident, which we would eventually turn over to the Incident Commander at the ECO after reporting and assessing the crash scene.

As the ICS took over, calls for assistance from nearby rescue and recovery assets sounded, prompting 13 ambulance units, fire trucks, and other rescue units from LGU Panglao, LGU Dauis and Tagbilaran, Bureau of Fire Protection, responded and reported to the staging area prior to deployment while CAAP security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) with the PNP Aviation Security Unit set up the areas of activity, triage areas, temporary treatment and transportation of the injured victims needing priority treatment.

IN the triage areas, medics tagged the victims according to the severity of their injuries, if only to declog the system when everyone goes to hospitals, including those that need to immediate care.

The response also came with 13 ambulance units taking turns in picking up the 135 victims and survivors.

During the debriefing, responders shared their difficulties, including the circuitous process of checking in at the ICS and immediately rushing to the site, unopened access gates which could have hastened the rescue response, communication issues, the placement of the EOC away from the crash site, the triage areas pitched too far from the site, mismanagement at the triage tagging systems and other minor communication issues from the EOC and its responsible person to the tower.

Over-all however, the test plan showed effective readiness, despite delays which can be lessened in the next drills, which could also be critical in reducing loss of lives.

BPIAirport manager Atty Rafael Tatlonghari, in the end commended the ARFF and all emergency responders and volunteers including those who rendered psychological first aid, the EOC for keeping a good inventory of responding units and all observers who have helped sharpen the drill response in the next large scale SIMEX. (PIAbohol)

RESCUE RESPONSE. Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Unit sent out volunteer firefighters as complements for the few DRRMCs who came to the call for help. The large-scale is part of the airports recertification next year. (PIA Bohol)

DACK OF EQUIPMENT With airplanes capable of carrying about 150 passengers, 13 ambulance units are definitely wanting in the response of about 160 air passengers, the nearly 700 rooms in the city and vicinity RHUs and hospitals show how Bohol lacks these facilities, points out Dr Anthony Damalerio. (PIABohol)

SP to approve P100M

supplemental budget

CORTES, Bohol Oct 28 (PIA) –Bohol Sangguniang Panlalawigan, acting as committee of the whole, is set to approve a P100,924,325.00 supplemental budget for economic, social development, general services and its economic enterprise, foremost of which is for the P50 M farm to market road from San Miguel to Ubay, and the P30 million in crop insurance premiums in support of farmers feeling the impact of El Niño.

In its Committee Report No. 5 series of 2023, Bohol SP led by Vice Governor Dionisio Victor Balite, responding on the need for immediate priorities not incorporated by the regular allocations for 2023, acted on a Provincial Development Council (PDC) Executive Committee resolution No. 68-2023 recommending for the P100 M supplemental budget for Bohol’s Investment Program for 2023.

In a letter to the SP, Gov Erico Aristotle Aumentado sought for the SP endorsement, to effectively allow the release of the additional budget for 2023, as incorporated in the PDC Execom resolution.

The biggest allocation for the supplemental budget is for the P50M construction of about 10 kilometers of farm-to-market Road in Casate, Ubay to Corazon, San Miguel, Bohol, which would be implemented by the Provincial Engineer’s Office.

Local Budget Officer has certified the availability of funds for large-scale infrastructure, this one from the Local Government Support Fund and other Financial Assistance to LGUS (LGSF-FA to LGUs) in the General Appropriations Act of 2023.

And then another P30M of the budget, is earmarked for the crop insurance premiums, as proposed by the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA).

It may be recalled that OPA pushed for the enrolment of some 30,000 farmer beneficiaries to the government’s Philippine Crops Insurance Corporation, covering almost 90% of farmers in agriculture and fisheries damages in this impending long dry spell.

The fund is already available and would be coming from the Capitol’s Salary savings of 2023, 2022 unappropriated surplus, 2022 reverted and re-appropriated Capital Outlay and re-aligned 20% Development Funds, as certified.

And then, there is the P5 M rehabilitation of the Rice Processing Center (RPC) in Pilar Bohol, to support Bohol’s Food Security, its funds from OPA salary savings for 2022 unappropriated surplus, 2022 reverted and re-appropriated Capital Outlay and some re-aligned 20% Development Funds for 2023, as attested by the PDC. The remaining P1 M would come from the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses.

Acquired by Bohol then, the one hectare complex, has a drying capacity of 3,600 metric tons (MT) per year and a milling capacity of 3 MT o 60 cavans per hour, a milling recovery of 65% and a storage capacity of 22,000 bags. This however has not been operational for already a long time.

Moreover, Capitol is investing in the P2.5M asphalt overlay of Tawala Road, the road that leads to Bohol’s most famous beach stretch in Alona Panglao, Bohol, funded by this year’s Capital Outlay.

For Capitol’s general services, the supplemental budget fills in the need to build the P2.5M mezzanine Floor of the Provincial Library, which is phase 3 of the long term project to improve Capitol’s library services, and funded by the salary savings of 2023 and the 2022 unappropriated surplus and the reverted and re-appropriated capital outlay.

Still on general services, another expenditure is readied for the P6.4 M repair and improvement of the Capitol annex Building, Tagbilaran City, to be implemented by the General Services Office and to be funded by the 2023 salary savings, 2022 unappropriated surplus, and the 2022 reverted and re-appropriated capital outlay

This year, Capitol is also set to establishment of the Gender and Development (GAD) Center of the Human Resource Management and Development Office, set at P 174,325.00.

To further equip Clarin Infirmary and Community Hospital, which is operated under the Provincial Government, some P1.4 is set as additional Funds for Medical and laboratory supplies for Clarin Community Hospital.

Capitol is also allocating P1.2M for the accountable forms of the Provincial Treasurer’s Office and the Additional Allocation to Support the Operation of Café Caloy set at P1.7M.

The supplemental budget is comprised of P35M in MOOE and P65M of Capital Outlay, which the committee finds important and in order.

For this, the committee recommends to pass a resolution approving such. (RAHC/PIA-7/Bohol)

COMELEC: All set for BSKE 2023

CORTES, Bohol Oct 28 (PIA)— After the long preparations and coordination activities in the conduct of the upcoming elections, Commission on Elections (COMELEC) reported, all is set.

Except for the unforeseen glitches that could happen, everything boils down now to the voters to make the delayed 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Elections (BSKE) a success.

COMELEC Assistant Regional Director and Boholano lawyer and acclaimed student activist in his heydays, Veronico Petalcorin said this, during the recent Kapihan sa PIA, which tackled the preparations in the conduct of the 2023 polls that would allow eligible voters to elect for one barangay chairman and 7 barangay councilors to comprise the Sangguniang Barangay (SB).

Registered voters of 15 to 17 years old would be given one ballot for SK, while those aged 18 to 30 will get one SK ballot and one ballot to fill for Barangay candidates.

This may take up more time for them to fill but, considering these young people to be more agile, and quick, the COMELEC expects very little delay, especially when the precincts open early and close at 3 PM, noting the voters still in the queue and accommodating until all of them who were in at the closing are served.

Registered voters over 31, on the other hand, will get only one ballot for barangay authorities.

Despite some attempts to implement automated elections, the 2023 BSKE, is a manual polls, he said.

As the voters have to manually write their candidates, writing legibly would make it easier for the election canvassers to appreciate the votes. However, teacher canvassers are also tasked to decipher to the best of their abilities, these writings, to make each vote count, assured the COMELEC.

As Boholanos are to choose 1,109 punong barangays and 7,763 barangay councilors, SK voters are also given the added task of electing their local youth council leaders.

As of the last information, local COMELEC records show that there are 3,291 candidates for punong barangays and SK chairmen: 1,847 for Punong Barangays and 1,444 SK chairman.

As to the barangay councils, 13,759 are gunning for the 7 seat posts in the barangay and 6,736 for 7-seat SK positions.

There would be special lanes for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and overly pregnant women, COMELEC said.

These complaints, when found to be in order, could be violations against the electoral laws and would be deemed criminal in nature, where the courts are to hear and decide, and depending on the severity of the offense, could fetch up to a perpetual disqualification from holding any elective position, government service, penalties and even imprisonment, not counting the possible administrative cases.

Teachers who have been trained to facilitate the conduct of the elections are organized into Election Boards for each precincts, and supervised by the DepED Supervising Official (DESO), according to Atty Petalcorin.

Complaints during the conduct of the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) have to be raised to the electoral board, so these can be put on record, the election official said.

These complaints would also be escalated by the Electoral Board to the DESO , who would also report this to the COMELEC, who would decide on the complaint for elevation to the courts, when found to be meritorious.

In the meantime, anything unusual, especially when they are election related, would be acted upon by the members of the Philippine National Police assigned in the area, especially when these are criminal in nature.

An augmentation of police personnel and Civilian Armed Auxiliary Force have been assigned in election areas of concern, according to Petalcorin, as the local elections happen, October 30. (rahc/PIA7/Bohol)

ALL SET TO GO. Except those untoward incidents that are unforeseen, COMELEC is set to get the delated BSKE through, assured COMELEC ARD Atty Veronico Petalcorin, at the Kapihan sa PIA Friday. Bolanano voters are set to elect about 17,000 candidates for the 2023 BSKE. (PIABohol)

Capitol’s OPA proposes for

P74.6 M El Nino mitigation

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol Oct 26 (PIA) –In preparation for the long dry spell bought about by the El Nino Southern Oscillation, Bohol has plotted some P74,612,436.00 as interventions to farmers, aside from those covered by the national government, information from the Provincial Disaster and Risk Reduction Council showed.

The Provincial Government identified interventions include irrigation materials as a response to the potential destruction to crops as an effect of the El Niño’s dry season, some crop insurance coverage for those that are beyond the reach of the rationalized release of irrigation water and the materials for aid to irrigation, some support for5 high value commercial crops and vegetable production for farms away from irrigation canals and cloud seeding operations.

With this, National Irrigation Administration’s Region VII Bohol Integrated Irrigation System Head, Engr. Evelina P. Putong, is implementing systems to conserve on the irrigation water with the alternate and staggered planting and cropping to make sure every cubic meter of water goes to where it is needed the most.

Speaking to information officers who visited Benliw Irrigation System last month, Engr. Putong said that not all dams that NIA maintains have feeder water sources that most of these would rely on rains to supplement the water fed by Wahig and Pamacsalan Rivers for Malinao Dam, Bay-ang Creek for Capayas Dam, Panas Creek for Talibon’s Zamora Dam and Pasanan Creek for Benliw Dam.

Even then, a below normal rainfall, which is expected during the El Nino means lesser water available for irrigation, that is why they have to adopt measures to judiciously open the canals to get to farms needing such before the water seeps into the parched lands.

To this problem, Capitol’s Office of the Provincial Agriculturist proposed a P34,662,900.00 for the procurement and distribution of packages of irrigation materials comprised of a water pump, 8 plastic drums amnd 5 rolls of 100 meter polyetehlene (PE) hoses, to bring water from nearby sources to farms.

The irrigation materials package would only be given to a member of a farmers organization, cooperative or farm learning site with an access to water source and owns a sizable patch of cultivated lands, explains Provincial Agriculturist Liza Quirog.

And for those farms that are too far out from the water, Capitol is allotting P2,449,536.00 for vegetable production, Quirog continued.

These are for farmers who may opt to go for the production of high value crops that do not need much water and can be harvested in a few weeks, so as not to disrupt the supply need for these food products.

Then, if indeed the rains fail to come, considering the low probability of such as shared by weatherman Leonardo Samar of the local weather bureau, Capitol has allocated P7.5 million for cloud seeding operations, according to Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado.

He fund comes from Bureau of Soils and Water Management and the Provincial Government of Bohol, gov Aumentado added.

Last week, the Sangguninag Panlalawigan Committee of the Whole has also agreed for the SP to green light a P30,000.00 part of the supplemental budget, for the payments of crop insurance.

Farmer in El Nino affected sites get enrolled with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) for them to be indemnified, should El Nino wreak havoc to their farms.

The OPA said there are some 38,122 farmers eligible for PCIC coverage, while about 6,000 of then have been automatically covered with insurance in the corporation’s insurance to the poor program.

This leaves some 32,122 farmers without the PCIC coverage if they can not pay for the insurance premiums.

Of this, the P30M allocation would be used to pay for the premiums of 30,000 farmers, OPA said. (rahc/PIA_7/Bohol)

P74M EL NINO MITIGATION. For food security, the OPA through Liza Quirog is proposing a P74M mitigation fund to secure food for the island and its equally large number of tourists visiting the island. The fund would be used to pay insurance premiums, irrigation support materials, vegetable production and cloud seeding operations. (PIAbohol)

VEGETABLE PRODUCTION OVER INSURANCE? Malou Escalona of Egays Farm proposes funding vegetable production instead of paying P30M in insurance premiums, during the PDRRMC full council meeting. (PIAbohol)

Housing assistance for LGUS

In NHA menu of assistance

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Oct 16 (PIA) – Coping with problems of squatters, constituents, who are forced to build in exclusive no-build zones or in disaster prone areas, because that is the only lot they have?

Local government units (LGUs) with similar issues may have a way out of this snag, in fact, reveals National Housing Authority (NHA) Bohol Field Officer Genesis Ceasar Manalili, during the recent Kapihan sa PIA.

Tasked with producing better and more affordable quality housing for the country, NHA looks at calamity stricken areas and building houses for those who lost their houses in natural and human-caused disasters, and respond to those needs of LGUs for community resettlement especially those threatened by risk associated with calamities.

Through Resettlement Assistance Program for LGUS, (RAPLGU), NHA can provide as much as P25M for municipalities and P50M for cities who are into resettling informal settler family constituents to protect them from the risks of disasters, calamities and to allow the implementation of local development plans for the public good, Manalili explained.

The NHA could finance land acquisition, land development and housing project, but with the limited resources, it has now tapped LGUS who can provide the land upon which NHA can build, so the government can stretch its resources and serve more, he added.

In Bohol, for example, the NHA is currently working to set up the resettlement of residences exposed to the risk of storm surges, unusually high tides and the expansion of the Maribojoc port.

In partnership with LGU Maribojoc, the local housing board and the NHA, they are building a 148 unit duplex housing units on 60 square-meter lots for 32 square meter floor houses.

These houses have a total floor area of 32.5 square meters, in a community with provisions for a multipurpose hall, materials recovery facility, individualized septic tanks, tricycle terminal, fire hydrants, 10 meter wide main roads and 6.5 meter wide side roads, for assured ease of access, he shared at the Kapihan.

Now, how is that?

He said, in partnership with the LGU, Maribojoc put up its own Housing Board who decides and deals with NHA.

In the town’s own property in Anislag, the LGU and the Housing Board has designated the place for three phases of construction work for 148 unit duplex houses.

Usually, the NHA offers free housing, but with the partnership with the LGU, the Board decided that they would collect a monthly amortization to fill in a trust fund for the additional town’s housing projects.

Here, member beneficiaries can also opt to use their housing unit financing entity,

Other than the RAP LGU, NHA has also a Calamity Housing Program, he continued.

In Bohol, communities in the islands of Tubigon threatened by the rising tides brought about by climate change are getting this kind of assistance, Manalili said.

With the devastation brought about by typhoon Odette, the GLUS of Pilar and Sierra Bullones partnered with the NHA in the provision of housing assistance and the NHA is set to implement housing projects in Lundag Pilar and Cantaub in Sierra Bullones for the indigenous people.

And, he added, the NHA has also another housing program for indigenous communities, one that we are implementing in Taytay Duero, with the help of the LGU.

On the other hand, NHA is also into Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP) for marginal income homeowners affected by natural calamities.

In Bohol, with Odette, the government has ruled 84,000 Boholanos eligible for the P10,000 immediate assistance, where the EHAP allocation could go from 30,000 to P5,000, depending on the situation of the family benelificary and the house damage.

LGUS interested to tap the NHA for their housing problems can visit the office along Benigno Aquino Avenue, near airport Road, for more information, NHA said. (PIABohol)

FIRST 28 HOUSES. NHA turned over 28 houses to resettled port of Maribojoc residents affected by the expansion of the port and the threat of storm surges and unusually high tides. The LGU purchased the lot which the NHA develops and funds the building of the houses, to which beneficiaries pay a monthly amortization of P300 to be collected by the Housing Board as roll-over funds for additional LGU housing projects. (PIAbohol)

INFORMAL SETTLE FAMILIES RELOCATION? NO PROBLEM. Genesis Ceasar Manalili, Bohol NHA Field Officer said the NHA can help LGUS in their housing resettlement programs especially those threatened by effects of disasters. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)