PGMA orders probe of VIP treatment to detained Ampatuans
Olivar assured that policemen found giving VIP treatment to the Ampatuan’s will face appropriate actions.
”Malinaw ang patakarang dapat pantay-pantay ang trato sa mga preso mayaman man o mahirap [The government policy is very clear that no VIP treatment should be given to detainees, whether rich or poor],” Deputy Presidential Spokesman Gary Olivar said on Monday.
Four members of the Ampatuan clan -- Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor Zaldy Ampatuan, Sajid Ampatuan, Anwar Ampatuan and Akmad Ampatuan --reportedly enjoy VIP treatment at their detention cells at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) office in General Santos City.
Reports said the Ampatuan’s enjoyed a catering service for their food and an errand for cleaning their detention cells.
CIDG director Raul Castaneda said on Monday that he had already directed his deputy, Sr. Supt. Benito Estipona to investigate the report and immediately submit a recommendations regarding the alleged VIP treatment given to the Ampatuan’s while in detention.
Director Castaneda said, he would not tolerate his personnel in giving VIP treatment to detainees.
He expects Estipona's report and recommendations late Monday afternoon or early Tuesday. Estipona flew to
DOH: 2009 New Year revelry bloodier than 2008
MANILA, Jan. 4 – The Department of Health (DOH) retracted its earlier declaration that firecracker-related injuries were lower this year as scores of injuries continued in hospitals post New Year’s celebration.
DOH-National Epidemiology Center (NEC) director Eric Tayag clarified that 2009’s New Year revelry is more bloody compared to the previous year as the number of injuries as of January 3 rose 920, which is 26 percent higher to the those injured in 2008 with only 683 cases.
Tayag said out of the total number of cases this year, 877 were fireworks related; 42 stray bullet cases; and one watusi ingestion. There were also three reported dead according to some reports, he said.
Statistics from the NEC surveillance report also showed that 704 of the victims were males; 268 were children less than 10 years of age; 671 with injuries but no amputation; 81 with amputation; 74 with influence of alcohol; and 125 with eye injuries.
The leading cause of firecracker injuries was Piccolo with 267 cases; followed by Kwitis, 123; Luces, 57; Five-star, 53; stray bullet, 42; and Pla-pla, 41
Tayag cited three reasons for the increase of injuries this year; first, that there were a lot of merry-making because the decade had ended; second, that a lot of Filipinos seemed to be happier this year according to surveys; and third, due to the low price of Piccolo, which despite being banned, still reach the hands of mostly children.
The DOH-NEC director also expressed his disappointment over the rise of injuries this year despite their strenuous campaign, the "Iwas Paputok" 2009 program, which started since November 2009.
On January 1, 2010, the DOH reported that there were only 597 cases of firecracker-related injuries, which is supposedly 15 percent lower than 702 cases recorded in the 2008 revelries. However, more cases were recorded in hospitals during the weekend which grew the number of victims.
Tayag said they have been appealing to the police for the last two years to enforce a ban on the deceptively innocent-looking firecrackers that children found attractive, but in some local governments in Metro Manila, it was evident that banned firecrackers are still being sold in streets.
The DOH has actively campaigned on the ban against firecrackers with television ads, posters, billboards, tarpaulins placed in hospitals and government infrastructures nationwide and coordinated with police to confiscate banned firecrackers being sold in markets.
“I think our local government leaders should coordinate next year for them to have a more concrete protocol against the ban on fireworks in their jurisdictions,” he said.
Tayag said they are also expecting that the number of firecracker-related injuries will continue to rise as they will record all cases up to Wednesday (January 5).
Meanwhile, Tayag warned victims of firecrackers that if they failed to seek immediate treatment after sustaining wounds, they can have tetanus that actually lead to death.
The DOH said that tetanus is an acute bacterial disease caused by Clostridium tetani. Although deep wound is needed to support the growth of the bacteria, minor wound is usually the point of entry in children and adults. The incubation period of tetanus could be as short as one day to, usually three to 21 days.
Tayag said injuries sustained from fireworks should be washed immediately with soap and water and referred to medical personnel for proper wound care and tetanus immunization.
Symptoms of tetanus includes severe headache, irritable behavior, weakness, and lock jaw.
DOH seeks total ban of firecrackers after two deaths
The Department of Health (DOH) today recommended the complete banning of firecrackers and fireworks in residential areas after it claimed the lives of two revelers last New Year’s celebration.
“We are recommending the total ban because this is the first time that deaths due to firecrackers have been reported. In the previous years, fatalities were mainly due to watusi ingestion and stray bullets,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.
The health chief said that in the 18 years of the existence of the DOH Philippine Fireworks Injury Surveillance (DOH-PFIS), it is only now that deaths due to pyrotechnic devices were reported.
“The two deaths involved a seven year-old male from
The DOH-PFIS disclosed that the seven year-old boy was hit by a kwitis, a legal firecracker, on his upper eye lid on December 31. He then suffered a concussion and was rushed to the hospital where he died the next day, January 1. He was a passive case because he was just a bystander.
The other fatality was reportedly intoxicated when he lighted the jumbo kwiton bomb on January 1. When the firecracker exploded, he was hit in his right temple. He was dead on arrival when he was brought to the hospital. His cause of death was brain hemorrhage due to the blasting. The firecracker that killed him is not on the list of legal fireworks.
“We should take the total banning of firecrackers even more seriously now with these two deaths. We should not just ban the kwitis and the new illegal ‘cracker that cause the deaths of these two individuals because if the seemingly harmless watusi is able to not just maim but kill, then the other so-called legal firecrackers might also do the same in the future. We can’t risk more lives anymore before we take the big step of totally banning these potentially killer pyrotechnic devices,” Secretary Duque explained.
The DOH-PFIS reported that compared to the five-year average (2004-2009, from December 21-January 4), there is an increase of 13 cases or 1%.
There are 50 sentinel hospitals nationwide reporting to the DOH-PFIS this year.
Lakas dares presidential wannabes: Do public service, not cheap publicity stunts
"While image does matter to him (Gibo), he doesn’t consciously and deliberately create it for political purposes,” said Sarangani Governor Miguel “Migz” Dominguez, the ruling party’s president and spokesman for Teodoro’s presidential campaign.
“To Gibo, character is image. Character is everything,” Dominguez added.
Earlier, a political analyst made a scathing attack on Teodoro in a TV public affairs program, citing the alleged failure of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD presidential candidate’s strategists to exploit for free media mileage the round-the-clock relief and rescue efforts following the epic floods spawned by “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” last year.
“We watched with disbelief how Prof. Prospero de Vera shot down the chances of Teodoro in the presidential elections for the failure of his strategists to milk and exploit for free publicity the devastation wrought by the two typhoons,” Dominguez said.
De Vera said Teodoro should have visited the flooded areas to generate television news footage. A man using the same name has also started a smear campaign in newspaper letters putting the blame on Teodoro for some other issues in 2009.
In a letter to TV program host Pia Hontiveros, Dominguez urged candidates to stop funding smear campaigns and engaging in cheap publicity stunts and instead follow Gibo's lead in opting to provide real solutions to substantive national issues.
“Instead of attacking him for not exploiting the destructive floods to gain brownie points for his presidential candidacy, de Vera should have praised Gibo Teodoro’s resolve not to turn the tragedy into a cheap political stunt,” Dominguez said.
"Teodoro reeled from the idea of politics superseding an essential tragedy of human existence. He rejected the hype; he was too honest to say he could not live with it. His public posture is undeniably courageous and one without precedent,” he added.
Dominguez said that while some presidential aspirants called in the media before distributing relief goods, Gibo performed his job as defense secretary and concurrent chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) “without a moist eye on publicity.”
He said Teodoro marshaled the government’s limited resources amid an overwhelming tragedy, and his “conduct is above politics and beyond moral reproach”.
“Too decent a leader and too sensitive a human being, he time and again shot down the idea, proffered to him a countless times by imploring aides and political handlers, to put his face (tired and sleepless for effect) on the TV evening news amid the fleeting, stark images of the dead and the dying,” he said.
Dominguez said political analysts like de Vera hardly reward the likes of Teodoro by exalting him in overcoming the temptations of office to get ahead in the race.
“On the other hand, they see hype and politics riding in tandem, in effect defining for the electorate in a very narrow and superficial sense what and who is electable in the coming presidential election. This is a tragic thought indeed," Dominguez said.
Dominguez also dared de Vera to be forthright and tell the public that he is in fact working for another presidential candidate.
“He (Prof. De Vera) must be talking about his candidate. For a man of his stature we would have expected him to be forthright and to tell his viewers that he is in fact working for another presidential candidate. Enough of hypocrisy,” Dominguez said.
SC procures 3 more buses for Enhanced Justice on Wheels Program
Chief Justice Reynato Puno led the inauguration of the new buses on Monday at the SC New Building Courtyard along
The mobile courts have brought courtrooms to municipalities that do not have regular courts, detention facilities and youth reception centers, and provinces that have litigants who live far from the nearest court.
The latest procurement, with assistance from the World Bank (WB), brings to eight the total number of mobile courts under the EJOW Program.
Puno is optimistic that the procurement of new buses will further boost the EJOW Program as more people will be provided fast and free resolution of conflicts on-site through conciliation, mediation, or adjudication.
"We bring the Justices on Wheels mobile courts to areas that are in need of adequate and inexpensive access to justice. With more EJOW buses, it is possible to bring fast justice that goes direct to a larger number of people," Puno said.
For his part, WB country manager Bert Hofman said: "We are honored to be a part of the Supreme Court's efforts to bring justice to every Filipino, especially those who have less access to the courts due to poverty and distance. The Justice on Wheels project rates high in the World Bank's list of initiatives that we are proud to be part of."
Hofman assured the SC that "the WB will continue to provide assistance, from project savings or the reallocation of loan proceeds, as appropriate, to expand the coverage of the Program."
The EJOW Program includes medical and dental missions and free legal aid clinics to detainees; dialogues with justice stakeholders and legal information dissemination to barangay officials on top of hearing cases and providing mediation services which the original Justice on Wheels (JOW) Program already provided.
Its mobile courts have travelled throughout the country and made stops at the provinces of Rizal and Bulacan; Kalibo, Aklan; the cities of Caloocan and Quezon; Cebu Province; Digos, Davao del Sur; Tagum, Davao del Norte; Davao City; Bacoor, Cavite; Tacloban, Leyte; Olongapo, Zambales; Pasay City; Baler, Aurora; Sarangani Province; and the cities of Las Piñas and Tagaytay.
As of December 17, 2009, EJOW has facilitated the release of/dismissal of cases against 2,513 inmates, settled 5,361 cases through court-annexed mediation, and provided free legal aid to 1,103 detainees.
At least 6,883 inmates were provided free medical and dental assistance, while 11,900 barangay officials have been oriented on the SC's EJOW and other judicial reform programs and Court rules enhancing human rights.
By the first quarter of 2010, the mobile courts are set to be deployed in Kalibo and Roxas City in the Visayas; Sta. Cruz or Biñan, Laguna; Malolos City, Bulacan; La Union and Baguio City; Cagayan de Oro and Iligan or South Cotabato and Maguindanao; Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and Abra; Tarlac and Pangasinan; Iloilo and Bacolod; Bohol and the cities of Marikina, Mandaluyong, Taguig and Muntinlupa.
Six of the eight buses, including the three new ones, have been procured by the SC with assistance from the WB, while the two other buses have been donated by the
The City of
