by magnolia_eic | Nov 20, 2010 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita, National News
THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) cautions everyone against scams in this season of bonuses and cash
windfalls.
“Giving bank account numbers, even without personal identification number (PIN) taught countless scam victims a hard
lesson”, DTI said.
“The modus operandi is a text message, which claims that the promotion has a DTI permit,” shares Information Officer
Lucille Autentico.
Under the law, sales promotion campaign should first secure permits from DTI to ensure that the public is protected
against deceptive or irresponsible sales promo scheme, she revealed.
DTI through Autentico cited the case of a 23-year old young professional and office girl in Makati.
The victim just received her 13th month pay when she received a text message from an unknown cell phone number,”
Autentico said.
The text message said: “Congratulations! Your cellphone number has won P680,000 at the Philippine Charity Foundation’s
third anniversary raffle draw last November 5. For more info, send your name and address. Call Sec. John Fuentes. Per
DTI Permit No. 000812. Thanks.”
Thinking that was a scam but also trying her luck, she accordingly replied with a fake name and address.
The texter, who introduced himself as a Manila-based lawyer then asked for her bank account number where he can
deposit the cash prize.
Thinking that her account is safe if she does not give her signature or Automated Teller Machine’s PIN number, she gave
him her bank account number, DTI added.
It was after two weeks later, when she got back after the vacation breaks, did she realized she was victimized, Autentico
relayed.
When the victim withdrew from her savings account, which she knew had a balance of about P10,000, she was shocked.
She was surprised when she learned from the ATM that she only had P.080 and her account was closed”, she told PIA.
Checking with the bank to trace her bank activities, the victim learned about a one time withdrawal on a holiday.
On this, the DTI warns everyone engaging in negotiations with strange persons or numbers through text.
“Be advised that when you are asked to provide your bank account number and the sender offers to deposit money into
it, it surely is a scam”, DTI said.
Even if the text message appears to be credible because it comes from a trusted government institution or well known
government official, never give your personal data and account numbers, warns Autentico.
Further, for prizes exceeding P500, the law requires that the winner be notified through registered mail, and not through
text messages alone, she sums. (racPIABohol)
by magnolia_eic | Nov 20, 2010 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
ADMITTING a debacle where they only have few agents whose identity they have to protect, the
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has appealed to the public for help.
Now faced with the singular task of curbing an alarming increase of drug concerns popping up in
Bohol and likely trend of drug related crimes, the local PDEA is forced to make their best efforts, and
appreciates the public’s help in building up the information linking known drug personalities to set up
an information database.
Any information that can help us build a stronger case against these personalities would be a great
help, said a PDEA agent at the Kapihan sa PIA last week.
If any among you notices within your neighborhood an endless stream of activities especially when
these involve strangers coming in and out of the neighborhood, that’s a big chance that a drug deal
within a community is happening, said the agent who asked not to be named.
He said that along with the police authorities, the PDEA keeps a hotline number open for any
information leading to the capture or conviction of the persons involved in the illegal and harmful
trade.
Any information can be coursed through 501 8730, he said as he assured calls and information
received would be treated with utmost confidentiality.
Meanwhile, Bohol Police at Camp Dagohoy are also putting up a Provincial Tactical Operations Center
(PTOC) hotline manned by a desk staff 24 hours a day, said PSSUpt. Constantino Barot.
Police hotlines are 0917-305-1833 and 0912-808-9279, he added.
The drug agent also called on parents, guardians and landlords to keep a tight watch with their
wards in as much as shabu, the most common abused substance in Bohol can now be sold at P500
packs.
This is well within the affordability of students who may decide to pool their money for a drug
session, according to him.
Parents who start to suspect drug use may find their wards finding difficulty sleeping, reduced or loss
of appetite and may manifest involuntary twitching of facial muscles.
He said, “indications of pot session is the presence of tin or aluminum foils, disposable lighters, tissue
papers, improvised burners and denatured alcohol.”
Finding any of these implements, parents can call the hotlines, PDEA said. (PIABohol)
by magnolia_eic | Nov 20, 2010 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
CAPITOL is coordinating with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in designing
capacity building trainings for barangay officials.
Governor Edgar Chatto revealed during his weekly radio program that along the resource generation
policy of the provincial government, he would urge newly elected barangay officials to seek out other
resources and find other income sources rather than rely on the Internal Revenue Allotment.
While saying that the interior and local governments have their capacity training modules to
capacitate local officials, towns and provinces, Chatto hinted that Capitol can come in and enrich the
modules to empower local governments in their revenue generation tasks.
The local dependence on the IRA has been a noted situation in almost all local governments, he told
media during his weekly forum carried live over local radio stations.
“We can meet so we can come up with measures on how to come up with a wider capacity for
resource generation,” Chatto said.
Chatto also stressed that along with the trainings, the new officials must understand that beyond
seeking more tax legislation measures, there is such a thing as efficient tax collection that can prop
up the fiscal capacity of the barangays.
We can be dependent on the IRA from the start but we shall struggle to stand and attain
independence in the end, he urges local elected leaders.
Meanwhile, in efforts to initially give clues to barangay officials who will start their official amdnates
on December 1, a radio program called “Pamuhis” has been airing at DyTR every Saturday from 4:00
to 4:30.
Anchored by the Philippine Information Agency, the program attempts to educate local government
officials especially barangay dads on the revenue sources for barangays and their possible areas for
widening its tax base.
The program, funded by the national government hopes to engage local governments to generate
income from their own sources and hopefully prop up the government’s fiscal capacity to implement
priority programs and projects. (PIABohol)
by admin | Nov 16, 2010 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
Rovilyn Aparece Manatad, a graduate of Bohol Island State University, formerly CVSCAFT, was one of the examinees of the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) held in September 2010 to get the 3rd place among the top 10 examinees.
The results of the LET is already indexed on PRCPassers.com and full list of topnotchers found on this LET Results announcement.
by magnolia_eic | Nov 13, 2010 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
MOVING to get a clearer grasp of the drug situation in Bohol, the Provincial Peace and Order Council, wants
the narcotics agency in Bohol to report detailed town affectation analysis.
During the recent meeting of the Provincial Peace and Order Council at the People’s Mansion, Interior and
Local government provincial director Rustica Mascarinas proposed that instead of just baring accomplishments,
the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency also include drug affectation by towns.
Earlier, the council asked the PDEA reports to be a part of the regular PPOC briefings in efforts of the council
to effectively address not just police crime situation, internal security operations and other peace related
concerns but of the drug campaign situation as well.
Last Tuesday, the PDEA reported that while they have identified Ozamis City as the source of drugs distributed
in Bohol, port interdictions, which could strain the supply could not be done due to the agency’s manpower
problems.
Even then the PDEA, said agent Steven Valles is pushing the limits in anti-narcotic operations against identified
targets while bringing their information education campaign to the schools all over Bohol, including on the spot
poster making, slogan crafting essay writing contests among students.
He also added that in the pipeline is a drug detection and information gathering training for barangay tanods
as well as the planned joint operations for port interdictions.
During a separate forum, an agent of the PDEA told that regardless of the amounts and quality of the drugs
pushed and obtained during buy bust operations, the offense would be unbailable.
The situation is unlike a search warrant arrest, he said that only if the search team finds .5 grams can the
subject be denied of bail, according to the dangerous drugs law.
Concerned over the recent observation that shabu has become easily obtainable at P500 per .005 grams pack,
PDEA agents shared telltale signs that students are into the prohibited substance.
Anyone suspected of shabu use would remain awake for long periods of time, have a noticeable loss of
appetite and have facial muscle twitches or spasms, the PDEA agent said.
Parents who think they have a family member who is into shabu may find tinfoils, disposable lighters, burners
or tissue in the room, they should start worrying because these are signs that their wards are already on
substance use, he stressed.
A .005 grams of shabu can already be shared by a group of five in a pot session, he said.
That would be something like P100 per participant, making the substance easily affordable if they chip in to
but one sachet pack. (racPIABohol)
by magnolia_eic | Nov 13, 2010 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
ABUSE of a substance called Nubain, (Nalbuphine hydrochloride) which has lately been a choice of drug users
in Tagbilaran City has pushed the City Sanggunian to prepare for the enactment of an ordinance regulating the
sale and distribution of the analgesic.
According to a narcotic intelligence officer at the local Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the
province of Bohol, in fact through the Sangguniang Panlalawigan is eyeing the same move to considerably
lessen if not stop the abuse of the anesthetic that is not included in the banned substances under the
Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Since nubain is not in the list of illegal or prohibited substances, we have our hands tied in making operations
against the sale and possession of the injectable drug, the narcotic agent who guested the weekly Kapihan sa
PIA said.
One of the newer drugs which is classified as narcotic analgesic with less abuse potential, Nubain is a synthetic
opiate developed and approved for use as hydrochloride salt in injectable form of 10 to 20 mg ampules which
is not under the list of controlled or dangerous substance.
Nubain is used primarily for treating moderate to severe acute pains, the prescription drug can be easily
sourced out from crooked drug dealer and pharmaceutical agent or using a doctor’s forged prescription pad,
doctors shared.
At the radio forum aired live over DyTR, the narc agent who asked not to be named said the substance has
emerged he third most notoriously abused substance next to shabu and marijuana.
Sourced out basically from possible drug laboratory in Ozamis City in Mindanao and coursed usually through
Cebu, the metamphitamine hydrochloride gets to Bohol presumably through the ports of entry, PDEA
Intelligence Offficer Steven Valles at the peace and order council meeting said.
While shabu and marijuana have been in the list of dangerous abused drugs and users could easily be
apprehended, the case of nubain is different, the drug agent at the Kapihan said.
Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called the PDEA to confirm on the entry of nubain as another
abused substance in schools, during the peace council meeting Tuesday.
Valles, who spoke for the PDEA OIC who was on an operation during the meeting said the alternative way to
get to the users or pushers is to get a local ordinance passed so agents would have the legal backing when
they accost nubain users.
At the Kapihan, PDEA relayed that the city has gone to the point of holding a public hearing as a requisite for
the passing of the city ordinance against the substance.
Upon that same information and feeling helpless against the new substance, Governor Edgar Chatto promised
he would urge the provincial sanggunian to do the same and pass a provincial ordinance regulating nubain and
other dangerous substances not listed yet in the country’s banned drugs. (racPIABohol)
