Tongue twisters

 “'Twas but my tongue, 'twas not my soul that swore.”

--Euripides

 

By Alex P. Vidal 

 

BEFORE the advent of CCTV and high-tech cellphones, community and neighborhood crimes were hard to solve by the police, or mostly weren’t solved at all.

If there’s no evidence and witnesses, there’s no solution to the crime or crimes committed. 

If crimes were unsolved, there’s travesty of justice. 

The people’s trust and confidence in our law enforcement would be eroded if justice wasn’t served.

Today, even simple street brawls and altercations among drunken men, gangsters, drivers and pedestrians; hair-pulling and slapping tiffs among gossipers, housewives and vendors can be graphically captured and instantly uploaded on the social media for all the world to watch.

Those involved in the fracases became instant “celebrities” while perpetrators of crimes and violence were easily identified, rounded up in hot pursuit or follow up police operations, and prosecuted. 

It’s because of the mushrooming of CCTVs in the villages and the vigilance of netizens who recorded these crimes and violence that unraveled right before their eyes.

 

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That’s why we are confident the Philippine National Police (PNP) will be able to solve soon the grisly murder of 36-year-old Iloilo businesswoman Claire Diergos, who was laid to rest in in Guimaras on Sunday, Nov. 7. 

Investigators have been reportedly banking on the help of CCTV footages that captured the movements of the victim’s sport utility vehicle, where she was found dead, and the vehicle abandoned in Barangay Inangayan, Santa Barbara, Iloilo on October 26.

The CCTV footages, corroborated by several circumstantial and testimonial pieces of evidence, forensic science, and the quality of investigation being undertaken by the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) headed by Police Colonel Gilbert Gorero, are expected to help expedite the resolution of the celebrated case.

IPPO information officer and spokesman, Police Executive Master Sargeant Francisco Lindero, who had briefed reporters on the status of the case, assured the public they were leaving no stone unturned to solve the crime. 

Diergos, described by friends and her family as a hard-working and independent woman, sustained multiple stab wounds on different parts of her body.

If not for the fact that her body was found wrapped in a comforter and abandoned inside her own vehicle like in the mafia and detective movies, the case wouldn’t generate a huge public interest and become sensational.

 

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THE names of this year’s winners in the 50^th New York City Marathon on November 7 continued to be tongue twisters: Albert Korir (men) and Peres Jepochirchir (women).

Just like in chess, which used to be dominated by Russians like Botvinnik, Smyslov, Korchnoi, Karpov, Kasparov, Kramnik, Akhsharumova, Akopian, Azmaiparashvili, Chiburdanidze, marathon has produced some of the names that would require sportscasters chronicling the mammoth race “live” to take a speech therapy before or after the event.

Before Korir and Jepochirchir, there were (yes, I have spelled their names right) Muhrcke, Mtolo, Kuscsik, Waitz, Mutai, Okayo, Ikangga.

To further torture our tongues, there were past winners like: Wakiihuri, Kagwe, Tergat, Pizzolato, Keflezighi, Gebremariam, Biwott, Kipsang, Ghebreslassie, Kamworor. Whew!

In Asia, we used to have a chess grandmaster from Indonesia named Utot Adianto, a Korean boxer Tae Jin Moon, and two Thai boxing promoters I personally know, Virat Virachachatanawong and Jimmy Chaichutchuang. 

In the Philippines, Ilonggo topnotch chef Tebong Jardeleza once revealed he had a Facebook friend known as Abigail Putayan, a Korean national who’s not involved in sports and culinary arts, and who also became my social media friend.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two Iloilo dailies—Ed)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Col. Tayaba is a big loss to the PNP

“Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage.”

—Theodore Roosevelt

By Alex P. Vidal

I FIRST met then 30-year-old Police Maj. Marlon Tayaba in 1998 when he was the chief of the Iloilo City Mobile Group, where I saw him frisk suspected lawbreakers even in the La Paz bridge during the night operations.

He was close to our Sun Star Iloilo police beat reporters Ednalyn Belonio-Diamante, Ruby Silubrico, and other lady reporters from the radio and TV.

Tayaba was tough and swashbuckling when dealing with law violators and criminals, but meek and mild-mannered when in the company of Iloilo reporters, who admired his low key personality.

He raised his voice only on the ruffians and rascals while on duty, but spoke to anyone he met like a school teacher when he’s off duty.

Tayaba was one of the most courteous and soft-spoken police officials who served in the city and province of Iloilo.

If he wasn’t wearing a police uniform, Tayaba could be mistaken for a college student or a Mormon who knocks on the door to give free copies of Bible and prayer literatures.

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Tayaba wasn’t publicity hungry. He was a silent type and seldom opened his mouth in conversations but attentive and always alert.

His accomplishments became known only because he had lots of friends in the media who reported them even if some these stories weren’t front page materials.

He was a darling of the press because he treated them like his friends and classmates. 

While other PNP officials hankered for publicity in order to expedite their promotion, Tayaba never kowtowed to anyone in the press in order to get a special attention.

The more he earned positive remarks in the press for a good accomplishment as a cop, the more he would recluse himself so that the friendly press wouldn’t do a follow up and prolong the well-deserved plaudits.

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I lost track of Tayaba when he and other selected PNP officials went to the United States for a “schooling” in the early part of year 2000.

We were connected again when he sent a “friend request” on Facebook seven years ago. He used another name.

All that I heard and read about him thereafter was his sterling exploits as “Col. Marlon Tayaba” and as director of the Iloilo Provincial Police Office (IPPO), where he earned the trust and confidence of then Iloilo Governor Arthur “Art” Defensor Sr., father of incumbent Iloilo Governor Arthur “Toto” Jr. 

I only learned that he passed away on February 16 at the Iloilo Mission Hospital after a long bout with colon cancer, the second most deadly form of cancer after lung cancer.

He was 52.    

Based on his accomplishments and performance, his death should be considered as a big loss to the Philippine National Police.

Rest in Peace, Colonel!

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

We worry for tourism

“The thing about tourism is that the reality of a place is quite different from the mythology of it.”
--Martin Parr

By Alex P. Vidal

WE are worried for tourism in Iloilo and Guimaras in particular, and in Western Visayas in general, following the travel advisory issued by the United Kingdom urging its citizens to avoid travel on ferries and passenger boats in the Philippines following the recent Iloilo-Guimaras Strait maritime mishap that killed nearly 31 boat passengers.
Travel advisories issued by European and American countries always have ripple effects and are monitored and followed by other continents with large business and tourism contingents that regularly circumnavigate the globe.
In the age of internet, the recent UK travel advisory can travel and spread around the universe faster than the tsunami and quicker than the speed of a bullet train.
At this time when our tourism has been reaping inroads and dividends owing to the aggressive and productive campaign instituted by the Department of Tourism (DOT) regional office headed by Director Helen Catalbas, we can’t afford to reap a negative publicity in the global market and altogether slump to square one.
Instead of a leap backward, it must be a long jump forward.

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Guimaras, producer of the best mango in the world, is undoubtedly a tourism wonder and the only viable means to get there vice versa is through a passenger boat.
With UK’s recent travel advisory, tourism and business in Philippine islands that rely heavily on ferries and passenger boats to connect the tourists and their destinations like Guimaras, Boracay, Bohol, Palawan, among other favorite spots in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao will certainly suffer a dent.
The UK travel advisory exhorted its citizens to avoid travel on ferries and passenger, particularly from June to December, the season when the country is frequently hit by tropical cyclones.
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “They are often overloaded, may lack necessary lifesaving equipment or be inadequately maintained and have incomplete passenger manifests. Storms can develop quickly and maritime rescue services in the Philippines may be limited.”
Let’s hope a new travel advisory from Europe and America will soon come out; this time to pave the way for a quick Renaissance of tourism industry in Western Visayas and in the entire Philippines.

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The “dark past” of Supt. Roland Vilela, penciled in to be the next chief of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO), circulated in the media faster than his credentials and accomplishments as police official.
This came after his name was reportedly chosen recently from among the list of police officials by Iloilo Governor Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr.
In the past, police officials who would occupy important positions in the Regional Police Office down to the provincial police offices were hailed for their good record and good behavior in press releases prior to assuming their respective assignments.
In the case of Supt. Vilela, it’s the opposite.
As long as he was not yet convicted of any criminal act, he could still perform his tasks as a PNP official; Ilonggos can still give him the benefit of the doubt.
He wouldn’t be allowed to stay in the PNP if he had been found guilty of hooliganism or any serious moral and criminal misconduct.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Senior Supt. Tayaba and Iloilo’s war vs illegal drugs

“Being a good police officer is one of the most difficult, dangerous, idealistic jobs in the world.”
--Thomas Hauser

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- When he was the chief of the Iloilo City Mobile Group (ICMG) in the late 1990s, Senior Superintendent Marlon Tayaba, now Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) director, was one of the police officials in Western Visayas close to Iloilo reporters, especially the ladies.
Our Sun Star Iloilo reporters, Ednalyn Belonio-Diamante and Ruby Silbubrico, always had good police stories to write each time they interviewed Tayaba.
Tayaba, a member of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) Class 1993, endeared himself to the press for being approachable and always available when sought for interview.
The popular police official from Pangasinan had served as the director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Region 6 before being assigned as the commander of the Regional Public Safety Battalion (RPSB) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on January 2017.

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As the IPPO chief who led an operation that killed alleged Western Visayas drug lord Richard Prevendido at Landheights Subdivision in Balabago village in Jaro District on September 1, 2017, Tayaba’s name vaulted up as the “conqueror.”
When Prevendido’s sister, Brgy. Bakhaw, Mandurriao, Iloilo City Brgy. Captain Remia Prevendido-Gregori and her personal assistant, Analee Antapatria, were killed in a family-owned beach resort in San Joaquin, Iloilo on June 24, 2018, Tayaba told reporters the slain village chief was a “high-value target” for her alleged involvement in illegal drugs.
Tayaba claimed at least six unidentified armed men in red car assaulted the victims at around 4:30 o’clock in the afternoon.
As of this writing the culprits remained unidentified.

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Minutes after the foiled assassination of Police Officer 1 (PO1) Dorben Acap of the PNP Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit (RPHAU) in Sitio Pajo in Barangay Dulonan, Arevalo in Iloilo City on June 26, 2018, PO2 Melvin Mocorro, who reportedly worked under Tayaba, was rushed to a hospital with gunshot wounds.
Mocorro was being suspected as one of those who ambushed Acap, who managed to fire back.
Acap has survived and vowed to reveal more details about the botched assassination once doctors clear him.
There was no immediate confirmation from probers about Mocorro’s involvement in the ambush, as of this writing.
We expect Tayaba to be the “man-of-the-hour” in the next several weeks and months when the IPPO and the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) led by Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao step up their campaign against “persons of authority” (including cops, town and barangay officials) involved in illegal drug trafficking.
Tayaba and his team’s remarkable operations against dangerous personalities in illegal drugs trade have gained national attention.
Their blitzkrieg occurred days after President Rodrigo R. Duterte told Philippine councilors in a national convention in Iloilo City he wanted more traffickers of illegal drugs killed, including the “narco cops.”

Ambushed STL exec needs a ‘padrino’

“Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.”
--Lao Tzu

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- If guns are blazing and the intention is to kill, there is violence.
If violence is unabated, there is a breakdown of peace and order.
If high-profile personalities like Samuel Aguilar, president of Eagle Crest Gaming and Holdings Corp., operator of STL in Iloilo province, can be ambushed by unidentified gunmen in broad daylight, there is no guarantee that ordinary people won’t be harmed by gun-toting maniacs.
Guns, or any deadly weapon for that matter, aren’t supposed to be in the hands of those who intend to create murder and mayhem; it’s the job of the police to seize loose firearms before they can be used to harm civilians.
Could the assailants have been accosted if the Iloilo Provincial Police Office (IPPO) had a check point within Brgy. Buyuan in Tigbauan town where the ambush happened?
If the area is isolated and in a national highway, it’s easy for the trigger-men to escape and avoid police check points and other dragnets.

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Whether business-related or personal, Aguilar probably knows who wanted him dead especially if it was not the first attempt against his life.
Five months ago, Aguilar also reportedly survived the first attempt by unidentified gunmen to also kill him in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
For sure, the mastermind or masterminds did not intend to only scare him.
The grapevine says that anybody who is involved in gambling operations, legal or otherwise, in Iloilo province must have a powerful "padrino" for protection and “profit-sharing.”
If Aguilar is not from Iloilo and doesn’t have a “padrino”, it’s a big “problem.”
One of the most prominent personalities in Iloilo gambling operation, a former Philippine Constabulary (PC) sergeant, was murdered in cold blood in Iloilo City four years ago.
And he was an Ilonggo.

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After hurriedly announcing on February 23, 2018 that the former employers of murdered OFW Joanna Demafiles of Sara, Iloilo have been arrested, nothing has been heard again from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
As I mentioned earlier, the “arrest” of suspects Nader Essam Assaf, a Lebanese national, and his wife, Mona, a Syrian national, is one thing.
Whether they will be prosecuted and be made to answer for the grisly murder is another thing.
Let’s hope all the spectacle that attended Demafiles’ sensational case will not end up in a blunderbuss and buried in newspaper files. We need action aside from condemnation.
What now, DFA?