News Briefs: April 3, 2017

Ex-PNP traffic chief acquitted of providing false info in SALN

 MANILA – The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan’s 4th division acquitted retired Chief Superintendent Danilo Mangila of 6 counts of perjury for allegedly providing false information in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs) from1998 to 2003.

Six years ago, the Ombudsman filed the charges against the former director of the PNP Traffic Management Group for declaring that he had a outstanding housing loan of P4.448 million with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), which investigators found to be false. Mangila retired in 2004. 

He admitted during the trial that it was his secretary who prepared his SALNs during those years, making the “honest mistake” of indicating the amount as “GSIS and other loans.” However, he acknowledged he had personal loans from friends and a business partner, but not from GSIS. 

In the decision penned by Associate Justice Reynaldo Cruz, the Sandiganbayan division said “the prosecution failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence” that the retired police general committed “willful and deliberate assertion of falsehood.” 

“This lends credence to his defense that the errors in his SALNs were honest mistakes and inadvertent, that is, without any malice on his part,” the decision read. Associate justices Alex Quiroz and Geraldine Faith Econg concurred. – Rappler.com

Manila port raises P33.8M from sale of forfeited imported goods

MANILA, Philippines – The sale of forfeited imported goods – from motor vehicles to shoes – has earned the Manila International Container Port (MICP) P33.83 million in the first quarter of the year, the port’s operator said.

The proceeds came from sale of imported goods from 116 containers, which were sold via public auction from January to March this year.

The items sold by the MICP include 5 motor vehicles, 3 motorcycles, shoes, plywood, tarpaulin, resins, and even hospital beds.

The highest proceeds were from a February 28 auction, which yielded a profit of P17.91 million in what is officially called non-traditional revenues, the port’s Auction and Cargo Disposal Division said in a report.

The sale of forfeited goods has also helped in freeing up space in the country’s largest port, the MICP said.

Last year, non-traditional revenues for MICP reached P295.39 million, which included revenues from sales of seized rice, sugar, and household items. – Rappler.com