After nearly seven years online and over three right here, we figured it was time to revamp the site and have it reflect the original purpose: – the Expat’s streetwise guide to ‘paradise’, without the rose tinted glasses. The simple truth is the Philippines has a lot to offer but by no means is it a paradise on earth. There is no such Zip Code! Some of us prefer some places to others but everywhere has the good and the bad. We like to offer a glimpse of both here. Make no mistake you can retire here and live well on a lot less than back home BUT… there are pitfalls and traps for the unwary just as there are anywhere you choose to call home.

Making a difference, one at a time

Following is information on a project several of us are working on.  This is an appeal for funds to provide daily vitamins with minerals to a specific group of children living in poverty.  A way you can make a real difference in the lives of each of them.

This is a one year Pilot program to determine the beneficial effects daily vitamins with minerals will have on the lives of these children.  Anticipated outcomes include reduced illness, better ability to concentrate in school and at home, better physical condition and more.

A monthly donation or a onetime gift will help begin this program.  Please give us your support.  I am available to answer any questions you have concerning this program. Thank you.

Jim Baumbach,
Bacoor Cavite, 4102 Philippines
(MagicJack  717-435-5284 free call in Lancaster, PA area)
09278274512 (cellphone)

MALNUTRITION

I am not a doctor but I see the effects the lack of proper nutrition has on children.  Without proper nutrition children are unable to develop physically and mentally.  Where I live in the Philippines children suffer from this condition in dramatic numbers.

In the Philippines 30% of the population, based on Philippine statistics, live on less than a dollar a day.  Rice is the main food of the poor.  While rice provides calories and some nutrients, it is generally processed into white polished rice with few health benefits.  The children will eat whatever they can to satisfy their hunger.   This includes white bread, cheap candy and fortunately seasonal fruits.

Can you help the 4 – 5 million Filipino children suffering from malnutrition?  NO YOU CAN’T!  It is too overwhelming.  What you can do is help a group of the children in a squatter area “Slum” that I have come to know.  They range in age from 0 to 16, both boys and girls.  There is a total of 42 and here is what we can do together to help them.

VITAMINS FOR THE CHILDREN

Daily multivitamins and minerals for these children will provide missing nutrition in their diets.

A simple multi-vitamin with minerals each day will give the child these expected benefits: increased ability to concentrate in and out of school, stronger immune system leading to fewer illnesses, general improvement in bodily function and more.

Here is how it will work:  The total daily cost for a multi-vitamin for the 42 children is $3.15, for a monthly total of $133.  Please make checks payable to:  Bonnie Gantz, and send to, 24 Plank Ave, Willow Street, PA 17584 will receive the donations, deposit the funds in a PNC bank account of Jim Baubmach who can access them, for free, in the Philippines. In the Philippines please contact me directly, by text or call and we can make arrangements. The vitamins will be purchased locally and distributed by the local Health Department or government agency, again, without cost.  A full monthly accounting will be provided to Bonnie by Jim.  If more than the $133 is collected it will only be spent for approved purposes such as the addition of fluoride or protein supplements for the children.

WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS PROGRAM

You may have knowledge of the people involved in this project.  There are no administration fees deducted and there is accountability on a monthly base.  The height, weight and progress of each child will be maintained by the local Health Department or government agency.  Group photos will also be provided as well as individual photos on request.

Not Mine! cry half a dozen expats in Angeles City!

The world’s symbolic 7 billionth baby was born on the weekend and brings the Filipino population to just over 94.9 million, officially. The delivery room was packed with reporters, relatives, UN officials and even the 6th billionth baby, now 12, not to mention the father, mother and a mid-wife. The child gets a scholarship and the parents a grant to start a sari sari store and of course, world wide fame. If the world increased by 1 billion in just 12 years from 6 to 7 billion, how long will it take to make it to 8 billion?

A report just in alleges a New Zealand woman was lured to the Philippines for a martial arts camp and then forced to be a prostitute before being dumped on a Manila street by her tormentors. As one who has a lot of experience with Filipino Martial Arts and taught Arnis to the locals while living there, I can understand her excitement at being invited to attend a month long training camp at the ‘source’.

I can only begin to empathise with her over her treatment, it must have been horrendous. I wonder how anyman could carry out a sexual act with a woman who was obviously not a local and not a willing participant? Surely, even passive resistance and total non-participation by the woman would signal there is something horribly wrong here? It goes to the heart of the matter, what is the mindset of those men who would use her in such a way?

Many may claim the foreigners who travel to the Philippines and engage bargirls in prostitution are no different but I beg to differ. Those girls have not been forced by anything other than the poverty forced upon their country by the ruling elite ripping off the people in every way. bad enough that that is, it is a very different scenario to the one endured by the Kiwi woman.

The reality is that whatever your personal position, prostitution is the oldest profession and it will remain so while ever there are men and women and we have the attitude to sex that it is something special and can be used as a commodity or for gain. Whether that is on a date, in a marriage or a more obviously commercial transaction, so long as there is a ‘price’ put on sex there will be exploitation. That exploitation is bad enough when it is the person offering the sex exploiting the person accepting the offer, but when it is done via a third party it takes on a sinister mantle all of its own.

The origin of the invitation was Facebook. When will people learn? Facebook is a prime catchment area for the evil people of this world and they are very convincing and very good at what they do. If there is any country in S.E. Asia you don’t travel to alone, as a female, it has to the Philippines, probably followed by Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand. I hope this lady can put this behind her and move on.

You have to hand it to the Pinoy when it comes to recycling and making something out of virtually nothing. In squatter areas where the interiors of the shacks they live in are dark nearly all day, they simply can’t afford to have the light on. Even though many steal electricity by dangerously hooking up to live mains, those who have it legitimately can’t afford Asia’s highest electricity costs. So how do they light up their homes? Watch the video clip from the BBC and see how they use recycled P.E.T. soft drink bottles and a little ingenuity to solve a major problem. It is eco friendly, virtually free (if you made your own from scavenged materials) and very sustainable.

Thanks to Peter from PhilippineDreams1 for the link to this report.

Monday, September 5, 2011

(From the SunStar Cebu)

CEBU CITY (3rd update, 3:46 p.m.) — The number of fatalities in a shooting incident in Cebu City rose to five after the injured security guard died in a hospital.

The security escort of a bank teller who was brought to the Chong Hua Hospital died after he was shot by robbers, radio dyLA said.

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Another security escort identified as Leofer Itak died of gunshot wounds.

The three robbers, believed to be members of the Ozamiz robbery group, also died after policemen responded to the incident.

The suspects carted away P1.2 million from a China Bank teller, who was about to deliver the cash to a money changer outlet inside Robinsons Place Cebu past 9 a.m., a radio report said.

The amount was based on the inventory conducted by authorities.

The teller and his security escort were already inside the mall when the suspects grabbed the cash from the teller.

Itak, who acted as lookout, was about to respond to the commotion but another suspect who is the robbers’ lookout shot him dead.
A security guard died Monday morning while trying to stop a robbery inside Robinsons Place Cebu. (Alex Badayos)

A teller and a security escort suffer gunshot wounds during Monday’s robbery inside Robinsons Place Cebu. (Alex Badayos)

The two robbers inside the mall also shot the teller and his security escort, who was the latest fatality.

The robbers grabbed the bag and sped off.

The teller is still at the Chong Hua Hospital for treatment.

Two other policemen from Carbon Police Station, who just passed by at the area, were wounded after the robbers shot at them as well.

The two policemen identified as Police Officers 1 (PO1) Roy Ceniza and Jay Catacutan were brought to the nearby hospital.

All Cebu City policemen were immediately alerted and responded to the incident.

Responding policemen caught up with the three fleeing robbers, onboard a motorcycle and shooting happened.

Two of the robbers died on the spot while the other died at the Cebu City Medical Center.

The bag containing the cash was recovered.

At least 12 empty shells of .45 caliber pistol were also recovered.

Cebu City Mayor Micheal Rama lauded the policemen for their immediate response. He said he will extend assistance to those who were injured in the incident.

He also urged authorities to identify the robbery mastermind.

Investigation is ongoing. (Sunnex)

Since the first edition of Philippine Dreams was released in 2003 as ‘StreetWise Philippines’, times have changed. The market for information products has changed and so too the market for eBooks. While we sold thousands of copies at $29.99 average price, we have found in recent months the sales figured have taken a hit, but then so have the figures for every business in the current economic climate.

We have looked at the situation and decided to change our sales model from a ‘Membership Model’ to what we call the ‘Amazon Model’, as in selling them on Amazon.com as Kindle downloads. They are also available at Barnes&Noble and in the iTunes bookshop as well as at Smashwords.com and of course, as hard copy paperbacks at Lulu.com.

All of the books have been updated and in the case of the hard copy paperbacks, they are being released as A5 size volumes, about half the size they were before as an A4, just thicker. This is in keeping with making them more ‘book like’ and less like an information product. We have also dropped the price to be competitive, of course in doing so we no longer offer the half a dozen or so free value added items that made the $29.99 price tag such great value. Nor will we, officially, still offer online email support although I will always be here to reply to any questions  or emails and help where I can. We also used to offer free updates for the life of the title and while we will continue to do this for our ‘members’, we will no longer offer this with eBooks sold via the new model.

Basically, the updated for 2012 editions are selling for $13.99 with some locations (Amazon’s Kindle for example) offering them at just $9.99 for a limited time to generate some buzz. The hardcopy paperbacks are also re-priced with most, after 25% discount, being available for around $15 or so, plus postage and handling. For some titles for the US market this could mean free delivery depending on the promotions being run at the time of ordering by Lulu.com themselves.

We are hoping the price change and the new sales model will be a good thing for our customers. Those who bought from us in the past at the old price will still get full access and online email help as well as free updates for the life of the title and they get to keep the freebies they downloaded before. New customers get the great low price and we think a better mode of distribution and delivery of the product. Not only that it is far more widely available and easier to find. Let us know your thoughts and what you think of the new sales model.

WikiLeaks document notes disincentives to investing in the Philippines

Thousands of documents pertaining to United States officials’ views on the Philippines have been released by WikiLeaks, among them a fairly recent report — attributed to the embassy in Manila — describing the local investment climate as plagued by “legal restrictions, regulatory inconsistency and lack of transparency”.

The unclassified document dated January 25, 2010 identified the Philippine Economic Zone Authority as a “noteworthy strength” along with the country’s “well-educated and English-speaking labor pool,” but also noted that weak public institutions had repelled foreign businesses.

The report, in particular, states that “many foreign investors describe the inefficiency and uncertainty of the judicial system as a significant disincentive for investment”.

The legal system’s shortcomings were said to be the result of “…judges rarely [having] a background in, or thorough understanding of, market economics or business, and that their decisions stray from the interpretation of law into policymaking”.

The inability of the government to uphold the sanctity of contracts, it said, had led to a “clouded investment climate,” while the ineffectiveness of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines to restrict and seize pirated goods has gotten the country into the US Trade Representative Special 301 Report.

Corruption, meanwhile, was described as a “pervasive and longstanding problem” because “the enforcement of anti-corruption law has been weak and inconsistent”. The report also noted that the Philippines “is not a signatory of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Convention on Combating Bribery.”

Inefficiencies in agencies concerned with business registration, customs procedures, and immigration have also been “a source of frustration” for many US investors.

“To counter this, some agencies, such as the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), BoI (Board of Investments) and the Department of Foreign Affairs, have established express lanes or ‘one-stop shops’ to reduce bureaucratic delays, [but] with varying degrees of success,” the report states.

Officials from the US Embassy and the government were not immediately available for comment.

Copied and pasted without formal permission but I feel the news must be spread. I invite Trans-Asia to reply and rebutt this report. We know they never will.

Passenger slams sunken ship’s crew, management

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By: Francis Allan L. Angelo
BRIAN Daly, 75, was born in England and lived for sometime in Canada but he later moved to Iloilo after falling in love with his Ilongga wife Jonnah.
Brian, now a permanent resident of the Philippines, was among the more than 160 passengers of the ill-fated MV Asia Malaysia of Trans Asia Shipping Corp. which sank off the coast of Ajuy, Iloilo early morning of July 31, 2011.
While the cause of the ship’s sinking remains a mystery until now, Brian has a mouthful against the ship crew and its management.
The Dalys boarded Asia Malaysia on the evening of July 30 from Cebu City where they celebrated their wedding anniversary. Brian also took the opportunity to pick up his residence card from the Bureau of Immigration in Cebu.
Brian, who teaches business English to prospective overseas workers, said Asia Malaysia is their favorite ship because of its great cabin accommodation and a very good restaurant aside from a karaoke bar on the upper deck.
“We’ve traveled on the ship 10 times over the past 7 years,” Brian said.
The trip from Cebu was just as pleasant as their vacation despite the gloomy skies due to a tropical storm battering Luzon island.
“We settled in our air conditioned cabin with TV and hot and cold shower. Later, we went for a nice meal in the restaurant and then to the upper open deck to enjoy the breeze and sing a few songs. We then returned to our cabin for an early sleep just before 10pm,” he said.
A light sleeper, Brian said he woke up when he felt slipping down to the bottom of the bunk bed. As he got up, he realized that the cabin floor was already tilting at a 30-degree angle.
“Having owned several boats including a 38-foot Ketch and having graduated the Canadian Coastguard Power Squadron Program, I knew that the ferry was almost at a critical stage of turning over. Waking up Jonnah, we quickly donned our life jackets and went to the muster area where other passengers were gathering and attempting to put on their life jackets,” Brian said.
Brian said not one of Asia Malaysia’s crew informed them that the ship was already listing to its starboard or right side.
“There had been no one knocking on cabin doors to alert the passengers, no announcements to go the mustering stations and no announcement to put on life jackets and no members of the crew in their white uniforms. This meant we were on our own at this point with no crew members to assist or guide us,” he added.

TAKING CONTROL
To avoid confusion and panic, Brian said he took control and instructed other passengers to move to the upper deck to avoid drowning in the lower decks.
Their situation looked like a scene from the movie Titanic “except the steep angle ran the full length of the ship and anything lose or not bolted down slipped down to the water’s edge.”
Brian said he saw some seamen drop the canisters of inflatable life boats from an angle of 30 degrees from the port or left side of the ship, thus they did not see if it popped open or not.
“Some of the able seamen were sliding down the steep slope only to be rescued from going into the sea by other able seamen trying to undo some of the stacked rafts which was an impossible task at the acute angle. At about 5:40am it was starting to get light and we could see a couple of rescue ships at a distance of about maybe 6 miles,” he added.
The group later decided to move to the ship’s stern or rear end “as we could not get off the ship to be rescued on either the port or starboard sides.”
Brian said some of the crew managed to put out two very narrow walkways of around 18 inches wide and 10 feet long. One plank was 8 feet above the waves on the starboard side, while the other was around 15 feet on the port side.
Using the walkways, the passengers gingerly crossed to the waiting lifeboats except for a 70-year-old woman and her daughter who leapt into the sea and swam to the nearest raft with help from the seamen.
Contrary to the accounts of Asia Malaysia skipper Romualdo Geraldizo that big waves overwhelmed the ship, Brian said the water was only choppy.
The high angle of the tilting ship and choppy waters made it dangerous for the passengers to cross the walkway. Jonnah was able to get on one of the rafters but Brian said he fell on the boat on the right side of his body after a water swell moved the boat to one side.
“No sooner had we carried out that difficult task, we moved to one side to allow others to also jump and join us. Then we had to maneuver ourselves into another wild bucking inflatable nearby to make room for others waiting to jump in,” he said.
Brian said they boarded oil tanker Phil-Visayas which helped rescue some of Asia Malaysia’s passengers. They then proceeded to Bacolod City, the tanker’s destination.

ASHAMED OR AFRAID?
On board the tanker, Brian said he saw another “despicable” actuation by some of Asia Malaysia’s crewmembers.
“A group of uniformed crew members took off their uniforms and placed them in a black plastic garbage bag and mingled among the survivors near the bow of the ship. Why? Were they ashamed?” he said.
Worse, Asia Malaysia crewmembers on board the tanker got bowls of rice and canned fish for themselves and ate their meal in front of the survivors.
“This I thought was despicable, as it showed no concern for their passengers’ well being, just their own.
Brian said his wife took pictures of the crew’s action which they later forwarded to Philippine Coast Guard investigators.

HEROES
Despite his disappointment, Brian said the kitchen crew of Asia Malaysia were among the real heroes in the accident.
“The restaurant crewmembers were the most concerned about the welfare of the survivors, checking to see if everyone was okay, ensuring that those who needed hot coffee were provided by members of the tanker crew. Later the restaurant crew cooked rice and canned fish for all the survivors. They were the real heroes of the Asia Malaysia disaster and should be recognized as such,” he said.
From Bacolod City, the Dalys and other survivors boarded another ferry bound for Iloilo City. Although he declined at first, Brian went to St. Paul’s Hospital to check if he suffered injuries from his bad fall on the rafter.
After three x-rays and two ultrasound examinations, seven blood tests and two units of blood transfusion, Brian went home on August 7. Trans Asia footed the P34,000 hospital bill.
“Now that is a wedding anniversary to remember. We had lost everything we had, including our personal possessions, passports, money, etc. and we only had the clothes we were wearing. But at least we survived. We are still alive, we have each other and everything else can be replaced,” Brian said while fingering the key to their cabin, his only reminder of the tragedy.

FINAL BLOW
Although happy to be alive and well, Brian said he was seething at the treatment they received from Trans Asia.
The firm promised the survivors P4,000 each as a sort of compensation aside from the small amount given to them so they can go home to their respective places.
On August 6, Brian said Trans Asia agents made them sign a form to prove that they have claimed the P4,000 compensation.
“I was disgusted to discover that the fare given to us right after the accident were deducted from the P4,000. Just how low can Trans Asia get? That is truly disgusting to treat their fellow Filipinos that way,” he said.
Worse, Brian said he got nothing as his P4,000 compensation was deducted from the hospital bills.
“To rub salt on the wound, they asked for my ID so they could get the seniors discount. Now that is despicable. And when my wife was given her P4,000 the taxi fare from the hospital to our home was also deducted,” he said.
Brian said they lost more than P30,000 worth of valuables after the accident, but he is not complaining for himself but for other passengers who might not have the opportunity to gripe about their plight.
“I told the company to do something about this or else I will come out in the media. As of Wednesday, I heard nothing from them. I can always replace what we lost, but what about the less fortunate survivors who may have lost their life’s savings aside from the trauma they will suffer for some time or even their entire lifetime? This has to change because it’s the most despicable way to treat a countryman,” Brian said.
TDG tried to get Trans Asia’s comment but no one was available to speak in the company’s behalf.

We received an update on that British man and his Filipina wife being held in prison now for over two years, all the time the aged parents getting milked by every official who can smell a peso, their kids cared for by relatives and never getting to see them as one by one the family turns away, and some even turn on them. It is a shambles that should have ended in May. Of some 24 cases alleging people trafficking and other offences more than 20 have been dismissed due to lack of evidence or complainant. The latest case, put off due to the court system being a shambles there no doubt, was another no show of the witness and claimant. So the judge postponed this case till October to give them a chance to appear. Please, they are not going to be there in October and no doubt this robed fool will postpone it again, all in the name of justice, saving the pride and face of the idiot authorities who should never have started this in the first place.

Our correspondent writes:

This is yet another shining example of Filipino corruption and incompetence and while every nation has its share of both, they seem to make it more of a national sport than cockfighting or basketball. Which says a lot for the mentality of these people, a nation where the average height is 5’6″ spend more time playing basketball than looking for work. Oh happy children, no wonder the catholic church were able to convert and rule you for so long and still do. Pathetic people, but then there is no work as the ruling elite control everything with their goons the corrupt police, thieving general staff of the AFP and of course, their witch doctors from the catholic church. It is no wonder the main export is Filipinos. They seem to blossom once outside the control of the cloying culture that robs individuals of any chance of getting anywhere except at the expense of someone else,like crabs clawing their way out of the bucket. Make no mistake, it is not a racial thing but a cultural one. The culture supports incompetence and corruption as it promotes pakikisama, or group harmony. Far more important than justice (an imported American idea from the 1900s), or competence (who needs that when labor is so cheap and sex easy to take) and corruption saves having to pay fair salaries.

If you are thinking of investing a dime in this country, be aware you too might end up the victim of greedy, lying officials and suffer for years in their sewer of a prison system, not fit for humans and clear proof the Philippines has no right to call itself a civilized society. Remember, I speak of the society, the culture and the authorities, not the individual Filipino. So get angry Pinoy and sort your system out or remain the laughing stock of the civilized world and the destination for all the loser foreigners who, like the corrupt locals, give the rest of us a bad name. Hopefully this is sufficiently nasty a note for someone to take notice and take action!  Signed but name and address withheld at the writer’s request.

Well, he pulls no punches and I hope that got it off his chest. I am keen to give equal space to a rebuttal from someone in a position of authority there but so far I don’t think they read this site, or care to bother. I doubt they care about the opinion of people like our commentator as his kind don’t waste their money on the SRRV program or hob nob with the upscale locals where it is all liveried servants and air con excess.

I do know representation has been made on behalf of the prisoners to the UN to bring the matter up with Secretary DeLima. I do believe she is genuinely trying to reform the system there and that is a huge task and they are just two of maybe millions caught up in the cesspit of the system. I understand the anger of the commentator and to a degree I agree with some of his points, although I doubt venting them will affect anyone but him and hopefully lower his blood pressure. I doubt the judge cares. If he did he wouldn’t torture them with delays. If he doesn’t then his arrogance is such nothing said here will make a scrap of difference and that is where the frustration begins. I can only imagine how it must be for the prisoners. I know once released I would leave the Philippines and never come back. Funny thing, I asked my Asawa if she wanted to go back soon and she said no, she would rather see our country first. Our country. Home is here, not back there for her now. Of course many foreigners call the Pinas home and never have any problem with the place so if nothing else, this should underline the fact, it is what YOU make it, wherever you are. And stay out of the sights of anyone looking for some easy cash.

The previous government were as corrupt as any other Filipino administration has been. This Police Helicopter matter is either a case of someone pocketing the change or incompetence. My money is on the former, not the latter. These men are not idiots. They have all graduated from the Philippine Military Academy or the Police equivalent, they are educated and intelligent professionals. Someone, or more likely a bunch of someones was getting a nice little earner for paying full whack for whacked out whirly birds! Note the buck passing and wriggling going on. No doubt someone down the food chain and most likely a person who never took a centavo will cop some flak over this while the big name keep their snouts in the trough.

Lawmakers baffled over purchase of ‘second hand helicopters’

Thursday, July 28, 2011

SENATORS were baffled Thursday by a decision by the Philippine National Police (PNP) to buy second hand helicopters at brand-new prices.

Senator Teofisto Guingona III, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, said he could not comprehend why the PNP paid full price “when two of these choppers are actually more than five years old, flying for hundreds of hours already.”

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Police Director Luizo Ticman, chairman of the bids and negotiations committees in the purchase of “brand new” used helicopters in 2009, told the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Thursday that he did not study the project proposal.

He said he relied on recommendations from Police Director Leocadio Santiago, then commander of the PNP SAF, who received the helicopters. He said he also relied on the PNP inspection team that was in charged to check the units.

He said, however, that nobody influenced the negotiations committee to favor the deal with Manila Aerospace Parts and Services Corp (Maptra).

It was found that Maptra indicated on its bid documents that two of the helicopters were “service center condition” and not brand new.

Police Superintendent Claudio Gaspar Jr., from the PNP inspection team, confirmed that the helicopters were second hand.

He said he had flown the helicopters before, as early as 2004, when he was detailed to the Office of the President.

Among his passengers were members of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s family, he said.

He said, however, that he did not tell higher ups that the helicopters were not new because he was not asked. He said he wasn’t told that they were supposed to be factory-fresh units.

“I thought they knew,” he told senators.

It was also found that the Inspection and Acceptance Committee, to which the inspection team reported to, was not at the actual inspection of the helicopters.

Of four members who signed approval of the deal, only Police Senior Superintendent Edgar Pataan was present. He said he was not a pilot and could not tell if the units were new.

In any case, he said, there were no instructions to find out if the helicopters were brand new.

“If it was flying in 2004 and was sold in 2009, obviously, that’s second hand. I don’t think you need technical competence for this,” he said.

Ticman said bidding on the proposed purchase of three light operational helicopters failed so the project was referred to the negotiations committee. The only other bidder, Beeline, asked a higher price for three Enstrom helicopters, he said.

Senator Sergio Osmena III, who was also at the hearing, said Beeline’s
bid was just P2,000 higher for three brand new helicopters.

The PNP said Beeline’s offer did not conform to contract requirements because it did not have air-conditioning. It was found later that the Robinson Raven helicopters did not have air-conditioning either.

Police ‘fooled’ in chopper purchase

Police Chief Superintendent Herold Ubalde told the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that “apparently, there was deceit” in the purchase.

The Philippine National Police earlier presented a sworn statement from Hilario De Vera, president of Maptra that the helicopters he was selling to the PNP were brand new. The document was submitted as a post-qualification requirement, Ubalde said.

Senator Franklin Drilon said the papers for the sale of the helicopters from Lion Air Inc. to Maptra clearly indicated the helicopters were second hand. He said delivering units of a different quality than promised was a “classic case of estafa (fraud).”

But lawyer Luis Rivera, at the hearing on behalf of Maptra, said the company “has no capacity to deceive the PNP.” He said Maptra would submit its records on the sale at the next hearing.

Police Director George Piano, former director for logistics, said they accepted the units on the presumption that they were brand new.

Drilon said after the hearing that Piano is “indispensable to this entire mess.”

“It was only because he accepted these helicopters as being consistent with the supply contract that payment was made,” he explained.

Guingona said the police officials should not close ranks or they may all be found liable for the anomalous purchase. (Jonathan de Santos/Sunnex)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/07/28/lawmakers-baffled-over-purchase-second-hand-helicopters-169601