The Department of Justice will reopen an investigation into the anomaly in the previous administration involving the missing firearms of the Philippine National Police that were allegedly sold to the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
In Department Order No. 7 issued on Tuesday, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct the new probe on the controversy already previously investigated by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Aguirre required the NBI to “conduct investigation and case buildup over missing PNP firearms which were sold to the [NPA] in Mindanao, and if evidence warrants, to file the appropriate cases against government personnel and private individuals found liable.”
According to Aguirre, the reinvestigation on the reported 1,004 missing high-powered firearms was upon the order of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The Justice Secretary said the new probe will be an offshoot of the earlier Ombudsman investigation, which led to the indictment of top police officials in the Sandiganbayan, and will focus on private individuals involved.
Aguirre said they have received information that more private individuals were involved in the anomaly but were not covered by the Ombudsman probe.
“With this, we are confident that those individuals who are responsible for this felonious act will be held accountable,” he said, in a statement.
In 2014, it was discovered that over 1,000 high-powered firearms of PNP worth P52 million have been sold to NPA since 2011 with the unwitting assistance of 19 senior police officials at Camp Crame.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) discovered the irregularity after it was found that a cache of AK-47 assault rifles disappeared while papers were being processed by the PNP.
The CIDG had found that a certain Isidro Lozada, owner of a security agency based in CARAGA region in Mindanao, bought the firearms.
Lozada bought all the 1,004 AK-47 from gun supply firm Twin Pines using his security agency and also used the names of other security agencies.
After the licensing of the AK-47, Lozada would deliver them to Butuan City where they would be picked up by communist rebels.
The CIDG said the guns were delivered from 2011 to early part of 2013.
In 2015, the Ombudsman indicted 12 police officials led by sacked Chief Supt. Raul Petrasanta before the Sandiganbayan over the controversy.
Petrasanta, along with six former police officials, five active police officials and three others were charged in the Sandiganbayan for multiple counts of graft in connection with the missing AK-47 assault rifles.
Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism (DOT) on Tuesday urged Filipinos worldwide to “Bring Home A Friend” to the Philippines to promote the country’s culture in the provinces.
“The rustic feel of the ancestral house, the fresh breath of air, and the heirloom recipe of our lolas are staples one looks forward to when going home to the province,” said DOT Secretary Wanda Teo in a statement Tuesday.
“We invite you to welcome your foreign friends to the doorsteps of your hometown. Our different provinces and regions offer a much more different experience of the Philippines only we Filipinos know,” Teo said.
Teo’s call to “Bring Home A Friend” to the provinces coincides with the roll out of the campaign’s regional roadshow, following its grand launch at Resorts World Manila and multiple international launches and overseas activations.
DOT MIMAROPA capped the 15-region launching, with its own version at Robinsons Place Palawan’s Activity Center.
DOT Eastern Visayas kicked off the regional reintroduction of the referral incentive program last October at Robinson’s Place-Tacloban.
Among the notable regional launches were in the DOT Northern Mindanao, DOT CALABARZON and DOT CARAGA held at Limketkai Center, Cagayan de Oro, The Bellevue Manila, and Robinsons Place Butuan, respectively.
“The Regional Launching of the Bring Home A Friend campaign gave our Regional Offices a sense of ownership and a chance to localize the program. Their launches have call to actions inviting everyone in the region to invite their friends to visit their provinces,” Teo said.
Different regional offices will have follow up promotion, advertising, and activations during local festivals or other tourism related events to sustain the momentum of the campaign, the DOT said.
The promo campaign, which started last October 15 and will end on April 15, 2018, encourages Filipinos living here or abroad and expatriates to invite their foreign friends to visit the Philippines with raffle prizes up for grabs.