HEALTH Secretary Enrique T. Ona said Wednesday the increase in Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the Philippines is alarming and requires a more focused approach to reverse it.

On the eve of World Aids Day which is observed every Dec. 1, Ona disclosed that for January-September 2011 period , an average of six new HIV infections daily was reported, significantly up compared to one new case every two days a decade ago.

“The HIV situation, while alarming, is concentrated among key populations at higher risk and not the public at large. This provides us with greater opportunity to halt and reverse the trend in the next few years,” Ona said.

However, Ona said halting and reversing the current trend “will require a more focused, multi-sectoral approach and an efficient implementation of prevention and control programs.”

The health chief said the increase in the new HIV infection was largely due to the spread of the virus among males who have unprotected sex with other males and also among injecting drug users who share contaminated needles.

The DoH secretary called for a more rational resource allocation of money intended to combat HIV/Aids in the country in the face of the cancellation of the Round 11 of The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria funding and investments worldwide.

The September 2011 Philippine Department of Health HIV and AIDS Registry showed that there were 253 new HIV cases for the month of reporting, the highest number of new HIV infections ever reported.

The September 2011 report also showed that of the new 253 HIV cases, the age group 20-29 years old reported the most number of cases, or 57 percent. Ninety-five percent were males belonging to the age group 16-67 years old; 83 percent were males who have sex with other males. Fiftty-three percent or 135 cases were from the National Capital Region.

The same report said 226 cases revealed sexual contact as the mode of transmission while 27 cases said they shared needles with injecting drug users.

Five of the 253 new HIV cases have progressed into AIDS cases, all of them males within the age group of 18-50 years old. Two of the five AIDS cases have died in September, one was aged 40 and the other 49.

Sixteen of the new 253 HIV cases were overseas Filipino workers, 11 males and five females belonging to the age group 24-59 years old. All cases said they acquired HIV through sexual contact, 10 via heterosexual sex, one via homosexual sex, and five via bisexual sex.

Bus driver Daniel Espinosa has been ordered arrested for the death of journalist Chit Estella (Photo by MARIO IGNACIO IV)

By ARTHA KIRA PAREDES

A QUEZON City regional trial court on Wednesday ordered the arrest of bus driver Daniel Espinosa charged in the death of journalism professor and VERA Files trustee Lourdes “Chit” Estella Simbulan after he was a no show at his arraignment.

Espinosa, driver of the Universal Guiding Star bus that rammed the taxi Estella was riding on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City on May 13, is facing charges of reckless imprudence resulting in damage to property with homicide.

Also charged is Victor Ancheta, driver of the Nova bus, which police investigation showed was the first to hit the taxi.

Bus driver Victor Ancheta (center) pleads not guilty to the charge of reckless imprudence resulting in damage to property with homicide (Photo by MARIO IGNACIO IV)

Judge Ralph Lee of Branch 83 pushed through with the arraignment despite Ancheta’s petition to move the arraignment because, he said, was implicated by a mere testimony of a witness.

Lee denied the petition, saying “the motion for reconsideration is not a ground under the rules of court to suspend proceedings, it should be via petition to refute before the Department of Justice.”

Ancheta entered a “not guilty” plea. The pre-trial conference is scheduled on Jan. 25.

Police reported that both drivers fled the scene after their buses hit the Abu Abbey taxi near the UP-Ayala Land Technohub. Estella, 53, was killed instantly. Damage to the taxi amounted to P250,000.

Under Article 365 (Criminal Negligence) of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, reckless imprudence “consists in voluntary, but without malice, doing or falling to do an act from which material damage results by reason of inexcusable lack of precaution on the part of the person performing of failing to perform such act, taking into consideration his employment or occupation, degree of intelligence, physical condition and other circumstances regarding persons, time and place.”

Espinosa, who was found to driving beyond the 60-kilometer-per-hour speed limit at the time of the accident, went in hiding after the incident and surrendered days later in Davao City to Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Espinos, 39, a native of Bansalan, Davao del Sur, was reported to have been involved in four other traffic violations before the said accident.

In his counter affidavit, however, Espinosa said he did not exceed the speed limit on Commonwealth. He also blamed taxi driver Vito Jagunos for occupying the yellow lane meant for buses and the two Nova buses, one driven by Ancheta, which were racing against each other.

On the day of the accident, Estella was on her way to meet friends at the Technohub just across the University of the Philippines, Diliman where she taught journalism at the College of Mass Communication. She was a journalist for three decades.

On Sept. 26, the Quezon City Council in Resolution No. 5311 recognized the “immense contributions” of Estella as “one of the country’s premier academicians and journalists.

Judge Lee is a known “Ondoy hero” who drove his Jet Ski in floodwaters to save around 100 residents of Sta. Monica, Novaliches, Quezon City.

Torture victims Ibrahim Makasulay Alimanan (left) and Allamin Balotintic Samal (Photo by Mario Ignacio IV)

COTABATO CITY–No sufficient evidence.

The City Prosecutor’s Office in Kidapawan City has dismissed due to insufficient evidence the complaint filed against three police officers of North Cotabato who were accused of torturing suspects in the bombing of a bus that left nine people killed in October last year.

In a 10-page resolution dated Sept.  26  and released recently, City Prosecutor Al Calica and Assistant Prosectuor Melvin Lamata said they found no sufficient evidence to charge Supt. Alexander C. Tagum, operations chief of the North Cotabato police, Insp. Joan R. Resurrecion and PO2 Manuel de Guzman Marquez Jr. with violation of Republic Act 9745 or the anti-torture law.

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By PATRICK KING PASCUAL

NEW cases of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the country reached an all-time high of 204 in July this year, the highest number of new cases recorded by the Department of Health in a month to date.

The virus is now infecting seven Filipinos every 24 hours, up from last year’s average of five new HIV patients daily.

Latest data showed that a total of 1,220 cases were registered in the first seven months of this year alone, bringing to 7,235 the total number of HIV  cases since 1984 when the first such case was recorded in the Philippines.

According to the DOH, 90 percent of the positive cases were males, 20 to 29 years old. It added that 107 of the 204 HIV cases recorded in July  were from the National Capital Region.

It added that the most common means of transmission of the virus was sexual, mostly from MSM (or men who have sex with men). Others were from female sex workers and injecting drug users.

The World Health Organization noted that the Philippines is one of seven countries in the world where there has been a continuous rise of HIV-AIDS cases in the last eight years amid a global slowdown. The other six countries are Armenia, Bangladesh, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

If this trend continues, the Philippine government may need P1 billion every year to produce Antiretroviral Medicines (ARVs) to help slow down the spread of the HIV virus and aid people living with HIV and/or AIDS (PLWHAs).

The Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC) already warned that the number of HIV cases in the country could balloon to 46,000 by 2015 if no concrete programs to educate the people about the disease and a system to control the spread of the virus were put in place.

Five members of Congress have filed House Bill 5312, or the proposed Comprehensive AIDS Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support Policy and Plan Act of 2011, to energize the multi-sectoral PNAC and jumpstart a new National HIV and AIDS Plan with definite strategies, operating guidelines and targets supported by a P400 million budget.

Authors of the bill included Arlene Bag-ao (Akbayan party-list), Jorge Banal (Quezon City), Ma. Isabelle Climaco (Zamboanga City), Janette Garin (Iloilo) and Arnel Ty (LPG Marketers’ Association party-list)

Ty said HB 5312 enjoins particular agencies to conduct programs that will help decrease the growing number of HIV cases in the country and to improve the conditions of PLWHAs.

PLWHAs are protected by Republic Act  8504, or the Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998. All government agencies, medical institutions and individuals are mandated to keep all information regarding PLWHAs confidential.

A person or institution found violating this law face penalties that include imprisonment from two months to four years, and revocation of their license and permits.

When a person is HIV-positive it does not mean he has AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

HIV is a condition in the human body in which there is a progressive deterioration of the immune system (body defense) or the ability to fight off disease.

AIDS is a disease of the human immune system when it is greatly weakened by HIV. This makes the infected individual vulnerable to other life threatening infections.

There is still no permanent cure for HIV and AIDS, but there are ARVs that may help slow down the growth and spread of the HIV virus.

Several medical institutions  offer medical assistance to PLWHAs, like counselling, regular monitoring of their vital status, and providing them medical attention.

FORMER US Ambassador to the Philippines Kirstie Kenney refused to comment on the secret cable message on then presidential candidate Benigno Aquino III whom she allegedly referred to as “diffident” and “unassertive.”

Kenney, who is now the US envoy to Thailand, told InterAksyon.com that she cannot make any statement on the unflattering cable messages released by anti-secrecy website Wikileaks.  The US envoy, who left Manila last year after her four-year term, said it wouldn’t be “appropriate” for her to say anything at this point.

“The US doesn’t, as a matter of policy, comment on alleged cables that may have been leaked,” Kenney said.

“I’m now the US Ambassador to Thailand, and I defer to the current US Ambassador to the Philippines to respond to press issues there,” she added.

InterAksyon.com tried to get a comment from current US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. but didn’t get a reply as of posting time.

Based on the information released by Wikileaks, Kenney was unimpressed by Aquino and doubted if he could lead the country well.

“Previous contacts with Senator Aquino, often accompanying his mother… left the impression of a diffident, unassertive man continuing a political tradition handed on by his parents but not carving his own legacy,”Kenney allegedly said after the son of the late democracy icon and former president Corazon Aquino called on the US envoy at her home in January 2010.

Kenney allegedly added: “Unlike other major presidential candidates… Aquino was vague on specific policies he would pursue if he won office.”

Malacanang cried fowl over the leaked cable messages and described Kenney as having been “co-opted by by the Arroyo regime.” Kenney served as US envoy to the country during the last four years of Aquino’s predecessor President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Aquino warned that if the Wikileaks information were true, then Washington should reassess the capability of its diplomats in gathering and interpreting information.

“If the cables are true, maybe they should assess their capability to gather and assess information so they can make the right decisions,” he said on Monday.

Kenney was one of the most popular foreign diplomats in recent memory. Aside from attending various social fubctions, she has made several local television appearances and has endeared herself to Filipinos via her blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts.

AFTER uncovering the lack of due diligence in the 2009 procurement of three overpriced helicopters by the Philippine National Police , Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said the whole government then might have committed an error in the deal.

Ponce gave his opinion after questioning the PNP’s resident auditor Jaime Senares during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Thursday. Senares, who is from the Commission on Audit, admitted they did not do a post-audit of the purchase.

“Para bang napakatanga ng gobyerno natin (It seems as though our government is so dumb),” Enrile said.

Sanares incurred the ire of Enrile when he said he did not find any irregularity in the fact that the serial number of the choppers purchased in 2009 have changed.

“I know the auditors are sharp people supposedly, that’s why you are an auditor,” Enrile said. “To tell you the truth the impression now…is that there is a conspiracy to cover up something here.”

Several witnesses from the PNP and private sector have tagged former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo as the one who ordered the sale and purchase of the aircrafts to the PNP.

The three Robinson R44 Raven helicopters were purchased at brand new prices for P105-million despite the fact that two of them had been used by the Arroyo family since 2004.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV commented that the way the PNP and other government officials acted then showed “how powerful the people in Malacanang were” when the transaction was made.

“The PNP officials are even shielding (Mike) Arroyo,” Trillanes said.

SENATOR Antonio Trillanes IV accused former Philippine National Police chief Jesus Versoza of being the most at fault for the 2009 purchase of three overpriced choppers.

Trillanes said Versoza is “most guilty” because he “allowed this thing to happen.” The senator was referring to Versoza’s approval to give the Manila Aerospace Products Trading (Maptra) the helicopter contract despite the fact that it has failed to comply with several requirements.

The PNP ordered “brand new” choppers from Maptra but the firm only gave one pristine aircraft and two pre-owned helicopters that were previously owned by former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo. The three were sold at P105 million, at marked up brand new prices.

When Trillanes asked Versoza about this, the former PNP chief said: “I know nothing about the pre-owned helicopters.”

Trillanes then addressed the other PNP officers being grilled at the Senate hearing: “You’re former commander has left you hanging.”

“Let this be a lesson…next time you sign a document, make sure you are doing the right thing,” he added.

Senator Teofisto Guingona III, head of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, also quizzed Versoza about the competence of Maptra to enter such contract.

Guingona said Versoza signed the supply contract despite the fact that the firms’ accreditation with the PNP already expired in January 22, 2009, six months before the transaction transpired in July.

“You entered into a contract with a party that is legally not capable to enter into a contract with the PNP,” Guingona added.

AN official of the Philippine National Police  who is part of the committee overseeing the purchase of three helicopters in 2009 said they were deceived by the firm that sold them the overpriced aircrafts.

Chief Superintendent Herold Ubalde, PNP director for legal services and member of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), said Manila Aerospace Products Trading Corporation (MAPTRA), the winning bidder in the helicopter contract, fooled them in the transaction.

According to Ubalde, in the supply contract, the PNP asked for brand new helicopters but the bid documents showed the aircrafts were in “service center condition” or used.

“On the estafa aspect, it would appear that way. There seems to be no meeting of the minds here. It would appear that there would be estafa,” Ubalde said during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s probe into the anomalous transaction on Thursday.

But Maptra denied fooling the PNP. “My client has no capacity to deceive the PNP,” said lawyer Luis Rivera, Maptra’s legal counsel.

Senator Franklin Drilon requested that Maptra’s owners be made present
in the next Senate hearing to answer the allegations.

Earlier this month, Senator Panfilo Lacson exposed the anomalous September 24, 2009 purchase by the PNP of three helicopters that were only refurbished to appear new. He said top police officials were behind the acquisition of the aircrafts, two of which were grossly marked up by at least six times the standard price.

Based on his investigation, Lacson found out that two Robinson R44 Raven 1 model choppers (with body numbers RP-4375 and RP-4250) had already been used by several people including the former President and her family as well as some lawmakers and celebrities before it was sold as brand new to the PNP.

According to Ubalde, the three helicopters were then delivered to the PNP in November 2009. He said he was instructed to look into the choppers’ condition two months ago.

Senator Serge Osmena III quizzed Ubalde why it took so long for the PNP to detect something anomalous in the transaction.

“It took you two years to discover?” Osmena asked.

Ubalde earlier admitted that they were not very careful in the procurement of the three helicopters from Maptra. When Lacson asked him if there was “due diligence” from the PNP in the transaction, Ubalde replied: “It appears there is none.”

Police Director Luizo Ticman, of the PNP Negotiation Committee, said that he was unaware of the nitty-gritty of the helicopter contract.

Ticman admitted though that he did not see the proposal because he was “relying on the secretariat, technical working group and legal.”

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chair Teofisto Guingona III and Lacson grilled Ticman on the procurement of the choppers. They inquired whether the PNP was forced into the contract by “powerful people at that time.” But Ticman denied being coerced into the transaction.

“The basis for my decision is the decision of the bids and awards committee. Nobody ordered me. No one forced me,” Ticman said.

“Dahil sila po ang mas competent. That is within their competency,” Ticman said.

But Guingona was irked by Ticman’s statement and said that it was very obvious that based on the flight logs, the choppers being sold to the PNP had already been flown for more than 300 hours, a sign that they were pre-owned.

“You don’t have to be competent, you just have to have common sense,”  Guingona said.

A MEMBER  of the Philippine National Police (PNP) inspection team admitted he was aware that two of the three “overpriced” helicopters had already been used in the past, but refused to say anything about it because he wasn’t asked.

Supt. Claudio Gaspar Jr. told senators probing the anomalous transaction on Thursday that he knew the choppers had been flown in the past but was unaware that it had been sold as brand new.

“Sa pagkakaalam ko ang bibilhin nila second hand,” Gaspar said. The chopper in question  was one of the two Robinson R44 Raven 1 model helicopters with serial number 1372, which was revealed to have already been flying for 492 hours before it was sold to the PNP as brand new in September 2009.

Aside from being part of the 16-man PNP Inspection Team that oversaw the transaction, Gaspar was also the pilot of the two used choppers when it was still being used by the Arroyo family in 2004.

When asked by Senator Jinggoy Estrada why Gaspar didn’t say anything about the choppers’ condition, Gaspar replied: “Hindi po kasi ako tinanong eh.”

Gaspar said he frequently ferried former presidential son Mikey Arroyo to Pampanga using the Lionair helicopter 1372 as early as 2004.

Documents earlier provided by the Department of Interior Local Government showed that Mikey Arroyo, his wife Angela, and their two children were also ferried by the choppers from Lubao, Pampanga, to the A3 Station at the Presidential Security Group compound in Malacanang, a “Burgundy” station, and to Calatagan and Lipa City, Batangas, among other destinations.

Earlier this month, Senator Panfilo Lacson revealed that the two choppers were already five-years old and valued at only $100,000 (roughly P4 million), based on 2004 standards, and $348,000 (roughly P17 million), by 2011 standards.

Only one of the choppers was actually brand new and would cost $348,000 or about P18 million by 2011 prices.

Due diligence not practiced

Meanwhile, Chief Superintendent Herold Ubalde, PNP director for legal services and member of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), admitted they had not been very careful in handling the transaction.

Lacson quizzed Ubalde on his earlier claim that they were diligent in procuring the aircrafts.

“Kung may due diligence bakit yung luma naging brand new? Do you still maintain that there is due diligence in the purchase?” Lacson said.

“It appears there is none,” Ubalde replied.

The committee called an investigation into the so-called overpriced choppers to determine whether the purchase of these aircrafts during the Arroyo administration was in violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act or RA 3019.

Based on his investigation, Lacson found out that two Robinson R44 Raven 1 model choppers (with body numbers RP-4375 and RP-4250) had already been used by several people including the former President and her family as well as some lawmakers and celebrities before it was sold as brand new to the PNP.

DESPITE predictions that President Benigno Aquino III’s sophomore State of the Nation Address (SONA) will be peppered with anti-Arroyo sentiments, the 47-minute speech of the president did not directly address his predecessor.

“We just proved our detractors wrong,” said Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda shortly after Aquino delivered his SONA Monday afternoon. “The expectation was that we were going to criticize (former President Gloria Macapagal) Arroyo…but we didn’t, and we did that on purpose.”

Lacierda added the President had more important things to report on other than what Aquino’s critics had been anticipating.

“We had to report the state of the nation to our people and that’s what we’ve done,” he said.

Arroyo, who is now Pampanga representative, was a no-show at Aquino’s second SONA despite attending the session early Monday. Arroyo, who is being accused of fraud and corruption, decided not to attend Aquino’s SONA on purpose.

“The President prepared the speech with total indifference if Arroyo will attend or not,” he said.

Meanwhile, Senator Miriam Defensor-Aquino, an Arroyo ally, said she was not surprised that the President made no mention of his predecessor.

“The President merely said that anti-corruption campaign is something personal to him,” Santiago said. “This is in fact, a motherhood statement.”

Aquino’s second SONA was received with 43 appluase breaks by legislators and guests at the House of Representatives.