Suspect says 'only 2 men' raped nurse in Maguindanao

A former militiaman who surrendered to authorities admitted that he was one of “only two" men who recently gang-raped and mauled a volunteer nurse in Maguindanao province, police said Tuesday.

Senior Superintendent Jacinto Malinaw, regional police chief of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), identified the suspect as Melchor Fulgencio, a former member of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) who now works for a Korean firm in Mindanao.

Fulgencio told police they were only two who carried out the crime against a 21-year old government nurse in South Upi town on September 25, disputing earlier reports that some five, six or up to 10 men were involved.

This page requires a higher version browser Earlier, the local police reported the arrest of six suspects in the crime, namely: Glenn Saldoa, Eugene Biscara, Ruscom Sangclap, Michael Candelario, and Jeffrey Fernandez.

In his account, Fulgencio also said he and his other accomplice — who he identified as a certain Edwin — were under the influence of alcohol when they committed the crime.

Fulgencio claimed it was Edwin who attacked “Florence" (not her real name), who at that time was walking on the road while texting. The suspect said they then dragged the victim into a bushy area and took turns in sexually abusing her.

The ex-CAFGU man said Edwin might have already fled to Surigao City in Surigao del Norte after the incident. He added that he thought about fleeing too, but was bothered by his conscience.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Deputy Director General Raul Bacalzo said that police investigators will have to verify Fulgencio's admissions.

Fear and outrage

Florence is currently under close watch at a hospital in Davao City, where she is set to undergo a delicate medical procedure for severe head injuries that have rendered the right half of her body paralyzed.

Investigators suspect that the nurse was hit by a rock on head and by a large piece of wood on her right face.

"Hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa nakaka-responde sa anumang pag-uusap at most of the time ay tulog ang ating pasyente," Sulaik said in an interview with GMA's Unang Balita. (Until now, our patient has not responded to our attempts to talk to her, and is asleep most of the time.)

Sulaik said they are hoping Florence will be able to recover, adding it could greatly help investigators in solving the case.

The rape has triggered public outrage nationwide, and has brought fear to Florence's fellow government nurses assigned in the area.

Tahir Sulaik, integrated provincial health officer in Maguindanao, said the victim's colleagues have requested to be re-assigned elsewhere.

On Tuesday, some 100 nurses belonging to the Philippine Nurses Association marched to Mendiola Bridge near Malacañang to demand justice for the rape victim.

In Cotabato City, Sulaik said other nurses also staged an indignation rally condemning the rape and urging authorities to investigate the case.—JV, GMANews.TV

BlackBerry Reveals Its New "PlayBook" Tablet

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - – BlackBerry maker Research in Motion is taking on iPad in the table computer game with a "PlayBook" aimed to capitalize on its strength -- the trust of business users keen on secure communications.

"It is the world's first professional tablet," RIM president and co-chief executive Mike Lazaridis said as he showed off the device in San Francisco.

The PlayBook is one of a number of tablet computers slated for release in a bid to challenge Apple's popular iPad and is the first foray outside the mobile phone realm for the Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM.

"They are kind of positioning it as the iPad for the suits," Gartner analyst Van Baker said of the PlayBook announcement.

The PlayBook has a seven-inch (17.8-centimeter) touchscreen, smaller than the 9.7 inches of Apple's iPad, and also plays Adobe Flash video software, which is banned from the Apple device.

"You are going to be able to get the full Web experience," Lazaridis said, stressing its integration with RIM's BlackBerry smartphone, a favorite among many professionals.

BlackBerry smartphone users can pair their handset with the PlayBook using a Bluetooth connection to view their email, calendar, documents or other content.

The PlayBook also features front- and rear-facing cameras to support video conferencing and allows multi-tasking between programs.

RIM expects to begin selling PlayBooks in the United States in early 2011 and rolling the tablets out to other countries by the middle of the year.

Lazaridis did not reveal how much RIM plans to charge for the PlayBook.

"RIM set out to engineer the best professional-grade tablet in the industry with cutting-edge hardware features and one of the world's most robust and flexible operating systems," Lazaridis said.

Positioning PlayBook as a business person's tablet could stymie its popularity in the sizzling consumer market dominated by iPad, according to Baker.

"RIM has a bit of a split personality; they struggle with whether they are a consumer or enterprise device company," Baker said. "Enterprise is their bread and butter, but consumer is the big market right now."

The fact PlayBook users can route data through BlackBerry smartphones instead of paying for separate telecom service should prove a selling point in the business and personal markets.

PlayBook tablets also promise help RIM challenge the increasing use of iPads in workplaces.

RIM said that in the coming weeks it would release a software kit so third-party developers can begin tailoring applications, or "apps," for PlayBook.

PlayBook debuted at BlackBerry DEVCON, a combined boot camp and pep rally for outside developers crafting programs for the Canadian firm's devices.

RIM introduced tools that make it easier to build applications for BlackBerry handsets and make money with ads or "in-app" purchases.

RIM is also launching a free analytics service that provides applications makers with feedback regarding how, when and where BlackBerry owners are using programs.

"We are enabling developers to better monetize their services and drive deeper engagement to create richer, more interesting social apps for BlackBerry," said Alan Brenner, senior vice president of the BlackBerry platform.

Approximately 35 million people use the BlackBerry "App World" shop, with 1.5 million programs downloaded daily, according to RIM vice president of global alliances and developer relationships Tyler Lessard.

RIM opened the door to more "social" applications that tap into phone features such as chat, instant messaging, and groups, according to Lessard.

Hip, fun or functional programs made by third-party developers have become vital to the popularity of smartphones and tablet computers.

Apple's App Store features more than 250,000 mini-programs for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Blackberry's App World has about 11,000 applications, but programs are also sold at other websites by developers.

Google has been aggressively expanding Android Marketplace, which boasts more than 80,000 apps for smartphones running on the California Internet titan's Android mobile operating system.

Report courtesy of Yahoo!

Ampatuan Sr. offered millions to bribe Dureza, police —witness

GMANews.TV - Wednesday, September 15

(Updated 4:02 p.m.) Andal Ampatuan Sr. attempted to go on a "bribery spree" on police and government officials, including an executive of the Arroyo administration, to avoid being implicated in last year's massacre of more than 50 people in Maguindanao province, a witness told the court Wednesday.

Lakmodin Saliao, a longtime helper of the Ampatuan patriarch, said Andal Sr. wanted to give P10 million to Jesus Dureza, the former presidential adviser on Mindanao affairs, to ensure that the separate rebellion charges against the powerful family will be dismissed.

"Ibigay daw kay Dureza ang pera kapalit ng kalayaan ni Andal Sr. sa pagkaka-release ng rebellion (He wanted Dureza bribed in exchange for his freedom)," said Saliao, who claimed to have worked for the Ampatuans for 18 years.

Saliao said the other people who were allegedly offered money were former Ampatuan police chief Inspector Sukarno Dicay, Maguindanao board member Mike Midtimbang, and suspect PO1 Rainier Ebus.



Saliao mentioned that the bribe money was allegedly ordered given to Dicay and Ebus for them to retract their statements against the family.
 
He also said Andal Sr. wanted to give Midtimbang money for "taking care of him while at Camp Panacan."

Saliao mentioned the bribery issue in his testimony during the resumption of the hearings on the Maguindanao massacre at the Regional Trial Court Branch 221 at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on Wednesday.



The Maguindanao massacre, also known as the Ampatuan massacre, occurred on November 23, 2009 in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province in Mindanao.

At the time, the massacre victims were on their way to file Esmael Mangudadatu's certificate of candidacy for Maguindanao governor. Mangudadatu, then Buluan vice mayor, won the gubernatorial post during the May 10 polls.

The 57 people who were brutally killed and buried in a mass grave in Ampatuan town included Mangudadatu's wife, his two sisters, journalists, lawyers, aides, and motorists who were witnesses or were mistakenly identified as part of the convoy. Rejected When asked during cross-examination by defense lawyer Marlon Pagaduan whether Saliao was aware if the people being bribed received the money, the witness replied: "Hindi ko po alam (I don't know0." Dicay told reporters after Wednesday's proceedings that he was indeed offered a P10-million bribe, but added that he did not accept it. "No amount of money could replace the lives lost in the massacre," he said. Like Dicay, Ebus also confirmed the bribe try but said he was offered only P5 million. He said he also rejected the offer. The flow of money, however, did not stop with police officials and local government officials. Saliao also recounted an incident when a certain Tadeo Sayson, a local prosecutor, visited Andal Sr. and received P5,000 for each signature that he affixes on several documents. Asked what documents Andal Sr. were having signed by the prosecutor, Saliao said: "Hindi ko po napansin kung ano ang pinipirmahan (I don't know)."

Millions of pesos given away Also according to Saliao, several months after Andal Sr's hospital arrest, the clan patriarch also ordered him to tell Ustadz Farid Adas, the clan patriarch's trusted man, to give Datu Odin Sinsuat P200 million on February 8. After the implication of his son Andal Jr., who was being groomed to become Maguindanao governor before the massacre, Andal Sr. apparently decided to instead pit Sinsuat against rival Mangudadatu for the gubernatorial race. Mangudadatu ended up beating Sinsuat in the May 10 automated elections by almost 13,000 votes. On March 21, a certain "Chow," an alleged emissary of Andal Sr's grandson Nanu Ampatuan, delivered P90 million to Camp Panacan, where Andal Sr. was taken after being arrested at the Davao Doctors Hospital. Saliao said the money was stored inside two luggage and three bags. "I brought the bags to Andal Sr. and pretended that they were his clothes," said Saliao, explaining how he got away from being inspected by the military guarding the clan patriarch.

Fake sickness In his testimony, Saliao also said on the day martial law was declared in Maguindanao on December 4, Andal Sr. attempted to flee from their mansion — which at that time was already being guarded by the military —to the mountains of Datu Hoffer. While on the road, Andal Sr.'s son and suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan called up his father, advising him to return to the mansion and work out another plan. "Father, go back," Saliao recounted Zaldy as telling the clan patriarch on speaker phone in Maguindanaoan.

Andal Sr. heeded his son's request and returned to his house, where he, Zaldy, defense lawyer Philip Pantojan, lawyer Cynthia Sayadi, and Dr. Tahil Sulay agreed to fake the clan patriarch's health condition. "Nag-usap sila na dalhin si Andal Sr. sa Cotabato City para magkunwaring may sakit [They decided to bring Andal Sr. to Cotabato City where he would pretend to be sick]," Saliao told the court. Zaldy was left in Shariff Aguak, while the rest of the team headed for Cotabato City. The convoy included two ambulances carrying Andal Sr., Saliao, the doctor, and two nurses. Sayadi and Pantojan, meanwhile, trailed the ambulances on board a Toyota Super Grandia van. Along the way, the team changed its plan and decided to just bring Andal Sr. to the Davao Doctors Hospital in Davao City. For maximum impact when passing through military checkpoints, Saliao said he would even pretend to be attending to Andal Sr.. "Kapag dumadaan kami sa checkpoint, nilalagyan ko ng mask si Andal Sr. para magkunwari na malubha ang sakit niya (When passing through checkpoints, I would put mask on Andal Sr. to emphasize how sick he was)," Saliao said. The convoy arrived at the Davao hospital at about 6 a.m. of December, where Andal Sr. was immediately confined at Room 314. "Agad kami pumasok sa 314 room na hindi man lang dumaan sa admission (We got into a hospital room even without going through admission)," Saliao added. Saliao said he then went to the Gaisano Mall to buy clothes, underwear, and food for the clan patriarch. When he returned to the hospital, Saliao said he saw soldiers trying to arrest Andal Sr. Pantojan, who was watching over Andal Sr. at that time, refused to turn him over to the military without a warrant of arrest. The military decided to leave but returned the next day, December 5. "Hindi kami pumayag na kunin nila si Andal Sr. pero sinuntok nila ako (We still did not want them to arrest Andal Sr. but the soldiers punched me)," Saliao said. Coaching In his testimony, Saliao also accused Pantojan of "coaching" him to lie and press extortion charges against an officer at the Camp Panacan on March 19. "Sabi ni Pantojan, kasuhan ko daw Major Jimena na nanghihingi ng pera pang-landscape ng kampo. But that's not true (Pantojan told me to file charges against a certain Major Jimena for soliciting money for the landscaping of the military camp. But that's not true)," the witness said. Saliao said he still filed a complaint against the officer, which is still pending before a local court in Davao City. –VVP/RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV

Hong Kong Hostage Survivors Affirm Driver's Testimony

GMANews.TV - Monday, September 13

The Hong Kong nationals who survived the August 23 hostage tragedy have attested that dismissed policeman Rolando Mendoza fired at his victims point-blank, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said on Monday.

At a news briefing, De Lima said the survivors testimonies' corroborated the account of Hong Thai Travel bus driver Alberto Lubang that the Mendoza shot his victims at close range.

"The accounts of the survivors tend to corroborate, in material point, the account of the driver Lubang, meaning, close-range," said De Lima, chairperson of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee probing the August 23 tragic hostage incident.

On that day, Mendoza, who was demanding for his reinstatement, hijacked a bus carrying 21 Hong Kong tourists and four Filipinos. At the end of an 11-hour standoff, Mendoza and eight Hong Kong tourists were killed.

According to De Lima, out of the five survivors whom Philippine officials spoke with, three witnessed the hostage crisis unfold "to the very end."

De Lima said Philippine government investigators have returned from Hong Kong on Friday evening.

They brought with them the statements of the five survivors, six autopsy reports, and the cellphones of Lubang, tour guide Diana Chan, and a Filipino photographer. These three individuals are based in the Philippines and have survived the hostage taking at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila.

The Justice secretary also cited the autopsy reports of the Hong Kong investigators, which showed that the slain victims' bodies did not show tattoing, an indication of close-range shooting.

However, De Lima also said the HK investigators clarified that "the absence of tattoing does not mean it was not close-range shooting."

"The autopsy reports from the Hong Kong authorities contain certain explanations that the absence of tattoing is not indicative or not conclusive of the fact that it was not close-range," said De Lima.

Earlier, De Lima said the hostage probe committee is not ruling out the possibility that the victims may have been killed by friendly fire.

As of posting time, the IIRC is in a closed-door meeting with the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation to discuss and interpret forensic findings on the crime scene and on the victims. –VVP, GMANews.TV

Rich Cronin of LFO Dies at 35

by Us Magazine in Stop The Presses!

Rich Cronin of '90s boy band LFO died on Wednesday at age 35, CNN confirms. He passed away in a Massachusetts hospital, according to bandmate Brad Fischetti. Cronin, who wrote and sang the number one smash "Summer Girls," was diagnosed with leukemia in 2005; despite chemotherapy, the disease returned in 2007 and 2008.

The singer-songwriter then underwent a stem cell transplant -- which, according to Fischetti, led to a stroke and severe leg pain.

Even with his medical battles, Cronin reunited with LFO pals Fischetti and Devin Lima for a summer 2009 tour.

His bandmates gave him a large back bedroom on the bus so he could rest in between gigs.

"We had the best time ever," Fischetti said. "He never thought he'd be on stage again."

Fellow boy band star Lance Bass of N Sync paid tribute to Cronin on Twitter late Wednesday. "Sad sad day that Rich Cronin died- was a amazing guy :(" Bass wrote.

Miss Universe Contestant Claims "Sabotage" Led to Her Loss

By Erin Carlson | Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 1:50 PM

As anyone who's seen "Toddlers and Tiaras" can tell you, the hyper-competitive world of beauty pageants has seen its fair share of adversarial sabotage. But when a contestant claims her evening gown was laced with sharp-edged pins or pepper spray or lipstick stains, the alleged girl-on-girl crime makes headlines around the world.

The latest heir-to-the-beauty-crown to make such a claim is Miss Australia Jesinta Campbell, who says one of her 82 rivals at this year's Miss Universe pageant tampered with her festive national dress just before she took the stage in Las Vegas last month.

"There was a bit of sabotage backstage," she told Australia's Nova 91.9 radio station of her experience with the "national dress" she donned for the event. "When I went to put it on I found about six pins all pinned in the back of it, so when I put it on I scratched all the back of my back. I was like 'Ooh! What's that?'."

Good natured as ever (she did win the "Miss Congeniality" title, after all), Campbell didn't point any fingers at any specific competitors.

"I don't know who it was," she said in the radio interview when asked who she thought the pin-wielding perpetrator might be. "All of that stuff is backstage, so it could've been anyone."

Campbell placed third at the televised event, held in Las Vegas last month; the winner was Jimena Navarrete of Mexico, and Yendi Phillips of Jamaica came in second. Campbell's be-pinned dress -- intended to represent the land Down Under with an aboriginal-print swimsuit, ruffled flamenco skirt and Ugg boots -- was ridiculed as too costume-y and over-the-top; little did anyone know the pain the 18-year-old Aussie beauty queen felt underneath.

So, whodunit? No one has copped to the prank, but from the large pool of international competitor-suspects, Campbell singles out those from Mexico, the Phillipines, and Central and South America.

"Winning is so important for those girls because they become queens in their country and are worshipped if they win -- and it changes everything forever for them," she told the Herald Sun. "But there were 82 other girls there and I can't narrow it down, so it's a mystery to me."

She added: "But I know who didn't do it -- my best friends were the girls from Ireland, Belgium, Great Britain, and Guam and I know they wouldn't have done that to me."

Miss Universe representative Meagan McCutcheon did not immediately respond to Yahoo's requests for comment.

Campbell is not alone in her pageant problems. In recent years, other pageant frontrunners have been targeted by alleged saboteurs using equally dirty methods: instead of pins, Miss Puerto Rico 2007 claimed her dress and makeup were splattered with pepper spray in an act of chemical warfare. Backstage, winner Ingrid Marie Rivera had to tear off her clothes and rub ice on her face and body; on top of that, she claimed her clothes and credit cards were stolen.

Not surprisingly, Rivera's accusations fanned a media firestorm. After an investigation, police found no traces of pepper spray anywhere; still, Rivera clung to her belief that she'd been sabotaged by jealous and vengeful rivals. In Puerto Rico, she was the metaphorical Nancy Kerrigan with no Tonya Harding to pin the blame on.

That's the thing about beauty-pageant sabotage: perpetrators can go undetected. Even on a far smaller scale. At the Miss South Florida State Fair in 2008, Jessica Wittenbrink snagged the crown despite the lipstick smeared on her evening dress. They never caught the prankster.

"I was bound and determined that I was going to bring my best the night of the pageant," Wittenbrink told an ABC News affiliate, reflecting on her horror. "So no matter what happened, I wasn't going to let anyone take me away from that. As far as the event goes, I try to put it past me, move on, look at the horizon and see what's next for me."

While these acts of anti-congeniality result in trauma for contestants, the added attention from the media and support from fans must help in getting through the ordeals -- and raising their public profiles in the process.

Thanks to her disturbing experience, Campbell -- who's just begun a stint as an entertainment reporter for TV station in her native Australia -- is a now a boldfaced name in entertainment-news circles, and arguably more famous than she might have been had she won the crown.

Bus Driver of Hong Kong Hostage Drama Recounts the Tragedy

MANILA (AFP) - – The driver of a Philippine tourist bus hijacked by a sacked policeman told a public inquiry Tuesday how he witnessed the gunman shoot more than a dozen Hong Kong visitors one by one as talks broke down.

Bus driver Alberto Lubang said his left hand was handcuffed to the steering wheel and he saw the horrific scenes unfold at the back of the bus through the rear-view mirror as the day-long standoff ended in a bloodbath.

"I heard the first shot and then I saw a hostage cuffed to the stairwell fall down," Lubang, a shaven-headed 38 year-old, said.

"Seconds later he (the gunman) had reached the back and (was) shooting again at the passengers sat there," he said.

"He was on the aisle, by the middle. I saw him by the rear-view mirror. He was shooting left and right. Afterwards he went into a crouch," he added.

Lubang said he managed to unpick the handcuffs using a nail file and jumped out of the window beside the steering wheel shortly before police launched an assault.

Armed with an assault rifle and a pistol, sacked policeman Rolando Mendoza took the busload of tourists hostage on August 23 in a desperate bid to clear himself of extortion charges and get his old job back.

Eight of the tourists were killed and seven others were injured in the central Manila standoff.

Police said post mortem examinations showed the bullets recovered from the bodies of the dead tourists all came from Mendoza's guns.

The standoff, which played out live on global television, came to a bloody end in the early evening when police stormed the bus in a botched attempt to rescue the hostages. A police sniper eventually shot dead the gunman.

Lubang said he did not recall any crying or shouting by the victims, but conceded it was possible his hearing had been deadened by the gunshot blasts inside the vehicle.

The driver said the 55 year-old gunman was not hostile in the first six hours of the crisis, had cracked jokes and even ordered them to use their mobile phones to tell their relatives that they had been taken captive.

His demeanour changed when his request to be reinstated to the Manila police force was rejected, the witness said.

He became enraged when he saw police arresting his younger brother, a policeman who had earlier helped in the negotiations, was later detained on suspicion of conspiring with his older brother, Lubang said.

The driver said he escaped soon after Mendoza had ordered him to drive the bus forward. Snipers deflated the tyres and the driver jumped out as police prepared to storm the vehicle.

Lubang said he remembered telling police debriefers: "He (Mendoza) has killed all of them."

President Benigno Aquino has taken responsibility for the tragedy, which has damaged ties with Hong Kong and hurt the country's tourism industry.

The inquiry board, which has uncovered a series of embarrassing mistakes by the police and local officials handling the hostage crisis, is expected to wind up the hearings Wednesday before writing a report to be submitted to Aquino.