The so-called Laglag-bala gang of NAIA airport (“laglag-bala” or drop-a-bullet, roughly), the curious case of passenger Gloria Ortinez, & the magic bullet that changed shape upon presentation to the fiscal
Ms. Gloria Ortinez, a dedicated and hardworking OFW of more than two decades of unblemished record of shuttling back and forth Hong Kong to Manila, was stopped the other day by NAIA personnel at the X-ray screener and informed by NAIA security that her hand-carried bag had a bullet inside the outer pocket. She was arrested and detained until she was able to get a lawyer.
ABS-CBN reported contextually on the incident, in view of previous reports of a “Laglag-bala” gang at the airport.
In previous news reports, passengers complained to the news media that there were certain airport personnel operating in the terminals with a modus operandi of planting a bullet inside the hand-carried bag of any unwitting passenger, then asking for P500 to P1,000 pesos in exchange for not apprehending the passenger for illegal possession.
But…in case you are prosecuted, just remember that:
In the prosecution or defense of any illegal possession case, the chain of custody is key in making the case rise and fall. Chain of custody of evidence refers to keeping track of how the evidence changed hands from the time of arrest and seizure (and in this case, perhaps, even before arrest) to the time the evidence was bagged and tagged to the time it was transported and who transported it, to the time it was recorded and kept in the evidence room and who handled it, up to the time it was presented in court. Any break in the chain of custody, such as for example, failure to account for how the evidence was transported, who transported it, what time and who signed it in and recorded it as received, will serve to put a cloud of doubt as to the authenticity of the evidence and therefore cast reasonable doubt on the prosecution and the guilt of the accused. [in one illegal possession case in the RTC Caloocan, the serial number of the gun presented in court was different from the serial number stated in the Information or formal charge: on oral motion for dismissal right there and then, the Caloocan judge refused… the lawyer for the accused sort of picked up the gun and put it in front of the judge’s face so he could see it bore a different serial number, he got angry and issued a warning for contempt (“put down that gun…” “it’s not loaded your honor” “put down that gun and shut up if you don’t shut up i will cite you in contempt and have you locked up in the supply room…”) — anyway, probably because the judge did not want to see the lawyer’s face ever again, the case was dismissed a week after without any more hearing on the motion or any other proceeding. (it was a good thing i was “curious” and compared the serial numbers while the fiscal was prepping the SPO1 witness)]
In the case of Gloria Ortinez, it was reported today that on presentation by the police with the fiscal or prosecutor for investigation (to find a prima facie case for prosecution, or not), the bulled in evidence had changed shape from the time it was bagged and tagged to the time it was presented.The sharp-eyed fiscal looked at the photo of the bullet when it was bagged and tagged at the airport, and at the object evidence being shown to him. The bullet had shrunk considerably and was no longer a Carbine bullet. The fiscal said he did not have to be a gun expert to see that the bullet had shrunk and was not the supposed evidence that was handled at the airport. The case was dismissed right there and then, today.
And Gloria Ortinez lived happily ever after.
Pero ganun na lang ba iyon? (But is that it?).
Only because the President is an avowed gun expert and because airports and security matters are right up his alley, isn’t he a bit curious about the magic bullet?
Bullets don’t change shape unless fragmented with firing, and the only possible explanation why it shrunk upon presentation to the fiscal is (multiple choice, choose one only, right minus wrong, wrong spelling, wrong):
(a)the original evidence was lost in transit because it was laglagged (nalaglag), that’s why it’s called the laglag-bala gang;
(b)the Carbine bullet was so ancient that it disintegrated into powder when exposed to nervous sweat;
(c)the Carbine bullet could be traced, it had a homing device that caused it to attach to its real owner;
(d) the Carbine bullet was used and tagged before in a previous case and so, a clerk put it back in its old case file bag.
(e)truly, the old Carbine bullet of World War II vintage was really an anting-anting (amulet) and will show up and disappear again in the future and forevermore.
All those who handled the Carbine bullet, now a shrunk evidence — all personnel — from the time of arrest to the time of presentation with the fiscal, should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for, at the very least, tampering with evidence, maybe one of them will talk on the laglag-bala gang — but whom are we kidding, the President is busy campaigning.
This post is Rated R-18, I’ll be using words fit for adults only and not suitable for readers below 18 years old. If you are below 18 years old, please make sure you have the guidance of an adult when you read this. When the MTRCB started taking jurisdiction over live concerts such as the shows of Vice Ganda (stamping all promotional materials of Vice Ganda’s shows with R-18), i thought there were jurisdictional issues there… (and voiced this out in classes). But I guess the MTRCB justified this with the fact that Vice Ganda’s shows had 100% probability of landing in the internet. But then, does the MTRCB have jurisdiction over the internet? Still, the MTRCB goes about its way issuing warnings to Vice Ganda for the risqué jokes and politically incorrect innuendoes that are staple fare of comedy concerts and gag shows. In the past, it has also issued warnings to Anne Curtis because of the high slit of her gown even if she was fully stockinged, and to Regine Velasquez because of her plunging neckline even if we all know that actors and models who wear these are fully taped up and pastied. But there it is: game show hosts, dancers, singers, models, etc. all get warnings from the MTRCB for as much as, or as less as, wearing nothing but a stitch, but fully covered inside with body tapes, pasties, stockings, (and spandex shapewear for the less svelte) –– jurisdictional issues notwithstanding. Yesterday’s live show of twerking dancers called the Playgirls performing “dry humping” movements on top of the faces of councilors and guests (dancer’s crotch to councilor’s face), officially called the Liberal Party oathtaking of members in Laguna, presented as a birthday gift to Liberal Party Congressman Agarao supposedly by Liberal Party senatorial bet Francis Tolentino, raised the hackles of many netizens, the video viralling to explosion. The dancers were fully stockinged and padded, the Miley Cyrus twerking dance is the stuff of many noontime shows– it wasn’t those — it was that othermovement: the dancer’s crotch on top of the public official’s face in repeated “pumping” movements — with “no redeeming social value” whatsoever, to borrow the words of the Supreme Court. (in other words, it is not part of any artistic or literary work with a context that may provide justification, unless you are about to argue that the movement was a portrayal of the drive of the Liberal Party to solve the drought caused by the El Niño thru the use of deep well water pumps.)
Even the term “dry humping” cannot be used, or said out loud, in the broadcast media because it refers to sexual behaviors that require careful explanation when there are children around listening — yet, here you are: incumbent government officials performing simulated “sexual acts” that may have crossed the line, and in full view of children, repeated millions of times over in the world wide web. And nary a whimper from the MTRCB Chair. (I hate to put MTRCB Chair pañero Toto Villareal in a spot … but to avoid any accusations of using a “double-standard” rule, he should at least take a look at the material.)
(anyway, this kind of topic, being related to media content, is probably part of any discussion in media classes.) i put the terms “dry humping” and “sexual acts” in quotation marks here because, to be fair, the female dancers put their weight on their knees (knees to floor) to prevent their crotch actually touching the faces of the councilors and guests – in other words, to prevent contact – but the simulation of the movement, shown to audiences here and world-wide, with children and infants wide-eyed, is enough to raise the question of whether or not the organizers and producers of the Liberal Party live show may have crossed the line from being in bad taste — to violating the law. And nary a whimper from the Liberal Party head, the President.
On a quiet afternoon today, communing with the sky, close to the clouds at more than 20 stories high, i was opening the windows while contemplating on how graceful the day was when… i realized there was a pair of eyes ten meters away from my window. i stared at the hovering object trained on our window and when i frowned and said aloud “is that a drone!!?” it sped away.
It was a drone! Ano ba! (roughly translated:WAT!). Here are photos of it on this page, it fled then came back but when it saw that i was training the cameraphone on it, it dropped five stories down, here’s the photo,
it was still hovering outside each window of the residential units at more than 20 stories high, peering through the windows of the residential units. Drones should have plate numbers so you could report them. This kind of use of the drone is illegal (Ano ba!). The Civil Aeronautics Board should investigate. (i already reported it to the security units).
