I received this e-mail from Ms. Virgie Pasalo.I am sharing it to you.

OFWs Beware! Text Scams on the Loose.
Yesterday, I got this text message from cellphone number +639284207393 which states:

"SMART PADALA:CONGRATULATIONS! YOU WON NOKIA N90 FROM OUR NETWORK TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE PLEASE CALL TOLL FREE HOTLINE 09284203793 DTI PERMIT #2578"

I did not call this number because I do not send money through SMART PADALA and could not explain to myself why I would be in their list of winning numbers.

I got another one today from cellphone number +639207857269:
"Congratulations you won major prize promo raffles by PCSO please call dont text RENE RAMA 09109069804, 9am today release check prize REA RAMA sec. board of judges."

For two weeks now, I send my receipts to 9778, to participate in the Premyo Sa Resibo (PSR), a project of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to make tax collections more efficient. Since I was half-awake when I received the text at 6:55am, I thought I won the daily draw on Friday, October 13, from my receipt at Shopwise.

Doubting, but half-believing, I called the number of a certain Rene Rama, who informed me that the PCSO and SMART have an ongoing promotional activity in celebration of the PCSO Anniversary, and that they held an electronic raffle to share their blessings to SMART subscribers. The prize, P200,000 tax-free, will be under my name, and will be sent through the nearest Western Union nearest my residence. Unable to restrain myself, I asked, "Is this a scam?" He feigned offense and told me, "PCSO does not deal in scams, and anyway, if you do not believe his story, the prize will just be given to charity."

He then asked me to text my name and address at his cellphone number, and to call him immediately after I have done so. So I did. After that, he asked me to buy two SMART Buddy Prepaid Cards because according to him, it was because of SMART that they were able to access my cellphone number. He strongly reminded me that SMART requires not to use the cards, but to text their numbers to his cellphone number after which he will give me the two claim numbers at Western Union. I told him, "Okay, but I can not attend to that now, I will do that later." He replied, "We only work half-day on Sundays."

At 11:35am, impatient to wait for my call (which I intended to make in the presence of authorities), Rama texted an ultimatum,

"Kung hndi n kayo mag claim ibibigay k na s charity us donation. Kung mag claim p kayo pls call me now tnx."

There are several inconsistencies to this story. First, it is difficult to believe that PCSO works overtime on Sunday to inform winners to a raffle draw whose results can be announced on working days. Second, the text said that the prize will be in check, but now it was going to be sent through Western Union. Third, if I sent him the numbers of the SMART Prepaid Cards that he asked me to purchase, he can now key in the numbers and use it himself. Fourth, if I legitimately won a prize, why would he serve me an ultimatum? There are fifth, sixth and so many other inconsistencies, but these are enough to document how it is done, so I could warn others about their operation.

I surfed through the internet and found that some OFWs have similar experiences. When you receive a text message, make sure you are fully awake to understand the text, and do not buy those SMART Prepaid Cards and send the numbers to these con artists. If you do, you would have contributed in financing texts to use to scam others.

PLEASE WARN OFWS.

BURGOS, Pangasinan—The mayor of this coastal town is urging the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Crime Laboratory agents in Manila to release as soon as possible the results of the laboratory test on the suspected illegal drugs substance placed in drums and other containers which were seized in barangay Anapao hereSept. 28 yet.

This, as PNP elements in the province, suspect that a new modus operandi of illegal drug manufacturers seemed to have been conducted here with the suspects suspected to have encamped in the area using tents while manufacturing possibly shabu.

Mayor Domingo Doctor told this corner over the weekend in a telephone interview that eight big drums, about 20-galloner containers, several brown bottles suspected to have contained ephedrine, a substance used in making shabu, were left abandoned in the area.

These were discovered by joint elements of the local police, provincial police, elements of Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA) after the lot owner, Wilson Bonilla, reported the incident to the mayor about five days later when he allegedly saw intruders camping inside his isolated lot in a hilly area.

But no one was arrested due to late reporting of the incident and only the abandoned paraphernalia were confiscated.

“We’re wondering what takes long the government agency concerned to release the result,” Doctor said in Tagalog.

He said they have “zero development” about it and they feel at a loss.

“Shabu ba yong mga nakumpiska o ano? Sa Manila ba dadalhin o saan (Were those seized shabu or what? For Manila or where)?,” Doctor asked.

He, however, said he has called a meeting among the barangay officials so that in case they come across new faces in their area, like foreigners, they should immediately report it to proper authorities.

Why Burgos?

Doctor said he is wondering why the suspects chose his town as the place for their illegal drugs manufacturing since it has been consistently adjudged drug-free. This town is among the coastal areas in western Pangasinan.

He said the suspects, with the new discovery of their style of manufacturing drugs, could be now doing a “guerilla operation”, doing their illegal trade by transferring from one place to another.

He said they are now possibly shifting their operation to rural areas.
“Dati sa building sila gumagawa. Ngayon mukhang iba na (Before, they did it in buildings. Now, it looks like it’s a different thing),” he said.

He said perhaps if the reporting was made timely, there could have been a bloody encounter between the suspects and government troops.

Police report posted only on Oct. 6 at the PNP Pangasinan website showed that recovered were two empty mineral water containers colored blue with Aqua Karada markings, two empty mineral water containers without marking, four empty blue container without cap, eleven empty blue container with cap, three empty black containers with cap, one blue container with unknown liquid substance, one greenish container with black residue inside, one empty big black bucket, four empty blue drums, one empty green galvanized container, one empty green galvanized container, one empty stainless steamer, 57 seven empty dark colored bottles, 20 white papers, four styrofoam containers, eight styrofoam containers with eight holes each, 66 rubber gloves, 10 rubber hoses, one cigarette pack with Chinese marking, one yellow funnel, one plastic with Chinese character markings.

Foods with Chinese character markings

Superintendent Noli Taliño, deputy police director for operations and also the provincial intelligence officer, told this writer in a separate interview that the suspects are possibly foreigners with local contacts.

He said the wrappers of foods left in the area by the suspects bore Chinese character markings. The abandoned bread also showed that the suspects have just left the area because they were not yet spoiled.

Doctor said the bottled drinking water seized also bore markings that these were made and brought from Dagupan City.

Taliño described the place as isolated, steep, slippery and bushy although it was about 100 meters away from the roadside. The surroundings had very foul smell, he said.

There were first camping site, second until the highest part where a tent was installed for possible manufacturing. At the peak, no one could smell what’s “being cooked” up there, the mayor said.

“Perhaps this could be a mobile shabu laboratory but we can’t conclude yet until we have received the results of the laboratory test,” Taliño said.

He was informed that the machine of Crime Laboratory was destroyed, thus the delay of the results’ release.

Some of the drums were buried, others already empty while some gallons had contents.

It may be recalled that sometime in 1999 there 422 kilos of shabu seized from four Chinese in Infanta town this province, a town near Burgos. This was then considered by authorities as the biggest shabu haul.

URDANETA CITY, Pangasinan, Philippines—Two young siblings, aged five and three,died after they drowned when their father left them in their house the other day in sitio Lico, barangay Camantiles this city.

Supt. Paquito Navarrete, the city police chief, identified the fatalities as Eric Delos Reyes, five and his three-year old sister, Jopay Delos Reyes.

Navarette told this writer that based on investigation, the two were left by their father, Gabby Delos Reyes, 22, carpenter, around 6:00 a.m. Thursday.

But when he returned home, he was informed that his children died due to
drowning as their house was very near the Tulong River.

Police said Eric was trying to save Jopay who was then drowning. Their cadavers were found within the area.

BINMALEY, Pangasinan— Special Action Force (SAF) men are especially trained
to fight terrorists and insurgents and should not be doing a lighter job as
security of VIPs (Very Important Persons).

Thus, as directed by Philippine National Police (PNP Chief Director General
Oscar Calderon, about 1,600 especially-trained policemen for SAF detailed as
security of VIPs or doing lighter job of securing establishments like
Congress, Senate and other Cabinet buildings are now being recalled.

Calderon, who was here last week for the inauguration of the town’s new
police station, told local newsmen that these SAF men are “not being removed”
but are “recalled” where they are detailed.

“We are recalling these especially-trained forces to concentrate on counter
insurgency”, Calderon said.

Those recalled as security of VIPs are being replaced with other policemen
who are trained on VIP security, he added.

Asked if there are VIPs complaining regarding this move, Calderon said,” We
cannot satisfy everybody. There will always be complaints but if you could
show the real intention of the recall, I believe they would agree with us”.

He said SAF men are trained to fight terrorists as well as insurgents.

Calderon said they are now training auxiliary forces from the ranks of
retired policemen, security guards and civilian sectors to secure VIPs and
businessmen and they will be employed as security of these VIPs and
businessmen.

Meanwhile, Calderon said they are now doing “target hardening” as well as
conduct of checkpoints along the streets in Metro Manila and suburbs in
preparation for the 9/11 terrorists’ attack.

Although the 9/11 attack happened in the US on Sept. 11, 2001 where 19 men
affiliated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners
which crashed resulting in the death of almost 3,000 people, he said there is
a Filipino mentality wherein we recall incidents during its anniversary.

He said they have already alerted their regional commands to take
precautionary measures on establishments that could be soft targets of
terrorism.

He added that they have been strict in the conduct of implementations of
checkpoints like in the airports, bus stations, light railway transits as
well as in malls.

There are also policemen in uniform and in civilian clothes who are armed and
ready to engage against people with criminal activities in these places, he
said.

He said the police have also advised owners of big establishments to hire
more security personnel to better secure their establishments.

DAGUPAN CITY– One Oscar, a man in uniform, promised to stop jueteng in Luzon
by the end of this month.Another Oscar, a man of cloth, doubts it could be
done without the blessings of the "big boss".

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz gave cheers to the recent
pronouncement of Philippine National Police Director General Oscar Calderon
in his resolve to stop jueteng this month. But, he said that "the good
Director better be convinced that unless he has the approval and blessing of
the national leadership, he cannot “totally stop” jueteng in the country".

The Senate Inquiry on Jueteng amply demonstrated this preferred status of
jueteng in the country, he said.

Cruz, chairman of Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng (Crusade Against
Jueteng), said that there are certain signal truths that Calderon is
respectfully invited to look into to verify this reality-or otherwise.

The good director should know by now that jueteng has long been the big curse
of the poor bettors and the big blessing of its influential operators, the
senior prelate said. He should also by now aware that most of those corporate
entities running the STL (small town lottery) are the jueteng capitalists
themselves using the jueteng structure to collect STL bets, he added.

Cruz said the good Director should likewise be now cognizant of the fact that
STL is conveniently used by its collectors as a cover-up precisely to gather
jeuteng bets as well. Furthermore, without deliberate manipulation, STL will
not bring money to its financiers, on account of which jueteng cannot but be
played with it, he added.

He said the good Director should be convinced that just as STL is approved by
a Province, City or Municipality by introductory payolas to certain local
authorities, jueteng on the other hand also thrives only on account of
payolas to those specifically enjoined to stop it, he said. He added that
Calderon should realize that just as drug money runs the elections in certain
American countries, jueteng money runs much of the elections in this country.

Cruz said the good Director should remember a key reality in the stop-and-go
signals of jueteng before a scheduled election. For the 2004 National
Elections, jueteng was totally stopped for two months or so, the priest said.

"Immediately thereafter, jueteng came back with a vengeance, the reason for
the stoppage was simply for those concerned to arrange and agree upon how
much payolas go to whom and when-in anticipation of the projected election
campaign expenses," he said.

He added," The good Director better be convinced that unless he has the
approval and blessing of the national leadership, he cannot “totally stop”
jueteng in the country".

Cruz, whose fight against jueteng has reached the halls of Senate, said the
Senate Inquiry on Jueteng amply demonstrated this preferred status of jueteng
in the country.

"The Krusadang Bayan Laban sa Jueteng can only send its well wishes to the
good director for his success in freeing the country of the greed and avarice
of jueteng syndicates-permanently!," Cruz said.

URDANETA CITY— Money scattered in the street after a French-Filipino national lost about P150,000 to thieves who slashed his bag after withdrawing said money in a bank here last Aug. 28.

Police reported that around 12:00 noon along Alexander st., Poblacion here, Pedro Soriano Lee, 50, married, with addresses at barangay Calepaan this city and 219 Malta Village, Tapuac, Dagupan City was victimized by unidentified thieves.

Lee had just come out from PCI Equitable Bank along Alexander st this city after withdrawing said amount and about to board a Victory Bus Liner heading towards Dagupan City when he was allegedly blocked and bumped by a group of persons composed of three females and one male.

The suspects allegedly slashed his bag containing the money and the victim only noticed the incident when bystanders scrambled to pick up the money scattered in the street.

Suspects ran in different directions.

DAGUPAN CITY—Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said the report that jueteng witness Boy Mayor has returned to his old way as operator of this illegal numbers’ game is “one of the biggest jokes I received this week”.

Cruz, chairman of Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Sugal (KBLS) told this writer that Mayor, who remains under his care after he testified during the Senate jueteng probe, tells him where he is everyday.

Yesterday, Cruz said Mayor told him he was in Bicol.

The prelate added that in one of their meetings last week, Mayor, also a member of the board of director of KBLS, told the board two things:

One, that he had been receiving a number of death threats and, two, that he has been receiving offers from different jueteng operators.

On Mayor’s death threats, Cruz said he himself acted on them by telling the source to stop threatening his ward.

Mayor also told Cruz that he was offered P550,000 a month just to keep silent.

But Cruz said Mayor just laughed this off.

When Mayor was still the operator of jueteng in Pangasinan, Cruz said based on Mayor’s revelation, he was getting a total daily gross collection of P8million where prizes, payolas and salaries of employees have to be taken from.

Cruz said the report about Mayor turning his back on Cruz’ crusade against jueteng is “just a ploy to destroy him”.

“Magandang palabas yan (That’s a good show), Cruz said sarcastically.

But is it a deal, or no deal?, Cruz said, “It’s no deal as far as Boy is
concerned”.—

ALCALA, Pangasinan—It was like a scene in an action movie when about six-hour heavy firefight between armed men and the combined forces of police and military ensued in barangay Pindangan Centro here Thursday resulting in the killing of two suspects and wounding of another person as well as confiscation of high- powered firearms.

Chief Inspector Lenbell Fabia, the town police chief, told this writer in an interview that the 71st Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, and the police from nearby Sto. Tomas town and the local police fought it out with a group of armed men who were fired upon by the suspects while they were patrolling in the area around 9:00 a.m.

“Parang giyera (It was like war),” Fabia said as he described the encounter that happened along the wide farmland about five kilometers away from the town proper.

The presence of the police and the military in the area was due to a report they received about the presence of armed men who were allegedly doing indiscriminate firing to threaten their rival group.
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SAN NICOLAS, Pangasinan—The secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan
(Bayan) in Pangasinan was gunned down while his younger brother was wounded
after two unidentified suspects shot them while they were on their way home
around 10:30 a.m. yesterday in barangay Camanggaan this town.
Inspector Fernando Paneda, police chief here told local newsmen that
the fatality, Jose Doton, 62, also president of Timpuyog Ti Mannalon a
Mangwayawaya (TIMMAWA) An Association of Farmers Seeking to Free Agno River)
bore three gunshot wounds, two in his breast and one in the head that led to
his instant death.
His companion who is his younger brother, Diosdado alias Cancio,
57, sustained two gunshot wounds at the back of his body. Diosdado was
driving the motorcycle when the incident happened. The two went together at
the town proper and were on their way home to barangay Cabuloan but the
suspects wearing helmet shot them from behind in a close range.
He was rushed to nearby Tayug Family Hospital where he underwent
operation. As of press time, he is still under observation.

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DAGUPAN CITY—Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz maintains that jueteng exists in the country, no matter what cover up gambling operators and their hired disciples do.

Cruz, top anti-jueteng advocate in the country who heads the Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng (Jueteng-Free Philippines Crusade), said in a statement that gambling operators are trying hard to master the art of deception with the help of their hired disciples.

He said they fervently say something and yet intend to do exactly the opposite. In substance, the art of deception is to promote what is false and to cover-up what is true, he added.

“The better falsity is accepted as truth, the more deceit is perceived as reality, the more perfected become the art of deception,” Cruz said.

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