Taiwanese, Chinese indicted over visiting a drug den

The 18 Taiwanese and seven Chinese nationals who were recently arrested in a villa in Boracay had been indicted for visiting a drug den.

The recommendation to file the charges was penned by state prosecutors Dearly Inado and Cayo Venturanza. Said recommendation had been approved by Provincial Prosecutor Maya Bien Tolentino.

Operatives of the Aklan Provincial Police Office had filed the case of illegal drugs against the suspects Tuesday night. Copies of the resolutions had been made available to the local media here, Thursday.

Of the 25 suspects, 24 of them had been allowed by the prosecution to post bail worth Php 400,000 each.One of the suspects identified as Lin Szu Wei could not post bail since he was arrested in a buy-bust operation.

Wei was also tested positive for drugs certified by the Crime Laboratory of the Police Regional Office 6.

Charged for violating Section 7 of Article II of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Acts of 2002, for visiting a drug den were 32-year Lin Szu Wei; Shau Wei Hu, 30; Tian You Jhou, 26; Shao Wei Zeng, 25; Guo Siou Hong, 25; Chia Hui Sun, 25; Yu Ting Lien, 34; Wei Chieh Weng, 29; Jhih Hong Chen, 26; Hsiao Chun Huang, 27; Yu Lung Fan, 29; Ching Ching Chang, 25; His Ao Chu, 23; and Shuang Chuan, 22 from Taiwan.

Police also arrested four Taiwanese women identified as Yung Chun Wang, 23; Pei Yu Wu, 23; Yuan Shun Chou, 27; and Li Yin Lo, 23.

Chinese nationals charged by the police were Honghua Zhou, 25; Zonglong He, 29; FengShuang Han, 32; Chun Gong, 29; Hui Zeng, 29 and two Chinese women - Juan Wang, 28 and Yuling Zhong, 23.

State prosecutors said that they were anticipating the arrival of lawyers coming from both the Taiwanese and Chinese embassies to defend them in court.

Aside from the drug case, police are also awaiting results from the Police Cyber Crime Group wherein the foreigners are being suspected to be engaged in internet fraud.

Also, police said they have seized volumes of tablets from the foreigners suspected to be of ecstasy, heroin and party tablets. Local investigators are awaiting for the results from the police crime laboratory.

Cyber police probes internet fraud in Boracay

Operatives from the Cyber Crime Group of the Philippine National Police is conducting a thorough probe into the operations of suspected international internet syndicate discovered in a villa in this resort island.

At least two personnel from Camp Crame arrived in this resort island Monday to track the laptops and internet routers of the suspects. Some 18 Taiwanese and seven Chinese nationals were arrested by authorities.

Police officials stormed the compound of a resort in Barangay Balabag here which they initially thought was allegedly being used as a shabu laboratory.

Prior to the raid, police has arrested one of the suspects Lin Tzu in a buy-bust operation. The police then searched the compound where Tzu is staying.

When they arrived, they discovered a sound proof building that has at least 10 cubicles complete with telephone lines, laptops and other gadgets. Aside from the gadgets, police has also recovered volumes of suspected illegal party drugs such as ecstasy, shabu, heroin, and cocaine, among others.

According to a Taiwanese interpreter who helped the police and the immigration personnel in investigation, the suspects claimed that they were told to allegedly work as an internet gamer.

Many of the suspects, as affirmed by their passports, had toured international destinations such as Malaysia, Uganda, Bangladesh, Kenya, Egypt, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia.

They claimed of not having been paid by their employer for "internet gaming jobs" thus they came to the Philippines to find another employer. In the Philippines, they were promised by their employer to pay them PHP75,000 aside from the leisure of visiting other tourism destinations in the country.

The interpreter said the suspects are calling companies and businessmen in China, who had allegedly committed certain violations and must pay penalties.

Boracay execs prepare again for hosting of int'l events

Government officials in this resort island are starting to prepare for a series of international events beginning the last quarter of this year.

Rowen Aguirre, island administrator, said that the Department of Tourism has informed the local government of Malay Aklan that Boracay is one of the areas in the country where an activity related to the Miss Universe pageant will be held.

Next year, Boracay will also host one of the meetings for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.

"The National Organizing Committee of the ASEAN Summit has already informed us to be ready," Aguirre said.

Aguirre is confident of the successful hosting due to its past experiences. Boracay played host to two meetings of the Asia Pacific Economic Conference here last year.

Also, Boracay had served as the main venue of the meeting of the ASEAN association of Chief Justices.

18 Taiwanese, seven Chinese arrested over party drugs

At least 18 Taiwanese and seven Chinese nationals were arrested in a resort here Monday morning after police operatives allegedly caught them in possession of ecstasy, cocaine and illegal party drugs.

As of this writing, Bureau of Immigration and Deportation officials are undergoing inventory of the names and identities of the Taiwanese nationals.

A police investigator coming from Camp Crame in Metro Manila is expected to arrive here to also probe the suspects for of possible cyber crime violations.

Aside from the illegal drugs, the police also seized desktops computers and telephone lines believed to be used in cybercrime operations.

Immigration officials said they were blacklisting all those involved in the illegal drug operations. Aside from the arrested suspects, immigration officials are expected to make more arrests as some of the suspects reportedly escaped during the police operations.

Inventory of the illegal drug items continues as of press time.

Chinese nationals came second and Taiwanese ranked third in the top ten foreign tourists arrivals in this resort island in 2015.

Government prosecutor Chris Gonzales said the suspects would be detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Kalibo, Aklan

Boracay business groups urge AKELCO to invest in power supply

 Business groups such as the Boracay Foundation Incorporated (BFI) and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Boracay urged the management of the Aklan Electric Cooperative (AKELCO), a power distributor, to invest in power supply.

This developed after stakeholders in this resort island experienced a series of power interruptions. Earlier, AKELCO officials blamed "habagat" or the southwest monsoon rains to be causing the series of power failures in this resort island.

Djila Winnenberrer, PCCI board member, said that the AKELCO management should consider the importance of electricity to the tourism industry. Others, she said, could afford to buy generator sets, but many small entrepreneurs could not.

For her part, Malay Councilor Nette Graf of BFI urges AKELCO to meet world class standard as they are supplying electricity to Boracay considered to be a premier tourism destination.

South Korean tourist in Boracay robbed

 A 38-year-old South Korean tourist here was held up and robbed.

Ma Dohyun was driving a motorcycle in a dimly lit area in Sitio Bulabog, Barangay Balabag, when two unidentified Filipino-speaking persons flagged her down.

The persons declared hold up and forcibly took her P110,000 and $2 cash.

After which, they fled, the Korean told the Boracay Tourist Assistance Center.

The incident happened around 1 a.m. on Monday.

Police launched a manhunt against the still unidentified suspects.

Almost 200,000 Korean tourists visited Boracay in the first seven months of the year.

Koreans, along with the Chinese, make up 68 percent of the foreign tourists in the island during the period./

Environment summit eyed in Boracay

 An environmental summit may be held in this island resort this year.

Primarily, the summit aims to discuss and find solutions to the environmental problems in Boracay, one of the best islands in the world.

It was supposed to take place in 2015 but did not push through because of preparations for the May 2016 elections, said Sangguniang Bayan (SB) of Malay member Nette Graf.

“The Boracay Foundation, Inc. and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Boracay are willing to serve as event secretariat,” said Graf, chairperson of the SB committee on environment.

The local government of Malay, which has jurisdiction over Boracay Island, will help organize the summit.

“We want it to happen soon,” said Graf. “Boracay, as an international destination, deserves international standards in environmental protection.”

The provincial government of Aklan and the Department of Tourism will also support the summit.

Boracay Foundation expects more Australian tourists to arrive

The Boracay Foundation Incorporated (BFI) is confident that more Australian tourists will visit this resort island soon.

Pia Miraflores, BFI secretary, said that this developed after they had undergone a successful tourism expo during the Travel Industry Exhibition both in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.

The Travel Industry Exhibition was held July 11-12 in Melbourne, Australia and July 18-19 in Sydney.

"We gave out our 'Complete Guide to Boracay' book including pamphlets and leaflets to travel operators there. We consider it successful," she said.

The Australian tourists are reportedly considered as high spenders.

"We believe that Australians are big boosts to Boracay, especially that they are known as big spenders," Miraflores said.

In 2015, the Australian tourists were at the top six in the list of top 10 foreign tourist arrivals in this resort island

Boracay lot for sale

Boracay lot for sale

Priest urges proactive stance against climate change

A Franciscan priest urges President Rodrigo Duterte to be pro active in its stance against climate change.

This was part of the message given by Fr. Dexter Toledo, one of the convener of the Global Catholic Climate Movement-Philippines.Toledo was at the Aklan Catholic College Gymnasium Saturday to discuss about the 'Laudato Si' of Pope Francis.

The 'Laudato Si' is an encyclical letter of Pope Francis which contains poems of praise and worship to the Almighty on nature.

"I agree that President Duterte do not recognize the Paris Treaty on Climate Change as develop countries must put more effort on minimizing carbon emission. The Philippines however must continue its proactive stance against climate change and climate justice," Toledo said.

The priest also bared that they have given a copy of the said encyclical letter to DENR Secretary Gina Lopez serving it as an inspiration in environmerntal conservation of the country.

He also urges devotees at the different parishes participating in the forum to implement parish based initiatives in the mitigation and mitigation of the climate change.

Also, Fr. Toledo urges young people to enjoy and appreciate nature at its best.

"Young people nowadays (especially those in the urban areas) seems to more engaged in mobile technology rather than going to the river to swim nor running along the rice fields. With the fast growing development in the countryside, young people will soon not see clean rivers and farms any longer," he said.