Extradition of Aman Scam Mastermind

The Department of Justice Monday suspended the extradition proceedings against Aman Futures founder Manuel Amalilio because of the ongoing conflict between the Sultanate of Sulu and the Malaysian forces.

Amalilio is the alleged "brains""behind the P12-billion pyramiding scam that duped 15,000 victims in Visayas and Mindanao committed by the Aman Futures Group Philippines, Inc.

He was arrested in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia for possession of fraudulent Malaysian passport and identification card and was subsequently sentenced to a two-year jail sentence in February this year.

Justice Secretary Leila M. De Lima Monday said it is not yet the right time for the DOJ team to talk with the Malaysian government for the extradition of Amalilio.

The DOJ team headed by Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar and Prosecutor General Claro A. Arellano was supposed to travel to Malaysia Tuesday (March 12) and stay there until March 15, but it was cancelled Monday.

De Lima said the situation is still volatile at the moment and the talks with their Malaysian counterparts may not bring about positive results.

Pangasinan Awarded Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH) in 2012

The provincial government received its performance challenge fund (PCF) of P7 million from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for bagging the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH) in 2012.

The check covering the amount was personally delivered by DILG Regional Director Corazon Guray.

She said the PCH is an incentive to all LGUs so that they will do their best to attain excellence in governance and public service.

Guray handed the check to Governor Amado Espino Jr. during a program coinciding with this week's flag ceremony at the Capitol Plaza here.

She said the PCF was given to Pangasinan for its excellent performance in all aspects and for meeting all the criteria set by DILG under the SGH

Moreover, Pangasinan also was judged based on its clean record with the Commission on Audit (COA) and was observing transparency as evidenced by its financial transactions regularly posted in its website.

Guray said LGUs given SGH by DILG were rated from a scale of one to five with the province of Pangasinan scoring five.

Governor Espino said the PCF of P7 million will be used for meaningful developmental projects of the provincial government.

He said the SGH was only among the many national awards received by Pangasinan during the past few years since he took over the helm of the provincial government.