Philippine Marines Col. Ariel Querubin, detained for his alleged involvement in the failed coup d’ etat in February 2006, was taken to the intensive care unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Medical Center (formerly V. Luna Medical Center) in Quezon City last Tuesday after suffering from chest pains.

Querubin’s wife, Ma. Flor, said her husband was scheduled to undergo coronary angiography, an X-ray of blood vessels in the heart, at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City.

"Ariel had unbearable chest pains again around midnight last night. So he is still under observation," Mrs. Querubin said.

Querubin, a Medal of Valor awardee, is one of 28 military officers facing court martial for mutiny charges. The Medal of Valor award is the highest combat honor in the military.

Mrs. Querubin said her husband complained of shortness of breath at 3 a.m. and was taken to the Camp Aguinaldo hospital four hours later at 7 a.m. last Tuesday.

Querubin is detained at the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) in Camp Aguinaldo.

"He had to walk out of the detention compound because no vehicle can go in the detention area," Mrs. Querubin said.

Querubin was hospitalized in 2007 for malaria. (Rio Rose Ribaya)

The Philippine National Police (PNP) expects to balance the police-to-population ratio in the country and meet its equipment requirement by year 2012.

According to Deputy Director General Jesus A. Verzosa, PNP deputy chief for administration, the PNP’s five-year Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP) aims to trim down the disproportion in the number of policemen needed to serve the entire Philippine population.

"Considering the annual 2.3 percent increase in population, by year 2012, we expect that the recruitment of 5,000 police personnel every year will eventually catch up with the disparity," Verzosa said.

Verzosa said the PNP "is synchronizing all actions being undertaken under the MTDP, the PNP Modernization Plan, and the PNP Integrated Transformation Program to maximize all efforts and outputs."

"By year 2012, we expect to achieve a police-to-population ratio of one policeman for every 700 citizens (1:700). The current ratio is 1:1,100," Verzosa said.

He said the projected increase in the strength of the PNP in the next four years is complemented by a modernization plan that will completely satisfy its firepower requirement.

The development plans envision to equip every policeman with at least one long and one short firearm, which is the standard individual equipment, Verzosa said.

Malacañang recently approved a R10-billion, five-year modernization program for the PNP. Five-hundred new patrol cars, utility vehicles, and motorcycles were added to its fleet of vehicles last week worth R1.2 billion.

"We have programmed similar procurement of equipment for firepower, mobility, and investigation every year until 2012," Verzosa explained.

Among the equipment are an Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS) that is expected to boost the capability of the PNP Crime Laboratory in forensic examination of gun-related crime.

According to PNP spokesman Senior Supt. Nicanor A. Bartolome, a separate budget has been earmarked for the modernization program because the annual budget of the PNP allocates only a minimal amount for capital outlay.

The state-owned Philippine National Railways (PNR) will stop operations starting today, Maundy Thursday, until Black Saturday in deference to the Lenten season and conduct the yearly maintenance check of its system.

It said its train operations from Biñan, Laguna to Tutuban in Manila and vice versa will resume on the afternoon of Easter Sunday.

Earlier, the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines 1 and 2 also suspended operations from Maundy Thursday to Black Saturday and will resume operations on Monday, March 24.

The suspension of operations is in deference to the Lenten season as well as to give way to the yearly maintenance check, according to the management of the MRT and the LRT. (JC Bello Ruiz)