Within two hours of the Prime Minister’s disclosure that there were more irregularities in the issuance of passports and the involvement of the former minister of state, the Opposition held a scheduled press conference. There are three scenarios playing out right now: a recall in Cayo Northeast, Penner’s resignation and both would result in a […]
Former P.U.P. standard bearer Orlando Habet lost to Elvin Penner by a mere seventeen votes in the last general elections. Habet has maintained all along that the elections were stolen because of the mass nationalization and subsequent registration of Guatemalan nationals and other Central Americans by Penner to vote in the 2012 elections. In the […]
Aside from a report on the investigation in the passport scandal and the purported sale of visas, the Opposition is also looking at another investigation. Senator Lisa Shoman first presented the notion of a senate investigation into the passport scandal during a special sitting of the senate two weeks ago. She says that an independent […]
Back to the P.U.P. Press Conference. The Opposition, as well as other social partners, amid the ongoing scandal, has been calling for an inquiry into the issue of impropriety at the Immigration Department. But while the business community and other groups have asked for an open probe into the matter, the moral authority of the […]
Last Friday, the Prime Minister was asking to give Penner a second chance and over the weekend, the PM was in full blown campaign mode. He was in Cayo on tour meeting Cayo Northeast constituents making it clear that the situation is bigger than Penner, and it was all about the U.D.P. and the good […]
The situation remains very fluid as to any resignation by Elvin Penner. A few minutes ago, News Five spoke to Penner by phone. Penner said the following… first, he clarified that he has not resigned and does not intend to do so until he has conferred with his people. He also told News Five that […]
The United Democratic Party is under sustained and heavy fire. One of their own has been implicated in massive corruption in the Immigration Department and public outcry has been unceasing. While the PM will never admit it, he expended tremendous political capital circling the wagons around Elvin Penner. With that said, there is little for […]
One man, however, who has a bundle of documents which were purportedly assigned for destruction, is attorney Arthur Saldivar. The documents include dozens of completed application forms, as well as nationality certificates and Saldivar was scheduled to call a press conference on Wednesday to unveil more evidence of wrongdoing at the Immigration and Nationality Department. […]
At a sitting in Trinidad, the Caribbean Court of Justice this morning heard an application by the Government of Belize in respect of a 2012 order on Telemedia dividends. At the time, the CCJ declared that dividends were not to be paid out to the government of Belize, the Central Bank and the Belize Social […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow hopes for an answer from Elvin Penner by tomorrow. It’s not exactly an ultimatum, but the PM leaves the country en route to LA on Wednesday. The purpose of the trip is partly official, as Barrow will be meeting with Belizean-Americans, but the PM will also be consulting on his health […]
Aside from the passport scandal, there is crime to report. A man was stabbed in Cristo Rey, Cayo District, over the weekend. At the center of the latest homicide is a cousin of the murder victim. Leroy Tzib was stabbed to death as he headed home; tonight his relative Geovanni Pech has been charged with […]
Good evening, I’m James Adderley and this is Sports Monday. Week 3 of the Belikin Cup saw San Ignacio United come to the MCC Grounds Sunday evening in a bid to pick up its 1st season win against an FC Belize who themselves were desperately seeking to grab all 3 points for the 1st […]
Former Minister of State Elvin Penner is not the subject of any investigation, administrative or criminal. That was confirmed today by Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie. It’s a stunning revelation. It was announced that the Police entered the picture on Tuesday at four thirty. Since then the media has been trying to find out if […]
The Police are not looking at Penner. What then will they investigate? Perhaps, they will investigate the persistent reports that there is a parallel passport scheme which bypasses the protocol and procedures at the Ministry of Immigration. At the press conference on Thursday, Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse admitted openly that he knows that there […]
And then there is the damning revelation of a quota system being operated by U.D.P. ministers. The Prime Minister admits to getting reports of that large scale nationality hustle, and claims that he has at every opportunity begged his ministers to “for god’s sake stop.” Here at News Five, we have consistently received credible information […]
On Thursday’s newscast, we showed you the highlights from a press conference which lasted nearly two and a half hours. The head-table was intent on looking to the future, while the media was just as intent on the here and now – specifically the ongoing immigration scandal and the involvement of former Minister of State […]
The nationality certificate obtained by Wonhong Kim, the South Korean fugitive who got Belizean nationality and passport states that Kim resides in Belmopan. There is no house number provided, but Kim’s address on the nationality certificate is simply stated as Piccini Site. Now, it is a crime to knowingly provide inaccurate information for official persons, […]
The involvement of Elvin Penner in the issuance of nationality certificates and passports has far reaching implications. Earlier today, Landy Espat, a member of the Elections and Boundaries Commission, wrote to its chairman, B.Q. Pitts. Espat, who has years of experience under his belt in the electoral process, says in his view there is great […]
At the break of the scandal, the Opposition asked Penner to resign or be recalled. Last weekend, the P.U.P. went into full gear and started the collection of signatures required to trigger a recall in the Cayo Northeast constituency. About twelve hundred signatures have been collected so far. The U.D.P. also went into motion asking […]
The two hour and a half press conference offered on Thursday by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Immigration was informative; it brought out information long in circulation that the hanky panky at the immigration department also likely includes a hustle. And while there are far more questions to be answered, the opposition believes […]
Since the last email Penner sent to the media in late September, he has remained mum and away from the watchful eyes of the public. The opposition has called for his resignation or recall, and amid all that there are reports that Penner may be talking to the People’s United Party even though crossing the […]
In other news….the oldest inmate to be on jail on remand is an eighty-three year old P.G. man charged for killing his wife back in May 2012. But tonight, Manuel Cucul is home after he was granted bail in the sum of ten thousand dollars by Justice Troadio John Gonzalez for the murder of his […]
A Belize City mechanic who reportedly swindled money from two customers, who were also his friends, was before the court today to answer to two counts of obtaining property by deception. Twenty-eight year old Lizardo Ochoa, of a North Front Street address was arraigned before Chief Magistrate, Anne Marie Smith to answer to the charges. […]
Twenty-eight year old Shane Vernon remains in critical condition tonight at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital after being shot in the City on Thursday night. According to police, Vernon, who lives around the corner on Seagull Street, was standing in front of the gate of his ex-common law wife’s address on Iguana Street around eight-thirty […]
The Vision Inspired by the People political party says that Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse is a disappointment to them. Today that party came out swinging in the wake of the press conference – at Godwin Hulse and at the government. VIP public relations officer, Bobby Lopez, referred to the immigration measures announced Thursday as […]
