LOCAL city councilors want the Baguio Register of Deeds (ROD) out.
Another non-appearance by ROD officer-in-charge Rodil Rivera pushed the City Council to vote in favor of a resolution formally asking the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe the office.
The council included personnel from the ROD in the probe as well as the Land Registration Authority to immediately transfer Rivera pending the NBI investigation.
The matter will also be furnished the Department of Justice.
Weeks ago, lawyer Frisco Domalsin, Juanita Tabay and Kathleen Flores came forward with allegations linking the ROD and its personnel in corruption.
Domalsin agreed to put into an affidavit his unfortunate experience at the ROD where it was suggested to pay additional P50,000 to have land titles released while Tabay and Flores attested they were asked to shell out an additional P5,000 to have their land titles released despite having all papers in order.
The alleged modus at the ROD office was to advise clients to shell out the money to be given to Rivera if they want to get hold of their documents.
In a letter, Rivera said he was “unfairly judged of committing anomalies without having been extended the... right to due process.”
Rivera said he would not have minded attending the session as a resource person on matters affecting the services of his office but he balked as the transcripts of previous council proceedings furnished him along with the invite showed him being cast as an accused rather than a resource person.
“Scrutiny of the transcripts... reveal that your Registrar and/or his office has already been unceremoniously accused most unfairly of wrongdoing without having been furnished of formal complaints of persons who even admitted they are friends of the Vice Mayor,” he wrote.
“Without bases, (I was) threatened to be ‘thrown out’ or be ‘sent to the Abu Sayaff’ by no less than the vice mayor himself; unfairly judged to committing ‘anomalies’ without... due process; (and) threatened to be replaced by somebody from Baguio City so that transactions with the Registry of Deeds would be easier or smoother,” Rodil rued.
“What is even more disturbing is that while Atty. Frisco Domalsin, who attended your sessions, admitted on record to offering P50,000 as ‘compromise’ to an ROD staff, some members of the Council even looked beyond his possible commission of ‘corruption of public officials’ as defined under Art. 212 of the Revised Penal Code... to form an unfounded conclusion in the minds of people that the ROD was up to no good,” he added. (With a report from Aileen Refuerzo)