Prosecutors clear security guard of P1.7M Sinulog fund theft

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

AFTER dismissing the qualified theft complaint against a security guard last Monday, government prosecutors want the police to identify who really carted away close to P1.7 million of the Sinulog Foundation Inc.’s funds last Jan. 16.

City Prosecutor Nicolas Sellon approved the resolution of Assistant City Prosecutor Gandhi Truya dismissing the complaint against security guard Joselyndon Jabagat for “lack of probable cause.”

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Sellon also pointed out that the warrantless arrest of Jabagat “was not valid,” since the arresting officers “did not have any personal knowledge regarding the commission of the crime” in the administrative office of the Cebu City Sports Center.

In his concurring resolution, Sellon said SPO4 Jaime Toring and SPO2 Henry Estoy arrested Jabagat “based merely upon the information or accounts of unnamed security guards and other persons.”

Sellon also said that assuming there was no forcible opening or physical destruction of the vault in the administrative office, the “only plausible conclusion” is that it was opened by “keying in” its combination numbers.

No evidence

The prosecutor also noted that the only persons who knew the vault combinations are Marie Angeli Pascual, the sports center cashier, and one Helen Talisik.

Sellon said “no evidence has been presented to show that the robber, or respondent Jabagat himself, acquired knowledge or knew about the combination numbers of the vault” from either Pascual or Talisik.

Police also failed to submit evidence that the vault was forcibly opened.

Despite the dismissal of the case, Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Director Melvin Ramon Buenafe said Jabagat is not yet off the hook.

“We will gather more evidence to make a stronger case once we re-file the complaint,” he told reporters yesterday.

The city police director said that based on circumstantial evidence, he believes the security guard is the probable suspect in the loss of P1.68 million.

They already have new evidence that pointed to a crowbar used in the burglary. It wasn’t presented to the fiscal as it is still being examined in the crime laboratory.

Asked about their lapses in the dismissal of the complaint, Buenafe said they only investigated, took testimonies of witnesses, and filed a case before the court.

“It wasn’t our job to prove Jabagat was guilty beyond reasonable doubt,” he said, adding that they have nothing personal against the security guard.

More training

The city police director also said they will submit themselves if Jabagat files counter-charges against them.

The fiscal’s decision also highlighted the need to train investigators for his personnel to be equipped and resolve cases, Buenafe said.

Sinulog Foundation Inc. Executive Director Ricky Ballesteros, for his part, said they “may file a motion for reconsideration before the court.”

Witnesses earlier told investigators that a “male person,” allegedly Jabagat, entered the administration office at 2:50 a.m. of Jan. 16, but Sellon pointed out that the “robbery” had not taken place yet at 3:37 a.m. that day.

So, the man “could not have been the robber who burglarized the vault,” since he entered the administration office at 2:50 a.m. and stayed there for about five minutes only, said Sellon.

Warning

Sellon also noted that neither Jabagat nor the unidentified man was responsible for the robbery, considering that Jabagat ignored the warning of his fellow guard about a “male person” who entered the administration office.

Also, Jabagat left a drinking session after the man, who supposedly entered the admin office, left the area, the prosecutor observed.

Prosecutor Truya recommended the dismissal of the complaint against 40-year-old Jabagat, saying that the allegations against the latter were merely based on “suspicions and insinuations.”

In his five-page resolution, which capped the 10-day preliminary investigation, Truya said the accusations against the guard “are not evidence and cannot even be considered circumstantial, absent material and concrete proof pointing to him as the perpetrator or that he conspired with someone in the commission of the offense.”

After announcing the result of his investigation, Truya said the police could start building a strong case against the real perpetrators.