Friday, October 03, 2008 2 accused of bribing PASG criminally charged, post bail By Katrina A. Balmaced Sun.Star Correspondent
A MAN and a woman arrested for trying to bribe Philippine Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) operatives posted bail after criminal charges were leveled against them yesterday.
Cebu City Prosecutor II Simaco Labata recommended P16,000 as bail for Laureto dela Cerna and Evangeline Vivar, who allegedly attempted to bribe PASG with P12,000
for the release of a seized van of coconut lumber.
Dela Cerna and Vivar paid the bail yesterday afternoon, according to a source in the Municipal Trial Courts in Cities (MTCC), where a charge for corruption of public officials was filed against the two.
It was PO1 Noel Villamor who led the arresting team, and it was to him that Vivar handed over the money.
PASG members Villamor, PO1 Romeo Jumalon and Ricardo Collantes executed a joint affidavit of arrest against dela Cerna and Vivar.
They narrated that at 9 a.m. last Wednesday, their office received information about a container van of illegally cut coconut lumber.
The van was reportedly aboard a Gothong Lines vessel and was about to leave Pier 7 at the North Reclamation Area, Cebu City.
The PASG team intercepted and seized the van after the driver opened it, confirming that coconut lumber was indeed inside.
At 3 p.m. that day, the owner of the shipment reportedly went to the PASG office at the Cebu Port Authority. The officers’ affidavit, however, did not mention the owner’s name.
An earlier Sun.Star Cebu report stated that Vivar is the owner’s wife.
The owner reportedly failed to bring documents from the Philippine Coconut Authority and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that would authorize the transport of the coconut lumber.
Instead, he offered P20,000 for the van’s release, which the PASG operatives declined.
“We told him that what were needed were the other necessary documents and not any payment,” the officers’ affidavit read.
Dela Cerna and Vivar arrived later and negotiated with Villamor for the release of the van.
The officers stated in their affidavit that “Vivar, sensing perhaps that (she and dela Cerna) will be arrested for violation of forestry laws,” handed Villamor the money because she had no documents to present.
This time, the money offered was P12,000.
The PASG team then arrested dela Cerna and Vivar for corruption against public officials, which is punishable under Article 212 of the Revised Penal Code.
