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Friday, October 08, 2004
Court denies plea to dismiss bribe raps vs immigration employee
By Raquel C. Bagnol
THE Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) has denied the motion for the dismissal of bribery charges against an employee of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in Davao City who was accused of soliciting P1,000 as tip for "fingerprinting services" two years ago.
Judge Rufino Ferraris of MTCC Branch 7 ruled that the bribery case against Rosendo Welborn could not be dismissed even with the affidavit of desistance filed by the complainant Kenjie Sato, a Japanese national of Sasa, Davao City based on the guidelines of the Supreme Court (SC).
Ferraris also held that the prosecution itself is questioning the validity of the affidavit of desistance reportedly filed by Sato.
The Office of the Ombudsman for Mindanao recommended the filing of charges against Welborn in a resolution dated September 11, 2002 penned by graft investigation officer II Joy Rubillar-Arao for violation of Section 7(d) of Republic Act 6713.
Section 7(d) of RA 6713 states that, "Public officials and employees shall not solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or anything monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties or in connection with any operation being regulated by, or any transaction which may be affected by the functions of their office."
In his affidavit-complaint, Sato said he went to the BI office on August 13, 2002, to get his visa and apply for an Alien Certificate Registration (ACR).
At the BI office, Sato claimed that he was entertained by Welborn who got his fingerprints, but after the fingerprinting, Sato claimed Welborn had told him "please tip, give me" while he was still at the BI's lobby.
After washing his hands, Sato said Welborn again told him to give him a "tip," prompting him to give P500, but Welborn allegedly demanded P1,000, forcing him to add another P500.
Edita Caduaya, a reporter of the Mindanao Daily Mirror, executed an affidavit and claimed that she was with Sato during that time and saw the Japanese national giving the money to Welborn.
Sato is the husband of Caduaya's sister-in-law.
When asked how much Welborn was asking, Sato told Caduaya that the accused was demanding P1,000.
When Caduaya showed her press identification card, Welborn took Sato's hand and brought him to the comfort room and returned the amount and asked for apology.
Welborn denied having demanded P1,000 from Sato and said that it was Sato who inserted the amount into the right-side pocket of his pants without his knowledge.
In assessing the evidence on record, Arao branded Welborn's defense as "unbelievable and full of inconsistencies."
There was "no justification or reason why Kenji (Sato) would voluntarily give respondent (Welborn) P1,000 and later complain about it," Arao said.
Arao, however, recommended that the appropriate charges to be filed against Welborn is not graft and corruption, but violation of ethical standards for government officials and employees.
(October 8, 2004 issue)
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