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Saturday, December 15, 2007
Lawyer blames police officer for P50T bribe try
CEBU CITY -- Lawyer Gines Abellana plans to file cases against operatives of the Regional Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group 7, who linked him to an alleged bribery attempt.
Abellana told Sun.Star Cebu he will charge Superintendent Marvin Sanchez, head of the task group, and PO2s Roehl Patalinghug and Armando Labora with libel and with instigating a person to commit a crime.
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He said he will also sue Sun.Star Cebu.
The three had executed an affidavit naming the lawyer as the source of the P50,000 that PO1 Blaire Quezon offered to them, in exchange for lowering a complaint to be filed against an arrested drug pushing suspect.
Quezon was arrested in an entrapment and said that it was Abellana who instructed her to hand over the cash.
Abellana believes the incident has something to do with a past incident between him and Sanchez involving missing dollars.
Sanchez denied he has an axe to grind against Abellana, saying he recognizes that Abellana was just doing his job when he defended the Japanese national that Sanchez and his men arrested.
Besides, Sanchez added, why would he harbor a grudge against Abellana when they won in the case and the Japanese was convicted?
As to the accusation that Sanchez and his men did not declare all the money they got from his Japanese client, Sanchez said it was only Abellana's "game plan" to discredit the arresting officers. The lawyer's allegations were never proven, Sanchez added.
The arrested person signed a receipt for the confiscated items.
"Why did it take them so long to complain that the money was lacking? They might as well have claimed they lost $1 million," Sanchez said.
In 2000, Sanchez, according to Abellana, arrested a Japanese national for allegedly selling shabu. Police said then that they recovered $57,000 from his client but Sanchez only turned over $40,000.
When the decision was handed down, Regional Trial Court Branch 10 Judge Soliver Peras convicted his client but directed Sanchez to return the missing money.
The lawyer said he is willing to represent Quezon in court and will also testify in her behalf.
Abellana, who earlier refused to issue comments on the arrest, called up Sun.Star Friday and left a message that he was willing to give his side of the story.
In a telephone interview, the lawyer narrated that last Friday, his client Cleofe S. Racaza informed him that she had been arrested while having dinner at home.
Abellana said there was no buy-bust operation against his client, contrary to statements of the task force.
Abellana said that Racaza informed him the next day that a certain Bandian approached her and told her to give P100,000 if she didn't want to be charged in court, or P50,000 if she wanted the charge to be downgraded to a bailable offense (possession of illegal drugs, instead of selling).
It was upon receiving this information that he (Abellana) called Quezon, who is also his client, and asked the police officer to look into the "offer of settlement."
According to initial information from Quezon, the operatives would pursue the filing of the case of selling illegal drugs against Racaza.
But last Monday, Quezon allegedly told Abellana that Patalinghug called and informed them that they would drop the charges in exchange for P50,000.
Abellana said he then instructed the sisters of Racaza to prepare the money and take it to Quezon. But he told them to place the money inside an envelope with his name on it.
After the entrapment, police officers allegedly told Quezon: "Aw abi ba namo'g entrapment ni (We thought this was an entrapment)."
This clearly showed, according to Abellana, that the police officers demanded money from his client but, thinking they were the subjects of an entrapment, decided to arrest Quezon instead.
Meanwhile, Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Cebu City chapter president Briccio Boholst disclosed that despite the statements of the police officers in their affidavit, there is still no need to investigate Abella.
He, however, said the issue will be tackled next week during the IBP meeting. (KNT/With MBG/Sun.Star Cebu) For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (December 15, 2007 issue)
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