THE trial of the criminal cases against the three Romanians who were accused of unauthorized withdrawals from automated teller machines (ATM) of Metro Cebu branches of the Land Bank of the Philippines continues.
Judge Ramon Daomilas denied the motion to quash information and to dismiss the cases filed by Romanians Ionut Alexandru Mitrache, Ion Costel and Razvan Aurelian Stancu.
This, despite the fact that the complainant executed her affidavit of desistance, which sought to dismiss the cases against the accused.
“(Affidavit of desistance) does not entirely deprive the prosecution of its ability to prosecute and prove its cases against all the accused beyond reasonable doubt,” read Daomilas’s order.
While he denied the motion to dismiss, Daomilas, of the Regional Trial Court branch 11, granted the defense’s motion to post bail.
“After evaluating the arguments posed by the parties, the court finds the motion to post bail meritorious,” said Daomilas in his order.
Defense lawyer Rameses Villagonzalo said the accused would post the bail once their fund is available.
The accused were charged with theft and violation of Republic Act 10175, or The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Villagonzalo filed the motion asking Judge Daomilas to allow them to post bail while the trial for cases of theft and violation of the cybercrime law against them is ongoing.
In granting the defense’s motion to post bail, Judge Daomilas said the charged offense is not punishable by death, reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment. The judge recommended P300,000 bail for each accused.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 arrested them after at least 50 persons who claimed to have been victims of ATM skimming in Cebu sought the agency’s help.
The NBI 7 agents arrested Mitrache, Costel and Stancu in March 2017 after their facial features matched those of the suspects who allegedly installed skimming devices at the ATMs of Land Bank of the Philippines.
Agents found 45 micro scanner chips, clone cards, an improvised skimming tool and two laptops, among others, from the lockers inside the condominium unit of the accused. (GMD)