VSMMC official seeks conviction of man who 'duped' him

THE chief psychiatrist of Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) in Cebu City is consulting his legal counsel after a trial court did not believe him that a fellow tennis club member duped him of P25,000 two years ago.

Dr. Rene Obra said the money was a down payment for the purchase of construction materials and a pump crate, an equipment needed in concreting the third floor of his building in Sogod, Southern Leyte.

He said Alvin Dagohoy offered to help him, but the equipment and the materials were not delivered at the construction site in November 2016.

Obra, head of VSMMC-Center for Behavioral Sciences, filed a complaint before the office of the village chairman of Zone 1, Sogod, against Alvin Dagohoy.

A compromise was reached and Dagohoy paid an initial amount of P10,000.

When Dagohoy failed to pay the balance, Obra charged him with estafa before the prosecutor’s office, which filed the case in court against Dagohoy.

Dagohoy pleaded not guilty during the arraignment.

In November 2018, Judge Patrick Espere of the Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Sogod-Libagon-Bontoc acquitted Dagohoy, saying the camp of Obra “failed to present any convincing evidence” like a document that would prove the “supposed agreement of contract he had with the accused.”

The court believed Obra entered a “loan agreement” with Dagohoy. The certificate of action issued by Zone 1 barangay authorities, according to Espere’s decision, “clearly established that the complaint by (Obra) against the accused was for collection for sum of money.”

Obra’s receipt for the money transfer and the certification that Dagohoy had claimed the money “do not prove the supposed agreement with the accused.”

Espere, however, ordered Dagohoy to pay the remaining P15,000.

For his part, Obra cried injustice, saying he was not lending the money to Dagohoy.

As of Sunday, January 6, Obra said Dagohoy had not paid the balance.

He said he consulted his Manila-based lawyer to guide him on his next legal action.

“I want a conviction,” he said. (KAL)

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