CEBU City Assistant Prosecutor Mary Ann Castro made good her threat to haul her sister-in-law, Provincial Board Member Grecilda Sanchez-Zaballero, before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.
Castro filed administrative complaints for grave abuse of authority, unauthorized use of a government vehicle and conduct prejudicial to public interest against Zaballero, sister of her estranged husband, Leodegreco “Greco” Sanchez.
“All is fair in love and war. You want war? I’ll bring it to your doorstep,” the prosecutor said, referring to Zaballero.
Castro accused Zaballero of meddling in the investigation of the Highway Patrol Group 7 on the car theft complaint she lodged before the agency last Oct. 13.
Last Oct. 26, Sanchez called for a press conference in his sister’s office and announced that his Ford Ranger WildTrak went missing barely 30 minutes after he parked it outside the legislative building inside the Capitol compound that day.
Intervention
Greco said Castro has the key of the car, which the couple loaned for P1.61 million on Sept.1.
But Castro said the vehicle was stolen by two people in a car wash shop in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City last Oct. 13.
She filed carnapping charges against one Maricel Gregory and an unidentified man, who, according to the testimony of a carwash boy, introduced themselves as the owners and took the vehicle.
In her latest complaint, Castro said Zaballero “intervened and actively involved herself in a private matter between married couple” by asking for video footage captured by the closed-circuit television installed outside the legislative building.
The prosecutor said Zaballero even called several high-ranking police officials to report the missing vehicle of her brother “as if she is the owner of the vehicle.”
“Gigi (Zaballero’s nickname) threw her weight around using her position and power as Cebu Provincial Board member...Such an arrogance show of power. This should not go unpunished,” said Castro in her affidavit.
Castro also said Zaballero used her government-issued Toyota Hi-Lux to transport Greco from his rehabilitation center in Argao town to Cebu City when he was undergoing drug rehabilitation.
Other way around
Zaballero, for her part, said it is Castro who is using her position as a fiscal. “Don’t you think it’s the other way around?... It’s ironic that she has been initiating cases against me and then accuses me of using my position to run after her,” Zaballero said.
Castro had also filed a libel complaint against Zaballero before the Talisay City Prosecutor’s Office and even threatened Zaballero through the media that “iyang puston og kaso (she will file multiple cases against her).”
Last June 2, the Supreme Court (SC) suspended Castro for six months without pay for wielding excessive influence when she asked police to help her brother who complained about a defective vehicle in 2001.
The SC 2nd Division affirmed the ruling of the Court of Appeals (CA), which found Castro guilty of using her office’s influence to sue the Special Weapons and Tactics for purely personal matter.
“Anyway I will face these charges in due time as I have better and more productive things to do in Capitol,” said Zaballero.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor has this message to Greco: “If they say that your brain has been damaged by shabu, I still believe that shabu cannot damage your heart. So use your heart to love me forever.”