Would those government prosecutors who allowed plunderer and disgraced general Carlos Garcia to plea bargain, and the protectors of alleged drug manufacturer Col. Dionesio Borromeo to post bail, suffer the fate of a mulcting City Fixcal, er, Fiscal?
Assistant Prosecutor Joselito Barrozo who was arrested by a team of NBI agents in Dagupan City sometimes in February 2005 outside his office was convicted by the Sandiganbayan (Anti-Graft Court for government officials) for direct bribery and special temporary disqualification. He was sentenced to four years to nine years, four months and one day imprisonment, and also ordered to pay a P60,000 fine.
According to the decision that media man Manny Celso emailed me, the Sandiganbayan gave evidentiary weight to the testimony of NBI special agents. They testified that Barrozo was caught red-handed in an entrapment procedure. The pay-off took place at the parking area beside the Dagupan City Justice Hall.
The decision narrates:
“During the conversation between (victim Jennie) Valeriano and Barrozo, the former put the money inside the left pocket of the latter’s pants without reaction from him. Valeriano gave the pre-arranged signal and the NBI agents approached Barrozo.”
“Seized inside the Honda civic car between the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat where the handbrake is located was the P1,000 marked cash with the other 19 pieces of P1,000 dusted boodle money. Records showed that Valeriano was the respondent in cases of several counts of estafa and bouncing checks pending before Barrozo’s office. The estafa cases were dismissed and Barrozo demanded from Valeriano the said amount as his fee in resolving them in favor of the respondent”
I could only commiserate with Assistant Barrozo. It seems his crime started when he associated with Valeriano.
According to the decision, the estafa cases did not reach the court as they were dismissed by the disgraced Fiscal.
It seems this debacle ensued after the alleged “estafadora” could not take the excessive and almost confiscatory mulcting of the government lawyer.
Tsk, tsk, as what the Pilipino adage says: “Galit ang kapwa magnanakaw sa kapwa magnanakaw.” Look, nagka-onsehan na.
Kaya ang leksyon sa mga fiscals, don’t be too greedy otherwise you would be sold by your victim to an entrapment operation and eventually be feasted on by the media.
***
Take this complaint of a village chief to me lately. He said me there is a prosecutor in one of the cities in Pangasinan who extort monies for him so his case finds probable cause.
You watch dear folks, after this barangay captain come into open, I am going to publish here how that malefactor abuses his office.
(You can read my selected intriguing but thought-provoking columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com)
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