PCSO’s Peryahan to Sue NBI Operatives in Laoac Raid

Warning to Future Law Enforcement Agencies' Arbitrary Arrest

LAOAC – The spokesman of the GlobalTech Online Corporation (GlobalTech) said their lawyers in Manila will file criminal and administrative charges at the Ombudsman against the operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation who arrested recently nine of its collectors here.

A sale's supervisor of PCSO's Peryahan Games in Binmaley,
Pangasinan waits the result of the winning numbers from her
 Point of Sale's device at the drawing center in Laoac,
 Pangasinan. Draws of Peryahan are three times a
day from 11 Am, 4 Pm, and 9 Pm. The games mechanics pi-
piggybacked on Jueteng and Meridian Jai-Alai.

Edward Aguilar said the charges of GlobalTech, the franchisee of the Philippine Charity Sweepstake Office’s Peryahan Games (PR), would serve as a lesson for the NBI and police to be circumspect in arresting other collectors of PR not only in Pangasinan but to the 12 provinces in the country where GlobalTech has its betting kiosks.

Aguilar mentioned the NBI operatives as Special Agent Allan Tubi, Special Investigator (SI) IV Jose Rommel Ramirez, SI III Nelson Moreno, SI III Edgardo Kawada, SI III Ferdinand Manuel, AGT II Joseph Eufemio Martinez.

PR, because of its transparent mode of drawing bets, has been threatening revenues from the operators of the illegal numbered game jueteng and Meridian Jai-Alai.

Last January 14 NBI operatives swooped in this town and arrested 12 agents of Peryahan Games.

But Aguilar disowned the three of the arrested saying they were false witnesses used allegedly by the NBI to incriminate the PR.

The cases against the nine arrested namely Eduardo T. Egros, Alan A. Barcena, Diosdado B. Reyes, Elpidio V. Pastor, Ricardo R. Robeniol, Miguel R. Nerona, Calixto D. Costales, Danilo T. Longayan, and Benjamin D. Peru have been dismissed last January 19  by Provincial Prosecutor Abraham L. Ramos II in Urdaneta City.

Receipt of the day's result from the Point of Sale's
gadget.

“There appears no concrete evidence that tends to show that the above named respondents conspired with Larry Alvarado, Robert Garon, and Rowel Cunanan when the three collected bets from alias Jay the poseour designated by the NBI Manila during the entrapment operation. It is a hornbook doctrine that “conspiracy must be proved as indubitably as the crime itself through clear and convincing evidence and not merely by conjecture,”one of the excerpts of the resolution of Prosecutor Ramos.

Before their cases have been dismissed they have to languish for six days at the NBI detention cell in Manila as they waited for their motion for preliminary investigation at the prosecutor’s office in Urdaneta City.

“Why would they arrest our agents they do not possess papelitos or lastillas (strip papers)? Aguilar posed.

He said Larry Alvarado, Robert Garon and Rowel Cunanan were allegedly a bait of the NBI.

“The placing of bet was consummated by handing over the money bet (Php 20.000 to the kubradors (later identified to be Alvarado, Garon, and Cunanan) which were all marked with the letters “NCR” at the upper right side of the front portion of each bill. Thereafter, the bets were then written in the “papelitos” held by the kubradors. Most of them told “Jay (NBI “asset”)” that he will just be advised of the outcome of the draw,” according to the NBI’s joint affidavit.

The NBI said on the joint affidavit that incidental to the lawful in flagrante delicto arrest, they searched these people and found them violating Presidential Decree 1602 (Prescribing Stiffer Penalties on Illegal Gambling) in relation to Republic Act 9287 (Act Increasing the Penalties for Illegal Numbers Games)  .

Bettors and agents of Peryahan Games at its Binmaley town's kiosk.
It is located in front of the Catholic School of the town.

Found in the possession of the three were papelitos or lastillas which the operatives said were prima facie in the commission of jueteng or illegal gambling.

“It is not true the three (arrested) are our personnel. They don’t have an I.D card nor in the company of the nine arrested when they were waiting for the 11 Am draw at the Kiosk in Laoac”.

This town is the drawing center of PCSO’s PG in the 48 cities and towns Pangasinan.

So far PG covered the town here, Malasiqui, Mapandan, San Jacinto, and Binmaley towns. It was believed that every week other municipalities or cities follow suit by not renewing the license of Meridian after GlobalTech started its operation last December 20 in the 2.8 million populations Pangasinan.

Aside from the probable administrative cases of grave abuse of authority and grave misconduct in the performance of duties to be filled against the personnel of the NBI, probable criminal cases against them would be oppression, unlawful arrest, unlawful detention, incriminating innocent person, and others.

Aguilar said the three false witnesses arrested by the NBI would be sued too.

“These cases would serve as a warning to NBI and police operatives to practice restrain and prudence in arresting our agents otherwise their benefits and pensions in the government will be prejudiced not to mention the corresponding jail time they face,” Aguilar told this paper.

He said in case the Ombudsman find probable cause on the criminal charges they filed in Manila the court in Urdaneta City would try the cases against those operatives.

“Abala sa kanila iyon pag nagkata-on,” he  said. (AA)