5 Cebu fiscals ‘accept bribe’CEBU CITY -- Representative Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south district) said Sunday that he received reports that at least five fiscals in Cebu are accepting bribes.
He, however, said the reports could not be substantiated because no one dared to come out and issue sworn statements.
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“Wala man gyu’y mosumbong pud, magpa-anonymous, dili mo-issue og affidavit. Dili hinoon kaayo daghan, mga lima siguro (No one is willing to squeal or issue an affidavit, they want to remain anonymous. But I’m only referring to at least five fiscals),†he said.
Cuenco made the statement while answering questions on the House of Representative’s inquiry on the arrest of three persons in Alabang during a supposed buy-bust operation.
The suspects were released because of the absence of an arrest warrant and the failure of the arresting Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agents to conduct an inventory at the scene.
Cuenco said the dismissal of the complaint was propped up by flimsy arguments, which understandably led the PDEA to expose an alleged bribery.
Denial
The concerned state prosecutors denied the accusation, and were subsequently cleared by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in a follow-up investigation.
The NBI and the prosecutor’s office are both under the Department of Justice (DOJ), while the PDEA is under the Office of the President.
“Duna’y prosecutors dinhi among nadunggan nga modawat, wala pa lang ta’y pruweba. Dako akong pagtoo duna gyu’y modawat, labi na gyud sa drug cases (There are fiscals who accept bribes but we don’t have any proof against them. But I believe they accept bribes, especially on drug cases),†Cuenco said.
In a memorandum dated January 19, DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzales reminded all prosecutors across the country of the prescribed procedures on the seizure and custody of dangerous drugs.
The memorandum was in response to recommendations made by Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) Undersecretary Paul Oaminal, who said Sunday that there is a circular clarifying that in cases subject for review by the regional state prosecutor, the arrested persons should remain in the custody of the authorities.
And while he did not contradict Cuenco in his statement, Oaminal said that for drug cases in the city, 98 percent of those filed before the Office of the City Prosecutor were sent to the court, or that only two percent got dismissed at its level.
Specifically, he said, only 11 of 516 drug complaints were dismissed for various reasons in 2008.
Because of the bungled Alabang operation, Cuenco is proposing the creation of a legal office composed of PDEA lawyers and state prosecutors for better coordination in the filing of drug cases.
On the controversy, he said the arresting officers and the prosecutors worked their separate ways.
The incident also prompted him to propose the holding of a national anti-drugs summit to be presided by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
This, as he urged the Supreme Court (SC) to designate special courts dedicated to hearing drug cases to fast track their resolution, as there are unresolved cases filed as early as 2000.
He also revealed that Congress is planning to review at least 10 big drug cases that were dismissed, as they suspected anomalies there.
If such is discovered, Cuenco said the concerned prosecutors may end up facing administrative complaints, particularly dereliction of duty. (RHM/Sun.Star Cebu)
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