Dagupan City prosecutor convicted for bribery
A PUBLIC prosecutor in Dagupan City was convicted by the Sandiganbayan for demanding and receiving a P20,000 bribe money from a respondent who had pending cases before his office in 2005.
In a 30-page decision penned by Associate Justice Maria Cristina Cornejo, the anti-graft court’s Fourth Division handed down a guilty verdict against Assistant Prosecutor Joselito Barrozo for direct bribery and sentenced the official to a penalty of four to nine years, four months and one day imprisonment.
Barrozo, who will also be subject to a special temporary disqualification, was also ordered to pay a P60,000 fine.
The case stems from a complaint filed by Jennie Valeriano who 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 P20,000 amount as his fee for resolving them in favor of the respondent.
On February 14, 2005, Barrozo was arrested in an entrapment operation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) with NBI special investigator Gideon Elfred Alidem Cauton, agent Levi Omar Orille, special investigator Richard De Guzman and Narlito Orhel.
During the entrapment, which took place inside a car at the parking area beside the Dagupan City Justice Hall, Valeriano put the P20,000 pay-off money inside Barozzo’s left pocket without reaction from the latter.
Valeriano then 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 was the P1,000 marked cash with the other 19 pieces of P1,000 dusted boodle money.
The anti-graft court sustained the credibility of the prosecution’s version led by Assistant Special Prosecutor III James Abugan which found that the elements of the crime of direct bribery were established.
“Accused Barrozo accepted the money given to him by Valeriano under obviously suspicious circumstances. The money, as categorically stated by the giver (Valeriano) was given to and received by Barrozo in consideration of the dismissal of the cases which were the subject of preliminary investigation conducted by Barrozo…” the decision stated.
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