Posted by Belarmino Dabalos Saguing
Rome, Italy November 16, 2014
Press Statement
14 November 2014
Re Entrapment of Fiscal
Extorting Money from Morong 43 Doctor:
The epidemic of corruption:
It is really very dirty, shady and slimy out there
The National Union Peoples'
Lawyers deplores the corruption that pervades the justice system as it
experienced first hand an attempt to extort from one of its clients in exchange
for the dismissal of a case filed against them.
The NUPL solicited the intercession
of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and she assigned trusted agents from the
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) who laid down the entrapment over lunch
today of Assistant City Prosecutor III Raul Y. Desambrana assigned at the
Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.
Desambrana tried to extort
money from Dr. Alex Montes and his co-respondent in an obscure nuisance case
for unjust vexation filed by a retired military chaplain. Dr. Montes is a pro
bono community doctor and was part of the "Morong 43" health workers
who were detained by the military in 2010 based on false charges.
Desambrana unilaterally
contacted Dr. Montes’ lawyer from the NUPL and openly asked for P80,000.00 as
his “SOP” in exchange for the dismissal of the case. And as part of the proposed
quid pro quo, he asked the lawyer to draft the resolution of dismissal to be
submitted simultaneously with the delivery of the “SOP”.
After consultation with Dr.
Montes, the NUPL decided to entrap the prosecutor if only to weed out corrupt
prosecutors and somewhat "cleanse" what is generally perceived as a
dirty, shady and slimy legal and justice system.
Feigning acquiescen
ce to the demand, the lawyers
relayed to Prosec. Desembrano that their client agreed to the arrangement but
pretended to need more time to raise the amount. After which, Prosec.
Desembrano shamelessly and crudely made persistent personal follow-ups while
the case remains pending preliminary investigation for the delivery of the
“SOP” and the draft favorable resolution, and even directly contacted Dr.
Montes through his home landline.
We cannot just look the other
way and simply ignore the brazenness by which Prosecutor Desembrana tried to
extort from our client, which indicates how audacious he was to fantasize that
he can just get away with his criminal act and remain untouchable.
We cannot imagine how many
hapless litigants were victimized by the said prosecutor, who has been in the
service for quite some time, has connections, and turns out to be
"notorious" in the legal circle. He and his likes must be sanctioned
and punished to serve as exemplary deterrent for many others.
This routine bilking mirrors
the endemic epidemic of corruption that pervades the Philippine bureaucracy
where money talks - from legislators to high officials, to generals, to judges
and secretaries.
What is abominable is the fact
that as an assistant city prosecutor of the big city, he is part of the legal
and judicial system that is supposed to dispense justice. This validates once
again the moral depravity of his kind who are engaged in the dispensation of
justice, peddling that they wield the magical power to make black into white
either through bribery by rich litigants or through threats or influence from
those holding power.
This same vulnerability pressured
a judge to issue an invalid and illegal search warrant against the Morong 43
that was used to justify their illegal arrest and detention at the behest of
the military and police. The Morong 43, who were severely tortured, fought
tooth and nail together with their lawyers and supporters to dismiss the
baseless cases filed against them, and it took ten harrowing months before they
were vindicated. As in many other cases of human rights violations, their own
administrative, civil, and criminal cases they filed to seek redress and
justice sluggishly remain pending in the CHR, the trial court & the
Ombudsman.
On the other hand, many legal
incidents and countless cases are reasonably perceived to be resolved or
decided not based on their merits, but based on pressures exerted on those
tasked to resolve them, either through bribery or through threats, intimidation
and harassments, if not undue influence.
This paints a grim picture on
what the poor and ordinary people expect from our legal and judicial system
that props up inequality and inequity, with a process that is tedious,
cumbersome, and inaccessible to the many who are tied up just to survive.
They cannot even expect a fair
treatment from those who have immense power to dispense justice and take away
liberty under a system that is already unfavorable to them from the start.
In
pursuing the entrapment of Prosecutor Desembrana, the NUPL - aware of the risk
of reprisal to its legal practice and advocacy and even brickbats from
colleagues who want to play along with the system -- intends to send the
message that people in power should not get away not only with rights
violations but also with their corrupt acts. Perhaps it is a modest
contribution to to the curtailment of impunity that has contaminated each nook
and crevice of government.
We will not be bought. Nor will
we buy justice. We will not allow ourselves to be infected with this epidemic
of corruption that further gnaws at our already floundering hopes and
aggravates the frustration of the people who are given little fighting chance
to "beat the system. "
Not today.
Not tomorrow.
Not ever.
Reference:
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Edre U. Olalia
NUPL Secretary General
09175113373
Ephraim Cortez
NUPL Asst. Secgen for Legal
Services
Co-Counsel for Dr. Alex Montes
0917546 5798
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