21 charged with qualified theft

Criminal complaints for qualified theft were filed yesterday against the 21 employees of a softdrink distributor who were arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation last week for allegedly stealing more than P2.5 million worth of products since January.

NBI regional director Medardo De Lemos filed the complaint against Ray Anthony Pimentel, Giovannie Catipay, Christian Cadiz, Vicente Quirante and Guillermo Cajegas Jose Jerry Cajes, Mervin Parba, Roderick Jalan, Abraham Sacol, Romeo Quilo, Melcris Dingding, Eduard Martinez, Joilo Pame, Eugene Alaba, Christopher Lauron, Joselito Catipay, Elvin Posadas, Reynaldo Sanchez, Aldrin Obtile, Romil Yurangco, and Joy Apostol before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.

The 21 employees were the subject of a complaint filed by Rosario Lomotos, proprietor of Cebu Delco Traders, because of alleged pilferage of her softdrink products.

Lomotos said she is engaged in exclusive trading, distribution and sale of Pepsi Cola products.

Pimentel, Catipay, Cadiz, Quirante and Cajegas were caught in an entrapment operation by the NBI last week after they were allegedly found to have connived in stealing the products they are selling.

Investigation conducted by the NBI revealed that they have other cohorts in the pilferage of softdrink products from Lomotos’ warehouse in barangay Quiot Pardo.

Lomotos alleged that sometime last month she discovered that the gross sale covering the preceding months and the remaining inventory of stocks in the warehouse did not jibe with the total number of stocks purchased and delivered from Pepsi Product Philippines.

To her dismay, the shortfall allegedly reached up to P2.5 million since January 2008 up to the present.

Lomotos said she has a difficulty in tracing the losses until she received information from a tipster that her checkers, Apostol and Pimentel, conspired with the drivers and helpers in stealing the products through underreporting and valuation.

Lomotos said she started conducting a discreet investigation into the information until on September 18 she found it to be true.

She said she discovered that on that day Sacol, Martinez, Pimentel and Apostol pilfered about 18 cases of Pepsi products amounting to P3,960.

Lomotos said she did not then take any action because she planned to seek the assistance of the NBI.

On the following day, September 19, Lomotos said she personally accounted the number of cases loaded into the eight trucks before the load sheet was prepared by the checkers.

It was Pimentel who was assigned as checker to one of the eight trucks about to leave for delivery. Lomotos said that she found out that the actual number of cases loaded into the trucks were more than the number of cases reflected in the load sheet.

After the trucks left the warehouse, Lomotos requested the NBI operatives to intercept it. The respondents could not give a clear explanation on the discrepancy, prompting the NBI agents led by Special Investigator Arnel Pura to place them under arrest. — Fred P. Languido/LPM