For seling fake business permits: Ex-City Hall worker, partner arrested

CEBU, Philippines – A former City Hall employee and her live-in partner were arrested selling fake business permits and using bogus receipts during an entrapment operation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation at the vicinity of the City Hall yesterday.

Laura Abadia and her live-in partner Roque Rama were caught on the act of receiving money from one Gina Edig in exchange for a fake business permit.

Edig had sought the assistance of Councilor Jun Pe, who, in turn, referred her to the NBI, after she found out that the first business permit she got from Laura was bogus.

Edig said that sometime in January, Bernardita Lily Bonjoc requested that she help her process the mayor’s business permit for the lease of properties she owns.

At the City Hall, she reportedly met Abadia who offered to process Bonjoc’s application for a business permit in exchange of P1,500, and that of a certain Ramil Lazaga who needed a permit for selling and serving liquor at his store in barangay Mabolo. Edig said she then gave all the necessary documents to process the applications and cash amounting to P5,500.

Edig said Bonjoc’s documents reportedly became available sometime in February but would not be handed to her until she could produce the P1,500 agreed service charge.

Edig said it was only last April 6 that she was able to raise the amount and get the permit for Bonjoc. She reportedly got hold of the document only after waiting outside the City Hall for about an hour.

It was reportedly Rama who got Bonjoc’s business permit, official receipt, community tax certificate, sanitary permit and statement of account from the City Treasurer’s Office.

However, Edig said she was surprised when Bonjoc told her recently that the documents she got were all fake. Edig then reported the matter to Pe.

A team led by Supervising Agent Renan Oliva scheduled an entrapment operation last Tuesday afternoon but was forced to abort the operation after the suspects refused to hand the remaining documents over to Edig.

But the suspects did so yesterday, two hours after the team from NBI resumed the operation shortly before midday. Oliva said they had a hard time tailing Rama before because he was reportedly very clever.

In fact, NBI operatives almost lost sight of Rama when the latter entered at least two banks before going to the supposed source of the fake documents. The team decided to wait for him at the vicinity of the City Hall until he came back past 1pm with documents in hand, which gave the NBI the opportunity to place him and Abadia under arrest.

A certification obtained by the NBI showed that Abadia was a former City Hall employee. She was dismissed in October 1998 after she was found guilty of misconduct.

Charges for falsification of public documents will be filed today against the two suspects before the Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office. — Fred P. Languido/JMO (THE FREEMAN)