Couple charged with ‘unauthorized’ use of credit cards
By Marlon Ramos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:12:00 08/27/2008
MANILA, Philippines – A daughter of the late Sen. Raul Roco and her husband, a grandson of President Manuel L. Quezon, are facing criminal charges for allegedly using – without authorization – the corporate credit cards of a company she used to work for to pay for their trips abroad.
Sophia Roco-Avanceña and her husband, Enrique Quezon- Avanceña, were charged with seven counts of violating Republic Act 8484, otherwise known as the Access Devices Regulations Code of 1998.
According to the law, an access device includes any account number, plate, electronic serial number, cards, code or personal identification number used to get money, goods and services.
Enrique is the son of Nini Quezon-Avanceña, President Quezon’s only surviving daughter.
The cases, filed by Department of Justice prosecutors, were based on the complaints of senior executives of Information Gateway Inc., a Makati-based media content provider for telecommunications companies.
The cases were raffled off on Thursday to five Quezon City regional trial court branches.
A court employee, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, Tuesday said the judges handling the cases are set to release warrants for the couple’s arrest within the week.
When reached by the Inquirer, Enrique declined to comment on the cases although he described these as “underhand tricks and [the] latest in their attempts to silence me regarding the personal knowledge I have about the load theft IG is earning billions from in connivance with a leading telco.”
“I welcome my day in court as an avenue to expose these thieves,” he said in a text message to the Inquirer Tuesday.
He, however, declined to elaborate on the supposed “load theft.” It was not also clear how he came by the information since it was his wife, and not him, who was employed by the company.
In a nine-page decision, Mary Jane Sytat, the DOJ associate prosecuting attorney, said there was probable cause to indict the couple for “willfully, maliciously and feloniously [committing] access device fraud by effecting online booking.”
Records showed that Sophia booked herself and Enrique on trips to Hong Kong, China, Macau and Spain between February and May last year using three credit cards owned by the company. The couple’s hotel accommodations were also charged to the firm.
The trips were booked after she left the company on Feb. 19, 2007, as contracts manager and executive assistant to the firm’s chief executive officer, Eleonor Coliangco.
The travel arrangements, which cost the company almost $3,000, were made online through expedia.com.
Sytat said that as Coliangco’s executive assistant, Sophia had direct knowledge of the accounts and code number of the company’s credit cards as her duties included paying for the overseas business trips of the firm’s officials through the Internet.
“There is reasonable ground to believe that the offense charged has been committed and the accused is probably guilty thereof,” Sytat said.
In their counter affidavit, the couple denied that they illegally used IG’s credit cards for personal gain, saying the trips were part of the additional settlement Sophia had received from the company when she resigned.
Enrique said the firm agreed to pay for their travels after they threatened to sue its officials for issuing death threats against his wife.
This happened, he added, after he and Sophia uncovered IG’s “unscrupulous practice” of arbitrarily deducting cell phone credits from unsuspecting cell phone users.
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