APPLICANTS | People applying for clearance at the National Bureau of Investigation in its satellite office in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, wait for their turn to be called, as shown in this photo taken in January 2023. (Photo courtesy of ‘MR. ABENDAN’ / Contributor)
CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) has filed criminal charges against six of their own personnel who pockets at least P300,000 in fees collected from persons seeking clearances from the bureau’s satellite office in Lapu-Lapu City.
Charged with six counts of estafa through falsification of public documents and qualified theft at the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutor’s Office were Trixie Ivy Cartalla, Christelyn Micaros, Gemma Quimat, Billy Jean Omison, Almero Canamo, and Ruwil Lucero, according to the NBI-7.
The filing of charges was done on June 16 but was only released to reporters Monday.
The respondents would be required to answer the accusations during the preliminary investigation. If the handling prosecutor found sufficient evidence against them, charges would be elevated to a trial court. Otherwise, the cases would be dismissed.
Falsified clearances
The respondents worked under a private firm contracted to operate the NBI’s offsite center. They were suspended while an investigation was being conducted, according to a source privy to the probe but who asked not to be named for lack of authority to speak on the matter.
The NBI-7, in a press statement on Monday, said the respondents started the scam in January this year and have pocketed at least P300,000 for falsifying the documents of applicants who were no longer qualified to secure a “First Time Job Seekers” (FTJS) clearance, which is supposed to be issued for free.
According to the agency, the six respondents were asked to explain the accusations against them when they were all summoned by the NBI-7 through a subpoena on June 14.
The respondents—all of whom were assigned at the NBI-7’s satellite office in Barangay Ibo, Lapu-Lapu City—admitted committing the infraction, saying they got tempted because they needed to augment their daily income of from P800 to P1,000, according to the NBI-7.
The respondents, the NBI-7 said, allegedly conspired to collect P220 from each applicant and falsely labeled them as FTJS clearances.
Under the NBI guidelines, first-time job seekers or those who have just graduated from college, can get an NBI clearance for free as long as they can submit the requirements, which include a barangay clearance, oath of undertaking, photocopy of two valid government identification cards and one 2×2 picture.
For the rest of the applicants, the processing of the clearance, a pre-employment requisite, costs P220.
On May 26, the NBI-7 received reports from their Information and Communication Technology Service about possible fraudulent activities at their satellite office in Lapu-Lapu City. This prompted lawyer Rennan Augustus Oliva, director of the NBI-7, to deploy a team to investigate the matter.
Witnesses account
During the probe, the NBI-7 investigators obtained affidavits from eight witnesses who had processed their NBI clearances at the satellite office.
The witnesses said they paid P220 to the respondents who fraudulently labeled them as FTJS clearances even though they were ineligible for the privilege.
According to investigators, the respondents had falsified 1,370 FTJS clearances and had collected and pocketed a total of P301,400 paid by applicants.
The NBI-7 said they would file another set of complaints against the same respondents once they secure the affidavits from the remaining 1,364 NBI clearance applicants.