Court employee faces criminal raps for alleged bribery

The National Bureau of Investigation’s charge sheet against the court employee.

MANILA, Philippines – Government prosecutors have recommended the filing of a criminal case against a court employee on bribery allegations.

In a resolution made public Tuesday, indicted for direct bribery under Article 210 of the Revised Penal Code, violation of the Anti-Graft Law and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for public officials and employees is the acting branch clerk of court Mariejoy Lagman.

“The complainant was able to establish all the foregoing elements, considering that: (a) respondent Lagman is a public officer being an employee of the Supreme Court acting as officer-in-charge clerk of court of RTC Branch 108, (b) she solicited and accepted money from the respondents in a Civil Case which is pending in the said court wherein she is the OIC Clerk of Court, and (c) the trial or hearing of the case is the function and the eventual outcome of the aforesaid case is within the jurisdiction of the said court,” read the resolution from the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested Lagman in an entrapment operation last week after receiving P6 million bribe money.

In a press conference, the NBI Cybercrimes Division chief Jeremy Lotoc said the litigant was asked to produce only P5 million, with P1 million to be given upfront.

But he said the amount was increased to P6 million after the litigant failed to produce the “goodwill money.”

“Yung amount na P6 million supposedly P5 million lang dapat at may paunang P1 million na goodwill money. Pero hindi nag-push itong P1 million kaya ang hiningi na ay P6 million from the original amount of P5 million,” Lotoc said.

(The P6 million was supposedly only P5 million, with P1 million as goodwill money. But the P1 million did not push through that’s why the amount was bumped off to P6 million from the original P5 million).

Lotoc said the entrapment last week that led to the arrest of Lagman, Pasay RTC Branch 108 acting branch clerk of court, was carried out based on the information provided by the Judicial Integrity Board (JIB) of the Supreme Court after it received an anonymous complaint.

Upon arrest, the court employee said the money exchange was upon the judge’s instruction.

Lotoc declined to identify the complainant nor the case that led to the alleged bribery.

“We cannot go on the details of the civil case since it is still ongoing,” he added.

Lotoc said the NBI investigation is still ongoing, adding that part of the probe is the forensic examination of communication devices seized in the entrapment operation.

“May hawak kaming electronic devices that are subject for forensic analysis. Tuloy tuloy pa din ang ating investigation,” he said.

(We have electronic devices in our custody that will be subjected to forensic analysis. The investigation is continuing.)

Meanwhile, Presiding Judge Albert Cansino, also tagged in the bribery allegation will undergo regular preliminary investigation.

READ: Chief Justice orders probe into P6-million bribery case vs a Pasay judge

Both Lagman and Cansino were preventively suspended by the Supreme Court.