Immigration officer nabbed for extortion

A lawyer of the Bureau of Immigration in Mandaue City was arrested yesterday for allegedly demanding money from an American national in exchange for extending the foreigner’s stay in the country.

Lawyer Serafin Abellon, 63, was arrested in an entrapment operation inside the BI Cebu District Office in Mandaue City past 11 a.m. by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Central Visayas.

Abellon was set to retire from government service in a year or two.

NBI-7 Regional Director Antonio Pagatpat said Abellon demanded P25,000 from an American national who requested anonymity for security reasons.

“The complainant already gave money to Abellon twice. He only lacked a balance of P15,000,” Pagatpat told reporters.

Abellon, who holds the position of Attorney II in the immigration bureau, refused to comment on his arrest.

He remains in the custody of the NBI-7 pending the filing of charges against him.

Charges of extortion, robbery and a violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corruption Act will be filed against Abellon before the Mandaue City Prosecutors’ Office.

The arresting team, headed by NBI supervising agent Rennan Augustus Oliva, prepared marked money bills which the American handed to Abellon during the operation.

Abellon paid P3,000 in marked money to the BI cashier before he was arrested by NBI-7 agents.

The NBI-7 chemist went to the immigration bureau’s cashier to recover part of the marked money.