A nation of thieves

Noriyo Ohara, a Japanese woman, came to the Philippines in 2009 to escape from her stepmother who wanted to kill her so she could own all the wealth the father had left the sole heiress.

A Filipino in Japan, Rosemarie Marzan-Ogawa, who helped her slip past Philippine immigration without papers, gave her a new identity and a new name: Marife Salazar Laganas.

Noriyo, or Marife, bought a house in Las Piñas City and two luxury cars which are all in the name of the Marzan family of Pangasinan province.

The Marzans allegedly lived off their foster relative who was very generous with her money.

One of the Marzans, who didn’t get a share of the blessings, apparently tipped off the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) about Noriyo’s whereabouts.

On Oct. 29, 2011, NBI agents swooped down on the Marzan home in Bugallon town in Pangasinan and took the vacationing Noriyo back to Manila.

The agents demanded a P100-million ransom from the Marzan clan for her release.

I came to learn about Noriyo’s arrest or kidnapping from one of the Marzans who sought my help because they didn’t want to pay the ransom.

The exposé I made in this column and my other column at Bandera, a sister publication of the Inquirer, led to an investigation. Some heads rolled at the NBI later.

During an investigation ordered by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, of which I was one of the resource persons, I suggested that Noriyo and some members of the Marzan clan, Tina and Glenda, be placed under the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP).

I learned later that Tina and Glenda asked to be taken out of the WPP; only Noriyo now remains under government protection.

Like other persons under the WPP, Noriyo is being held a virtual prisoner for her own safety.

Being her self-appointed guardians, my staff at “Isumbong Mo Kay Tulfo” and I visit Noriyo or take her out once in a while, with the permission of the WPP.

In one of our visits, Noriyo requested that we accompany her to her Las Piñas house for some personal stuff.

On Tuesday, June 10, Alin Ferrer, my “Isumbong” chief of staff, went with Noriyo to Las Piñas.

Lo and behold, Tina was occupying the house with her boyfriend and using Noriyo’s two cars!

Tina didn’t let Noriyo into the compound despite pleas from her and Alin.

Tina told Noriyo she was under strict instructions from her Aunt Rosemarie not to let her in.

Suddenly, there was a downpour and the two women pleaded with Tina once again to let them inside the house as they were soaking wet.

Tina ignored their pleas.

* * *

In Japan, there is a word used to describe this type of ingratitude: Dorobo (thief).

It’s the dorobos among us, the very few who take advantage of helpless foreigners like Ohara, who give the outside world the impression that we are a nation of thieves.