Lucena scam case seen to move at slow pace

POLICEMEN guard the venue of the preliminary investigation on the Grand Alliance of Business Leaders Association Inc. Lucena scam. DELFIN T. MALLARI JR./INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON

LUCENA CITY—With hundreds of scam victims suing several suspects in the discredited multimillion peso investment scheme here, the wheels of justice will take some more time before it can begin to roll, the top government prosecutor in this city said.

Joel Baligod, Lucena prosecutor, said reviewing voluminous documents of complaints and actual interview of the victims will take several weeks before the cases could be filed in court.

The panel of prosecutors has to get details of each complaint for thorough evaluation, said Baligod, in an interview at the preliminary investigation of the complaints held at the city council session hall.

He said documents for the first batch of 113 complaints filled up several tables at the session hall with another batch of complaints expected in February or March.

“Each victim has his own story to tell which we have to listen to and evaluate,” said Baligod.

He asked for understanding from the victims for the delay because there are only six prosecutors handling the cases.

The Lucena police filed syndicated estafa and economic sabotage cases against Luzardo Lucido, chair of Grand Alliance of Business Leaders Association Inc. (Gabai); Gerald Joseph Murillo, account manager, and his wife Jenelee, logistics officer; Camille Bautista, technical sales officer; Jennifer Abes, account executive and husband Dennis, organizer; and several volunteer tellers of Gabai.

Lawyer Bernardo de Leon, who represents Lucido, asked prosecutors for more time to study all cases filed against his client.

“I never thought that the cases are numerous,” he said.

Elsa Porlas, mother of Jenelee Murillo, submitted notarized affidavits of the Murillo couple to the city prosecutor but was

advised that the couple’s personal appearance is required.

A Manila-based lawyer, representing 12 former Gabai account executives, also asked for more time to study the cases of her clients.

In an interview, Porlas denied the Murillos are in hiding. “They have to leave Lucena for fear of their lives because they were being hunted by armed men,” Porlas said.

One of those charged, Bautista, showed up alone at the prosecutor’s office saying she had no lawyer because she can’t afford it.

The victims were infuriated when Luzardo and the Murillo couple did not show up, delaying the filing of cases further.

Some of the victims confided they filed the cases only to get back their money.

Scam victim Rommel Barrot lost P235,000 he had been saving for the education of his three children.

Lorna de Mesa said she lost P280,000 in the scam that she borrowed from a neighbor.