Ombudsman: QC prosecutor sought P100K bribe, sold raffle tickets

A ranking public prosecutor in Quezon City was kicked out of his job for allegedly demanding money from a complainant in exchange for a favorable ruling and also for selling him tickets for a church-sponsored raffle.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said she had dismissed Quezon City assistant city prosecutor Edgar Navales for grave misconduct and would subsequently charge him with direct bribery in the Sandiganbayan.

Navales was also banned from holding public office and ordered to pay a fine equivalent to one year’s salary.

The assistant city prosecutor got the ax based on the complaint from Reynaldo De Leon, who in July 2014 filed a car theft case that was assigned to Navales.

According to the Ombudsman, Navales extorted P100,000 from De Leon in exchange for an order upholding his complaint. The prosecutor also sold him church raffle tickets worth P3,000.

In September 2014, the prosecutor sent a text message arranging a meeting with the complainant, saying he “had information that someone was trying to fix the carnapping case.”

During their meeting at a restaurant on Visayas Avenue, Quezon City, Navales allegedly told De Leon that “he will have to produce (P100,000) and give the money for the case to prosper.”

A month later, in October 2014, Navales again sent a text message asking the complainant to buy two booklets of raffle tickets, each booklet costing P2,000.

“A total of P103,000 was accepted and received by Navales,” Morales said in a statement on Tuesday. The exchange of text messages showed that Navales himself confirmed that a total P103,000 in cash was deposited in his bank account, she added.

“The deposit of these amounts is corroborated by printouts of text messages between (De Leon) and (Navales) wherein the latter confirmed receipt of the cash deposited,” the Ombudsman said. “It is clear that (Navales) asked the complainant to pay and accepted money in connection with a case pending before him.”