Two men arrested in market slot scam

CEBU, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation-Cebu Division Office (NBI-CEBDO) arrested two men accused of falsely claiming they had the authority to offer or facilitate the lease of market slots at the Carbon Public Market in Cebu City.

‎NBI-CEBDO Chief Arnel Pura in a press conference yesterday, September 7, said Paquito Enriquez Asignar Jr., with aliases “George” and “Jun,” and Rosalito Ventulan Arong were arrested last September 1 following a complaint filed by Carbon Market vendor Melinda Bingil.

‎Pura said Asignar allegedly represented himself as someone authorized by the Cebu City Market Office to award market slots, initially asking Bingil for ?50,000 per slot.

‎Before proceeding with the transaction, however, Bingil verified Asignar’s alleged authority with the City Market Office and learned he wasn’t authorized to award or guarantee any slot.

‎Pura said the NBI subsequently obtained a certification from Cebu City Market Administrator Elconjim Concha confirming Asignar had no such authority.

‎The two suspects were arrested around 5:30 P.M. last September 1 in the vicinity of Puso Village in Barangay Sto. Niño, Cebu City, while allegedly receiving marked money from Bingil during an entrapment operation assisted by NBI-7 operatives.

‎Pura said Asignar claimed to have authority to transact with the Cebu City Government, while Arong allegedly claimed to have rights over a slot and offered it to interested parties.

‎Both suspects were referred to the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office for inquest proceedings on September 3 and charged with estafa under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code and usurpation of authority.

‎Pura stressed that the Office of Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival had no involvement in the transactions and that Asignar allegedly used the mayor’s office to make his claims appear legitimate.

‎Pura also clarified that Asignar wasn’t an employee of the Cebu City Government. Meanwhile, ‎Arong was identified as a job-order worker assigned to the Cebu City Market special task force. Pura said Arong also claimed to have a lease for a slot, but this was denied by the City Market Office.

‎Concha said Arong had no authority to collect money from prospective vendors saying payment should be made before the City Treasurer’s Office.

‎He also said the process of obtaining a market stall involves several steps, including the submission of a letter of intent and evaluation by the appropriate offices before an award is made.

‎Concha said interested vendors should coordinate directly with the City Market Office rather than transact with individuals claiming to have authority to offer market spaces.

‎Pura said the NBI is also looking into complaints from other individuals who may have been victimized through a similar scheme.

‎He said verification also showed that Asignar had a pending estafa case in Camarines Sur dating 2015 and had recently been arrested over another estafa case in Lapu-Lapu City.

‎ Bingil said she pursued the transaction because she needed additional storage space for her banana vending business.                ‎She said she initially paid ?25,000 in July and another ?25,000 on August 2, believing that the payments would secure markets slots No. 85 and 87.

‎She later gave another ?3,000 after being asked to pay for document processing.

‎Bingil said her doubts grew when Asignar failed to provide receipts for the payments, prompting her to seek assistance and eventually coordinate with the NBI.

‎She said she wasn’t primarily seeking a refund but wanted him stopped to prevent other vendors from falling victim.

‎“Mo-pursue g’yud sa maong case para tama man, wala na'y ma-victim,” Bingil said.

‎Pura urged other individuals who may have been approached through a similar scheme to come forward and report their complaints to authorities.

Asignar declined to answer questions from the media, saying he would face the case with the assistance of his lawyer.

Meanwhile, Arong apologized to the alleged victims, saying he didn’t anticipate that the transaction was part of a scheme.

“Mangayo lang kog sorry ni ma’am, ug pasalamat ko… igo ra pud ko nisulod,” Arong said. — (FREEMAN)