City prosecutor explains downgrading of case vs. radio blocktimers

After getting flak from different sectors, the Cebu City Prosecutor's Office yesterday defended its downgrading of the case that the National Bureau of Investigation filed against two radio blocktimers arrested for alleged extortion.

Cebu City prosecutor Nicolas Sellon said that the case against Reynante "Rey" Cortez and Lito "Bingbong" Solon does not fall under Article 294 of the Revised Penal Code, which has provisions for robbery but rather on Article 282 of the same, which provides for grave threats.

To drive the point, Sellon distributed handouts yesterday which cited the difference between robbery through intimidation and threats to extort money.

He quoted the 11th edition of the Revised Penal Code, which provides that in robbery, the intimidation is actual and immediate. In threats, meanwhile, the intimidation is conditional or is in the future and is not immediate. The provision also defines that in robbery, the intimidation is done personally while in threats, it may be done through an intermediary.

Sellon likewise cited the Court of Appeals ruling in the case of People versus Moreno, which states that in robbery, the gain of the culprit is immediate, while in threats the gain of the culprit is not immediate.

He said that there was really no actual and immediate intimidation on the complainant in the case of the two radio blocktimers. He explained that the purpose of the complainant's giving money to the accused is not because of the actual intimidation but because of his intention of bringing the accused to justice.

NBI operatives were disappointed with the downgrading of the case because they believe that the proper charges should have been robbery. A source however told The Freeman that the private complainant, Philippine Reclamation Authority director Elberto Emphasis, will be filing a motion for reinvestigation of the case.

The source also said that Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales has ordered the city prosecutor to file robbery charges instead of just grave threats. Sellon however denied having received such order from Gonzales.

Cortez and Solon were arrested in an entrapment operation by NBI operatives in a restaurant inside a mall at the north reclamation area last Friday based on a complaint filed by Emphasis.

Emphasis said that two weeks ago he was informed that he was the subject of foul commentaries by the two accused over the radio. He immediately inquired from the National Telecommunications Commission and learned that Cortez and Solon were calling him a thief and a swindler on air. - Fred P. Languido