For alleged extort try Court employee falls to agents of the NBI

CEBU - A male court employee yesterday gave a face to suspicions of corruption in the judiciary after he was caught in the act of receiving money allegedly extorted from a supposed subject of a search warrant application by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to facilitate the denial of the application.

Arvin Oca, an employee assigned at the branch 1 of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities, allegedly demanded P150,000 from Edmar Garciso to facilitate either the denial or withdrawal of the application for search warrant against him for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Law.

The supposed application for search warrant was faked and was just fabricated by Oca to extort money from the victim. 

Garciso, a resident of San Jose Village, Lawaan III, Talisay City, said that Oca sent a text message last August 31 telling him that they should see other because he needs to know something very important.

Garciso said he felt very anxious about it and decided to meet Oca that afternoon at the parking area of a mall in Talisay City.

It was allegedly during that meeting that Oca told him that he was a subject of a pending application for search warrant by the PDEA 7 operatives for possession and selling of shabu before the sala of Regional Trial Court Judge Enriquieta Belarmino.

Garciso said that Oca even showed him a copy of the application that is allegedly pending for approval by the judge. 

According to Garciso, Oca offered to intervene on his behalf.

Oca reportedly claimed that he could have the application denied because he has a close friend assigned in Belarmino’s court. The suspect also claimed that the PDEA agent who applied for the warrant was his friend and that he can ask the latter to withdraw his application for such.

In order to do that, Oca allegedly demanded P150,000 to give to his friends.

“I was totally disturbed since I know that this is a simple case of harassment and extortion fully aware that I am not involved in such kind of nefarious activities,” Garciso said.

On the other hand, he admitted being afraid that the PDEA might incriminate him by pursuing the application.

Since August 31, Oca continued sending text messages to Garciso until yesterday where he already gave the latter an ultimatum to give the money not later than 1o’clock in the afternoon.

Garciso, upon the advice of his lawyer, sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation.

After briefing the NBI operatives of the case, an entrapment operation was planned and subsequently carried out resulting to Oca’s arrest at 2 p.m. near the exit gate of the Palace of Justice compound.

Lawyer Bernard Dela Cruz acted as taxi driver that the complainant took in going to M. Velez Street where Oca was waiting for him.

As soon as the victim handed the P150,000 including the P2,500 marked-money to Oca, Dela Cruz immediately signaled the rest of the NBI operatives hiding in the area and placed the suspect under arrest. —/NLQ