Arrest warrant out vs newspaper exec

CEBU, Philippines - A warrant of arrest against the president of a publishing company was issued by Municipal Trial Court in Cities Branch 3 Assisting Judge Oscar Andrino yesterday.

Marilyn Par is facing a case for two counts of falsification for allegedly forging the signature of their former editor-in-chief in a supposed resignation letter.

Par and her husband Freddie are shareholders of the defunct Cebu Gold Star Daily.

A bail of P12,000 per count was set for her temporary liberty.

Prosecutor II Mary Ann Castro in her resolution approved by City Prosecutor Nicolas Sellon had recommended that the information for falsification under Article 172, paragraph 2 be filed in court.

Castro said she found probable cause to hold Par criminally liable for falsification.

German Perez, former editor-in-chief of Cebu the Voice newspaper, filed two counts of forgery against Par for allegedly forging his signature.

In his complaint, he alleged that Freddie and Marilyn approached him in the early part of July 2009 and asked him to help establish a newspaper.

He said he was hired as editor-in-chief and promised a salary of P20,000 but Par only gave him P8,000 a month.

Perez said he filed a labor case for illegal dismissal against Par after he was dismissed from service on April 30.

Before the dismissal, however, Perez already prepared a resignation letter because of differences he had with Marilyn.

According to Perez, he did not sign the resignation letter that he prepared because he wanted to talk to Freddie first before submitting his letter.

But instead of an amicable settlement during his meeting Freddie, he was given his termination paper, prompting him to file a case for illegal dismissal before the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC).

But during the NLRC hearing, Perez was shocked to see a copy of his resignation letter that already bore his signature. Thus, he filed the complaint for forgery before the prosecutor’s office.

In the counter-affidavit submitted the City Prosecutor’s Office, Marilyn denied the allegations of Perez, claiming he was not one of her employees in her publishing business. — (FREEMAN)