Pasay City administrator faces illegal recruitment raps

A team from the Southern Police District (SPD) yesterday trooped to the Pasay City Hall to arrest a city official who was charged with large-scale illegal recruitment before a court in Marawi City.

Superintendent Honorio Agnila, who heads a group from the head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-SPD, brought with them the arrest warrant against city administrator Ernestina Carbajal issued by Judge Amer Ibrahim of Marawi City Regional Trial Court Branch 8  in Lanao del Sur.

He added there were three other respondents in the case but refused to give further details.

Mayor Wenceslao Trinidad said there are around 10 respondents in the case, including his wife Nelfa and brother Sonny, but added that “ they can’t arrest my wife, they mispelled her name.”

Trinidad claimed the filing of the case is meant to politically harass them. “There is a group out to facilitate political vengeance against us. They are also earning big amounts of money out of this modus operandi,” he said.

Agnila’s group was not able to serve the warrant, dated Jan. 28, after Carbajal complained she was not feeling well. Her blood pressure reportedly shot up and she refused to leave her office.

Dr. Jaime Sy of the Pasay City General Hospital, checked Carbajal’s blood pressure and found that her blood pressure was at 190 over 120. She was immediately brought to the hospital for further medical examination.

Vicente Bayani, Carbajal’s lawyer, said they already filed a motion for re-investigation of the case. He said they expect the motion to result in the recall of the arrest order.   – Rhodina Villanueva