Malabon exec, 6 others face estafa raps

MANILA, Philippines - Valenzuela City businesswoman Myrna Ojeda Tan filed Friday charges of conspiring to commit estafa through falsification of public documents against a Malabon City official and six others for allegedly defrauding her of some P16.5 million.

Tan, in a seven-page affidavit, copy of which was obtained by The STAR yesterday, named the accused as city administrator Benjamin Villacorta, Marlon Marquina, Rafael Jose, Anabelle Caparas, Sebastiana Dadia, Consolita Tutanes and Evangeline Arenga.

Villacorta welcomed the charges yesterday and said the city government is open to any investigation for Tan’s charges and the recent death of a Mandaluyong City trader reportedly linked to con artists working with city hall officials.

“We have nothing to do with any fraudulent transaction with anybody, much more with the victim,” Villacorta told The STAR in an interview at his office at the city hall yesterday afternoon.

Villacorta said he does not know Mandaluyong City businessman Michael Buquid Jr., manager of 20th Pharma Trade, who was killed last July 20, reportedly to “silence” him after he and his group defrauded Tan of some P16.5 million.

Tan, 36, said Buquid and his friends Dadia and Tutanes, persuaded her to finance a P49.9-million joint business venture to supply medical equipment to the Malabon City government last June 17.

She said that through her lawyer, Christopher Tiu, and Marquina, another city hall employee, Buquid was able to set a meeting at the city hall to work out the deal with Villacorta.

Tan said after several days of negotiations she was persuaded to believe that the transaction was for real after Buquid, who was a family friend, presented her and Tiu the notice of award, purportedly signed by Arenga, the purchase order for medical equipment for the Malabon City government amounting to P49.9 million and the contract of agreement between the city government and the 20th Pharma Trade with signatures of city hall officials.

She said she shelled out a total of P16.5 million for the joint venture. The P8 million was deposited in the bank accounts of Jose and Caparas, whose account numbers were allegedly provided by Marquina. Another P8.5 million was deposited in the account of 20th Pharma Trade. She said she personally handed a P500,000 check to Buquid at her Valenzuela office last June 28.

Police sources said Buquid was killed for being the link between Tan and his “business partners” at the city hall. The gunmen did not touch anything from Buquid but the victim’s P1.2 million cash went missing.

Tan started asking at the city hall about the medical equipment business venture but was reportedly told by Villacorta that he knew nothing about the transaction.

This prompted Tan to file charges Friday against the seven suspects before the Valenzuela City prosecutor’s office.

Villacorta said all the documents presented by Tan were “fake with fake signatures” and that he has nothing to do with them.

He said Marquina was a former staff of a city councilor but is no longer connected with the city hall.

Villacorta said he is considering filing countercharges against Tan before the Office of the Ombudsman “to make those responsible of the alleged case answer for their crimes and to clear my name and the city government as a whole.”