Ex-Ombudsman employee nabbed for extort try on PNP official

MANILA, Philippines - A former employee of the Office of the Ombudsman was arrested Thursday morning for allegedly asking for P30,000 from a Philippine National Police official in 2007 in exchange for a clearance required for promotion.

Police officers served an arrest warrant on Juan dela Cruz, 44, at his house in West Triangle Homes in Quezon City, said Chief Inspector Rodel Marcelo, head of the Quezon City Police District’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit. The warrant was issued by Judge Juvenal Bella of the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 39.

Dela Cruz was released on Thursday afternoon after posting P10,000 bail.

Marcelo said the suspect was charged with violating Republic Act 6713, the code of conduct and ethical standards for public officials and employees.

In June, the Ombudsman filed charges of direct bribery and violating RA 6713 and the anti-graft law against Dela Cruz.

Marcelo said the suspect was dismissed as an employee of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Offices in June in relation to a complaint filed by a police official.

Senior Superintendent Pedro Ramos and SPO1 Jessie Caranto, who claimed that the suspect asked for P30,000 in exchange for processing a clearance required for the police colonel’s promotion. The Ombudsman clearance is released for free in official transactions.

Ramos claimed he was introduced to Dela Cruz in March 2007 to help him with his clearance, since he still had three active cases with the office. He claimed he gave P20,000 to the employee, with P10,000 borrowed from Caranto, at a restaurant along West Avenue in March 2007. 

The suspect denied the allegations but the Office of the Ombudsman still dismissed him in June after 20 years of government service.