Cases vs Rasuman transferred to Manila court

MANILA, Philippines - The syndicated estafa cases against businessman Jacob “Coco” Rasuman in connection with his alleged multimillion-peso investment scam have been transferred from courts in Cagayan de Oro to the Manila regional trial court (RTC), the Department of Justice (DOJ) said yesterday.

In a statement, DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima said their request for the transfer of venue of at least two cases in Cagayan de Oro RTC Branches 20 and 23 has been granted by the Supreme Court (SC).

“The request was made based on various considerations, including the risks posed by political and economic status of the personalities involved on the security of prosecutors and witnesses alike, as well as the heightened risk and expenses entailed by the act of constantly transporting the principal accused, Coco Rasuman, from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) detention facility in Manila to CDO,” she said.

Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, head of the DOJ’s prosecutorial arm, cited in a two-page motion with the SC last January the issue on the security of the accused in seeking the transfer of the cases.

The DOJ official also pointed out that most of the parties involved in the cases have already relocated to Manila because they feared for their safety.

Arellano also cited allegations that local government officials involved in the pyramiding scam were either supporters or investors.

The high court, in response, granted the request upon recommendation of the office of Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez in a resolution promulgated last Aug. 7 but was only received by the DOJ recently.

The SC ruled that “with the circumstances obtaining in these case(s), the occurrence of the miscarriage of justice is not far-fetched.”

The DOJ had filed three cases in Cagayan de Oro against Rasuman and his alleged cohorts in the scam through complaints filed by investors from Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and Marawi cities duped by the Ponzi-type scheme.

Also charged in court were Rasuman’s wife Princess; his father and former Department of Public Works and Highways undersecretary Basher Sr.; mother Ema; brothers Basher Jr., Jeremiah and Jerome; and father-in-law Sultan Yahya Jerry Tomawis.

Rasuman was arrested in Marawi City in November last year after the DOJ filed with the Cagayan de Oro RTC an initial case for syndicated estafa, a non-bailable offense, against him and the other accused involving 25 complainants who were claiming some P120 million in investments and returns.

The two other cases filed by investors Achmad Sangcaan and Naim Sampao, who claimed P15 million and P26.51 million in respective investments and returns, were filed last January.

The other accused, however, remain at large.