Controversial Cebu fiscal seeks forgiveness

CEBU — After the Court of Appeals ordered the continuation of the immorality case against her, a controversial Cebu prosecutor showed for the first time her vulnerability as she begged the public for forgiveness for the wrongs she might have done in the past.

For now, prosecutor Mary Ann Castro wants to leave the past behind her and forget the controversy over her alleged illicit affair with businessman Zandro Agusto.

But she has to face it because the appellate court has ruled that the administrative case against her for immorality should be pursued.

Castro said she welcomes the decision of the appellate court denying her move to stop the Office of the Ombudsman from continuing its investigation into the case filed against her by Zandro’s late wife, Cherry.

The Ombudsman’s probe may be the only way to put an end to the controversy, but Castro said logic dictates that this should have been aborted due to Cherry’s death.

She also said there is no basis anymore for the case to go on because Agusto, with whom she was earlier linked, has already found a new family.

She said she herself has found a man who has accepted her and her past and who has vowed to love her for what she is.

Castro’s first marriage was annulled and this new man in her life wants to marry her.

She admitted in an interview on radio station dyLA that she is getting married, not to Agusto, but to a "man in uniform" whom she refused to identify.

But this new chapter in her life will not be complete without forgiveness from the public. Castro said she is just human and also commits mistakes.

"Please forgive me kon duna koy mistake. Give me a chance to move on," she said.

The prosecutor’s alleged affair with Agusto triggered a big scandal in Cebu after Cherry caught them in a motel.

Days after that fateful night, Cherry was shot dead allegedly by a policeman who, in turn, killed himself.

Months after Cherry’s death, Castro publicly admitted her relationship with Zandro, and even invited some media people to witness their dinner date in a mountain restaurant.

Recently, there were rumors that Castro was having a romantic relationship with a regional police official who could be the one she was referring to as the new man in her life.

Castro has been in the midst of controversies as a prosecutor. The Sandiganbayan earlier ordered her 90-day suspension for allegedly taking a bribe from lawyer Genis Abellana in exchange for not opposing the motion for bail filed by suspected Hong Kong Triad member Giovanie Geminez.

The Department of Justice carried out the court order only this week after the Sandiganbayan denied Castro’s motion for reconsideration. — Freeman News Service