ChanRobles Virtual law Library
PHILIPPINE LAWS, STATUTES & CODES
A collection of Philippine laws, statutes and codes not included or cited in the main indices of the Chan Robles Virtual Law Library.
:
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST ➔ PHILIPPINE LAWS, STATUTES & CODES
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 406 -
IMPOSING THE PENALTY OF DISMISSAL FROM THE SERVICE WITH FORFEITURE OF
ALL BENEFITS UNDER THE LAW OF MANILA ASSISTANT PROSECUTOR GREGORIO V.
MARQUEZ
This refers to the administrative complaint
filed by the Department of Justice against City Prosecutor Gregorio V.
Marquez of Manila for grave misconduct.
In a letter dated August 24, 1994 addressed to President Fidel V.
Ramos, Department of Justice Secretary Franklin M. Drilon reported the
following findings:
"Records
disclose that agents and special investigators of the Special
Operations Group of the National Bureau of Investigation (SOG-NBI)
apprehended Prosecutor Gregorio V. Marquez on July 27, 1993 after he
allegedly received a white envelope containing marked money from one
Dr. Gloria M. Bumanlag inside the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
Restaurant at Taft Avenue, Manila. His arrest was the culmination of an
entrapment operation planned and executed by the NBI in response to the
complaint lodged by Dr. Bumanlag for extortion.
"In her statements given to the
NBI on July 26, and 27, 1993, Dr. Bumanlag, a dentist by profession,
avers that she is the private complainant in a criminal complaint
against spouses Ronilo L. Nagano and Lilia Nabong for estafa through
falsification of public document and/or carnapping before the Office of
the City Prosecutor of Manila, docketed therein as I.S. No. 93D-12199.
The case was assigned to Prosecutor Marquez for preliminary
investigation. In July, 1993, Prosecutor Marquez repeatedly called her
up at her dental clinic in Valenzuela and demanded from her the amount
of P5,000.00 in exchange for the prompt and favorable resolution of the
complaint. Once, she tried to give him P1,000.00, through her lawyer,
but he refused saying it was too small. She even told him that she
could only raise P2,500.00 to which offer Prosecutor Marquez curtly
replied that she should, in fact, give him P10,000.00 as there were two
(2) cases involved. Due to respondent's insistence, she pretended to
agree with his demand on July 23, 1993 for her to meet with him at
Jollibee, Taft Avenue, on July 27, 1993, between 11 and 11:30 a.m., so
she could then and there deliver the amount. She, however, suggested
that they meet instead at the KFC alongside Jollibee. Prior to this
meeting, she reported the matter to the NBI which subsequently planned
the entrapment. When she arrived at the KFC at about 11:35 a.m. of July
27, 1993, after she was given the marked money placed in a white
mailing envelope by Atty. Orlando Dizon, Chief of the SOG-NBI,
Prosecutor Marquez approached him to reduce the amount. When the latter
refused, she handed to him the white envelope containing the marked
money which consisted of twenty (20) FIFTY PESO bills and twenty (20)
TEN PESO bills. After Prosecutor Marquez accepted the envelope with his
right hand and placed it on top of a newspaper in front of him, she
then gave a signal to the NBI agents by tying her hair and respondent
was consequently arrested.
"NBI agents Lauro C. Reyes,
Rafael Z. Ragos, Allan Lino and Gary Menes jointly corroborated the
statement of Bumanlag. They further allege that the forty (40) pieces
of peso bills placed in the envelope were previously submitted to the
NBI's Forensic Chemistry Division for proper marking and application of
fluorescent powder.
"A portion of the certification
dated July 27, 1993 of Forensic Chemist III Aida R. Viloria-Magsipoc
and Forensic Chemist IV Idabel Bernabe-Pagulayan of the NBI Forensic
Chemistry Division relative to the ultra-violet examinations conducted
on the person of Prosecutor Marquez reveals that the dorsal and palmar
aspects of his left and right hands showed the presence of yellow
fluorescent specks and smudges and that the front side of his white
T-shirt showed the presence of yellow fluorescent smudges.
"For
his part, Prosecutor Marquez admits having conducted the preliminary
investigation of I.S. No. 93D-12199 but denies having demanded any
amount from Dr. Gloria Bumanlag. He reveals that he submitted the case
for resolution on June 30, 1993 before he went on a leave of absence
from July 1, 1993 to July 30, 1993 as he was then suffering from
chronic recurrent bronchial asthma. When he visited his office sometime
in July, 1993, Dr. Bumanlag saw him and inquired about her case. He
advised her to file a motion to re-raffle or re-assign the case to
another investigating prosecutor as he was then on leave and could not
physically discharge his duties and functions due to the seriousness of
his illness. Dr. Bumanlag got mad and accused him of receiving money
from her opponent. Prosecutor Marquez further avers that he was at the
KFC restaurant before noon of July 27, 1993 since he was supposed to
have a lunch date then with his colleague, Prosecutor Eufrocinio Sulla.
They intended to proceed to the nearby Philippine General Hospital
(PGH), where Prosecutor Sulla's wife works as a nurse, so that the
latter could introduce him (Prosecutor Marquez) to an asthma specialist
at the said hospital. To ensure that Prosecutor Sulla would come to
their rendezvous, he even instructed his secretary on July 26, 1993 to
remind Prosecutor Sulla about it. On July 27, 1993, he went to the KFC
and saw Dr. Bumanlag occupying a table inside the same restaurant. When
he joined her upon her invitation, she apologized regarding the
incident that transpired at the City Hall and reiterated her request
not to re-raffle her case to another prosecutor. After he refused, she
brought out an envelope and placed it on top of the newspaper and said:
"Sige na, Fiscal, tulungan mo na ako para hindi na mare-raffle pa yong
kaso ko. Para sa iyo yan, P5,000.00 ang laman niyan, bilanging mo." He
declined her offer and when he stood up and was about to leave, two
men, who introduced themselves as NBI agents, suddenly grabbed him. His
protestations proved futile as one of the agents asked him to sit down
while the other was searching his person. When he refused to open the
envelope and count the money inside, upon the orders of the agents, one
of them brought out the money and shuffled the same like game cards in
front of him. He asserts that Dr. Bumanlag framed him up because of
hatred and ill-will as evidenced by her accusation that he was bribed
by her adversaries.
"Prosecutor
Eufrocinio Sulla affirms respondent's averments about their luncheon
meeting at KFC on July 27, 1993. He, however, reveals that when he
arrived at the place after 12:00 p.m. he was not able to meet him.
"Socorro Samala, who is the
secretary of Prosecutor Marquez, confirmed that respondent's
instructions to her to remind Prosecutor Sulla of their lunch date on
July 27, 1993. She disclosed that when Dr. Bumanlag earlier asked her
where she (Bumanlag) could find Prosecutor Marquez, she informed her
that respondent would be at the KFC on July 27, 1993 at around 11:00
a.m. to meet Prosecutor Sulla."
After evaluating the evidence on record, the Secretary of Justice found Prosecutor Gregorio V. Marquez guilty of the administrative offense of grave misconduct and recommended the dismissal of respondent from the service with forfeiture of all the benefits under the law.
"Without
doubt, Prosecutor Gregorio V. Marquez miserably failed to controvert
the straightforward and unwavering accusation of Dr. Gloria Bumanlag
that he repeatedly demanded the amount of P5,000.00 from her in
exchange for a favorable resolution. It is highly insulting to one's
intelligence to believe (1) that his meeting with Dr. Bumanlag on July
27, 1993 at the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant was merely
coincidental; (2) that Dr. Bumanlag would offer him, right then and
there, the amount of P5,000.00 just to abate the re-assignment of her
case to another prosecutor; (3) that such offer would be made after she
allegedly bad-mouthed him a few day before; (4) that Dr. Bumanlag would
utilize the resources and personnel of the NBI to frame him up by just
depending on the raw information given by respondent's secretary
concerning his whereabouts that day; (5) that the NBI agents without
any Motive, would agree to take part on a scheme to frame him up when
the agents are presumed to have acted in the regular performance of
their official duty; and (6) that Dr. Bumanlag would concoct a story
against the respondent when she has no known penchant for
indiscriminately filing suits of whatever nature against any prosecutor
or government functionary.
xxx
"From the facts aforestated, . .the dubious character of the acts charged as well [as] the motivation
which induced respondent prosecutor to commit them were clearly
demonstrated. It is a patent manifestation of how he uses his office to
serve his nefarious ends, which, to our mind, is disgraceful misconduct
meriting administrative sanction."
After a review of the records of this case, this office concurs with the findings and recommendation of the Secretary of the Department of Justice.
In view of the foregoing, and as recommended by the Secretary of the Department of Justice, respondent Gregorio V. Marquez, Assistant City Prosecutor of Manila, is hereby DISMISSED from the service with forfeiture of all benefits under the law.
Done in the City of Manila, this 25th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and ninety-eight.
chan robles virtual law library
Back to Main
Since 19.07.98.