By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan
MANILA – The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has arrested a person for using the name of the First Family in a swindling scheme involving government contracts.
In a press briefing held at Camp Crame on Friday, CIDG chief Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III identified the suspect as alias Simeon, 49, a resident of Doña Juana Subdivision, Barangay Rosario, Pasig City.
He was arrested Thursday afternoon at a hotel in Pasay City by virtue of a warrant of arrest for estafa issued by the Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 160 dated July 22, 2024.
According to Torre, the suspect was a former private employee of the First Family who now claims to be an “undersecretary” to dupe people into believing that he can actually influence the outcome of government procurement processes in exchange for an advance commission.
“Nagpapakilala na ‘Usec’ at naglalako ng mga sinasabing kontrata sa gobyerno at humihingi ng 3 to 5 percent of the contract price na commission, kickbacks. May mga tao na siyang nabiktima beforehand at yun ang mga nag-file ng complaint laban sa kanya (He introduces himself as a Usec to peddle government contracts and is asking for a 3-5 percent of the contract price as commission or kickback. He has victimized other persons beforehand, and they were the ones who file the complaints),” Torre said.
“Nakita niyo naman nung inaresto namin kagabi, nakabarong pang kagalang-galang. Naka-pinya barong pa sa isang five-star hotel. Definitely hindi ito-tolerate ng First Family, which is ang ginagamit niya ay ang First Family (As you can see, he looked respectable in piña barong when we arrested him last night. Definitely this is not tolerated by the First Family, which is his use of their name in his dealings),” he added.
Torre said the suspect, who has since posted a PHP90,000 bail, is also a subject of several complaints in the Office of the Special Envoy on Transnational Crimes (OSETC).
He urged other victims of the suspect to coordinate with the CIDG.
He also said the CIDG would be relentless in going after those involved in similar schemes.
“Yan ang gusto nating iparating na baka may mga umiikot pa diyan na naglalako ng ganyang kontrata and supposedly connection sa gobyerno, huwag nang magpaniwala. 100 percent hindi ‘yan ito-tolerate ng gobyerno (We want to warn the public that there may be other individuals using supposed connections to peddle government contracts, don’t believe them. The government won’t tolerate them,” Torre said. (PNA)
