Makati City Mayor Abby Binay on Tuesday, Jan. 31, aired her dismay after two city hall employees and their cohort were arrested by the city police operatives for alleged fixing activities.
The suspects were identified as Wilfreda de Leon, 59, working as an Administrative Assistant II; Merlin Balbuena, 46, an employee under the Makati Health Department's Sanitary Section; and Aisheen Mana-ay, 27.
Makati police chief Col. Edward Cutiyog said that his office received information from the city hall regarding illegal transaction activities of its employees under the Makati Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO).
Prior to the suspects’ arrest, an officer pretended to be a businesswoman who needed assistance in processing a business permit and contacted Mana-ay through text.
Mana-ay then told her that she would process the documents and asked the undercover officer to pay P500 for the processing. The suspect was arrested in the entrapment operation.
During interrogation, she revealed that she was instructed to receive the money for De Leon.
De Leon was then arrested in a follow-up operation at Makati City Hall Building 2.
Police recovered one P500 bill, 88 pieces of P1,000 entrapment money, three pieces of P500 boodle money, and a mobile tablet.
On the other hand, Balbuena was nabbed in a separate entrapment operation in front of a convenience store on J.P. Rizal Avenue after the police received information regarding fixers lurking outside the Makati City Hall Building 2.
Balbuena allegedly asked for P600 in exchange for faster issuance of a health certificate.
Cutiyog said the authorities seized one P1,000 bill, 49 pieces of P1,000 boodle money, and 41 accomplished health certificates.
The suspects are facing charges for violation of Republic Act 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.
Aside from the criminal charges, De Leon, who is a regular employee of the city government, will no longer receive her benefits.
Binay then urged residents and business owners to report any illegal activities to the local police for proper investigation.
"The city government will not tolerate fixers. We will continue to aggressively implement our anti-red tape initiatives to ensure that all transactions with the government are done in a transparent and fair manner," Binay said.
"We will continue to pursue these operations to ensure that our citizens receive the services that they need without having to go through the hassle of dealing with fixers," she added.