Four persons have been arrested for allegedly extorting P2 million from a construction company for a non-existent project of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BDCA).
Those arrested last March 27 in Mabalacat, Pampanga were identified by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) as Renato O. Mendiola Jr., Mark Jay Galang, Ayeh Grace N. Carreon, and Francis Elson.
The NBI said those arrested will be charged with extortion, estafa, forgery, and falsification of public documents.
In a statement, the NBI said its agents from the Anti-Fraud Division (NBI-AFD) conducted the operation based on the complaint filed by Teodoro Construction Company (TCC).
It said the suspects were caught in possession of P120,000 marked money and a P1.5-million check issued in the name of Mendiola.
“According to the Subjects, the cash was intended for the staff of Aileen Anunciacion R. Zosa, president and chief executive officer of BCDA, to defray the expenses of their outing activity in La Union,” the NBI said.
“On the other hand, the check will be given to Ms. Zosa as payment for the remaining balance of P2 million she allegedly demanded for her to sign the Notice of Award (NOA) in favor of TCC involving the construction of a nine-storey residential building at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, which turned out to be bogus,” it said.
Prior to the entrapment operation, the NBI-AFD inquired with the BCDA which issued a certification that “the NOAs involving river projects costing hundreds of millions, which the Subjects gave to the complainants to induce them to part with their money, are indeed non-existent and bear the forged signatures of Ms. Zosa.”