IDENTITY THEFT. Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Emmanuel Piñol (left) appears before the Davao City Fiscal Shahruddin Roberto Sencio Jr. (center) along with his lawyer, Israelito Torreon, to respond to a swindling complaint on Thursday (January 2). Piñol, who denies the charge, says he will also file a counter-charge against the complainant, Renato Castro of Bulacan. (Photo courtesy of Secretary Emmanuel Piñol's Facebook Page)
DAVAO CITY -- Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Emmanuel Piñol on Thursday responded to an allegation of a certain Renato Castro of Bulacan who accused him of swindling.
In his Facebook post on Thursday, Piñol said he appeared before Davao City Fiscal Shahruddin Roberto Sencio, Jr., along with his legal counsel, lawyer Israelito Torreon, to submit his answer to a claim that he swindled Castro of PHP100,000 last year.
"I have asked my lawyer to also prepare a counter-charge for the hassle and inconvenience this Castro has inflicted on me," he said.
In a complaint before the Bulacan Prosecutor's Office, Castro alleged that a certain "Emmanuel Piñol" who claimed that he was working for Senator Ronald dela Rosa asked him to shell out PHP1 million in exchange for a certain project.
The amount was later reduced to PHP100,000, which Castro alleged, was sent to a money remittance in Cebu City and claimed by a person who presented an ID card of "Emmanuel Piñol."
When the promised transaction did not materialize, Castro went to Assistant Prosecutor Ralph David So of Bulacan and accused "Emmanuel Piñol" of swindling.
"Prosecutor So filed the information accusing ‘Emmanuel Piñol’ of swindling and mailed a copy of the complaint and an order for me to respond.
It was initially sent to Cebu and later forwarded to my hometown, Mlang, Cotabato," he said.
He also added that the alleged swindling happened during his stint as the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
"Is it possible for a Cabinet Secretary to swindle money worth PHP100,000 from a person whom he barely knows?" Piñol said.
He also said Castro submitted a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showing the person who claimed to be Emmanuel Piñol withdrawing the money in Cebu.
"I am not the one who is in the CCTV withdrawing the money and yet the prosecutor proceeded in filing the information against me. It prompted me to call my lawyer because I might go to jail and the case is non-bailable," he added.
Following the incident, Piñol recounted several instances where his name was dragged to swindling activities.
He said somebody used his name asking a DA official for a PHP15,000 worth of phone card loads while a man who mimicked his voice also managed to convince a top DA official to give him the list of construction companies who bought bid documents for a certain project.
"The list was given and in less than 30 minutes, (and) a construction company called to say that they have sent PHP100,000 to a man who said he was Secretary Piñol," he added. (PNA)
