AN airport personnel’s bid to contest his indictment was denied by the Office of the Ombudsman.
On June 30, 2016, Albert Payusan Barliso, former acting customs examiner assigned at the Mactan Cebu International Airport, was indicted after the anti-graft office found cause to charge him with qualified theft and violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The charge stemmed from an incident in 2015, where Barliso allegedly stole the 159,000 Japanese Yen (equivalent to P59,402) from Japanese lawyer Yasumasa Takahashi on April 4, 2015.
In his complaint filed with the National Bureau of Investigation on July 10, 2015, Takahashi recounted that upon his arrival at MCIA, Barliso inspected his handbag.
Upon seeing a white envelope containing money inside the foreigner’s handbag, Barliso allegedly invited Takahashi to the BOC Exclusion Room.
According to Takahashi, Barliso counted the money, amounting to 1 million yen, placed it back inside the envelope, and handed it back to him.
However, when he counted it, the 59,000 yen was already missing, Takahashi alleged.