‘FIX-CALL’ ON THE RUN

Janitor who allegedly dispensed ‘legal advice’ for a fee at the Palace of Justice to face trial for estafa

He goes in and out of the Palace of Justice and  is a familiar face to judges, prosecutors, lawyers, litigants and court staffers.

His work has enabled him to watch up close how members of the Bar cross swords in open court and has apparently become familiar with the twists and turns in the legal labyrinth.
But Rustom Lapiña, a janitor at the Office of the Regional State Prosecutor, has taken his on-the-job immersion in the legal circles to another level. He allegedly started to introduce himself as a “fiscal” who could walk a litigant through the back door for a fee.

Lapiña is now at large after a complaint for estafa filed by a couple whom he allegedly conned was elevated for trial before the Cebu City Regional Trial Court last Thursday.
The Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas, which conducted a preliminary investigation on the case, found sufficient evidence to elevate the charges against  Lapiña before the court.

Bail was recommended at P10,000.

In her ruling, graft investigation and prosecution officer Eleanor Tayad-De Mira said Lapiña had the intention to deceive spouses Adelaido and Lolita Genon by falsely representing himself as a prosecutor.

“The bare denial of the accused cannot overcome the positive assertions of spouses Genons who appear to have no ulterior motive of executing an affidavit against respondent, as in fact, they even risk themselves to be subjected to a possible prosecution of a criminal case,” De Mira said.

Lapiña was a utility worker at the Office of the Regional State Prosecutor (ORSP) when he was accused by the Genons of demanding money from them to fix a rape case filed against their son.

Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane, in a phone interview yesterday, said he ordered the transfer of the accused to the Carcar City Prosecutors’ Office after the controversy broke out in 2009.

“I requested a prosecutor to conduct a fact-finding investigation about the issue. We endorsed the result of the probe to the Ombudsman-Visayas. Since then, I didn’t have any feedback about the case,” Gubalane told CDN.

He said he has yet to receive a copy of the resolution from the anti-graft office.

As a utility worker, Gubalane said Lapiña was tasked to clean the offices of the ORSP. At times, he gets assigned to drive the prosecutors and/or their staffers around.

In their affidavit, the Genons said they went to the house of a certain Torting Baruman on Jan. 9, 2009 to look for her elder brother.
They said Baruman asked them about their son’s rape case and told them that an arrest warrant was already issued by the court,

The couple said they didn’t have an idea about the case. Baruman allegedly told them that it was very easy to settle a case.

The Genons said Baruman told them that he knows a certain fiscal named Rustom Lapiña, who was assigned at the Palace of Justice and that they just have to prepare P1,500 so the records of the case will be pulled out and destroyed. The spouses said they even gave Baruman P500 since they felt elated with the information.

On Jan. 11, 2009, Lolita Genon and Baruman went to Lapiña who allegedly got P1,500 from her.

They met again after four days outside the Palace of Justice. Lapiña allegedly told them that they need to look for a lawyer so they can file a counter-affidavit to refute the allegations against their son. Lapiña allegedly asked them to pay P3,000 for his “legal advice”.

The couple managed to unmask Lapiña after they went to the Palace of Justice to look for him and discovered that  Lapiña’s name was not included in the national prosecution service’s roster of members.

The couple then sought the help of Assistant City Prosecutor Aida Sanchez and decided to file a complaint against  Lapiña. The Genons claimed to have given to Lapiña a total of P7,200.
In his counter-affidavit, Lapiña denied the accusations, saying that he just gave the couple legal advice on what to do with their son’s case.