The barangay captain of Tinaan in Naga City, Cebu was arrested for the alleged use of a falsified BIR e-CAR form and deed of absolute sale while processing the transfer of a property under his name. | Photo from NBI-7
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The barangay captain of Tinaan in Naga City, Cebu was arrested on Friday, August 23, for the alleged use of a falsified BIR eCAR (certificate authorizing registration) and deed of absolute sale.
Barangay captain Edden Nocon, 42, was arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) after he allegedly submitted fake documents at the office of the Provincial Registry of Deeds located in Brgy. Guadalupe, Cebu City.
Lawyer Renan Augustus Oliva, the NBI-7 director, said that Nocon’s arrest will positively impact the bureau’s initiative and that of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to go after those who use falsified documents in government transactions.
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“The impact of this investigation and operation is very crucial. Because it involves [the] integrity of our Torrens system and the government’s effort in revenue collection. So the Department of Justice and the Department of Finance, which the BIR is under, will go after those engaged in this criminal activity to the fullest extent of the law,” Oliva said.
Oliva also disclosed that this was not the first time that Nocon was arrested for the same offense.
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He said that Nocon had previously been arrested for also using falsified documents, but he was released after posting bail.
In addition, Oliva said that Nocon is being investigated by the Department of Justice after two certificates of land titles involving the same property were found registered under his name. Both titles were printed by the Land Registration Authority.
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Still, Nocon never learned his lesson.
Entrapment
Personnel at the Provincial Registry of Deeds noticed that something was wrong with the eCAR, that confirms tax payments made for a particular property, and the deed of absolute sale that Nocon submitted in July this year.
They then coordinated with BIR-7 to check on the authenticity of the documents that Nocon presented to request for the transfer of the original certificate of land title of a 28,626 square meter property in Moalboal, Cebu under his name. The property is registered to his deceased mother.
After confirming that the documents were falsified, an entrapment operation was planned against him.
NBI-7 agents first arrested the two individuals whom he sent to visit the Provincial Registry of Deeds last August 23 to check on the status of Nocon’s application.
Both men executed an affidavit to point at the barangay captain as the one who sent them to do the follow up.
During the hot-pursuit operation, agents arrested Nocon in his residence in Brgy. Tinaan at about 11:30 a.m. on Friday.
Despite Nocon’s arrest, Oliva said that they will continue to investigate his case to determine if he was working with other individuals from the government or private sector.
Security features
Lawyer Jay Rozen Bartazan of the legal division of BIR-7 said that fake eCARs do not have security features.
He explained that the original forms have the word “Tunay” and other threads printed on it and these can only be seen under a black light.
The documents that Nocon presented to the Provincial Registry of Deed lacked security features, Bartazan said.
Nocon is currently detained at the NBI-7 detention facility.
On Tuesday, August 27, agents filed complaints for two counts of violation of Section 257 B, paragraph 8 of the National Internal Revenue Code and for the falsification of public documents against him.
In addition, they will also be filing administrative complaints against Nocon at the Office of the Ombudsman for grave misconduct and violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
Meanwhile, BIR-7 may also file additional charges against the barangay captain soon.