4 suspects arrested in annulment scam

Four targets were arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation - Cybercrime Division for allegedly offering to process late birth registration and annulment without a court appearance.

According to a "24 Oras" report by John Consulta on Tuesday, the suspects fell in two separate operations in Quezon City and Pasay City following complaints lodged by the Supreme Court about alleged lawyers and judges involved in said schemes.

“Yung mga nahuli natin nago-offer sila ng 100% legit annulment process, non-appearance. As long as you’re willing to pay P350,000, wala ka nang gagawin. Maghihintay ka nalang, ipro-process nila, ibabalik sayo ang document [at] tapos na," said NBI Cybercrime Division chief Jeremy Lotoc.

May pinapakita silang mga real docs galing sa court, nakasign talaga yung mga lawyers at judges. Mayroon silang pinapangalan talagang mga lawyers and judges na nasa likod nito, nagpapabayad at nagiging madali ang proseso,” he added.

(The suspects offered 100% legit annulment process, non-appearance. As long as you’re willing to pay P350,000, you won’t do anything else. You just have to wait, they will process it, give you back the documents [and] you’re done. They show you real documents from the court, signed by lawyers and judges. They named actual lawyers and judges behind this who accept payment and the process becomes easier)

“Alarming [ang late birth registrations] in the sense na based on our intelligence, may mga foreigners na gumagamit ng local mules. Ito yung magaapply ng late registration. Pag nakuha na nila yung documents, ang mag-utilize nito yung mga foreigners allegedly. Pwede ka na makakuha ng barangay clearance, municipal clearance, at the same time pwede na itong maging starting process. Halimbawa, kung gusto mo kumuha ng passport,” he added.

(It's alarming based on our intelligence, there were foreigners using local mules. This applies to the late registration. Once they get the documents, foreigners will allegedly utilize these. They can get barangay clearance, municipal clearance, at the same time this can become a starting process if the wanted, for example, to get a passport)

Meanwhile, one of the suspects expressed her regret for participating in the scheme.

“Ang sabi lang po magprovide ng requirements, sila ng bahala sa pagfile, pero di nila sinabi ang attorney na hahawak. Ang sabi po nila 100% dahil may pinopost sila sa PSA. Nagsisisi po ako na pinasok ko po ito,” the suspect said.

(They said they will provide the requirements and they will take care of the filing, but they never said that a lawyer will handle it. They only said 100% because they posted something to the PSA. I regret entering this line of work)

The suspects are currently detained at the NBI Detention Facility in Bilibid and face charges of Estafa in relation to Cybercrime and Computer-related Forgery.

In a statement, the Supreme Court expressed its gratitude for the operations that led to the suspects’ arrests.

“The Supreme Court expresses its gratitude to the NBI for promptly bringing the individuals behind these fraudulent schemes to justice. The Court is committed to taking proactive measures against such unlawful activities, which not only damage the reputation of the Judiciary but also harm the public that we are duty-bound to serve and protect,” the statement read.