Abby warns fixers after 3 arrested

Two Makati City government employees were among the three persons arrested in en entrapment operation against fixing initiated by the local government unit, Mayor Abby Binay said yesterday.

“The city government will not tolerate fixers. We will continue to aggressively implement our anti-red tape initiatives to ensure that all transactions with the government are done in a transparent and fair manner,” she said.

The suspects, identified as Aisheen Mana-ay, 27, Wilfreda de Leon, 59, and Merlin Balbuena, 46, were apprehended in Barangay Poblacion on Monday.

De Leon works as an Administrative Assistant II (regular status), while Balbuena is under the Makati Health Department’s Sanitary Section (casual status). Mana-ay works for a private establishment.

The mayor said De Leon will no longer receive her benefits following her arrest.

Makati police chief P/Col. Edward Cutiyog said his office received information regarding the illegal transaction activities of some city hall employees under the Makati Business Permits and Licensing Office or BPLO.

One of the police officers pretended to be a businesswoman who needed assistance in processing a business permit and contacted Mana-ay through text messages.

In a short exchange of messages, Mana-ay claimed that she would process the documents and asked the undercover police officer to pay P500.

The suspect was arrested in an entrapment operation, and upon interrogation, Mana-ay said that she was instructed to receive the money for De Leon, who was arrested in a follow-up operation at Makati City Hall Building 2.