Ombud drops dishonesty complaint

THE Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas has junked the administrative charge against Cebu City Assistant Prosecutor Oscar Capacio, who was accused of receiving a P200 bribe from a Canadian tourist for notarial services in 2010.

Graft Investigator Katherine Genovesa dismissed for lack of evidence the dishonesty complaint that the late John Pope filed against Capacio.

Pope, who introduced himself as a retired journalist, filed before the anti-graft office the complaint accusing Capacio of misconduct.

Last January, Pope shot dead a doctor and his lawyer, before shooting and wounding a government prosecutor inside the justice palace. He ended up shooting himself in the head after being immobilized by policemen.

Pope, in his complaint, accused Capacio of “inappropriate and corrupt acts.”

Pope said he went to Capacio’s office on Sept. 17, 2010 to have his two-page counter-affidavit notarized.

Misunderstanding

Pope said he asked how much it cost. After handing over P200 to Capacio, the complainant said the prosecutor put the money on his desk, but did not him issue him a receipt.

Capacio denied the charges, saying Pope might have misunderstood his gesture.

Capacio, in his counter-affidavit, said he received a call from his daughter while Pope was asking him how much the notarization cost.

“Since I was busy at the phone, I started waving my palms, gesturing that there is no charge for the notarial service. It was then that he immediately left,” said Capacio.

He said he was later surprised to find P200 on his desk.

Capacio said he waited for the Canadian national to return to claim his money, but the latter didn’t.

Capacio decided to keep the money, believing it was given “out of gratitude and voluntariness.”

He also said the Department of Justice has been imposing notarial fees to be paid at the city prosecutor’s cashier.

Capacio said the filing of the complaint was meant to harass him, adding that Pope was fond of suing people to annoy them.

In t he decision, Genovesa pointed out that Pope’s allegation is “far from sufficient proof for this office to rule in his favor.”