Ador swindles 6 in Baguio using cell phone ploy

BAGUIO CITY — Several people in this city claimed that military intelligence witness Angelo "Ador" Mawanay duped them of thousands of pesos by asking them to trade in their cellular phones for newer models.

"He (Ador) has the gall to appear on television," young journalist Ma. Elena Catajan said in disgust. She is one of six people allegedly given the slip by Mawanay in an aborted cell phone transaction last January.

Catajan said she was divested of P2,000, while a law student and a waiter were bilked the same amount by the witness who, during a Senate inquiry, claimed he delivered Nokia 3210 cell phones worth P8.9 million to Sen. Loren Legarda.

Mawanay was also said to have swindled P1,000 each from a young bank teller and a lady bartender, aside from running off with a Nokia cell phone model 6150 from a civil engineer.

The modus operandi of the chief witness against Sen. Panfilo Lacson on charges of criminal connections apparently also includes Mawanay’s children.

Conch Rillera, bartender of Cafe San Luis here, said she and her friend identified only as Rona met Mawanay on a Sunday evening when Mawanay’s children approached them asking for their cell phone numbers.

Mawanay introduced himself to Rillera and asked her if she wanted to trade in her Nokia 3310 for an 8210 by paying P1,000 up front, the bartender related. She said she did not believe Mawanay but he kept on texting her the following day.

Two days later, Mawanay came to the cafe again with his children and talked with the two women. Several others joined the conversation including journalist Pigeon Lobien.

Mawanay again made his pitch, and many agreed to the trade-in, including waiter Bobby Germino.

Germino, Catajan and a law student surnamed Rimando offered to pay P2,000 for a chance to own an 8210 Nokia cell phone.

Dennis Caluza, a civil engineer, agreed to trade his 6150 for an 8850, parting with his phone a day later and even signing a contract.

Mawanay then gave his "unsuspecting victims" his bank account number where his "clients" would deposit their payments. But since the phones were in Manila, he said he still had to fetch the goods but promised to be back the next day.

He even left his temporary driver’s license to prove he was not a swindler.

On a Friday evening at the cafe, they all waited for Mawanay who never showed up, the alleged victims said. They tried calling him by cell phone but there was no answer.

Mawanay’s explanation when they were finally able to reach him, was that one of his kids was shot and so he was unable to return to Baguio. It was the last they heard of him. — Artemio Dumlao