DOJ probes gov't lawyer for alleged P2-M robbery

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an investigation against Masbate province’s assistant provincial prosecutor accused of robbing his former employer of P2 million.

Prosecutor General Claro A. Arellano, head of the DOJ's National Prosecution Service, said he has ordered the Internal Affairs Unit of the Regional Prosecution Office in Bicol to look into the robbery incident involving prosecutor Richard Lee.

Lee, formerly employed as company lawyer of Fortune Medicare Inc., is accused of forcibly taking P2 million from FortuneCare representatives during their meeting at the National Labor Relations Commission office in Quezon City.

Lee is now facing theft and robbery charges before the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office. He is also facing an administrative complaint for his alleged violation of the Code of Conduct for the Prosecution Service.

The government prosecutor is also facing a disbarment case for "conduct unbecoming of a lawyer."

"When we learned about the incident involving Prosecutor Lee, we immediately directed our Internal Affairs Unit Region 5 to conduct an investigation," Arellano said.

He said it was part of the existing procedure to refer the case to the Internal Affairs Unit in the Regional Prosecution Office Region 5 based in Legazpi City.