CEBU, Philippines - Three women who were allegedly engaged in falsification of land titles and documents were arrested in an entrapment operation set up Tuesday by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG-7) in one of the malls in Cebu City.
Arrested were Jessica Vasquez, 48, of Minglanilla town; Rosita Villahermosa, 42; and Amme Sacil, 40, of Capitol Site, Cebu City.
Ruth Burden, a registered nurse, of Pelaez Street, Cebu City, and involved in the lending business, in her affidavit, claimed she met Villahermosa last May through a friend.
Villahermosa reportedly borrowed P75,000 from Burden to pay for the tuition of her children.
Last August, Villahermosa introduced Burden to Sacil, who at the time introduced herself as Leona Ravago.
Sacil offered Burden land titles which were in her (Ravago’s) name for P120,000.
Burden then went to the office of Register of Deeds to verify the authenticity of the two land titles. She found out these were fake.
Burden then sought help from the CIDG-7 that then arranged an entrapment operation.
The arrest was made when Villahermosa and Sacil demanded for the release of the balance of their loans.
The CIDG-7 used pieces of paper with a genuine P500 bill on top as the bait.
After the arrest, Villahermosa and Sacil cooperated with the operatives that led to the arrest of Vasquez who was waiting at a nearby restaurant.
The women are now detained at the CIDG-7 stockade.
Criminal charges against them were filed yesterday in the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office. (FREEMAN)