Bribe charges denied

A woman allegedly facing 10 counts of estafa appeared Wednesday to explain her disappearance from the Mandaluyong City police station last March 25.

The suspect, Perlita Grace del Mundo Tintiangko, vehemently denied bribing four Mandaluyong City policemen in exchange for her freedom.

Tintiangko told Chief Inspector Jose Rayco, head of the local police investigation division, she was not shrinking from her financial obligations to the complainants led by Piorel Cariño and Magsaysay Garcia.

Both Cariño and Garcia claimed they sought the help of the Mandaluyong City police not to have Tintiangko jailed but to demand an answer from her why she was not able to hand over their US visa and other travel papers on the promised date.

In their statement, the victims claimed they paid Tintiangko last year for US visa and other travel documents. She allegedly went into hiding after the deadline she gave them for the delivery of the documents lapsed. "We never intended to cause the arrest and detention of Ms. Tintiangko, since the matters at issue could be settled through the submission of needed documents to us," said Cariño and Garcia in a two-page statement. – Non Alquitran