QC prosecutor faces graft, extortion raps before Sandiganbayan

MANILA, Philippines - The Quezon City prosecutor caught accepting bribe in an entrapment operation is now facing bribery and graft charges before the Sandiganbayan.

The Office of the Ombudsman filed the criminal charges against Quezon City Assistant Prosecutor II Raul Desembrana before the anti-graft court.

The National Bureau of Investigation arrested Desembrana last Friday during a sting operation inside a restaurant in Quezon City Memorial Circle. Desembrana demanded P80,000 as "standard operating procedure" from a certain Dr. Alex Montes in exchange for the dismissal of a complaint filed against the doctor. 

In a resolution, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said "as Assistant City Prosecutor of the Department of Justice, respondent is duty bound to decide or resolve all cases assigned to him based on the merits."

Lawyer Edre Olalia, one of the legal counsels of Montes, said Desembrana also asked them to draft a resolution dismissing the case against the doctor.

"He (Desembrana) will just sign the resolution then receive the money. He is corrupt and lazy," Olalia said.