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Topacio denies former prosecutor's 'parking fee' allegation

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Adrian Ayalin, ABS-CBN News

MANILA - Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio on Thursday told the Office of the Ombudsman that the allegation made by former graft prosecutor Edna Batacan on “parking fees” allegedly paid to government investigators is false.Topacio said he attended an inquiry by the Field Investigation Office of the Office of the Ombudsman in compliance to a subpoena issued last August 2.The subpoena was issued both to Topacio and Batacan, who applied to be the Ombudsman, in connection with the “parking fee” issue raised by Batacan in her Judicial and Bar Council interview.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/06/20/18/watch-ex-duterte-lawyer-wants-to-become-ombudsman">WATCH: Ex-Duterte lawyer wants to become Ombudsman</a></li>	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/28/18/arroyo-counsel-opposes-batacans-bid-for-ombudsman">Arroyo counsel opposes Batacan&#x27;s bid for Ombudsman</a></li></ul>Batacan alleged that “parking fees” eventually lead to the dismissal of cases at the Sandiganbayan on inordinate delay grounds after being “parked” for a long time at the Ombudsman level.She also alleged that it even cost her P50,000 “just to get the status of a case.”Topacio alleged that it was Batacan who made money from “parking fees”, at least from an individual who was their common client. “Ang palagay ko it was just a ploy on the part of Atty. Batacan to secure that money from my client and to appropriate it for herself. At sabi ko nga eh maswerte si Atty. Batacan na siya’y hindi na-demanda ng estafa at siya’y pina-disbar ng aking kliyente,” Topacio said.Topacio earlier claimed before the JBC through a letter that Batacan earned an P8 million &quot;parking fee&quot; from their common client, but the case was filed anyway at the Sandiganbayan.Topacio also alleged that cases at the Ombudsman are almost always delayed due to various reasons and not because of “parking fees.”“At sabi ko hindi ako naniniwala, sapagkat ako dito mismo, dun sa parking fee, based on my experience as a lawyer, talaga po lamang matagal ang imbestigasyon ng Ombudsman, unang-una dahil sa dami ng dumudulog ng reklamo sa Ombudsman kontra sa kaunti lamang sila dito,” Topacio said.Topacio also said that since resolution of cases are delayed most of the time, there is reason to believe the scheme is common among lawyers who handle cases at the Office of the Ombudsman.“At may mga abogado na sinasamantala yun upang humingi ng parking fee, na alam nilang magtatagal ang kaso at sinasabi nila sa kanilang kliyente nila na dapat may parking fee para magtagal ang kaso,” Topacio said.Sought for comment, Batacan declined to issue any statement on the claims made by Topacio.

MANILA - Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio on Thursday told the Office of the Ombudsman that the allegation made by former graft prosecutor Edna Batacan on “parking fees” allegedly paid to government investigators is false.

MANILA - Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio on Thursday told the Office of the Ombudsman that the allegation made by former graft prosecutor Edna Batacan on “parking fees” allegedly paid to government investigators is false.

Topacio denies former prosecutor's 'parking fee' allegation

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Topacio denies former prosecutor's 'parking fee' allegation

Adrian Ayalin,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 16, 2018 09:56 PM PHT

Read More:

Ferdinand Topacio

Edna Batacan

Ombudsman

Office of the Ombudsman

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