An operation spearheaded by the National Bureau of Investigation Intelligence Service (NBI-IntS) led to the arrest of San Simon, Pampanga Mayor Abundio “Jun” Punsalan Jr. and his cohort Ed Ryan Dimla in Clark, Angeles, for alleged extortion.
The bureau cited violations of Art. 293 of the Revised Penal Code (Robbery), Republic Act 3019 or the “Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,” and Sec. 28 of Republic Act 10591 or the “Illegal Possession of Firearms.”
The NBI-IntS on July 30 received a complaint from the Corporate Secretary and General Manager of RealSteel Corp. regarding a certain Eric Yabut, who represented himself as a San Simon municipality officer and had ordered the company to halt all construction and hauling activities.
Subsequently, the complainant was contacted by Dimla, who claimed to be the External City Administrator and a representative of Punsalan.
Dimla demanded a payment of P30 million to ensure the municipality’s non-interference in the implementation of Ordinance No. 24-0025, which provides tax incentives to Realsteel Corp.
Additionally, another P125 million was demanded as a reimbursement for political expenses supposedly incurred by Punsalan to counter his opponent’s political support.
An investigation revealed that Dimla threatened the complainant on separate occasions, saying that failure to pay would lead to denial, stalling or cancellation of their business permits and other regulatory requirements, as well as revocation of the ordinance granting them tax incentives..
The NBI-IntS planned an entrapment operation for August 5, after the complainant and Dimla agreed to meet in Clark to finalize the transaction.
Punsalan and Dimla were arrested in flagrante delicto (red-handed) as they received marked money during the payoff.
All subjests on August 6 were then presented for inquest proceedings before the Department of Justice – National Prosecution Service (DOJ-NPS) for the aforementioned charges.
