5 nabbed for alleged extortion from El Shaddai-backed party-list

Five persons who claimed they were from the Office of the President were arrested on Thursday for allegedly extorting P10 million from the El Shaddai-backed Buhay party-list to ensure its win in the May 10 polls, a GMA News report said. Operatives from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) nabbed two men and three women in an entrapment operation at a hotel in Manila on Thursday for their alleged involvement in a scam to extort money from party-list groups, GMA News’ Emil Sumangil reported.
The NBI later identified the suspects as Joel Pelo, Wenceslao Malino, Mary Anne Fujiwara, Maria Elizabeth Pabalan, and Fudenciana Malinao. The five were arrested after Buhay party-list complained of an alleged attempt to affect the results of the party-list race by paying millions to the reported scammers. “They said they can do everything to assure our win… They asked for a certain amount of money," Buhay spokesperson Bong Arriola said in Filipino in a television interview. Arriola said the five alleged extortionists claimed they had influential connections within the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Malacañang. “They said they were with provincial election supervisors in Manila to extend some ‘help’ for us," he added. The Palace, through deputy spokesperson Gary Olivar, however said in the report that Malacañang has never heard of the five persons before. The NBI is currently set to file criminal charges against the suspects before the city prosecutor’s office.—Andreo C. Calonzo/JV, GMANews.TV