Alleged fake lawyer nabbed after former client files complaint

Authorities arrested a man who allegedly pretended to be a lawyer after his former client complained to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

In Mark Salazar’s 24 report on Tuesday, the NBI Anti-Organized and Transnational Crime Division (OTCD) arrested the man in a courtroom.

According to the NBI, the man has been pretending to be a lawyer for a long time and has accumulated many clients.

“In fact, kilala nga siya ng mga security doon sa Hall of Justice kanina. Nung ininquest siya kilala siya doon kasi nag aappear siya doon nagpapakilala siyang abogado,” said NBI-OTCD chief Jerome Bomediano.

(In fact, the security guards in the Hall of Justice know him when he underwent an inquest since he goes there and introduces himself as a lawyer.)

“Nag issue si Supreme Court ng certification na yung ginagamit nyang roll number nakapangalan yun sa ibang tao,” Bomodiano said.

(The Supreme Court issued a certification that the man’s roll number is named after a different lawyer.)

The NBI said the name that the man is using is different from his government IDs.

"Ginagamit nya 1954 bar passer pa. Napakatagal na noon at patay na yung abogado na yun. Pag hiningian mo siya ng any ID at certification na talagang lawyer siya wala siyang maipakita," Bomediano said.

(He is using a 1954 bar passer’s number who has already passed away. He has nothing to show you if you ask him for any ID or certification of being a lawyer.)

“Since 1994, I am religiously in practice then comes the 2000 EO (Executive Order), the computerization in all courts. There is human error during the computerization,” the suspect claimed.

Bomediano said there are implications to the cases that the suspect handled if the court proves that he is a fake lawyer.

“Yun ang subject ng follow up investigation natin i-checheck natin kung anu anong cases na nag appear siya,” Bomediano.

(We are checking the cases he handled in our follow-up investigation.)

The suspect said he will get another lawyer to handle his case. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News