00:00San-Simon Mayor Abundio Ponsalan Jr. was arrested while allegedly receiving a 30 million peso payoff from a businessman.
00:08The bribe was reportedly part of a 130 million pesos extortion demand in exchange for not blocking a steel plant project.
00:15Our Isaiah Mirafuentes narrates the incident.
00:17In an entrapment operation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation or NDI,
00:30the mayor of San-Simon Pampanga, Abundio Jun Ponsalan Jr. was caught in the act while receiving money from a complainant who was deceived into shelling out 130 million pesos
00:42in exchange for not opposing the complainant's plan to put up a steel manufacturing plant in the area.
00:47130 million kasi ito daw ang nagastos ni mayor sa kanyang pagtakbo.
00:53Kasi nga meron daw kalaban si mayor na pinatakbo nitong company na to.
00:59So balik daw dapat sa kanila, ibalik daw nila yung 130 million.
01:04But the victim requested to lower it to 80 million and to be allowed to pay it in installments.
01:09The victim brought a marked money of 30 million pesos to a coffee shop in Clark, Pampanga.
01:14And it was there that the mayor was caught in the act.
01:17Bata! Bata! Bata! Bata!
01:24Nagulat nga kami lahat na siya mismo ang lumutang doon sa area para tumanggat ng pera.
01:30With the mayor was Ed Ryan Dimla, who claimed to be the external administrator of San-Simon Pampanga.
01:35Also arrested were the mayor's five armed bodyguards, who are now under NDA investigation and are possibly active military personnel.
01:43The mayor kept mum about the allegations against him.
01:47Sorry about to answer, kasi nasa korte na po yung kaso.
01:51Mga abogado ko na lang po ang masasagot.
01:54The NBA discovered that the mayor had previous cases on record.
01:58The agency is also verifying whether the firearms carried by his arrested bodyguards are licensed.
02:03Maganda ito, nasugpo namin, para yung mga investor natin huwag matakot dito sa ating bayan.
02:15Kailangan protection, protectional natin sila.
02:18Mayor Punselan, along with its accomplice Dimla, and his five bodyguards will face charges of robbery,
02:23violation of Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and illegal possession of firearms.
02:28Isaiah Mirafuentes, from the National TV Network, for a new and better Philippines.
