Counter -affidavit-gigi Nako.docx

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES Department of Justice OFFICE OF THE CITY PROSECUTOR ZAMBOANGA JULIA SANTOS, Complainant,

I.S. NO. _____

-versus -

-for-

CARLOS SANTOS and GIGI NAKO, Respondent. x ----------------------------------------------------- x

CONCUBINAGE

COUNTER – AFFIDAVIT

I, GIGI NAKO, of legal age, Filipino, Single, and a resident of Garden Eden Road, Naga, Bicol, Philippines, after having been duly sworn to in accordance with law, do hereby DEPOSE and STATE: 1. That I am one of the Co-Respondents in the above-entitled case; 2. That I received the subpoena on September 06, 2018 from the Honorable office, requiring me to submit my counter-affidavit and other supporting documents on a Complaint files by one JULIA SANTOS for Concubinage against me and CARLOS SANTOS; 3. That upon the receipt of the afore-stated subpoena, Respondents were given 10 (ten) days to submit said documents. Hence, the foregoing is timely filed; 4. That Respondent hereby admits the foregoing narration of facts in the said Complaint-Affidavit to wit: a. That I am from Naga, Bicol as stated in my resume, the same resume I submitted to the complainant. b. That I am a high school graduate but has been exposed with administrative work inclined more to secretariat functions; c. That despite my educational qualification and out of pity with my financial issues, I was employed by co-respondent as a freelance Secretary on November 13, 2017 in their Naga office; d. That upon termination of contract, co-respondent employed me as a household maid on April 2018 in their home at Zamboanga City; e. That as a household maid my usual chores was washing the dishes, clean, sweep, laundry and other chores given to me by the complainant;

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f. That because I felt homesick, I requested to go home for a while and went with the co-respondent to his trip back to Bicol to finish his job on May 6, 2018; g. That complainant saw me and the co-respondent inside my room on July 19, 2018 at around 1:00am; h. That on the same day, complainant drove me and the co-respondent out of the house. 5. That Respondent vehemently and categorically denies particular allegations in the complaint for being baseless and unfounded and that Respondent hereby submits the true and actual statement of facts, as follows: a. That I and co-respondent CARLOS SANTOS have not been in any illicit relationship other than that of an employer and employee; b. That I was hired by CARLOS SANTOS as freelance secretary, with the help of GIAN DINI, my common law partner of 5 years, who happen to be the co- respondent’s childhood friend way back high school; (See attached Contract) c. That during the course of my work as a freelance secretary, I assisted the co-respondent in the application and follow-ups of various permits needed in the construction particularly the building permit, which necessarily includes transactions with various government agencies in Bicol. Co-respondent entrusted me with the work, as I am familiar with the place and I diligently delivered my services in debt of gratitude for the work opportunity; d. That the dedication and loyalty shown by I and GIAN DINI’S to the corespondent, was reciprocated with confidence and trust which had caused the envy of our co-workers particularly Matthew whom Gian is directly reporting to. e. That I was confronted by Matthew early January 2018 , who then sits as OIC in view of the co-respondents leave of absence for the Christmas Holidays in Zamboanga City, questioning my poor qualifications as a freelance Secretary and that I better find another job that fits me or else he will cause me trouble; f. That upon completion of the building permit early February 2018, Matthew hinted that my services may not be needed anymore, this had caused me much worry which had prompted GIAN to call corespondent seeking recommendation for another work that I can do since we needed the money for our planned wedding and a construction of house besides my parents’ house where we both currently live; g. That I was informed by the co-respondent early April 2018 that my contract as freelance secretary will be terminated. Right upon hearing the sad news, I immediately felt devastated and immediately went to the comfort room to cry my heart out without letting co-respondent finish what he was saying, hence, co-respondent followed me and told me that everything was already arranged, I will be living for Zamboanga City to work as a household maid to his wife, JULIA SANTOS; 2

h. That upon hearing the co-respondents’ good news and while he was handing me a piece of paper which appeared to be a plane ticket to Zamboanga City, I leaped with joy and automatically hugged and kissed the co-respondent on the cheek, which left him baffled, hence, I apologized for my behavior; i. That co-respondent brought me in their conjugal dwelling, and was introduced to the complainant whom I closely work with since respondent is always away; j. That I haven’t had frequent interactions with the people around to create friends in a short period of time much less open up my personal life to anyone; k. That around 12:30am on July 20, 2018, I was attacked with severe pain in my tummy that I did not know what to do, hence, I’ve been to and from my room and the adjacent kitchen trying to think of any available remedies to lessen the pain; l. That while trying to pacify the pain I couldn’t contain but weep as the pain is intolerable, and while doing so I heard someone in the kitchen at around 1:00am, where it was followed with a knock on my door and words from the respondent saying, “Gigi, okay ka lang ba?” m. That as the owner of the house who is responsible for the staff’s wellbeing, I let co-respondent come into my room since my door is unlocked and reported my dilemma while I writhe in pain while pressing my stomach; n. That upon co-respondents sight of my condition, he asked me about what I ate, but I inform him that I hadn’t eaten anything since dinner due to my lost appetite and the uneasy feeling in my stomach that had caused me to vomit, hence, he asked me as to which part of my stomach is in pain, which I could not be certain, hence, he asked me to lay down as he tried to press different parts of my stomach, he informed me that my stomach was hard and that when he reached the bottom right part of my stomach, I felt an excruciating pain and cried out more which alarmed the co-respondent and he then advised me to immediately go to the hospital for check-up; o. That during that moment, to my surprise, before co-respondent was able to stand up from his position, complainant stormed in the ajar door, shouted at us who was blindly lash on as and drove us away from the dwelling, I was perplexed and in pain, hence, I wasn’t able to ask further and explain; p. That the co-respondent immediately brought me to the nearby hospital where I was diagnosed of Raptured Appendix thereby after a few tests, I submitted myself for an operation to remove my appendix.

6. That in the view of the foregoing, it is respectfully submitted that the Complaint failed to establish the elements of the crime of Concubinage under Article 334 of the Revised Penal Code which provides that “Any husband who shall keep a mistress in the conjugal dwelling, or shall have sexual intercourse, under scandalous circumstances, with another woman who is not his wife or 3

cohabiting with her in any other place xxx..” is guilty of Concubinage. Be it noted that nowhere in the complaint alleged any of the foregoing elements specifically on having a mistress, cohabiting with another or having sexual intercourse with another; 7. That since the Complaint is based on mere surmises and conjectures elicited on unfounded allegations, the Complaint failed to present evidence that would prove the existence of Concubinage imputed upon the Respondent, and hence, the same shall not be prosecuted. 8. That Respondent executes the foregoing affidavit in order to rebut, refute, and denied all the baseless accusations contained in the Complaint, and in order to cause the outright dismissal of the same for utter lack of merit.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature on this 7th day September 2018, in Zamboanga City, Philippines.

GIGI NAKO Co- Respondent – Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me this 7th day of September, 2018 in Zamboanga City, Philippines.

________________________ Assistant City Prosecutor

CERTIFICATION I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT I have personally examined the affiant and I am satisfied that she personally executed and understood her Counter- Affidavit.

________________________ Assistant City Prosecutor

Doc. No.: _____ Page No.: _____ Book No.: _____ Series of 2018

Copy Furnished: JULIA SANTOS Woodrige, Lunzuran Zamboanga City

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