Aurora board member, staff arrested in Baler entrapment

A provincial board member representing the Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR) and his staff were arrested by police in an entrapment operation in Baler over an alleged irregularity involving transportation payments for the 2025 Indigenous Peoples Day.

Arrested were provincial board member Randy Salo and his staff, Ronalin Pasagian, who allegedly received P250,000 in cash during the operation.

CCTV footage obtained by Tigerborn showed a woman wearing pink approaching two men who were eating at a separate table inside a restaurant in Baler. The woman received a bundle of cash from one of the men before returning to the table where a man wearing red was seated.

The woman then appeared to count the money while other customers continued with their meals.

Unknown to the two suspects, however, some of the customers inside the restaurant were police operatives who had been deployed for the entrapment.

According to the Baler Municipal Police Station, the operation stemmed from a complaint involving alleged irregularities in the payment for transportation services used during the 2025 Indigenous Peoples Day.

Police said 64 vans were declared as transportation units at the provincial capitol under Salo, but only 11 vans were reportedly rented from a cooperative.

The discrepancy prompted authorities to investigate the alleged transaction, eventually leading to the entrapment operation.

The suspects were taken into police custody following the operation and are expected to face charges for alleged violations of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The arrest has reached the attention of Aurora Gov. Isidro “Sid” Pimentel Galban, who said corruption would not be tolerated in the provincial government.

Galban said government officials and employees should not use their names or positions to solicit money from contractors and suppliers or act as fixers in the processing of documents.

The two suspects declined to issue statements regarding the allegations against them.