Punchline
Who’s afraid of the Ombudsman?
HERE are two recent interesting news items that should interest all mayors, particularly Dagupan Mayor Benjie Lim, his new set of onor-onors in the sanggunian, department heads and the private individuals who knowingly collaborated or will collaborate to defraud the city.
News: 1) Ombudsman files graft charges against ex-Gov. Cerilles, 6 others for direct purchase of overpriced medical supplies. 2) Ombudsman indicts Cebu Gov. over Balili land deal.
The circumstances in both cases are no doubt familiar to town and city mayors but it is how the Ombudsman decided on the cases that’s worth remembering.
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ZAMBO DEL SUR CASE. Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales ordered the filing of cases against former Zamboanga del Sur Governor, now Representative, Aurora Cerilles and six others for the anomalous purchase of medical supplies in 2001 for violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019).
Also charged were members of the province’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) and representatives of the company that bagged the supplies contract. The case stemmed from the purchase of various hospital supplies
The Ombudsman determined that “the items procured were very common that do not require a brand name in order to purchase the same from exclusive distributors, and that had the procurement been made through public bidding the province could have saved more than P1,204,755 since there will be competition of prices among many prospective suppliers.”
Back in Dagupan City, recall that in 2010, Mayor Lim purchased grocery items from a Ms. Helen N. Almonte and a Ms. Lynn N. Magno of Jurick General Merchandise for its touted feeding program for children. Unlike in the Zambo case, there was a bidding but the city’s BAC members (City Administrator Vlad Mata,Virgil Tangco, Eduardo Magno, Atty. Roy Laforteza and Engr. Nestor de Vera) chose to do business with suppliers that offered the highest bids for noodles, milk, etc., for obvious reasons.
I am certain the Ombudsman would have no difficulty arriving at a similar resolution in the case of Dagupan’s overpriced food items.
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CEBU CASE. In the second case, the Ombudsman ordered the filing of criminal information against Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia in connection with the controversial P98.9 million Balili land deal in 2008. Dagupan has its Awai land deal but that’s getting ahead of the story.
A probable cause was found to indict Garcia for violating Section 3(g) of Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), and for technical malversation punishable under Article 220 of the Revised Penal Code. Also indicted were a board member, the members of the Cebu Provincial Appraisal Committee and two private respondents for violating Section 3(e) of RA 3019.
The case stemmed from complaints filed in 2010 for the alleged anomalous purchase by the Cebu provincial government of the Balili property in Naga, Cebu.
The memorandum of agreement dated April 21, 2008 for the purchase covered a total area of 249,246 square meters, with the purchase price pegged at P400 per square meter or a total sum of P99,698,400.
The purchase was for the purpose of providing a “good opportunity for the Province of Cebu to develop and cater to the needs of any interested investors” yet the provincial government of Cebu “did not have any fund specifically appropriated for the said purpose” in its approved annual budget for 2008 and, worse, the Balili property was determined “as timberland and a large portion thereof (about 196,696 square meters) were submerged in seawater, hence cannot be used for the purposes for which they were acquired. “
The Ombudsman noted “the unusual interest in all stages of the transaction (i.e., sponsorship of Resolutions authorizing Garcia to enter into a MOA, preparation of the Deed of Sale, facilitation of the payment of the purchase price)” and the deliberate omission of the CPAC on the true status of the land even as the governor entered into the contract without public fund available for the purchase.
In the Awai land deal of Mayor Lim with Mr. Jose Mariano Cuña, backed by onor-onors in 2001, the city paid P16 M (overpriced by P9 M) for the 30-hectare Awai farm ostensibly for a sanitary landfill yet the city never received the title for it. (Today, Mr. Lim and his nine onor-onors in the sanggunian are not even considering suing Mr. Cuña for breach of contract, and neither are they inclined to ask him to refund the city).
The liability of Mr. Lim and key city officials in that deal are already much too obvious to be overlooked. The criminal liabilities of Mr. Cuña who failed to deliver the title after being paid, the members of the appraisal committee who covered up the CARP jurisdiction over the farm, the department heads that authorized the payments and the councilors who endorsed the sale after hiding the true status of the Awai land as being covered by CARP, are also evident in official documents.
If Mr. Lim and cohorts think they can continue to hide their criminal acts that led not only to the city’s loss of P16 M, but the worsening of garbage crisis in the city, the Ombudsman has something else coming to them. I can only hope that Mr. Cuña and the corrupt city officials who gained from the Awai land deal had thoroughly enjoyed their illegally obtained profits because once the long arm of the law finally collars them (courtesy of the Ombudsman), at least they wouldn’t have regrets ending up in jail together.
Who’s afraid of the Ombudsman?
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DAYS OF INFAMY. How the MC Adore and Calasiao land deals will be consummated will also be worth watching. As of today, the administrative liability of the Judas 9, giving Mr. Lim the blanket authority to sell the properties without going through the legal process, has already been established.
Another is the demand of Mayor Lim to be paid P11 M for the completed construction of the Daongan ed Dawel that did not go through bidding. (Attention City Auditor Ofelia Celi).
The days of shame and infamy in Dagupan will be the days when highly respected family names like Reyna, Manaois, Coquia, Samson, Canto, Erfe-Mejia, Gonzales, Vallejos are listed in an indictment for violating R.A. 3019 for these and other kickback ventures with the mayor (courtesy of the new rules of the city council drafted by Onor-onor Brian, the mayor’s son).
Bansag ya kababaengan naray respetadon pamilyan Dagupeños!
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P2.08 M HOSPITAL BED. The city hall trumpeted its plan to start the construction of the P50 M tertiary I level, 24-hospital bed hospital, on the land occupied by the Teofilo Guadiz Elementary School.
For reasons known only to the mayor and the Judas 9 in the city council, the scandalously overpriced unnecessary project will start even with the city’s only P10 M budget and another P10 M supposedly from Senator TG Guingona, the rest to follow.
Speaking of Sen. TG, I am certain he will promptly withdraw his commitment if he finds out about the racketeering that will accompany the project. One Dagupeño will see to it that the uncompromising, anti-corruption advocate senator gets a full briefing on the circumstances surrounding the P2.08 M that the city will spend for one hospital bed! Then other potential donors will follow suit if told of the racket as well.
If the project proceeds, I can only wonder who else will be dragged to the Bilibid prison. All the Judas 9 again? The BAC members? City department heads?
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