Author Topic: Ombudsman indicts Cebu Governor over Balili land deal  (Read 680 times)

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Ombudsman indicts Cebu Governor over Balili land deal
« on: November 24, 2017, 06:50:51 PM »
Ombudsman indicts Cebu Governor over Balili land deal
20 July 2012

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales ordered the filing of criminal Informations against Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia in connection with the controversial P98.9 million Balili land deal in 2008.

In a resolution with addendum signed on July 13, 2012, Ombudsman Morales found probable cause 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.  Ombudsman Morales also found probable cause to indict Garcia, Board Member Juan Bolo, Cebu Provincial Appraisal Committee (CPAC) members Anthony Sususco, Roy Salubre and Eulogio Pelayre, Provincial Budget Officer Emme Gingoyon, and private respondents Romeo Balili and Amparo Balili for violating Section 3(e) of RA 3019.

The criminal Informations were filed this afternoon with the Sandiganbayan.

The charges as against Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez, Jr. were dismissed on account of his death, while those as against Mariflor Vero, Pilar Yburan, Michelle Languido, Roger Dumayac, Victor Maambong, Julian Daan, Agnes Magpale, Jose Maria Gastardo, Wilfredo Caminero, Peter John Calderon, Joven Mondigo, Jr., Teresita Celes, Rosemarie Durano, Wenceslao Gakit, Alfred Francis Ouano and Bea Mercedes Calderon were dismissed for insufficiency of evidence.  The charges of plunder (Republic Act 7080) and violation of Section 3(a) of RA 3019 against the respondents were also dismissed for insufficiency of evidence.

The case stemmed from three separate complaints filed in 2010 by Manuel Manuel, Crisologo Saavedra, and the Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Office of Ombudsman Visayas on the alleged anomalous purchase by the Cebu provincial government of the Balili property in Naga, Cebu.

The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) dated April 21, 2008 covered eleven (11) parcels of land spanning 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, of which P98,926,800 was already paid by the Cebu provincial government.

Under the MOA, 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.”

The Resolution stated that the provincial government of Cebu “did not have any fund specifically appropriated for the said purpose” in its approved annual budget for 2008 embodied in Appropriation Ordinance No. 2007-15.

On Garcia’s use of the funds specifically appropriated for “Site Development and Housing Program,” the Resolution explained that the funds intended for “Site Development and Housing Program” contemplates furtherance of the province’s housing program, and that the declared purpose in the MOA definitely is not germane to this program.

The Resolution pointed out that the verification survey conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Visayas classified most of the Balili property as timberland and observed that 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 Resolution further stated that the concerted acts of (i) Bolo, in his 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); (ii) Sususco, Salubre and Pelayre, in deliberately omitting in the CPAC report the true status of the land and blatantly disregarding the documents submitted by the Technical Working Group; (iii) Garcia, in entering into the contract without no public fund available for the purchase; (iv) Gingoyon, in certifying the availability of funds despite the fact that no appropriation was available therefor and illegally disbursing the fund allotted for site development and housing program, all consequently gave Amparo Balili and Romeo Balili unwarranted benefits.

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