By Bohol Chronicle
Tagbilaran City mayor Dan Lim is facing another complaint before the office of the Ombudsman (Visayas) in connection with his order to cut-off electricity at the residences of a broadcaster and a radio technician of station dyRD.
Criminally and administratively held liable for the indiscriminate power disconnection were Mayor Lim and Teodoro Estoque, building official of the city government.
Jeremias "Jerry" Pabe, anchorman of dyRD's "Tagbilaran-By-Nite" and Gerardo "Gerry" Cajes, a radio technician filed the complaint last Friday citing the act of cutting their power connections as a violation of Sec. 3(e) of RA 3019 on Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Also included in the charge sheet were Engr. Eulogio Signe, Engr. Ray Grapa and Rotelo Lamdagan, Jr., all of Bohol Light Co. Inc. for conspiring with the mayor in the commission of the discriminatory power disconnection.
The mayor was charged for violation of Sec 3 of RA 3019 on corrupt practices of public officials which caused "undue injury to the party in the discharge of his official, administrative or judicial functions through evident bad faith."
The BLCI personnel were charged in their respective capacities having shown participation in the conspiracy, with the public respondents in deliberately depriving the broadcasters of their electric power service by arbitrarily and maliciously disconnecting the power service with no valid and legal reason.
It may be recalled that BLCI cut the power service at their residential houses after the mayor withdrew his warranty for Pabe and Cajes "due to conflict of interest."
The move of Mayor Lim drew massive indignation from the community.
During an interview with Cebu media after the filing of the complaint, Pabe said it was "plain and simple harassment" considering that he is connected with dyRD, the station which Mayor Lim has been attacking after the station continued in its series of exposes' of alleged anomalies at the city hall.
In denouncing the mayor's act, Cajes, for his part said he was an "innocent" victim of the on-going crusade of dyRD in exposing the mayor of his irregularities.
The public denounced Mayor Lim for such act viewed as part of his media harassment especially also that Pabe is running as an independent bet for city kagawad in the May polls.
It's already 19 days since the two residences were deprived of the basic benefits as the two households have no electricity.
In defending himself, the city mayor said he has the right to withdraw his warranty since Capitol Valley Subdivision Part II has no permanent connections before he assumed as guarantor for the residents to avail of the temporary electric service connections with BLCI.
But the complainants asked: where is the conflict of interest?
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Tagbilaran City is not Mayor Dan Lim nor Mayor Lim is not Tagbilaran," according to the complainants while strongly lambasting the mayor's act as oppression especially that of the 150 residential houses at the Capitol Valley only the two of them have their power lines disconnected upon orders of the mayor.
The city Mayor is facing a number of cases in the Ombudsman.
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