Palawan governor, Puerto Princesa mayor sued for graft at Ombudsman

Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez and Puerto Prinsesa City Mayor Lucilo Bayron have been sued at the Office of the Ombudsman due to their alleged irregular use of public funds that led to delays in the implementation of key projects.

In separate complaints filed at the Ombudsman for Luzon, complainant Mansueto Fuertes banked on the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) in its annual audit report for 2017.

Fuertes charged Alvarez with graft, technical malversation, grave misconduct, and serious dishonesty; while Bayron was accused of committing graft and grave misconduct.

Alvarez allegedly invested idle funds worth P1.7 billion in time deposits instead of utilizing the funds for its intended programs and projects due to delays in ongoing infrastructure projects.

Fuertes said using the funds for investment purposes violates the Local Government Code, which requirement local government units to ensure trust funds are maximized.

The complaint also questioned Alvarez's P2.5-billion loan from Land Bank of the Philippines, noting the provincial government only spent P1.8 billion but already paid P444.7 million in interest.

The loan was meant for Palawan's "take-out financing agreement," disaster management assistance fund, a cacao growing project, and the construction/rehabilitation of 10 government hospitals.

"Management failed to establish debt management policies which should have served as guidelines in the overall financial strategy of the province in view of loan acquisition and utilization," Fuertes said.

He added that Alvarez also violated the governemnt procurement law when he pushed for the implementation of Department of the Interior and Local Government's Konkreto at Ayos sa Lansangan at Daan Tungo sa Pangkalahatang Kaunlaran infrastructure program worth P147.9 million.

The respondents in the case also included Vice Governor Victorino Socrates and the 1st and 2nd District board members of Palawan.

'Ghost savings,' irregular purchases

Meanwhile, the complaint against Bayron stemmed from the P111 million worth of projects stemmed from "ghost savings" and invalid appropriations and irregularities in the procurement of 18 infrastructure projects amounting to P102 million.

Bayron and other city officials also allegedly implemented 28 projects worth P46.9 million, with P33 million representing excess contract costs.

Fuertes further flagged Bayron for his failure failure to implement 149 infrastructure projects with a total value of P741.3 million in 2017

Fuertes said the Puerto Prinsesa City Accountant, Treasurer, and Budget Officer failed to specify the projects were the funds will be spent, thus the P111 million was not deducted in the Registry of Appropriations.

"Public respondents should be indicted for their unlawful acts which are clearly established based on the COA findings conducted in the years 2013-2017 which recommended the filing of the appropriate actions," Fuertes said.

Fuertes urged the Ombudsman to preventively suspend Alvarez, Bayron, and other incumbent government officials pending the investigation of his complaint. — BM, GMA News