Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña wants Land Appraisal Division chief Engracio Lumangtad, who was caught allegedly accepting bribe money, suspended for six months.
Lumangtad was arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for allegedly demanding money from a lot owner from barangay Pit-os.
“He should immediately undergo preventive suspension… the standard is six months,” Osmeña told reporters.
When asked if Lumangtad would be terminated, Osmeña said, “termination. I’m almost sure he will be terminated. Of course he must undergo due process.”
Osmeña said he believes there are other corrupt employees and encouraged the public to report similar illegal activities so the city can act on it.
Lumangtad was arrested earlier during an entrapment operation by the NBI 7 for receiving money from Francisco Bontuyan, who was applying for a tax declaration for a parcel of land.
Bontuyan alleged that Lumangtad asked for P50,000 to process his application for a tax declaration for a land property in barangay Pit-os.
The 2,426-square-meter property belongs to Bontuyan’s mother. Bontuyan needed the tax declaration to support the issuance of a title.
Osmeña claimed that it was his office that requested for an entrapment and even his personal money was used in the operation.
He said the operation was part of the cleansing of the City Hall’s offices of illegal activities.
However, he admitted that while his administration is trying its best to clean up things, they may not be able to clean up everything “but making it less is good enough.”
In May last year, the NBI-7 also arrested employee Sandre Po during an entrapment operation for falsified City Hall documents.
Po was later terminated from his job for selling a fake Cebu City Tax clearance certificate, a tax declaration and two official receipts to an NBI 7 undercover agent.
OFF TO COURT
The Office of the Ombudsman Visayas has elevated to the Regional Trial Court the criminal case for direct bribery against Lumangtad.
Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Pelagio Apostol approved the filing of the case for violation of the Article 210 of the Revised Penal Code otherwise known as direct bribery, which paved the way for the suspect’s release after posting P20,000 bail for his temporary liberty.
Aside from the case that the Ombudsman has filed at the Regional Trial Court against Lumangtad, he is also facing charges for violations of the Republic Act 3019 otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and R.A. 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees before the anti-graft office.
ALLEGATIONS
Bontuyan said he had previously given P80,000 to Lumangtad in September for the issuance of tax declaration of the 796-squaremeter property of his mother in barangay Pit-os.
According to Bontuyan, he made personal follow-ups of his mother’s application because it has been pending since 2006. Lumangtad allegedly told him that the application will not be approved because the property applied for is being considered as a barangay road but offered that he can resolved the problem for P100,000.
Sometime in January, Bontuyan said his mother applied for a separate tax declaration of another lot also in barangay Pit-os.
Bontuyan said he and his daughter went to the Cebu City Hall to follow-up the application. However, when his daughter made the follow-up the later was allegedly told by Lumangtad that they already had an agreement with her father.
Bontuyan said he immediately confronted Lumangtad about it. The suspect again told him that it is difficult to process the application but he can fix everything for P50,000. Bontuyan said he came back to City Hall last February 11 to tell Lumangtad not to process the application anymore as he had not raised the amount demanded by him.
But, Lumangtad allegedly lowered the demand to P45,000 provided that he will make a down payment of one-half of the said amount claiming that other personnel in the office are already aware of it prompting him to seek the NBI assistance.—(/NLQ)