Pelaez scoffs at latest issue against him at Ombudsman

Self-styled anti-graft crusader and Mactan Island Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Efrain Pelaez has accused Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza of harassing him, this time using the family of a former mayor.

Pelaez was referring to the complaint filed by city administrator Teodulo Ybanez before the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas asking that Pelaez be investigated based on the affidavits of former first lady Paz Weigle and her son Mark Steven admitting that the late mayor Ernest Weigle Jr. had dealings with the businessman.

Pelaez claimed that the complaint was another strategy of Radaza to discredit him.

According to him, the accusations contained in the affidavits of the Weigles are nothing new. In fact, he said this has been repeated over and over again to harass him.

Pelaez said his alleged dealings with Weigle have nothing to do with the overpriced computers that he complained with the anti-graft office.

Pelaez said that the Weigle family allowed themselves to be used by Radaza allegedly because of the favors that they have received from the mayor. Pelaez said that the latest declared assets of Weigle has already reached P57 million, but because of their association with Radaza they have been exempt from paying real property taxes.

“They are the realty tax cheats,” Pelaez told The Freeman.

Ybanez earlier asked the Ombudsman to investigate Pelaez for allegedly dragging the late Mayor Weigle into corruption.

Ybanez anchored his complaint on the affidavits of Paz and his son Mark Steven.

In the affidavits, Paz and Mark Steven said Pelaez was a business associate of the late mayor.

 Paz said that her husband left them with shares of stocks of Coralpoint Properties, a company owned by Pelaez, amounting to P1.5 million.

The shares of stocks were under the name of the Pelaez Investment Management Corporation, as her husband’s dummy.

Paz said that after the death of her husband she went to discuss with Pelaez the investment of her husband, but she was allegedly surprised when the latter gave her a list of supposed unpaid obligations of the late mayor.

According to Paz, Pelaez told her of his supposed favor given to the late mayor instead of him getting the favor for his businesses.

 Paz said she decided to sell the shares of her husband in the amount of P1.5 million, but Pelaez only agreed to buy it back for P500,000. —Fred P. Languido/NLQ