Ex-mayor Garcia, 8 others cleared of anti-graft charges

CEBU, Philippines - After more than a decade, the Office of the Ombudsman- Visayas junked the case filed against former Cebu City Mayor Alvin Garcia and eight other respondents for alleged violation of the anti-graft law for insufficiency of evidence.

Graft investigator Cynthia Maturan-Sibi said the evidence of the prosecution was not enough to prosecute Garcia, his secretary Melchor Tormis, then city councilors Laurito Malinao and Rodolfo Cabrera, former city budget officer Nelfa Briones, former city accountant Edna Jaca, and former city treasurer Eustaquio Cesa.

Also named respondents were Ma. Teresa Chan and Quirubin Blanco, then vice president and assistant branch manager of the Philippine National Bank in Cebu.

The Ombudsman opened an investigation based on a newspaper report published on June 17, 1991 regarding alleged irregularities in the purchase of bitumen, a component of asphalt, from a batching plant from Singapore for the city’s own batching plant.

The transaction involved a P10.6-million advance payment for 600 metric tons of bitumen, which has never been delivered.

The move allegedly violated a Commission on Audit Circular that requires that requisitions must be drawn by the head of the department or office who need the equipment. Purchase Request (PR) No. 3942 allegedly did not follow the rule.

“Instead it was signed by Tormis but the approved portion of the PR which has the name of lawyer Alan Gaviola for the local executive was not signed in violation COA circular,” initial findings said.

The PR was allegedly undated and it was difficult to determine if the mandatory certifications by the local budget officer, city accountant and the city treasurer were available at the time the purchase request was drawn.

Since the matter involved disbursement of public funds, it was referred to COA-7 for special audit examination. COA also became the nominal complainant in the case. 

However, Sibi said “there is just not enough evidence to prosecute respondents for violation of the Anti-Graft Law and that would be it no matter how appreciative we are of the efforts of nominal complainant Commission on Audit -7 to cleanse this government of corrupt officers and employees.”

Sibi, nevertheless, said, “this is not to say that the circumstances under which the questioned batching plant was bought was perfectly clean of any procedural lapses.” In 1999, the respondents were placed under preventive suspension for six months pending investigation. — (FREEMAN)