Case filed by businessman against city officer dismissed

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the criminal case filed by a businessman against a Cebu City Hall officer, who allegedly falsified a document and usurped his authority.

After reviewing the arguments of both parties, the prosecutor’s office found that there was no probable cause to charge Architect Edmund Samson, a member of Cebu City Zoning Board, for falsification of public document and usurpation of authority.

In his five-page resolution, Prosecutor Ruso Zaragoza said most of the issues raised by businessman Adrian Lee were based on unsubstantiated statements and hearsay or bias interpretation of the given circumstances.

“He (Lee) is just formulating perception and conclusion in order to favor his action in charging the respondent criminally but ditto contradicts to the very meaning of the language and situation,” cited Zaragoza, while Samson’s arguments on the issue were found to be “appropriate and logical.”

With this development, lawyer Bern Garcia of the Cebu City Legal Office criticized Lee, who has reportedly been filing cases against Cebu City officials.

“The city prosecutor’s resolution dismissing Lee’s case against Archictect Samson shows that Lee’s allegations against the city officials, including the mayor, are baseless only on his own biased mindset,” Garcia said in an interview yesterday.

“In all his cases against city officials, he alleged that the Cebu City Zoning Board Resolution is a falsified document. Now that the city’s position has been affirmed that it is an authentic document, it is our submission that all his other cases will also be dismissed,” Garcia added.

Lee filed a case against Samson after he received on January 2015 a notice of revocation on the locational clearance of his two-storey commercial building along Don Jose Avila Street, Barangay Capitol Site, which was ordered closed recently.

Lee purchased the lot in the said area and was granted with a building permit from the Office of the Building Official but was revoked in accordance with the resolution and recommendation of the CCZB.

The notice to revoke the building’s locational clearance was pursuant to CCZB Resolution No. 14-071 that was issued on November 13, 2014 that was attested and certified as “unanimously carried, adopted and approved” by Samson, together with Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, Architect Maxwell Espina, Engr. Jose Marie Poblete, Engr. Joel Reston, Tessie Camarillo and other four city councilors.

“The revocation of the private complainant’s locational clearance is not his (Samson) individual act but a result of a long process and several meetings conducted by the Cebu City Zoning Board of which he is the presiding officer,” read the prosecutor’s resolution.

Lee alleged that the issuance of the notice of revocation pursuant to the resolution is a “falsified public document,” saying that the CCZB special conference that formulated the resolution never took place.

On February 5, 2015, Lee reportedly sent a demand letter to Samson for the latter to show proof of the authenticity and existence of the resolution and sent the same letter to the board members present to confirm that indeed a meeting transpired.

Samson, countering Lee’s allegations, stood firm that they indeed conducted a board meeting.

“… the resolution was unanimously carried, it meant that it was unanimously carried by those who were present which had been named in the resolution itself,” read Zaragoza’s resolution.

Further, Lee alleged that Samson usurped the official function as the zoning administrator, saying that Samson merely represented the private sector as a CCZB member, therefore, it was not his duty and function to enforce the decision of the zoning board.

“There is no basis for the alleged crime of usurpation of authority and official function of the zoning administrator since he did not falsely represent himself as the zoning administrator. That in the notice of revocation and in the CCZB resolution, he simply signed his name as a member and presiding officer of the Cebu City Zoning Board of which in truth and in fact he is,” the resolution further read.

Moreover, the prosecutor’s office established that the main cause of charging Samson on the falsification of public document was on the alleged non-existence and authenticity of the CCZB resolution.

“The attach resolution in the complaint is a certified true copy of the said document certified by the Office of CCZB. It is the conclusion of this office that such resolution is genuine and do really exist in the view of the existence of a resolution promulgated by the City Legal Office,” Zaragoza’s resolution read.

Before the revocation, the zoning board reportedly referred the matter to the Cebu City Legal Office, which rendered an opinion finding factual and legal grounds to revoke the complainant’s locational clearance.

“Likewise, the minutes of meetings of the zoning board established the series of deliberation of the issue of locational clearance of complainant that led to the issuance of Resolution No 14-071. Thus, it is evidently shown that said resolution of the CCZB is authentic and not a falsified or fabricated document,” the resolution added. — May Miasco/ATO (FREEMAN)