8 officials charged with graft for Cherry Hills tragedy

Eight government officials believed to be responsible for the Cherry Hills tragedy in Antipolo City last August were charged with graft before the Sandiganbayan yesterday.

They are Antonio Principe, regional executive director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); Sixto Tolentino, regional technical director; Ignacio Balicas, senior environment management specialist; Amado Rutaquio; technical director for forestry, and Luciano Hornilla, environmental auditing division chief, all of the DENR; and Edgardo Cruz, Antipolo City government planning officer, and German Ramos, project evaluation assistant.

A total of 58 people died and 378 families were left homeless after houses at the Cherry Hills subdivision crumbled during a strong earthquake on Aug. 3 last year.

Ombudsman Aniano Desierto told reporters the eight should be held criminally liable under Republic Act 3019 for their "gross and inexcusable negligence" in causing the death and injuries to residents of Cherry Hills and the destruction of their houses.

He said the Antipolo officials had unlawfully issued a building permit and a certificate of occupancy to Philippine-Japanese Solidarity (Philjas), developer of Cherry Hills, even if the subdivision's drainage system was insufficient. This defect caused the subdivision's foundation to soften and eventually collapse, investigators said.

The DENR officials, on the other hand, had given Philjas an environmental clearance certificate (ECC) despite the absence of an engineering, structural and geological assessment as required by law and the DENR's own rules and regulations, he added.

"The (eight officials) failed to monitor and inspect the development and construction of the Cherry Hills Subdivision, thereby giving unwarranted benefits to Philjas and causing undue injury to the buyers and victims of the Cherry Hills tragedy," Desierto said.

He said the ECC's issuance had enabled Philjas to get a license from the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) to sell houses and lots at the subdivision.

On Aug. 17 last year, Desierto ordered the preventive suspension of eight DENR officials, nine from the HLURB, five from Antipolo City and four from Rizal Province. Thirty-one HLURB officials were investigated for graft.

Last December, five HLURB officials were dismissed, while 13 others were suspended after they were found guilty of neglect of duty, resulting in the tragedy.

Desierto said Hiroki Ogawa, Philjas general manager, and other company officials are undergoing preliminary investigation for reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and damage to property at the Department of Justice.

Investigators of the Ombudsman found out that Philjas was allowed by the national and local governments to construct the subdivision even if the area was not suitable for housing.

"The Cherry Hills project is situated in an environmentally critical area to start with," according to the investigators' 33-page report. "The location also requires excessive site work and therefore not suitable for housing. The immediate eastern side of the area which collapsed is part of the rolling terrain of the hill."