Graft case dismissed

Ombudsman Aniano Desierto has junked the P1.8-billion graft case filed against Mandaluyong Mayor Benhur Abalos Jr. by his political rivals, saying the accusations against him for purportedly failing to account for the city’s assets and funds have no merit.

The Ombudsman said there were no lapses on the part of Abalos, who formed a special committee to trace the supposed missing funds, titles and assets of Mandaluyong City in May 2000. Since then, Desierto stressed, the city has provided the Commission on Audit (COA) with periodic reports to reconcile all accounting data and determine who failed to liquidate cash advances for a 31-year period.

Moreover, Desierto dismissed Mayor Abalos’ culpability since he took office only in July 1998, and the city "had been making periodic reports on the audit findings on the failure to conduct physical inventory of fixed assets, inability to reconcile the discrepancy of the cash account, failure to substantiate accounts payables, and failure to record procurement in the inventory account."

The tax deficiency issue has been resolved, Desierto added, as the COA issued a decision in September 2000 in favor of the Mandaluyong city treasurer.