Singson to Ombudsman: Act swiftly on complaints

Former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson urged the Ombudsman yesterday to act swiftly on what he claimed were "nuisance complaints" filed by a group of "political losers."

"I am asking the Ombudsman to act with dispatch so I can address the charges point by point," Singson said in a statement yesterday.

The former governor laughed off the technical malversation complaint which the Save Ilocos Sur Alliance (SISA) has filed against him.

Singson said a 1999 special audit by the Commission on Audit (COA) concluded "not even a single recommendation for the filing of charges" against him.

He expressed confidence he would be cleared of the technical malversation charge, noting that the realignment of funds to infrastructure projects and post-harvest facilities was covered by a provincial board resolution.

"The law allows realignment of funds if covered by a board resolution," he said.

He said the provincial auditor, budget officer and accountant have all signed affidavits attesting that there was no purchase of land as alleged by SISA in one of the four graft complaints it has lodged against him.

"There was no overpricing because there was no purchase of land in the first place," Singson said, referring to another complaint where SISA alleged that the provincial government, under Singson’s term, bought a piece of land allegedly for P24 million when it was assessed at only P2 million.

Reacting to his critics’ call for a consolidation of three complaints into one plunder complaint, Singsons said, "So, what else is new?"

Singson said a defeated gubernatorial candidate was allegedly behind the filing of the complaints.