Nueva Vizcaya bishop cries harassment

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — Bayombong Bishop Ramon Villena asked the Ombudsman Monday for the suspension of the regional head of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) and four other Napocor officials while graft and corruption cases filed against them are being investigated.

This developed after the bishop accused Cagayan Valley Napocor Director Marcelo Ganaden of harassing employees who were signatories to a graft and corruption complaint against him which eventually now is the subject of investigation by the prosecutor’s office in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.

Citing reports from several alleged harassed employees, Villena accused Ganaden of "sowing fear against employees whom he perceived adversarial to his administration," Ganaden, the bishop said, threatened to suspend or dismiss them unless they make a recantation of their complaints.

"These alarming reports of harassment prompted me to call the attention of Ombudsman (Aniano) Desierto to suspend Ganaden," he said, adding that he made the appeal last week through a letter addressed to Desierto and "even talked to him through the telephone."

"I am waiting for the decision. I hope it will be very soon," the outspoken Catholic cleric said, fearing that a delay on the suspension of Ganaden could lead to "whitewash" of the cases.

Ganaden’s continuing stay in office, he said, will enable him to conceal and tamper documents and harass "complaining" employees to recant their statements against him and his cohorts.

Ganaden is being investigated for malversation of public funds and falsification of public documents before the Tuguegarao City Prosecutor’s Office. Also charged were Jose Bautista, former district manager of Tuguegarao now with the Tarlac Napocor substation; Ernesto Narciso Jr. of Santiago City substation; Oscar Mina, Napocor engineer based in Tuguegarao; and Josephine Atal, Napocor cashier.

The case against them stemmed from charges by some Napocor employees accusing them of using a dummy in securing contracts for the construction of electric gantry poles, enabling them to earn at least P100,000 in the process. — Charlie Lagasca