Lucena mayor, 6 dads suspended

LUCENA CITY — The Sandiganbayan’s fourth division has suspended the mayor and six councilors of Lucena City for 90 days for allegedly acting in bad faith in closing down a bingo outlet.

In a 14-page resolution, Associate Justice Rodolfo Ponferrada, with the concurrence of Associate Justices Gregory Ong and Jose Fernandez, ordered the immediate suspension of Mayor Ramon Talaga Jr. and councilors Godofredo Faller, Danilo Zaballero, Salome Dato, Simon Aldovino, Wilfredo Asilo and Aurora Garcia.

The anti-graft court acted on a complaint filed against Talaga and the six councilors by Raymund Nazario, president of Biñan Metropolitan Bingo Corp. (BMBC), who accused them of acting in bad faith in ordering the temporary closure of the bingo outlet of Elan Recreation Inc.

The BMBC legally acquired Elan, a franchise holder of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), to run bingo games in Lucena City and Los Baños, Laguna.

Nazario claimed that they incurred P8 million in losses because of the illegal closure of their bingo outlet at the Ocean Palace Mall in Lucena.

He said Elan had been operating since the term of former Lucena mayor Bernard Tagarao and paid the necessary fees and taxes until its permit to operate expired in April 2000.

However, Pagcor granted Elan a five-year extension to operate after Elan’s board of directors approved a resolution selling all its outstanding shares of stocks to the BMBC.

But in May 2000, Tagarao lost to Talaga in a recall election. When Talaga assumed the post as city mayor, barangay chairman Danilo Lacerna filed a complaint against Elan on May 22, 2000, alleging that it was operating without a barangay business permit and barangay clearance and requesting that its permit to operate be cancelled.

On May 25, 2000 Talaga ordered the temporary closure of Elan’s bingo outlet and directed its owner and operator, Wilhelmina Antonio, to secure a business permit, a franchise to operate from the city council, and a barangay clearance.

But lawyer Roberto Avio, Elan’s legal counsel, said the company had had a business permit since 2000 and that it was not required to secure a local franchise since Pagcor had granted it authority.

Elan had applied for a barangay clearance, but Lacerna allegedly did not act on it for unknown reasons, Antonio said.