Vizcaya mayor accuses vice mayor of car theft

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — After getting suspended for six months, the vice mayor of the mountainous town of Alfonso Castañeda found himself in hot water again, this time for car theft, as alleged by the town mayor.

Mayor Alfredo Castillo Jr. has filed a case of violation of Republic Act 539 or the anti-car theft law against Vice Mayor Jerry Pasigian, whom he held responsible for the disappearance of his car during the Holy Week.

Pasigian, who was inquested here last Monday, described the charges as mere political harassment.

In a two-page affidavit-complaint, Castillo accused Pasigian of taking his Mitsubishi Pajero from the garage of his residence "without my knowledge and consent."

Castillo said he and his family and the rest of their household were on a two-day break last April 10-13 when Pasigian allegedly took his car "by forcibly destroying the padlock of our gate."   

Castillo said he immediately informed the police and the National Bureau of Investigation after discovering his car’s disappearance.

NBI operatives recovered the "stolen" car allegedly under Pasigian’s "control" in Barangay Masoc here on the morning of April 22, or a week after it was allegedly stolen.

Pasigian claimed that he has been getting these kinds of harassment for being "inquisitive" about the "questionable" use of municipal funds.

For one, Pasigian has questioned the municipal government’s use of its more than P100 million share of the real property tax from the Casecnan multipurpose irrigation and power project which it hosts.

Early this year, the provincial board suspended Pasigian for six months for grave abuse of authority.

The suspension of Pasigian, so far the highest—ranking Bugkalot native elected to public office, stemmed from his presiding over a special session without sending the required written notice to the councilors.

Senior councilor Danilo Castillo, the mayor’s younger brother, was among those who accused Pasigian of grave abuse of authority for illegally convening the special session.

Pasigian’s accusers claimed that he wanted to railroad the approval of measures and projects that he had been pushing in the municipal council.

Pasigian, former chairman of Barangay Lipuga, served as acting mayor when the Office of the Ombudsman suspended Mayor Castillo for three months for alleged graft.

During his stint as acting mayor, he ordered the closure of the Casecnan project for its failure then to secure a business permit from the municipal government. 

He also threatened to mobilize members of Bugkalot communities to barricade roads leading to the project site if its US operator would insist on not settling its tax obligations with the municipal government.