Rizal town mayor, 3 others face graft raps

The Office of the Ombudsman filed graft charges against the mayor of Rodri­guez, Rizal and at least three others before the Sandigan­bayan for demolishing temporary shelters on a private land and refusing to heed a court order directing them to process the landowners’ applications for building permits.

Aside from Cuerpo, also named respondents were municipal engineer and building official Fernando Rono, Barangay Burgos chairman Salvador Simbulan, and the head of the demolition team, Renato Evasco, as well as several John Does.

Assistant special prosecutor III Manuel Soriano Jr., of the Office of the Ombudsman, said the respondents failed to execute an order dated Sept. 17, 2003 issued by Judge Elizabeth Balquin-Reyes of the Rizal Regional Trial Court Branch 75 to process the applications for building permits of the private complainants from 2002 to 2003.

Soriano said this was in violation of Article 231 of the Revised Penal Code.

Cuerpo and Rono each posted P30,000 bail yesterday morning for their provisional liberty.

Court records show that the respondents allegedly connived in demolishing the tents and temporary shelters which private complainants Leticia Nanay, Nancy Bar­subia, Gemma Bernal, Ma. Victoria Ramirez, Crisanta Oxina and Adelaida Ebio had built on their own land covered by TCT No. 436865.

Soriano said the demolition caused undue injury to the complainants and their families.

Soriano said the complainants were deprived of the use of their land without any legal basis.   – Sandy Araneta