Agusan Norte mayor faces graft trial over demolition

MANILA, Philippines - An incumbent town mayor of Agusan del Norte is now facing trial for graft before the Sandiganbayan for allegedly ordering the demolition of houses in his locality without legal or justifiable grounds.

Tubay Mayor Sadeka Garcia Tomaneng recently posted bail in exchange for his temporary liberty and will be arraigned soon before the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division.

Assistant Special Prosecutor II Mary Ann Vela has been tasked to handle the case filed against Tomaneng by the Office of the Ombudsman, which gave weight to the criminal complaints filed by a certain Johnny Cabalan and Luciano Selades Jr.

Also facing charges before the Sandiganbayan is municipal engineer Christopher Noval Dagani who allegedly conspired with Tomaneng in carrying out the demolition.

The Office of the Ombudsman, in finding Tomaneng and Dagani liable for violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, described their acts as “revolting.”

In a charge sheet filed by Assistant Ombudsman Elvira Chua, the anti-graft agency established that Tomaneng and Dagani “while in the performance of their official functions” committed the offense “with the evident bad faith, manifest partiality or through gross inexcusable negligence.”

The complaints against the mayor and the municipal engineer show that they could have ordered the demolition of the houses of Selades and Cabalan after the former’s son failed to convince his father to “make a recantation of his affidavit pertaining to a labor case.”

In their defense, Tomaneng and Dagani denied the charges, saying that since 2010, at least five houses had already been demolished by the Municipal Engineering Office (MEO) at the Lungsod Daan relocation site after it was vacated by a mining company in 2010 and the land was opened “for occupation to deserving residents of Barangay La Fraternidad.”

The respondents said that based on an MEO report, the complainants’ houses were located near the concrete culvert placed by the municipal government to serve as drainage or waterway, posing imminent danger to the lives of the complainants, especially during the rainy season.

Since the complainants’ houses were located beside a creek, the respondents said they were perfect breeding place for dengue-carrying mosquitoes, thus prompting the order for their demolition.

However, the Office of the Ombudsman in Mindanao disputed their claim, saying that if the respondents were sincere in their concerns for dengue, they should have also demolished the other houses in the same area.

“Does that mean the back portions of the complainants’ houses are the sole breeding place of the dreaded dengue-carrying mosquitoes? What makes the respondents claim that the back portion of the complainants’ houses is the exact location of the said mosquitoes?” graft probers asked in a resolution, saying the respondents’ acts amounted to “selective demolition.”

“Respondents Tomaneng and Dagani’s acts are revolting,” said graft investigation and prosecution officer Aileen Lourdes Lizada in finding probable cause to indict them for graft.

Noting discrepancies in the dates of the documents submitted by the respondents during the preliminary investigation, the Office of the Ombudsman said “all these lead to the Office to lend credence to the complainants’ allegations of the respondents’ ability to fabricate evidence.”