Agusan Norte mayor barred from leaving Phl

MANILA, Philippines - The Sandiganbayan has temporarily prevented the mayor of Tubay, Agusan del Norte from leaving the country as she faces a criminal complaint for the alleged illegal demolition of houses in her town.

The Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division ordered the Bureau of Immigration to hold the departure of Tubay Mayor Sadeka Garcia Tomaneng from the country and to include her in its hold departure list.

Tomaneng’s co-accused is Tubay municipal engineer Christopher Noval Dagani.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales recently ordered the filing of graft charges against Tomaneng and Dagani after finding them guilty of allegedly demolishing the houses of Luciano Selades Jr., Luciano Selades Sr., and Johnny Cabalan “without legal or justifiable grounds.”

In finding the two liable for violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the ombudsman described their acts as “revolting.”

Records of the Office of the Ombudsman show that Tomaneng could have ordered the demolition of the houses of complainant Selades and brother-in-law Cabalan after the younger Selades failed to convince his father to “make a recantation of his affidavit pertaining to a labor case.”

The Garcia clan has ruled the fifth-class municipality of Tubay for more than 25 years now. Incumbent Vice Mayor Fidel Garcia is the father of Mayor Tomaneng. Garcia used to be the town’s long-time mayor.

In their defense, Tomaneng and Dagani said they ordered the demolition because the complainants’ houses were located near a concrete culvert and canals, making them likely breeding places for dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

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 area.