Cagayan de Oro mayor indicted for graft

MANILA, Philippines — Cagayan de Oro Mayor Oscar Moreno has been charged with graft in connection with the alleged anomalous lease of a heavy equipment when he was governor of Misamis Oriental.

Four fomer provincial officials – administrator Patrick Gabutina, acting accountant Divina Bade, acting budget officer and bids and awards committee vice chairman Elmer Wabe and assistant engineer and BAC member Rolando Pacuribot – were included in the charge sheet.

The Office of the Ombudsman said the respondents conspired in giving unwarranted benefit, advantage and preference to Equiprent Corp. that bagged a contract amounting to P4.04 million for the lease of an excavator from December 2007 to July 2008.

Graft probers said the respondents resorted to negotiated procurement without valid justification.

Bail was recommended at P30,000 each.

It was the first graft case filed against Moreno in connection with alleged irregularities in the lease of heavy equipment when he was governor.

In August last year, the ombudsman ordered the filing of 18 counts of graft against Moreno and several former provincial government officials for the lease of heavy equipment from 2007 to 2012.

The ombudsman said no public bidding was conducted for contracts amounting to P20.5 million.

The court has ordered Moreno’s dismissal from the service after he was found guilty of grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service in connection with the alleged anomalies, but he managed to secure temporary restraining orders from the Court of Appeals.

Moreno was also charged with graft before the Sandiganbayan over the lease of a residential space owned by a private engineer to implement the provincial government’s program for professional and amateur boxers.