Abra town mayor, vice mayor suspended over road project

BANGUED, Abra, Philippines — The mayor and vice mayor of Lagayan town have been suspended for six months in connection with a road project worth P1.071 million.

Mayor Jendricks Luna and his wife Vice Mayor Joy Chrisma were found guilty of dishonesty and grave misconduct for reporting that a 1,740 meter-road in Barangay Ba-i had been completed even though its construction had barely started, according to a resolution of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, which was released on Friday.

Councilor Noel Cortez filed a complaint before the Abra provincial board last Aug. 6, saying the project, the funding of which came from the town’s internal revenue allotment, remained “a pebble and dirt road.”

The provincial engineering office, which conducted an inspection, said it found the road with an “earth surface.”

The provincial board said Luna’s report was a “blatant lie and a clear act of dishonesty, which warrants administrative penalty.”

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan said the vice mayor should also be held liable, noting that the project and its funding was approved because she was  the presiding officer of the Sangguniang Bayan.

Luna refused to comment when contacted by the The STAR, saying he has not read the decision.

Ex-Zambo Norte mayor faces raps

Meanwhile, former mayor Wilfredo Balais of Labason, Zambonga del Norte was charged with falsification of public documents before the Sandiganbayan on Nov. 27 over the municipal government’s alleged anomalous purchase of a vehicle in 2011.

Based on the charge sheet prepared by assistant special prosecutor Jorge Espinal, Balais falsified a notice of award to Oro Cars Display Center dated Jan. 20, 2011 for the procurement of a Nissan Patrol. 

Graft probers said Oro Cars did not participate in the bidding.

“This is to certify that.... there is sufficient ground to engender a well-founded belief that the crime charged had been committed and that the accused is probably guilty thereof and should be held for trial,” the ombudsman resolution read.

Among the witnesses listed by the ombudsman to testify against Balais was a certain Eduardo Ayunting, who reportedly bought the same vehicle from the former mayor for only P500,000 in November 2010, two months before it was purchased by the municipal government for P960,000. 

The ombudsman recommended bail of P24,000. – With Elizabeth Marcelo