Graft raps filed vs Batangas town mayor

MANILA, Philippines — A municipal mayor in Batangas has been charged with graft for allegedly demanding commissions from a deal to upgrade the billing and collection system of the local water utility service.

In a complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman on March 25, the WeDo BPO Inc. alleged that Mayor Edna Sanchez of Sto. Tomas town demanded that all payments issued by the municipal government be turned over to her as she was the one who facilitated the approval of the project.

The private firm won the contract for the project in 2010.

Sanchez has denied the accusations, saying these were politically motivated.

The complainant alleged that in September 2010, Sanchez sent her police escort to the company to pick up P1 million in cash and a check amounting to P1.2 million.

The company said that in August of the same year, it advised Sanchez that it only received P4.94 million from the municipal government as payment for the contract.

Sanchez reportedly questioned the amount, saying the project budget was P5.9 million.

The mayor allegedly demanded that all payments be turned over to her after she was informed that taxes and a 10 percent retention amount were deducted from the budget of the project.