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Friday, March 29, 2024

P480-m graft case may be defective, says Degamo

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NEGROS Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo believes the graft case filed against him before the Sandiganbayan recently by the Office of the Ombudsman “may be defective” because the complainants had failed to submit some crucial documents as evidence that could have convinced prosecutors to dismiss the complaint.

Degamo said: “I have discovered one document that was not used or attached in the complaint filed against me before the Office of the Ombudsman. 

“I’m confident this document is very crucial for the dismissal of the case. Since the beginning I have made it clear that this graft and criminal complaints filed against me are politically motivated.” 

The governor is facing a graft complaint before the Sandiganbayan in connection with the P480,775,000 disbursement of calamity fund.

The amount was part of the P961.55 million approved by then President Benigno Aquino III to rehabilitate the province ravaged by Typhoon “Sendong” in December 2011 and the magnitude-6.9 earthquake in February 2012.

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Asked for the document, Degamo said he would make it public soon following consultations with his lawyer.

“Of all the legal documents provided and attached in the complaints, this document was not there. It is either they intentionally did not attach it or they simply ignored it. I can’t say for now if there was an element of deception when they filed the complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman,” he said.

Last month, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales ordered the filing of graft charges against Degamo for alleged 11 counts of violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Also charged were Provincial Treasurer Danilo Mendez; Provincial Accountant Teodorico Reyes; Provincial Engineer Franco Alpuerto; Alejandro Lim Jr. of Lim General Contractor Corp.; Mark Anthony Clemente of CTC Builders and Supplies Inc.; Danny Chan of Ajan Jeada Inc.; Wilfredo Chu of Bigfoot Construction and Supply; Farouk Macarambon of Fiat Construction Services; Maribel Ranola of Legazpi Premium Development Corporation; and Ricardo Abriol Santos of Richmark Construction and Supply.

Mendez and Reyes were also indicted for 11 counts of falsification of public documents.

Recently, Degamo went to the Sandiganbayan to post bail after he was issued an arrest warrant.

Pressed what kind of document he was talking about, Degamo just said it was a “memorandum” from the Department of Budget and Management addressed to the Office of the President in connection with the issuance of a “negative Special Allotment Release Order” issued in June 2012.

“The signatory of this negative Saro, I think, has no authority to issue one. In fact, my position on this issue remained unanswered up to now,” Degamo said. 

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