THE Office of the Ombudsman on Friday indicted embattled North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza for buying P2.4 million worth of fuel from a gas station owned by her mother in 2010.
Mendoza, at the center of the bloody dispersal of protesting farmers in Kidapawan City on April 1, faces three counts of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for the 2010 case.
In that year, Mendoza approved the release of P2.4 million from the provincial funds to pay for 49,526.72 liters of fuel used for one road grader and four dump trucks utilized during the two-day road rehabilitation projects.
The Ombudsman said there was no public bidding conducted for the procurement of fuel, and that Mendoza directly contracted the purchase with the gas station owned by her mother.
The Ombudsman said there was no compelling justification for dispensing with the requirement of a public bidding.
In a resolution, the Ombudsman pointed out “the great disparity between the estimated 552 liters of diesel actually consumed for the two-day road maintenance project in Magpet vis-à-vis the 20,833 liters actually paid for, is proof that the fuel-purchase transaction is illegal and that this transaction is obviously a scheme to pocket government funds.”
“[The respondent] made it appear that the diesel fuel was procured and used in a government project when in truth, only a small portion of the fuel was actually used and the rest was converted to cash for the benefit of those who were involved in the fraudulent transaction,” the Ombudsman said.
The governor drew flak for the violent dispersal of about 6,000 farmers in Kidapanwan City on April 1, during which two farmers were shot dead.
The Kidapawan farmers, who had been suffering from severe hunger due to drought, slammed Mendoza for her failure to provide them with food aid.
On March 30, they barricaded the Davao-Cotabato highway, blocking traffic both ways. On April 1, police moved in to disperse the protesters, with some shooting their M-16 rifles at the farmers.
Mendoza said Friday she was confident that she would be able to answer the Ombudsman’s accusations.
In a statement, the governor’s lawyer, Vincent Paul Montejo, denied accusations that she handpicked her mother’s gas station.
“Any accusation of partiality, preference or bias in favor of any gas station has no basis,” Montejo said.
“Contrary to what the Ombudsman is saying, the fuel was procured after it went through a form of bidding, allowed under the Government Procurement Act and as recommended by the BAC. Lastly, the Ombudsman also ignored evidence that fuel was actually utilized for the province’s road projects,” Montejo said.