A criminal complaint for plunder and violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act has been filed against Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte in connection with the local government’s procurement of P287 million worth of food packs, an accusation that the city mayor’s office immediately dismissed as black propaganda.
City legal officer Orlando Casimiro said the complainant made a major mistake in following the 2010 election playbook of Belmonte’s political enemies, whom he did not identify.
“We knew that it was only a matter of time before some obscure group with no involvement at all in Quezon City would file plunder charges for dramatic effect,” Casimiro said.
“Eleven years ago, this political camp did exactly the same thing against then-Mayor Herbert Bautista: first, they presented alleged evidence of wrongdoing to the media, then they created noise to prolong the story, and finally they ended with a plunder charge. Indeed, a snake can shed its skin, but its pattern remains the same. This time, however, they have made some serious miscalculations,” he added.
Task Force Kasanag, which identifies itself as an anti-corruption civil society group, filed the case against Belmonte before the Office of the Ombudsman,
The group, led by its president John Chiong, accused the city mayor of questionable procurement of food packs that were allegedly overpriced by P108 million.
Included in the complaint were Ruby Manangu, the city’s accounting chief, and Angelica Solis, representative of the single proprietorship LXS Trading, supplier of the food packs.
“Based on the complaint, the local government purchased 250,000 food packs at a price of P1,149.90 each, or for a total of P287,475,000. However, the food packs could have been easily obtained at no more than P715 each, or for a total of no more than P178,750,000, based on a detailed examination of the groceries and their market prices at the time of the transaction,” the group said in a statement.
Casimiro, however, said Quezon City residents are “smarter and more discerning than our political rivals.”
“We are confident that in a proper court of law, these cases will be exposed for exactly what they are: tools for distraction and black propaganda,” he said
“The QC government strictly adheres to all the provisions of Republic Act 9184 or the Procurement Act, and in fact received the highest Commission on Audit rating for the year 2020. We are positive that this complaint will be dismissed, and our names vindicated,” he added.