THE Office of the Ombudsman on Monday ordered the filing of graft charges against a municipal mayor from Zamboanga Sibugay and several other officials in connection with the alleged anomalous purchase of heavy equipment in 2007 even as it exonerated several others.
Charged for violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) are Nagatown Mayor Gemma Adana, Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) members Roland Grijalvo, Felix Timsan, Emmanuel Enteria and Jonathan Cartagena. They reportedly facilitated the irregular procurement of heavy equipment from CVCK Trading in 2007.
The Ombudsman said Adana and the BAC members committed procurement violations in the acquisition of a road roller and road grader by changing the technical specifications of the equipment without complying with the requirements of Republic Act No. 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act). There was also no showing that the price of CVCK Trading was the most beneficial for the local government.