SAN ANTONIO, Nueva Ecija—The former mayor of this town was charged along with 11 others before the Office of the Ombudsman with plunder and graft over P102 million worth of local projects whose bidding was found to have been rigged and overpriced.
Current Mayor Arvin Salonga charged his predecessor and rival in the last elections, Antonino Lustre, with plunder, three counts of malversation of public funds and seven counts of violations of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Also charged were spouses Julito and Maritta Semacio, engineers Eloy Castillo, Michael Galang, Renato Bustamante, Roberto Odulio, Julito Galang Jr., Daisy Pili, Mercy Reyes, Constancia Salonga and Papiss Inc. represented by engineer Pedro Perez.
Except for Perez, those charged were members of the town government’s Bidding and Awards Committee.
A case is considered plunder when at least P50 million of public funds has been misspent or misused by the concerned public officials.
Salonga said that when he assumed office on June 30, his administration uncovered numerous “highly anomalous and unlawful transactions” by the previous government under Lustre.
Among the alleged anomalies were the construction of a P52.1-million two-storey commercial building, a P45-million slaughterhouse and integrated terminal complex, and the purchase of an agricultural lot for P5 million.
Salonga, who filed the 14-page consolidated complaints, defeated Lustre in the May elections by some 200 votes.
Lustre, who previously lost to Salonga’s late father Jose in three mayoral races and to Arvin in two previous face-offs, beat the incumbent mayor in the 2013 polls.
Aside from Lustre, named respondents in the plunder case were Perez, BAC chairman Bustamante and bids committee members Julito Galang, Pili, Reyes and Constancia Salonga.
For malversation, Lustre was charged along with the Semacio couple, Eclar, Bustamante, Michael Galang, Julito Galang Odulio, Pili, Reyes and Salonga.
In the commercial building project, Lustre was accused of entering into a contract with Papiss Inc. represented by Perez on December 29, 2015 without any authority from the Sangguniang Bayan.
The project, the complaint said, was not specified in the annual budget and the bidding was allegedly rigged to favor Papisss, Inc.