"He is facing a new string of suits."
One case dismissed, but here come more.
While having his case arising from alleged anomalies in a Cagayan de Oro Water District bulk water supply project, which was approved in 2004, dismissed, Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez may have to face a new string of suits, this time involving billions of pesos said to be questionably invested in time deposits and under-utilization of loans acquired, resulting in gross disadavantage to the Provincial Government of Palawan.
This was after one Mansueto Fuertes filed cases of Violation of Section 3 Paragraph (a) and (g) of Republic Act 3019 otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Technocal Malversation under Article 220 of the Revised Penal Code and Grave Misconduct and Serious Dishonesty against Alvarez and 126 others.
Aside from Alvarez, also facing the same charges are Palawan Vice Governor Victorino Dennis Socrates; Board Members Roseller Pineda, Leoncio Ola, Winston Arzaga, David Francis Ponce de Leon, Cherry Pie Acosta, Marivic Roxas, Eduardo Modesto Rodriguez, Sharon Abiog-Onda, Sunny Batul, Albert Rama; Councilors’ League Representative Clarito Demaala, Jr.; ABC President Dennis Sabando (Liga ng Barangay); Provincial Treasurer Elino Mondragon; and Provincial Engineer Saylito Purisima.
Fuertes said he based his complaint on the report of the Commission on Audit which revealed that from 2014 to 2017, the Provincial Government of Palawan (PGP) headed by Alvarez, in collussion with his co-accused, invested more than P1.7 billion in trust fund to a time deposit.
Records show that from 2014 to 2017, PGP had collected P2,071,566,256.71 in trust fund. Of these, P1,701,140,399 were invested in nine time deposit accounts with the Land Bank of the Philippines branch in Puerto Princesa.
While COA allows investment in time deposit for public funds, it is limited to idle funds in the General Fund and requires authority from the Sanggunian and an approval from the Chief Executive.
However, the funds invested originated from trust fund is defined as private and public monies which have officially come into the possession of the local government or of a local government official or trustee, agent or adninistrator, or which have been received as a guarantee for the fulfillment of some obligations. Thus, a trust fund shall only be used for the specific purpose for which it was created for.
As such, Fuertes alleged that with Alvarez and his co-accused investing the money in time deposit, it resulted in the delay in the implementation of government projects, depriving the public of the benefits intended to be derived from them.
In his complaint, Fuertes also raised the issue of the loans acquired by the PGP amounting to P548,800,000 of which P1,775,875,447.96 had been utilized.
The sad part is that, Fuertes said, PGP is already paying the interest for whole amount of the loan. To date, it has already paid P44,746,288.15 in interest alone.
Also, Fuertes alleged that PGP, under Alvarez, illegally entered into a joint contract with a private contractor for infrastructure projects worth P147,884,950.29.
This, Fuertes said, is highly disadvantageous to the local government as this could result in buckpassing between the private contractor and the local government in case of problems arising from the projects. This would result into a dispute on liability on warranty. In fact, Fuertes said the PGP had already released the retention money amounting to P3,348,719.77 despite reported delays and unsatisfactory implementation of the projects.
Aggravating the matters is that, according to Fuertes, the private contractor was allowed to use government equipment without any rental charges.
Now, whatever happens in May 13, whether he gets reelected or not, it seems this graft case would still be around to hound him long after the last ballot had been tallied.
