Kasong plunder at graft isinampa vs Lipa City Mayor Africa, 7 empleyado

SINAMPAHAN sa Office of the Ombudsman ng kasong kriminal at administratibo si re-elected Lipa City Mayor Eric B. Africa at pitong tauhan ng lungsod dahil sa umano’y pagkakasangkot sa P107.2 milyong cash advances bago ang May 9 elections.

Ang kaso ay isinampa ni Lipa City resident at taxpayer Levi Lopez noong 29 Hunyo. Kabilang sa mga kinasuhan sina Africa, City Accountant Ma. Belen Villanueva, Chief of Staff Wilfredo Rivera, Rochelle Catindig, at Melany Aguila ng City Community Affairs Office, at Executive Assistants Dexter Recio, Philip Maurice Ulep, at Mary Ann Gutierrez.

Ang mga nabanggit ay nahaharap sa mga kasong: plunder sa ilalim ng Republic Act No. 7080, the Act Defining and Penalizing the Crime of Plunder), paglabag sa Article 217 ng Revised Penal Code (malversation), Section 89 in relation to Section 128 ng Presidential Decree No. 1445 (Government Auditing Code), Section 3 (e) ng Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, at 2017 Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service.

Sa isinumiteng affidavit, sinabi ni Lopez, ang P107.2 milyong ipinalabas sa pagitan ng 3-14 Marso 2022 ay sinasabing laan para sa  educational financial assistance, pensyon para sa senior citizens, extended beneficial assistance para sa transport sector, at allowance para sa barangay functionaries.

Aniya, ang mga nabanggit na employee-respondents ay may “coterminous positions” pero itinalaga sila bilang disbursing officers at nakatanggap ng cash advances, malinaw umanong paglabag sa Commission on Audit Circular No. 97-002 na may petsang 10 Pebrero 1997, nakasaad: “Only permanently appointed officials shall be designated as disbursing officers. Elected officials may be granted a cash advance only for their official traveling expenses.”

Bukod dito, mali rin umano na ang Office of the City Mayor at hindi ang City Treasurer’s Office ang nangasiwa sa naturang cash advances.

“Granting cash advances with a cumulative amount of more than a hundred million to the above-named personnel to whom the law did not grant the authority to handle the City’s funds is a clear violation of the Local Government Code and is not in keeping with sound fiscal management,” nakasaad sa affidavit ni Lopez.

Ipinunto ni Lopez sa Office of the Ombudsman na ang kuwestiyonableng cash advances ay ginawa dalawa o tatlong linggo bago ang pormal na pagsisimula ng campaign period noong 25 Marso 2022, habang tumakbong muli si Africa.

“One does not need to be a genius to see that respondent Africa is utilizing and taking advantage of public funds for his own political gain. These actions constitute a violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,” pahayag ni Lopez. (HNT)