Mayor in land swap sued over use of town funds for personal van
DAGUPAN CITY—Bayambang Mayor Ricardo Camacho is facing graft and malversation charges in the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the purchase of a used van without public bidding and without any transaction authority from the municipal council.
In a news briefing on Thursday, Councilor Levin Uy, who filed the complaint together with Vice Mayor Mylvin Junio and four other councilors, said Camacho may be guilty of graft, unethical practice and malversation for buying a 1996 Toyota Granvia in February 2013, using P380,000 from the municipal coffers.
Junio said the councilors learned about the transaction only after they got hold of the deed of sale, indicating that the van was bought with government funds.
The Inquirer tried to reach Camacho but he did not answer calls or text messages requesting for comments on the charges.
“All of us knew that he was using the van for his personal use. All the time, he made us believe that it was his money with which he bought [the vehicle],” Junio said.
The van carries a green plate, instead of the red plate identifying a vehicle as government property.
According to the deed of absolute sale, the van was bought from Pedro Mabulay and was “conveyed unto the municipality of Bayambang” in February 2013 to be used as a utility vehicle.
Uy said it was not Camacho’s only problem.
The councilor said businessman Cezar Quiambao filed on April 20 a complaint against Camacho at the Ombudsman over the purchase of grills used in a barbecue party during the Malangsi Festival in April last year. Bayambang beat Guinness World Record holder, Turkey, in holding the longest barbecue during the festival.
Uy said Quiambao paid for 8,000 pieces of grill worth P4.6 million as his donation to the festival but the local government also claimed to have spent more than P1.8 million for 3,000 grills and 2,000 tilapia in the same event.
Camacho is facing a graft complaint filed by the Parents-Teachers Association of Bayambang Central School for a land swap deal. Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon
