Anti-graft court dismisses rap over utilities privatization vs Bohol solon

Bohol Representative Rene Relampagos FILE PHOTO

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol – Bohol Rep. Rene Relampagos was elated by the recent decision of the anti-graft court that dismissed the graft case in connection with the privatization of the province’s water and electricity utilities that was allegedly undervalued by P627 million.
“All I can say is faith works. Faith in our justice system and, more importantly, faith that what we did for Bohol in the year 2000, when I was Governor, was right all along,” said Relampagos.

READ: Bohol Rep. Relampagos charged with graft over anomalous privatization deal
Also cleared was Gov. Edgar Chatto, Isabelito Tongco, Concepcion Lim, Tomas Abapo Jr., Felix Uy and Dennis Villareal.
Relampagos is the district chairman of the Liberal Party (LP) while Chatto is LP provincial chair.
Relampagos said the decision of the Sandiganbayan 1st division was a good way to start the New Year.
“And what a way to end this legal battle which has turned into a political-serye that lasted for fifteen long years,” he said.
Relampagos was governor while Chatto was the vice governor in 2000 when the province sold its Provincial Electric System (PES) and Provincial Water System (PWS) to  Salcon Consortium, a private firm, at an alleged low price.
But the Ombudsman pointed out that Bohol officials sold the assets and franchises of water services in Bohol for P80 million and the power supply for P75 million when the combined assets of these utilities were valued at P782 million.
Relampagos earlier maintained that the transaction was above board, claiming that the actual value of the two utilities at that time was in the negative.
Salcon consortium, he added, had to give substantial investment “to pay off the companies’ debts and acquire additional assets.”
Relampagos said the province still owned 30 percent of the two utilities under the joint venture with the consortium. At present, he added, the province got at least P50 million in dividend from the two corporations.
The Sandiganbayan 1st division threw out the graft case due to the Ombudsman’s inordinate delay in filing the case.

READ: Sandigan dismisses LP allies’ graft rap in Bohol over inordinate delay

The anti-graft court gave weight to the argument of Relampagos and other co-accused that their constitutional right to due process and speedy disposition of a case was violated by the Ombudsman when it took the anti-graft body almost 15 years to resolve the complaint against them and formally filed the case before the Sandiganbayan in October last year.
“The criminal complaint was filed on October 25, 2000 and terminated only on October 23, 2015 with the filing of the information [of the case] before this Court, which means that it took the Office of the Ombudsman 15  long years to conclude the preliminary investigation,” according to the ruling penned by First Division chairman Associate Justice Efren Dela Cruz pointed out.
“In this span of years, the Court does not see any intervening event that will excuse the Office of the Ombudsman to stretch the proceedings to such unreasonable length,” the court added.
The ruling was concurred by First Division members Justices Efren dela Cruz, Rodolfo Ponferrada and Rafael Lagos.All three justices were unanimous in dismissing the case. CDG