TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol – A municipal councilor is facing a criminal complaint for fraud, misrepresentation, and dishonesty filed by her business partner.
Charged with five counts of estafa at the prosecutor’s office was Panglao Councilor Rogelin Clemeña-Degoma, Philippine Councilors League (PCL)-Bohol chapter secretary general.
The case stemmed from the complaint filed by businesswoman Maria Luz Dumaluan, who accused Degoma of failing to render an accounting and refusing to give the correct share in the income and the return of investment from their joint business.
Degoma declined to issue a statement when reached by the Inquirer for comment.
Dumaluan also filed an administrative complaint against Degoma at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan last Aug. 24, for dishonesty and for conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
Dumaluan said Degoma, as a public official, failed to meet the standards set for public officers, as embodied in the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards of Public Officials and Employees.
In her affidavit, Dumaluan said that in 2017, Degoma offered to be her business partner when the complainant was offered to acquire the franchise of a 7-Eleven store on the ground floor of the businesswoman’s building in Barangay Poblacion, Panglao.
Both women agreed that Dumaluan, as the sole owner, would get a 10-percent return on investment (ROI) from the monthly net income of the business, plus 60 percent of the remaining balance.
Degoma, like the one running the store, would get 40 percent.
On May 26, 2017, the franchise application was approved after paying the franchise deposit of P672,000.
The store started operating although Philippine Seven Corp. co-managed the store with Degoma until on July 28, 2017, when Dumaluan paid the full franchise fee of P3,571,761.23.
But Dumaluan said Degoma made it appear that she represented a certain business registered as “D&D Convenience Shoppe” instead of “Dumaluan & Degoma Convenience Store” as they earlier agreed.
She also made it appear in the MOA that she was also an investor in the business even if she didn’t give any cash input.
Degoma, she said, registered the newly-formed business with the Department of Trade and Industry as a sole proprietorship, not as a partnership.
Dumaluan said she started receiving her share of the monthly income on Oct. 20, 2017, when she was given P277,462.96 cash both for the 60 percent and the ROI for the month of August.
Degoma failed to provide Dumaluan with the financial records.
She also continued giving Dumaluan’s supposed share in the succeeding months but without giving the financial records.
In February 2018, Dumaluan asked Degoma for the income in the months of May, June and July 2017 but the councilor told her that their income was converted to stocks.
Degoma also told Dumaluan that the businesswoman could not expect any payout for those months since it was during this period when the store was co-managed by Philippine Seven.
Dumaluan decided to go to Philippine Seven office in Cebu to clarify with the company the procedure in the release of the store’s monthly income and to verify the status of the store’s income for the months of May to July 2017.
Dumaluan showed to Jay Marie Munoz, the franchise supervisor, the figures given by Degoma but it turned out that these were not from the Philippine Seven computer system.
The amounts for expenses reflected in the financial statement given to Dumaluan were different from the figures presented to them by Philippine Seven Cebu office.
Dumaluan then asked Degoma that she be allowed to access the computer-based records of the store. But Degoma refused to give them the password. She later gave the password but it turned out to be invalid.
When Degoma refused to remit the income from May to July 2017, Dumaluan filed a complaint at the Office of Barangay Captain in Danao in Panglao.
During the confrontation at the barangay on June 9, Degoma declined to do an audit on the store.
She added Degoma also opened another branch of 7-Eleven in Calape town on June 3, 2018, allegedly using the business name and franchise of 7-Eleven Panglao.