Mayor faces complaint for not issuing building permit

MANILA, Philippines — The Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta) on Monday filed in the Office of the Ombudsman a complaint against Mayor Lester de Sagun of San Nicolas, Batangas, for dishonesty and abuse of authority, after he allegedly refused to grant a building permit without justifiable cause.

Arta said De Sagun violated the Local Government Code and the Ease of Doing Business Act, after a private citizen claimed that the mayor denied the issuance of a permit, despite that complainant’s submission of all the required documents.

The permit was for the construction of a new transformer. But De Sagun said his office had no authority to issue a permit for that transformer. —Jhesset O. Enano