Ex-town mayor gets 6-9 years for graft

Former Rodriguez town Mayor Pedro Cuerpo and two other local officials in Rizal province were sentenced Tuesday to serve between six and nine years in prison after the Sandiganbayan found them guilty of violating the antigraft law over the hasty demolition of temporary shelters put up by some residents on their own property in 2003.

In addition, the court’s Second Division also disqualified Cuerpo, municipal engineer Fernando Roño and barangay (village) chairman Salvador Simbulan from holding public office.

Another coaccused—Renato Evasco—remains at large, prompting the court to issue a warrant for his arrest and to order the archiving of the case filed against him.

In its ruling, the court found Cuerpo, Roño and Simbulan liable for demolishing the makeshift homes of Barangay Burgos residents, which they had built on their own lots “precipitately and without due notice.”

“The destruction of the complainants’ makeshift homes on their own property and the confiscation of their personal properties are evidently tantamount to a deprivation of their property without due process of law,” it said.

It added that the reason given by Cuerpo and company for the demolition—the residents’ lack of a development permit—was not enough basis to tear down their houses.

The complainants, who are members of a group called Samahang Magkakapitbisig, bought a 8,250-square-meter property in Rizal province in 2002 after they received P2.25 million in financial assistance from the Madrigal family whose Quezon City property they had agreed to vacate.

Their lawyer later informed Cuerpo and the barangay chair that 93 families would be arriving in the area on Sept. 2, 2002. Cuerpo, however, said that before he could approve the relocation, the group should present a site plan and development plan for the property.

When the group failed to comply with his demands, they were not given a development permit. Its members, however, moved to the purchased property in Barangay Burgos on Sept. 22, 2003, and built temporary shelters made of lumber and tarpaulin.

Later that same day, Simbulan told them that without any development permit, there would be a demolition. In the afternoon, a demolition team arrived, dismantled the residents’ makeshift homes and took away their construction materials and appliances. The demolition team returned the next day and on Oct. 28, 2003, to continue its work.

But according to the court, the series of demolitions was done precipitately. “In fine, the Court finds objectionable the manner by which the series of demolitions were conducted,” it said.

According to the court, Cuerpo knew that the Local Government Code required demolitions to be done within a prescribed period but he failed to heed this. He was also unable to explain satisfactorily why he failed to follow the proper procedure before he ordered the series of demolitions, it added.