Isko Moreno, aides sued over market sale

FILE PHOTO: Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso during a press conference at the Manila Peninsula on Sunday, April 17, 2022. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso and five other top officials of the capital city are facing a graft complaint over the sale of the Divisoria Public Market, which the presidential aspirant downplayed as a move by a “traditional politician.”

Representatives of the Divisoria Public Market Credit Cooperative filed a complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman accusing Moreno; Manila Vice Mayor Maria Sheilah “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan; Councilors Joel Chua and Ernesto Isip Jr.; secretary to the mayor and asset appraisal chair Bernardito Ang; and assistant secretary to the mayor Manuel Zarcal of violating the antigraft act.

It was Chua who sponsored the resolution allowing Moreno to enter into a contract with “any reputable corporation or entity, mostly advantageous to the city, for the disposition” of the Divisoria Public Market.

The complainants, composed of market vendors and stall owners of the Divisoria Mall, argued that there was no prior notice or consultation from Moreno and the Manila City council when they authorized in 2020 the sale of the city-owned and patrimonial property in Binondo.

The Divisoria Mall, specifically its basement portion, was “no longer needed or used for public purpose.”

The sale of Divisoria Public Market to a private developer worth P1.45 billion was made amid city officials’ plight of seeking to add funding to its response against the COVID-19 pandemic with Manila being one of the hardest-hit cities in the country.

Brash, unlawful

“[B]y resorting to drastic measures purportedly to alleviate the coffers of the city during the outbreak of the pandemic, [the respondents] had acted brashly, unlawfully, oppressively, causing undue injury to the complainant market vendors,” read the complaint filed by Emmanuel Plaza, Rogelio Bongot Jr., Eduardo Fabrigas, Betty de Leon and Lourdes Estudillo.

They also described the Manila city government’s sale of the public market as “grossly disadvantageous” and a move “depriving our future generation of priceless heritage.”

Responding to the complaint, Moreno stuck with his usual vocabulary saying that the complainants cannot “tolongges” (scam or fool) the people of Manila, wishing them luck on their complaint.

“I don’t question anything,” Moreno told reporters in an interview on the sidelines of his campaign in Bacolod City, when asked about the timing of the complaint. “It’s up to them. They are grown-ups already so they should know what’s right and what’s wrong.”

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