Ombudsman clears Clark airport exec of graft raps

CLARK FREEPORT—The Office of the Ombudsman has denied a motion seeking the suspension of the president of the state-owned Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) over the demolition of structures built by the US government in this former military base, CIAC officials said on Monday.

In a resolution dated May 17 but received only late last week, acting Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro said no basis was found to relieve CIAC president and chief executive officer Victor Jose Luciano because he followed Malacañang’s orders to give the scrap materials from the demolished buildings to Aetas.

The resolution said Luciano and the CIAC managers followed government processes in disposing of the materials.

The case was prompted by the donation and demolition of 17 old buildings at the civil aviation complex here between June 2009 and May 2010.

In a text message on Monday, Luciano said he was “relieved and thankful that the truth has come out.”

“It is a humbling experience and I bear no grudges [or] bitterness against anyone … Let us now move forward because the tasks ahead are big for the Clark airport,” he said.

The complainant, Mayor Jerry Pelayo of Candaba, Pampanga, said he would file a motion for reconsideration as soon as he received an official copy of the order.

Pelayo filed the case after he lost two buildings he was leasing for an agricultural complex he was developing in Clark. His co-complainants in the case were Angel Manalo of Sta. Maria Dapdap, Mawaque Farmers Association and Jose Paguinto, president of the Municipal Agricultural and Fisheries Council of Candaba.

Pelayo said Luciano has to account for P186 million, his estimate of the sales of metal scrap.

“It’s hard to believe that the Ombudsman would dismiss the case … I did not know what they did, and if this is true, I will definitely file a motion for reconsideration,” Pelayo said by telephone on Monday.