Town mayor, 9 others charged for death of JO worker in Cebu

Cebu map. INQUIRER FILES

CEBU CITY — A municipal mayor and nine others were charged with graft after the death of a job order employee while working on a construction site in Dalaguete town, Cebu.

But Dalaguete Mayor Ronald Cesante described the case filed against him by the National Bureau of Investigation Central Visayas (NBI-Cevro) as an attack on him and the town’s progress in the wake of the election season.

Filed at the Office of the Ombudsman on Oct. 10 were charges for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Reckless Imprudence Resulting in Homicide as Penalized under Article 365 about Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code, and Grave Misconduct as penalized under the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards of Public Officials and Employees).

Lawyer Renan Oliva, NBI-Cevro director, said that their investigation showed that Enseñales, a job order employee of the Dalaguete municipal government, fell and died at a construction site of a proposed multi-purpose building due to a lack of safety equipment on June 5.

The same investigation showed that government workers and equipment had been tapped by a private construction firm hired by the municipal government to construct the building.

The probe stemmed from the request of the family of Enseñales who suspected foul play over the death of their loved one.

READ: Dalaguete mayor, 9 others face raps for death of welder

Aside from Cesante, named respondents in the complaint were officials of the  Municipal Engineer Expedizitas Lenares and his staff, Engineer Fernando Armecin, and Ernie Amarado; and Junior Project Engineer Juan Castillo of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Also included in the complaint were officials of the Power Frame Construction and Development Corp., which was hired to construct the multi-purpose building: President Peter Paul Dy Jr.; Vice President Arthur Dy; Treasurer Sally Lugtu; Secretary Mary Joy Dela Cruz; and staff member Henry Dy.

Cesante said that while he had not received a copy of the complaint, it was not the first time the charges against him were filed during an election period.

“It’s no coincidence that these accusations have surfaced now, just as the elections are approaching,” Cesante said.

“It’s difficult to fight an opponent who has millions, doesn’t care about the town’s progress or its residents, and is willing to pay Facebook trolls,” the mayor added, without naming names.

Cesante assured the people of Dalaguete that he would not engage in dirty tactics to destroy his years of service to the town.

“These attacks are merely attempts to discredit the progress we’ve built together as a united town,” said the mayor