Bolo awaits arrest warrant; Osmeña says gov ‘deserves it’

Former Provincial Board Member Juan Bolo said he would post bail as soon as an arrest warrant is issued against  him by the Sandiganbayan in connection with graft charges in the Balili land case.

“I was just following orders,” he said, repeating his line of defense in the P98.9 million Balili land deal.

After losing a reelection bid in 2010, Bolo moved to Dapitan City,  Zamboanga del Norte where he and his wife own a resort.

“Naguol gyud ko kay wala koy gibuhat nga dautan. Igo lang ko gisugo ni Gov. (I’m really sad because I did not commit any wrong. I was just following orders of  the governor),” Bolo said by phone.

“I just relied on findngs of the appraisal committee. I reported to the governor every step that I made. When did I lie?”

The 68-year-old lawyer said he would make sure to attend every Sanidganbayan hearing in Manila and  retain the services of a defense counsel.

Bolo was the main proponent in the purchase of the Balili estate and was widely speculated to have made a hefty commission, a charge he denied.

While the Governor Garcia defended the land deal, she made a public apology in a 2009 press conference where she said she was “sorry” for what she called a “fiasco” in the purchase. She later said she was misled by Bolo and that underwater lots in the Naga property could be filled up and  earn revenue for the province.

Garcia’s arch critic Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district yesterday gloated over the filing of charges against the Cebu governor.

“She deserves it. That’s what she gets for buying a property under water,” Osmena told Cebu Daily News.

“It’s the Sto. Nino’s way of saving Cebu. I’m very pleased with the development,” he said.

Businessman Crisologo Saavedra, who has hounded the Capitol with allegations of corruption, welcomed the Ombudsman’s action, which came two years after the Ombudsman Visayas office found the governor and other officials criminally liable for “entering into a gorssly disadvantageous contract” and “gross inexcusable negligence” in its June 22, 2010 Final Evaluaton Report.

“Finally, we are getting justice, not only for myself, but for all the Cebuanos. The money involved here belongs to the people of Cebu,” said Saavedra, who , along with Osmeña had filed ta a complaint against the governor over the Balili lot fiasco before the Ombudsman Visayas.

“Justice is already moving. You can’t get justice in a short period of time. She will be convicted,” he said.

Environment lawyer Gloria Estenzo-Ramos, whose queries about coal ash to be dumped in the Balili Estate, opened scrutiny into the land purchase, said this should serve as a lesson to other government officials about the need to keep transactions transparent and above board.

“We hope justice will prevail. It was admitted that the province purchased the area which should not have been purchased,” Ramos said.

“I hope it sends a signal to people and public oficials to be prudent in spending the money of taxpayers,” she added.

Ramos, however, said she wasn’t completely satisfied with the outcome.

“Why are there only few people indicted? That (Balili lot purchase) was authorized by the Provincial Board,” she said.

The Ombudsman’s resolution said the provincial board was made to believe that the land was classified as industrial and recreational when it authorized Garcia to pay for the property.

The original recommendation by the Visayas Ombudsman’s Office named several officials for formal investigation but they were not impleaded in the complaint filed with the Sandiganbayan.

They were Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale,  Provincial Board Members Julian Daan, Wilfredo Caminero, Peter John Calderon, Joven Mondigo Jr., Bea Mercede Calderon, and former Board Members Victor Maambong, Jose Maria Gastardo, Rose Marie Durano, Wenceslao Gakit, Alfredo Francis Ouano and Teresita Celis.

Former Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez, who was a  respondent, was cleared of the charges following his death.

Also excluded were members of the Task Working Group –  Assistant Provincial Assessor Mariflor Vero, Asistant Clerk Michelle Languido, Tax Mapping Aide Roger Dumayac, and LAOO Pilar Yburan were also not included in the charges filed in court.

“I’m relieved. Thank God, we were not included,” Vice Gov. Magpale  said last night.

“We were confident the charges would be dropped. Our consciences were clear.”

“When we gave the governor the authority to purchase, it wasn’t our function to inspect (the area). It is the job of the executive department to arrange (the purchase),” she said.