MARTINEZES: DISMISS GRAFT RAPS
The camp of former congresswoman Clavel Asas-Martinez is ready to fight all the way to the Supreme Court to dismiss graft charges filed against her and her two children in relation to the 2003 Girl Scout of the Philippines fund scam.
Lawyer Inocencio dela Cerna, assisting counsel of the Martinez family, said a motion to dismiss is pending before Sandiganbayan.
“We’re waiting for the resolution of our motion to dismiss. If it is denied, then we will go to the Supreme Court,” Dela Cerna said.
Dela Cerna said Clavel and Tining are presently staying in Manila for updates of the case.
An arrest warrant was issued by the Sandiganbayan in March but the court suspended its implementation last July 31 pending resolution of the motion to dismiss. Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) searched the houses of Martinez in the cities of Cebu and Bogo last Aug. 7 to serve the arrest warrant but the accused were not there.
Clavel and six others were charged with malversation of P11.5 million, an amount donated to the GSP 10 years ago from Martinez’s pork barrel. Investigators said Clavel kept P10 million in her private bank account for two years before she returned it in 2005.
The seven accused are Clavel, former Bogo City Mayor Celestino “Tining” Martinez III, her daughter and former GSP treasurer Ma. Cielo Martinez, former municipal treasurer and now councilor Rhett Minguez, municipal accountant Cresencio Verdida, bookkeeper Rhodariza Kilantang and GSP Cebu Council cashier Julieta Quino. /Reporter Ador Vincent S. Mayol
TWO CITY OFFICES SEEK MORE FUNDS
TWO Cebu City Hall offices need additional funds to support their operations until the end of the year.
The Department of Public Services (DPS) needs P45 million to pay the tipping fee of a private landfill in barangay Pulog in Consolacion town that will receive the city’s garbage next month until December 31.
Engineer Dionisio Gualiza, DPS head, said the city’s P30 million outlay for the landfill’s garbage tipping fee of P700 per ton was already consumed last month.
The Government Services Office (GSO) needs P45 million for additional fuel and lubricants. Its supply will run out this month. /Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac