6 years for Leyte ex-mayor for graft

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–A former Southern Leyte mayor will be getting six years jail time and lifetime ban from public office for tapping her catering company to feed then President Fidel V. Ramos and his delegation during a visit to her town nearly two decades ago.

In a statement, the Sandiganbayan found Zenaida Maamo, former mayor of Lilo-an, Southern Leyte, guilty of transgressing section 3(h) of Republic Act No. 3019 (Antigraft and Corrupt Practices Act) for awarding a contract to her company, Niña’s Eatery and Lodging House, during Ramos’s visit to her town in 1995.

In her decision promulgated Sept. 22, Justice Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta wrote: “It was highly irregular for a municipal mayor to approve a contracting service in favor of a business she owned and operated. In this case, accused evidently committed a palpable violation of the law by having engaged in a business transaction with the Municipality of Lilo-an by approving the food catering service in favor of Niña’s Eatery.”