Ex-Iloilo gov Tupas Sr. faces graft rap over electricity deal

FORMER Iloilo governor Niel Tupas Sr. is facing a graft charge before the Sandiganbayan in connection with the overpayment of unconsumed electricity worth P4 million to a geothermal power firm.

The Ombudsman filed the graft charge against Tupas Sr., provincial accountant Lyd Tupas, assistant accounting department head Sandra Bionat and department head of general services Ramie Salcedo before the antigraft court.

In the charge sheet, the Ombudsman accused Tupas and his staff of causing undue injury to government by paying P4.007 million in unconsumed electricity of the Iloilo Provincial Government to Green Core Geothermal Inc. from December 2009 to April 2010

“(They conspired) with one another, while in the performance of their official functions, acting with manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or gross inexcusable negligence, (by) willfully, unlawfully and criminally (giving) unwarranted benefit, advantage or preference to Green Core Geothermal Inc.,” the Ombudsman said.

Tupas Sr. is the father of incumbent Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr.

In its indictment, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said Tupas Sr. is liable for violating the anti-graft law due to alleged irregularities in the deal with the National Power Corporation, later assumed by Green Core, for the bulk supply of electricity from 2007 to 2011.

READ: Iloilo ex-gov Niel Tupas Sr. indicted over electricity deal 

The deal was made in anticipation of the Iloilo Multi-Purpose Convention Center, for which the supply contract provided for an increase in contracted energy to 400,000kWh/month from 185,000kWh/month.

Due to the non-construction of the building back in 2009, Tupas requested to adjust the energy contract to 17,000 kwh/month.

Green Core then applied the adjustment for the period covering from June 2010 to December 2011.

Green Core was paid the amount representing 1,084,814.50 kWh even if the actual energy consumption in Iloilo was only 515,180.50kWh.

This means the province paid P5.88 million though the actual consumption was at P1.88 million, resulting in an overpayment of P4 million covering the billing period December 2009 to April 2010.

Because of this, the Commission on Audit issued a notice of disallowance to the Iloilo government.

Ombudsman Morales said the “respondents cannot sweepingly claim that they merely certified the disbursement documents to be valid, proper and legal, because if they really perused those documents they would have found the questionable nature of an electric billing that was unconsumed.”