Bohol rep cries political harassment

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines—Bohol Rep. Rene Relampagos has cried political harassment in the Ombudsman decision to charge him and several Bohol officials with graft at the Sandiganbayan for entering into a joint venture that was detrimental to the government.

“I honestly do not know if I am the only who notices this, that this single case filed against me and the others only manages to resurrect itself every election time. Coincidence? I think not,” Relampagos said in a statement.

He maintained that there was nothing irregular in the joint venture agreement entered into by the province with the consortium Salcon International Inc., Salcon Power Corp., Pure and Pam Inc., Salcon Philippine Inc. and Salcon Ltd. when he was governor of Bohol in 2000.

“Everything was made with complete transparency and accountability—from the consultations to the bidding to the execution of contracts and to the implementation of the joint venture. We could not have done it any other way,” he added.

Relampagos, along with now Gov. Edgardo Chatto, was indicted for graft in the Sandiganbayan for allegedly undervaluing the privatization of the water and electricity utilities in the province by P627 million in 2000.

Chatto, who was vice governor at that time, said in a radio interview that the political maneuvering and harassment in the filing of the charges did not erode the people’s trust in their leadership.

Also indicted for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, were provincial board members Arnold Lungay, Isabelito Tongco, Eufrasio Mascarinas, Concepcion Lim, Exequiel Madrinan, Severino Caberte, Tomas Abapo Jr., Francisco Alena Sr., Felix Uy and Renato Inocentes Lopez.

Dennis Villareal, president of the private consortium, was also included in the charge sheet as a private respondent.

The Ombudsman said the Bohol officials were found liable for graft for agreeing to sell the assets and franchises of water services in Bohol for P80 million and the power supply for P75 million when the combined assets of these utilities were valued at P782 million.

But Relampagos said the finding of the Ombudsman Central Office was opposite that of the ruling of the  Ombudsman for the Visayas which conducted the investigation in 2001.

He said the Ombudsman-Visayas resolution showed that the actual value of the two utilities at that time was in the negative.

Salcon consortium, he added, had to give substantial investment “to pay off the companies’ debts and acquire additional assets.”

Relampagos said the province still owned 30 percent of the two utilities under the joint venture. At present, he added, the province got at least P50 million in dividend from the two corporations.