Ex-Rodriguez mayor accused of usurpation of powers

A former mayor of Rizal province has been accused of usurping the powers of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board by issuing permits to operate to private and public utility vehicles.

According to the information filed by the Ombudsman prosecutors, former Rodriguez mayor Pedro Sanguyo Cuerpo had allegedly issued for a fee temporary permits to operate/franchise to private vehicles to operate as public utility vehicles in the municipality.

The prosecutors said Cuerpo in October 2006 facilitated the issuance of permits without him being lawfully entitled to do so, in violation of Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code.

The said article penalizes a person who knowingly and falsely represent himself or herself to be an officer, agent or representative to perform duties without being lawfully entitled to do so.

In 2015, Cuerpo was acquitted by the Sandiganbayan from a case accusing him of illegally issuing a demolition order in 1996.