Ombudsman certifies no case vs ex-mayor of Candaba

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — The Office of the Ombudsman has certified that former Candaba town Mayor Jerry Pelayo had “no pending criminal and administrative cases” with the antigraft body as of June 27.

The Ombudsman clearance, issued by Czarina May Altez-Domingo, graft investigation Officer 1, contradicted published reports, including the Inquirer’s, regarding a 2014 plunder complaint against Pelayo for alleged ghost projects worth P127.7 million.

Pelayo said he had requested the clearance so he could claim the benefits due him as a government employee and to clear his name.

The alleged plunder complaint was announced by people identified with another former mayor during a Manila news conference in 2014, he said. Pelayo said the stories were hurtful because these were published and circulated during his son’s wedding.

“Reporters believed them without verifying if a case was really filed by asking for a copy of the complaint marked received by the Ombudsman or the docket number of the supposed case,” Pelayo told the Inquirer on Sunday.

“I waited three years,” Pelayo said, adding, “The news was fake.”

In 2015, Pelayo won a libel case against 12 Candaba residents who made the claims about the project anomalies.