Ombudsman suspends Lamitan city mayor

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The Ombudsman has suspended Lamitan City Vice Mayor Roderick Furigay for six months without pay after he was found guilty of grave misconduct over the city’s purchase of construction materials in 2012.

The case stemmed from the city government’s payment of P548,256 worth of construction supplies to the firm HHH Developer and Real Estate, Inc. (HDRI) and P175,000 payment for a five-day scuba diving course to Furigay College Inc. (FCI), which Furigay approved when he was still Lamitan City mayor in 2012.

Both firms, the Ombudsman found out, were owned by people closely related to Furigay, the Ombudsman said in the statement Thursday.

“Ombudsman probers found out that respondent Furigay is closely related to the owners and incorporators of HDRI and FCI,” the Ombusman said in a statement on Thursday. “Despite this, and HDRI and FCI’s failure to submit affidavits of disclosure of relationship, the city still awarded the contract to the two businesses.”

The Ombudsman said the Commission on Audit had disallowed the payments in June 2012 and ordered their immediate refund, as a result.

In October 2012, HDRI and FCI refunded P723,256 to the local government of Lamitan.

Aside from Furigay, five officials of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Chair Florence Herrera, Acting City Accountant Nilo Sotto; BAC members Ignacio Enriquez, Olivia Ablao, and Raquel Hibionada, were also found guilty of simple misconduct and were ordered suspended for one month.

“Furigay’s act of permitting the business transaction of his close relatives lacked the necessary justifications as to render them aboveboard, not to mention that the supporting procurement documents are highly questionable, gives away a contrary disposition on his part, and his tendency to succumb to corruption,” the Ombudsman added.

The Inquirer sought Furigay’s reaction but the latter refused to comment, saying his legal counsel would speak in his behalf.  Julie Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao