Tuguegarao mayor, 4 ex-mayors face graft raps

The Office of the Ombudsman has filed criminal cases against the incumbent mayor of Tuguegarao City, and four former mayors for various offenses ranging from allowing illegal bingo games to making a former girlfriend a ghost employee.

Tuguegarao City Mayor Delfin Ting was charged with violation of the graft law for allegedly allowing the demolition of the Tuguegarao City Central Public Market without any authorization.

Ting, according to the complaint was only allowed by a city development council to upgrade the market The complaint against him alleged that the market’s demolition caused undue injury to the government because the demolished portion was P16 million while the property’s book value before the demolition was P24 million.

Also facing graft raps are former Lucena City Mayor Ramon Talaga Jr., Zoning Administrator Peter Palamiano, and Pagcor’s Bingo Department head Marizmelda Dugayo. The Office of the Ombudsman found them liable for allowing BCQ Enterprises to operate bingo games even though they lacked a mayor’s business permit and were delinquent in paying business fees and taxes.

Former Sto. Tomas, Isabela Mayor Antonio Talaue, municipal treasurer Efren Guiyab and municipal accountant Florante Galasinao were ordered charged for failing to remit P22 million worth of payments to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) from 1997 to 2004.

The GSIS was the one that had filed the complaint against the officials.

Meanwhile, Former Calauag Mayor Eric Entienza was ordered charged with falsification of a public document for allegedly issuing a certification that stated that Annaliza de Torres Prudente, said to be his former live-in partner, was working as a property custodian for the local government of Calauag.

The Office of the Ombudsman said Prudente was never employed by the Calauag municipality. Entienza had apparently issued the certification to help Prudente’s visa application.

Former Mayor Jorge Bernardo of Morong, Rizal, was also ordered charged for continuing to sign and approve disbursements of government funds even though he was already with another office.