Ombudsman clears Cagayan de Oro City mayor of raps over Ajinomoto deal

Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno speaks at a press conference on February 27, 2019. PHOTO by Jigger J, Jerusalem/Inquirer Mindanao

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Office of the Ombudsman has cleared Mayor Oscar Moreno and a few others from the criminal case filed against them over the tax settlement agreement the city government entered into with condiments maker Ajinomoto Philippines in 2013.

The 13-page decision was issued on Jan. 2, 2019, but copies of the document were distributed to the media only on Wednesday, Feb. 27.

The dismissal of the case against Moreno, former city treasurer Glenn Bañez, and Ajinomoto representative Jocelyn Tsang was prepared by Assistant Special Prosecutor Anthony Ludalvi Vista and signed by Assistant Ombudsman Proper Pilarita Lapitan and Ombudsman Samuel Martires.

“The respondents’ actions do not satisfy the undersigned’s well-founded beliefs that crimes were committed,” read a part of the decision.

Moreno said the Ombudsman’s order cleared his name. “At the very least, this vindicates us,” he said.

“This is certainly a very important victory, and I hope that this will be discussed thoroughly at the local government levels so that the people will understand the power of the treasurer, especially about assessment,” Moreno told reporters during a hastily called press conference inside his office on Wednesday morning.

“This decision is very enlightening, and I know that we have always been on the right side,” the mayor said.

In his affidavit, complainant William Guialani accused the local government officials of making a deal with Ajinomoto to settle the company’s tax liabilities in the amount of P2.9 million without the approval of the city council.

Because of the agreement, the condiments firm ended up paying P300,000 as full settlement for its obligation to the city government.

The city government also reclassified Ajinomoto’s products from “essential” to “non-essential.”

Guialani alleged that Moreno and Bañez violated the anti-graft law by entering into a deal with Ajinomoto.

Lawyer Bryan Dale Mordeno, Moreno’s chief legal counsel, said that before the Ombudsman’s decision, the Court of Appeals-Mindanao Station has already ruled on the administrative side of the Ajinomoto case.

Mordeno said it took the Ombudsman some time to decide on the case since the criminal aspect was filed at the Sandiganbayan, the proper venue for government officials with a salary grade of at least 30, such as Moreno.

The recent Ombudsman ruling is only one of the few cases the anti-graft courts have handed out a decision out of the dozens of lawsuits filed against the official since he was elected mayor in 2013. /ee