Mayor suspended over ‘pork’ misuse

ILOILO CITY, Philippines—The antigraft court Sandiganbayan has ordered the suspension for 90 days of a mayor of an Iloilo town for the award of a P15 million pork barrel-funded contract to purchase medical supplies in 2001 to two firms that turned out to be owned by a single person.

Mayor Frankie Locsin, of Janiuay town, vacated his post on Feb. 3, the date the suspension order issued by the Sandiganbayan took effect.

Janiuay Vice Mayor Joseph Lutero told Inquirer he assumed the post of acting mayor around 1 p.m. on Monday after representatives of the Department of the Interior and Local Government formally served the suspension order.

Locsin did not reply to text messages and calls from Inquirer Wednesday.

The Sandiganbayan issued the suspension order after the Ombudsman elevated to the court a criminal case for graft against Locsin involving a

P15 million contract to purchase medical supplies that the local government of Jainuay awarded to two companies that turned out to be owned by one man.

The project was funded by the Countrywide Development Fund (CDF), then the official name of pork barrel before it became Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), of Sen. Vicente Sotto III.

COA report

The case was based on a Commission on Audit report that suspended and disallowed the release of funds for the P15 million contract, noting irregularities in the bidding and delivery of the medical supplies.

The COA report said the contract was awarded to two of three bidders—Am-Europharma (P13.1 million) and Mallix Drug Center (P1.7 million) on Jan. 15, 2001 on the same day that the bidding was held.

Delivery

The delivery of the medical supplies was made on Jan. 16, 2001 and fully paid on Jan. 17, 2001.

The third purported bidder, identified as Philpharmawealth, had denied taking part in the project, according to the COA report.

Same owner

That left only the two bidders, supposedly different companies that turned out to be owned by Rod Villanueva.

Villanueva is president and general manager of Am-

Europharma and also the sole proprietor of Mallix Drug Center, the COA report said.

In 2011, the Ombudsman found Locsin and four then municipal employees liable in the administrative aspect of the case.

But since Locsin won reelection in 2010, he is deemed absolved in the administrative aspect of the case.

The criminal aspect of the case, however, remains.