BACOLOD City Mayor Evelio Leonardia and six others were given 10 days to answer the criminal and administrative complaints filed against them before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.
Leonardia, along with Eduardo Ravena, then City Accountant; Belly Aguillon, officer-in-charge of City Engineer’s Office; Senior Superintendent Ronilo Quebrar, then city director of Bacolod City Police Office; Ricardo Dahil-Dahil, then officer-in-charge of Management and Audit Services Office; Teresita Guadalupe, then officer-in-charge of Office of the Building Official; and Francis Albert Torres, proprietor of FAT Petron, were charged for violations of Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code or malversation of public funds or property, and Section 3 (e) of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The complaints were filed by Armando Colado and Christopher Villeta for alleged irregularities in the purchase of gasoline, oil, and lubricant.
The order dated November 11, 2016, signed by Euphemia Bacalso, acting director, Evaluation and Investigation Office, stated that finding enough basis to proceed with the preliminary investigation and administrative adjudication proceedings of these criminal and administrative cases, the respondents are hereby ordered to file counter-affidavit and other controverting evidence.
The respondents are required to submit proof of service of their counter-affidavit and evidence to the complainant, who may file reply-affidavit within inextendible period of 10 days from receipt of the same.
Failure to comply as herein directed within the period prescribed by the rules shall be deemed a waiver of the right to present the party’s counter-affidavit or reply-affidavit and the investigation shall proceed according to existing rules, the order added.
The Ombudsman said it appears that the complaint is based on the Commission on Audit (COA) annual audit report on the City of Bacolod for the years ending December 31, 2006 and 2007. Based on these reports, purchases of fuel by Bacolod were not supported with basic requirements and documents such as delivery receipts, trip tickets, and monthly fuel consumption report, payments for the purchase of fuel which lacked supporting documents from years 2006 and 2007 allegedly reached to P72,890,101.40.
The 2007 annual audit report submitted by COA revealed that the advance payment for fuel amounting to P45,538,000 were not effectively controlled and properly accounted for. The payments made for fuel amounting to P526,826.65 attached to voucher documents were not related to the specific transaction it was supposed to support, the Ombudsman added.
City Legal Officer Joselito Bayatan said yesterday they received the order Thursday evening, but added that it is an old issue which they already explained in 2013.
He said in November 2012, Leonardia instructed the City Legal Office to clear all the COA issues.
“We were able to clear them all before he exited in 2013, we submitted the clarifications to the COA,” Bayatan added.
He pointed out that these fuel expenses were being properly used and expended for.
Bayatan said they will answer the complaint and will ask for an extension to file the counter-affidavits.
