MANILA – The Office of the Ombudsman on Wednesday charged Caluya, Antique mayor Genevive Lim-Reyes for her alleged unlawful approval of the cutting of coconut trees in 2014.
Ombudsman prosecutors have filed charges against Lim-Reyes before the Sandiganbayan for one count of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and one count of violation of the Coconut Preservation Act.
The Ombudsman said Lim-Reyes has “willfully, unlawfully and criminally” ordered the cutting of 254 coconut trees planted and cultivated on the 5-hectare land of Juliet Ramos in Barangay Tinogboc in Caluya.
“[Lim-Reyes] took advantage of her official position by approving the clearing operations without due consideration of Ramos’s civil rights,” the Ombudsman said.
It added, “The cutting was also conducted without compliance with the legal processes of a prior public consultation and judicial recovery of possession, absent a permit to cut the said coconut trees from the Philippine Coconut Authority.”
The Ombudsman has recommended a total bail bond of P42,000 — P30,000 for graft and P12,000 for violation of the Coconut Preservation Act — for the provisional liberty Lim-Reyes./PN
