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[av_heading heading=’ Former mayor of Sara eludes arrest ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
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ILOILO – The Sandiganbayan ordered the arrest of former Sara municipal mayor Neptali Salcedo for failing to attend his arraignment on the first week of August for graft complaints filed against him.
However, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) that was tasked to serve the bench warrant yesterday failed to arrest Salcedo at his house in Barangay Poblacion, Sara.
Salcedo’s daughter, Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Jeneda Salcedo Orendain, told CIDG regional director Senior Superintendent Francisco Esguerra around 3 p.m. that her father was not in their house.
The bench warrant was issued by Sandiganbayan 6th Division’s Justice Rodolfo Ponferrada on Aug. 7 yet.
Salcedo was accused of malversation of public funds and multiple graft (criminal case No. SB-13-CRM-001-0092) by then Iloilo 5th District congressman Niel Tupas Jr. in 2011.
Others charged were municipal treasurer Edna Pacrim, municipal engineer Roel Salcedo, municipal budget officer Gregorio Golingay, municipal planning and development coordinator and Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) chairman Calixto Oliveros, municipal general services chief Marcelino Abellar, executive assistant and BAC member Marilou Balasabas, and statistical aide and BAC secretariat head Elizabeth Tan.
Tupas, who at that time was chairman of the House justice committee, filed the complaints based on audit findings that contracts and purchase orders totaling P1,249,050 were questionably awarded to Porquez Farm and General Merchant even though the company was not a bona fide supplier.
Based on the findings of the Ombudsman, according to Tupas, the corresponding disbursement vouchers for payments made to the firm were not supported by the required documents, and the vouchers lacked several of the required signatures.
Oliveros, Pacrim, Engineer Salcedo, Golingay, Abellar, Balasabas, and Tan were found liable for inefficiency and incompetence in performing their official duties, and were each meted nine-month suspension without pay and benefits.
The ex-Sara mayor, Pacrim and Engineer Salcedo were also indicted over P200-thousand payment for the construction of a farm-to-market road from Barangay Domingo to Barangay Muyco, Sara and another P100,000 for another farm-to-market road from Sitio Kapinayan, Barangay Domingo to Sitio Sincua, Barangay Lemery.
Tupas claimed, however, that the project merely entailed the repair of an existing road and not the construction of a new one, which meant that for the Kapinayan-Sincua project the town paid an overprice of P48,256 because such a project would only cost P51,744.
Based on a Commission on Audit (COA) report, the town also paid an excess of P96,512 for the Domingo-Muyco project that was valued at only P103,488.
For the third graft complaint, Salcedo, Pacrim, Engineer Salcedo, accountant Edgar Beatingo, and a private individual identified as Luis Ybiernas were charged for allegedly causing the payment of P1 million to the Sara Caltex station for fuel and lubricant used in several road repair and expansion projects.
COA auditors found an excess payment of P153,721 because the actual cost of fuel consumed was only P846,279 for 10 different projects, according to Tupas.
In the fourth case, Salcedo, Pacrim and the municipal engineer were accused of 30 counts of malversation of public funds through alleged falsification of public documents over the release of P1,834,400 for the labor payroll./PN
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