Ex-Leyte mayor, 7 others face raps

MANILA, Philippines – The Office of the Ombudsman ordered yesterday the filing of graft charges against a former town mayor and seven other local officials in Leyte. 

Former Capoocan mayor Federico Carolino Sr. will be indicted in connection with the purchase of dump trucks in 2008. 

Former bids and awards committee members Pio Antonio Borrel, Macario Noel Gullemas, Letecia Merelos, Frumencio Juntilla and Jesalie Loteyro as well as Manuel Poblico and Jovelito Monesit, representatives of Compressed Air Machineries and Equipment Corp. (CAMEC), are included in the charge sheet.

Graft probers said CAMEC was given ”unwarranted benefit, preference and advantage.” 

The anti-graft court said there were lapses in the bidding process, citing inconsistencies in the supplier’s business name. 

There were irregularities regarding reference to specific brand name, non-compliance with technical specifications and failure to declare the approved budget for the contact, the court added.