Ex-Maguindanao mayor charged with graft anew

MANILA, Philippines - Former South Upi, Maguindanao mayor Abdullah Campong and former municipal treasurer Onofre Natividad are facing new graft charges.

The former officials were recently indicted for issuing checks from the account of the municipal government amounting to P8,820,539.47.

Graft investigation and prosecution officer Maricel Marcial-Oquendo said the checks were supposedly issued to pay a  loan  worth P14 million from a certain Mulba Ampakay. 

Oquendo said the checks were later cancelled, ”giving unwarranted benefits to the respondents and causing undue injury to Ampakay.”

The ombudsman set the bail at P30,000.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales earlier ordered the filing of charges against Campong and Natividad for allegedly failing to remit the  Pag-IBIG contributions of municipal employees  from April to November 2007 and their withholding taxes from January to December 2007.

‘Dismiss case’

Meanwhile, former Palawan provincial agricultural officer Rodolfo Guieb sought the dismissal of the remaining graft case he is facing before the Sandiganbayan in connection with the fertilizer fund scam.

In a 15-page motion recently filed before the third division of the anti-graft court, Guieb said the case, which stemmed from the alleged anomalous purchase of P4.8 million in liquid fertilizers from a non-government organization linked to suspected pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, should be dismissed over trial delay.

“The long period of time taken by the Office of the Ombudsman in filing the information...constitutes inordinate, vexatious, capricious and unreasonable delay, which violates… (the respondent’s) constitutional right to a speedy disposition of the case,” Guieb’s motion read.

Graft probers said the fertilizers were purchased from the Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc. without public bidding as required under the Government Procurement Reform Act. The ombudsman said MAMFI also lacked the accreditation and qualifications to  implement the project.

The Sandiganbayan earlier dismissed the cases filed against Guieb as a co-accused of former Marinduque congressman Edmundo Reyes Jr. and former Palawan governor Joel Reyes also in connection with the fertilizer fund scam after the ombudsman took more than 10 years to finish its investigation and file the charges.