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House panel recommends graft charges vs Imee, Ilocos Norte execs

July 6, 2018 | 4:55pm

House panel recommends graft charges vs Imee, Ilocos Norte execs

Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos, right, shakes hands with Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas, left, as the Marcos' legal adviser, former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, center, looks on during a congressional inquiry at the House of Representatives in suburban Quezon city, north of Manila, Philippines on Tuesday July 25, 2017. The inquiry is based on a resolution filed by Farinas asking the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability to look into the alleged anomalous vehicle purchases of the Ilocos Norte province using the tobacco excise tax fund. Six employees of the provincial government who were cited in contempt and detained for being evasive in their answers during the hearings were also released.

AP / Aaron Favila, File

MANILA, Philippines — Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos and other officials of the province should be slapped with graft charges over their alleged involvement in the misuse of their share of tobacco excise taxes, a House committee recommended in its report.

The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability said that Marcos and officials of the provincial government of Ilocos Norte should be held liable for the "highly irregular and illegal" purchase of 110 units of Foton minicabs.

“With all premises considered, the committee has determined that the purchase of the subject vehicles by the PGIN was highly irregular and illegal,” the committee said.

The House panel said that the 110 vehicles were overpriced by P21.45 million.

It said that Marc Chua, described as the "long-time partner" of Marcos, sold the vehicles to the Ilocos Norte provincial government for P485,000 per unit.

The panel said that the purchase was overpriced by P195,000 per unit as Chua got the vehicles from Fabian Go, through Granstar Motors and Industrial Corporation, for P270,000 per vehicle.

Last year, Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas (Ilocos Norte) accused Marcos of misusing P66.5 million in tobacco funds after she authorized the purchase of the units in 2011 and 2012 without public bidding.

The money was the share of Ilocos Norte from the tobacco revenues under Republic Act 7171 or the "Act to promote the development of the farmer in the Virginia tobacco-producing provinces," according to Fariñas, Reps. Juan Pablo Bondo (Pampanga) and Aurelio Gonzales Jr., who filed the resolution seeking the probe.

The report noted that the purchase of the vehicles was irregular as it was done through cash advances and without public bidding.

The transaction also violated RA 7171 because the fund was utilized to buy motor vehicles, which was not among the purposes enumerated under the law.

The committee also discovered that the vehicles were not registered with the Land Transportation Office, a violation of Republic Act 4136 or the "Land Transportation and Traffic Code."

The committee also said that the Commission on Audit and its auditors who failed to issue the appropriate notices of suspension and disallowance were accountable under Republic Act 3815 or the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines and Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.