Sandigan: Evidence for graft vs Cagayan de Oro mayor strong

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan has found the pieces of evidence to be strong in a graft and corruption case filed against Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno.

The charges stemmed from the allegedly anomalous contracts involving the lease of heavy equipment during Moreno’s term as governor of Misamis Oriental from 2007 to 2012.

In a resolution promulgated yesterday, the anti-graft court’s Second Division denied Moreno’s motion to file a demurrer to evidence as well as that of his co-respondents, former bids and awards committee (BAC) members Rolando Pacuribot and Cancio Nicanor Guibone.

A demurrer would have allowed the accused to seek the dismissal of their cases based solely on the supposed weakness of evidence of the Office of the Ombudsman’s prosecution team.

Moreno and Pacuribot are facing 16 counts of violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, while Guibone was a co-accused in one of the graft cases.

Moreno and Pacuribot are also facing one and four counts, respectively, of falsification of public documents as provided under the Revised Penal Code.

The ombudsman said about P15 million was paid for the lease deals even as the contracts were awarded without public bidding, which was a violation of RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

The respondents allegedly resorted to negotiated procurement and small-value purchases despite the lack of recommendations from BAC.

The ombudsman said at least three contractors named in the lease deals denied having entered into an agreement with the provincial government.

The anti-graft court ordered Moreno and his co-accused to present proof that could dispute the “voluminous” evidence presented by the ombudsman.