By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Office of the Ombudsman dismissed criminal and administrative charges filed against several elected officials of Bacolod City, along with City Hall employees, in relation to alleged irregularities in the purchase of a private lot in 2008 in Barangay Felisa for a solid waste disposal facility.
The case was initially filed by the Ombudsman-Visayas Field Investigation Office in March 2017 following claims of violations to Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, along with misconduct.
The respondents in the case included Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Bacolod lone district Rep. Greg Gasataya, along with several local government officials
The order penned by Ombudsman Samuel Martires last May, but received by respondents last week, found there was “proprietary and reasonableness in the purchase of the property” and affirmed, “The criminal charge fails as do the administrative charges.”
The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Sara Esguerra and Othelo Ramos in 2009, but the Ombudsman issued separate resolutions, dated September 10 and 14, 2009, exonerating the respondents from any criminal and administrative liability.
According to Gasataya, the Ombudsman found out the case was already dismissed and refiled but discovered there were no new issues.
According to the complaint, the 2009 Commission on Audit (COA) annual audit report showed the price contracted by the city for the purchase of 70,000 square meters of land in the amount of P340 per square meter, or a total value of P23.8 million, was found to be “excessive.” After a deed of conditional sale was agreed upon on July 8, 2008 despite the City Appraisal Committee issuing Resolution No. 06 series of 2008 a month prior recommending P360 per square meter as the appraised value.
The property owner agreed to sell the property for the agreed amount of P340 per square meter and documented the figure as a reduction from the original offering of P600 per square meter.
The complaint also claimed the P23.8 million price was higher than the P18,323,719.05 COA valuation. The amount disallowed by COA was P5,476,280.95./DGB, WDJ