City mayor charged at Sandiganbayan

The wheels of justice have started moving- grossly delayed it may have been. Finally, the Office of the Ombudsman (Visayas) has recommended to the Sandiganbayan in Manila the filing of criminal graft charges against last termer Tagbilaran Mayor Dan Lim in connection with his ordered power disconnection at the residences of a radio anchorman and a technician of station dyRD, a city based radio station which has consistently stood its ground in exposing anomalies at the city hall.

The case will be raffled on November 9 with a bail bond posted at P 30,000 versus the City mayor. The case docketed as People of the Philippines versus Dan N Lim SB-47 CRN -0245 is in violation of Paragraph 3 section e of RA 3019 otherwise known as the Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act against erring public officials. Loosely stated, the violation occurs when a public official ,using his administrative or other juridical powers renders undue injury to any person in the private or public sectors or grant unwarranted benefits to the same with his "partiality, bad faith and gross negligence". EARLIER DATED OMBUDSMAN POSITION Graft Investigator Portia Pacquiao-Suson in earlier June-dated 13-page decision said that the Ombudsman found "probable violation of Sec. 3(e) of R.A. 3019 otherwise known as the AntiGraft and Corrupt Practices Act." Why the Visayas Ombudsman decision dated June found its way into the Sandiganbayan only in late October or more than four months later is the subject of curious and serious inquiry. The local mid-presidential term elections will be held on May 13, 2013.

The graft body recommended the filing of appropriate charges against the city mayor for ordering the power disconnection at the residences of Tagbilaran-By-Nite achorman Jeremias "Jerry" Pabe and Gerardo Cajes, at Capitol Valley Subdivision in barangay Dao, this city. Both residential homes were cut of its electricity for more than two years upon the order of Mayor Lim.

The graft body stated that Mayor Lim has "shown evident bad faith and manifest partiality against the complainants taking into account that they were singled out among the hundreds of residents in the Capitol Valley Subdivision." The decision was also anchored on the fact that there was "no basis for Mayor Lim to withdraw the same since complainants were not shown to have violated the conditions of the permit." It may be recalled that upon written order of Mayor Lim, the Bohol Light Co was ordered to disconnect the power at their residences on the premise that in one of the conditions for the subdivision to be issued the guarantee by the city mayor for the residences to be connected with electricity was the provision that "in case conflict arises between the interest of the City and the applicant, the city government has the right to revoke or withdraw the temporary permit herein given without prior notice." WHIMSICAL AND WITH UNDUE INJURY However, after conducting the investigation, the graft body found it clear that the "withdrawal of the warranty for the temporary electrical connection has caused undue injury to complainants." Earlier, both Pabe and Cajes stated that the "withdrawal by Mayor L:im of the warranty in their favor was not only whimsical but also unfair as the mayor simply discriminated them because they were employees of station dyRD-AM which is of public knowledge that there is a conflict between Mayor Lim and the said radio station due to expose of news critical of the city government." The decision found the two radio employees not violating any of the conditions stipulated between the power consumer and the electric provided. The disconnection was without any legal and justifiable reason since the victims have not violated any of the conditions stipulated in their respective temporary permits issued by the electric company way back in 2009. The complaints likewise that the act of Mayor Lim caused "undue injury because they suffered the inconvenience of darkness and the trouble of not having any electricity for more than two years now." GRAVE ABUSE PUNISHMENT Depending on the gravity of the offense and the nature of the charge being either administrative or criminal , a public official found guilty of violation of said Section of RA 3019 for " grave abuse of authority, oppression and conduct unbecoming of an official" can be meted a removal, suspension, demotion (if appointive) or inflicted with a set of fees .

In a case precedent, then Ilocos Governor Rodolfo Farinas was meted a six months suspension by the courts and no bail was recommended -landing the governor in the provincial jail. He was prevented to exercise his functions as governor (inside prison) as there is an automatic assumption into office of the next in rank duly elected by the people which is the vice governor. In another unrelated case, a suspended mayor was not allowed to assume office even when he was reelected without serving the full term of the suspension. The Supreme Court ruled that it is only the Courts and not the people that can determine a public official's violation in office and the penalties for such and not by mere popular election after the fact. City Mayor Lim is running for the first congressional district candidate against the the Liberal Party , reelectionist Congressman rene Relampagos who is the House Committee Chair on Human Rights. Ordinary folks in the city and the media in the Visayas cited the Lim infraction as a clear violation of human rights against two practicing media men. DISCRIMINATORY WARRANTIES The graft body also stated that since the electrification was a special program by the city mayor's office, Mayor Lim should have provided the same equally to everyone who was entitled to it. Instead, the Ombudsman stated that the order to cut-off the power connection was "used as a tool to discriminate against complainants for the reason that, as alleged by the complainants and which has not been refuted by the respondents, their employer, station dyRD, is in conflict with the respondent." The Temporary Electrical Connection is a special program created by the City Mayor's office to deliver the necessary and basic services to its constituents in a government assisted project (NHA CMP-Program), through special electrification program. It may be recalled that the subdivision, even without the compliance with some documents with regard to the subdivided lots can still be considered in compliance before the occupancy perm,its are then issued to their respective houses. An occupancy permit is necessary before a particular house will be installed with a permanent electric service connection by the Bohol Light Co., Inc. Mayor Lim, in behalf of and and in his capacity as mayor extended the warranty in favor of the residents of Capitol Valley Subdivision in order for them to have a temporary electrical connection with BLCI.

Other respondents of the complaint aside from Mayor Lim were Teodoro Estoque, ICO-building officer; Engr. Eulogio Signe, BLCI general manager, Engr Ray Grapa, operations manager,and Rotelio Lamdagan, Jr. BLCI consumer services supervisor . The four other respondents were cleared by the Ombudsman as the graft body found that they were just performing the duty expected of them which is to implement the disconnection order issued the city mayor. The finding came after the Ombudsman found that the acts of Mayor Lim caused "undue injury because they suffered the inconvenience of darkness and the trouble of not having any electricity." SPECIFIC ANTI-GRAFT LEGALESE Sec. 3 provides that "Corrupt practices of public officers. In addition to acts or omissions of public officers already penalized by existing law, the following shall constitute corrupt practices of any public officer and are hereby declared to be unlawful. Section (e) causing any injury to any party, including the government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of the official, administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith and gross inexcusable negligence,. This provision shall apply to officers and employees of offices or government corporations charged with the grant of licenses or permits or other concessions." RIGHTS BODY IGNORED; PRESIDENT INFORMED Mayor Lim in the same issue, ignored the order of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to restore the electric service connections to the houses of Pabe and Cajes. Lawyer Arvin Ordon of CHR Cebu in his findings said that to ensure the protection and promotion of their basic human rights, he recommended that the administrative and criminal complaints be filed against the mayor and other persons involved The decision of the Commission on Human Rights which was ignored by the city mayor was issued on Aug, 23, 2011, or some 14 months ago. This unexplained great length of time -of over a year of what was clearly a violation of the basic human rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness- has been thrashed by civil libertarians as a clear case of a "travesty of justice." The said findings were sent to CHR Regional Director Alejandro Alonso, Jr as findings were issued by Ordon. The Commission on Human Rights Chair Loreta "Etta" Rosales decried to the Chronicle in their state of being "tied hands behind our backs since our office cannot prosecute offenders but can only do recommending powers."

President Benigno Aquino , in his recent visit here,was apprised recently of the state of corruption among the Ombudsman regional offices and was cited a pattern of deliberate slowdown or outright dismissal of some meritorious anti-graft cases.