abreniandotcom.files.wordpress.com · Web viewJendricks response to me was: “Huwag ka ng magpasession, gawin mo nalang ang resolution at ipapirma sa bahay-bahay ng mga Sangguniang

OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMANREPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

OMBUDSMAN BUILDINGAGHAM ROAD QUEZON CITY 1101

BERNADINE S. JOSON, COMPLAINANT, CASE NO._____________________

FOR: PLUNDER, GRAFT AND CORRUPTION, TECHNICAL MALVERSATION, UNETHICAL CONDUCT, VIOLATION OF THE GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT REFORM ACT (RA 9184) AND FORFEITURE.

- VERSUS-

CECILIA SEAREAS LUNA, JENDRICKS SEARES LUNA, LARA HAYA SEARES LUNA, PURIFICACION BLAZA PAINGAN, MARISSA G. DONATO, MENO C. DICKENSON AND OSBORNE P. DOLAOEN,

RESPONDENTS.

X--------------------------------------------------X

COMPLAINT-AFFIDAVIT

I, BERNADINE S. JOSON, of legal age, married, until recently Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator and concurrent Secretary to the Sangguniang Bayan of the Municipality of Lagayan, Abra, with address for purposes of this complaint at Roque and Butuyan Law Offices, Unit 1904 Antel 2000 Corporate Center, 121 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City 1277, hereby depose and state that:

1. What I wish to say in the pages of this Complaint-Affidavit is a story of how key members of a political family in a small far-flung, underdeveloped town in Abra, over a period of a little more than a decade, in the absence of a viable system of checks and balances, has been raiding and plundering the town’s coffers. This was possible because during this period and until now, key members of the family and their cronies controlled key offices of the local government, including the Sangguniang Bayan.

2. It is a story of unmitigated greed of government officials in a forgotten town where to date, they perpetuate a reign of fear and plunder. I want to put a stop to it, for the good of my own townspeople who had borne in silence the many years of insufferable neglect and indignities. I am also doing this for myself and my family, because for so long I have allowed myself to be abused and exploited.

3. I shudder at the thought that what the key characters in this revolting story of big-time corruption in a small town away from the center is being repeated all over the country in such places where the powers-that-be lord it over their constituents, who are kept in the grip of fear and ignorance.

4. This account only covers the years 2003 to 2010; more anomalies happened in the municipality of Lagayan from 1998 to 2002 but for lack of access to records, I could not include these anomalies in this Consolidated Complaint.

5. This is a Consolidated Complaint against former Mayor Cecilia Seares Luna for the plunder of the public coffers of the municipality of Lagayan when she was the local chief executive for the

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years 2003 to 2006, or a four-year period, where available records show that at least Php 56,192,920.57in government funds in her responsibility cannot be accounted for. This amount includes funds intended for the salary and other benefits of municipal employees, savings from funds allocated for vacant positions and underpayment of salaries of 32 municipal employees, calamity funds and funds intended for development projects.

6. I am certain so much more in public funds have also been squandered under her watch in the years 1998 to 2002, but for the fact that I do not have records for these.

7. I charge Jendricks S. Luna, the incumbent president of the Association of Barangay Captains in Lagayan, for the plunder of the public coffers of the Municipality of Lagayan in the amount of at least Php 77,714,221.67 in public funds he systematically squandered for purposes other than those these were allocated for during the years 2007 to 2010 when he was the town mayor, including funds intended for the salary and other benefits of municipal employees , savings from funds allocated for vacant positions and underpayment of salaries of 32 municipal employees, calamity funds and funds intended for development projects.

8. The plunder committed by mother and son take together from the years 2003 to 2010 amounts to total of at least Php 133, 907, 142.24.

9. The comparative table below shows the various sources of funds that have remained unaccounted for when Cecilia Seares Luna was mayor of Lagayan town for the years 2003-2006:

SUMMARY OF UNACCOUNTED FUNDS UNDER THE TERM OF CECILIA SEARES LUNA AS MAYOR OF LAGAYAN TOWN

(2003-2006)

DESCRIPTION 2006 2005 2004 2003 SUBTOTALUnderpayment of Salaries1 (Filled)

808,808.00 No available record

No available Record

No available Record

808,808.00

Savings from Vacant Positions2

2,076,752.67

2,076,752.67

2,077,733.76

2,077,733.76

8,308,972.86

Clothing3 105,000.00 105,000.00 105,000.00 105,000.00 420,000.00MOOE of Filled Offices4 955,000.00 645,000.00 595,000.00 560,000.00 2,755,000.00

1 This figure was reached by comparing the approved annual budget and the payroll for the year 2006. A detailed breakdown of the salaries of the relevant municipal hall employees covering the years 2006, 2007, 2008 may be found in comparative sheets showing the actual payroll as against the approved and fully-funded annual budget for the said years. The comparative sheets are attached for the payroll allocation as found in the approved annual budget as ANNEXES A, B and C and as ANNEXES A-1, B-1 and C-1 respectively for actual available payroll records for January 2006, February 2008, and December 2007. Payroll sheets for January 2006, February 2008, and December 2007 are attached as ANNEXES D, E and F.2 The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES G and H for the approved annual budget for the years 2005 and 2006. While there are no available copies of the approved annual budget fo the year 2003 and 2004, the pertinent records are also found in the approved annual budget for the year 2005. These are the vacant positions in the LGU: Municipal Assessor (vacant from 1998 up to December 2010), Municipal Budget Officer, SB Secretary, Municipal Agricultural Officer (vacant from 2001 up to January 2011), Social Welfare Officer, Social Welfare Assistant, Municipal Health Officer, Assistant Municipal Treasurer, Day Care Worker, Security Officer, four (4) Security Guards and Driver (vacant from 2007 to November November 2010).3 The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES G and H for the approved annual budget for the years 2005 and 2006. While there are no available copies of the approved annual budget fo the year 2003 and 2004, the pertinent records are also found in the approved annual budget for the year 2005. 4 The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES G and H for the approved annual budget for the years 2005 and 2006. While there are no available copies of the approved annual budget fo the year 2003 and 2004, the pertinent records are also found in

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20% Development Fund5 3,965,876.60 3,886,244.60 3,686,244.60 3,697,773.60 15,236,139.40Calamity Fund6 991,461.15 971561.15 921561.15 922,443.40 3,807,026.85Local Revenue7 37,500.00 30,459.00 33,437.00 16,568.00 19,043,166.25Loan Receipts8 None None None NoneShare from RA 71719 781,749.00 816,017.00 251,041.21 None 1,848,807.21Subsidy from National10 Gov’t.

None None 3,965,000.00 None 3,965,000.00

Grants None None None NoneIRA Monetization11 None None None None

Grand Total 56,192,920.57

10. Meanwhile, the comparative table below shows the various sources of funds that have remained unaccounted for when Jendricks Seares Luna was mayor of Lagayan town from 2007 to 2010:

SUMMARY OF UNACCOUNTED FUNDS UNDER THE TERM OF JENDRICKS S. LUNA AS MAYOR OF LAGAYAN TOWN

(2007-2010)

DESCRIPTION 2010 2009 2008 2007 SUBTOTALUnderpayment of Salaries (Filled)12

1,290,564.00 1,335,804.00 1,208,580.00 971,808.00 4,806,756.00

the approved annual budget for the year 2005. 5 The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES G and H for the approved annual budget for the years 2005 and 2006. While there are no available copies of the approved annual budget fo the year 2003 and 2004, the pertinent records are also found in the approved annual budget for the year 2005. 6 The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES G and H for the approved annual budget for the years 2005 and 2006. While there are no available copies of the approved annual budget fo the year 2003 and 2004, the pertinent records are also found in the approved annual budget for the year 2005. 7The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES G and H for the approved annual budget for the years 2005 and 2006. While there are no available copies of the approved annual budget fo the year 2003 and 2004, the pertinent records are also found in the approved annual budget for the year 2005. 8 The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES G and H for the approved annual budget for the years 2005 and 2006. While there are no available copies of the approved annual budget fo the year 2003 and 2004, the pertinent records are also found in the approved annual budget for the year 2005. 9 The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES G and H for the approved annual budget for the years 2005 and 2006. While there are no available copies of the approved annual budget fo the year 2003 and 2004, the pertinent records are also found in the approved annual budget for the year 2005. 10 The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES G and H for the approved annual budget for the years 2005 and 2006. While there are no available copies of the approved annual budget fo the year 2003 and 2004, the pertinent records are also found in the approved annual budget for the year 2005. 11 The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES G and H for the approved annual budget for the years 2005 and 2006. While there are no available copies of the approved annual budget fo the year 2003 and 2004, the pertinent records are also found in the approved annual budget for the year 2005. 12This figure was reached by comparing the approved annual budget and the payroll for the year 2006. A detailed breakdown of the salaries of the relevant municipal hall employees covering the years 2006, 2007, 2008 may be found in comparative sheets showing the actual payroll as against the approved and fully-funded annual budget

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Savings from Vacant Positions13

2,074,584.00 2,074,584.00 1,889,784.00 1,509,240.00 7,548,192.00

Clothing14 105,000.00 105,000.00 105,000.00 105,000.00 420,000.00MOOE:15 8,429,252.00 6,465,000.00 5,989,348.44 4,466,312.08 25,349,912.5220% Development Fund16 6,890,479.20 6,577,567.20 5,778,056.16 4,798,594.20 24,044,696.76Calamity Fund17 1,742,619.80 1,711,416.80 1,444,514.04 1,199,648.55 6,098,199.19Local Revenue18 79,822.98 147,406.21 90,781.58 90,781.58 408,792.35Loan Receipts19 3,414,747.10 1,000,000.00 None None 4,414,747.10Share from RA 717120 4,045,511.75 200,000.00 188,707.00 188,707.00 4,622,925.75Subsidy from National Gov’t.21

None None None None

Grants22 None None None NoneIRA Monetization23 None None None None

Grand Total 77,714,221.67

11. I also file a separate graft and corruption charge against incumbent 82-year old mayor Purificacion B. Paingan, for grave misconduct, dereliction of duty and gross negligence for allowing Jendricks S. Luna to take over the helm of the municipality and continue his plunder of the town coffers, this time, as a barangay captain who chairs the town’s Association of Barangay Captains (ABC). Mayor Paingan is a distant cousin of Cecilia Seareas Luna’s mother.

12. At the very least, Mayor Paingan is guilty of violating Art. 217 of the Revised Penal Code, which penalizes and defines technical malversation. Under the said provision of law, “[a]ny public officer who, by reason of the duties of his office, is accountable for public funds or property, shall appropriate the same or shall take or misappropriate or shall consent, through abandonment or negligence, shall permit any other person to take such public funds, or property, wholly or partially, or shall otherwise be guilty of the misappropriation or malversation of such funds or property.”

for the said years. The comparative sheets are attached for the payroll allocation as found in the approved annual budget as ANNEXES A, B and C and as ANNEXES A-1, B-1 and C-1 respectively for actual available payroll records for January 2006, February 2008, and December 2007. Payroll sheets for January 2006, February 2008, and December 2007 are attached as ANNEXES D, E and F. 13The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES I, J, K, L for the approved annual budget for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively. These are the vacant positions in the LGU: Municipal Assessor (vacant from 1998 up to December 2010), Municipal Budget Officer, SB Secretary, Municipal Agricultural Officer (vacant from 2001 up to January 2011), Social Welfare Officer, Social Welfare Assistant, Municipal Health Officer, Assistant Municipal Treasurer, Day Care Worker, Security Officer, four (4) Security Guards and Driver (vacant from 2007 to November November 2010).14 he figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES I, J, K, L for the approved annual budget for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively.15 ?The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES I, J, K, L for the approved annual budget for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively.16 ?The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES I, J, K, L for the approved annual budget for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively.17 ?The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES I, J, K, L for the approved annual budget for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively.18 ?The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES I, J, K, L for the approved annual budget for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively.19 ?The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES I, J, K, L for the approved annual budget for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively.20 ?The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES I, J, K, L for the approved annual budget for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively.21 ?The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES I, J, K, L for the approved annual budget for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively.22 ?The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES I, J, K, L for the approved annual budget for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively.23 ?The figures in this row are taken from the approved annual budget of the covered years 2003 to 2006. See the attached ANNEXES I, J, K, L for the approved annual budget for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively.

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13. I also charge Vice Mayor Lara Haya Seares Luna for grave misconduct, dereliction of duty and gross negligence for her chronic absenteeism from her duties as vice mayor and as presiding officer of the Sangguniang Bayan. These criminal acts of hers are injurious to the public interest. She should be prosecuted for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, RA 3019, Sec (3) (e), which penalizes acts:

(e) Causing any undue injury to any party, inclu bding the Government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or 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.

14. Her acts in question are also punishable by dismissal from service as a violation of RA 6713, the Code of Ethics for Public Officials and Employees, which provides norms of conduct for workers and officials in the public service, in particular, Sec. (4) of the law, which states that:

SECTION 4. Norms of Conduct of Public Officials and Employees. — (A) Every public official and employee shall observe the following as standards of personal conduct in the discharge and execution of official duties:

(a) Commitment to public interest. — Public officials and employees shall always uphold the public interest over and above personal interest. All government resources and powers of their respective offices must be employed and used efficiently, effectively, honestly and economically, particularly to avoid wastage in public funds and revenues.

(b) Professionalism. — Public officials and employees shall perform and discharge their duties with the highest degree of excellence, professionalism, intelligence and skill. They shall enter public service with utmost devotion and dedication to duty. They shall endeavor to discourage wrong perceptions of their roles as dispensers or peddlers of undue patronage.

(c) Justness and sincerity. — Public officials and employees shall remain true to the people at all times. They must act with justness and sincerity and shall not discriminate against anyone, especially the poor and the underprivileged. They shall at all times respect the rights of others, and shall refrain from doing acts contrary to law, good morals, good customs, public policy, public order, public safety and public interest. They shall not dispense or extend undue favors on account of their office to their relatives whether by consanguinity or affinity except with respect to appointments of such relatives to positions considered strictly confidential or as members of their personal staff whose terms are coterminous with theirs.

15. The plundering ways of Cecilia Seares Luna and Jendricks Seares Luna could not have been made possible without the willing and active cooperation of the following persons, namely: Municipal Treasurer Marissa G. Donato, Municipal Accountant Meno C. Dickenson and Municipal Engineer Osborne P. Dolaoen. It is for this reason that I also included them as their conspirators in the plunder of public funds in the town of Lagayan.

16. The municipal engineer is a willing participant in the plunder; he prepares the annual program of work for public works projects – repeated concreting of public works and nothing more –identified in the bogus annual budget, which program is never implemented as the works identified are actually ghost projects.

17. The municipal accountant is equally guilty because he certifies the availability of funds for ghost projects, ghost payrolls, among other things, and allows the disbursement of funds for these nonexistent items of expenditure.

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18. The municipal treasurer is likewise liable for plunder because she is the one who disburses the money for these highly anomalous transactions.

19. The raid of the Lagayan town’s coffers over the years could only be systematic and without compunction. Over the period in question, Respondents perpetuated a grossly intentional failure to properly document projects, disbursements, loans, expenditures on various going concerns. Consider what the COA said in its audit for the year 2007:

“Expenses….charged against various accounts for repairs and maintenance and other operating expenses were excessive and doubtful due to the absence of sufficient budget to over the expenditures and lack of documents necessary to establish the validity and legality of transactions….

Inventories comprising of office supplies, medicines and drugs, fuel, oil and lubricants and accountable forms were doubtful due to the absence of subsidiary ledgers on accounts….

Cash advances granted to the Disbursing Officer/Municipal Treasurer and other officials were not liquated at the end of the year contrary to COA Circular No. 97-002 dated February 10, 1997 resulting [in] an overstatement of assets and understatement of expenses….”24

20. This is echoed in the significant audit findings of the COA in 2008:

“1. Existence of fixed Assets with a total value of P17, 120,854.18 could not be ascertained due to the failure of the agency to submit Annual Investory Report as required under NGAS Volume I, Section 124…

2. Paid disbursement vouchers amounting to P8,729,854.50 were not completey documented in violation of Section 4(6) of Presidential Decree No. 1445, section 344 of the Local Government Code of 191 (RA 7160), thus casting doubt on the propriety of accounts use, and the validity of the transactions.

3. Due from Officers and Employees remained unliquidated as of December 31, 2008 [in] violation of Section 339, RA 7160 and Section 4 and 5 of COA Circular No. 97-002 dated February 10, 1997, thus [understating] and overstating assets….

4. Projects accomplished were not inspected due to the non-submission of Program of Work/Contract/Purchase Orders resulting [in] non-evaluation of the Municipality’s performance in implementing its programs….”25

21. The COA’s significant findings from its audit for the year 2009 is no different:

“1. No Physical Inventory count conducted on Property and Equipment - P4.7 million…

2. Procurement of supplies and materials and equipment rental was not done through public bidding or any of the alternative modes of procurement in violation of RA 9184…

3. Dixbursements under the General Fund lacked documentation P7.8 million…

4. The Municipality failed to comply with the requirement of Revenue Regularions No. 14-2002 on the withholding taxes on government payments and remitting the same within the required period….

24Infra, Executive Summary, Annual Audit Report on the Municipality of Lagayan, Province of Abra, for the year Ended December 31, 2007, at 2, ANNEX M.25 Infra, Executive Summary, Annual Audit Report on the Municipality of Lagayan, Province of Abra, for the year Ended December 31, 2008, at 4, ANNEX N.

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5. Non-Preparation of Annual Procurement Program….

6. Overstatement of Property Plant and Equipment – P.902 million7. Long-standing receivables of doubtful validty and collectability – P1.19 million…

….

10. Allotment under 20% Development Fund of P6,577,567.20 was not efficiently and effectively utilized, as a result, the following programs were not implemented: purchase of Office Equipment – P100,000; Staff Development Program – P160,000.00 and payment of Loans MDG Fund amortization P66,000.000…”26

22. The acts of Respondents Cecilia Seares Luna and her son, Jendricks Seares Luna and the other Respondents amount to violations of Republic Act No. 7080, otherwise known as the Anti-Plunder Act, specifically Section 2, of the law, which defines and penalizes the crime of plunder as committed by :

Any public officer who, by himself or in connivance with members of his family, relatives by affinity or consanguinity, business associates, subordinates or other persons, amasses, accumulates or acquires ill-gotten wealth through a combination or series of overt or criminal acts as described in Section 1 (d) hereof, in the aggregate amount or total value of at least fifty million pesos (P50,000,000.00) shall be guilty of the crime of plunder and shall be punished by reclusion perpetua to death. Any person who participated with the said public officer in the commission of an offense contributing to the crime of plunder shall likewise be punished for such offense. In the imposition of penalties, the degree of participation and the attendance of mitigating and extenuating circumstances as provided by the Revised Penal Code shall be considered by the court. The court shall declare any and all ill-gotten wealth and their interests and other incomes and assets including the properties and shares of stocks derived from the deposit or investment thereof forfeited in favor of the State (underscoring supplied).

23. Respondents in question accumulated vast amounts of ill-gotten wealth through any or a combination of any of the following means, as outlined in Section 1(d) of the Anti-Plunder law:

d) Ill-gotten wealth means any asset, property, business enterprise or material possession of any person within the purview of Section Two (2) hereof, acquired by him directly or indirectly through dummies, nominees, agents, subordinates and/or business associates by any combination or series of the following means or similar schemes:1) Through misappropriation, conversion, misuse, or malversation of public funds or raids on the public treasury;2) By receiving, directly or indirectly, any commission, gift, share, percentage, kickbacks or any other form of pecuniary benefit from any person and/or entity in connection with any government contract or project or by reason of the office or position of the public officer concerned;3) By the illegal or fraudulent conveyance or disposition of assets belonging to the National Government or any of its subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities or government-owned or -controlled corporations and their subsidiaries;4) By obtaining, receiving or accepting directly or indirectly any shares of stock, equity or any other form of interest or participation including promise of future employment in any business enterprise or undertaking;

26 Infra, Executive Summary, Annual Audit Report on the Municipality of Lagayan, Province of Abra, for the year Ended December 31, 2009, at 2-3, ANNEX O. The 2010 COA audit report on the municipality of Lagayan is not yet available from the website of the Commission but I am sure its findings will be no different from its findings of the previous years. Meanwhile, COA Audit reports for the years before 2007 all say the same thing although these are no longer available on the website of the Commission and I do not have copies of these reports covering the stated years. This Honorable Office can readily issue a subpoena to the Commission for all these pertinent records.

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5) By establishing agricultural, industrial or commercial monopolies or other combinations and/or implementation of decrees and orders intended to benefit particular persons or special interests; or6) By taking undue advantage of official position, authority, relationship, connection or influence to unjustly enrich himself or themselves at the expense and to the damage and prejudice of the Filipino people and the Republic of the Philippines.

24. Further, Respondents are guilty of violating Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Republic Act 3019, which states that:

Section 3. 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:….(e) Causing any undue injury to any party, including the Government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or 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.

25. At the very least, Respondents are guilty of violating Art. 217 of the Revised Penal Code, which penalizes and defines technical malversation. Under the said provision of law, “[a]ny public officer who, by reason of the duties of his office, is accountable for public funds or property, shall appropriate the same or shall take or misappropriate or shall consent, through abandonment or negligence, shall permit any other person to take such public funds, or property, wholly or partially, or shall otherwise be guilty of the misappropriation or malversation of such funds or property.”

26. Respondents who are in public office are also punishable by dismissal from service for violation of RA 6713, the Code of Ethics for Public Officials and Employees, which provides norms of conduct for workers and officials in the public service, in particular, Sec. (4) of the law, which states that:


(d) Commitment to public interest. — Public officials and employees shall always uphold the public interest over and above personal interest. All government resources and powers of their respective offices must be employed and used efficiently, effectively, honestly and economically, particularly to avoid wastage in public funds and revenues.

(e) Professionalism. — Public officials and employees shall perform and discharge their duties with the highest degree of excellence, professionalism, intelligence and skill. They shall enter public service with utmost devotion and dedication to duty. They shall endeavor to discourage wrong perceptions of their roles as dispensers or peddlers of undue patronage.

(f) Justness and sincerity. — Public officials and employees shall remain true to the people at all times. They must act with justness and sincerity and shall not discriminate against anyone, especially the poor and the underprivileged. They shall at all times respect the rights of others, and shall refrain from doing acts contrary to law, good morals, good customs, public policy, public order, public safety and public interest. They shall not dispense or extend undue favors on account of their office to their relatives whether by consanguinity or affinity except with respect to appointments of such relatives to positions considered strictly confidential or as members of their personal staff whose terms are coterminous with theirs.

When my work as Lagayan’s MPDO began

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27. I started working as Lagayan’s Municipal Planning and Development Officer in August 3, 1998 under then Mayor Cecilia Seares Luna. My parents, who were her political supporters, lobbied hard so I could land the job. Not that I had little faith in my own qualifications: I am a college graduate, with a degree in Business Administration which I earned in 1988 from the Divine Word College in Bangued, Abra.

28. Officially, the following were my responsibilities as MPDC:

1. Formulate integrated economic, social physical, and other development plans and policies for consideration of the local government development council;2. Conduct continuing studies, researches and training programs necessary to evolve plans and programs for implementation;3. Integrate and coordinate all sectoral plans and studies undertaken by the different functional groups or agencies;4. Monitor and evaluate the implementation of the different development programs, projects and activities in the local government in accordance with the approved development plan;5. Prepare comprehensive plans and other development planning documents for the consideration of the local development council.6. Analyze the income and expenditure patterns, and formulate and recommend fiscal plans and policies for consideration of the finance committee of the local government unit;7. Promote people participation in development planning within the local government unit;8. Exercise supervision and control over the secretariat of the local development council.

29. I have to say I instantly took a liking for my work. I was entrusted with all the paper work – from letters to project proposals, to annual reports of the accomplishments of the town to whatnot. For the first time in my life I felt important and valued for what I do. I am not one to whine or complain, even if the work given to me entails the preparation of voluminous documents, for as long as I see that the work that I do is valued.

30. A few months later, on October 24, 1998, my political patrons appointed me to serve concurrently as Secretary to the Sangguniang Bayan. Cecilia Luna designated me in this position because according to her, their family trusts me. At that time, the vice mayor did not belong to their party as were a majority of the members of the Sangguniang Bayan. She said I will be their eyes and ears at the Sangguniang Bayan so they would know if the vice mayor is planning anything against them.

31. However, as SB Secretary I should have earned an additional Representation Allowance of P3,860.00 a month for the position I hold and represent according to RA 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991, but the fund intended for me went to the pockets of the mayor.

32. Little did I know that my job would expose me to the intricacies of big-time corruption in a small town.

33. It started with a labor payroll that I was asked to do on my first month on the job. What I found suprising about this particular payroll for 15 persons is that it did not correspond to any existing project; in short, it was a ghost payroll. I was instructed to provide residence certificate numbers and the names of residents and to sign for them–without their knowledge, that is. I did not know how much money was involved in the ghost payroll as it was the municipal treasurer who was in charge of putting a price to the ghost project for which it was made.

34. The first time I was asked to do it, I thought “ganito pala sa gobyerno” (so this is how it is in government).

35. When I asked the municipal treasurer, Mrs. Donato, about this ghost project one night, I was told to shut up. By October of my first year as a municipal government employee under the Lunas, the job of doing the labor payroll was taken from me.

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THE INSUFFERABLE INDIGNITIES OF WORKING FOR THE LUNAS

36. I and my family have simple wants and needs. And extravagance is not one of them. I am most happy when I am paid as I should be; I hate it when even the pittance I am entitled to as a government employee is denied from me and my colleagues.

37. That, at least, was the thought I comforted myself with as I soldiered on for the Lunas of Lagayan.

38. And so for the most part, I kept my peace, and did the work I was asked to do. But when mayor Cecila began dipping her hands into the salaries and the benefits of the employees, my world began to change as well. My colleagues started complaining to me, the newhire, and begging me to tell the mayor to give to us what all were entitled to receive under the law.

39. I begged them to spare me because I did not want to strain my relations with the mayor. Besides, I also felt it was futile to complain; mayor Cecilia would always tell me: “ wait until you become mayors too! Gawin niyo rin kung anong gusto niyo kapag kayo na ang mayor!”

40. But things went from bad to worse. Before long, all that the employees were receiving was their salaries. All the other benefits they were entitled to presumably went to the pockets of the mayor.

41. Even our Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) remittances were not spared, such that we were incurring penalties and surchanges. There were also years when we incurred gaps in the payment of our premiums. There are also years where we incurred gaps in payment of our premiums, when we were not spared from any deductions by the treasurer.

42. It must be stressed that the mayor required me to report not to the municipal hall but to their residence in Dangdangla. So I seldom went to my office at the Lagayan town hall. But when I did show up there, the employees would come to me and express their sentiments about the entitlements being denied them by the Lunas who control the municipal government in Lagayan.

43. I remember one of them telling me, “sana ibigay nalang ang mga benefits natin total di naman natin pinakikialaman ang ibang pondo ng munisipyo.”

44. I would just tell my colleagues to work for it. I tell them that there is no use complaining to me because I myself do not have the power to solve their problems. It was futile to talk to Mayor Cecilia because she would not listen, anyway. In fact, whenever I raised this matter to her, she would dismiss me with the words: “wait until you become mayors too! Gawin niyo rin kung anong gusto niyo kapag kayo na ang mayor.”

45. When Jun Lozada came out in public about the immoderate greed in the Arroyo administration, I thought, I wish we have someone like him in Lagayan. I cannot understand why some people, who already have so much, could still deny the little that many others are entitled to.

46. The Lunas have the run of everything in Lagayan. They have already amassed so much money from the public coffers, without any sense of accountability for it. And despite that, they still can’t keep their hands off the pittance that small people like me depend on.

47. As I counted years in my job, I began to realize I cannot keep on hearing no evil and seeing no evil. I pitied myself and my fellow employees who had been taking it in the chin all these years from the Lunas.

48. I very well remember the date: on March 23, 2007, we heard of news that Mayor Cecilia has decided to give to us the clothing allowance we were all entitled to. Everyone excitedly reported for work. The treasurer informed us that our allowances would be given in the afternoon.

49. But in the afternoon, the treasurer came to the office to relay to us the bad news that Mayor Cecilia had called her not to release the allowances to us. “Usaren na pay kano (she needs to use the money),” she told us.

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50. That really irked everyone at the municipal hall. The employees thought that the treasurer could simply have told the mayor that the money had already been released to them, yet she didn’t and to them, this was further proof that Mrs. Donato was part of the web of corruption spun by the Lunas in Lagayan.

51. The treasurer could only say we should not lose hope because Jendricks promised that when he becomes mayor, he will give us all the benefits due us. And so we hoped it would be so. After all, it was just a few months before the elections.

52. On July 1, 2007, Jendricks assumed office as the new mayor!

53. The very next day, July 2, 2007, he called a meeting with municipal employees.

54. He sounded earnest. He asked about our concerns. We raised in unison the question of our salaries and benefits that had been denied us. Many were filled with elation by his response: “Oo sige your salaries will be increased with P1,000.00 for the department heads and P500.00 para sa mga rank and file.”

55. At this, there was loud applause. But I and the others who knew what the actual budget was for employee remuneration weren’t exactly happy. We knew that his promised salary raise was below the level that others working in other municipalities of the same class as Lagayan’s were receiving.

56. I raised my hand to speak. “Mayor baka pwede yong nasa approved budget nalang ang ibigay mong sweldo namin,” I said.

57. He kindly answered me with these words: “Sa December ko nalang ibibigay babawi muna ako kasi daming gastos sa election.” Yes, those were his exact words.

58. But it was enough to make the employees happy. They also thanked me for my having taken the effort to speak out.

59. But on July 30, 2007, pay day, everything promised at the meeting was forgotten, or to be precise about it, reversed: it was now P500 for heads and P1,000 for rank-and-file workers. That, the treasurer said, was the new mayor’s orders.

60. There were loud groans from everyone at the meeting. Well, the treasurer let Mayor Jendricks know about it.

61. Mayor Jendricks called a meeting immediately. There he showed his true colors.

62. “Nagrereklamo daw kayo sa increase niyo, kung ayaw niyo sa patakaran ko malawak ang pintuan na lalabasan niyo, kung hindi niyo gusto ang pamamalakad ko malaya kayong mag-resign,” he said. “Magpasalamat nga kayo may increase kayo ngayon, noong panahon ni Mama (Cecilia Luna) ni wala nga kayo kahit anong benefits.”

63. And so in such a short time, we discovered that he is no different from his mother.

64. And there is no limit it seems, to the indignities people are willing to suffer in the name of survival:

65. On June 25, 2010, the municipal treasurer, Mrs. Donato, informed the employees that she bought yellow T-shirts – the color of “Daang Matuwid”, I supposed –to be used during a presentation at the inauguration and turnover ceremonies of newly elected officials. “It’s salary deduction,” she said.

66. But the employees would have none of it. They protested to me as soon as I entered our office three days later.

67. They harangued me. I should have told the treasurer how unfair this was, they said to me. When I told them they themselves should complain to the treasurer, they retorted that Mrs. Donato might take it against them.

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68. So I relayed their concerns to the treasurer. I told her that since the mayor has not been giving us employees our clothing allowance for the last nine years, she should charge the T-shirts against our undistributed clothing allowance. “Anway, it’s such a small amount”, I reasoned.

69. She was incensed. “Kontrabida ka nga talaga!”

70. I pleaded with her to take pity on the employees for whom the P300 that will be deducted from their salaries is no trifling sum. But that’s the mayor’s order, according to her.

71. I told her: “Manang idepensa mo naman na nandoon naman sa approved budget ang clothing allowance, total ini-liliquidate mo naman kahit hindi niyo binibigay.”

72. She warned me to be careful with my words because if the mayor heard what I just told her, I would surely be in hot water.

73. The next day, June 29, 2010, word reached us that there would be no salary deduction for the yellow T-shirts. One employee thanked me for it.

74. But this was just one of the many indignities employees had to contend with. Christmas celebrations, the birthday parties for the mayor, you name it; the treasurer would deduct P500 from heads of offices and P1,000 from members of the Sangguniang Bayan, to pay for the extravagance of the lords of Lagayan.

75. Just recently, last March 28, 2011, the treasurer announced to us women employees that she has to make salary deductions yet again, this time for pink kimonos she had purchased for a program on the eve of Cecilia Luna’s birthday celebration. Her birthday actually fell on March 31 but the celebrations began on the night of March 30 so that at exactly midnight of March 31, people would start lining up to greet the mayor with a birthday kiss. ( Since I started working for the Lunas, I never joined the line of Cecilia Luna’s well-wishers).

76. Mrs. Donato said it was Jendrick’s idea, a gift for his mother. To think that he is no longer mayor now.

77. Immediately I protested, and said the kimonos should be charged against our yet unrealized clothing allowances that had been withheld from us for the last nine years or so.

78. An annoyed Mrs. Donato said to me: “Palagi ka nalang kumukontra sa iniuutos ng taas, bakit kaya hindi ka pumunta sa kanila at doon ka magreklamo. Hindi ako nagrereklamo manang, takot naman akong magreklamo, sinasabi ko lang naman ang concern namin mga empleyado pero kayo naman palagi ang nasusunod.”

79. Apparently, Jendricks reconsidered his earlier decision, because she released our salaries without further deductions.

80. On March 29, 2011. The 2011 annual budget has just been approved. I gave the approval letter to the treasurer. “Manang approved na ang budget natin sana ibigay na ang approved salaries natin. Pandagdag sa pambayad ng utang, dami naming utang lalo na college na mga anak ko.” But Mrs. Donato, the treasurer, answered: “Sasabihin natin kay director” (this is how they addressed to Jendricks, on account of his being a board member as well of the Abra Electric Cooperative).

81. I persisted: “Manang sana implement niyo na rin ang full salary standardization law”, Mrs. Donato just said: “Sasabihin nga natin kay director sakali pumayag siya.”

82. I pleaded some more: “Convince mo siya manang ha?”

83. I got the feeling my pleas would all fall on deaf ears.

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84. I am a mother to two college students. Sometimes I would find myself with nothing to pay for my children’s tuition because the municipal treasurer has just told me that there is yet no money to pay for our salaries.

85. I would think to myself how can Mrs. Donato say that, when I know that she has just withdrawn money from Lagayan’s Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) funds?

86. Sometimes, I am forced to make cash advances just to make ends meet. It was always a wonder to me that the treasurer would not release our salaries on time but would allow us to make cash advances from her. She would say Jendricks would first need to spend the money on his cars, or on various personal projects with SGL Construction Supply, or with BA Builders, two hardware stores in Abra whose owners are family friends of the Lunas. By the time she finally releases the salaries for us municipal employees, I will have nothing left on my payslip because of these cash advances.

87. I always mention the treasurer and the mayor because it’s the two of them who talk about how to make use of the funds of the municipality and how to run it and its Sangguniang Bayan. Whatever Mrs. Donato says, Jendricks agrees with it and vice versa.

88. One time I asked Mrs. Donato to buy for my office a desktop computer because for the most part, I had been forced to do office work at home using my own resources as my office does not have any computer.

89. She answered me: “awan pundo pagtaktakawak ngatan?” (walang pundo saan kaya ako magnanakaw?). I told her I couldn’t understand why she could say that when it is supposedly covered by the annual budget, the purchase of office equipment and supplies.

90. Her response to me was patronizing: “ nasirib ka man unayin, ape dika ibaga e bosing, aggayyem kayo met! (“masyado ka na namang matalino, bakit di mo sabihin kay bossing friend naman kayo!” )

91. For all the money that Lagayan was supposed to get from its IRA, the mayor could not and would not release funds to pay for office supplies and equipment, despite the appropriations in the annual budget for these items. Employees had to buy their own chairs for use in their offices, as well as their own paper for printed office work.

92. I would notice vouchers readied by the accountant for purchases of office furniture and supplies. But none of our offices would ever receive deliveries of furniture and office supplies.

93. I would ask the municipal accountant, Meno C. Dickenson, about it and all he could tell me is: “isu met order ni [Mrs. Donato] (yan naman ang utos ni ate).”

94. I would confront him and tell him that he should perform his duties and responsibilities and fight for what is right. His answer to me: “No talk no mistake, ading!”

95. One of the things that really got my goat is their steadfast refusal to implement the Department fo Budget and Management (DBM)’s Memorandum on the full implementation of the Salary Standardization Law.

96. One time, in the last week of March 2011, all employees sought out the treasurer, Mrs. Donato, to press her on this point, after having gotten wind of a recent withdrawal she had made from Lagayan’s IRA. This is how the conversation took place:

Employees: “Ate, baka puede na nating isakatuparan ang salary standardization law.”

Treasurer: “kaya nga pumunta kayo kay direk at hingin ninyo ang salary increase.”

Municipal Assessor: “Bakit kailangan pa natin pumunta kay direk, meron naman tayong enough na pondo para diyan?”

Treasurer: “Mahirap na, wala namang order si director sa akin, kung ano lang ang sabihin ni director yon lang ang gagawin ko!”

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Me: “Basta ako kakausapin ko si mayor doon sa Palan-ag (the sitio where the new mayor resides).

97. We all went to Mayor Paingan’s residence to talk to her about the issue.

98. The old woman’s response: “wala akong alam diyan, sumusunod lang naman ako sa sasabihin ni director; kasalanan niyo yan bakit kasi ibinoto niyo ako e wala naman akong alam! Si director ang kausapin niyo!”

99. Mayor Paingan should be removed from her office for gross negligence and graft and corruption. She should be prosecuted for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, RA 3019, Sec (3) (e), which penalizes acts:

(e) Causing any undue injury to any party, including the Government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or 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

100. Her gross negligence and graft and corruption is also punishable by dismissal from service as a violation of RA 6713, the Code of Ethics for Public Officials and Employees, which provides norms of conduct for workers and officials in the public service, in particular, Sec. (3)(e) of the law, which pertains to acts:


(g) Commitment to public interest. — Public officials and employees shall always uphold the public interest over and above personal interest. All government resources and powers of their respective offices must be employed and used efficiently, effectively, honestly and economically, particularly to avoid wastage in public funds and revenues.

(h) Professionalism. — Public officials and employees shall perform and discharge their duties with the highest degree of excellence, professionalism, intelligence and skill. They shall enter public service with utmost devotion and dedication to duty. They shall endeavor to discourage wrong perceptions of their roles as dispensers or peddlers of undue patronage.


101. How I wished and prayed that a time will come when the injustices and indignities we suffer on a daily basis under greedy and corrupt leaders will finally be exposed and come to an end. How I envied our counterparts from nearby municipalities who would tell us of the salaries and benefits paid to them by their municipalities in accordance with law.

102. Thus I would ask myself: for how long do I have to put up with this?

THE WHIMSICALITY OF LAGAYAN POLITICS

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103. The 2010 elections came. We now have a new mayor – an 82 or 78-year old woman, depending on who’s saying what her age is. Here’s how it happened.

104. Cecilia Luna was now running for re-election to the House of Representatives. Jendricks was also up for re-election as mayor. His brother Cromwell, a resident of Bangued, Abra and a registered voter there, decided to transfer residency in Tineg so he could run for mayor there. Transferring of voter’s records for them is very easy as even local authorities in Abra are afraid of them because they are in power. Meanwhile in Bangued his brother Ryan was candidate for mayor too and in the town of Villaviciosa, Leonidas Seareas, Jr., Cecilia’s brother, was candidate for vice mayor.

105. Cromwell’s and his brother Ryan’s candidacies did not sit well with the other political leaders in Abra. There was an agreement between the Lunas and the Valeras through Governor Bersamin that their respective families and allies will not be fighting over the same positions. The Lunas broke the agreement.

106. To deflect public criticism, Jendricks played the martyr’s card. He withdrew his certificate of candidacy so that, according to him, people in Abra will not take him for a power-hungry politician. He called a press conference, where he tearfully announced his decision to sacrifice his own career in favor of someone else – his maternal aunt Purificacion Paingan.

107. We were told to prepare the candidacy of Mrs. Paingan. But it turned out Jendricks had a bigger plan: he was actually gunning for the gubernatorial post. He didn’t know that under pertinent electoral laws, he can’t pull out his certificate of candidacy for one post and then file another certificate for another post at the last minute. It was too late when he realized it. He was very disappointed.

108. Just after the May 2010 elections while I was at their residence, Cecilia Luna told told me: “ Berna nangipatugaw kami ti mayor diay Lagayan ngem ni Jen to met laeng ti boss yo, isun to met laeng ti agdesisyon para iti municipyo. Awan ti ammo dagiti sasanggunian maipanggep ti budget ket no adda rumuar maipanggep ti punpundo ti munisipyo awan sabali taltalen ni Jen no haan nga sika, makaammo ka!” (Berna, we fielded another person to sit as mayor of Lagayan but it will still be Jen who is your boss, it will still be he who will decide for Lagayan. The Sangguniang Bayan knows nothing about the budget and if anyone of them knows about the other funds of the town, no one else will answer to Jen because of it except you.)

THE LAGAYAN SANGGUNIANG BAYAN: A LUNA FAMILY AFFAIR

109. I wondered how Jendricks would do it, considering that he was no longer in public office. The solution they found is for him to run for the post of barangay captain during the October 27, 2010 barangay elections. He ran unopposed and assumed office on December 1, 2010. As he is now president of the ABC, he also sits in the Sangguniang Bayan as an ex-oficio member. A brilliant stroke of a political comeback, I should say, because now, he is also assured of control of the Sangguniang Bayan as its co-member.

110. Since July 1, 2010 until I left Lagayan, the Sangguniang Bayan has only had four sessions. I should know this because I also served in a concurrent capacity as its unpaid secretary. In any case members of the Sangguniang Bayan are at the Lunas’ beck and call.

111. Jendrick’s sister, Lara Haya Jamila Seares Luna, is the town vice mayor. She is supposed to preside over the Sangguniang Bayan sessions. I would request Jendricks to inform his sister about her responsibilities. His sister Lara is a nursing student in Manila and for that reason, is away from Lagayan for most of the time.

112. Jendricks response to me was: “Huwag ka ng magpasession, gawin mo nalang ang resolution at ipapirma sa bahay-bahay ng mga Sangguniang Bayan members, kapag meron magreklamo sabihin mo sa akin, hayaan mo na rin si Haya ipirma mo nalang siya.”

113. I tried another tack, this time asking their mother, the defeated re-electinoisnt congressional candidate, Cecilia, about the vice mayor’s attendance in the sessions.

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114. Her response wasn’t any more re-assuring “Bakit mo pa oobligahin na magpasession si Haya, nag-aaral siya! Hindi ka naman siguro bobo para pauwiin mo pa ang anak ko na nasa malayo. Napaka-unreasonable mo naman, yan ang sinasabi ko noon pa na darating ang araw na kumokontra ka na!”

115. I protested: “Request lang ma’am kung hindi pwede okey na, kasi ako na nga ang SB Secretary ako pa ang pumipirma para sa vice mayor.”

116. Cecilia would have none of it. Lara is on her 4 th year as a nursing student in a school in Manila; he studied at the Pines City School of Nursing in Baguio City from her freshman to junior year.

117. Her chronic absenteeism from her duties as vice mayor and as presiding officer of the Sangguniang Bayan should not be countenanced. It constitutes gross negligence injurious to the public interest. She should be prosecuted for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, RA 3019, Sec (3) (e), which penalizes acts:

(e) Causing any undue injury to any party, inclu bding the Government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or 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.

118. Her graft and corruption and gross negligence are also punishable by dismissal from service as a violation of RA 6713, the Code of Ethics for Public Officials and Employees, which provides norms of conduct for workers and officials in the public service, in particular, Sec. (4) of the law, which states that:


(i) Commitment to public interest. — Public officials and employees shall always uphold the public interest over and above personal interest. All government resources and powers of their respective offices must be employed and used efficiently, effectively, honestly and economically, particularly to avoid wastage in public funds and revenues.

(j) Professionalism. — Public officials and employees shall perform and discharge their duties with the highest degree of excellence, professionalism, intelligence and skill. They shall enter public service with utmost devotion and dedication to duty. They shall endeavor to discourage wrong perceptions of their roles as dispensers or peddlers of undue patronage.


119. So on the instructions of the Lunas, I presided over the Sangguniang Bayan sessions. I never saw Haya, the vice mayor, in either the Sangguniang Bayan or her office at the municipal hall. She was busy studying to be a nurse.

120. They asked me to do many things for them but I started refusing their orders: they wanted me to prepare resolutions authorizing the mayor to use the savings from vacant positions for development projects, I did not comply;

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121. They also asked me to prepare resolutions for re-alignment of the approved Annual Investment Plan, I did not comply!

122. It is perhaps because of this that they started simply by-passing me.

123. In January this year, Jendricks obtained a P25-million loan from Land Bank for a water system project in Lagayan. There was no public bidding as required by law. It was the municipal engineer Osborne P. Dolaoen who drafted all the documents, and who also had members of the Sangguniang Bayan as well as mayor Paingan sign the documents.

124. In fact, from 1998, when Cecilia Seares Luna became mayor of Lagayan until today, 2011, when Purificacion B. Paingan is mayor, the Sangguaniang Bayan of the town has never issued a Resolution approving the implementation of development projects outlined in the Annual Investment Plan of the municipality, as required by Republic Act 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991.

125. Under Jendricks’s term as mayor from 2007-2010, the money allocated for development projects amounted to a total of Php 24,044,696.76. As for his mother’s term as mayor, I could only make computations based on available records of the years 2003 to 2006, where the total allocation for development projects amounted to Php 15,236,139.40.

126. Thus, from 2003 to 2010 – or a period of seven years – money earmarked for development projects amounted to a total of Php 39,280,836.16. It is a huge amount of money that the Lunas have not properly accounted for. In fact, the amount could be bigger, if the unaccounted for years of 1998 to 2002 are also considered.

127. Moreover, under the law, RA 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act, these projects should have been awarded for implementation public bidding. No such public bidding has been made, at least from 2003 until today for these development projects.

128. The Executive Summary of the 2007 report of the audit made by the COA states that: “The Municipality failed to comply with the provisions of Section IV and V of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 9184 [or] the Government Procurement Reform Act on competitive bidding.”27

129. The 2008 report of the audit made by the COA, in particular the section on the Status of Implementation of Prior Year’s Recommendations, states that: “The Municipality failed to comply with the provisions of Sections 4 & 5 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act. [This] did not provide the assurance that procurement of goods and infrastructure projects were obtained at prices and terms most advantageous to the municipality…”28

130. The Executive Summary of the 2009 report of the audit made by the COA says the same thing: “Procurement of supplies and materials and equipment rental was not done through public bidding or any of the authorized alternative modes of procurement in violation of RA 9164.”29

131. The 2010 COA audit report on the municipality of Lagayan is not yet available from the website of the Commission but I am sure its findings will be no different from its findings of the previous years. Meanwhile, COA Audit reports for the years before 2007 all say the same thing although these are no longer available on the website of the Commission and I do not have copies of these reports covering the stated years. This Honorable Office can readily issue a subpoena to the Commission for all these pertinent records.

27Executive Summary, Annual Audit Report on the Municipality of Lagayan, Province of Abra, for the year Ended December 31, 2007, at 3, ANNEX M.28 Status of Implementation of Prior Year’s Recommendations, Annual Audit Report on the Municipality of Lagayan, Province of Abra, for the year Ended December 31, 2008, at 16, ANNEX N.29 Executive Summary, Annual Audit Report on the Municipality of Lagayan, Province of Abra, for the year Ended December 31, 2009, at 2, ANNEX O.

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132. It had been this way all this time because the Lunas always wanted to have things done in Lagayan their way. I should know, because, all this time, I had been serving in a concurrent capacity as Secretary to the Sangguniang Bayan.

133. In truth, none of the members of the Sangguniang Bayan would want to speak out against the Lunas for their abuse of power; every other member of the Sangguniang Bayan is beholden to the Lunas, who had assured their victory in the elections by making sure that they ran unopposed in the last elections.

HOW PUBLIC FUNDS ARE CONTROLLED BY THE LUNAS

134. Everytime Jendricks would do a project I would remind him and the treasurer that such a project always required legislative approval, since his proposed project was not part of Lagayan’s Annual Investment Plan (AIP) as well as its Medium Development Plan. Too, I would remind them that any project whose cost exceeds P50,000.00 requires a public bidding, pursuant to the new Government Procurement Act, RA 9184. I know this to be a fact as vice chair of the Municipal Bids and Awards Committee (BAC).

135. But he would have none of it; he’d insist on something that would allow him to immediately cash out on the project.

136. In regard to unprogrammed projects, Jendricks would just tell me “apay haan mo mairemedyo? Isingit mo a dita inaramid mo nga plano! So ngarud nga sika ti adda dita nga pwesto ta ammom ti ar-aramidem.” (Why can’t you remedy that problem? You can insert that item in the plan you drafted! You were appointed to your position for that purpose).

137. The treasurer would then segue: “Isu kayat na bay-amon a, maungtan ka manin no kontraem”(if that’s what he wants, let him be, or you’ll just catch his ire).

138. So I would just nod and say “yes mayor” but would not revise the investment plan to accommodate the mayor’s wishes. To my mind, I thought it is not my responsibility to justify the projects to the Commission on Audit (COA).

139. I also knew that the Annual Budget should also carry an Annual Procurement Plan, but the Lunas’ orders notwithstanding,I was unable to do this,simply because they did not provide me with any guidelines for executing it.

140. There had been opportunities to acquire the knowledge and skill required to draft an Annual Procurement Plan at conferences organized by various agencies of the national government for the purpose but neither I nor the municipal engineer were not allowed to attend these conferencies. In the annual budget which I had prepared, money has been allocated for it for the most part under the item “training and seminar expenses” for each of 13 departments of the municipality of the town of Lagayan.

141. For instance, the allocation for training and seminar expenses for my office for 2010 is Php 60,000; for 2009, Php 60,000; for P2008, Php 30,000; for 2007; Php 30,000.00; for 2006, Php 20,000. For the annual budgets of 2004 and 2005, there were no allocations for trainings and seminars.30

142. The Lunas however would not allow us to attend any of these conferences on the preparation of the Annual Procurement Plan. I could not only hazard a guess that the reason for this prohibition has something to do with the fact that it is the Commission on Audit (COA) that conducts this training in partnership with the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Finance.

143. The treasurer would just tell us “magtanong ka na lang sa mga kasama mong MPDC”, which I did not do, out of embarrassment, because, on top of the fact that we were not allowed to attend the necessary training conferences, the mayor, Jendricks S. Luna, would brag

30 See ANNEXES G to L.

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that Lagayan has plenty of funds, not to mention that his mother was also a member of the House of Representatives, with access to a substantial pork barrel.

144. Budget preparation time was always a big headache for me.

145. What else can one do when all that Lagayan can show from 1998 to 2008 in its annual investment plan are repeat projects for rehabilitation, reopening or concreting of roads? And it was a bigger headache for me to write our annual accomplishment report. All I could do was write down that the ghosts projects had been completed.

146. The Executive Summary of the 2007 report of the audit made by the COA states of six major accomplishments reported by the municipal government – all of which are road projects – that: “the municipality had reported various accomplishments … which were not verified and validated for failure to submit copies of programs of works, contracts,purchase orders as basis in conducting inspection.”31

147. The Executive Summary of the 2008 report of the audit made by the COA makes the same statement of 11 major accomplishments made by the municipality, all of which pertained to road projects: “the municipality had reported major accomplishment projects. These were not verified and validated due to its failure to submit copies of the Program of Work, Contracts/Purchase Orders as basis in conducting inspection.”32

148. The Executive Summary of the 2009 report of the audit made by the COA says the same thing of the nine major accomplishments reported by the municipality of Lagayan (four of which are road projects, three of which are repairs of classrooms and one of which is the purchase of machines and equipment): “There were not verified and validated due to its failure to submit copies of the Program of Work, Contracts/Purchase Orders as basis in conducting inspection.”33

149. The 2010 COA audit report on the municipality of Lagayan is not yet available from the website of the Commission but I am sure its findings will be no different from its findings of the previous years. Meanwhile, COA Audit reports for the years before 2007 all say the same thing although these are no longer available on the website of the Commission and I do not have copies of these reports covering the stated years. This Honorable Office can readily issue a subpoena to the Commission for all these pertinent records.

150. I always told our treasurer, Mrs. Donato – incidentally a second cousin to Cecilia Luna – that if the money allocated for road projects were actually used for the purpose, the entire Lagayan would have already been paved over many times by now.

151. The irony to it is that the Lagayan Municipal Hall has remained in a state of disrepair. The roof leaks in many places and whenever it rains, employees had to put up pails and basins on the floor to catch the leaking water. Too, year in and year out, appropriations are made for the purchase of equipment and supplies but many times, municipal hall employees had to buy themselves equipment and supplies so they could perform their functions.

152. For many years, the municipality of Lagayan did not own a single vehicle. In October 2010, on my own initiative, sometime in October 2010, I prepared a Sangguniang Bayan Resolution requestingthe Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) for a donation of an ambulance for the use of residents of the municipality. A month later, the ambulance arrived. This is the only vehicle to date that can be said to belong to the municipality. It is not even registered yet to the name of the municipality of Lagayan.

153. And yet, from 1998 to 2011, money was allocated in the Annual Budget of Lagayan for repair and maintenance, gasoline, oil and lubricant in a virtually non-existent municipal motorpool.

31Executive Summary, Annual Audit Report on the Municipality of Lagayan, Province of Abra, for the year Ended December 31, 2007, at 1, ANNEX M.32 Executive Summary, Annual Audit Report on the Municipality of Lagayan, Province of Abra, for the year Ended December 31, 2008, at 1, ANNEX N.33 Executive Summary, Annual Audit Report on the Municipality of Lagayan, Province of Abra, for the year Ended December 31, 2009, at 1, ANNEX O.

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154. From available records: in 2003, the allocation for this purpose was Php 250,000; in 2004, Php 250,000; in 2005, Php 350,000; in 2006, Php 500,000; in 2007, Php 500,000; in 2008, Php 600,000; in 2009, Php 700,000; in 2010, Php 700,000; in 2011, Php 700,000, for a total of Php 3,850,000 over a span of eight years.34

155. Moreover, the annual budget also contained an item for equipment outlay, which I understood to be intended for the purchase of vehicles: in 2003, the allocation for this purpose was Php 248,165.70; in 2004, Php 379,159.18; in 2005, Php 379,159.18; in 2006, Php 1,763,884.17; in 2007, Php 956,312.08; in 2008, Php 1,554,348.44; in 2009, None; in 2010, Php 1,464,252.60; in 2011, Php 628,658.97, for a total of Php 6,745,281.35 over a span of eight years.35

156. The Lunas are known to own at least 20 vehicles of various makes. Jendricks himself, in 2010, bought a late model silver BMW Z3 roadster, with a retractable top. His brother Ryan owns a white bullet-proof van, which he acquired when he was just a barangay captain of Barangay Dangdangla in Bangued, Abra in 2009. Jendricks also gave to his mother Cecilia a black Porsche during her birthday in March this year.

157. Cecilia is also said to have been the source of a Red Innova AUV (plate number ZEZ 120) now being used by the the municipal treasurer, Marissa G. Donato and registered in her own name. Jendricks also gave as a gift to the municipal engineer a second-hand Red Mazda car and a second-hand Red Toyota pickup to municipal Engr. Osborne Dolaoen. Both vehicles are registered in Dolaoen’s name.

158. What I also find laughable is a report sent by the municipal accountant, Meno C. Dickenson, to the COA in 2007 stating that the municipality purchased various pieces of furniture in the amount of Php 5 million from ALZEN furniture in Bangued, Abra.36 I wonder where these pieces of furniture are because we had to buy our own chairs to use in our offices at the municipality.

An election loss and a senseless river diversion project

159. There was only instance when I acceded to the mayor’s orders and this was about his River Diversion Project. But I did it only because I was so scared that a bloodbath would result if his wishes were not followed. I inserted in the Annual Investment Plan for 2011 the amount of Php 1,050,000 for the River Diversion Project.

160. In last year’s 2010 elections, his mother Cecilia, whom he had succeeded as mayor, lost in the congressional race. Voters from the municipalities of La Paz and Danglas gave her a resounding rejection in the ballot and it angered Jendricks so much.

161. Now, these municipalities are located in the lower reaches of the Tineg River while Lagayan is upstream. To avenge his mother’s loss in the congressional elections, Jendricks blocked the river channel and diverted its flow to another municipality, using the funds of the municipality for payment of rent of a back hoe and a grader, purchases of gasoline and salaries of drivers . No one could stop him, because he deployed around 100 of his armed goons to guard the diversion.

162. Publicly, he stated that the diversion was necessary because every time the river overflowed its banks, the ensuing flood would wash away a sizeable portion of Lagayan’s agricultural lands.

163. Yet the agricultural lands in question were a kilometer away from the river’s banks. But Jendricks ordered me to prepare antedated resolutions of the barangay officials of Pulot and Poblacion and

34 See Approved Annual Budget for the years 2005 to 2010, ANNEXES G to L. While there are no available copies of the approved annual budget fo the year 2003 and 2004, the pertinent records are also found in the approved annual budget for the year 2005.35 See Approved Annual Budget for the years 2005 to 2010, ANNEXES G to L. While there are no available copies of the approved annual budget fo the year 2003 and 2004, the pertinent records are also found in the approved annual budget for the year 2005.36 See Observ. No. 5, page 13, ANNEX D, page 2 of 2 pages, to the Annual Audit Report on the Municipality of Lagayan, Province of Abra, for the year Ended December 31, 2007, ANNEX M.

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Resolutions of the Sangguniang Bayan supporting his actions. He also asked me to prepare the affidavits of landowners purportedly supporting his claim that their agricultural lands had been washed out as a result of the recent overflow of the river’s banks.

164. What the Municipal Assessor and I did is to locate the tax declarations of the nearby agricultural lands and asked the owners for their signatures. Some of the landowners had been dead for years but Jendricks instructed us just to ask anyone to sign for them. Some tenants commented that their areas are very far from the river and these had been eroded in flooding a long time past. We explained to them that we were doing it on Jendricks’ orders.

165. The result of the diversion was catastrophic to the municipalities downstream: rice just planted on middens along the river’s banks withered, and fishponds and fish pens dried up. In just two months (December 12, 2010 – January 16, 2011), agriculture in the three municipalities sustained an estimated P50 million in losses, I heard Mayor Joseph Sto. Niño B. Bernos of La Paz, Abra say over a radio program at the height of the controversy.

166. Another town – Dolores – which was not among the targets of Jendricks’ ire, suffered as “collateral damage,” as it sat next to La Paz town. The town mayor there is Jendricks’ second cousin, Robert Seares Jr., whose father is a first cousin of Cecilia Seares Luna. Cecilia did not lose in that town.

167. The governor stepped in, ordering Jendricks to rechannel the river back to its original flow. But Jendricks –at this time he was merely a barangay captain and president of the town’s Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) – would not be pacified. He dared anyone to oppose him. When negotiations broke down, the governor called for help from the Philippine Army and the Philipine National Police, to reopen the river. That did it. It was quite a sight to see around 100 riot policemen from Manila arrive in Lagayan to oversee the return of the river’s waters to its original course.37

168. This capricious, whimsical – and not to mention environmentally damaging – use of governmental resources by Jendricks should have been investigated by authorities. In fact, he should have been prosecuted for it; but as far as I know, he has not been held into account for what he did to the river channel.

169. At the very least, he should be prosecuted for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, RA 3019, sec.3 (3), which states thus:

(e) Causing any undue injury to any party, including the Government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or 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.

170. What he did is also punishable by dismissal from service as a violation of RA 6713, the Code of Ethics for Public Officials and Employees, which provides norms of conduct for workers and officials in the public service, in particular, Sec. (4) of the law, which states that:


(k) Commitment to public interest. — Public officials and employees shall always uphold the public interest over and above personal interest. All government resources and powers of their respective offices must be employed and used

37 Copies of photographs taken during the re-diversion efforts ordered by Governor Eustaqio Bersamin are attached as ANNEXES P, Q, R and S. The series of photographs show policemen in riot gear standing guard while a payloaders and a grader carry out the task. The original photograph files are in full color.

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efficiently, effectively, honestly and economically, particularly to avoid wastage in public funds and revenues.

(l) Professionalism. — Public officials and employees shall perform and discharge their duties with the highest degree of excellence, professionalism, intelligence and skill. They shall enter public service with utmost devotion and dedication to duty. They shall endeavor to discourage wrong perceptions of their roles as dispensers or peddlers of undue patronage.


171. I also mention this to show whois truly in control of Lagayan town, even if on paper, someone else is the incumbent mayor.

172. I pity my townmates. For so long, they had been ruled by fear. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at descriptions of Lagayan as one of the most peaceful towns in the Province of Abra. It is a big lie, perpetuated by no other than Jendricks himself, who has given instructions to the local police not to report to higher authorities any crime incidences in the town. Killingsare not recorded nor reported by the police. The Lunas have a bevy of goons with guns, and with them, they rule Lagayan with an iron hand.

THE LAST STRAW

173. Thirteen years – that’s how long I had been in the employ of the Lagayan municipality. All that time, I endured so many indignities and so much humiliation under the Lunas. But I always prayed that the Lunas would finally see the light and treat the municipal hall employees with respect. But everyone knew my vocal opposition to the continued failure by the Lunas to pay the municipal hall employees according to what the law provides.

174. It is perhaps because of this reason that when one day in the first week of May, someone sent a Resolution purportedly issued by the Sangguniang Bayan to the Secretary of Finance, with copy furnished to the Regional Director of the Bureau of Local Government Finance, asking the immediate transfer of our municipal treasurer, Mrs. Marissa G. Donato, and the appointment of a new treasurer from the regional office, the Lunas immediately pinpointed me as the culprit. The resolution carried all the necessary but apparently forged, signatures, including mine. Its reason for calling for a replacement for Mrs. Donato was betrayal of public trust and graft and corruption.

175. Lagayan is a town of 4,134 residents; it has 32 elected and appointed municipal hall employees. And their immediate suspect was me. Without further investigation, without giving me due process, they determined that I was the source of the offending Resolution. I could not believe that in their eyes, I am the only one in the entire town of Lagayan capable of doing that.

176. I very well remember: on May 4, 2011, around 4 p.m., I was on my way home from work, and when I was in the vicinity of Canan, Lapaz, Abra, I received a call from Jendricks ordering me to immediately proceed to the Luna residence in Dangdala, Bangued, Abra. He was furious. He shouted and cursed me on the phone.

177. I politely told him that I was on my way home. He answered back, cursing me; “Agderetso ka ditoy balay,okinnayo… ania ti inar-aramid yo”? (You report to my house immediately you slut…what did you do?)

178. I was shaking in fear when I reached the Luna residence in Bangued. There I saw Jendricks and the municipal treasurer talking with each other. Jendricks shoved a copy of the offending Resolution at my face and ordered me to prepare a written answer to an official query sent by the Regional

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Director of the Bureau of Local Government Finance for the Cordillera Administrative Region. 38 Then they left.

179. The next day, at around 7:45 a.m., Jendricks called me up to ask me whether I had already prepared the written answer. I said yes.

180. The following day, May 6, 2011, Jendricks called an emergency meeting with all the employees and officials of the town, including members of his barangay council, and people in the streets.

181. At the meeting, all eyes were on me when he ordered me to read the Resolution.

182. As soon as I finished doing so, Jendricks violently took the document from my hands, put it on the table and angrily pointed at me as its author.

183. With a finger pointed at me, he shouted: “Sika ti makin aramid iti daytoy! Sika laeng ti makaammo ti budget ti munisipyo, sika ti nalaing mga agrekrelamo ti suweldo ken benefits manipud pay iti tiempo ni Mama (referring to Cecilia Luna) Leche ka! Okinnam, No haan mo masolusyunan dayta makarasak ka! Sulbarem dayta, no dika masulbar makaamo ka! (You authored this, you’re the only one who knows the budget of the municipality, since my mother’s time, you’re the only one who had been showing off her smarts and complaining about salary and benefits. You’re shit, you’ re a slut! If you don’t solve it yourself, you watch out)!

184. Though shocked by the vitriol he uttered against my person, I politely asked him to allow me to speak.

185. He refused to give me a hearing. With a finger pointing at my face, he shouted at the top of his voice: “Haanen, nia haan mo nga aminen? Kayat mo pay la nga adda nakarkaro nga mapasamak? Okinnam, di ka la mapmapnek ti mait-ited kenka! Kayat mo pay la ti nakarkaro nga mapabainan? Okinnam! Leche ka! (Shut up. What, you don’t want to admit to it? You want something worse. You slut, you can’t content yourself with what is given to you, and instead you want greater humiliation.You’re shit)!

186. He then threw the Resolution at my face and angrily stormed out of the meeting. I’ve never felt so humiliated in my life. After the meeting disbanded, the treasurer walked up to me and declared: “maikkatak laeng isakripisyok ti mang-hire ti pumatay (ipapapatay ka!)

187. This was the last straw for me. It was there that I declared to myself it is time to put a stop to all the years of humiliation and indignities. Thus I decided to speak out against the reign of greed and terror of the Lunas in Lagayan.

PRAYER

WHEREFORE, I, as Private Complainant, respectfully pray that the Respondents concerned, upon due investigation, be charged with the violation of the application provisions of Republic 7080, the Anti-Plunder Law, as amended, Republic Act 1379, the Forfeiture Law, Republic Act 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, RA 6713, the Code of Ethics for Public Officials and Employees, and the Revised Penal Code, and other such violations of the law as this Honorable Office may see fit to charge Respondents with. Finally, Private Complainant pray that the Honorable Office institute forfeiture proceedings against the properties, assets and financial holdings of Respondents, pursuant to the applicable provisions of RA 1379, the Forfeiture Law.

Other just and equitable relief are also prayed for.

Makati City for Quezon City. September 12, 2011.

Affiants further sayeth naught.

38 A copy of the query is attached as ANNEX T

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In witness hereof, I affix my signature to this Complaint-Affidavit to attest to the

truthfulness of my affirmations in the preceding discussion this 13th day of September 2011.

BERNADINE S. JOSON

Affiant

Verification

I, BERNADINE S. JOSON, of legal age, married, until recently Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator and concurrent Secretary to the Sangguniang Bayan of the Municipality of Lagayan, Abra, with address for purposes of this complaint at Roque and Butuyan Law Offices, Unit 1904 Antel 2000 Corporate Center, 121 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City 1277, hereby depose and state that:

1. I am the complainant in the foregoing Complaint-Affidavit;

2. I have caused the preparation and filing of the same;

3. I have read and understood its contents and affirm that the allegations therein are

true and correct of myown personal knowledge and based on authentic records.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have signed this instrument on September 13, 2011 before

the Office of the Ombudsman.

Name Signature Valid Identification BERNADINE S. JOSON GSIS Unified Multi-Purpose ID

No. CRN-006-0001-3974-2

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 13th of September 2011 in Quezon City. I

hereby certify that I have examined the affiants and I am satisfied that they voluntarily executed

and understood the above affidavit

___________________________________________________________________

GRAFT INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OFFICER

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Documents

abreniandotcom.files.wordpress.com · Web viewJendricks response to me was: “Huwag ka ng magpasession, gawin mo nalang ang resolution at ipapirma sa bahay-bahay ng mga Sangguniang