Benguet mayor faces 2nd Ombudsman case

2 MIN READ

By ACE ALEGRE

La Trinidad, Benguet — For not giving in to a P250 million mall project in this Benguet capital town, La Trinidad Mayor Gregorio Abalos is facing a second ombudsman case.

Even suspecting that the grave misconduct and oppression complaint lodged by private developer  Jarco Realty and Development Corporation which in 2009 forged a lease contract with La Trinidad government for a mall project, is “political,” Abalos said he is braving all these in the interest of the 120,000 residents of his town.

Earlier in January, two residents whom Abalos fired at the local government filed dishonesty, grave misconduct and violations of anti-graft and corrupt practices against Abalos before the Ombudsman over an alleged purchase of the controversial Black Hole project, also known the Zero Waste Management System technology.

In the second complaint against Abalos, Jarco claims it has been suffering huge losses and opportunities since December 21, 2009 because of the mayor’s continued refusal to lease out, for at least 30 years, a 3,910 square meter property on which Jarco will construct the mall. Though filed only on August 17 this year, Jarco corporate secretary Juanito Teope on behalf of its board of directors complained before the Office of the Ombudsman for Luzon.

Such prompting Mayor Abalos to suspect something “political” with the coming of the 2013 polls, “they want my neck,” the Liberal Party (LP) member said.

The town mayor however is firm on the disapproval of the mall project insisting there were no genuine consultations with local residents on the project. The interest of stakeholders in La Trinidad was not taken into consideration, he said, even hinting “money may have changed hands” during the town administration before him.

Before the 2010 polls, as a private citizen, Abalos, a lawyer and a former regional director of the Department of Labor in the Cagayan region, succeeded getting an issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order form the court halting the digging of footings for the project.   

When I took over as mayor, “I constituted a committee involving even town councilors to study the contract and they found that it was not feasible,” the town mayor said.

Aside from the utter lack of public consultations, the mayor cited that the mall proposal did not pass through the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Investment Coordination Committee that stipulates that projects beyond P200million must pass through it. 

NEDA even cited the Jarco contract as non-feasible, he said.

“The process (for its approval) was rigged,”  Mayor Abalos reiterates.

Even giving in to further pressure, Abalos said he re-endorsed the issue to the town council requiring an honest to goodness consultations and that it should pass the NEDA ICC. “Until now, the council has not endorsed the matter back to me.” # nordis.net