By EUGENE ADIONG
BACOLOD City — The filing of charges against Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. and two other capitol officials and the recent rally in front of the capitol building “may be related” actions, the governor said.
Those who rallied on Thursday were not farmers of haciendas Ilimnan and Arloc in Brgy. Sta. Rosa, Murcia, Marañon revealed.
“The real (agrarian reform) beneficiaries already have houses built by the (Philippine) Army’s 303rd IB (Infantry Brigade),” he said.
Farmers who rallied on Thursday claimed that the property in Brgy. Sta. Rosa, Murcia, that the capitol bought for the Negros First Ranch was covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
They also accused Marañon and Murcia Municipal Agrarian Reform Officer Edwin Sanchez of “hiding” the certificates of landownership award supposedly awarded to the agrarian reform beneficiaries.
“Maybe somebody is behind them, instigating and funding their actions,” the governor said.
Lawyer Roger Reyes recently filed charges against Marañon, Provincial Treasurer Nilda Generoso and Provincial Engineer Ernie Mapa before the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman Visayas.
He accused them of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Building Code of the Philippines and Government Procurement Reform Act, and committing technical malversation over the capitol’s purchase of the Murcia property.
While the surrounding properties were indeed covered by CARP, the one that the provincial government bought was not, capitol officials said./PN
