BY EUGENE Y.ADIONG
BACOLOD City – The lawyer of Sipalay City’s Mayor Oscar Montilla denied that the recent order of the Ombudsman regarding his client was about the plunder case filed against him.
Such impression may have been created by a deliberate attempt to mislead or deceive the public, said Atty. Elmer Balbin.
The documents attached to the Ombudsman order for the OMB-V-C-14-0120 case dated June 9, 2014 – and distributed to the press – stated that, having found enough bases to proceed with a criminal investigation, the anti-graft body was ordering the mayor to file a counter-affidavit.
Balbin said the complainant in the OMB-V-C-14-0120 case was Theodore Banderado, graft investigation and prosecution officer I of Ombudsman Visayas – Regional Office 6.
The supporting documents to the order furnished the media, however, stated that the complainant was Rodolfo Divinagracia.
Among the supporting documents was a letter of Divinagracia to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales inquiring about the status of the plunder case he had filed against Montilla and others before her office on March 2, 2012.
Also attached was a letter from Commission on Audit regional director Evelyn Reyes dated March 28, 2014 assuring Divinagracia that an audit report on the construction of the Government Center in Sipalay City would be furnished to him.
Divinagracia had asked for a special audit on the construction of the government center.
Letters of Sen. Antonio Trillanes and Rep. Gary Alejano asking Morales about the status of Divinagracia’s complaint were also attached.
“It is misleading and a deception,” Balbin said.
The lawyer said the attaching of unrelated documents was designed to “tell the people that the mayor is facing a plunder case.”
On the contrary, the Ombudsman has not acted on the plunder charges filed by Divinagracia three years ago, Balbin said.
He pointed out that they received the order Thursday afternoon and will be ready to answer it.
“The mayor has already implemented the suspension of the four city department heads on January 2012 to March 2012 and we have already submitted a compliance report to the Ombudsman,” Balbin said.
“We are in the process of investigating who are the perpetrators behind this act of misleading the public,” he said, adding they already have suspects but were gathering more evidences.
“We will file civil and criminal charges against them,” Balbin said. “This is early politicking.”/PN
