By BOY RYAN B. ZABAL
KALIBO, Aklan — The businessman who filed an administrative complaint against New Washington Mayor Edgar Peralta before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) denied he engaged in forum shopping.
Engr. Jonathan Salvador said he had no idea how the Office of the Ombudsman got involved.
He stressed that he never filed a complaint with the Ombudsman and was wondering why the Ombudsman asked Peralta to respond to the case.
An administrative complaint against Peralta identical to the one Salvador filed with the SP had been filed with the Ombudsman, media reports said.
“It appears there is a third party that lodged a similar complaint with the Ombudsman by using the case records I filed with the (SP),” Salvador said.
Salvador owns the Metallica Shipyard and the Lagatik river cruise businesses in New Washington.
He accused Peralta of abuse of authority and oppression, among others, for the mayor’s alleged “harassment” of his businesses.
“Owa gid ako it kopya nga gin-file sa Ombudsman sa Cebu. Habatian ko man sa radyo nga may kapareho nga kaso sa Ombudsman nga gin-file ko sa Aklan SP (I don’t have a copy of the complaint allegedly filed with the Ombudsman in Cebu. I heard over the radio that a complaint similar to the one I filed with Aklan SP is now being investigated by the Ombudsman),” he said.
He added: “Nangawa man lang kami ham-an gina pasabat si Mayor Peralta sa Ombudsman ag gina taw-an man ako it mga kopya ko ana nga mga sabat (I was confused why Mayor Peralta was asked by the Ombudsman to respond to an administrative case, and I was also furnished a copy of his response).”
Salvador said a copy of the complaint he filed with SP might have reached the Ombudsman when he furnished copies to various government agencies.
An SP investigating committee headed by Board member Plaridel Morania is investigating the administrative complaint. (Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
