FOUR Mandaue city engineers ordered arrested by the Sandiganbayan over the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit lamppost scandal surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation 7 yesterday.
Those who turned themselves in are Hidelisa Latonio (officer-in-charge of Mandaue City engineers) and assistant engineers Gregorio Omo, Mario Gerolaga and Rosalina Denque.
Another Mandaue city engineer, Alfredo Sanchez, who was included in the warrant has yet to be arrested.
Arnold Rosales, senior agent of NBI National Capital Region (NCR), said yesterday they are still looking for Sanchez. They also tried contacting his lawyer, to no avail.
Sandiganbayan 2nd division chairman Edilberto Sandoval issued the warrant of arrest late Friday.
NBI agents from Manila arrived in Cebu yesterday and immediately contacted lawyer Gloria Lastimosa-Dalawampu, who served as counsel of the four engineers.
The four surrendered to the NBI yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon, Dalwampu was set to help them post bail at P30,000 each.
The five engineers, along with former Mandaue City mayor Thadeo Ouano and twelve other public officials, were charged with violating section 3 (g) of Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. They are accused of entering into a contract that is disadvantageous to the government.
The Sandiganbayan has yet to approve the warrant of arrest against them for the violation of RA 6713, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
In April, Ombudsman Merceditas Guttierez ordered the five engineers and the thirteen others dismissed from service.
Last year, Sanchez had executed a counter-affidavit saying he was merely forced to sign the program of works and estimates (POWE) for the purchase of lampposts that the ombudsman said were overpriced.
Sanchez said he only signed the papers for fear of losing his job. He claimed Ouano’s executive assistant and daughter in-law-Cheryl and Latonio indirectly threatened him to sign the papers.
Sanchez claimed Latonio approached him in August 2006 asking him to sign a POWE worth P45 million for the lamppost project.
She allegedly returned to his office on Nov. 7, 2006 with a different POWE, which he also signed.
The five engineers were also impleaded in a separate criminal case filed by the Tanodbayan for the jacking up of the original cost of the lampposts and foregoing with the normal process of competitive bidding for government construction projects.
In a Sun.Star Cebu report last year, the DPWH had cited “lack of time” to explain why the lamppost project did not undergo the normal bidding process. The procurement
of the Asean lampposts was done through limited source bidding.
Also charged administratively and criminally were Ouano, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 director Roberto Lala and legal officer Augustinito Hermoso.
Other DPWH officials included in the charges were Pureza Fernandez, Cresencio Bagolor, Luis Galang, Restituto Diano, Buenaventura Pajo and Lala’s two assistants, Gloria Dindin and Marlina Alvizo.
Julito Cuizon, Fernando Tagaan, Jr. and Rogelio Veloso, of the Lapu-Lapu Ctiy government, were also impleaded.
Isabelo Braza of Fabmik and Gerardo Surla were criminally charged as well. Four weeks ago, the indicted DPWH officials posted bail after the Sandiganbayan 3rd division issued a warrant of arrest. Ouano also posted bail before the Sandigan-bayan 2nd and 3rd divisions.
Surla, of Gampik, was also ordered arrested last month.
The fact-finding panel created by Assistant Ombudsman Virginia Santiago had found the contracts with lamppost suppliers Gampik Construction and Development Inc. and Fabmik Construction and Equipment Supply Company Inc. to be “manifestly and grossly disadvantageous to the government.”
The ombudsman said that the whole lamppost scandal was a “conspiracy” among the impleaded officials and suppliers, starting from the preparation of the POWE up to the purchase and installation of the lampposts.
The Mandaue City and Lapu-lapu City local government units prepared the POWE when it should have been the DPWH, the ombudsman said.
About 2,310 lamps and streetlights were installed in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu in 2006 for the Asean Summit. The costs for different lampposts styles varied, ranging from P85,000 to P350,090.48. The total cost was P365 million. (KAB)
