|
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Town mayor accused of illegal logging
DAVAO CITY -- Mayor Samuel Uy of Tarragona town, Davao Oriental was accused of illegal logging and unauthorized cutting of trees in sitios Bato-bato and Cangusan of Barangay Tubaon.
Danilo M. Lintuan, Aurelio M. Lintuan, Dexter M. Fernando, Amor L. Budta, and Ruben O. Feliciano filed the complaint against Uy and two others namely tribal chieftain Ronald "Toto" Dungon of Barangay Tubaon and Noel A. Donato.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
All complainants are members of the Forest Protection and Conservation Team of Ugbo Tarragona Multi-Purpose Cooperative (UTMC).
In a document obtained by Sun.Star Davao, UTMC members said Uy's group is illegally cutting and transporting logs to the cockpit building in Agawon, Tarragona, which is allegedly owned and operated by the mayor himself.
They said the cockpit has been built without the needed building permit and that it is operating without a license.
The cockpit was also allegedly constructed on a parcel of land that is under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp) of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), which "has not issued a land use conversion (LUC) certificate for the purpose."
Romeo R. Torres, officer-in-charge of Cenro in Davao Oriental, received the complaint affidavit of the Lintuans, Fernando, Budta, and Feliciano. The document has also reportedly reached the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' (DENR) regional office in Davao City.
In a separate complaint, Feliciano also accused Uy of several alleged anomalies and questionable acts.
In his six-page letter, Feliciano asked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to order the concerned agencies to investigate the questionable acts of Mayor Uy.
Among several accusations were:
1. The Internal Revenue Allocation (IRA) of Tarragona was allegedly "cornered" by the mayor and the audit report kept under the possession of his confidante;
2. Mayor Uy is allegedly involved in a P3-million anomaly of congressional fund through the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The account was allegedly transferred to the account of the Tarragona local government unit, intended for rehabilitation of Barangay Tubaon road up to Banhawan Road in Joveller, Tarragona;
3. Alleged irregular remittance of payments for a P15-million loan with LandBank of the Philippines in 2004 intended to purchase heavy equipment for Tarragona sometime in 2004;
4. Alleged non-remittance of Government Security and Insurance System (GSIS) premiums for Tarragona employees; and
5. Illegal transfer of Department of Agriculture (DA) piggery from the approved/identified government site involving 100 heads of hogs allegedly to the mayor's personal property.
Sun.Star Davao tried to reach Mayor Uy for his comments Monday on the said allegations, but to no avail. (BOT of Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. (June 10, 2008 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Top Abu Sayyaf leader falls