THE Office of the Ombudsman for Luzon has dismissed the charges of falsification of public documents and grave misconduct filed against Guagua Mayor Dante Torres in January 2017 barely a few months before the end of his term as municipal executive.
In a 10-page joint resolution signed by Graft and Investigation and Prosecution officer Maritesse Fabila-Visconde on October 27, 2020, the cases against Torres were dismissed for lack of merit.
Certified documents of the joint resolution were issued last December 16, 2021, according to documents obtained from Torres.
The cases stemmed from the complaints of a certain Juan Pring, who alleged that Torres signed his name in the marriage certificates of five couples whose marriages were solemnized by the latter’s executive assistant.
The complainant also alleged that the mayor committed falsification of public documents resulting in grave misconduct.
Torres hailed the decision of the Ombudsman for Luzon, saying the ruling clears his name and administration of the negative propaganda that has been thrown against him by his detractors.
Torres said he laments the many opportunities that the town had missed due to the issues and charges filed against him.
In 2020, the Sandiganbayan cleared him of the July 2014 technical malversation case filed against him by Pring.
It was also a triple victory for Torres, as he was cleared by two other courts of other charges filed against him.
The Regional Trial Court Branch 98 in Quezon City cleared Torres of the case of falsification of public documents, while the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed the graft case filed against him by Pring.
The Ombudsman said the case had "no probable cause."