La Castellana Mayor Rhumyla Mangilimutan said she is willing to open her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), bank account, and properties to the public for scrutiny.
Mangilimutan issued the statement in reaction to the latest round of allegations raised against her by her former ally, Councilor Donato Dumaguit.
Dumaguit is facing 11 cases of large scale estafa along with Mary June Delos Santos for allegedly victimizing 44 individuals from La Castellana, Moises Padilla, and some parts of the province for an alleged recruitment scam for the Philippine National Police.
Mangilimutan said Dumaguit believes she is behind the charges against him.
She said Dumaguit is just diverting the issue instead of answering the accusations filed against him.
"If he files a case against me, I will answer them. The issue is with him and not me," the mayor said.
As to accusations of Dumaguit that she is trying to kill him, Mangilimutan said how can that be "when his house sits on my lot?"
She added that if Dumaguit has not committed anything wrong, "he should be seen here in the town."
Dumaguit accused Mangilimutan of acquiring properties that she did not declare in her SALN.
He also claimed that the mayor is using a close-in bodyguard as a front in the acquisition of the properties and businesses.
Meanwhile, Colonel Leo Pamittan, provincial police director, confirmed that 11 cases have been filed against Dumaguit and Delos Santos before the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor in Bacolod City.
Pamittan said that under Department Circular No. 20 of the Department of Justice, the case will undergo a case buildup and intelligence buildup by the investigators and prosecutors.
"They will study the case to ensure a good conviction rate in the courts," he said, adding that Dumaguit and his cohort are charged with a non-bailable offense as it is a heinous crime.
He also said that only 11 of the 44 victims have filed a case as of Wednesday, October 4, because some of them also have work and cannot find time to submit an affidavit at the police station.
Pamittan clarified that the four policemen and non-uniformed personnel from the Bacolod City Police Office were mentioned in the affidavits of three victims, but as to the determination of their involvement in the alleged recruitment scam, "it's for the courts to decide."
"The administrative case against them because they were implicated in the affidavits is the jurisdiction of the BCPO, while as to the criminal case, it is the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office," he added.
Pamittan said that they knew that Dumaguit had not been attending the sessions of the Sangguniang Bayan, adding that they don’t know his whereabouts.*