THE top official of Compostela town in northern Cebu has been accused of using his political power to conduct illegal and unauthorized reclamation and quarrying works, and illegal gambling, as well as to harass candidates of the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in the opposition party, among other alleged wrongdoings.
In a letter addressed to Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr., a group that called itself the “Concerned Citizens of Compostela, Cebu” requested that Abalos visit Compostela and investigate what they claimed to be the malfeasance of Mayor Felijur “Jury” P. Quiño and his political party for 21 years.
The complainants declined to reveal their identities, citing fears for their lives.
Not involved
In a statement sent to SunStar Cebu on Tuesday, Oct. 10, Quiño’s lawyer Abraham Acosta said Quiño denies all the allegations and said he is not involved in any corrupt practices.
He also denied having reclamation projects in Compostela though he said there are ongoing market construction and seawall protection projects by the Department of Public Works and Highways 7, whose funds came from the office of Fifth District Rep. Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco.
Quiño’s camp added they had not yet been notified of the complaint letter and refused to comment further on the matter at this time.
“We have not received any letter complaint, so we cannot comment. But Mayor Quiño always cooperates with DILG because the LGU (local government unit) is under DILG supervision,” said Acosta.
Illegal reclamation
In their letter, the complainants accused Quiño of permitting the illegal and unauthorized reclamation of 26,142 square meters of land at the seafront of Barangay Poblacion, specifically for the Boardwalk and future site of the Compostela Public Market without an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and Miscellaneous Lease Approval or Foreshore Lease Agreement (FLA) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and approval from the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA).
An ECC is a document issued by the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) after a positive review of an ECC application, certifying that based on the representations of the proponent, the proposed project or undertaking will not cause a significant obstructive environmental impact.
In like manner, an FLA is an agreement executed by and between the DENR and the applicant, such as any local government unit (LGU), to occupy, develop, utilize and manage the foreshore lands.
Brother
The reclamation project allegedly began during the term of Quiño’s brother, then mayor Joel P. Quiño, to whom the PRA issued a cease and desist order (CDO) to halt the reclamation on July 24, 2018.
One reason pointed out for the stoppage in the letter is that the area is reportedly a catch basin during floods where there were mangrove trees, according to the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro).
Under Presidential Decree 705 or the Revised Forestry Code, mangrove strips in islands that protect coastal communities from the destructive force of the sea during high winds and typhoons shall be maintained and should not be alienated.
Subsequently, another former mayor, the now Vice Mayor Froilan O. Quiño, attempted to get PRA approval for the project again, which prompted PRA to send two letters, in December 2019 and January 2020, reminding Froilan to visit the PRA office to discuss the procedures for the approval of “reclamation projects and unathorized reclamations.”
Loan
The funds for the illegal reclamation project allegedly came from a P200 million loan Quiño and his party were said to have taken out from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), whose approval and release of the first tranche worth P17 million without compliance with PRA and Cenro requirements the complainants questioned.
“Why was DBP able to release the loan knowing that the reclaimed lot is NOT OWNED by the Municipality of Compostela? Tax Declaration is definitely not proof of ownership,” the complainants said.
“As a backgrounder, the Municipal Mayor, Jury Quiño, has requested the Sangguniang Bayan Council to pass a Resolution requesting the Provincial Assessor to release a Tax Declaration in favor of the Municipality of Compostela. The SB Council has unanimously passed the Resolution. The said request was granted by the Provincial Assessor in just a few days after the submission of the SB Council Resolution and the Tax Declaration was immediately released.”
“We fully understand that this reclaimed lot shall only be owned by the National Government. Thus, we are questioning the Tax Declaration issued by the Provincial Assessor as to how they were able to release such a document without prior approval from PRA and Cenro/Penro,” the letter read.
In the same letter to the DILG, the complainants said Quiño’s family was allegedly behind the quarrying of limestone, or “anapog” in the Visayan language, particularly in the upland barangays, which caused the removal of trees and sweeping away of houses by water during heavy rain that recently led to one casualty.
The complainants stated that these operations are held at night, wherein truckloads of limestone are dumped at the ongoing reclamation project area.
Illegal gambling
Complainants also alleged that Quiño was the “sole operator” of illegal gambling activities such as the illegal Small Town Lottery (STL) and cockfighting (“tigbakay”) operations in the municipality.
In the letter, they accused Quiño of using dummy individuals to proliferate his illegal gambling businesses and conduct two to three days of illegal cockfighting during fiesta celebrations in a cockpit arena they alleged he owned close to his residence in Barangay Basak. They said the arena also operates regularly on Saturdays and Sundays and has barangay tanods and municipal traffic enforcers to secure the area.
Nepotism, ghosts
The group also accused Quiño’s administration of hiring “ghost employees” using job order (JO) titles as a form of political gratitude to his political supporters.
“Money from the government is spent wrongly. We don’t understand why there are so many workers just standing without proper job descriptions. Every 15/30 (15th and 30th of the month), we will notice volumes of job orders collecting their salaries without even knowing their functions in the Municipality. Ghost Staff?” the group said.
The Civil Service Commission (CSC), in its Resolution 020790, states that the local chief executive (mayor) has the authority to determine the number of JO personnel in his unit by applying the doctrine of necessary implications, such as that a contract covers lump sum work or services such as janitorial, security, or consultancy where no employer-employee relationship exists between the individual and the government; job order covers piece work or intermittent jobs of short duration not exceeding six months and pay is daily; among other provisions.
Concerned citizens are also asking the DILG to investigate the alleged involvement of Quiño’s family, particularly his wife and sons’ intervention in the local governance of Compostela, and “meddling” in government affairs without authority.
Besides those, the group alleged that Quiño’s administration leased a government lot intended for the repair and reconstruction of the Compostela Public Market for his gain and asked for donations and or financial favors from possible investors in exchange for a speedier approval of business permits.
Election threats
As the BSKE draws near, the group also alleged that Quiño and his political party are threatening BSKE candidates in the opposition so they will back out from running.
According to them, the mayor scares people into voting for the candidates from his alliance by saying they could not receive aid from his administration otherwise.
In his statement, Acosta denied that Quiño engaged in harassment in relation to the BSKE, stressing that this could merely be political propaganda by some candidates.