PLUNDER, graft and corruption charges, among others, have been filed against 15 individuals, including former and incumbent Cebu City Government officials, before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas over their alleged involvement in a garbage collection deal that resulted in over P239 million in damage to the government.
The deal was signed by the Cebu City Government and the joint venture of Docast Construction and JJ & J Construction and General Supply for the collection, hauling and dumping of Cebu City’s garbage in 2021.
The charges were filed by the National Bureau of Investigation-Central Visayas (NBI 7) on Dec. 14, 2022, after the agency alleged that there were unlawful acts committed, such as overbilling, padding, and ghost garbage deliveries in carrying out the garbage collection deal.
Charged were former Cebu City administrator Floro Casas Jr. and incumbent officials Department of Public Services (DPS) head John Jigo Dacua, DPS Garbage Collection and Disposal Officer-in-charge (OIC) Grace Luardo-Silva, DPS inspection officer Allen Omlero Ceballos, DPS City Treasurer’s Office inspector Romelito Asinjo Datan, DPS General Services Office inspector Mark Abarquez Ugbinar, OIC-City Accountant Jerome Visarra Ornopia, and acting city treasurer Mare Vae Fernandez Reyes.
Other individuals charged were Docast Construction/JJ &J Construction and General Supply (Docast/JJ&J) joint venture officials Jayra Angelic Maningo Ruiz-Javier (incorporator/authorized managing officer), John David Sevilles Javier (officer-in-charge/operation manager), Erika May Quiño (encoder), and incorporator/officers Jay Alexander Aguilar Ruiz, Maridel Maningo Ruiz, Robert Jay Maningo Ruiz, and Jayvic Castrenz Maningo Ruiz.
They are alleged to have violated Section 1(d)(1) of Republic Act (RA) 7080 as amended by Section 12 of RA 7659 (Plunder), Section 3(e) of RA 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code (Malversation of Public Funds and Property), and Republic Act 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) for gross neglect of duty.
Docast/JJ&J allegedly overcharged the Cebu City government a total of P239,728,280.62.
The development comes more than a year after then Cebu City vice mayor Michael Rama, now mayor, wrote a letter to the NBI 7 to conduct an investigation on the contract between Docast/JJ&J and the Cebu City government on Aug. 24, 2021, attaching a City Council resolution dated Aug. 19, 2021 seeking the same investigation. The mayor at the time was Edgardo Labella.
The deal
In a press conference at the NBI 7 office in Cebu City Thursday, Dec. 15, NBI 7 supervising agent Gregorio Algoso Jr. explained that the alleged crimes began after the City government bid out the collection, hauling and dumping of the City’s garbage to a government-accredited dumpsite on Dec. 3, 2020 through Purchase Order 80, with a repeat order on July 29, 2021 through Purchase Order 570.
Algoso said Docast/JJ&J won the bid with the bid price of P1,800 per ton of garbage that it would charge the City Government for garbage that the joint venture would collect, haul and dump at the accredited dumpsite using its company-owned garbage trucks.
He said Docast/JJ&J then entered into a contract/agreement with ARN Central Waste Management Inc., which operated a landfill in Barangay Binaliw, Cebu City, to pay P600 for every ton of garbage it dumped in the landfill.
Even with no direct contract or agreement, the NBI learned, ARN also allowed the city government’s Department of Public Services (DPS) and barangay-owned trucks to dump trash in the landfill, charging the city government through Docast/JJ&J at P600 per ton of trash dumped.
The crimes
Algoso said Docast/JJ&J did not forward the billings supposed to be for the city government and instead claimed them as their own, asking the city government for payment for these charges.
“Docast/JJ&J made it appear that the collection and dumping of garbage by the city and barangay-owned garbage trucks were done by Docast/JJ&J company trucks and charged the Cebu City government the amount of P1,800/ton instead of P600/ton,” said the NBI, calling this overbilling.
NBI Regional Director Rennan Augustus Oliva said their investigation also showed that Docast/JJ&J had fabricated ARN truck scale slips (ARN TSS), padding the tonnage of garbage it had dumped at ARN’s landfill.
ARN truck scale slips are issued by ARN after weighing each truck that dumps trash at its landfill. The slips indicate the tonnage of garbage delivered. This forms the basis for ARN’s collection of payment for the garbage dumped at its site.
In addition, Oliva said, Docast/JJ&J billed the city government for trash dumped at the Binaliw landfill from July 8 to Aug. 10, 2021, producing alleged ARN TSS from this period, when in fact, ARN had banned Docast/JJ&J from the landfill starting July 8, 2021 for failing to pay what it owed ARN from Jan. 1 to July 7, 2021.
He said this proved that Docast/JJ&J had made “ghost deliveries in its billing statements to the Cebu City Government.”
Oliva also said the involved individuals failed to submit original copies of the transaction receipts, which then were later sorted out to reveal that the amount did not match their presented total.
Oliva said that throughout their transaction the government paid P367,141,446, when it should have paid only P111,431,280.
After deducting the withholding tax amount of P15,981,885.38, the NBI said Docast/JJ&J had overbilled the Cebu City Government by P239,728,280.62.
Reactions
Rama welcomed the findings of the NBI but said he still had to read a copy of the NBI’s findings and cases filed against the eight City Hall incumbent and former officials.
The mayor told reporters Thursday that he also needs to discuss the matter with his legal team and determine the City Government’s next move.
“The most important thing, it has been lodged to the NBI, and findings came in, and (the) next thing is answering,” said Rama.
Rama said the NBI probe is just the first move in dismantling fixers and eradicating corrupt practices in City Hall.
“We cannot have a Singapore-like Cebu City if we are not serious about this putting transparency and accountability highlighted,” said Rama.
Shocked
Former city administrator Casas told SunStar Cebu that he had not yet received a copy of the complaint filed by the NBI.
“I am shocked by this development, but I will answer the charges in the proper forum. I cannot comment for now because I have yet to receive a copy of the complaint,” said Casas.
Casas, who is a lawyer, was appointed last Oct. 18 as an adviser on financial and legal matters of Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia.
Department of Public Services head Dacua also declined to comment on the suit filed against him.
Dacua told SunStar Cebu that he will answer the charges in the proper forums pending receipt of the copy of the official complaint of the NBI.
DPS official Luardo-Silva denied involvement in any anomalous transactions.
Luardo-Silva said she did not steal public funds and that she did not even get rich.
She said she does not have a big house or fancy cars.
“Thirty-two years of service putli nakong ikapanghambog naka pa-edukar ko sa akong mga anak. Bahalag mangutang, dili mangawat,” said Luardo-Silva. (I can proudly say that I was able to educate my children. It’s better to borrow money. I don’t steal.)