Catanduanes Governor, 4 LGU Execs Face Plunder Raps

VIRAC, Catanduanes --- Catanduanes Gov. Joseph C. Cua and his alleged cohorts, four heads of provincial offices, face serious complaints of plunder, among others, filed before the office of the Ombudsman on April 11, 2011 by a demoted capitol employee, Assistant Provincial Assessor for Administration Romeo V. Camano.

In his 5-page complaint summary, Camano urged the office of the Ombudsman to immediately investigate what he said are patently anomalous and plunderous government transactions entered into by the Chief Executive of the province, allegedly in connivance with Catanduanes Provincial Assessor Merito T. Tarrago, Provincial General Services Officer Felipe C. Almojuela, Provincial Budget Officer Ireneo C. del Rosario and Provincial Accountant Sonia P. Villaluna, which caused the province poorer by P72, 574, 609. 23.

The alleged said gross misuse and malversation of public funds, according to the complaint, were involved the purchase of ten units of heavy equipment costing about P50 million, repair and rehabilitation of Catanduanes Youth Center allegedly without proper competitive public bidding for P20 million, and procurement of 17 Units of computers also without proper competitive public bidding for more than P2 million.

The complaint further disclosed that the province of Catanduanes paid for the ten surplus equipment with an overprice of P21,198,000.

In December last year, the Catanduanes Youth Center was demolished allegedly on order of Gov. Joseph Cua without the necessary demolition permit and its salvaged materials, according to the complaint, were not brought to either the Provincial Engineering Office or the Provincial General Service Office where they should be as properties of the province, but to a private property of the governor in a nearby barangay.

The governor, the Provincial Assessor Tarrago and other officers of PLGU-Catanduanes, on the other hand connived, the complaint added, by charging more than P2.6 million on February 10, 2011 for an overpriced purchase of 17 units of computer. Records allegedly show that each computer unit has an average purchase price of P153, 294. 12. In addition, a computer server with a market price of P35, 4000.00 was charged to funds of Provincial Assessor’s Office for P230, 000.00 per unit. Camano further added that all the documents for the above-mentioned purpose were approved by the governor.