Negros Oriental mayor charged with graft over cockpit operation

A re-elected mayor of San Jose, Negros Oriental was charged with graft for allegedly having a direct financial interest in the operation of a cockpit in the municipality.

In two separate case information sheets recently filed by the Office of the Ombudsman before the Sandiganbayan, San Jose mayor Nelson Ruiz was charged with violation of Sections 3 (d) and 3 (h) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Section 3 (d) of RA 3019 prohibits public official from allowing himself or a member of his family to have a position in a private enterprise to which his office has a pending official business or transaction.

Section 3 (h) of RA 3019, on the other hand, prohibits public officials from directly or indirectly having financial or pecuniary interest in any business, contract, or transaction that the government is entering into.

Based on the information of the cases, Ruiz, during his term as mayor of San Jose, allowed his daughter Susan R. Logronio to accept in April 2009 a position as a cashier in the cockpit business of a certain Felix Ramirez.

Ruiz reportedly allowed this despite being fully aware that Ramirez's business entity has a pending application for issuance of license to operate before the Office of the Mayor.

The Ombudsman said Ruiz eventually issued the license in favor of Ramirez allowing the latter to operate his cockpit in Barangay Cancawas in the same municipality.

The Ombudsman further alleged that Ruiz had a direct financial and pecuniary interest in the issuance of the license as he was supposedly the owner and lessor of the lot where the cockpit was situated.

"This is to certify that, based on the records, a preliminary investigation has been conducted; that there is a sufficient ground to engender a well-founded belief that the crime charged has been committed; and that the accused is probably guilty thereof," the Ombudsman's prosecutorial arm Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) said in a certification attached to each case information sheet.

The OSP recommended P30,000 bail bond for each graft case in exchange for Ruiz' provisional liberty.

Ruiz served as mayor of San Jose from 2007 to 2010 and as vice mayor from 2013 to 2016. He was re-elected as mayor on May 9, 2016 elections. — VVP, GMA News