Ex-Tarlac mayor indicted for memorial park mess

The former mayor of Mayantoc, Tarlac has been charged with graft at the Sandiganbayan over the alleged irregular awarding of a P24.8-million contract for the municipality’s memorial park.

Ombudsman prosecutors accused former mayor Tito Guerrero Razalan of violating Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) chair Rodolfo Felipe Corpuz; BAC members Nilda Laguna Salazar, Florence Bunao Bueno, Marilene Samaniego Bedania, and Juan Mercado Bala; and JQG Construction proprietor Jose Quiambao De Guzman Jr. were also named as respondents in the case.

In 2009, the local government of Mayantoc awarded JQG the contract for the Mayantoc Memorial Park project.

The prosecution said JQG received the contract despite irregularities and violations committed by the BAC.

This includes the BAC’s failure to require JQG the payment of P5,000 for the bid documents and the 20 percent underpayment for performance and warranty securities.

Nonetheless, the prosecution said Razalan and Corpuz still facilitated the payment of P24.8 million by issuing the Project Acceptance and the Certificate of Project Completion documents.

It added that Salazar released the check payments to JQG “sans the complete documents supporting payment, and despite the non-completion of the project by JQG Construction, thereby causing undue injury to the government.”

A total bail bond of P30,000 has been recommended for each of the respondents in the case. — MDM, GMA News