Aurora governor, seven others charged with graft over alleged rigged bidding

Suspended Aurora governor Gerardo Noveras and seven others have been charged for graft before the Sandiganbayan in connection with the alleged rigging of the bidding process for the repair of a provincial highway in 2014. 

Received by the anti-graft court on October 5, the information filed by the Office of the Ombudsman charges Noveras with violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Also charged were provincial government officials Simeon De Castro, Paz Torregosa, Ricardo Bautista, Benedicto Rojo, Isaias Noveras, Jr. and Norma Clemente.

They allegedly conspired with one Manding Claro Ramos, the only private individual among the accused, to "ensure" the award of the contract for repair of sections of the Casiguran-Dilasag Provincial Road in favor of  the Ramos-owned RMCR Construction.

These were the Dimalang Bridge Approach and the Road Section of the Casiguran-Dilasag Provincial Road.

The Office of the Ombudsman found probable cause to indict them in April this year.

Noveras was ordered suspended in January for allegedly allowing the use of his own dump trucks in the construction of a barangay development project.

The information by the Ombudsman charged the Aurora government officials with "failing to conduct a competitive public bidding" when they "rigged the bidding process for the said transactions when RMCR had implemented and almost completed the construction or repair projects even before the procurement process was concluded."

This was allegedly evidenced by the fact that the Notices to Proceed were issued to RCMR Construction only on August 15, 2017, and that three days after the issuance, "it was reported that the projects were already 100% completed."

This, despite the estimated duration that the road section of the said provincial road alone would take 30 calendar days to finish, an Ombudsman prosecutor alleged.

A bail of P30,000 was recommended for each of the accused. —NB, GMA News