Echiverri faces new graft raps

Former Caloocan City mayor Enrico Echiverri is in hot water again after he was slapped with a new graft charge before the Sandiganbayan Seventh Division in connection with the anomalous improvement of several streets and alleys back in 2012.

Graft Investigation and Prosecution Officer III Michelle V. Villabesa, in the charge sheet, said Echiverri conspired with former city budget officer Jesusa Garcia and city accountant Edna Centeno, who have been also charged with falsification of public documents.

They reportedly conspired with one another and awarded the amount of R1,440,761.87, which is the first partial payment out of a total of R4,364,900, to Maria Rosa S. Mandani, owner of MRRM Trading and Construction without authorization from the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Caloocan City. This is for the improvement of Intan Street, Pitong Gatang Alley, Alley 1, Alley 2, and Gumamela Alley in Barangay 155, Bagong Barrio, Caloocan City.

Centeno and Garcia were slapped with falsification of public documents for certifying the Allotment and Obligation Slip (ALOBS) dated March 20, 2012, which attested to the improvement of the abovementioned streets and alleys. They did so even though they “very well knew that there was neither a specific appropriation for the said project nor a prior authorization from the Sangguniang Panlungsod.”

Echiverri’s bail bond has been set at P30,000, while Centeno and Garcia have to pay P42,000 each for their provisional liberty.

The three of them now have a total of nine graft charges before different divisions of the Sandiganbayan.