OMBUDSMAN CHARGES EX- MISAMIS ORIENTAL MAYOR WITH GRAFT
THE Office of the Ombudsman has found basis to charge former Mayor Grace Jardin of Jasaan, Misamis Oriental and her husband Redentor Jardin, former municipal administrator, with anti- graft case before the Sandiganbayan for allegedly using P1.5-million fund to develop the agricultural land they own. In a statement issued on Friday, the Ombudsman said that the municipal council in 2015 issued Resolutions authorizing Jardin to enter into memoranda of agreements (MOAs) for the implementation of the Agri Demo Farm in Barangay San Isidro and the Eco-Tourism Park in Barangay Corrales. “Upon closer scrutiny of the MOAs, it was discovered that respondents were able to utilize P1,500,000 in government funds to develop their once barren agricultural land,” the Ombudsman alleged. The Ombudsman alleged in its resolution that “respondent-spouses were [then-]public officers who had direct financial interest in the contract. Under the MOAs, their property would be developed by the municipality at its own expense, while the management of the park in Barangay Corrales would be subsequently turned over to them upon refund of the municipality’s investments.”
4 ROBBERS KILLED IN SHOOTOUT
CAMP OLIVAS, City of San Fernando, Pampanga: Four of the five unidentified suspected robbers who posed as Securities and Exchange Commission inspectors were killed during a shootout with lawmen shortly after they robbed a lending office on Thursday in Barangay Zone 1, Iba, Zambales. Chief Supt. Amador Corpus, Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) director, said responding policemen chanced upon the armed suspects who were leaving the establishment onboard a red SUV owned by Nida Pentinio, owner of Lucky 55 Lending. Suspects opened fired at the lawmen triggering a shootout killing four of the suspects while another escaped. Recovered from the slain suspects were Pietro berretta caliber 9mm pistol, three caliber 45 pistol and assorted identification cards.
BRITON SAYS SORRY FOR CITATION TICKET CURSE
BACOLOD CITY: A British man made a public apology here after cursing on a citation ticket issued to him by a traffic enforcer for making a counterflow. Benjamin James Oates, 39, went to Bacolod Traffic Authority Office ( BTAO) informing Supt. Luisito Acebuche, traffic head, he wanted to apologize publicly. On February 6, Oates was apprehended for counterflowing and illegally parking his vehicle along Lacson- San Sebastian Street. Traffic enforcer Roilan Gulmatico asked Oates to sign the citation ticket, but instead of his signature, the British wrote “FCK D BTAO” on it. BTAO filed an administrative case against the foreigner before the local Land Transportation Office and asked to revoke his driver’s license. The incident and photo of the citation ticket drew flak from Facebook users. Oates is married to a Filipina for about five years now and lives in Barangay Quintin in Murcia, Negros Occidental. Despite the apology, Acebuche said the withdrawal of Oates’ case before the LTO will depend on Gulmatico.