Ex-Antique gov, son charged with graft
Former Antique Governor Exequiel Javier and his congressman-son Paulo Javier are facing graft and corruption charges before the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) for allegedly raiding the coffers of the province and multimillion congressional pork barrel.
The criminal complaint which also included seven other former provincial officials and private contractors was filed by two provincial journalists, Wilson Geronimo of Voice FM Radio and Modesto Montano, a freelance broadcaster.
The complainants said they were charging the respondents “for the crime of plunder over alleged rigged biddings of infrastructure projects, overpriced purchases and other serious violations of the procurement law as discovered by the Commission on Audit (COA).”
Citing COA reports, Geronimo and Montano said former Gov. Javier purchased substandard supplies and materials for the provincial government without the benefit of public bidding.
They said payments for infrastructure projects were released despite absence of documentation.
They also claimed that goods purchased and distributed to super-typhoon Yolanda victims were without reports on their utilization and distribution.
Among others, they said “infrastructure projects implemented by the provincial government were not subjected to liquidated damages.”
The two media personalities also said that COA reports showed that some R58 million in unutilized Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of Congressman Javier was not returned to the Bureau of Treasury in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling declaring congressional pork barrel illegal.
They said part of the PDAF allocation was allegedly diverted to “ghost” projects of the provincial government like scholarship program and farm-tomarket roads.
The 18-page complaint also stated that “former Governor Javier betrayed the memory and sullied the name of his brother (Evelio Javier) who is our homegrown hero and Antique’s proudest son.”
Javier was ousted by the Commission on Elections early this year for violation of the Omnibus Elections Code when he suspended a town mayor during election period without prior Comelec approval.