TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The Office of the Ombudsman is being requested by a private citizen from this city to conduct an investigation and initiate the filing of appropriate administrative and criminal complaint against Vice Mayor Bernard Glenn Pio M. Dao-as for alleged extortion that constitute prohibited acts and transactions defined and penalized by provisions of Republic Act (RA) 6713 among others but such allegations were immediately rebutted by the concerned public official.
In a 4-page sworn affidavit that was received by the Ombudsman, Marion Abing Duclan accused the Vice Mayor of alleged corrupt practices, grave coercion, grave misconduct, grave abuse of authority and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
He narrated that he is the husband of the seller, who by virtue of special power of attorney, sold 3 lots all located at Barangay Laya West which were the subject of a deed of absolute sale executed between her and the city government on August 23, 2019.
The complainant is the son-in-law of Emilio Bai, the registered owner of the 3 parcels of land purchased by the local government, purposely for the up of buildings for the national offices existing in the province’s component city.
Duclan claimed that the Vice Mayor arrived in his house on board a vehicle loaded with some pails of paint and reportedly told him that he was going to Agbannawag and that he just passed by.
The complainant stated that the Vice Mayor then told him that he already signed the resolution authorizing Mayor Darwin Estrañero to purchase the 3 lots and then allegedly asked him for P600,000 as reported goodwill money for the said transaction.
However, he explained that he cannot give him what he was asking for because the two individuals did not have such agreement and that he told him that the Mayor did not even ask him for anything in connection with the said sale.
Upon hearing his refusal, Duclan revealed that the Vice Mayor looked at him with such disgust and anger that he thought he was going to punch him in the face and after a few seconds, he eventually left the place without saying a word.
On September 10, 2019, he stated that Vice Mayor Dao-as once again went to their house and in a very menacing manner, he reiterated his previous demand for him to give the latter his ‘ balato’ from the proceeds of the sale of the 3 lots and sometime on September 12, 2019, at around 9 in the morning, the Vice Mayor again went to their house with a couple of companions and in a very menacing and harassing manner, asked him to admit that he did not receive the full payments for their lots and that he kept on insisting that he only received a portion of it and that the rest were taken by certain government officials.
On October 11, 2019, at around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, the Vice Mayor came to their house for the third time and this time there were about 8 men who were with him and that all of his companions have sling bags tacked on their bodies and that they subsequently entered their gate without permission from him and started to allegedly harass him and that the public official told him that he was a police and that he pity his wife because she would be removed from his job and insisted that he will admit that he did not get the total proceeds of the sale.
Further, Abing was informed that National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents from Manila will come to investigate the alleged anomalous sale that had been consummated.
The complainant alleged that the Vice Mayor ordered his companions to take a video of him to be reportedly used as proof and while they were taking a video, he kept asking and insisting for him to admit that he had not received the full payment of the 3 lots and that he merely stood without responding and that when he realized that he cannot convince him to say what he wanted to hear, he told him that he will think carefully about what had been told him before leaving his compound.
Duclan asserted that he does not know the reason why the Vice Mayor is going through such great length to allegedly harass and intimidate him into admitting that the couple did not receive the full amount of the purchase price of the 3 lots by the city government but in all honesty, the purchase price was fully paid.
For his part, Vice Mayor Dao-as vehemently belied the allegations of Duclan, saying that his affidavit complaint is obviously scripted to discredit his credibility as a complainant in a related case that he personally filed with the Office of the President, the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and the Ombudsman against Mayor Estrañero and his supposed cohorts in the alleged questionable purchase of 3 lots that is obviously overpriced.
He averred that the complaint against him was filed when concerned government officials learned that he was already conducting an investigation on the alleged anomalous transaction to prepare the filing of the appropriate charges against who might have defrauded the city government of funds that were supposed to have been used for the implementation of development projects and enhance the delivery of basic services.
In his separate narration, Vice Mayor Dao-as stated that in the afternoon of September 9, 2019, Duclan reportedly visited him in his house and that he allegedly attempted to give him money amounting to P300,000.
The Vice Mayor reportedly asked Duclan why was he giving him money and that the latter told him that it was his way of saying thank you since the transaction involving the purchase of the 3 parcels of land was successful.
Dao-as vehemently rejected the money and at around 3 pm of September 10, 2019, City Administrator Arnold Tenero allegedly came to his office at the city hall and allegedly offered him the amount of P1.1 million where the amount was the supposed share of the city council in the transaction involving the purchase of the 3 parcels of land but he outrightly rejected the money that was being offered.
He stipulated that he has yet to receive the appropriate summons from the Ombudsman on the case that was filed against him by Duclan and that he will answer his allegations point by point considering the absence of the required corroborating pieces of evidence on the matter.
Dao-as asserted that it will now be up to the Ombudsman to appreciate the pieces of evidence that will be presented by both parties on the said case and that he will leave the matter to the sound discretion of the investigators instead of coming out with unnecessary pronouncements that will complicate the problem that simply arose from the overpriced purchase of 3 parcels of land by the city government where a huge chunk of the proceeds of the purchase allegedly went to certain government officials.
By Dexter A. See
