PAMPANGA, Philippines – The Pampanga provincial board’s committee on justice, good government, and public accountability has ordered Mabalacat City Mayor Crisostomo Garbo to respond to a complaint filed against him for alleged grave misconduct, abuse of authority, and dishonesty due to the purchase of a piece of land for a five-story government center project.
The order, signed on October 21 by Pampanga Provincial Board Member Ananias Canlas Jr., the committee vice chair, required Garbo to respond within 15 days after receiving the notice.
Canlas cited Pampanga Ordinance No. 4-2005, which outlines rules and procedures for investigating administrative complaints against elected municipal officials in the province, in directing Garbo to submit a verified answer within the specified period. He warned the mayor that Garbo “shall be deemed to have waived [his] right to present evidence in [his] favor and the hearing shall proceed” if he failed to respond.
The order stemmed from an October 10 complaint filed by Faustino Buenaventura, a resident of Barangay Paralayunan in Mabalacat, before the provincial board regarding a P610-million loan of the local government from the Land Bank of the Philippines. It was to acquire a 2.11-hectare property from the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) company for the new Mabalacat City Government Center.
Buenaventura alleged that payment for the property was made without the green light of the city council. He also asked Pampanga Governor Dennis Pineda to impose a preventive suspension on Garbo.
“We asked for an investigation into why Garbo paid for the land without a city council approval,” he said on Monday, November 4.
Garbo allegedly signed the deed of absolute sale on March 15, 2023, for the P591.2-million property, which includes a base price of P527.87 million and P63.34 million in 12% value-added tax (VAT).
Buenaventura alleged that a check was issued on March 14, a day prior to the official contract signing.
“Mayor Garbo signed the said deed of absolute sale and paid PLDT the amount of P533,443,487.50 with a check dated March 14, 2023. However, the same signed deed of absolute sale reflects that the seller, PLDT, acknowledged receipt of the full amount of P591,209,500,” read part of the complaint.
“It must be noted that the check payment was dated a day earlier than the execution of the contract,” it added.
On March 8, 2023, Pampanga’s Sangguniang Panlungsod approved the budget for the purchase of a new city hall site under Supplemental Appropriation Ordinance No. 05-2023, involving P610 million for the acquisition of land for the construction of the proposed new government center.
Based on the deed, the total amount was P527.8 million plus 12% VAT. However, the acquisition amount for the lot designated for the proposed government center was indicated as P610 million in the statement of supplemental appropriation programs, projects, and activities.
Buenaventura alleged that Garbo authorized the city government to cover P29.393 million in VAT, a responsibility that, according to the complaint, should have been shouldered by the seller, PLDT, to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
He alleged that Garbo also approved a P5.3-million notary fee for Francis Dimaliwat, the city’s legal officer, on the same day. The complaint stated that both Garbo and Dimaliwat understood that the payment was unwarranted, as notarizing government contracts is already among Dimaliwat’s responsibilities.
“On the face of the deed of absolute sale, Garbo has misrepresented, concealed, and misled, with intent to corrupt,” Buenaventura stated in his complaint.
For his part, Dimaliwat said he has already refunded the P5.3 million in April following the advice from the Commission on Audit (COA).
“The notarial fee is an exercise of profession by a lawyer and it is not part of my job as a legal officer because not all lawyers are notary public. Now in this position, you don’t have to be a notary public to be a legal officer. And therefore your function as a legal officer is separate from the notary,” Dimaliwat told Rappler on Tuesday, November 5.
He added, “What they are saying is the conflict of interest. Be that as it may but I am just exercising my profession and my entitlement to a professional fee. So initially we charge. But then again because of the initial audit finding before that it wasn’t irregular but a conflict of interest, the advice of COA is to refund. So I did. It was refunded a long time ago. I have a receipt and I will not show it to them.”
Buenaventura has also alleged that the omission of Supplemental Appropriation Ordinance No. 05-2023, dated March 8, 2023, showed an alleged premeditated attempt at fraud.
He said the mayor knew that as of March 15, 2023, the ordinance was still pending review and approval by the provincial board.
Mabalacat Councilor Jun Castro initially filed a complaint in January against Garbo and 12 other local officials over alleged grave misconduct, graft, and corruption before the Office of the Ombudsman.
Rappler reached out to Garbo, but he was not in his office. The Mabalacat City Information Office said they would issue a statement to address the issue soon. Rappler will update this report as soon as Garbo or the Mabalacat city government issues a statement. – Rappler.com
