The Office of the Ombudsman filed charges of graft before the Sandiganbayan against former Mayor Rose Marie Suezo of Tuburan, Cebu, and several others over an allegedly anomalous purchase of fertilizers in 2005. Also accused were former Assistant Municipal Accountant Virgilia Undag; former Municipal Agricultural Officer Victoria Verano; former Municipal Treasurer Nicodemus Montecillo Jr., who was then chairman of the Bids and Awards Committee; and former BAC members–former Municipal Assessor Chito Armecin and Elsa Yosalina, employee. Charged too was Marc Gulle, identified in the charge sheet as former representative of Sikap Yaman Foundation. Deputy Special Prosecutor Manuel Soriano Jr., in filing the case, said the respondents “…did then and there willfully, unlawfully and criminally, give unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference to Sikap Yaman, by procuring and/or causing the procurement from said Sikap Yaman two hundred fifty liters/bottles of Fil-Ocean liquid fertilizer at P1,000 per liter/bottle, or for a total amount of P250,000 without the benefit of public bidding… and despite the fact that the average price of other brands of liquid fertilizer with equal or higher micronutrient content than that of Fil-Ocean liquid fertilizer, was only P180 per liter/bottle, thereby resulting in an overprice and overpayment in the total of P205,000 and causing undue injury to the local government of Tuburan, Cebu, in the said amount.”The Ombudsman recommended P30,000 bail for each respondent’s provisional liberty.

Source: Manila Times August 22, 2016 14:15 UTC