Bacolod Councilor Al Victor Espino said he is filing a countersuit against the person who “maliciously filed politically motivated” graft raps versus Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez and 17 others for the city government’s purchase of property worth P971.8 million for its land banking program.
Espino said he would file a counter charge against Roger Ledesma, a block timer at DYRL-Bacolod, who filed the complaint on March 13 against councilors allied with Benitez and those who sold the land to the city before the Office of the Ombudsman.
Ledesma, who questioned the city’s purchase of 74.75 hectares of land in Barangay Granada, cited the respondents for violation of the Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act for entering into a contract that he alleged is “grossly disadvantageous to the government”.
Espino, who was also named in the complaint, said he will file a countersuit against Ledesma and “then we will get to the bottom of it because there is a conspiracy that we are uncovering. Bigger people are involved”.
Benitez and councilors Espino, Jude Thaddeus Sayson and Kalaw Puentevella, at a press conference on Monday, March 17, said they have not received a copy of the complaint and only learned about it on social media.
They maintained there was nothing anomalous in the purchase of the property.
They also said the timing of the filing of the case and the personalities involved clearly indicate that it is politically motivated.
“The process in acquiring the property went through rigid, stringent procedures” and has no adverse Commission on Audit findings, Benitez said.
“If you know the complaint and his inner circles you will know where that case is coming from”, Benitez said, adding that it is the first case ever filed against him.
“My understanding is the Ombudsman still has to determine if the complaint has merit”, Benitez said.
‘NOT OVERPRICED’
Espino denied that the land they purchased at P1,300 per square meter was overpriced.
Other landowners offered property at P1,500 per square meter and the Bureau of Internal Revenue valuation of the land in that area is P1,700 per square meter, he said.
“In effect the city government gained P400 per square meter,” Espino said.
The complainant claims the property is overpriced but did not include the members of the appraisal and land banking committees in his charges, Espino added. The selective naming of persons in the complaint clearly indicates that it is politically motivated, he said.
Espino said he is willing to forgive those who filed the case but will file counter charges.
TIMING SUSPICIOUS
Puentevella said he shared the same sentiment as Espino, “the timing is really suspicious and very obvious”.
“I will have to wait for a copy of the complaint to give my full reaction,” Puentevella said.
Sayson said the papers for the purchase of property in question were prepared for almost a year and a half.
They are very confident that they followed all the legal requirements in the purchase of the property, Sayson said.*
SURVEY
Meanwhile, Benitez said the two surveys they had conducted show a consistent 16-0 lead of their Team Asenso bets against their opponents in the May polls.
Their platform is continuity of the changes and programs for Bacolod started under his administration, he added.*