‘Misor sports complex not a private entity’

By Jigger J. Jerusalem
Correspondent .

THE local government-run sports facility located here can never be considered a private property despite the ruling of the Office of the Ombudsman upholding the argument of two public officials whose nepotism and graft charges were dismissed by the anti-graft body, according to Mayor Oscar Moreno.

The cases were filed by Ernesto Molina against Misamis Oriental Gov. Yevgeny Vincente Emano and his brother-in-law and incumbent provincial board member President Elipe.

The charges were filed on Sept. 29, 2017, a few months after Emano appointed Elipe as general manager of the Misamis Oriental Integrated Sports Complex (Moisc), sometime in 2016.

The sports complex, located along Velez St., is jointly managed and operated by the provincial government, city government, and the Department of Education.

“How can it be a privately owned entity? The land is owned by the government, and it is elementary in land ownership that the owner of the land is also the owner of all the improvements thereon,” Moreno said, referring to the sports complex.

The mayor argued that Moisc could not be a private enterprise because it has not been incorporated and “it has no separate personality.”

“It (Moisc) is not a corporation. It’s very basic: a corporation has its own separate identity distinct from the personalities of its owners. But this sports council is not a corporation,” Moreno said.

He said the provincial government is the one running Moisc given that a good portion of the sports facility is owned by it.

“Although there is a council, which includes the city government and the Department of Education, that does not make it private,” he added.

Molina, who used to work at city hall, accused Emano and Elipe of committing nepotism since they are relatives by affinity within the second civil degree.

Elipe, former city councilor of Cagayan de Oro, is married to Emano’s sister Nadya Emano-Elipe, a current member of the city council.