By NITZ ARANCON
with LITO RULONA
Correspondents .
MAYOR Oscar Moreno and three other former capitol officials have posted over P1 million in bailbonds ahead of arrest warrants in connection with 11 graft cases against them before the Sandiganbayan.
Their lawyer Dale Bryan Mordeno told the Gold Star Daily that the bailbonds were posted on separate occasions in the last three weeks by Moreno, city engineer Rolando Pacuribot, city hall’s Hapsay Buhay and Hapsay Sapa task forces chairman Patrick Gabutina, and city hall’s Bottoms-up Budgeting program pointman Elmer Wabe.
The bailbonds were for 11 criminal cases filed in connection with the capitol’s rental of heavy equipment allegedly without bidding from 2007 to 2012 when Moreno was governor.
The defendants were members of the capitol’s bids and awards committee when Moreno was governor. Pacuribot was provincial engineer, Gabutina was provincial administrator, and Wabe was provincial budget officer.
Mordeno said the defendants paid some P1.3 million for 11 graft cases or some P30 thousand each for every case.
He said Moreno, Wabe, Gabutina, and Pacuribot would do the same thing for 13 more similar cases.
“Kay 24 man ni tanan, magpiyansa na sad mi dayon adtong 13 pa ka mga cases,” Mordeno said.
He said the move was made so that the four Sandiganbayan divisions handling the cases would no longer issue separate warrants of arrest.
The 11 cases were raffled off to the anti-graft court’s 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 7th divisions.
“Wala na kami maghulat nga mag-issue pag-warrant ang korte. Nag-voluntary bailbond dayon kami. Kon wala kami mag-voluntary bailbond, mag-issue gyud ang korte ug warrant kay kanang warrant, ma-o man na ang gitawag nga compulsory appearance,” Mordeno said.
Mordeno said he was preparing to file a motion for the consolidation of the 24 criminal cases, the same petition he filed and granted by the Court of Appeals in connection with the administrative aspect of the cases.
He said one division of the Sandiganbayan can hear the consolidated cases given that the facts are the same.
Mordeno said, “Usa ra man ang issue dinhi: ang rental ra man sa heavy equipment sa kapitotolyo.”
He said he would also file motions to hold in abeyance and defer the proceedings of the raffled cases in view of the motion for consolidation.
Mordeno said the proceedings have to be deferred given that the Commission on Audit has yet to act on their appeal.
He said Moreno’s group asked for COA’s audit reports “kay kining issue sa rental sa heavy equipment sa kapitolyo, mi-agi na man kini sa regular audit ug nag-ingon didto sa regular audit, nga walay problema ang rental sa heavy equipment.”
On separate occasions, the Office of the Ombudsman charged Moreno’s group with causing undue injury to the government by awarding rental contracts from 2007 to 2012.
In September 2007, the Moreno administration awarded a two-year contract to Equiprent for the lease of a 20-ton excavator despite the company’s alleged failure to submit requirements during the bidding. Equiprent was also awarded four contracts for the rental of a fuel tanker and a bulldozer.
The ombudsman also questioned the award of a contract to rent a vibratory roller from Earth Tools Development Corp. in 2008. Allegedly, there was no bidding.
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