MINGLANILLA, Cebu — A disputed rehabilitation plan in a quarry-affected sitio has escalated into a criminal case before a regional court, placing this town’s top officials and council members under graft charges.
The Office of the Ombudsman filed graft charges before the regional trial court in Naga City against suspended Mayor Rajiv Enad, Vice Mayor Elanito Peña, 10 members of the Sangguniang Bayan (City Council) and the municipal administrator over the alleged denial of a rehabilitation plan at Sitio Napo, Barangay Guindarohan.
In a press release on Monday, the Ombudsman said it found probable cause to charge the Minglanilla officials for violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The case stemmed from ground cracks reported in a quarry site in December 2021, which prompted a geohazard assessment by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).
The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) later issued a cease and desist order due to safety risks in the area.
A rehabilitation plan submitted by Jomara Konstruct Corp., and Jomara Agri Foods and Supply Corp., received technical recommendations from the MGB, EMB, and the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, according to the Ombudsman.
Despite these recommendations, the municipal government denied the rehabilitation plan and related permit applications, issuing resolutions that blocked its implementation.
The Ombudsman said the respondents acted with “evident bad faith, manifest partiality or gross inexcusable negligence” when they disapproved the plan despite the partial lifting of the cease and desist order by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
It added that the officials ignored findings from multiple environmental agencies and said their coordinated actions indicated conspiracy in the passage of Resolution 271, Series of 2022.
The anti-graft body also said the respondents gave unwarranted benefit, advantage or preference by disregarding technical recommendations.
The complaint against the acting Sangguniang Bayan secretary was dismissed for lack of merit.
The case will proceed to trial before the regional trial court in Naga City.
In a statement on Monday, Enad defended the officials’ actions, saying: “The graft case filed against me and the members of the Municipal Council did not stem from greed or personal gain, but from our sincere desire to protect the lives of the people of Minglanilla and to safeguard the environment.”
Enad said the decision to deny permits and the rehabilitation plan was rooted in safeguarding residents after warnings and assessments from environmental authorities.
He added that the local government acted within its mandate to prevent potential risks.
The case follows an earlier Ombudsman order placing Enad, Peña and 10 councilors under one-year preventive suspension without pay last February over the same quarry-related controversy.
Following that order, the Department of the Interior and Local Government implemented succession rules, with first councilor Lheslen Enad, the mayor’s wife, assuming as the mayor.