Prosecutor says ex-Albay Gov not part of quarry raps
Former Albay Gov. Noel Rosal. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
LEGAZPI CITY—The chief prosecutor of Albay has clarified that former Gov. Noel Rosal was not included in the charges related to alleged irregularities in quarry permits in the province.
In a private message on Thursday, provincial prosecutor Willy Guerrero told the Inquirer that only engineer Clemente Ibo was named in the official recommendation submitted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for the filing of criminal charges.
Guerrero said the report, which appeared in the Inquirer and the website abogado.com.ph, was inaccurate and that no direct evidence was found linking Rosal to the alleged irregularities.
He stressed that Ibo, the officer in charge (OIC) provincial engineer during Rosal’s term, was the only individual identified in the NBI’s findings.
In a telephone interview on Thursday, Rosal reiterated that he was not included in the case.
Rosal, who is running for governor in the May 12 elections, said the report linking him to alleged irregularities was “part of a demolition job.”
The NBI’s investigation stemmed from the discovery of fake quarry delivery receipts by provincial engineer Dante Baclao in December 2022.
Delivery receipts
The investigation revealed that the receipts were allegedly issued by the Environment and Natural Resources Office under Rosal’s administration and used by quarry operators from July to November 2022.
Ibo took control of the delivery receipts, although no formal order was given for him to do so.
Rosal was elected mayor of Legazpi City in 2001 and served consecutive terms until 2010. His wife, Geraldine, succeeded him in 2010 and 2013. He later returned to office, running unopposed in the 2013 mayoral race.
In 2022, Rosal ran for governor under the banner of Katipunan ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino and defeated reelectionist Gov. Al Francis Bichara.
However, Rosal’s term was cut short when the Ombudsman issued a resolution on Aug. 29, 2024, dismissing him from service and permanently barring him from holding any public office.
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He was found guilty of grave misconduct and oppression in the illegal reassignment of three government personnel. The ruling stated that he violated Civil Service Commission rules, which affected the provincial government’s operations.
Despite his dismissal, Rosal, in October last year, filed his candidacy for governor in this year’s midterm elections on May 12.
On Dec. 27 last year, the Commission on Elections disqualified Rosal from running for governor, but the ruling was blocked by a temporary restraining order issued by the Supreme Court on Jan. 21 this year.
