A private company has filed criminal and administrative charges before the Office of the Ombudsman against Navotas Mayor John Rey Tiangco, Vice Mayor Joseph Javier and the entire city council for allegedly approving a resolution that impaired the company鈥檚 obligations under a reclamation contract.
In a 21-page complaint, 1st Seafront Renew Inc., represented by its corporate secretary Bede Tabalingcos, accused the local officials of violating Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, when they issued City Resolution No. 2010-98 in December last year.
The resolution specifies the 鈥渁utomatic withdrawal of the recognition and acknowledgement鈥� of a memorandum of agreement between the heirs of one Ramon Chuanico and Seafront for the joint funding and development of some 650 hectares of land under the Navotas North Bay Business Park Reclamation Project.
The MOA, which was signed by the two parties in 2009, was previously affirmed by former Mayor Toby Tiangco.
鈥淭he unilateral, arbitrary and 鈥榓utomatic withdrawal of the recognition and acknowledgement鈥� of the MOA 鈥� through respondents鈥� conspiracy, manifest partiality, evident bad faith and gross inexcusable negligence certainly caused undue and irreparable damage to complainant, which could be reasonably estimated in an amount of at least P3,500,000,000,鈥� it said.
Despite Seafront鈥檚 repeated demands for the 鈥渋mmediate implementation of the subject reclamation and development project,鈥� the complaint said the respondents continued to use the resolution to 鈥渄eny (the complainant鈥檚) constitutional right to due process and equal protection of the laws.鈥�
This left the company with no recourse but to file the said charges since the 鈥渃ausing of any undue injury to any party,鈥� it said, constituted a 鈥渃orrupt practice of public officers鈥� as provided for in section 3 of RA 3019.
鈥�(The) respondents who are public officials must (therefore) be placed under preventive suspension pursuant to (the law),鈥� the complainant prayed.