MANILA— The Office of the Ombudsman has filed criminal charges before the Sandiganbayan against the mayors of Palapag, Northern Samar, and Isabel, Leyte.
In the records of the Ombudsman, Palapag Mayor Manuel Aoyang, Councilor Eleno Calot, and municipal council secretary Emil Go were charged for the alleged falsification of public documents involving some anti-poverty projects deliberated in a special session in February 2015.
It was learned that Councilors Sonia Evardone and Anacorito Javier were absent during the conduct of the special session and took no part in the deliberations for the said resolution, but they were included in the names of those who approved the resolution.
On the other hand, Isabel Mayor Saturnino Medina, Jr., his wife Nolette, and municipal administrator Perla Brebante were charged with graft for the alleged anomalous purchase of vehicles by the municipal government in August 2010.
Mayor Medina and his wife purportedly sold to the municipal government their own Kia Pregio in the amount of PHP546,000 when its market value was pegged at PHP396,000.
Likewise, Brebante sold his second-hand Mitsubishi Pajero in the amount of PHP648,500 when its market value was only PHP600,000.