‘They’re not our employees’

Las Piñas City Mayor Vergel "Nene" Aguilar has clarified that the eight executives from the Office of the Registry of Deeds in Las Piñas accused of plunder by the Ombudsman are not in any way connected with the city government.

"The appointment of personnel in the Registry of Deeds does not involve the city government, and the mayor is not even consulted," Aguilar said in a statement.

The mayor explained that the Office of the Registry of Deeds is directly under the Land registration Administration which is an attached agency of the Department of Justice. It merely has a branch office in Las Piñas City.

Aguilar issued the statement to avoid confusion among residents of Las Piñas and the general public.

Corazon Chavez, chief of the Office of the Registry of Deeds and seven other individuals are facing a plunder case for allegedly defrauding the national government of P95 million based on the findings by the Ombudsman’s Fact Finding Investigation. The eight are allegedly involved in the non-payment of capital gains tax and documentary stamps in the sale of a five-hectare lot along the Alabang-Zapote road.

Aguilar said he supports the move of Acting Ombudsman Margarito Gervacio to file a case against them.

"The city government of Las Piñas has been supportive of the administration’s campaign to cleanse the national government of erring and corrupt officials," he said.

Last year, Las Piñas was awarded by the Local Government Authority as "model LGU" on streamlining regulatory systems to cut red tape in local government transactions. It was chosen among the more than 96 cities all over the country.