Ruling on Laguna bet’s case awaited

Laguna folk are awaiting the resolution by the Sandiganbayan of a case against Gov. Teresita Lazaro over the conversion of a piece of land in Calamba town into a subdivision.

The case against Lazaro stemmed from a joint venture she and her husband, Angelito, entered into with a landowner to convert a portion of Barangay Parian in Calamba town, where the land is situated, into a subdivision.

The Sandiganbayan slapped Lazaro with a three-month suspension in 1994.

Special prosecutors of the Office of the Ombudsman, who filed Criminal Case No. 17901 against Lazaro on July 22, 1992, said a zoning ordinance classified the land as agricultural at that time and thus, could not be immediately developed into a subdivision.

They said a resolution was introduced in and subsequently passed by the municipal council of Calamba, presided by Lazaro who was then the town’s vice mayor, to convert the land by amending the zoning ordinance.

The prosecutors said Lazaro allegedly took advantage of her public position to ensure the passage of Municipal Ordinance No. 9, series of 1989, to amend Zoning Ordinance No. 9, series of 1981.