Pampanga mayor tagged in Tarlac jueteng operations

STO. TOMAS, Pampanga , Philippines – A resigned official of this town alleged yesterday that jueteng has persisted in President Aquino’s hometown of Concepcion and six other towns in Tarlac, and tagged this town’s mayor as the operator of the illegal numbers game.

In a press conference yesterday, Rodelio Garcia, who resigned as municipal administrator of this town last January, made these allegations after he filed before the Office of the Ombudsman charges of malversation of public funds against Mayor Carlito Naguit, acting municipal accountant Nympha Lacsina, and acting municipal treasurer Regina Carreon.

In his complaint, Garcia accused Naguit of making illegal cash advances totaling P9.5 million from May to November 2011 to “finance” his “jueteng business, restaurant business, and for his personal gain.”  

In the press conference, Garcia alleged that Naguit made the cash advances to partially cover losses in his jueteng operations, disguised as small town lottery (STL), in seven towns in Tarlac, including Concepcion where the President is a registered voter.

“I have personal knowledge of the jueteng operations in Tarlac since he consulted with me and sought my help on the losses he was then incurring in his operations in the seven towns there,” he said.

He named four of the other towns as Bamban, Sta. Ignacia, Gerona, and La Paz, but could not immediately recall the others.

“It is only in Moncada where the operation of STL is legitimate. In the other areas, STL is a mere front for jueteng,” Garcia said.

In a phone interview, Naguit denied the allegations and accused Garcia of political motives and vendetta in filing the charges against him before the Ombudsman.

“What I know is that only STL operates in those areas and is operated by Northrail Resorts Services which is owned by a certain Roxas and is under the franchise of Paragas,” he said.

Naguit accused Garcia of vendetta as he (Garcia) was allegedly forced to resign as municipal administrator last January.

“In May last year, I told him he would no longer handle any funds of the local government,” said Naguit, who accused Garcia of mishandling some P1 million in municipal funds.

“There were findings that he had been padding the payroll as well as payments for supplies. Then he also used my name to contract loans from the private sector and wasting them in the casino,” he said.

Naguit also accused Garcia of using P250,000 in local funds and another P150,000 of his private money for gambling in casinos.

This, as the mayor denied using funds for his supposed restaurants, saying only his brother and not him owned a restaurant.

Naguit said his withdrawals from the municipal coffers were a shortcut from bureaucratic red tape so that funds could immediately be made available for emergencies, as Sto. Tomas town is flood-prone.

“We have a report from the Commission on Audit saying nothing wrong with our finances. All the funds withdrawn were eventually returned to the local coffers,” he said.

Naguit alleged that Garcia is apparently being used by his political adversary, former mayor Romy Ronquillo, who reportedly has plans to run in the 2013 elections.

“The fact is he (Garcia) and his family now live in a property owned by Ronquillo in Quezon City. Even the vehicle he uses is owned by Ronquillo,” he said.

Garcia attached to his complaint photocopies of disbursement vouchers signed by the respondents, showing withdrawals from the local general fund.

He said the cash advances started in May last year, soon after he failed to find people who could loan Naguit funds purportedly to cover losses in jueteng operations in Tarlac.

Garcia’s complaint also identified specific checks issued by the Philippine National Bank covering the series of withdrawals totaling P9.5 million.