Kalinga mayor, power co-op exec face graft raps

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines  – The municipal mayor of Balbalan in  Kalinga province and the chief of Benguet’s power cooperative are facing criminal charges over a P5-million electrification contract they signed four years ago.

The charges against Mayor Kenneth Dale Mangaoang and Gerardo Versosa, manager of the Benguet Electric Co. (Beneco), stemmed from a complaint filed by Mary Grace Bandoy, Bartolome Sacla Jr. and Reynaldo Suello, all of Baguio City.

In their complaint filed with the Office of the Ombudsman over the weekend, the complainants alleged that Mangaoang and Versosa conspired to tap Beneco to implement the project.

The complainants said the project should have been undertaken by the Kalinga-Apayao Electric Cooperative (Kaelco), which serves the villages covered by the electrification program.

The complainants said Kaelco lost to Beneco in a bidding initiated by Mangaoang.

They said the purchase of materials was done without the approval of the Beneco board of directors, the National Electrification Administration and Energy Regulatory Commission.

The complainants said the town of Balbalan is not covered by the Beneco franchise and the project caused disadvantage to the municipal government.

The complainants said Mangaoang and Versosa paid Faustino Damian Jr., an employee of Beneco, P300,000 to install the power lines in four villages.