Deceased mayor, power coop chief indicted over P5-M deal

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – The Office of the Ombudsman has indicted the late mayor of a town in Kalinga and the chief of a power cooperative in Benguet in connection with a P5-million barangay electrification project.

Mayor Kenneth Dale Mangaoang of Balbalan town and his brother-in-law Gerardo Verzosa, general manager of the Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco), were charged for violating Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Mangaoang recently died of a lingering illness.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales dismissed the complaints against respondents Faustino Damian Jr. and Randy Carolino for lack of probable cause.

Morales gave credence to the pieces of evidence presented by three cooperative members – Bartolome Sacla Jr., Reynaldo Suello and Mary Grace Bandoy – showing Mangaoang and Verzosa had benefited from the contract.

The three claimed Beneco’s electrification project in Balbalan, which is outside the power cooperative’s franchise, was anomalous and disadvantageous to the public and the government.

Verzosa said he has yet to receive the ombudsman’s order and claimed he did not benefit from the project.

“The help I extended to my late brother-in-law resulted in savings for the municipal government,” Versoza said.