Iligan lawmaker, ex-mayor charged over land deals

MANILA, Philippines - Iligan City Rep. Frederick Siao and former mayor Lawrence Cruz are facing graft charges before the Sandiganbayan for entering into alleged anomalous land lease deals.

Former councilor Ruderic Marzo, Providencio Abrangan Jr., Moises Dalisay Jr., Riza Jane Magaro, Jose Zalsos, Marlene Young, Ariel Anghay, Michelle Sweet-Booc, Bayani Areola and Roy Openiano were included in the charge sheets filed by the Office of the Ombudsman on Feb. 16 and released to the media yesterday.

Based on information of the cases, Cruz entered into an agreement with Kiwalan Lumber Co. (KLC) in 2004 for the lease of seven parcels of land in Barangay Tubod for nine years.

In December 2008, Cruz entered into an amended agreement for the lease of the same property with Salvatori Development Corp. for four years. 

In March 2013, Cruz entered into another agreement with SDC for the lease of the property for an additional five years.

The land was utilized as a bus and jeepney terminal.

The ombudsman said Cruz awarded the contracts to KLC and SDC without public bidding.

Graft probers said the officials and stockholders of the two firms are relatives of Cruz.

The ombudsman said the city council, including Siao, approved three resolutions authorizing Cruz to enter into the lease contracts despite knowing that there was no public bidding.

The ombudsman set the bail at P90,000 for Cruz and P30,000 for Siao.