A retired former police officer filed two more complaints against several officials of Bacolod City and officials of the Philippine National Bank involving the construction of the government center project aside from the two others he filed earlier.

Victor Eduardo filed the complaints against Mayor Evelio Leonardia, members of the city council and PNB executives for alleged violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act when both parties entered into a P400 million loan agreement for the construction of the new government center in February.

Among the PNB executives implicated in the case are senior vice-president Victorino Sison and vice-president Leonardo Dimaranan.

Eduardo said these are new complaints aside from two previous ones - OMB-V-C07-0325-H and OMB-V-A-07-0326-H where, OIC Ombudsman for the Visayas Virginia Palanca Santiago had asked the respondents to file their response to the complaints. "There is enough basis to proceed with the criminal and administrative cases," the Ombudsman said when she directed the respondents to file their counter-affidavits and other controverting evidence within 10 days.

The respondents are also facing administrative complaints for grave misconduct before the Ombudsman in case Number OMB-V-A-07-0154-D.

Unless the respondents file counter-affidavits and controverting evidence, the investigation will proceed, the Ombudsman said.

In a separate interview, City Legal Officer Allan Zamora yesterday said they have yet to receive a copy of the new complaints filed by Eduardo.

"If he (Eduardo) filed another complaint, he, and the people behind him are just being consistent with their objective to derail the government center project," Zamora said.

Leonardia, Eduardo claimed, signed the deed of assignment without authority from the SP which constitutes grave abuse of authority and grave misconduct in the administrative aspects and violation of R.A. No. 3019.

Eduardo said that on Feb. 9, Leonardia through Secretary to the Mayor Roger Balo requested the SP for a special session for the passage of a resolution granting him the authority to sign the agreement with PNB.

But then Vice Mayor Renecito Novero, in a Feb. 12 special session, found several SP members raising the issue against Balo's letter and the authority granted him by Leonardia, Eduardo said.

Leonardia signed the loan agreement with the PNB on the same day an SP resolution approving him to sign the deal was passed, Eduardo said.

But Eduardo claimed that a deed of assignment was not covered by a separate SP resolution and concurred by two-thirds majority of the SP members, and was only inserted during the signing of the loan deal.

Zamora, however, said it is not necessary that the deed of assignment should be covered by another resolution from the SP.

He said the SP can pass a resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign several documents and not just one.

After the signing of the loan agreement, the SP passed Resolution No. 91, invoking SP Resolution No. 90, ratifying the city's agreement with the PNB.

The SP resolution authorized the PNB to collect 20 percent of the city's Internal Revenue Allotment from the Land Bank of the Philippines.

But the deed of assignment signed by Dimaranan and Leonardia was not backed by the SP resolution to receive from the LBP, Eduardo said.

Zamora, however, refuted Eduardo's claims, saying the mayor went through the legal process before signing the deed of assignment.

Zamora added that all those issues they have filed are settled issues because of the decision of Regional Trial Court Judge Gorgonio Ybañez, who earlier dismissed a similar case filed by Eduardo for lack of merit.*RLE/CGS

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