Balilihan Bohol Mayor faces complaints for falsification of public documents

A Bohol town mayor is facing another complaint before the Ombudsman over "false" information on the province's water source's location.

Bugwak Farmers Association and several residents of Sevilla, Bohol, are suing Mayor Maria Pureza Chatto of Balilihan, Bohol, of perjury and falsification of public documents for "falsely" claiming that the Bugwak Spring from which the LGU will source its water is located in Balilihan when in it is "situated in the neighboring town of Sevilla, Bohol."

In a 14-page complaint obtained by the Daily Tribune, the complainants accused Chatto of misleading over the actual location of the Bugwak Spring "to bypass the posting and notice requirements of the National Water Resources Board."

"More importantly, Mayor Puresa Chatto knows that Balilihan has been paying royalties to Sevilla for many years for the water that Balilihan extracts from Bugwak Spring," the complaint reads.

"Thus, it is clear that she deliberately misled the NWRB on the location of the water source in the Water Permit Application that she signed under oath and submitted to the NWRB."

The complainants argued that Chatto's false claim prevented Sevilla, Bohol mayor, and its residents "from being duly informed about the water permit application and exercising their right to present comments or opposition."

"Mayor Puresa Chatto's false statement under oath regarding the water source's location in the water permit application fulfills the elements of the crime of Perjury," the complainants stressed, adding that the mayor should also be held liable for the falsification of public documents.

In relation to the case, Chatto and six national government officials are also facing a criminal complaint before the Ombudsman over the alleged grant of a "fraudulent" permit for a P95 million over the same water supply project in the province.

The Bohol Clean Water Alliance filed the graft and corruption case in early August.

Chatto earlier denounced the allegations, claiming the complaint was "baseless" and "politically motivated" to "harass" and "distract" her from work.

Her husband, Bohol Rep. Edward Chatto, earlier denied intervening in the water source dispute between two towns in the province following a complaint by a Bohol-based organization filed before the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges, accusing him of disorderly conduct.