Baguio lady councilor slaps Magalong with graft and corruption case

BAGUIO CITY — A member of the Baguio City Council files a case before the Office of the Ombudsman against Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong for allegedly violating RA 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices, and RA 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards.

This is in connection with the purchase of a lot in SitioTopinao, Poblacion in Tuba, Benguet. Baguio City Councilor Mylen Yaranon filed the case on 20 December 2023 and she held a press conference about it in the afternoon of 21 December 2023 at her office in Baguio City Hall.

According to Yaranon, the City Council approved P120 million from the General Funds to be utilized under the "land banking" of the city government. She stressed that there was no mention of buying a lot in Sitio Topinao in the documents they approved.

On 23 March 2023, Magalong wrote a request letter to the City Council asking him to be authorized to represent Baguio City to enter into a Deed of Absolute Sale for the lot in Sitio Topinao being offered by a certain William Tan and his daughter. The said lot was priced at P1,500 per square meter. The City Government bought the lot for P95,377,000.

Yaranon insists that the City Council did not approve any ordinance allowing the mayor for the said Deed of Absolute Sale. She said that Magalong persisted in signing the deed and allowed the City Government to pay the lot in full even if the seller was willing to a 50 percent downpayment and the remaining 50 percent balance to be paid in 24 equal monthly installments.

The lady councilor said the mayor committed a Grave Abuse of Authority, Grave Misconduct, and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service.

On 3 May 2023, the Baguio City Council conducted a council inquiry in aid of legislation inviting the City Legal Officer, City Assessor, City Planning and Development Coordinator, City Budget Officer, and also the mayor to shed light on the issue. The council found out that the purchase of the lot is not included in the five-year Development Plan of the City Government.

The local legislative body also found out that there were other offers from other Baguio lot owners that the City Government could opt to buy for housing and other purposes but were not entertained.

Yaranon said that before buying the lot in Topinao, it should have undergone a feasibility study to determine if it will be favorable to the local government. In another inquiry, there was not even a seismic hazard study conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

According to Yaranon, now that the lot was transferred to the Baguio City Government, it was recently discovered that there is a Lis Pendens Annotation or a pending legal action over the said lot because it is classified as an agricultural lot. She said that the City Government have to apply before the local government of Tuba for the conversion of the lot into a residential area to realize the plan of the city government to develop it into for a housing project.

Yaranon, in the case she filed, prayed for the Ombudsman to suspend the mayor. She also stated that after a due hearing, there should be a filing of an Information for Violation of Sec. 3 of RA 3019 against Magalong. The councilor also asked the dismissal of the mayor from service for Grave Misconduct, Grave Abuse of Authority, and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service.

She clarified that the filing of the case against the mayor is not personal. Yaranon said she saw that the people of Baguio and the City Government will be at the losing end because of the issue.