Graft raps vs Masbate Guv dropped
For this reason, no acts of anomalies or corruption could be inferred based on the CoA issuances
Daily TribuneFor this reason, no acts of anomalies or corruption could be inferred based on the CoA issuances
Photo courtesy of Antonio Kho/Facebook
Ten graft complaints leveled against Masbate Gov. Antonio T. Kho have been dropped by the complainant himself after admitting that “no acts of anomalies or corruption” could be inferred from his protest filed before the Ombudsman for Luzon.
The lawsuits were part of the 15 graft complaints pending before the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon, five of which were dismissed outright due to its prematurity.
In a desistance affidavit on 14 March, complainant Ruben Fuentes, president of the Masbate QUAD Media Society Inc., admitted that his graft complaints against Kho and 10 other provincial officials were prematurely filed.
Fuentes claimed he relied on incomplete information when filing the “baseless and malicious” cases. He, however, apologized to Kho and the 10 provincial officials for “whatever embarrassment these complaints may have caused in their names and reputation.”
The complaints, which are all similar in nature, involve the alleged anomalous disbursement of public funds by the officials of Masbate, including the construction of a multi-million road project, which he alleged was “ghost” or non-existent.
The Ombudsman said the basis of the charges appears to be a portion of the Commission on Audit report on Masbate covering 2021 and 2022, which is still subject to the provincial government’s comment and compliance.
These findings prompted the Ombudsman to outrightly dismiss five of the 10 complaints that Fuentes brought against the Masbate officials.
“As I pondered on the outright dismissal of the aforecited complaints, I realized that indeed the CoA issuances are not final until a complete appreciation of the facts and circumstances which surround each project,” Fuentes said in his affidavit.
“For this reason, no acts of anomalies or corruption could be inferred based on the CoA issuances,” he added.
