Ombudsman dismisses Albay Gov Lagman over jueteng 'payola'

Albay Governor Edcel Greco “Grex” Lagman has been dismissed from service by the Ombudsman after being found guilty of grave misconduct for allegedly receiving P8.1 million in payola (protection money) from “jueteng” operations during his term as vice governor of the province.

The dismissal order, signed and approved by Deputy Ombudsman for Visayas Dante Vargas, was handed out on 28 January but released only to the press on Tuesday.

“This Office finds that respondent had been animated by a corrupt motive to benefit from illegal gambling. His corrupt actions were willful and done with discernment. Corruption is present when an official uses their position to gain a benefit for themselves or someone else, contrary to the duties or rights of others,” the decision read.

Lagman was placed under a six-month preventive suspension in mid-last year following a complaint in February of that year by Alwin Nimo, a self-confessed “bag man” of the governor.

Lagman was accused of receiving a weekly “protection money” of P60,000, which he received directly from Nimo or the latter’s associate from November 2019 to October 2020.

Records showed that the personal delivery of payola stopped after Lagman purportedly demanded that the payment be instead deposited in his BDO account, which he received from November 2020 to January 2021.

Lagman won as Albay vice governor in the 2019 polls and was re-elected in 2022. He succeeded Governor Noel Rosal later in the same year after being disqualified by the Commission on Elections for violating the election spending ban when he was still Legazpi City mayor.

In dismissing Lagman, the panel of graft investigators said that arguments raised by Nimo, including the bank deposit slips, are substantial evidence to hold the governor liable for grave misconduct.

“The 60 BDO bank deposit slips, together with the initial accusatory affidavits of complainants and his witnesses show that respondent received payolas or protection money from jueteng operations totaling P8,100,000 from August 2019 to June 2022,” the decision read.

According to the Ombudsman, the deposit transactions were not sufficiently rebutted by Lagman, and in fact, admitted that the subject BDO account, to which the payola were deposited, belongs to him.

Lagman vehemently denied the allegations levelled against him.

“I firmly stand that I did not accept any payola from jueteng when I was serving as vice governor from 2019 to 2022,” he said in his Facebook post in Filipino.

“In fact, from the very beginning of my term as governor on December 1, 2022, I made it clear that I was not in favor of jueteng. And because of my clear and firm position, no one dared to offer me payola or any kind of it until I stepped down from my position, because they knew I would not accept it,” the post read.

Nonetheless, he said his lawyers are now preparing to appeal the decision by the Ombudsman.