BALER, Aurora—The Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon ordered Gov. Gerardo Noveras, who is already facing several charges, to answer the latest graft complaint against him over the use of his own dump trucks in a government project undertaken by a private contractor in Dinalungan town.
In a one-page order signed by director Joaquin Salazar, Noveras and Benguet-based contractor Julio Liis were directed answer the complaint of former provincial engineer Rodante Tolentino and provincial disaster risk reduction and management council head Amado Elson Egargue.
Noveras, along with 10 other Capitol officials, is also facing charges for the questionable purchase of a P8.5-million pay loader by the provincial government three years ago filed by Egargue and Tolentino.
In their five-page joint complaint-affidavit filed with the Ombudsman for Luzon, Tolentino and Egargue cited that Noveras owned a trucking business known as RB & Triple C’s Trucking Services, including four 10-wheeler dump trucks.
They claimed that on Oct. 28, 2014, Noveras awarded RB with a government project for barangay site development worth P232,441.50 at SitioTambalungan, Barangay Nipoo in Dinalungan. The project involves the hauling of gravel and sand in the project site.
During the bidding process, RB submitted a list of heavy equipment to be used in the project, including service vehicle, dump truck, elf, pay loader, concrete vibrator, concrete mixer, road grader and water truck.
However, Tolentino and Egargue said during the implementation of the project, RB utilized equipment other than those in the list. “Worse, the dump trucks used by RB in transporting the needed materials are owned by Noveras himself,” they said in their complaint.
The complainant showed as evidence the hauling report which indicated that on Dec. 1, 2014, four dump trucks bearing license plates FJG-853, FJG-863, FJG-864 and FJG-865 were all used for the hauling, all of which are owned by Noveras who, Tolentino and Egargue said, can be presumed to have profited from the project.
Certifications issued by Luz dela Cruz, chief of the Land Transportation Office’s Diliman district office, showed that the four trucks’ registered owners were Noveras and his wife Rowena.
Copies of two hauling sheets dated December 1 and 3 showed that the four trucks hauled gravel and sand at the Bungo river in Nipoo and Barangay Paleg 32 times using the four dump trucks owned by the Noveras couple.
The hauling sheets were signed by RB foreman Edwin Gaspar, checker Alfredo Clemente of the provincial engineering office and barangay chairman Arnel Borce of Nipoo and Fidel Garcia of Paleg.
The complaint added that in their supposed attempt to cover up for their illegal acts, the respondents attached to one of the dump trucks—FJG-853 the words Efrobon to make it appear it belongs to Efrobon Corp., a private firm which the provincial government often deals with.
The complaint stated that by allowing the use of trucks owned by Noveras and his wife, the governor committed illegal, illegitimate and dishonest acts in violation of RA 3019.