LA TRINIDAD, Benguet—The Office of the Ombudsman sustained the filing of charges against former Baguio City Rep. Nicasio M. Aliping Jr. and three property developers for violation of the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines.
Aliping, Bernard L. Capuyan of BLC Construction and Development Aggregates, Romeo U. Aquino of RU Aquino Construction and Development Corp., and William Go of Goldrich Construction were cited for alleged illegal cutting of trees within the Mount Sto. Tomas watershed in Tuba town, and the contamination of potable water sources in the area related to the development of the former lawmaker’s private property inside the declared watershed.
However, in a nine-page order, the Ombudsman partially granted Aliping’s prayer for filing of the cases against him before the courts that have jurisdiction over Tuba similar to the cases filed against Capuyan, Aquino and Go.