Corruption charges have been filed anew before the Office of the Ombudsman against former Quezon governor and now House Committee on Public Accounts vice chairman David Suarez and three others for allegedly failing to liquidate funds and alleged violation of anti-graft and corrupt practices law amounting to P56.1 million.
In a 35-page joint complaint affidavit submitted to the Field Investigation Office of the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday by Leonito R. Batugon, Antonio R. Almoneda, Marie A. Benusa, and Mauro G. Forneste—all residents of the Province of Quezon—the former governor, together with provincial accountant Evangelina M. Ong, provincial treasurer Rosario Marilou M. Uy, and provincial budget officer Diego M. Salas, the respondents were accused of repeated graft and corruption during Suarez’s three-term gubernatorial stint between 2010 to 2019.
In 2013, the complainants said a Commission on Audit (COA) Audit team discovered anomalous disbursements and cash advances to various officials and employees amounting to P8.7 million, which remains unliquidated at present.
“COA audit team discovered that subject has advances for 2013 which were granted to PGQ’s (provincial government of Quezon) various officials and employees [which] ramained unliquidated as of December 13, 2013 and until to date,” the complaint read.
As a consequence, the complainants said the subject cash advances resulted in the overstatement of the payroll fund and the understatement of the related expenses accounts by an amount corresponding the unreported disbursement.
“The anomalous disbursements involved in the subject cash advances violated laws and rules and regulations pertaining to the use of public funds such as but not limited to the Articles 217 and 218 of the Revised Penal Code, Auditing Code of the Philippines, Local Government Code of the Philippines, several COA memorandum circulars, and CSC (Civil Service Commission) memorandum circular,” they added.
Likewise, the complainants said the COA audit team revealed the same anomalous financial disbursements in 2014, amounting to P3.4 million. They alleged that these include cash grants to employees with criminal records or “ghost” employees.
The complainants said “same modus of misappropriation and unliquidated cash advances continued with P1.9 million in 2016, P34 million in 2017, and P8.1 million in 2018.”
They also noted the alleged collusion and conspiracy between then governor Suarez and his former provincial staff, and also calls out Suarez’s inaction or refusal to comply with the requirements before and after the grant or the liquidation stage as a blatant act of evading a legal duty as chief executive of the province.
“Respondent Suarez continued to allow or authorize the release of cash advances for subsequent years without proper and detailed liquidation; not only compounding the gravity of the offense but facilitated and promoted, if not encouraged, the commission of malversation of public funds to the damage and injury of the government,” they added.
Despite the failure of the accountable officers to properly liquidate the said cash advances, they said then governor Suarez still allowed them to obtain public funds, thereby constituting an unwarranted advantage and preference.
A similar graft charge was also filed to the Office of the Ombudsman in November 2020 over P70 million worth of agricultural and marine supplies from 2015 to 2017, which remains unaccounted after Suarez’s failure to submit a list of recipients (LORs).