Nueva Vizcaya lawmaker faces raps over purchase of luxury car

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines – A lawmaker from Nueva Vizcaya province is facing graft charges for the questionable purchase of a million-peso luxury car.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed graft charges against former governor and now Nueva Vizcaya Representative Luisa “Banti” Cuaresma for buying a luxury vehicle without undergoing the required government procurement processes.

Cuaresma allegedly bought a Grand Starex Limousine in 2010 for P2.6 million from Pitstop Motors Inc through direct contracting instead of public bidding.

According to witnesses Voltaire Garcia, Efipanio Delbert Galima III, and Jeremiah Iam Rivera, there was no request for authority to buy the vehicle from the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

They said that the purchase was not supported by an appropriation approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Nueva Vizcaya. It also did not undergo public bidding as mandated by the Government Procurement Act of 2002.

They added that the money from the provincial development fund was utilized in violation of existing government rules and regulations.

Also charged were six officials of the Nueva Vizcaya provincial government: budget officer Alejandra Dacumos, provincial accountant Dominador Dacumos, general services officer Nathaniel Turqueza, former provincial general services officer Tomas Garra, former provincial administrator Manuel Tabora and Florentina Sagabaen, former supervising auditor of the Commission on Audit based in Bayombong.

The accused allegedly signed the certifications, vouchers, receipts, checks, and other documents to complete the purchase.

NBI district office chief Bensheen Apolinar said Sagabaen was included in the charges because she allegedly allowed the purchase without the necessary bidding documents. She also failed to write an audit report. – Rappler.com