Former Cagayan de Oro officials push back against graft claims

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Former Cagayan de Oro mayor Oscar Moreno on Thursday, March 2, lashed out at a councilor who implicated him and two others in alleged corruption in connection to the distribution of P767.8 million in cash aid to thousands of Kagay-anons during one of the worst periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, calling the act a “political stunt.”

Moreno strongly denied the allegations made by Councilor James Judith who submitted his controversial findings about the alleged irregularities to the city council on Monday, February 27, adding that it was meant “to sow intrigue.”

Judith chairs an ad hoc committee created by the city council’s social services committee that was tasked to look into the distribution of financial assistance in the city during the Duterte administration.

His findings noted multiple instances of discrepancies in the allocation of funds to beneficiaries in several barangays, such as double entries, using random sampling methods.

Judith told Rappler in an earlier interview that as much as P50 million was unaccounted for, and that Moreno, former city administrator and city social services department head Teodoro Sabuga-a Jr., and the office’s overseer Michael Christopher Fabello, were liable for graft or even plunder.

He said his findings showed that the cash payout lists were systematically padded, with some individuals receiving aid multiple times. In addition, some ineligible beneficiaries were included while eligible ones were excluded. 

Councilor Joyleen Mercedes Balaba, the chairperson of the city council’s social services committee, said the errors had been anticipated even before the distribution and subsequently corrected, and all the funds were accounted for.

She said Judith’s allegation that as much as P50 million was lost “was just his imagination.”

“There were double entries as expected, and some people received more than what they got. These were due to errors in the lists, and not stealing on the part of local officials,” Balaba told Rappler on Friday, March 3.

Moreno, for his part, said the duplication of names had already been reported to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and that the city government had returned P435,000 to the department. 

“I pity the city council and the residents of the city [because] we have an official who doesn’t know and understand what he is saying. He is only doing this to get sound bites. Teddy (Sabuga-a) did not personally handle even a single peso,” a visibly irked Moreno told reporters.

The former mayor pointed out that the city government’s role during the disbursement of the cash aid was only as a paying agent, and to report to DSWD the disbursements.

Sabuga-a and Fabello also defended themselves against the allegations of graft and challenged Judith to show proof that would link them directly to any malfeasance.

Fabello said the matter about the duplication of names had been reported even to the previous city council.

Moreno, a lawyer like Judith, said, “To establish criminal culpability, it is necessary to demonstrate a connection or nexus between the accused and the alleged misuse of funds. Merely holding a position of authority, such as Teddy’s (Sabuga-a’s) role as head of CSWD or Fabello’s position as overseer, does not automatically imply involvement in graft. Accusations must be substantiated with evidence of the specific connections between the accused and the misuse of funds.”

He said it was incorrect to assume that Sabuga-a and Fabello received the money in question, pointing out the funds were received by the city government and treasury.

“Neither Sabuga-a nor Fabello had access to the cash. As such, Judith’s accusations are without merit and should be treated as specious,” Moreno said.

He said Judith was reluctant in identifying them before the city council and resorted to innuendoes at first because “he is well aware that it is libelous.”

Sabuga-a criticized Judith whom he said breached protocol by sharing his findings with the media instead of submitting them first to the city council’s committee on social services, which created his ad hoc committee. 

He said the social services committee, chaired by Councilor Balaba, is the ad hoc committee’s “mother committee.”

Balaba earlier said Judith did not submit his findings to the committee for review, and she was not even furnished a copy.

“Any honorable member of the city council has to follow certain protocols. He is a lawyer who should know that,” Sabuga-a said

Sabuga-a said the breach showed that Judith’s accusations were only intended to malign him and the other former city hall officials for black propaganda purposes. 

“This is a big insult to the men and women who worked hard so the people could receive the cash aid,” he said.

Sabuga-a challenged Judith to directly accuse him of corruption instead of just suggesting it. “Tell me if I stole money if you have the balls to do it,” he said.

Fabello said Judith’s allegations had caused him stress, and he was contemplating suing Judith for damages.

Judith, for his part, said he was unfazed about the prospect of being charged with libel, saying the ad hoc committee report was aimed to promote transparency and not malicious. 

“Bring it on,” he challenged Moreno, Sabuga-a, and Fabello.

In an interview on Friday, Judith said he was disappointed that Moreno resorted to name-calling, and he also denied having seen a report to the DSWD or the city council about the 2021 cash aid distribution.

“I repeatedly asked for the report they claimed to have submitted when I began the fact-finding. However, I was never given a copy,” he claimed.

He said the findings were a result of the work of a legal team he assembled because he had anticipated a debate on the merits of the report.

“I think they are rattled because instead of talking about my report, they resorted to calling me a dumb attorney,” Judith said. – with reports from Herbie Gomez / Rappler.com

Cong Corrales is an Aries Rufo Journalism fellow.