The complaint also alleged that (LRay) Villafuerte, in connivance with his wife and two sons, funneled to a company called Republic Wake Parks Inc. public funds which were used to build the multi-million-peso Republic Nuvali Wakepark in Sta. Rosa, Laguna which now directly competes with the CamSur Watersports Complex run by the provincial government...
Taken from Jojo Robles
Speaking of bad governance, it must be noted that this is never a monopoly of politicians on the national level. The allegations of plunder against Camarines Sur Governor Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte Jr., if true, are good examples of this.
The crime was originally defined as the accumulation or acquisition by any public officer of ill-gotten wealth of at least P75 million. An amendment brought this down to P50 million and made it punishable by life imprisonment and perpetual disqualification from public office.
The plunder charges against Villafuerte were filed by former Vice Governor Mariano Trinidad in his capacity as a registered voter and taxpayer and includes Villafuerte’s wife and two sons as respondents. Also charged with plunder and dishonesty, grave misconduct and conduct grossly prejudicial to the best interest of the service are six other provincial government officials.
Trinidad’s complaint alleges that Villafuerte and his co-accused, over a period of six years, repeatedly violated the Local Government Code, the Government Procurement Act and Commission on Audit rules. Trinidad said the respondents entered into “anomalous, irregular and highly disadvantageous contracts, extended undue and unwarranted advantage to third parties in exchange for pecuniary benefit, and fraudulently conveyed government funds in a number of tourism-related activities.”
Among these were the unlawful disbursement of public funds amounting to P28 million for the 2006 Kaogma Festival; the 2008 World Wakepark Championship where the respondents; and the 2010 CamSur Marathon where the accused allowed a private corporation to perform the duties of Provincial Treasurer and failed to account for P5.5 million in revenues. In seven transactions identified in the complaint, Trinidad said the provincial government lost a total of P104.5 million.
The complaint also alleged that Villafuerte, in connivance with his wife and two sons, funneled to a company called Republic Wake Parks Inc. public funds which were used to build the multi-million-peso Republic Nuvali Wakepark in Sta. Rosa, Laguna which now directly competes with the CamSur Watersports Complex run by the provincial government. The ex-vice governor said Villafuerte’s acts, “all done in the name of tourism, will establish a pattern of how he, his family and his cohorts siphoned government funds and funneled the same to their pockets.”
In 2008, the National Statistical Coordination Board named CamSur and Maguindanao as the worst-governed provinces for their failure to deliver social services to the people. Villafuerte will have to explain how, if what he says is true that CamSur has surpassed Boracay and Cebu as the premier tourist destination, the revenues from the purported 2.3 million tourist arrivals in the province were spent.
We’ve heard that Villafuerte, whose third and last term as governor ends in 2013, wants to run for senator. But what the governor should really be doing is explaining to his constituents if the charges Trinidad filed last Monday before the Office of the Ombudsman are true.
In Maguindanao, few people expect any progress, given the poverty of that province and the thievery of its officials. But Villafuerte keeps saying that CamSur is rich and progressive, even if objective agencies say otherwise.
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