Pangasinan ex-mayor’s bid for dismissal of graft raps junked

THE Sandiganbayan Sixth Division has denied separate motions filed by former Bayambang, Pangasinan mayor Ricardo Camacho and private defendant Willy Chua seeking leave of court to challenge the sufficiency of government evidence against them.

The two are facing two counts of graft charges filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2022 in relation to an alleged anomalous land swap deal in 2013.

Prosecutors said the mayor approved the trade between the former site of the Bayambang Central School for a property owned by Chua, with the municipality giving up a bigger and more valuable parcel of land.

Based on the tax declaration of the municipal property, it covered an area of 31,650 square meters with a market value of P25.32 million.

The tax declaration of Chua’s property showed it measured 20,581 square meters with a market value of P16.465 million, although there was a structure standing on it.

In addition, the Ombudsman said the Deed of Exchange was a fabrication after a former Sangguniang Bayan member denied that he signed any of the two SB Resolutions that authorized the property swap.

Chua argued that the municipal lot was flood-prone, which necessitated moving the school to another location.

Regarding questions on the validity of the Deed of Exchange, the private defendant said it was not shown that he had prior knowledge of any defect on the document.

He added the value of the lot does not show the entire picture as the improvement on it at the time of the exchange already had a value of P62.49 million even on a conservative assessment.

Camacho said there was no undue injury or gross disadvantage on the part of the government since the combined value of the lot and the building on Chua’s property was estimated at P78.96 million, which was much higher than the value of the municipal lot subject to the deal.

In its ruling, however, the anti-graft court denied the defendants’ motion since it would not offer anything other than to stall the proceedings.

“After examining the prosecution’s evidence and the parties’ arguments, the Court rules that granting accused Camacho and accused Chua leave to file their respective demurrers to evidence will merely cause a