Baguio councilor files graft complaint vs Magalong over P95-M Benguet land deal

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Councilor Mylen Victoria Yaranon submits the grievance 5 days before Christmas, implicating Baguio’s mayor of providing a Benguet landowner ‘baseless advantage’

BAGUIO, Philippines– A city councilor has actually submitted a graft problem versus Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong for the supposed anomalous purchase of a 6.5-hectare home for almost P100 million early this year.

Baguio Councilor Mylen Victoria Yaranon submitted the grievance for offense of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees versus Magalong on December 20, simply 5 days before Christmas.

In her grievance, Yaranon asked the Office of the Ombudsman to suspend and after that eliminate Magalong from public workplace.

The councilor’s grievance originated from the municipal government’s purchase of tracts in Topinao, Tuba, Benguet, for a socialized real estate job.

The local government purchased the 65,585-square meter residential or commercial property, owned by one William Tan Jr. and his child, for P95.377 million.

Yaranon stated the local government purchased the residential or commercial property at “an outrageous rate” of P1,650 per square meter.

She declared that there was no roadway resulting in the location, and a 3rd of the home was “not ideal for property usage.”

[Magalong] Acted in bad faith or untenable neglect when he signed the Deed of Absolute Sale without authority from the Sangguniang Panglungsod,” Yaranon stated.

She implicated Magalong of providing the Tans “baseless advantage, benefit, or choice” at the expenditure of the city government.

Yaranon declared that even before the approval of the regulation assigning P120 million to purchase the lots, the mayor was currently working out with the owners.

She slammed Magalong for supposedly not revealing the local government’s intent to buy land and arrange a public bidding procedure to protect a more competitive deal. The councilor declared that there was a lack of an extensive assessment of the residential or commercial property’s status.

Yaranon argued that an expediency research study must have been carried out before the acquisition to evaluate its advantages for the city.

The debate traces back to a deal by Tan Jr. on January 4, 2020, to offer his Topinao home to the local government.

Subsequent demands by Magalong to the City Council for permission to continue with the purchase, dated March 23, 2022, and April 13, 2022, supposedly got no official approval.

These demands were followed by queries from the City Council into numerous elements of the home, consisting of ease of access, geo-hazard dangers, and its farming status.

According to Councilor Yaranon, the residential or commercial property associated with the Deed of Absolute Sale performed on January 10, 2023, includes a Lis Pendens annotation, showing pending legal conflicts over title or interest.

She stated this raised additional concerns about the vigilance of the deal and its ramifications for the local government’s interests.

A report by Councilor Peter Fianza, chair of the City Council’s Committee on Human Rights, Law, and Justice, revealed that the previous City Council had actually licensed the purchase, consisting of the adoption of a resolution authorizing its addition in the yearly financial investment strategy and a regulation designating funds for the acquisition.

One report revealed that in April 2020, the City Council authorized a P704.1-million extra budget planthat included P120 million for the purchase of the Tan home.

A July 2022 report of the City Council’s Committee on Laws revealed authority asked for by Magalong to purchase the residential or commercial property was offered when the regional legislature authorized Baguio’s 2020 Annual Investment Plan, offering funds for the defined programs and tasks.

In a declarationMagalong stated he would deal with Yaranon and react to her claims “in the interest of reality and justice.”

“I am prepared to address all the charges in the correct online forum. I invite the advancement to identify who is informing the reality,” stated Magalong, including that all files about the questionable land purchase are offered for public analysis.

Magalong included, “I am positive that justice will dominate since the acquisition of this lot, which is meant for our interacted socially real estate job, went through a total, right, and transparent procedure. Due diligence was observed all throughout.”

Magalong, who is understood to be promoting “Good governance beyond politics,” is among the lead convenors of the “Mayors for Good Governance Movement” introduced in August at the University of the Philippines-Diliman.

Magalong and Yaranon do not agree. In 2022, the councilor submitted a problem for slander and libel versus Magalong.

Yaranon is likewise the only member of the Liberal Party (LP) in the city board who was left out in Magalong’s ticket in the 2022 elections. That year, Magalong consisted of LP prospects for City Council seats in his line-up of bets.– Rappler.com