Lacuna’s sister sues Moreno, 14 Manila officials for graft
Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, Vice Mayor Chi Atienza, and 13 other city officials were charged on Tuesday with graft and usurpation of authority before the Office of the Ombudsman by Dr. Leilani Lacuna, the sister of former Mayor Honey Lacuna, who accused them of illegally ousting her as Liga ng mga Barangay president and ex-officio city councilor.
In her complaint, Lacuna cited several incidents that she said pointed to a coordinated effort to remove her from office.
These included the alleged abuse of her approved travel authority for a personal trip; actions taken by the city council questioning her honesty and performance; and a meeting with Atienza during which she said she was pressured to resign, among others.
“Domagoso and his cohorts used threats and different intimidation tactics on barangay captains to oust me from office. Domagoso and his accomplices will be held accountable under the law for their blatant violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and criminal usurpation of authority,” Lacuna said in a statement to the media after she filed her complaint.
“Their motive is political vendetta and the establishment of a full-blown dictatorship in Manila to take control of the budget for barangays. This is a violation of the law and the rights of every Manileño,” she added.
Ouster appealed
Earlier, Lacuna and five other barangay chairs asked the Manila Regional Trial Court to nullify their ouster as officials of the Liga ng mga Barangay. Lacuna also asked the court to declare as void her removal as ex-officio councilor representing Manila’s 897 barangays.
The Inquirer tried to get Domagoso’s comment but he had yet to respond at press time.
However, the city government said that 844 out of 896 barangay chairs “voted in favor of the new set of officers of the Liga ng mga Barangay,” which led to Lacuna’s ouster.
It called as “an insult to their intelligence” her claim that city officials were “intimidated” into electing the new officials, saying, “Mere allegations are not synonymous with truth.”
Domagoso and Honey Lacuna ran for and won as Manila mayor and vice mayor, respectively, in 2019. In 2022, he endorsed her for city mayor after he decided to run for the presidency. Lacuna, who said Domagoso treated her like a sister while they were in office, added that she felt betrayed after he decided to run for Manila mayor against her in May. She claimed that he promised her he would retire from politics if he lost in the 2022 elections.
