NBI recommends raps against ex-Albay gov over quarry receipts
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has recommended the filing of criminal charges against former Albay Gov. Noel Rosal and another former official over alleged irregularities in the printing and use of quarry delivery receipts that were discovered in 2022.
A monthslong investigation by the NBI regional office in Bicol found evidence pointing to the “unauthorized procurement, printing and distribution of delivery receipts used by quarry concessionaires from July to November 2022,” the NBI said in a statement on Wednesday.
It recommended that both Rosal and former provincial engineer Clemente Ibo “face charges for usurpation of authority, falsification of public documents, fraud against the public treasury and violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.”
Rosal did not respond to phone calls and Viber messages when the Inquirer tried to reach him for comments on Wednesday.
The case stemmed from the discovery of alleged fake delivery receipts by provincial engineer Dante Baclao in his office when he assumed the post on Dec. 2, 2022, according to a letter sent by the NBI to the Albay provincial prosecutor’s office on March 26.
The receipts were said to be issued by the Environment and Natural Resources Office (Enro) to quarry concessionaires from July to November 2022 under Rosal’s term, with Ibo being the OIC (officer-in-charge) provincial engineer of Albay at that time.
Prov’l board hearings
In its investigation, the NBI noted the findings of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan joint committees of ways and means and of the laws, rules and oversight, which earlier conducted three hearings in 2022 and 2023 regarding the matter.
The joint committees likewise recommended the filing of administrative and criminal charges against Rosal and Ibo.
During the hearings, it was established that Ibo had taken over the functions of the Enro, with all delivery receipts placed under his custody, when he became OIC-provincial engineer.
However, Lea Marmol, then Enro head, said in her sworn affidavit to the NBI that she did not recall issuing any written order, or of any order from a higher authority, putting Ibo in charge of the delivery receipts.
There were also two purchase orders for 11,000 booklets of delivery receipts that were made when Ibo assumed his post, despite the existence of more than 13,000 booklets previously acquired and under the custody of the Provincial Treasurer’s Office (PTO).
“[T]he Subject had intruded into the authority of the Provincial Treasurer when he took custody of the receipts. The said authority having been vested in another department and office instead of the Provincial Engineering Office where the subject was employed,” said the NBI in its report.
The bureau further noted that provincial records show a “mismatch” in the timeline of payments and the official purchase orders for the receipts, with payments recorded as early as July 2022 despite procurement documents showing delivery only in October and November that year.
“Delivery receipts were already issued to the permittees as early as July 2022 to September 2022, when in fact it was only on Oct. 24, 2022, and Nov. 21, 2022, that the Provincial Government of Albay purchased said delivery receipts,” the NBI said in its letter.
‘Redesigned, modified’
Some of the features of the delivery receipts were “redesigned or modified” by Ibo, as established during the hearings. The forms also “did not undergo the required procedure” for printing, as it should have gone through the PTO, the Provincial General Services Office and the Enro.
According to the NBI, “these delivery receipts are classified as accountable forms and should be under the custody of the Provincial Treasurer. [Engineer] Ibo took control of these forms without legal authority, introduced modifications such as QR codes, and issued them to quarry operators.”
Ibo, during one of the legislative hearings, said that he was acting based on an executive order issued by Rosal. However, he later recanted his testimony and said that there was no EO that was issued.
Although Ibo recanted his statement, the NBI said “both Ibo and Rosal acted beyond their authority, effectively bypassing the required procurement process and internal controls mandated under the Commission on Audit rules.”
“The case now awaits preliminary investigation at the DOJ Provincial Prosecutor’s Office,” added the NBI.
