Ombudsman probes UP Diliman land deals
The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered former and incumbent ranking officials of the University of the Philippines (UP) to reply to the criminal and administrative complaints against them over the development of two commercial buildings in the Diliman campus that displaced several vendors.
The move by the Ombudsman was welcomed by the UP Not for Sale Network, an alliance of displaced vendors, students, workers, residents and transport groups, saying it is a “step towards justice.”
“This is a very welcome development, alongside the other recent updates from the Ombudsman on similar cases of corruption,” said Yanna Avergonzado, co-convenor of the UP Not for Sale Network.
The Ombudsman issued two separate three-page orders, both dated March 26, asking the respondents to submit their respective counter-affidavits and other supporting documents within a non-extendible period of 15 days.
Among the respondents are UP president Angelo Jimenez; his predecessor and former Trade Secretary Danilo Concepcion; Daniel Peckley, UP vice president for development; Raquel Florendo, former UP vice chancellor for planning and development; and the private companies that were granted leasing authority for the construction of two commercial buildings.
These companies are the property management and consultancy firm CBMS Property Company OPC (CBMS Consultancy) and JoseBizCo Inc.
CBMS Consultancy was tapped for the construction of Dilimall, which replaced the old UP Shopping Center after it burned down in 2018, while JoseBizCo was tapped for the food hub GyudFood, which is located along CP Garcia Avenue.
The UP Not for Sale Network filed criminal and administrative complaints against Jimenez and the others last year, accusing the respondents of graft.
The complainants claimed CBMS Property Company OPC was only formally registered on Feb. 10, 2023, or over a month after the deal was signed on Jan. 6 of the same year.
