VILLAR FAMILY FACES GRAFT RAPS

THE Office of the Ombudsman on Friday filed criminal and administrative complaints against members of the Villar family over the alleged disadvantageous joint venture agreements of PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. (PWIC) with local water districts.

Two counts of graft charges were filed against Senators Mark and Camille Villar, their parents Manuel and Cynthia, their brother Paolo, as well as other officials of local water districts.

The cases stemmed from alleged poor water service of the Villar-owned PrimeWater.

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said the filing was reached after around six months of investigation of Primewater’s joint venture deal with various water districts covering 2015 to 2022.

“This is for violation of section 3(e) and 3(g) of Republic Act No. 3019 otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. This is the initial list and there are still more water districts under investigation, and expectantly more cases in the pipeline,” Clavano said.

A report received by the anti-graft body from the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) showed that a total of 75 local water districts had entered into joint venture agreements with PrimeWater from 2015 to 2022.

According to the OGCC, PrimeWater failed to supply uninterrupted water service and even provided water that allegedly failed to meet drinking water standards.

The investigation took into consideration a report of the Office of the Government Corporate Council (OGCC) and the findings of the Commission on Audit, which flagged PWIC’s nonpayment of its P65.6 million collective dues to Quezon Metro Water District, Trece Martires City Water District, and San Pedro Laguna Water District.

According to state auditors, the P65.6-million unpaid obligation of PWIC should be used for the use or consumption of materials and supplies inventory of the local water districts.

The Ombudsman said the acts may constitute malversation of public funds while acts of government personnel involved may constitute grave misconduct under Rule 10, Section 50(A), No. 3 of the 2017 Rules on Administrative Cases on the Civil Service.