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CEBU GOV. Gwendolyn Garcia has directed Capitol lawyers to study what charges to file against Consolacion Mayor Avelino Gungob for alleged illegal quarrying in his town.
The mayor was cited for interfering in a provincial government operation that intercepted a truckload of quarried materials taken from barangay Garing.
Rory Jon Sepulveda, Capitol consultant on information and revenue generation, said the governor wants the mayor charged for his intervention and for continued extraction of materials without a permit from the province.
“The governor has given directions for the legal office to determine what charges to file against Gungob,” Sepulveda said.
Sepulveda said the nature of the charge would also determine if the Provincial Board would investigate Gungob for administrative liability of if charges would be filed with the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas.
Cebu Daily News tried to call Mayor Gungob on his mobile phone last night but could not reach him.
On Nov. 11, a team of Capitol inspectors led by Provincial Treasurer Roy Salubre intercepted a truck carrying earthen materials taken from a quarry in barangay Garing.
Sepulveda said barangay officials had been complaining about the extraction of filling materials from a lot that was reportedly owned by Gungob.
He said the quarried property was not part of the municipal government’s highway project – the only project for which the Capitol allowed extraction permits.
The truck, which was marked as municipal property, was intercepted in barangay Danlag.
Quoting the treasurer’s report, Sepulveda said that a few minutes after the team flagged down the truck, Mayor Gungob arrived and asked for its release. The mayor said the materials were for his government center project.
“They (the Capitol team) allowed the truck to leave because Atty. Salubre did not want to make a scene. They just documented everything, then we will use that as evidence in the filing of a charge against mayor Gungob,” Sepulveda said.
