CLARK FREEPORT – The Office of the Ombudsman has junked a petition to suspend Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) president and chief executive officer Victor Jose Luciano relative to allegations he was involved in anomalies in the demolition of unused buildings here to raise funds from scraps for donation to Aeta tribal folk last year.
The petition was filed in August last year by Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo relative to a graft and corruption case he filed against Luciano and other CIAC officials amid his allegations that the demolished buildings were usable and were worth no less than P100 million.
Some P33 million was reportedly raised from the sale of scraps but only a much smaller amount were received in kind and in cash by the Aetas, Pelayo said, adding that Luciano had failed to produce evidences that the proceeds were actually donated to the Aetas.
Seventeen buildings, built by the Americans during the era of the US air force bases here and damaged by ashfall from Mt. Pinatubo in 1991, were demolished early last year within areas covered by the aviation complex under CIAC. Two Aeta associations had initially sought the permission of the Arroyo administration for the demolitions so that proceeds from scraps could be donated to them.
In a press statement, CIAC said the Ombudsman denied Pelayo’s petition to suspend Luciano. The Ombudsman “found the management (of CIAC) followed processes based on directives from Malacanang and that the self-appointed fact finding committee was not competent to determine whether questioned buildings were serviceable or not.”
The Ombudsman was referring to a committee composed of members of the CIAC board, most of whom have already been replaced by Pres. Aquino.
“CIAC management led by Luciano and other CIAC managers merely followed legal processes as shown by the corresponding endorsements of CIAC management and their own Commission on Audit (COA) resident auditor,” the CIAC statement said.
The CIAC statement insisted that “the Aeta associations acknowledged the donations from the (sale of scraps from the) unserviceable buildings” and that the donations were “used by most of their members in buying food and medicines. Some of the proceeds were also used in the improvement of their school and day cay centers.”
The Ombudsman said that “the complainants and the members of the fact finding committee are not experts and competent in determining whether or not the questioned buildings were still serviceable/usable.”
The CIAC statement also said that the Ombudsman “found out that on April 29, 2009, former Undersecretary Chato Eliger of the Presidential Management Staff requested Luciano to donate to the Bamban Aeta Tribal Association Incorporated the former old US dairy plant buildings Nos. 3 and 4, as well as other unusable materials.”
The Ombudsman noted that “Eliger had also asked CIAC management to follow processes, make sure, structure, if any, have been determined to be beyond repair and no longer usable and serviceable, may cause harm/injury/death to the people if not demolished.”
“It appears from the case records that there were official directives from Malacanang or the Office of the Presidential Management Staff for such demolitions and donations to Aeta associations and the respondents merely followed the legal processes as shown by the corresponding endorsements of CIAC Management and their own resident COA auditor,” the Ombudsman said.
It also noted that demolition permits were been issued by the Clark Development Corporation’s Building, Utilities and Regulatory Department before the structures were dismantled.
While several CIAC officials appointed by former Pres. Arroyo have already been replaced by Pres. Aquino, there are reports that Luciano would be retained, but that the CIAC would be made a subsidiary of the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) which runs half of this 4,500-hectare Freeport.
CIAC manages the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here.
