MAGALANG, Pampanga — A complaint has been filed before the Office of the Ombudsman against Magalang Mayor Malu Lacson and several others over the alleged falsification and use of documents intended to distance them from Chuangxing Steel Corporation, a steel smelter that was recently raided and shut down.
Workers of Kingsmen Manpower Agency accused Lacson, her husband Odilon Lacson, Norman Lacson, Pablo Elmer Mercado and Jose Tiburcio Canlas of falsification of public and private documents, use of falsified documents, perjury, grave misconduct, dishonesty and gross neglect of duty.
The respondents were identified in the complaint as alleged owners of the company.
The complainants, Arcadio Templa, Jerome Layog, Junel Pimentel and Rainy Mones, alleged that Lacson submitted a Deed of Sale of Shares of Stock in a separate case before the Pampanga Prosecutor’s Office.
They said the document was presented as proof that Lacson had divested her interest in Kingsmen Manpower Agency.
However, the complainants said they later discovered that the document was allegedly forged.
They further alleged that the deed was notarized by lawyer Almario D. Marimla on May 25, 2022, but that no record of the notarization could be found at the Angeles City Regional Trial Court, based on a certification issued by the court’s Office of the Clerk of Court.
The complainants also questioned the authenticity of the signature attributed to Marimla on the deed. They submitted to the Ombudsman a copy of what they described as the lawyer’s genuine signature for comparison, claiming it differed substantially from the signature appearing on the document submitted by Lacson.
The complainants asked the Ombudsman to conduct an immediate investigation and to suspend Lacson while the case is being heard. They argued that she could use her position to influence witnesses or tamper with evidence related to the complaint.
Efforts to obtain Lacson’s comment were unsuccessful as of press time.
The news team also attempted to contact Marimla for comment, but the lawyer died on August 14, 2022.
The complaint followed a separate case filed by the United Pilipinos Against Crime and Corruption, or UPACC, against Lacson before the Ombudsman the previous week. The group accused the mayor of graft and corruption, conflict of interest and abuse of authority in connection with the alleged deployment of more than 200 workers to Chuangxing Steel Corporation.
The National Bureau of Investigation and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission had earlier shut down the steel facility.
