Ex- officials of La Union Water District face charges

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union -- Former Metro La Union Water District general manager Felipe Picazo and consultant Conrado Ganaden have been slapped with multiple charges before the Sandiganbayan in connection with P20.8 million in alleged anomalous deals that they entered into from 1999 to 2000.

Picazo and Ganaden of Condor Construction Corp. are both facing one count each in violation of Section 3(e) and 3(g) of R.A. 3019, also known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, as well as 198 charges of malversation through falsification.

Graft Investigation and Prosecution Officer I Yasmin Soray Masukat wrote in the charge sheets against them that Picazo entered into a consultancy contract with Ganaden’s company, Condor Construction Corp., foregoing a public bidding.

They were also hit for Condor’s “lack of expertise and track record in the construction business,” as well as Picazo’s supposed pocketing of 12 percent of the total construction expenses.

As a result of their actions, they cost the government P9,475,300, which is the difference between the actual expenditure of P24,475,300 and the appropriated amount of P15,000,000.

Meanwhile, their 198 malversation charges involved the falsification of invoices and purchase orders.

The charge sheet alleged that the accused made it appear that P11.3 million was paid to five different suppliers of construction materials from January 1999 to September 2000, when in truth, these corporations never received any quotation or cash invoice.