Cotabato City mayor, 4 execs charged with plunder

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Cotabato City Mayor Bruce Matabalao. Photo from the mayor’s Facebook page

COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 23 January) – Cotabato City Mayor Mohammad “Bruce” Matabalao and four other department heads have been charged with plunder for alleged unaccounted funds amounting to P89.42 million.

City councilors Marouf A. Pasawiran, Abdulrakim O. Usman, Hunyn C. Abu, Kusin S. Taha, Henjie M. Ali, and Datu Noriel A. Pasawiran, and four other local  residents charged Matabalao under Republic Act 7080 (RA) or the Anti-Plunder Law. 

The case had been filed with the Office of the Ombudsman main office in August last year by the complainants, who are political opponents of Matabalao in the upcoming May 2025 elections.

It stemmed from the disbursement of part of the P1.104 billion loan application from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), which was approved and enacted under City Ordinance 4609. The LBP loan amounted to P468 million while the DBP loan was P636 million.

Based on the DBP loan, it should fund the purchase of lots of for the city’s economic zone, public markets, public terminals, cold storage, ice plants, and other infrastructure projects, according to the complainants.  

However, the complainants said that based on the DBP statement, the payments made only amounted to P29.12 million and “has an unaccounted fund of P89.42 million.”

Under RA 7080, the amount of of ill-gotten wealth that constitutes plunder is at least P50 million.

In an interview with Brigada News FM Cotabato, Matabalao denied the allegations, describing the complaint as “politically motivated.” 

He stated that he is prepared to face the charges and that he has not yet received any subpoena or notice from the Ombudsman regarding the case.

Matabalao noted he has  a “complete documentation” to prove the allegations are false.

He stressed that bank payments cannot be manipulated because they are automatically deducted from 20% of the national tax allocation.

The other city hall officials charged with plunder are accountant Primitivo Glimada Jr., treasurer Teddy Inta, budget officer Regina Detalla, and Ma. Adela Fiesta, City Planning and Development Coordinator.

Matabalao and the four officials were also charged with violations of the Revised Penal Code, specifically malversation of public funds under Article 217 and falsification of public documents under Article 171. (Ferdinandh Cabrera / MindaNews)


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