Singson faces plunder, graft complaints over land deals

FORMER Narvacan Ilocos Sur Mayor Luis “Chavit” C. Singson is facing separate plunder and graft complaints filed on Monday at the Office of the Ombudsman over alleged irregular land transactions and illegal privatization of government property.

The complaints, filed by an Ilocos Sur civic group alliance through lawyer Estelita D. Cordero, accused Mr. Singson of orchestrating overpriced land deals and the unauthorized conversion of public areas into private resorts, allegedly resulting in multimillion-peso losses to the local government.

The plunder complaint accused Mr. Singson and several municipal officials of approving a P149.96-million land purchase — P100 million above its assessed value — and seeks the recovery of P99.97 million, charges, and a lifestyle check on those involved.

A separate graft case alleged Mr. Singson and other private co-conspirators of illegally occupying and privatizing coastal land in Sulvec town in Narvacan, and seeks to void the sale and demolish the resort structures built without permits.

Meanwhile, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Z. Duterte, in a Facebook post, criticized the filing of the cases and defended Mr. Singson, saying it was “getting ridiculous” that anyone who speaks against the administration now faces charges. He also claimed that “the CIA is the one running this government.”

In a Monday video statement shared by News5, Mr. Singson dismissed the plunder and graft complaints as “nonsense” and a “diversionary tactic,” accusing the complainants of being “attack dogs” for a rival’s relative. He said he suffered losses from the deal and would file countercharges. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking