WITH a net worth of over P20 million, incumbent San Remigio town mayor Mariano Martinez is also part of the list of millionaire-mayors in Cebu.
A report previously published by Cebu Daily News last September 24, pertaining to the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) of all town and city mayors in Cebu for the year 2016, showed that Martinez was among those whose financial records cannot be located by the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas.
In response, an officer of the human resources department of the local government of San Remigio, a municipality approximately 90 kilometers north of Cebu City, furnished CDN a copy of the incumbent mayor’s SALN, through e-mail.
The central records department of the Ombudsman earlier told CDN that they could not locate Martinez’ SALN since they were still sorting out all archives stored in their office.
An officer, who refused to be identified due to the lack of authority to speak on the matter, also said that they cannot determine whether or not Martinez, and nine other officials whose SALN copies were still being searched, already submitted their documents.
But the online copy sent to CDN yesterday morning showed that the Ombudsman in the Visayas already received Martinez’s SALN for the year 2016.
Martinez, who was first elected as a member of the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) in 1992, became mayor of San Remigio town for three consecutive terms since 2001. When he announced to take a break from his political career, Martinez’s post as mayor was filled by his rival, Jay Olivar, in 2010.
But he defeated Olivar, twice, when he ran again in the 2013 and 2016 polls.
Assets
Based on his SALN, Martinez’s assets are worth P21.5 million.
He owned six real estate properties, all of which are located in Cebu, with a sum of P16 million.
The mayor also owned five motor vehicles — two multicabs, a Mitsubishi Fuso Fighter Truck, a Mitsubishi L200 van, and a Mitsubishi Montero. Over all, his cars are valued at P1.1 million.
Martinez’s SALN for 2016 showed that he has stock investments in three Cebu City-based firms — Martinez Agricultural Corp., Jocar Industry Corp., and Martinez & Sons Realty. He also happened to be the proprietor of a construction firm, Marson Construction, based in Cebu City.
Meanwhile, Martinez’s liabilities come in the form of loans amounting to P700,000.
Mariano’s son, Miguel Maria Martinez, is also a municipal councilor of San Remigio.
The SALN is required by law, under Republic Act 6173 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees), among government officials as a means to promote transparency, accountability, and to determine any signs of ill-gotten wealth.
Public officials, if proven to have failed on submitting their SALN, may face “imprisonment not exceeding five (5) years, or a fine not exceeding five thousand pesos (P5,000), or both, and, in the discretion of the court of competent jurisdiction, disqualification to hold public office.”
In coming up with a public official’s net worth, the anti-graft office computes it by deducting the sum of their liabilities from their assets.
Based on the records obtained by CDN from the Ombudsman, suspended Toledo City mayor John Henry Osmeña, who declared a net worth of more than P138 million, is the wealthiest mayor in Cebu.
Madridejos mayor Jay de la Fuente, with a declared net worth of P64,500, is the only local chief executive who did not belong in the millionaire’s list.
The financial records of Mayors Vicente Loot of Daanbantayan, Stanley Caminero of Argao, Jose Antonio Pintor of Asturias, Carmencita Lumain of Badian, Efren Gica of Dumanjug, Ma. Esperanza Christina Frasco of Liloan, Joven Mondigo Jr. of Medellin, and Marilyn Wenceslao of Santander, had yet to be located by the Ombudsman in the Visayas.
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