Ombudsman dismisses graft charges vs Labella, Dacua over uncollected garbage issue in Inayawan

Uncollected garbage in Barangay Inayawan in Cebu City since mid-December 2020.| CDN File photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman in Quezon City dismissed the complaints filed by Inayawan village chief Kirk Bryan Repollo against former Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella and former Department of Public Services (DPS) head, Lawyer John Jigo Dacua last January 7, 2021, for uncollected garbage issue in his barangay.

In a seven-page joint resolution dated March 17, 2023, and penned by Graft Investigation and Prosecution Officer III Lucielo Ramirez, Jr., the Ombudsman maintained that while records show that there was a garbage disposal problem in Barangay Inayawan, “the evidence does not suffice” to establish that Dacua is liable for Gross Neglect of Duty.

The Ombudsman also dismissed the complaints against Labella given his death.

READ: Inayawan village chief files charges against Cebu City officials for uncollected garbage

‘Justice prevailed’

Sought for comment, Dacua said he welcomes the development and justice has prevailed.

“I have always believed at the outset that there is neither legal nor factual basis to charge us with those violations. For my part, I did my job as department head of DPS, of which former mayor Edgardo Labella ensured that we act accordingly and provide the available services to the barangays regardless of political color,” he said.

‘Thing in the past’

Repollo, for his part, said he did not pursue much the case when former mayor Labella died, as a respect to the latter.

“In fact, I did not file for the Position Paper when the Office of the Ombudsman directed us. I just treated it na lang as a thing in the past and so far, I am satisfied with the coordination of the Cebu City government right now. So, I just did not dwell on it too much and just moved forward,” he said.

Background

Repollo filed the charges of Gross Negligence of Duty in relation to the Solid Waste Management Act and for violation of Republic Act Nos. 7160 and 9003 against the two city hall officials before the Office of the Ombudsman in January 7, 2021.

This stemmed from the city’s alleged failure to collect the garbage in Brgy. Inayawan since mid-December 2020.

Repollo alleged that the Cebu City Government and its DPS had not been giving assistance to Barangay Inayawan in its garbage collection and the city government’s failure became detrimental to the environment in the barangay and the health of the residents as well.

Repollo, in his affidavit, said the barangay was not informed that the contract between the city government and the private hauler managing the transfer station in the barangay has ended.

It was the private hauler’s task to operate a transfer station-situated at White Road, Inayawan-where city and barangay owned trucks deliver their daily garbage collection. Once delivered to the station, the private hauler would bring the garbage to a private landfill.

With the expiration of the contract, the garbage collected by the city and barangay owned garbage trucks had to be disposed at a private landfill in Binaliw, but due to the remote location of the landfill in Binaliw, the garbage collection became a problem for Inayawan, that resulted to the piling up of garbage in the barangay.

Dacua, in a counter-affidavit he submitted in September 2022, alleged that Repollo’s complaint was “baseless, malicious, and politically motivated.”

Labella, however, did not submit a counter-affidavit as he died in November 2021.

BREAKING: Cebu City Mayor Labella passes away

The Ombudsman maintained that the cause of the garbage disposal problem in Barangay Inayawan was a result of the interplay of factors beyond Dacua’s control, including the implementation of mobility restriction induced by COVID-19 pandemic and the barangay’s limited number of available dump trucks to transport the garbage in Binaliw.