By Jun Ramirez
Former Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim and two other business executives are facing graft and corruption charges before the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) in connection with the alleged anomalous installation of parking ticket machines at city streets during his term as mayor in 2010 to 2013.
In his nine-page complaint affidavit, Ricardo Santos Cruz, through his counsel Jaime Salvatierra, identified the two other respondents as Tokagawa Global Corporation vice president Rorie Cariaga and Matsuyama Corporation managing officer Napoleon Ibalio.
Salvatierra said the complaint was based on the report submitted last October by the City Auditor’s Office to Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada.
The evaluation report signed by supervising auditor Mario Lipana showed that the agreement signed among the respondents was grossly disadvantageous to the city government, the lawyer said.
For one, she said, the city got only 20 percent as its share from the parking income and the balance of 80 percent went to the private contractors.
The lawyer noted that for the years 2013 and 2014 the city got only P61 million out of the total earnings of P277 million while the contractors got more than R216 million, out of their total investment of only P11.5 million.
Her client was also questioning the 25-year life span of the contract which by that time the parking machines are no longer serviceable when turned over to the city as stipulated in the contract.
She said Cruz is still gathering additional evidence to elevate the case to plunder.
Upon the expiry of the contract, Cruz said the two contractors would have earned a total of R2.77 billion while the city government would get only a measly R693.48 million.
The complainant described himself as a taxpayer, city resident and former media man.
