The Office of the Ombudsman penned its decision declaring former Paranaque mayor and actor, Joey Marquez not guilty of the latest charges of anomalies filed against him when he was the mayor of Parañaque City, Philippines.
In an eleven-page decision released by the anti-graft court, the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed the graft and malversation of public funds cases filed against Marquez because of the lack of merit and solid evidence of his involvement in the anomalies.
It was also mentioned in the court resolution signed by the Preliminary Investigation Bureau Director Nellie Boguen-Golez and approved by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and Assistant Ombudsman Marilou Ancheta-Mejica, “Complainant failed to establish the participation of Marquez in the assailed transaction.”
The court also said that any signatures on the documents signed by Joey Marquez that were presented during the hearing will not be revealed by the court.
The case filed versus the former mayor of Parañaque occurred allegedly during the anomalous deal of buying compost and recycling equipment throughout his term of office in 2000 until 2001 to the cost of P4.491 million pesos.
Joey’s former city administrator Antonio Abad III, former city treasurer Silvestre de Leon, former general services office chief Ofelia Cunan; including the Commission on Audit (COA) resident auditors Antonina Asahan and Leonarda Alibutud were all found not guilty of the charges filed in the Office of the Ombudsman.
Moreover, in 2009 the Supreme Court dismissed the graft case filed against Marquez because of the overpriced “walis tingting” project without conducting a public bidding as the government process of selecting the legitimate supplier from among the prospective bidders.
Joey Marquez served as Parañaque City Mayor from 1995 until 2004.
The actor-TV host discounted the idea of joining the political arena at this stage when previously asked if he’s still interested in running for any government position.
