By Czarina Nicole Ong
Former Caloocan City Mayor Enrico Echiverri is facing another graft charge before the Sandiganbayan Third Division in relation to the improvement of pathwalk and drainage system project of the city back in 2011.
Enrico Echiverri
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
From May 3 to December 27, 2011, Echiverri was accused of conspiring with city accountant Edna Centeno and city budget officer Jesusa Garcia when they awarded the contract for the improvement of pathwalk and drainage system at Barangay 175, Caloocan City to E.V. & E. Construction (EVEC).
The contract was for P1,144,759.78 and they caused the payment to EVEC even though there was no allotment for the project and there was no specific or itemized appropriation ordinance passed by the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Caloocan.
Meanwhile, Centeno and Garcia have been slapped with an additional falsification charge. This was for their certification of the Allotment and Obligation Slip No. 100-11-05-2149 dated May 3, 2011 regarding the existence of the project allotment, even though there really was none.
The charge sheet was filed by graft investigation and prosecution officer Sylvia Severo-Paraiso. Echiverri's bail bond has been set at P30,000, while Centeno and Garcia have to pay P42,000 each for their provisional liberty.