A group of concerned citizens on Monday filed plunder charges before the Office of the Ombudsman against former Narvacan, Ilocos Sur mayor Luis “Chavit” Singson over the alleged irregular purchase of a property in the municipality.
Also named in the complaint were Narvacan Mayor Edna Sanidad, Vice Mayor Pablito Sanidad Sr., members of the Sangguniang Bayan, Municipal Assessor Arlene Debina, and Raymond Ang of Western Textile Mills, Inc.
The complainants, members of Warriors Ti Narvacan Inc., accused Singson and the other respondents of conspiring to defraud the municipality through the alleged overpriced acquisition of a 99,974-square-meter property from Western Textile Mills worth P149.96 million.
Based on the group’s claim, the property’s actual market value was only around P49.98 million according to the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s zonal valuation — suggesting an overpricing of nearly P100 million, which they said constitutes ill-gotten wealth under Republic Act 7080 or the Plunder Law.
The group added that the land was originally donated by private individuals to the National Development Company (NDC) for industrial and economic development.
However, its subsequent sale to Western Textile Mills, a Chinese-owned corporation, allegedly violated the deed of donation’s conditions since it did not benefit the original donors.
According to the complainants, while Singson was authorized through a municipal resolution to initiate expropriation proceedings for the property — a move that could have favored the local government — he allegedly opted for a negotiated purchase instead.
This, they said, deprived the original donors of the chance to reclaim the property, which they could have done had expropriation been pursued.
