By JIGGER J. JERUSALEM
Correspondent
ILIGAN Mayor Celso Regencia and a city hall worker pressed charges and countercharges against each other early this week.
In a complaint submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman in Cagayan de Oro, 59-year-old Norbel Romarez of Purok Dalia, Barangay Acmac in Iligan, charged Regencia with kidnapping, physical injuries, grave threat, grave coercion, and violation of Section 3 of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Not to be outdone, Regencia filed a complaint against Romarez before the Iligan city prosecutor’s office the following day. He accused the city hall worker of “environmental sabotage,” according to city hall spokesman Jose Pantoja.
In his complaint, Romarez said he was hired under a “job-order” contract with the Iligan city government and assigned at the Central Material Recovery and Composting Facility (CMRF) at Barangay Bonbonon, the area where the city’s wastes are dumped.
Romarez alleged that Regencia jabbed his abdomen and smacked his ears with his palms inside the mayor’s office in Feb. 14.
He said Regencia covered his mouth with a masking tape and ordered him to get inside a large box.
While in that position, Regencia repeatedly asked Romarez to name his “co-saboteur,” and at one point, even allegedly threatened to kill the complainant.
Romarez said Regencia’s display of rage and anger toward him started when reports on social media circulated about how the Dodiongan Falls was supposedly contaminated with leachate from the CMRF.
He said he instructed a co-worker to release the leachate to avoid overflowing.
“One of my functions was to act as watchman and monitor the flow of the leachate to the pond so that it will not overflow. When the pond becomes full of leachate, we pump out, using an electric pump, the leachate and siphon it back to the garbage area,” reads a part of Romarez’s affidavit.
He said there were times that “the pond could no longer take in the volume of the leachate such that it will overflow if not diverted. In order to prevent overflowing, we used a [PVC, polyvinyl chloride] pipes to catch the leachate before it reaches the pond and divert it to the canal.”
“As a consequence, the nearby waterfalls (Dodiongan Watefalls) situated below the CMRF was affected and the water would turn brown and black sometimes,” he added.
Regencia earlier claimed that he merely “pinched” Romarez’s ears and told him the Environment Management Bureau has warned that the city government would be fined P200,000 a day because of the release of toxic liquid wastes from the CMRF.
In an interview, Romarez said, “I just want justice,” adding that he has not been reporting for duty since Feb. 14 because he fears for his life.
Meanwhile, Pantoja said Regencia was holding Romarez responsible for the discharge of leachate from the garbage into the Dodiongan Waterfalls.
Pantoja said Romarez must face the consequences of his actions as the officer-in-charge of the CMFR night shift team that opened the pipe.
“The city government of Iligan must not pay the P200,000 penalty. The people of Iligan must not suffer because of [Romarez’s] actions,” Pantoja said.
He said Regencia suspected that Romarez’s move to file a case was “politically motivated.” He alleged that the city hall worker was being backed by Regencia’s political enemies.
Regencia, according to Pantoja, strongly denied that he manhandled Romarez. He said the mayor admitted to only pinching the worker’s ears out of anger.
“Mayor Regencia is ready to face the charges. Our lawyers have already prepared for that. We will reply as soon we have receive the copy of the complaint from the Ombudsman,” Pantoja said.
