Dalaguete top officials sued over unauthorized warehouse building

Representatives of lot owners in Dalaguete own fike a omlain before the office of the Ombudsman

CEBU CITY, Philippines— Dalaguete top officials were sued on Wednesday for graft before the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas for the unauthorized building of a warehouse on a piece of land that the municipality did not purchase.

against members of the Sangguniang Bayan in the Municipality of Dalaguete.

The complainants were represented by Jose Rene Moran and Braulio Moran.

The lot was reportedly owned by the heirs of Maria Zambrano.

Among the Dalaguete top officials that were sued on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, were Vice Mayor William Lagahid; and councilors Ernesto Tangpos. Kevin Belandres, Felix Villacorta, Royce Nikko Cesante, Hilario Belciña; ABC President Elmer Licaros; and SK President Danilo Sombilon Jr.

An earlier complaint was also filed by the heirs against Dalaguete Mayor Ronald Allan Cesante.

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Among the charges pressed against them were violation of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, gross negligence, serious misconduct, and serious dishonesty.

Lawyer Joey Borinaga, legal counsel of the complainants, said that the complaint stemmed after the municipal government built a warehouse on the nearly 4,000 square meter lot owned by the complainants in Brgy. Tapon, Dalaguete.

The complainants alleged that the municipal government did not coordinate or inform them about the implementation of the project.

Borinaga said that even if the complainants had already written a letter to the mayor that they would not sell their lot, the town pursued the building of a warehouse in the said lot. Borinaga said that no deed of sale was issued between his clients and the municipal government.

The warehouse was built in July 2024 which shocked the heirs of the lot. The project was worth P8.1 million.

The lot was uninhabited, that’s why the owners were not aware of the construction of the warehouse.

Due to this, they filed a separate complaint before the Ombudsman against Mayor Ronald Allan Cesante.

Borinaga said that on March 10, 2025, the Sangguniang Bayan included in their order of business the release of funds for the purchase of the said lot.

After they knew about this, the complainants immediately wrote a letter to the Sangguniang Bayan stating that they had no intention of selling their lot.

On April 28, 2025, the council approved the release of the fund. However, the ordinance did not mention the amount that would be released for the purchase of the parcel of lot.

“Ilaha gihapong gi-approve bisan ug nakadawat sila ug letter sa heirs ni Maria Zambrano nga dili sila mosugot nga ibaligya ang maong yuta,” Borinaga said.

“Nganong mo-release man ug fund para palit? asa man gamiton?” he added.

For Borinaga, it is very irregular for the town to order for the release of funds without identifying first its amount.

The sued Dalaguete top officials have yet to comment regarding the complaint.

However, in an earlier statement, Mayor Cesante described these complaints as political noise and that Dalaguetenons were not affected by the issue.

“However, all those are still evaluated at the OMB, we submitted replies & I understand all agencies were able to comply,” Cesante said in a statement.