“WANT OF PROBABLE CAUSE” was the legal ground given by Assistant Ombudsman for the Visayas Jane Aguilar in dismissing the criminal complaint for corruption filed by Crisologo Saavedra Sr. against former Cebu City mayor Tomas R. Osmeña, with five former councilors and four incumbent councilors, along with President Frederick D. Go of Universal Hotels and Resorts, Inc. and four of its directors.
joint venture obviously failed. He raised charges that remained allegations because no evidence supported them, or so the anti-graft investigative agency ruled.In Osmena et al’s “position paper” on the administrative charges, the respondents asked why complainant Saavedra was “assailing the eligibility” of
, as member of the Gokongwei Group of Companies, is without a doubt equipped with the needed technical and financial capability to undertake” the project. , the ruling said, will also supply expertise in running the business, which the City doesn’t have. It also listed other specific amounts the City would be getting, including P1 million a month for “assistance for SRP administration” during the construction work, and specific shares of different rental revenues.Besides, the Ombudsman said, the issues raised in the complaint were already “mooted by the fact” that the project was already “operational.