TACLOBAN CITY — Former Balangiga, Eastern Samar mayor Randy Graza was arrested by police after a court issued a warrant charging him with alleged violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, or Republic Act No. 3019.
Graza, 52, was arrested at about 10:40 p.m. on Aug. 21 in Barangay Guinmaayohan, Balangiga, by personnel of the Balangiga Municipal Police Station, Provincial Intelligence Unit and the 2nd Eastern Samar Provincial Mobile Force Company.
Police said the warrant was issued on Aug. 19 by Judge Nelson Leyco, presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court, Seventh Judicial Region, Branch 27 in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
The warrant cited alleged violations of Sections 3(e) and 3(h) of RA 3019, with recommended bail set at P90,000 for each offense.
Section 3(e) penalizes public officers who cause undue injury to any party or give unwarranted benefits, advantages or preferences through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence. Section 3(h) prohibits public officers from having a financial or pecuniary interest in certain transactions in which they intervene in their official capacity.
Graza served as mayor of Balangiga from 2019 to 2022.
Police did not disclose details of the specific government transaction involved in the graft case or the circumstances that led to the filing of the charges.
The former mayor had previously been involved in a controversy over the procurement of a property intended for the town’s evacuation center, which was funded through assistance from the Department of the Interior and Local Government. It was not immediately established whether that matter was connected to the charges covered by the latest warrant.
Following his arrest, Graza was informed of his constitutional rights under the Miranda Doctrine and the Anti-Torture Law in a dialect he understood, police said.
He was brought to the Albino M. Duran Memorial Hospital for a medical examination before being taken to the Balangiga Municipal Police Station for documentation.
Police said Graza would subsequently be turned over to the court of origin for proper disposition of the case.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
