CUC presses Kumoi to pay $300K

The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation yesterday fired off another attack against Sen. Ramon S. Guerrero, saying the former CUC executive director has yet to pay over $300,000 that he had owed the agency during his administration.

Despite attempts to collect the debts through the Attorney General’s Office, Mr. Guerrero has never reimbursed any amount of the money to the utility corporation, according to CUC Board Chair Rosario M. Elameto.

She cited the audit reports of the Office of the Public Auditor to deny claims of the senator that he doesn’t owe the government corporation as a response to his earlier statement to the media.

Ms. Elameto’s reaction is the latest in a brewing word war between CUC and Mr. Guerrero that stemmed from the senator’s call for investigation into bribery allegations leveled against Executive Director Timothy P. Villagomez in connection with the controversial Saipan power project.

Mr. Guerrero declined to comment when asked about the board chairperson’s statement, saying only that these debts were “over six years ago” and that he doesn’t owe CUC unpaid utility bills.

The senator earlier has threatened to sue CUC and Ms. Elameto over remarks that he said were an “attack to my personal integrity and defamation of my character” following their disclosure of non-payment of his debts to the government.

In the statement released yesterday by Ms. Elameto’s office, CUC pointed to two OPA reports to back its claims that Mr. Guerrero has yet to settle his debts incurred when he was still its executive director.

The public auditor had recommended that CUC “take action to recover the $244,740.83 improperly paid” to Mr. Guerrero and also to recover $13,142.39 of the retirement bonus given to him, the statement quoted the OPA report as saying.

It added that during the four-year term of the ex-CUC chief from May 1990 to March 1994, CUC paid more than $240,000 in excess compensation and $21,000 in an unearned retirement bonus.

“CUC made a demand for the retirement bonus, but never received payment,” said the statement.

Likewise, another audit showed that Mr. Guerrero accumulated liquidation amounting to $39,227 that were “not authorized, presented twice, erroneously computed, or supported by questionable documents,” it added.

It also revealed that $63,627 in purchases that Mr. Guerrero made during his tenure in CUC were not supported by the required documents such as Purchase Requisitions, Purchase Orders, written justifications, original invoices, and receiving documents.

“The OPA found that Mr. Guerrero should repay CUC $37,490 and also another $23,368 if he could not document his use of those advances,” the statement explained.

“CUC referred the matters and all documentation to the Attorney General’s Office for action, but has never been reimbursed by Mr. Guerrero for any of these amounts,” it added.

Mr. Guerrero sought the Senate probe into the charges against Mr. Villagomez, citing the claims made in a purported affidavit by his former wife Alice Fleming Villagomez were serious.

Although both parties linked to the bribery allegations have dismissed the accusations, the Senate Executive Appointments and Governmental Investigations has set a meeting with OPA and AGO to determine whether they have grounds to warrant a full-scale inquiry.