Ombudsman finds ex-Carcar mayor Apura guilty of conduct unbecoming of a public officer in land dispute complaint, but clears him of other charges for lack of evidence. | Photo Courtesy: patrickroque01 (CC BY-SA 4.0) via wikipedia.org
CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES — The Office of the Ombudsman has found former Carcar City mayor Nicepuro L. Apura guilty of conduct unbecoming of a public officer in connection with a land dispute complaint, but was cleared of other charges against him for lack of substantial evidence.
In a decision promulgated on July 4, 2025, the Ombudsman ordered Apura to pay a fine equivalent to six months of his basic salary, payable to the Office of the Ombudsman and deductible from his retirement benefits, accrued leave credits, or other receivables.
The case stemmed from a 2018 complaint filed by Marlene C. Entienza, who accused Apura of grave abuse of authority, oppression, misconduct, dishonesty, and conduct unbecoming.
Entienza alleged that Apura, while serving as mayor, used his position and city-owned equipment to assert ownership over parcels of land in Sitio Lamacan, Barangay Valladolid, Carcar City, which she and her family had been occupying and paying taxes on for decades.
She claimed that, in 2017, Apura and his men entered the property, cut down trees using bulldozers owned by the city government, and barred her from accessing property records.
She also pointed to two deeds of sale covering the property that reflected different purchase prices, insinuating possible tax evasion.
Apura denied the allegations, saying he legally purchased the lots from the heirs of the original owners, except for one heir who refused to sell.
He insisted that cutting trees was justified as the new owner of the land, backed by tax declarations and a DENR-issued certificate of tree plantation ownership.
After reviewing the case, the Ombudsman dismissed the charges of grave abuse of authority, oppression, dishonesty, and misconduct, citing insufficient evidence that Apura had used his mayoral position to harass the complainant.
However, the Ombudsman held him liable for conduct unbecoming of a public officer when he assented to the execution of two deeds of sale, reflecting different purchase prices—₱1.2 million in one and ₱200,000 in another— knowing this could lead to tax evasion.
The Ombudsman says that, while there is no evidence showing that Apura prepared the deeds of sale or orchestrated the plan to defraud the BIR, he still assented to the sale as it is the basis of his ownership claim, even if the act is not related to his official function.
Ombudsman said that, as mayor, he should’ve known the consequences of understating the selling price would result in tax evasion, which is contrary to the law.
As a public servant, the anti-graft office said, Apura is bound by the Constitution and Republic Act No. 6713 to exhibit the highest degree of professionalism not only in his official duties but also in his endeavors.
“Therefore, there is substantial evidence to hold Apura liable for Conduct Unbecoming of a Public Official for assenting to the request of sibling heirs to commit tax evasion,” part of the 12-page decision reads.
With this, Apura was meted a fine equivalent to six months of his salary, while all other charges against him were dismissed.
The Freeman tried to contact Apura for comments, but was unavailable as of press time.
| Written by Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon
