A COAST Guard official who was suspended by the Ombudsman in December has appealed to the antigraft body to reconsider its decision after the complainant withdrew the antigraft and corrupt case filed against him earlier this month.

Rear Adm. Edmund Tan, former vice commandant for administration of the agency, said the case levelled against him should be dismissed after the complainant, Cebu-based Reynaldo Chua, withdrew the case on June 1.

“The complainant [Chua] is no longer interested in the active prosecution of both administrative and criminal complaints against respondent [Tan],” the filing, submitted on June 3, said.

“After my personal deliberation and meditation of the circumstances of the incident leading to the filing [of the case], I have come up to the conclusion and belief that the accused [Tan] is only a victim of misinformation on the surrounding stoppage of my iron ore cargo…at Jetafe, Bohol,” Chua said in his affidavit sent to the 4th Division of Sandiganbayan on June 1.

Former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez suspended Tan for nine months without pay in December after the Coast Guard official failed to submit a counteraffidavit despite the ample time given to him.

In September 2007 Chua accused Tan, then-head of Philippine Coast   Guard (PCG) Visayas Command, for causing the delay of the release of his 3,500 metric tons of iron ore cargo on board LCT Kapitan. The said vessel was temporarily seized by the Coast Guard to determine if it has the necessary shipment papers. The said cargo was supposed to be transported from Zamboanga to Manila.

Chua said he incurred losses as a result of the said delay since the shipping company charges P100,000 a day as extra charge for the delayed voyage of the ship.

The Coast Guard was able to intercept the ship in Bohol after it sought shelter owing to rough weather.

Chua was president and chief executive of Cebu Ore Mining and Mineral Resources Corp. and Mindanao Mining and Mineral Resources Corp.

It was Benito Aratea who alerted the PCG of the said iron ore cargo and its destination.

Aratea allegedly filed an application for temporary restraining order against the transport of the said iron ore, but the Ombudsman’s field investigation office found that no order was issued by the court against the cargo.

After determining that the transport of the cargo was proper as declared by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Region 7, Tan still did not allow the ship to leave after he saw that it did not have proper anchors, which is a detainable violation of the Philippine Merchant Marine Rules and Regulation.

It was only a month when a new anchor was installed in the ship before it was allowed to continue its voyage to Manila.

Tan said he did not violate the Antigraft and Practices Act for he was only performing his official duty for holding the departure of the said ship.