CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña urged the contingents of Barangay Apas, recently hailed as the champion during the Sinulog sa Barangay sa Dakbayan, to refund all the money they solicited from business establishments.
Osmeña said the accomplishment was “very laudable”, however, it is not an excuse for graft and corruption.
“If they have the money, I’m suggesting they refund all the donors who gave money using my letter,” he said.
To recall, the Barangay Mayor’s Office (BMO) in the mentioned barangay allegedly solicited money from establishments using the official seal of the city government to sponsor their contingents. The BMOs even allegedly threatened business owners by asking them about their business permits.
The information about the incident reached the mayor and he fired outright Renato Jardaleza.
Apas Barangay Captain Ramil Ayuman also expressed his ire and planned to file a complaint before the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) against the BMOs.
Osmeña even said he will help Ayuman, his known political critic, should he push for filing charges.