PERSONNEL of the Barangay Mayor’s Office (BMO) in Mambaling, Cebu City allegedly sent solicitation letters to business establishments to fund their Christmas party and their Sinulog contingent, using the official seal of Barangay Mambaling.
This is similar to what happened in Barangay Apas, when BMO personnel allegedly sent solicitation letters to establishments to sponsor their Sinulog contingent, using the official letterhead of the barangay.
At a press conference yesterday, Cebu City Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia appealed to Mayor Tomas Osmeña to shut down all the BMO offices in the barangays as they were prone to violations and abuse of power.
This is the second time that the BMO was linked to alleged illegal solicitation.
Garcia said the BMO has clearly violated the Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
“We are hearing nga grabe ilahang pag-abusar sa ilang authority, bringing the mayor’s name. That leaves a bad taste in the eyes of the people especially down to the barangay,” he said.
Solicitation
Garcia said Mambaling village chief Wildredo Go received complaints from establishments against the BMO personnel for the unauthorized solicitation.
“In fact, the barangay captain has attached the letters here. This letter, naa gyuy official seal sa Barangay Mambaling, gamit ang letterhead and then the manager of SM Seaside City,” he said.
The BMO allegedly sent solicitation letters to establishments using the barangay logo of Mambaling to fund their Christmas party last year and to sponsor their contingent for last week’s Sinulog festivity.
He said the alleged illegal solicitation was orchestrated by the BMO with two elected barangay councilors who act as the officer-in-charge.
Garcia showed a copy of the solicitation letter which was addressed to the management of SM Seaside City Cebu intended for the BMO Christmas party last year. The management of SM received the letter December 20, 2017.
A portion of the letter stated that the BMO “are longing to give simple offering in giving a Christmas party to our diehard personnel at BMO Mambaling … “ which include the BMO staff, Barangay Health Workers (BHW), Barangay Intelligence Network (BIN), among others.
The letter also said they had minimal financial resources to, the reason why they were asking for financial assistance. The letter was signed by BMO officer Narciso Gador.
In a separate letter dated November 16, 2017, the BMO also asked for financial assistance for their Sinulog contingents. The letter was signed by barangay councilors Emier Hamis, head of the BMO and Arturo Belciña, assistant head. The choreographer Richard Dela Torre and BMO Organizer Gina Lucido also signed the letter.
No BMO
According to Garcia, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) had already given their opinion on Osmeña’s creation of the BMO.
Garcia said the DILG opinion dated October 25, 2016 signed by DILG Regional Director Rene Burdeos said the Barangay Mayor’s Office “does not exist”.
The DILG opinion said what Osmeña created through Executive Order No. 005 was the Barangay Disaster Control Centers (BDCC).
“The function of which, more than being extension office of the City Hall, includes only the dissemination of information, provision of assistance and service, coordination with other government agencies, supervision and coordination of activities, all pertaining to and in times of calamity,” a portion of the DILG opinion read.
Sought for comment, Mayor Osmeña said while he has not yet received a letter from Go, it is “none of anyone’s business” whether or not he would decide to shut down the BMO.
“In any government, there are people who will abuse. Are we going to kill everybody? What kind of twisted logic is that?” Osmeña said.
He, however, said the BMO in Mambaling will suffer the same plight as that in Apas if proven that they have illegally solicited money.
“The (BMO) head, at least (will be fired). We will see who is responsible,” he said.