Tom to file more cases against brgy officials

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is planning to file more complaints against some barangay officials in Cebu City, regardless of their political affiliation, who will be proven to have failed in liquidating financial assistance granted to them by the city government.

“We have filed seven cases (last week) and today, another seven cases. And we’ll file a dozen of cases because I have to report to the people in the barangay to let them see where did the money go. Where did the money go?” said Osmeña.

“There’re very few BO-PK (Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan) but there are some. All of them will be held accountable,” he said.

The mayor said that the City Accountant’s Office recorded unliquidated cash advances from dozens of local officials from 50 barangays in Cebu City.

However, he did not elaborate on the matter.

Osmeña also said that if these officials would be reelected, he would not be generous on lending financial aid to them.

Last week, Osmeña accused opposition officials who included former Barangay Tinago captain and now Councilor Joel Garganera, Philip Zafra (Tisa), Trifonio Lequigan Jr. (Kamputhaw), Norman Navarro (Basak-San Nicolas), Maria Yvonne Feliciano (Calamba), Lemar Alcover (Sambag I), Julius Guioguio (Pasil), and Yolandito Cagang (Basak-Pardo), of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service and conduct unbecoming of a public official.

He said that these officials failed to return and liquidate part of the P800-million financial assistance from the city government, then headed by former Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, which was disallowed by the Commission on Audit (COA).

But Garganera questioned the timing of the mayor’s actions, citing that it was done a week before the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

He also said that they had already submitted their liquidation reports to the state auditors.

“That’s been liquidated already. It should be the COA who would be asking (that) from us,” Garganera said.