CarCar City Mayor Nicepuro Apura today denied that he has been using his government-issued vehicle to service members of his family.
The mayor issued this clarification after a photo posted on social media showed him, his wife, Carcar City Councilor Mercedita Apura, a daughter-in-law and a 10-year-old grandson about to get inside a Toyota Hiace with a red plate number (SKN 695) in of the malls in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.
Apura admitted that the vehicle in the picture was his service vehicle but he insisted that on the same day, June 14, he was using it for an official business.
Apura explained that on that day, he and his wife just arrived at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport after attending the Memorandum of Agreement signing in Malacañang for the Commission on Higher Education’s free tuition project held on June 13.
The mayor said that from the airport, he and wife directly went to the restaurant in the mall to take their lunch with their daughter-in-law and grandson, who were waiting for them. After lunch, they went back to CarCar City with their grandson. Their daughter-in-law didn’t go with them because she has her own car, he said.
Apura said it was untrue that he was always using his service car for personal use, pointing out that there was no basis to such an allegation since each adult member of his family has their own car.
In fact, he said, his family’s cars were better than his service vehicle.