Barangay officials in Cebu City will prove that they did not sell the donated chickens to the barangays and had already distributed them to their constituents. | CDN file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The barangay officials, who received the donated chickens from a private company through the Cebu City government, will prove that the chickens have been distributed to the public for free.
Cebu City spokesperson Rey Gealon said this following the complaint filed by Barangay Sambag I residents that the donated chickens were sold to them at P120 apiece and were told that the chickens were allegedly supplied by Councilor Eduardo Rama, Jr.’s chicken business.
Gealon said that Councilor Eduardo Rama, Jr., the one who took charge of facilitating the distribution of the 17,000 chickens to the barangays, already got hold of the affidavit of the barangay officials who were recipients of the dressed chickens.
Read more: Sambag residents file complaint to Ombudsman over missing chickens
It can be noted that the chickens were donated alive and the city had to find a slaughterhouse to dress them for free.
“Daghan ang nipabarog sa gipagawas nga katin-awan ni Konsehal Edu Rama nga nakadawat sila sa gidonar nga mga manok. In fact, ni execute ang mga opisyales barangay og affidavit nga sila mismo nakadawat sa mga manok,” said Gealon.
(Many have spoken to prove the statements of Councilor Edu Rama that they have received the donated chicken. In fact, these officials executed affidavits stating that they have received the said chicken).
Gealon said that Councilor Rama is waiting for the official complaint from the Office of the Ombudsman, while the city continues to investigate the matter as well.
Mayor Edgardo Labella has previously ordered the Cebu City Legal Office to investigate the mystery of the lost chicken on June 2020.
Rama has already spoken in the City Council over the issue and has disclosed the beneficiaries of the donated chickens. In a more recent statement, he claimed that Sambag I was not a beneficiary of the donated chickens.
Read more: Lost chickens found
The councilor said that the complaint was politically motivated and libelous.
The mystery of the lost chickens began when Councilor Joy Augustus Young demanded in the City Council that the 18,000 donated chickens from a private company be accounted for after he received information that these were being sold to the public.
The same company donated twice to the city government, first to the Liga ng mga Barangays (LNB), then to the city executive department, which was then facilitated by Rama.
Councilor Franklyn Ong, the president of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC), already denied that the chickens the LNB distributed to all 80 barangays were being sold to the public. /dbs