Cebu City workers linked to fuel allocation misuse claims probed

Acting Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia. CDN Digital photo/Christian Dave Cuizon

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said that he already received the initial report concerning the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO).

Garcia said this on Monday, June 24, in a press conference at the Cebu City Hall.

To recall, Garcia has ordered suspension of government-allocated fuel to all Cebu City government offices starting June 18, following allegations of corruption within CCDRRMO where several senior officials had been accused of misappropriating government-allocated fuel for personal use.

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“It will take longer than usual to have the final report kay moagi man ni og legal process and due process. What is the legal process? We will be calling on them for a clarificatory as well as if there are affidavits that have to be submitted and resubmitted. Then we will of course have to take them into account and into consideration. But right now there are already two employees who have been involved supposedly kay di pa man ni final,” Garcia told reporters on Monday.

(It will take longer than usual to have the final report because that will still pass through the legal process and due process. What is the legal process? We will be calling on them for a clarificatory as well as if there are affidavits that have to be submitted and resubmitted. Then we will of course have to take them into account and into consideration. But right now thre are already two employees who have been involved supposedly because this is still not final.)

Garcia said that the two employees, who happened to be job order employees, were told not to report to their duty, pending the result of the investigation.

“We always have to say allegedly (the two involved), we have to be politically correct because naa man na silay rights to remain innocent until proven guilty otherwise (because they have rights to remain innocent until proven guilty otherwise),” Garcia added.

All of these issues came after Councilor Jun Alcover called for an investigation into the CCDRRMO after receiving multiple complaints from current and former employees.

Alcover said that he received nine affidavits alleging that several senior officials siphoned fuel from government vehicles for personal use.

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Garcia said that the employees who filed the affidavits were safe, as long as they did not violate any law.

“As long as nisubay sila sa balaod. Wa sila molapas, wa sila mosukwahi… then they’re safe. For as long as wa silay labot, wa silay ebidensya against them… of course kay sila may mga reklamante, ato sad nang protektahan. Silay may whistleblowers, they know what’s happening. So padayon ra gihapon ang ilang panerbisyo diri sa atong syudad sa Sugbo,” he said.

(As long as they followed the law. They did not violate it, they did not stray from it…then they’re safe. For as long as they are not involved in it, they have no evidence against them…of course, because they ar ethe complainats, we have to protect them. They are the whistleblowers, they know what’s happening. So we continue to serve here in the city of Cebu.)

Garcia said that he already received letters from various departments and barangays who requested exemptions from the suspension of the government-allocated fuel, and he was reviewing them. | with reports from Pia Piquero