Mayor Alfredo Lim is once again placed under public scrutiny after graft charges were filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman last April 8, 2010. Lim allegedly conspired with other Manila officials to a non-existent affair and falsified receipts, which is said to have cost the city of Manila P221, 250.00. Reynaldo L. Bagatsing, Lim's former legal adviser, was the one who filed the lawsuit. Bagatsing called for the Ombudsman to place the perpetrators in a preventive suspension.
Seven officials of the city of Manila were also included in Bagatsing's testimony for their role in the anomaly. They are Atty. Rafaelito M. Garayblas, Atty. Analyn T. Marcelo-Buan, Maria Lourdes R. Malulu, Cherry Chao, Cecilia V. Sican, Leanie S. Sanding, and Vicky R. Valientes. Bagatsing noted in his affidavit that Lim and the other officials altered the original receipts given by Angel's Burger House during their transaction. According to Bagatsing, the falsification of the said receipts were related to the fabricated assembly known as the Barangay Peace Keeping Action Team, which was allegedly spearheaded by the Barangay Bureau in all barangays in Manila last August 27, 2009.
Bagatsing outlined in his complaint how this Manila government anomaly came into fruition. It was said in the statement that in the reimbursement voucher presented by the officials, it was written that 5,500 pieces of cheeseburgers were consumed by the participants in the assembly. What truly bothered the complainant was the fact that such small burger outlet is not capable of producing 5, 500 cheeseburgers in one day, when in reality such delivery could have taken the said burger joint 15 days to complete. To make matters worse based from the inspection report filed on October 19, 2009, which was certified by Cecilia V. Sican, Inspector of the City General Services Office (CGSO), the original receipt numbers provided by the burger joint were 0066 and 0067, a far cry from the receipts and reimbursement voucher handed by the perpetrators to the city treasurer of Manila which were 0214 and 0215.
Due to the receipt forgeries done by the Manila officials, the sum of P221, 250.00 was obtained from the city treasurer of Manila during the reimbursement process. Hence, it is apparent that the involved Manila officials committed malversation and falsification or articles 217 and 171 of the revised penal code respectively. This Manila government anomaly well exemplified that such release of government funds for liquidation associated with the alleged city wide Barangay Peace Keeping Action Team did not conduct the required bidding, proving that the officials failed to adhere to Section 367 of Republic Act No. 7160 (R.A. 7160), otherwise referred to as the local government code of 1991. It should be noted that the P221, 250.00 worth of reimbursement in this transaction exceeded the required amount stated under Section 367 of R.A. 7160, which particularly identified that the procurement of supplies should not exceed the amount of P 150, 000.00 for any items within a month for each of local unit, may it be first or second class cities within the Manila area.
The former legal counsel of Alfredo Lim brought him into charges as he was represented in the said transaction by his secretary Rafaelito Garayblas. Lim's secretary signed the false and manufactured documents, thereby giving his authority and consent among the Manila officials who oversee the fruition of this illegal transaction. Although Lim may not have directly signed in this anomalous activity, the mere fact that his secretary has authorized the existence of this corrupt practice with his knowledge makes him liable as well. Nonetheless, considering that Garayblas directly report to Lim, it is apparent that the Mayor condoned such transaction.
As election is already near, no person running for office would want their names to be involved in an unscrupulous activity. Considering that Mayor Alfredo Lim has long been a part of Manila's local government, this just means that the people trust his leadership. However, this fraudulent transaction that he and his colleagues are allegedly involved with is a clear manifestation of betrayal of the public's trust. Therefore, it would be best for these officials to clarify the surrounding issues in order to shed light to the questions of the public.
Mayor Alfredo Lim and some of his allies are facing graft charges for violating the falsification and malversation law after they allegedly conspire to forge receipts from Angel's Burger House to procure government funds. Reynaldo Bagatsing presented several evidences against this Manila government anomaly, and called for the Ombudsman to place the officials under preventive suspension. Lim was involved in the lawsuit, as he was represented by his secretary Rafaelito Garayblas, who signed the false documents with his consent.
Seven officials of the city of Manila were also included in Bagatsing's testimony for their role in the anomaly. They are Atty. Rafaelito M. Garayblas, Atty. Analyn T. Marcelo-Buan, Maria Lourdes R. Malulu, Cherry Chao, Cecilia V. Sican, Leanie S. Sanding, and Vicky R. Valientes. Bagatsing noted in his affidavit that Lim and the other officials altered the original receipts given by Angel's Burger House during their transaction. According to Bagatsing, the falsification of the said receipts were related to the fabricated assembly known as the Barangay Peace Keeping Action Team, which was allegedly spearheaded by the Barangay Bureau in all barangays in Manila last August 27, 2009.
Bagatsing outlined in his complaint how this Manila government anomaly came into fruition. It was said in the statement that in the reimbursement voucher presented by the officials, it was written that 5,500 pieces of cheeseburgers were consumed by the participants in the assembly. What truly bothered the complainant was the fact that such small burger outlet is not capable of producing 5, 500 cheeseburgers in one day, when in reality such delivery could have taken the said burger joint 15 days to complete. To make matters worse based from the inspection report filed on October 19, 2009, which was certified by Cecilia V. Sican, Inspector of the City General Services Office (CGSO), the original receipt numbers provided by the burger joint were 0066 and 0067, a far cry from the receipts and reimbursement voucher handed by the perpetrators to the city treasurer of Manila which were 0214 and 0215.
Due to the receipt forgeries done by the Manila officials, the sum of P221, 250.00 was obtained from the city treasurer of Manila during the reimbursement process. Hence, it is apparent that the involved Manila officials committed malversation and falsification or articles 217 and 171 of the revised penal code respectively. This Manila government anomaly well exemplified that such release of government funds for liquidation associated with the alleged city wide Barangay Peace Keeping Action Team did not conduct the required bidding, proving that the officials failed to adhere to Section 367 of Republic Act No. 7160 (R.A. 7160), otherwise referred to as the local government code of 1991. It should be noted that the P221, 250.00 worth of reimbursement in this transaction exceeded the required amount stated under Section 367 of R.A. 7160, which particularly identified that the procurement of supplies should not exceed the amount of P 150, 000.00 for any items within a month for each of local unit, may it be first or second class cities within the Manila area.
The former legal counsel of Alfredo Lim brought him into charges as he was represented in the said transaction by his secretary Rafaelito Garayblas. Lim's secretary signed the false and manufactured documents, thereby giving his authority and consent among the Manila officials who oversee the fruition of this illegal transaction. Although Lim may not have directly signed in this anomalous activity, the mere fact that his secretary has authorized the existence of this corrupt practice with his knowledge makes him liable as well. Nonetheless, considering that Garayblas directly report to Lim, it is apparent that the Mayor condoned such transaction.
As election is already near, no person running for office would want their names to be involved in an unscrupulous activity. Considering that Mayor Alfredo Lim has long been a part of Manila's local government, this just means that the people trust his leadership. However, this fraudulent transaction that he and his colleagues are allegedly involved with is a clear manifestation of betrayal of the public's trust. Therefore, it would be best for these officials to clarify the surrounding issues in order to shed light to the questions of the public.
Mayor Alfredo Lim and some of his allies are facing graft charges for violating the falsification and malversation law after they allegedly conspire to forge receipts from Angel's Burger House to procure government funds. Reynaldo Bagatsing presented several evidences against this Manila government anomaly, and called for the Ombudsman to place the officials under preventive suspension. Lim was involved in the lawsuit, as he was represented by his secretary Rafaelito Garayblas, who signed the false documents with his consent.
No comments:
Post a Comment