Gica to PB: Probe Garcia instead

CEBU, Philippines - Dumanjug Vice Mayor Efren Guntrano Gica denied having tampered an official receipt by ‘bloating’ the original amount spent for a dinner with some barangay officials last April and asked the Cebu Provincial Board to investigate the complainant instead.

Mayor Nelson Gamaliel Garcia had filed administrative complaint before the Provincial Board accusing Gica of falsifying an official receipt issued by a Chinese-themed restaurant in Cebu City by altering the figures from the original amount of P11,435.00 to P21,435.00.

Gica, in his answer filed before the PB’s investigating committee, said he submitted four official receipts issued on various dates by four different restaurants in Cebu City, all in the aggregate amount of P21,921.

Copies of the four receipts were attached in his answer with the dates April 25, 2014 issued by Ding Qua Qua Dimsum worth P11,435.00; May 5, 2014 receipt of Yakski Barbecue and Eatery (P3,135); May 10, 2014 issued by Cebu Sumibi Yakiniku Tajimaya (P3,028.21); and May 11, 2014 of Genco Italian Kitchen (P4,323).

He said the photocopies of all the official receipts were lumped into one sheet after the original copies were submitted to the Municipal Accountant’s Office to liquidate the P50,000 cash advance he obtained on April 25 this year while he was acting mayor. The amount was used for the expenses in a seminar with the barangay officials.

He added that what Garcia presented in his complaint was only one of the four receipts, and it was allegedly the latter who tampered the amount by using his power and authority as municipal mayor.

“He chose the Ding Qua Qua Dimsum receipt as the receipt to be used to make it appear that it was tampered to change its import and meaning and used said falsified version to satisfy complainant’s  evil motive of filing the instant administrative case and other cases against the respondent based on such tampered receipt, maligning the latter’s honor and good name with the imputation that he misappropriated the amount of P10,000,” Gica stated in his 9-page answer.

Garcia was earlier placed under preventive suspension by Governor Hilario Davide III upon the recommendation of the PB because of the allegation that he usurped Gica’s power as vice mayor in appointing a Sangguniang Bayan secretary. The suspension expired in June 10.

Gica prayed for the dismissal of the complaint filed by Garcia. He also asked the PB to consider his answer as an administrative counter-charge against Garcia for “oppression, abuse of authority, misconduct in office and/or commission of an offense of falsification and/or use of a falsified document and/or incriminatory machinations.”— (FREEMAN)