Tom smells corruption in SFI

CEBU, Philippines — The Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI) has noted at least 237 percent excess funds amounting to P12 million this year as compared to last year’s P3 million.

For Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, this shows that there was corruption last year.

Osmeña, who is also the chairman of SFI, presented the review of transactions for Sinulog 2018 to the media “for transparency.”

“It shows that there’s a lot of corruption last year. Simple. That’s the way I see it. How come we can make so much money when we take over? And we have so much money. To me, that shows the previous years, daghan kaayong nakakwarta diha,” the mayor told reporters.

In the document the mayor presented to the media, the SFI got excess funds of P1 million in 2016, P3 million in 2017, and P12 million this year.

Osmeña said corruption could be the reason for the big difference in the collection of sponsorships in the previous years.

The review of the transactions is from December 1, 2017 to February 15 this year.

It showed that the SFI collected P24.1 million cash receipts from ticket sales and rentals, among others, while P15.4 million from non-cash receipts which include sponsorships.

The sponsorships last year is only P5.3 million while P4.7 million in 2016.

For the expenditures or expenses, the total cash expenses was P12 million and P15.4 million non-cash this year.

“There are many missing report. There are many missing item,” the mayor said, adding that the city hired an accounting firm to audit the transactions of the SFI since he believed that there’s corruption.

Osmeña said he will soon present the result of the audit in one of his press conferences in the future.

“Only evidence here is how come we have more money now than last year? How did they pocket last year? You don’t see it. But, that’s what we collected,” he added.

The mayor said there are new officials in the financial and sponsorships teams of the foundation, adding that he has to “kick out” some of the people that are handing the financial management of the foundation.

The city is also evaluating SFI Executive Director Ricky Ballesteros, who has been in the foundation since 2002.

The mayor said the SFI now is under a “tighter control.”

Sought for comment, Ballesteros said he could not say that there’s corruption going on in the SFI since all transactions are properly accounted for and audited even in the previous years.

He said the P12 million excess funds of the foundation is not yet the final amount since there are several expenditures that are yet to be paid for.

“Their audit was only up to February 15. After ana nga date, daghan pang nangabot nga bayronon and that’s up to March 31. After March 31, anha na dapat mag-audit. And as of now, naa pod ga-audit namo,” he told The FREEMAN.

Ballesteros said the increase of the excess funds is attributed to the increase of ticket prices this year during the awarding ceremony and the Sinulog sa Kabataan from P100 to P150 and the number of booths that are rented have also increased.

Ballesteros said he has been over 15 years in the foundation and he has never thought of corruption going on in the institution.

As for the pronouncement of the mayor that he is under evaluation, Ballesteros said he will be resigning within the year but definitely not because of the corruption issue raised by the mayor.

Additional Compensation

Meanwhile, the third prize winner in the Sinulog puppeteer competition will receive an additional P10,000 as compensation for the confusion done by the Cebu City Government and the Sinulog Foundation Inc.

Last Wednesday, Analyn Cuyos, sought Osmeña’s help after her husband only received P20,000 instead of P30,000.— Odessa O. Leyson/MBG (FREEMAN)