JVR to COA: Sue Soc

CEBU, Philippines - Talisay City Mayor Johnny V. de los Reyes yesterday urged the Commission on Audit (COA) to bring former mayor Socrates Fernandez to court instead of bothering him over his predecessor’s alleged anomalies.

“Wa man na siya nitubag gyud hangtud karon. Kamo nalay kiha. Mao gyud nay angayan. Silay nagsubay sa tanang kasaypanan sa (Fernandez did not answer them, so COA should sue him. That is proper. They kept tab on the mistakes of the) previous administration, sila gyuy mogukod (so they should be the ones go after him),” said de los Reyes.

Rene Morales, de los Reyes’ legal adviser, said COA could not force delos Reyes to look for evidence against Fernandez, as it might be mistaken as politically-motivated, considering that the two are from opposing parties.

De los Reyes assumed office July last year, replacing Fernandez, who served as city mayor from 2004 to 2013. Fernandez is now a city councilor.

Morales said the audit body already has volumes of evidence on Fernandez’s alleged anomalies when he was still mayor they should be enough to hold water in court.

“Kanang gibuhat sa karaang administration, dili mahimong ang bag-ong administrasyon mogukod nila. Naa namay political color ana. Ang COA nga maoy naghimo sa findings, mao ang nakakita sa report, maoy mokiha didto sa Ombudsman. Ngano man? Kay sila may nagkupot sa ebidensya,” said Morales.

“If a national agency makes the move, it will be ethical and legal. The national agency like COA is given the task to watch over any anomaly involving government money. Kakapoy sad og magsige lang sila og imbestigar nya way action. There should be something done by the Commission on Audit,” he added.

In a Jan. 27 letter, State Auditor Ma. Daisy Bercede reminding delos Reyes on Talisay City’s compliance with COA recommendations with regards to findings on the City’s 2012 transactions.

“We will greatly appreciate if we can be updated regarding the status of the implementation of subject recommendations on or before January 31, 2014. Documents in connection with the action taken by concerned offices/parties may be submitted to our office for proper evaluation and consideration,” Bercede said.

She reminded de los Reyes that 13 anomalous City Hall transactions, which include unliquidated cash advances totaling P18 million, that remain unresolved.

Among the unexplained transactions were a P10-million collection of the Talisay City College (under the leadership of then director Tomas Ramos) that were not issued with official receipts, the “loss” of P3.3 million that the City paid to the “wrong claimants” of the lot where the Talisay City Plaza now stands, and the P5.8 million payment for motor vehicles and heavy equipment with “falsified canvass papers.”

Fernandez had earlier denied there was anomaly in all those transactions.—/RHM (FREEMAN)