Market aide in extort try faces dismissal

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Hall worker, who was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for alleged extortion, will face termination, said Mayor Michael Rama.

“Of course, if it’s an entrapment. What else has to be done? Next thing is termination,” said Rama.

To recall, the City Hall employee assigned at the Market Operations Division (MOD) was arrested by the agents of NBI during an entrapment operation Wednesday, for extorting P100,000 from Carbon market vendors affected by the ongoing modernization project.

Kara Mae Bargamento, administrative aide III at City Hall, was caught in the act of receiving the marked-money from an undercover agent.

According to the NBI-7, Bargamento demanded a huge sum of money from the vendors for a guaranteed space at a prime location inside the modernized Carbon market.

"The payment will secure them a space in the soon to be opened interim market for vendors who wanted to relocate and it would also guarantee the availability of a space, promised to be in a prime location inside the redeveloped and modernized Carbon market," the NBI-7 investigation revealed.

Initial investigation revealed that at least 50 vendors have made personal transactions with Bargamento. This was found out by market supervisor Marigen Diano and Raquel Arce, head of Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement (PROBE) team.

Rama said this is among the reasons why he ordered for a performance evaluation on City Hall employees upon his assumption.

The mayor earlier assigned persons who have his trust and confidence to oversee, coordinate, collaborate, and cooperate with City Hall’s 27 departments.

With the department heads, they will also provide him with the necessary inputs when he announces on December 6 his priorities and direction in the next seven months.

“I will form a team on human resource and management specialists, and further tap the support of PMAP, the People Management Association of the Philippines, to institutionalize professionalism in the City Government,” Rama earlier said.

He said regular employees, as well as casual and job order personnel whose contracts will be renewed from January, should subscribe to such guidance.

“No one should be afraid, for as long as dili mo kawatan, hugawan, tapulan, pala-away, tismoso, intrigero, bugal-bugalon, tigpamentaha, kwentador o’ mo ihap og trabaho, isipan ug empleyado nga wala diay nahibaw-an ug nakama-ohan,” he said. —KQD (FREEMAN)