Skip to main content

Laoag City officials, no show at SP hearing on coop deal

By


By Leilanie G. Adriano and Bernard Ver

LAOAG CITY—Laoag Mayor Chevylle Fariñas and five other city officials failed to show up at a joint committee hearing that the Sangguniang Panlalawigan set on September 4, 2018 to clarify alleged questionable transactions between the city government and one of the biggest cooperatives in Ilocos region.

In a September 3, 2018 letter addressed to Ilocos Norte Vice Governor Eugenio Angelo M. Barba, which the Sangguniang Panlalawigan office received on the afternoon of September 4, 2018, Mrs. Fariñas along with Laoag City legal officer Marlon Wayne D. Manuel, city accountant Edgar Pascual, SP Member Shirley Ong Sin, Secretary to the Sanggunian Enrico Aurelio, and acting city treasurer Diomedes Gayban said they could not attend the hearing due to a similar investigation the Sangguniang Panlungsod  set on September 6, 2018.

“We could not come to your joint committee hearing, as we will be attending a similar investigation of the Sangguniang Panlungsod,” the city officials said in the letter with their affixed signatures.

However, according to SP member Vicentito M. Lazo, who called for the hearing in his capacity as chairperson of the committee on finance and appropriation, their reason is not acceptable because “Laoag City is a dependent component city.”

“Laoag City is under the jurisdiction of Ilocos Norte. The Sangguniang Panlalawigan covers 21 towns and two cities of the province. So, if the SP creates or amends a resolution or ordinance, it will encompass the City of Laoag and all other LGUs within its jurisdiction,” he said.

The controversy stemmed from the Commission on Audit’s (COA) annual audit reports for 2016 and 2017, where, Mr. Lazo reported, there are some “questionable transactions.”

“The COA can’t understand if these are real assets, as there are no itemized schedules and they can’t verify it,” he said referring to the transactions made by the city government with the Government of Laoag Employees Development Cooperative (GLEDCO).

To shed light on the issue, the Ilocos Norte board invited the city officials to explain, but only Laoag Vice Mayor Franklin Dante A. Respicio showed up.

The provincial board set another hearing for the same issue while also inviting the same officials again to attend “in aid of legislation.”

The issue Mr. Lazo referred to came out during a joint committee hearing of the committees on laws, finance and appropriations.

The hearing discussed the controversial Commission on Audit’s (COA) report of the city government of Laoag and GLEDCO for the year 2016 and 2017.

According to Mr. Lazo, the committees found-out from COA that in the year 2016 the city had a PHP187 million cash deficit and another PHP115 million deficit for 2017.

Mr. Lazo added that the Laoag City’s fund is currently insufficient to pay their liabilities for the government operations and other services.

The COA in Laoag is also eyeing the more or less PHP90 million missing fund as one of the causes of insufficiency on the city’s budget.

Meanwhile, the Laoag City government is reluctant to show some of the documents needed for the COA to initiate a notice of suspension and disallowance of the said cause.

Present during the hearing as resource speakers were Laoag City COA auditor Remelyn Guiang and provincial audit team leader Marilyn Llaguno.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Empanada festival: A celebration of good taste and good life

By
By Dominic B. dela Cruz & Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporters BATAC CITY—If there is one thing Batac is truly proud of, it would be its famous empanada-making business that has nurtured its people over the years. Embracing a century-old culture and culinary tradition, Batac’s empanada claims to be the best and tastiest in the country with its distinctive Ilokano taste courtesy of its local ingredients: fresh grated papaya, mongo, chopped longganisa, and egg. The crispy orange wrapper and is made of rice flour that is deep-fried. The celebration of this city’s famous traditional fast food attracting locals and tourists elsewhere comes with the City Charter Day of Batac every 23 rd  of June. Every year, the City Government of Batac led by Mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta commemorate the city’s charter day celebration to further promote its famous One-Town, One Product, the Batac empanada. Empanada City The Batac empanada festival has already become...
9 comments
Read more

Free dormitories eyed for Nueva Era students in LC, Batac

By
 Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Nueva Era , Ilocos Norte—The municipal government here, headed by Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida is planning to establish dormitories in the cities of Laoag and Batac that will exclusively cater to college students from the said cities. “Sapay la kuma ta maituloyen iti mabiit tay ar-arapaapen tayo ken iti munisipyo a maipatakderan kuma dagiti annak tayo a college students nga agbasbasa idiay siyudad iti Batac ken Laoag iti libre a dormitoryo a bukod da ngem inggana nga awan pay ket an-anusan mi paylaeng nga ibaklay kenni apo bise mayor iti pagbayad da iti kasera aggapu iti bukod mi a suweldo malaksid dagitay it-ited iti munisipyo ken iti barangay nga stipend da kada semester, ” Garvida said.    Garvida added that the proposed establishment of dormitories would be a big help to the students’ parents as this would shoulder the expenses of their children for rent and likewise they would feel...
Post a Comment
Read more

P29 per kilo rice sold to vulnerable groups in Ilocos region

By
BBM RICE. Residents buy rice for only PHP29 per kilo at the NIA compound in San Nicolas town, Ilocos Norte province on Sept. 13, 2024. The activity was under a nationwide pilot program of the government to sell quality and affordable rice initially to the vulnerable sectors. (Lei Adriano) San Nicolas , Ilocos Norte —Senior citizens, persons with disability, and solo parents availed of cheap rice sold at PHP29 per kilogram during the grand launching of the Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka (BBM) Rice held at the National Irrigation Administration compound in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte province on Sept. 13, 2024. “ Maraming salamat Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa inyong pagmamahal sa Region 1 lalong-lalo na sa bayan namin sa San Nicolas,” said Violeta Pasion, a resident Brgy.   18 Bingao in this town. The low-priced grains were sourced from the National Irrigation Administration’s (NIA) contract farming with irrigators' association members in the province. Along with Pasion, Epi...
Post a Comment
Read more