Mayor Alfredo Lim is once again placed under public scrutiny after graft charges were filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman last April 8, 2010. A non-existent local assembly was allegedly conspired by Lim and his allies and also falsified receipts, which is said to have costs the city of Manila worth P221, 250.00. Lim's former legal adviser, Reynaldo L. Bagatsing filed the graft charges against the Mayor and his allies. The complainant, in his affidavit, called forth for the Ombudsman to administer preventive suspension against the involved perpetrators.
Seven other Manila officials were implicated by Bagatsing in the said anomaly. The seven were Atty. Rafaelito M. Garayblas, Atty. Analyn T. Marcelo-Buan, Maria Lourdes R. Malulu, Cherry Chao, Cecilia V. Sican, Leanie S. Sanding, and Vicky R. Valientes. Bagatsing pointed out that the said officials falsified the original receipts provided by Angel's Burger House. The plaintiff also said that the Manila officials conspired to make it appear that the Barangay Bureau held a city wide assembly called Barangay Peace Keeping Action Team last August 27, 2009, which Bagatsing have affirmed as a non-existent affair.
In what appears to be another Manila government anomaly, Lim's former legal counsel described in detail how the illegal activity took place. Specifically, it was claimed that the officials noted in the accompanying reimbursement voucher that the participants of the non-existent assembly consumed 5,500 pieces of cheeseburgers. What made Bagatsing suspicious of the said transaction was the idea that small burger joints like Angel's is not capable of producing 5,500 cheeseburgers in a day because it would normally take a small burger house 15 days to complete such order. Adding up to this was the evidence presented by Bagatsing to support his claim""the inspection report filed on October 19, 2009, which showed that the original receipt numbers which were originally 0066 and 0067 were falsified to become 0214 and 0215, and was later on approved by the inspector, Cecilia V. Sican of the City General Services Office (CGSO).
Due to the forged documents presented by the officials to the city treasurer of Manila during the reimbursement process, they were able to obtain P221, 250.00. As such this is a clear violation of article 217 of the revised penal code known as the malversation of public funds property, and article 171 or Falsification. Likewise, involved officials in this alleged Manila government anomaly failed to adhere to the required bidding process, making them liable for the violation of Section 367 of Republic Act. No. 7160 (R.A. 7160). It should be noted that the P221, 250.00 worth of reimbursement in this transaction exceeded the required amount stated under Section 367 of R.A. 7160, which particularly identified that the procurement of supplies should not exceed the amount of P 150, 000.00 for any items within a month for each of local unit, may it be first or second class cities within the Manila area.
Bagatsing included Mayor Alfredo Lim in his complaint as he was represented in the said illegal transaction by his secretary Rafaelito Garayblas. Garayblas notably signed the falsified documents with Lim's consent, which in turn gives the Manila officials the permission to facilitate the anomalous activities. Although Lim may not have directly signed in this anomalous activity, the mere fact that his secretary has authorized the existence of this corrupt practice with his knowledge makes him liable as well. Nonetheless, considering that Garayblas directly report to Lim, it is apparent that the Mayor condoned such transaction.
With the election already nearing, graft charges are the last thing that any person running for office would wish to be associated with. Mayor Alfredo Lim consistently won the trust of the publicly, which is why he is still in the office to date. However, the alleged illegal activity that he and his allies were involved with can affect the trust that the people have given him. For this reason alone, the officials involved in this allegation should take appropriate action for them not to lose the trust of the public.
Mayor Alfredo Lim and some of his allies are facing graft charges for violating the falsification and malversation law after they allegedly conspire to forge receipts from Angel's Burger House to procure government funds. Reynaldo Bagatsing presented several evidences against this Manila government anomaly, and called for the Ombudsman to place the officials under preventive suspension. Lim was involved in the lawsuit, as he was represented by his secretary Rafaelito Garayblas, who signed the false documents with his consent.
-Julius Arante
Graft charges were filed against Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and some members of the city's Bid and Awards Committee last April 8, 2010. The complainant, Atty. Reynaldo Bagatsing filed the complaint-affidavit in response to the allegedly illegal public bidding for rehabilitation of 15 schools within the city. The complainant noted that the bidding of repairs was done not out of necessity but for the personal gain of the involved officials. Bagatsing also took into account that the bidding prejudiced the local government of Manila as the involved associates were more concerned about the profits that can be reaped from the project rather than the expected results.
After obtaining an online copy of the bid notice abstract from the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement (PhilGEPS), Bagatsing immediately filed a complaint before the Ombudsman. According to Bagatsing, the invitation to bid was posted on the 18th day of February 2010, but the same post also indicated that interested bidders are given only 8 or 2 days (February 10-16, 2010) from the specified date of notice to submit their letter of intent (LOI) to bid, which was already impossible as the indicated dates have already elapsed. However, instead of openly accepting bids from other interested parties, it was well indicated in the attached document request list that three entities were already the preferred bidders. The said entities were ALE Builders Construction and Development Corporation, Diamond Head Construction/Supplies, and VITES Construction and Development Corporation.
Atty. Reynaldo Bagatsing, erstwhile friend and legal counsel of Lim, pointed out that the transaction was carried out with undue haste, tagging it as a bidding violation. The rigging of the said public building failed to adhere to the Republic Act NO. 9184 (R.A. 9148) or Government Procurement Reform Act. In accordance to the proofs presented by the complainant, it was apparent that the involved parties were rushing to implement the bidding, which can be seen from the overlapping dates. As such, the actions taken by the participants was a discordance to the implementing rules of R.A. 9148.
Seven other Manila officials were pointed out to have played major roles in carrying out the scheme; most of whom are members of the Bids and Awards Committee. They are Atty. Rafaelito Garayblas, Atty. Renato Dela Cruz, Vicky Valientes, Leanie S. Sanding, Ma. Lourdes Manlulu, Alicia T. Moscaya and Thelma Perez. The members of the committee who acted on their own free will, despite knowing the issues behind the transaction are held responsible for infringing Republic Act No. 3019 (R.A. 3019) or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices and Republic Act No. 6713 (R.A. 6713) commonly referred to as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. Mayor Alfredo Lim, who authorized the unscrupulous act to be carried out, is also liable for the same violations.
Accordingly, the rigging of this public bidding to repair and upgrade 15 elementary schools has cost the city of Manila P23,550,000.00. Bagatsing also stressed that involvement of the city in this form of transaction ousted it with the chance to save funds. The complainant called forth for the Ombudsman to closely examine the existence of these illegal acts. As such, the justice due to the residents of Manila would be granted to them.
From the evidences shown by Bagatsing, it is apparent that public projects can be turned into the milking cows of officials. Although various laws are put in place in order to address these issues, there are still people who continuously participate in the perpetration of fraudulent activities. As such, illegal activities within the government turns into an issue that is too hard to address. In the long run, if this issue is left unattended, the political career of Mayor Alfredo Lim could be jeopardized.
Mayor Alfredo Lim, along with some of his colleagues in the Bid and Awards committee were charged with graft and corruption lawsuits following the anomalous bidding for the rehabilitation of 15 classrooms in the city of Manila. Atty. Reynaldo Bagatsing filed the charges, claiming that the transaction was a bidding violation, set to cost Manila P23,550,000.00. The charges against the officials were filed on April 8, 2010. Bagatsing requested the Ombudsman to take immediate action on the said complaint.
-Julius Arante
Illegal gambling remains rampant in this poverty-stricken city. The Manila Jueteng Problem has once again resurfaced as apparent in the arrests of several people involved in the said illegal form of gambling. Manila mayor Alfredo Lim along MPD director Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay have continuously reiterated that they will rid the city of illegal jueteng operators. Instead, there are intelligence reports that illegal jueteng operators are slowly resuming their activities in the city.
The recent arrests of a number of people are clear evidences that the once eradicated Manila Jueteng Problem is still thriving. One of the main reasons why this illegal gambling problem has resurfaced is that police officers and city officials are involved in this trade. This illegal numbers game has the blessing of corrupt and unscrupulous policemen and city hall officials.In return for the protection extended, these protectors of jueteng are bribed with a portion of the profits generated from this illegal activity.
The inefficiency of the police force in arresting these people involved in Jueteng has further escalated the Manila Jueteng Problem.Many people who are actively participating in this illegal activity were able to avoid arrests due to the influence of higher police officials and city hall personnel including the Mayor of Manila.Moreover, jueteng operators in the city have developed a way to avoid arresting police officials.Investigations found out that jueteng lords in the city work using 'kangaroo' style and they transfer from one place to another to elude detection.
Jueteng operators in the city have also developed a sense of resiliency in covering up their illegal operations. To deceit and mislead the city's law enforcers, these jueteng collectors pretend they are soliciting bets for the government-sponsored EZ-2 lotto. Jueteng is like EZ-2 which is a legal numbers game launched by the government through the PCSO. Jueteng and EZ-2 are both using a winning two-number combination where bettors place their bets.
The only thing that separates the two is that jueteng is drawn secretly and exists as an underground transaction. It is alleged that the winning combination in jueteng is chosen by the operator. Jueteng operators select combinations with fewer bets to accumulate more profits. Meanwhile, EZ-2 is legal and drawn live on TV.
Unless the city government under Mayor Alfredo Lim and Manila Police Department come clean and admit their involvement in this kind of illegal activity; the Manila Jueteng Problem will still remain unsolved. If Mayor Lim and Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay are serious in eradicating this kind of illegal activity in the city, their action should begin within their ranks.They should be hunting down protectors and big time jueteng lords instead of arresting small bet collectors. Moreover, the city government must carefully look into the bigger picture and address the real cause why this illegal numbers game even exists.
The inability of the police force and Mayor of Manila Alfredo Lim to bring those people involved in Jueteng has further aggravated the problem. The reported involvement of police and city halls officials in the illegal activity has made it impossible to address this problem. Moreover, there are other reasons why the Manila jueteng problem has once again resurfaced as apparent in the arrests of several people involved in the said illegal form of gambling.
-Julius Arante
