“WHAT if your barangay officials lie to their constituents, abuse their power and authority, and mismanage the affairs and funds of the barangay as shown in documents submitted to City Government offices?”

“What if your barangay hall is used by the barangay officials themselves, led by your punong barangay for their habitual drinking sprees and merry-making day or night and until the wee hours of the morning?”

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These were only some of the questions asked by a resident of Bayan Park in his affidavit-complaint to the City Council on July 18 last year, which he claimed has not been acted upon by the Committee on Barangay Affairs up to now.

A similar complaint has also been filed against the same barangay officials before the Office of the Ombudsman in October 8 last year.

According to complainant Roberto Ocampo, barangay officials of Bayan Park Village have enacted barangay ordinances without public consultations and/or public hearings or convening any general assembly to propose and discuss the merits of the ordinances as provided for in Section 398 of the Local Government Code.

He pointed out in City Council Resolution 264-2008, a notation of Association of Barangay Councils president and Councilor Joel Alangsab stated "As requested by fellow councilors, the attendance sheet showing proof of the conduct of a general assembly or public hearing must be attached to (barangay) ordinances."

"These barangay officials, after 10 long years at the helm, finally convened a general assembly in July 6 last year, but without proper information dissemination of the agenda in their prior notice of meeting. The ordinances were only read to us by barangay secretary Noli Abrasaldo without explaining how these ordinances came into form," Ocampo said.

He said in the general assembly, there were very clear indications that the barangay officials were not transparent especially when they conducted the assembly in a state-of-the-nation-address like manner and tried to dispense with the open forum to avoid questions from their constituents.

“They failed to prevent us from asking questions until I persistently invoked the provisions of Section 398 of the Local Government Code," Abrasaldo added.

“Most of the information they disseminated to us were deceiving especially with regard to financial matters, and most of their answers to our questions, if not evasive, are downright lies. A clear violation of Section 4 and 5 of Republic Act 6713,” Ocampo said.

He added that barangay officials there also used City Council Resolution 221-2004 as basis for their collection of parking fees, even when the resolution does not give them such authority.

In a barangay meeting on March 8 last year, he alleged he also inquired where the rentals of the barangay covered court, the satellite market and these parking fees go, in the presence of Bayan Park residents.

But barangay chairman Antonino Cortes Jr. categorically stated then these collections went directly to the general fund of the barangay.

Ocampo said he had written letters to the barangay officials of Bayan Park through their barangay chairman dated April 1 last year, inquiring and asking for copies of all important barangay records considered by law as public documents.

He said he requested for those documents because the barangay officials have failed since 1998 to implement Section 352 of the Local Government Code, which clearly states that, they are mandated to post the summary of income and expenditures in conspicuous places in the barangay, which denied their constituents the ability to scrutinize their financial transactions.

According to Ocampo, the barangay hall in many occasions had been used by the officials for their "habitual drinking sprees and merry-making day or night."

He said there were quite a few times also even the basketball court was the venue of these drinking sessions in full view of many people.