A PRO-administration councilor who reportedly owes a government-run market at least P2 million in rental fees should step down from office—if he has any delicadeza left in him.

This was the call of the minority bloc in the City Council, who called Councilor Reynaldo Advincula a “disgrace” to the local legislative body, while criticizing the leadership of the administration party for “closing their eyes” to the conflict of interest that has entangled the councilor’s businesses in the city’s public markets.

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“This shocking display of impropriety is putting the City Council in disrepute. Councilor Advincula should resign in his post if he has nothing good to contribute in legislation,” said Councilor Teodulfo Lao, leader of the three-member minority group.

The councilor’s unpaid dues came to light in a report (not in this paper) quoting Mayor Constantino Jaraula late last week.

Advincula has denied incurring a P2 million debt in Cogon market, but admitted to the Sun.Star that he owed the public market some P140,000 in rental obligations.

Advincula said his unpaid rental obligations was nobody’s business, pointing out that it was owed to the UKC Builders, which operated the market for over three years before the December, 2008 buyout.
 
“That P2 million figure is a lie. And I did not incur my debts in three years as alleged by our good mayor; I accumulated these in the last two years—when business at Cogon market was no longer good,” the embattled official told the Sun.Star by phone.

Advincula and his family’s stake in some of the city’s public markets have been repeatedly put in question because of conflict of interest.

In 2006, an opinion from the City Legal Office said the councilor’s business at the ground and third floor levels of Cogon market was tainted by “pecuniary interest.”

Advincula had earlier argued that since the market was controlled by a private contractor under a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) scheme, there could have been no conflict of interest on his part. He continued holding on to his rented market stalls and City Hall’s own legal opinion has not been acted until now.
 
When the market was bought back by City Hall late last year, Advincula said he also relinquished possession of his rented spaces at the market.

Councilor Zaldy Ocon disputed this, saying it was a “common knowledge that Councilor Advincula is still maintaining his stalls at Cogon market.”

“If he (Advincula) has any delicadeza left in him, he will resign immediately. He’s been giving the City Council a bad name,” said Ocon, who belongs to the minority bloc.

Another minority member, Councilor Roger Abaday, asked City Hall to investigate Advincula, saying it was not enough for Mayor Jaraula to reveal the councilor’s indebtedness.
“This is way beyond the issue of delicadeza, or of impropriety. This is graft and corruption. This is about a public official abusing his power and he’s not being held accountable because he is aligned to the administration party,” Abaday said.

Abaday also assailed Advincula’s argument that his debts to the UKC Builders had no public importance because it was owed to the private operator.

The councilor pointed out that Advincula and his son-in-law, Councilor Ian Mark Nacaya, were among the pro-administration councilors who approved the market’s BOT contract in 2005. (DVAIII)