Vice mayor dares detractors

CAGAYAN de Oro City Vice Mayor Vicente Emano fired back at his critics Sunday, daring his detractors to charge him in court over a bungled rural phone project when he was still mayor.

The vice mayor issued the challenge following a National Telecommunication Commission’s (NTC) decision to slap fines against the contractor of the P49 million Barangay Rural Telephone System, initiated by the Emano administration in 2003.

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“I dare them to file cases against me in court if they have evidence against me,” said Emano in his radio program Sunday.

Despite several findings by state auditors to the contrary, Emano defended the project as aboveboard, saying his administration had complied with all the necessary requirements before signing a contract with telecommunications firm Scantel.

He said the project, whose goal was to connect 17 upland barangays to the city through wireless phones, had been valuable to the recipients as it facilitated faster delivery of basic services.

He also insisted that Scantel was a legitimate entity that can handle the job as specified in the contract.

The Manila-based Scantel won a one-year contract to set up and install a wireless telephone system in the hinterland barangays in 2003.

Three years into the job, however, it was still stuck in the project while the communications equipment that it had set up rusted away.

In 2008, Mayor Constantino Jaraula threatened to go to courts unless the contractor can finish the project within a specified timeline.

It failed, and a second deadline was given. Despite this, village officials still report defects on the installed phones, while others complained the telephone system never worked in their area.

Last week, Councilor Aaron Neri, president of the Association of Barangay Council (ABC), reported the complaints brought by several project recipients on the defective phones. While some barangays are experiencing poor transmission signal, Neri said others have none at all.

Despite this, the vice mayor insisted that the phones “are working well” and that the current disruption experienced by a number of recipients can be fixed.

Emano also defended his administration from the shortcomings of Scantel, which was found to have violated telecommunication laws at least 17 times before and during the implementation of the project.

NTC found Scantel liable for implementing the telephone project without securing accreditation; illegal importation of telecommunications equipment; illegal installation of radio communication devices; illegal operation of radio communication equipments, among others.

Emano remains adamant, saying his administration had nothing to do with Scantel’s lack of bona fide credentials when it undertook the project.

“Maybe there were technical requirements nga gipangayo sa NTC nga wala nahatag sa Scante,” vice mayor said. “So, unsa man ang panagsingki, ila ra kana and these are nothing but mere technicalities.”

Apparently, that’s not how Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar Moreno sees the legal aspect of the issue.

Speaking on his radio program over the weekend, the governor said Emano and other officials involved in the project are liable for graft and corruption.

Moreno and Emano used be political allies but had a falling out recently when the latter declared support for another gubernatorial candidate.

“You’re in the government and you dealt with somebody who is not authorized to operate a certain project?” said Moreno, a lawyer. “With 17 violations sa Scantel, bug-at kana nga kaso, and its not as if that a payment of the fine has obliterate the crime.”

The governor said the Scantel fiasco issue was “a showcase of how culture of impunity rules in the City Government.”

In at least half a dozen audit reports since 2004, the Commission on Audit found that the project took off without complying technical requirements first. The audit agency also noted that project had languished for years despite the cash advances—totaling some P31 million—made by the contractor from the local government.