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Saturday, May 13, 2006
Mayor should audit bizwoman instead: ex-city chief exec
By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
FORMER Baguio City Mayor Bernardo Vergara said there is no need to assess the 2003 and 2004 Panagbenga celebrations because government auditors have already examined the financial statements of the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc. (BFFFI) for those years when the City gave P4.4 million as financial assistance to ensure the successful staging of the event.
He said local officials should subject the 2005 and 2006 Panagbenga celebrations, which were handled by the Baguio Panagbenga Flower Festival Association (BPFFA), to an examination and compare it with the 2003 and 2004 audited financial reports "to see who is fooling the people."
The former local chief executive questioned Mayor Braulio Yaranon for singling out the BFFFI in his remarks during his weekly Ugnayan last Thursday, saying that the 2003 and 2004 Panagbenga celebrations earned over P2.3-million, as compared to the measly P3,000 income earned by the BPFFA last year.
This resulted after Yaranon, in a letter addressed to the Commission on Audit (COA) regional office dated May 10, 2006, said "for official purposes, demanded by public interest and welfare as (an) officer charged with fiscal responsibility, and in behalf of the local government unit (of) Baguio City, I have the honor to request audit of P5.4 million in public funds given as 'financial assistance' by the city of Baguio and PDAF sources to the BFFFI for the 2003 and 2004 BFF."
"The public funds were released to three city officials (Vergara, City Administrator Jose Taguba and City Budget Officer Leticia Clemente), who designated themselves as chairman, chief executive officer and chief financial officer, respectively, of BFFFI. The officials, without proper authority of BFFFI, took control of the disposition of public funds, as well as private funds derived from said transactions, by opening up a current account in the name of the BFFFI at the Philippine National Bank Session Road Branch under Current Account No. 310-86-0011-9, depositing private funds and disposing of the funds deposited under the current account without participation of the BFFFI president, Attorney Damaso Bangaoet Jr., and the treasurer, Reverend Father Paul van Parijs of St. Louis University," Yaranon said in the same letter.
"Public funds were 'laundered' and disposed of as private funds of the BFFFI, a foundation registered as such with the Securities and Exchange Commission, were likewise disposed of by said public officers, using the current account that said officers had caused to be set up for the BFFFI at the PNB Session Road Branch. The public funds amounting to P5.4 million were not liquidated and subjected to audit by the COA," Yaranon claimed.
However, Vergara said Friday that the financial statements during their time was first audited by a private external auditor before they were subsequently reviewed and passed by former City Auditor Fernando Somera, "thus, the accusation of Yaranon that their financial statements were not audited is a false allegation that is totally untrue and unfounded."
He asserted that it is the BPFFA under businesswoman Nelia Cid, a protégé of Yaranon, that has a lot of unpaid obligations to a lot of groups and individuals last year. "But why does he insist that we are the ones who are fooling the people of the city?" he asked.
Vergara explained that the BFFFI opted to have their financial statements audited by an external auditor, so as to erase any misconception that the former city auditor might railroad the process, considering that the city government had the lead role in staging the festival for two years on 2003 and 2004.
Clearly, Vergara emphasized, "Mayor Yaranon is obviously trying to cover up the shortcomings of his group in the Panagbenga festivals for the last two years since he is trying to avoid answering criticisms against the BFFA-handled activities.
For this year's Panagbenga celebration, Vergara argued, "the group of Cid has reportedly committed gross violations of existing city ordinances relative to the conduct of trade fairs along Session Road as well as the mockery done at the Melvin Jones grandstand, which was used as a trading center, contrary to its purpose as a greenery."
For the BFFFI, Vergara explained, proper authority was vested on them to manage the Panagbenga since 2003, in partnership with the Camp John Hay Development Corporation, by a resolution passed by the City Council then. "There even was an official turnover conducted at City Hall then and this was witnessed by most of our city government personnel and Baguio residents," he pointed out.
"During the years prior to 2003, the CJHDevCo earmarked about P5-million to P10-million of their own funds to spearhead this, and when we were made their partner in managing this annual crowd-drawing event, it was but proper for the city government to put in a counterpart fund. That is the reason why amounts were appropriated for this during those two years that we handled it with them," Vergara said.
"During those years, the services of councilors, City Hall department heads and even some heads of non-government organizations were tapped to share their time and expertise to make these events as successful as they became then. I remember that Mayor Yaranon, when he was still a councilor then, was even made a co-chairman of the Burnham Park fluvial activities along with City Assessor Estrellita Tano and assisted by former Councilor Nars Padilla," he continued.
"If he really thinks that the bank account opened at PNB was illegal, why did he authorize and approve the issuance of two cheques from that same account when he took over the reins of the city government? If he wants the past Panagbengas to be audited, why does he single us out? Why doesn't he have the BPFFA under Cid audited instead? Is it true that Nestle Philippines has already settled with her out of court to the tune of P5-million? Where did this amount go? How about those multi-colored lights that she had installed around the Burnham Lake? Where did these come from and what funds were used there? If it is true that the amount given by Nestle was used to purchase those lights, did all of the funds go there? There definitely are a lot of questions that have to be answered but he keeps pointing his fingers at us. Why doesn't he order an audit on the past two stagings of his own version of the Panagbenga instead?" he pointed out.
Due to these, Vergara called on Yaranon yesterday to instead investigate his people on the alleged serious violations of local laws and the alleged massive corruption in the handling of the past two festivals. (With a report from Dexter See)
(May 13, 2006 issue)
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