Thursday, November 27, 2008 Bayacsan unfazed by graft rap By Jane Cadalig
BUGUIAS Mayor Felicio Bayacsan said he is ready to answer the graft charges filed against him and three other municipal officials.
Denying allegations raised by members of the Municipal Council, Bayacsan said: "I can't stop the council. That's their right. I respect them if that is what they know is the right thing to do."
He lamented though the council is not content with what he does in compliance with his duties and responsibilities as Buguias's chief executive.
"The council is never satisfied with my job," he said.
Vice Mayor Melchor Diclas, who led the council in filing the case, said the legislative body would not be initiating the case if the mayor is doing the right thing.
"How can we be satisfied when he is not doing the right thing? Just imagine the whole council is not in favor of his actions because he is wrong," Diclas said.
Earlier, the Municipal Council filed a case of malversation of public funds, dishonesty, and grave misconduct against the mayor and the town's budget officer, treasurer and accountant, following a report of the Commission on Audit (COA) that revealed various supposed irregularities in the financial performances of the local government.
Bayacsan said the COA report would not be a sufficient basis to back the charges.
He added: "The COA has made recommendations for us to follow based on their findings, and we made sure our 2008 budget complied with all the recommendations made in the 2007 report."
Another graft complaint was filed against the mayor before the Office of the Ombudsman for Northern Luzon on November 20.
