Thursday, June 21, 2007 This Mary Ann whom Tomas called undesirable seeks back allowances
IF ASSISTANT City Prosecutor Mary Ann Castro is often seen smiling these days, she’s got over a hundred-thirty-thousand reasons to.
The Cebu City Government is returning her monthly allowance of P5,000 by the end of the month and reimbursing her for the two years that she went without it.
Castro confirmed this in an interview yesterday but refused to give details.
Other sources, however, said the release was pursuant to a letter somebody at the Office of the Justice Secretary had sent to Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña.
They helped
Also, two Cebu City councilors – Edgardo Labella and Jose Daluz III – supposedly helped getting the vouchers prepared.
All assistant prosecutors receive a monthly allowance from the City Government.
But Castro stopped getting hers in April 2005 reportedly after businessman brothers Jake and Nanak Yu approached the mayor and handed a copy of a complaint they had lodged against Castro.
The complaint, in turn, stemmed from a traffic violation that Castro allegedly committed sometime in 2005 by blocking the entrance to the brothers’ shop.
Castro allegedly sent Cebu City policemen to confront the Yus when they tried to move the car away and then accused them of trying to damage the car.
Moreover, Castro was assigned out of the Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor and detailed to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in Mandaue City.
Later, she was detailed to the BI office in Iloilo City, a post she continues to hold.
Osmeña supposedly sent City Prosecutor Nicolas Sellon notice that he was canceling Castro’s allowance and promptly carried it out.
“We didn’t contest it anymore. I thought it was pointless because a case was indeed pending at that time,” she said.
Castro would not confirm if she and the businessmen had already amicably settled their differences.
At P5,000 per month, she is expected to get P130,000 including the P5,000 she is supposed to get for this month.
Asked what she’d do with her newfound wealth, she said she’ll donate some to her favorite charity – the Carmelite Sisters. (KNR)
