Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Supplier of computers to Lapu may face raps
CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday lauded the business sector in Lapu-Lapu City for helping promote transparency in government transactions and for taking a stand against corruption.
The mayor also said he will go after the supplier of computers to the Lapu-Lapu City Government if it is proven that the firm underreported their gross sales.
Allegations of corruption in Lapu-Lapu City Hall are an embarrassment not only to their City Government but also to the entire Cebu Province, he said.
Congratulations
“I’d like to congratulate the private sector for taking a very strong stand against corruption. I already told you this seems to be a big embarrassment to us. Lapu-Lapu City is very critical to the progress of Cebu because that’s the major tourism area,” said Osmeña.
Also, the international airport, tourism facilities, manufacturing firms and the Mactan Export Zone are located in the city, he said in his news conference yesterday.
“All these complaints coming from the private sector, to me, is an embarrassment. It will affect us as Cebuanos and it affects me as a local chief executive,” he said.
A private foundation has asked the anti-graft office to look into alleged anomalies in the purchase of supposedly overpriced personal computers by the Lapu-Lapu City Government for use in its public high schools.
The Coralpoint Educational Foundation Inc., represented by its founder and president Efrain Pelaez, accused Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza of facilitating the “anomalous” transaction.
According to Pelaez, the Lapu-Lapu City Government spent P23,476,500 or about P50,000 each for 470 personal computers (PCs) that, at the time of the purchase, were worth less than half the unit price.
Apart from collecting more taxes from the supplier of the computers, which holds office in Cebu City, Osmeña wants to file criminal charges against Kein Enterprises if it can be proven they have underreported their gross sales.
Checking the books
Following the expose on the alleged overpriced computers, the Cebu City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) will check the book of accounts of Kein Enterprises for possible understatement of their gross sales.
Osmeña said yesterday that the CTO should do so to check if they have properly declared their income and are paying the
exact amount of business tax to the City.
“They should be asked to pay retroactive taxes but that’s not enough. They should file criminal case against the supplier for falsifying public documents.
The act of understating the amount of your sale, we will crack down on that,” he said.
The mayor also threatened to shut down the operations of Kein Enterprises if it can be proven that they are operating an internet café inside their office without a separate business permit for it. (LCR)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (September 25, 2007 issue)
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