Tuesday, October 21, 2008 Group concerned over ombud’s lack of proof vs. officials behind deco lamps scam
A GROUP advocating against corruption yesterday expressed apprehension and concern over reports on the lack of evidence to prove the purchase of overpriced lampposts for the 12th Association of South East Asian Nation (Asean) summit in Cebu.
In a press statement entitled “Asean Lamppost: A Bad Joke,” Fr. Carmelo Diola, Dilaab’s overall coordinating steward, questioned the announcement of Tanodbayan Merceditas Gutierrez that graft investigators in Manila are now doubting if they can prove the liability of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Cebu local government officials involved in the lamppost controversy.
The prosecution also ordered a reinvestigation and returned the case documents to the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.
Playing games
“The decision, therefore, of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to return the documents to the Visayas Ombudsman’s office seems like a bad joke. What are we to make of this? Are they playing games? We hope not. People are not in the mood for games that treat them as if they were stupid. Even ordinary citizens can tell that the lampposts are not worth what the government paid for them,” Diola said.
Diola furnished Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Archbishop Angel Lagdameo of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Gutierrez and Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Pelagio Apostol copies of the group’s statement.
In a press conference, both Diola and Gladys Ceniza, chairman of the Dilaab board of trustees, described the Omdusman Manila’s move to withdraw the case from the Sandiganbayan as “corruption intolerance.”
Ceniza urged the Cebuanos and all concerned citizens to make their voices heard and to write to public officials to call for the resolution of the case without resorting to any excuses.
Diola added that when the issue first erupted nearly two years ago, concerned citizens from Cebu called for a speedy and just resolution of the case.
He said that in Feb. 28, 30,000 citizens signed a manifesto to reiterate this call.
Diola revived questions, like “Are dome-like lampposts really worth P224,000 each?” or equivalent to three Gawad Kalinga houses.
“Would transportation and installation costs really justify the twenty-fold increase from the P11,750 actual production cost for each lamppost that are well documented?
“If these questions cannot be satisfactorily answered, it is about time the Ombudsman should consider stepping down and making room for others who have the courage and the competence to really serve the best interest of the public? Command responsibility and a sense of delicadeza should prevail,” Diola said.
“We call on our public officials to do their duty to God and country,” he added.
When sought for reaction on the comments of some of the involved officials that they are now finally vindicated, Diola said “true vindication comes from standing in the truth and serving with honor.”
Meanwhile, Cebu City Hall will ask the Sandiganbayan to document and conduct an inventory of all lampposts installed in the city so they can be finally removed.
City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said yesterday that he was advised by Apostol to write a formal notice to the anti-graft office on their plan to remove the lampposts.
“The ombudsman said we should write a letter asking for a documentation of the street lamps, and they will forward the letter to the Sandiganbayan and after it’s documented, it can be removed,” he told reporters yesterday.
After the inventory conducted by the DPWH and the City Government last year, Fernandez said he learned that there was still no proper documentation of the lampposts.
He said he is confident that the Sandiganbayan will grant the City’s request.
“Deputy Ombudsman Apostol agrees with our concern na basin mahurot na lang na tanan ug kawat unya wala pa na-document (We need to document them before they all get stolen). They will have to count all the lamps and take pictures. There is still no documentation on this that has been accepted by the court,” said Fernandez.
Cebu City officials want some 650 lampposts removed from the city’s streets immediately, saying they are symbols of corruption. (EOB/LCR)
