Friday, February 24, 2006
Exec confirms city workers involved in fake permit scam
DAVAO City Legal Officer Melchor V. Quitain confirmed Thursday the involvement of two government employees in the fake permit scam.
The two, who were from the City Information Technology Center, allegedly conspired with the bookkeeper of a service establishment in the city, allowing it to operate with fake business permits.
Business Bureau chief Jhopee Avanceña-Agustin said two establishments in Davao City, which are solely owned, were discovered operating with fake permits.
Agustin said they would look into the matter with the help of City Legal Office.
"We will confirm the fact that there was really this incident where an employee committed an act which was extremely prejudicial to the interest of the city," Quitain said.
He added, "The investigation is still ongoing because we would like to get into the bottom of this and we are not going to stop with one incident. There might be other incidents and we have to know.
Based on their investigation, Agustin said the owner of the business establishment told the bookkeeper to renew their permit and was given money for its processing, including the payment of back taxes.
"She (bookkeeper) was supposed to apply for two new applications. She has to retire the previous business permit. Binigyan siya ng pera, ginamit niya, so naipit siya, and she have to produce the permit, nag contact siya ng ibang tao para ma-delete ang files. Now nag-falsify siya ng business permit," explained Agustin.
Agustin said the bookkeeper contacted a middleman, a former City Government employee, who also contacted another government employee allegedly from the City Information Technology Center.
But the center's head Ricarte Franco said the employee is from the City Treasurer's Office detailed only at their department since he programs the business tax system.
Franco added the treasure's office employee was assisted by another City Information Technology Center employee to delete the account files of such business establishment.
"Gi-delete ang active file. Among gisubay, nakit-an namo sa back-up file. Pero ang active file, wala na. Kung mag-apply na siya ug permit, wala na siyay utang, murag bag-ong abli ang business. Kung wala ma delete, kung mag-renew, naa siyay bayaran," Franco said.
According to Franco, the one who deleted the files should be a programmer from the City Information Technology Center.
"Ordinary workers could not delete anything, programmer gyud," he added.
After the incident, Franco said, he does not want the programmers to work anymore in his office.
"We don't want these corrupt personnel here in the office," he added.
But Quitain said they could only make recommendations to Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte on possible sanctions to be imposed on the employees, whom he refused to name pending investigation.
Quitain said though that there are many possible sanctions.
"Transfer from one office to another, or maybe dismissal from the service or maybe the filing of appropriate cases against them, administratively and criminally. But these are matters that will be covered by our recommendations to the city mayor and he should be the first one to know," he said. (BRQ)
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (February 24, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
