Monday, April 02, 2007 Palace vows prosecution of officials involved in lamps deal scam
MALACAÑANG said those behind the alleged P365-million lamppost scam would be prosecuted regardless of their so-called political connections.
The Palace issued the statement following the hint of reelectionist Senator Panfilo Lacson that many people in the Arroyo administration benefited from the alleged scam aside from two Cebu mayors and their engineering staff and regional public works officials.
The Office of the Ombudsman has issued six-month preventive suspension orders against Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano and Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza pending investigation of their alleged involvement in the overpricing scandal.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said there would be no sacred cows in the Ombudsman's investigation of the case.
"We have a campaign against graft and corruption. Anyone who will be found involved in this alleged scam would be prosecuted," he said.
However, he said no Palace official is involved in the overpricing scam and that he did not even know that the executive director of the Road Users' Tax Board (RUTB) is Reynaldo Puno, a brother of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno.
He said the Ombudsman would implement the suspension orders Monday or Tuesday through the interior and public works department.
Lacson has said that the road users' tax, which leads to P7 billion in annual revenues, should only be spent for the maintenance of the country's highways and streets. He said using it to buy and install lampposts is malversation of public funds.
The lampposts were set up for the Asean summit in Cebu.
Reports said the 1,406 decorative park lamps seen in Cebu and Lapu-Lapu cities cost only P1,411 each, but the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) contract showed that government is paying P85,000 per unit, inclusive of installation cost. (JMR/Sunnex)
