There were no irregularities in the procurement process of the projects undertaken by the Silay City government amounting to P1.4 billion, Mayor Joedith Gallego said during the congressional inquiry by the House Committee on Public Accounts yesterday.
Gallego and several city government officials, as well as several representatives from various sectors, attended the hearing at the House of Representatives in Quezon City.
He said the complaints submitted to the committee and Representative Joseph Stephen “Caraps” Paduano are merely misleading, allegedly made by the representative’s opponents, whose priority is their political status.
Paduano is currently the caretaker of the Negros Occidental’s 3rd Congressional District.
Gallego denied Paduano’s statement that the Silay City government entered into a P1.4 billion loan agreement with the two state-run banks.
According to the mayor, the city government has only a P1.1 billion loan agreement.
The mayor added that the previous administration was the one that proposed a P1 billion loan agreement for just one city government project.
Gallego also acknowledged that under his term as mayor, Silay City College was established through a P300 million loan agreement.
The mayor added that the loan proceeds were also allocated for the rehabilitation and repair of the Silay City Public Market, which was damaged due to the past typhoons.
The local government unit has also allocated P500 million for the construction of the new Silay City Government Center.
Gallego said the fund was lower than the initial P1 billion budget allocated by the previous administration.
Earlier, Paduano alleged that there were irregularities in the procurement process of infrastructure and other projects by the local government unit.
The projects in question are the Silay City College, the beautification of the Silay City Market, and the new city hall.
Paduano said it came to his attention that the city government had approved local measures that were allegedly laden with discrepancies, irregularities and evident partiality.
He added that some questions have allegedly arisen regarding transparency and lack of consultation with some groups for the projects./WDJ