Lapu-Lapu budget chief, local registrar to be suspended on Dec. 16 — mayor

BECAUSE she was needed for the preparation of the budget for next year, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza did not immediately implement the suspension of Budget Officer Victoria Andoy.

Andoy is one of the three personnel who are yet to serve the Ombudsman’s suspension order in relation to the overpriced purchase of 470 personal computers in 2005.

She and Dr. Cipriano Flores of the Local Civil Registrar will also start serving their suspension on Dec. 16.

However, the third respondent, City Legal Office Vincent Joseph Lim, already died.

Eighteen Lapu-lapu City personnel were ordered suspended without pay for six months by the Ombudsman for the overpriced purchase of the computers distributed to the public high schools of the city.

Other respondents of the administrative case who were meted a penalty of six months suspension without pay include City Administrator Teodulo Ybañez, City Treasurer Elena Pacaldo, general services officer Cleofe Solis, supervising administrative officer Leandro Dante and the members of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) and the technical and inspection groups.

Respondents Pacaldo and Solis have since retired while another respondent, former city engineer Fernando Tagaan, Jr. has died.

Then mayor Arturo Radaza was included in the administrative case but his reelection in 2007 left the charge moot and academic based on the Aguinaldo Doctrine.

Lapu-Lapu City School Superintendent Serena Uy was also found guilty of the same offense and ordered suspended to be enforced by Department of Education (DepEd) 7 Director Dr. Recaredo Borgonia.

Mayor Radaza had asked the Ombudsman to implement the suspension order of her personnel by batch to avoid affecting the delivery of basic services as eight of them hold crucial positions.

She admitted she did not receive reply from the Office of the Ombudsman but she started implementing the order last September.

The suspension of Andoy and Flores is the last batch.

In 2007, businessman Efrain Pelaez Jr. filed a complaint against Arturo and 18 others over the computers.

He said the purchase of P23.4-million worth of computers was overpriced. About 470 personal computers were bought for P49,950 each.

An inventory showed that PCs of the same quality were being sold for only P24,700 and P31,236 as stated in the sales invoices of two computer stores at the time.

After investigation, the anti-graft office said the 470 computers should have cost P10.857 million instead of P23.476 million, a price difference of P12.619 million.

The Ombudsman-Visayas found the respondents guilty of conduct grossly prejudicial to the best interest of the service.  Correspondent Fe Marie D. Dumaboc