Ombud-Visayas says lampposts can be removed but…

THE Ombudsman-Visayas gave the go-signal for the removal of the controversial lampposts in Metro Cebu.

But Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Pelagio Apostol yesterday said removing the lampposts should be done with consent of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

The OSP handles the cases filed against several government officials linked in the overpriced purchase of the lampposts that were installed in Metro Cebu for the 2007 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit.

“If you can’t use them (lampposts) anymore, you can remove it,” Apostol told reporters in an interview.

While the lampposts are being used as evidence in court, he said they can be placed in a warehouse.

An inventory report revealed that 677 lampposts installed for the Asean Summit are useless.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama is seeking the removal of the lampposts that he considered “eyesores” that obstruct the sidewalks.

The installation of the  lampposts was a national government project.

The inventory report was made by the Commission on Audit, the Ombudsman-Visayas and the City Traffic Operations Management (Citom).

Apostol believed the prosecution has enough evidence to establish the guilt of the accused in the lampppost cases before the Sandiganbayan.

“We can prove that the lampposts were overpriced),” he said.

“By just looking at those lampposts, do you think that would reach P80,000 to P200,000 each? The defense should prove that an expensive gadget is placed inside that post,” he said.

Officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH-7), and government personnel of the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu are named respondents in five cases pending before the Sandiganbayan.

Also impleaded are former Mandaue City mayor and Provincial Board member Thadeo Ouano and former Lapu-Lapu City mayor and now Lapu-Lapu City Rep.  Arturo Radaza. Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol