3 Negros Occidental veterinary office workers probed for bribery

Negros Occidental map. INQUIRER FILES

BACOLOD CITY — The legal department of the Negros Occidental provincial government has started an investigation into three employees of the Provincial Veterinary Office employees who were accused of allegedly accepting payments in exchange for expediting the release of permits.

“The Provincial Legal Office (PLO) is acting on the complaint and show cause orders will be served to the three employees,” Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Friday, July 4.

Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas on Friday said the show cause orders were supposed to be served on the same day but the three employees were on assignment. The orders will instead be served on Monday, July 7, Nellas said.

The complainants, in a letter sent to Diaz, claimed the three personnel demanded payments for the release of permits, particularly the Recognition of Active Surveillance (RAS), which certifies that a hog farm or a local government unit has implemented measures to detect and control the spread of African swine fever (ASF), a hog disease that has affected a number of pig farms in the province.

The RAS permit is also needed by hog raisers to be able to ship their pigs to other areas.

The complainants furnished Diaz with copies of conversations on messenger where the employees demanded payment for the releases of permits. One personnel described the payment they demanded as for “pang lagaw (for leisure).”

Also among the evidence provided by the complainants was a “receipt of payment transaction through (money transfer company) which confirms that they received money from a shipper,” the PLO said.

According to the complaint, the action of the three personnel “suggests a pattern of accepting gifts or payments in exchange for preferential treatment and/or the issuance of permits,” adding that “this behavior is unethical, illegal, and undermines the integrity of the Provincial Veterinary Office.”

The complainants said they wished to remain anonymous and requested that their identities be protected throughout the investigation process. However, they said they would be available to provide more information in the course of the probe. /das