‘Probe nat’l execs in Asean lamppost controversy’

Barangay captains in Lapu-Lapu City are asking the Office of the Visayas Ombudsman to investigate  national officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways who may be involved in the 2007 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit lamppost controversy.

The Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) of Lapu-Lapu City in a resolution last Jan. 24 called on the  anti-graft office to pursue, conduct or follow up results of investigations against the DPWH officials at that time.

The lampposts wee found overpriced by the Ombudsman Visayas.  Many of them remain dilapidated or their parts looted in roadsides of Cebu and Lapu–Lapu cities because no local government is in charge of their upkeep.

The mayors of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue cities were implicated in the  case, along with  DPWH regional office officials, for their  alleged participation in the purchase, acquisition and implementation of the lamppost project.

The resolution said  the indictment  was surprising since the lamppost project was a national government project, specifically by the DPWH.

Lapu-Lapu barangay captains said  there was no result yet of the investigation of national officials including former DPWH secretary Hermogenes Ebdane.

A total of 25 out of 30  Lapu-Lapu City barangay captains signed the resolution.

Five barangays captains were out of town or declined to sign.

Copies of the resolution were sent to  the Lapu-Lapu City Council, the mayor,  and the  House of Representatives. /Correspondent Norman V. Mendoza