Opinion: Time for Change
BEING FOOLED RIGHT BEFORE ONE’S EYES. It is clear as night follows day that
there is a need to change those who comprised the city government today. And we
True, an opposition party is needed and of course, there are some people on Mayor Leonardia’s party who could be retained.
Having the full majority in a political party, will not be truly and totally positive because fiscalizers are needed. But those around Mayor Evelio Leonardia, have tolerated not only the perceived irregularities committed by the party but have, in fact, committed it.
In fact, the Commission on Audit (COA) under Sheila Velmonte-Portal has ruled that there were, indeed, anomalies in the construction of the city hall or the NGC as is commonly known.
MONSTROSITY. The purchase of the urban poor relocation center supposedly in Estefania Village is clearly a monstrosity if one considers its costs. All the mayor’s people especially his councilors conspired in buying and developing it at an exorbitant cost of P250-M, the property.
This is when there are other resettlement projects which have not been fully developed yet.
There is the garbage dump in Felisa Village, the stupendous budget for travel which we are not mistaken, hovers around P200-Million.
This will cost us after fifteen years of paying interest possibly compounded, close to P1 or more than P1-Billion.
The millions of interests we would have paid would be enough for livelihood projects, even for other basic services the people need.
But why the exorbitant appropriation of funds for various unnecessary projects? We are really of the belief that with projects come commissions. Highly-reliable sources have told us that because of his own fault, these projects are never approved without the underlings having a share of the ill-gotten profits.
ADDING OUR VOICES. Since only a few have talked about these irregularities, we have added our voice to those who are demanding that now, we must do something about these. There is a clear basis for our perceptions that massive irregularities have taken place because the allocations have been in the hundreds of millions of pesos or in several figures.
In fact, whistleblowers have filed dozens of cases against city government officials.
Paraphrasing the saying "better to have loved and lost" we dare say, better mention these, than not mentioning it at all. After all, we are doing these for the people of Bacolod, for our city, and because public officials are supposed to be our servants.
Tell you me. But, indeed!*
