Lifestyle check for provincial engineers

“You've got to think lucky. If you fall into a mudhole, check your back pocket - you might have caught a fish.”  Darrell Royal

By Alex P. Vidal

DO we prevent graft and corruption in government when we do a no non-sense check and balance?

A lifestyle check for those working in government should be done periodically and shouldn’t be a case only of ningas cogon for those implementing it.

Corrupt government employees and officials who don’t know how to conceal their wealth are usually the ones who end up wrestling with criminal and administrative raps filed against them before the Office of the Ombudsman.

When officials and employees in a certain government agency display ostentatious wealth, that agency becomes the red light for graft and corruption.

How they became instant rich and where they get their loot would be the hottest topic in every nook and cranny.

For instance, many provincial engineers have no qualms parading their luxury vehicles in public and have virtually transformed the capitol parking areas into an exhibit of expensive cars.

When a taxpayer visits the capitol, he will be horrified to find some luxury cars like MU-X Isuzu, Toyota Fortuner, Crosswind Isuzu, Isuzu D-Max pick-up, among the latest car models in parking spaces.

These are purportedly owned by engineers who acquired their wealth from "kickbacks" in various infra and road projects.

RICH

Some of these rich employees also reportedly connived with corrupt area engineers who sell diesel fuel distributed for use of capitol backhoes, loaders, bulldozers and dump trucks in project sites.

Each of the five areas reportedly gets 2,000 liters of fuel for a total of 10,000 liters of fuel distributed in five areas in the province.

For instance, if the tanker deposits 80 liters daily, the corrupt area engineer liquidates 120 liters.

“There is connivance between the tanker and the area engineer and everybody is happy,” sources said. “If the diesel fuel is P30 per liter, imagine how they laugh their way to the videoke bar.”

Sources added: “The sad part is that provincial engineer Gracianito Lucero appears to be unaware of this anomaly because he does not have close and regular dialogue with his men.”

The one who is calling most of the shots in the provincial engineer’s office is reportedly assistant engineer Romeo Andig, not Lucero.

Lucero was not available when we tried to reach him yesterday.

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THE “Kampohan Sang Mga Biktima Sang Yolanda” romped off on February 16 and will last until February 20 outside the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional office 6 in Molo district, Iloilo City.

Led by the Paghugpong sang mga Mangunguma sa Panay kag Guimaras (Pamanggas), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU)-Panay, Gabriela, Anakbayan, and Kadamay, an urban for alliance, the group called for the immediate full release of the financial shelter aid for victims of typhoon Yolanda and the scrapping of the Memorandum Circular No. 24 Series of 2014 or the guidelines on the implementation of Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) for Yolanda victims.

Of the P9 billion approved for the aid of typhoon victims in Western Visayas, only P1.4 billion has been released according to DSWD-6 Regional Director Evelyn Macapobre.

Cris Chaves, Pamanggas secretary-general, said those with totally damaged houses were promised P30,000 each while partially damaged houses were promised P10,000 each.

Winnie Legriso of KMU decried the government’s snail-paced approach in the distribution of funds.

“Biktima ka na sang bagyo biktima ka pa gid sang pagka uyaya sang gobierno. Biktimahon ka pa gid sang corruption (the typhoon victims are also victims of government neglect and corruption),” he bewailed.

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CITY administrator Norlito Bautista did not reveal the names of the four city hall casual employees reportedly caught forging the signatures of city officials in a bogus payroll they made and presented to a cellular phone company in order to avail a promo in the recent Dinagyang Festival.

But he confirmed that the four have been fired or their contracts will no longer be renewed.

They reportedly used the bogus payroll to make it appear that they get a salary of at least P10,000 a month, which is a requirement in order to avail of the promo.

We laud city hall’s decisiveness and quickness in dealing with the case of the four erring employees.

We hope city hall will also be quick to lower the boom on employees and officials who commit more than payroll forgery.