 
LIM, DE LASERNA |
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Amid
attempts by former OIC Governor Victor Dela Serna to
question finances of City Mayor Dan Lim, the city chief
executive yesterday asked the Ombudsman to investigate
him.
Perhaps
an unprecedented move of a public official, the mayor
revealed during his weekly "Mayor's Report"
yesterday that he wrote Deputy Ombudsman for the
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Visayas
Pelagio Apostol to initiate an investigation and determine if
he committed violations regarding abuse of discretion and graft
and corruption.
According
to Dela Serna, "the amount of P97.6 million is just too
big to be left to the discretion of any public official of
the city… which has an annual budget of P304 million."
The
mayor openly dared Dela Serna yesterday to file a case and
prove it in court instead of engaging in a "fishing expedition".
Dela
Serna has asked City Budget Officer Rosemarie Palma copies
of the "Summary of Budget and Expenditure" for the
year 2006, specifically what was incurred by the mayor.
In
his letter to the Ombudsman, Lim called Dela Serna's inquiries
as a form of "harassment" to humiliate him by way
of a public trial.
The
mayor argued that in Dela Serna's letter requesting Palma
to furnish him with an itemized listing of the mayor's expenditures
was in fact "an allegation of impropriety."
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Dela
Serna questioned "the huge amount spent for 'Maintenance
and Other Operating Expenses' (MOEE)" by the office
of the mayor which is P39.6 million and for the GeneralServices
Office (GSO) which is P58 million, or a total of P97.6
million.
According
to Dela Serna, the MOEE which is set aside for an office
is "supposed to cover
only office supplies, transportation and travel, communication
and such other expenses necessary for its day to day
operation."
"My
concern is that any amount set aside as MOEE for any
office, can be disbursed at the absolute discretion
of the head of that office," Dela Serna added.
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ONE
STEP AHEAD
"In
his letter, he made irresponsible claims, among them that
the budget for the GSO is P58 million," Lim stated.
The
mayor said he wanted to be one step ahead of Dela Serna who
ultimately wants to sensationalize the issue by filing a complaint
at the Ombudsman.
"Considering
his track record, I am aware that the intention is to subject
me to trial by publicity," Lim told Apostol in his letter,
saying that engaging Dela Serna in such a confrontation would
be "a fruitless and divisive exercise given the demands
of public service."
The
mayor added that this early, Dela Serna already started to
poison the minds of city residents by "reckless allegations
about the huge amount that he (Dela Serna) arrived at by his
own computation."
Without
clarifying the issues Dela Serna is trying to raise, Lim said
the former OIC governor will only "succeed in besmirching
[his] reputation, throwing the city government in disarray."
Lim
formally asked the Ombudsman to undertake an investigation
"into the very issues being hinted" by Dela Serna,
namely, "the amount appropriated for the maintenance
and other operating expenses, the amount under my discretion
and, most important of all, whether there is abuse of discretion
and whether graft and corruption has been committed."
According
to the mayor, he believes the Ombudsman is the right government
agency to undertake the investigation, adding that he will
"cooperate fully" with the anti-graft body in order
to "address squarely [the] unfounded, irregular and malicious
allegations being hurled against [him] before it can be used
as instruments for persecuting innocent government officials,"
Lim added.
Lim
said that Dela Serna simply engages in character assassination
and has not proven any accusation he has made in the past
including those against former Gov. Rene Relampagos, ex-Sen.
Ernesto Herrera, Gov. Erico Aumentado, Rep. Edgar Chatto and
Vice Mayor Jose Antonio Veloso.
"He
resorts to name calling and mud-slinging to hide the fact
that he cannot prove his allegations," the mayor said.
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