Bacolod City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr. (center), Good Governance Committee chairman, flanked by City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III (right) and City Internal Auditor Jose Ray Agpangan.*CPG photo
The Good Governance Committee has convened and is now accepting complaints against any employee or transactions with the Bacolod City government, City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr., its chairman, said Monday July 11.
The committee convened on Friday and the City Legal Office has been designated as the secretariat that will receive complaints, evidence and documents for review, Ting said at a press conference at the Bacolod City Government Center.
Members of the committee are City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III and City Internal Auditor Jose Ray Agpangan.
Maghari said the committee is tasked with reviewing previous transactions of the city government and ensuring that all actions in the future are legally in order.
Ting said the committee will review contracts of ongoing projects, investigate items red flagged by the Commission on Audit and act on unliquidated cash advances.
Some city employees have also already began liquidating their cash advances and documents they submitted will be verified, Ting said.
Maghari said the documents and statements of witnesses who come forward will be reviewed to ensure due process.
We will make sure there is sufficient evidence to take action, Ting assured.
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez in Executive Order No. 1, Series of 2022, said he created the Good Governance Committee to restore the public’s trust and confidence in the local government.
He has directed the committee to actively investigate reports and ferret out the truth on the allegations of graft and corruption committed in the city government, particularly by public officers and employees, their co-principals, accomplices and accessories from the private sector, if any.
Responsible government officials will be held accountable for graft and corrupt practices that may have caused great disadvantage and irreparable damage to the city and its residents, the mayor said.*