Rep. Stephen Paduano (Abang Lingkod Partylist) delivered a privilege speech on alleged procurement anomalies and the irregular enactment of local measures in Silay City, Negros Occidental, before the House of Representatives on Monday, Sept. 9.
A House committee inquiry will be conducted on his Silay expose, Paduano, designated caretaker of the 3rd District of Negros Occidental and House Committee on Public Accounts chairman, said.
Last month, it came to his attention that Silay Mayor Joedith Gallego approved local measures that are “laden with discrepancies, irregularities, and evident partiality”, Paduano said.
Gallego could not be reached for comment on Paduano’s privilege speech.
“These acts are particularly concerning as this involved misuse of public funds that, if not exposed, would cause undue burden and irreparable injury to the constituents of Silay City,” Paduano alleged.
It was reported last year that the Silay City government , through the initiative of Gallego, entered into a loan agreement with the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines to fund his administration’s mega-infrastructure projects in the amount of P1.4 billion, Paduano said.
This would finance the repair and rehabilitation of Silay City Public Market – P300 million, and construction of a City College – P300 million, City Activity Center or City Coliseum – P300 million and new city hall or city government center – P500 million, he said.
The city government officially commenced the P300 million repair, rehabilitation, and renovation of the city’s public market.
However, complaints from vendors have since surfaced, asserting that the local measure did not conform with pertinent rules and settled ordinances of the city.
Stakeholders also claimed that they were deprived of any participation prior to obtaining the loan, Paduano said.
The Silay City Market Code of 2020, an ordinance previously issued by the Sangguniang Panlungsod, explicitly requires that a strategic development plan, extensive research, situational analysis, and recommendation from the Market Authority must first be secured before entering into a loan for the rehabilitation of the public market, Paduano said.
Paduano said Gallego pointed out that the only requirement for a local chief executive to enter into a loan contract is a prior authorization from the Sangguniang Panlungsod. This is a clear indication of abuse of authority by blatantly disregarding existing local ordinances, he said.
Even worse, during the implementation of the project, the city government constructed temporary market stalls within the city’s heritage zones without the approval coming from the city’s heritage district administration office.
These zones are designated to preserve the cultural and historical integrity of Silay, Paduano said.
Paduano said the Silay City government has also started to roll out its plans for the new city hall project that will cost roughly around P500 million for its design and construction. This too was attended with anomalies and questionable decisions from the city officials of Silay, he alleged.*