Gumabong's claims confirm 'rackets' at CEO -- Zulueta
ZULUETA
If there is anything good at all that came out of the startling revelations made recently by controversial electrical inspector Ricardo Gumabong, it is that his exposé has confirmed long-time suspicions of irregularities at the City Engineer's Office.
For Iloilo City councilor Perla Zulueta, who first took notice of the "ridiculously low collections" of the CEO late last year, Gumabong's statements only served to prove she is right all along in calling CEO officials as "non-performing assets."
"If you could recall, sang gin-approve last year ang budget, ginreklamo ko ang tama kanubo nga collections sang CEO [when we approved the budget last year, I already complained about the very low collections of the CEO]. Wala nagadako ang ila collections [Their collections don't increase], especially from Building Permit Fees. Right then and there, I'm already convinced nga may diperensya, daw may raket, pero indi ko lang ma-pinpoint gid [that there is something wrong somewhere, there appears to be a racket of some sort, although I can't readily pinpoint it]," said Zulueta.
"When I initiated moves to look deep into it, a lot of people started calling my office, informing me of rackets and the CEO employees behind them. Problem is, no one's willing to come out in the open and stand witness against these erring CEO employees," added the fiery lady councilor in a recent interview with the media.
"That is why when Gumabong came out with what he knows about the corrupt practices happening inside the CEO, I feel vindicated. At least, here is someone who has come out to prove that these irregularities indeed exist at the said office, that what I have been saying for quite a time now is correct, nga may raket dira sa [that there are rackets happening at the] CEO," she further quipped.
Asked whether she is willing to help unearth the shenanigans inside the CEO starting with those exposed by Gumabong, the Iron Lady of the City Council said she is very much willing to do so, "although I must say I don't know as of yet where to start or how I can be of help in the prosecution of these unscrupulous CEO employees."
"Even with Gumabong's revelations, the question still remains: Where can we plug the loopholes so that these rackets would stop? Indi kami kabalo kon diin kami masal-ot [We don't know exactly where we go in] in aid of legislation. Nabudlayan ako kon paano ma-prove ining mga iregularidad sa [I'm at a loss as to how I can prove the existence of these irregularities at the] CEO," Zulueta further quipped.
Asked on what she thinks should be done to stop all these rackets at the CEO, the lady legislator said the only way out of the present mess is having an honest-to-goodness City Engineer, who would emphatically put his foot down on all these shenanigans.
"These things have a ripple effect eh; if the boss is doing it, so would the office underlings. So, I think the best way to put a stop on all these is having a straight City Engineer," she said in conclusion.