Names of 7 Iloilo mayors used in fake funding request
Seven Iloilo town mayors were reportedly visited by a team from the Office of the President following the discovery of what now appears to be a professional scam.
The “presidential probers,” The News Today (TNT) learned, had numerous documents in tow as evidence. First stop was on a Fifth District Northern Iloilo town with a visit to the lady mayor.
Turned out, TNT gathered, that a multi-million request for Malacañang funding was sought. The request was complete and detailed too, with official-looking papers bearing the supposed signatures of the mayors concerned.
The yet to be known suspects apparently got hold of letterheads of the subject local chief executives. It was not immediately clear though why the seven were singled out as choiced names or if more were used in the scam.
Batad Mayor Elvira “Little”Alarcon was among those verified who was surprised of both the visit and the documents shown.
“Clearly not mine,” Mayor Alarcon reportedly told the presidential probers who were furnished with Alarcon’s real signature. It was not immediately clear how much in actual funding request was made though a source said “each was made in millions.” Further not disclosed were the other subject towns and town-mayors pending full validation and verification by the investigators.
Copies of the supposed request letters were furnished to the lady mayor.
Undersecretary Raul Banias, Presidential Assistant for Panay and Guimaras was reached by TNT for comment. Banias for his part said he has no knowledge, to date, of the report nor of the investigation.