PASIG city Mayor Vico Sotto yesterday uncovered an alleged propaganda against the city government’s P6 billion project to construct a new city hall.
On Monday, Sotto met with protesters who were rallying against the project and discovered that most of them were residents of Quezon City.
The rally was supposedly organized by a group called “Save Pasig Org,” but when the mayor asked who among them was from Quezon City, most of the protesters raised their hands.
“Tayo sa Pasig, bukas tayo. Lahat ng transaksyon natin, bukas. Tanungin niyo ako, hindi po ako magagalit. Maayos po ang ginagawa natin (My administration is transparent. Our transactions are open to public scrutiny. Ask me anything, I will not get angry. Everything that we are doing are above-board),” Sotto said.
“Kung sino naman po tiga-Pasig dito, nakikita niyo naman po ‘yung crack galing sa loob.
Pero alam ko po ‘yung iba sa inyo galing QC at Caloocan [at hindi ito alam] (Those from Pasig would know that the city hall already has cracks inside. I know most of you are from QC and Caloocan and do not know about this),” he also said.
Sotto said he does not mind being asked about the construction project.
“Itong project na ito na city hall medyo malaki talaga, kaya tama lang po na magtanong ang mamamayan, pero wag po sana nang dahil sa masamang pulitika. Okay lang po sana kung totoo ‘yung tanong pero kung dahil po sa pulitika na gusto nila sila ‘yung may hawak ng project… guguluhin nila kasi gusto nila sila yung nasa kapangyarihan, ibang usapan po yun (This project is really expensive, so it’s okay if Pasigeños would ask questions, but I hope these questions are not politically motivated. I hope the issue would not be muddled [by people] who want to take over control [of city hall]. If that is the case, that’s already a different issue),” Sotto said.
He added: “Pero kung nagbabayad ng troll farms sa Facebook, nagbabayad para mag-attend ng rally, masama po yan, hindi po maganda yan… Ang tanong, bakit ka gagastos ng malaki para sa ganoon (If the people behind [the propaganda] are paying troll farms in Facebook, paying people to attend rallies, that is not good… the question is, why spend money for those acts)?”
Sotto said some of the ground leaders that he talked with allegedly pointed to the St. Gerrard Construction, a company based in Pasig City, as the one behind the propaganda against the new city hall project.
He refused to speculate why the firm would oppose the project. “Sila dapat ang sumagot, hindi ako (They should answer that, not me).”
Meanwhile, a complaint for alleged criminal and administrative offenses was filed before the Office of the Ombudsman against Sotto, Business Permit and Licensing Department (BPLD) head Melanie de Mesa, and city administrator Jeronimo Manzanero.
Sotto downplayed the complaint, saying: “Anyone can file a complaint, it doesn’t mean anything.”
He refused to answer questions related to the Ombudsman case.
Complainant Ethelmart Cruz, who identified herself as a taxpayer and resident of Bambang, Pasig City, sought the indictment of the respondents for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
She also charged them with grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
In her 17-page complaint affidavit, Cruz accused the city officials of showing preference to Converge ICT Solutions Inc. by waiving penalties P1.43 million in penalties and surcharges allegedly incurred by the said firm when it underdeclared its office area and the number of employees in its payroll.
Cruz alleged that on two separate occasions in July and September 2022, the BPLD conducted inspections in the Converge offices located in Barangay Ugong and found that the firm was occupying 9,037 square meters on four floors of its office building and employing 1,901 employees.
She claimed the firm declared only four employees in a five square meter office, but her reference year was 2018.
Converge was reportedly assessed P3.67 million in total taxes with a surcharge of P447,106 and total interest of P979,570.
Cruz said the penalties were waived through a letter from the Office of the Mayor dated October 26, 2022.
“Respondents’ acts patently showed preference in the discharge of their duties when they issued a 100 percent tax discount in favor of Converge, a private company located in Pasig City, knowing full well that the latter misdeclared certain facts in its tax declaration,” she said.
She said the Office of the Mayor had no authority to grant the 100 percent discount which caused undue injury to the local government.
The complaint however showed some discrepancies.
In paragraph 4 under Statement of Facts, Cruz said Converge declared an office space of only five square meters and four employees. However, under paragraph 16, she said the office space was “12 square meters with four to five employees” also in 2018.
Likewise in paragraph 5, she said the BPLD “determined that Converge actually employs 1,901 employees” while in paragraph 16 she alleged the firm was “employing more than 2,000 employees.” — With Peter Tabingo
