Mayor Sacks Town Engr as more graft raps up vs town chief
One down at least 62 more to go. Meantime, a longtime municipal engineer was sacked from his post, a day after graft raps filed against his superior - the town mayor - was reported.
Bannered in yesterday's The News Today (TNT) issue was the "Streetlight fiasco" first made public by Bombo Radyo Iloilo. At the time the story went to press, Municipal Engineer Cornelio Pedregosa was handed an order from Dingle Mayor Rufino Palabrica III. Dated December 9, the mayor's order sealed the fate of Engineer Pedregosa, stripping him of his post of 14 years.
Reached by TNT, Pedregosa said he is all set to question the dismissal order before the Civil Service Commission (CSC). Further still, he vowed to immediately file administrative charges against Mayor Palabrica and while at it, lodge one at a time at least 62 graft charges for the 62 transactions in the Dingle Municipal Government. These 62 deals, Engineer Pedregosa told TNT, are "a few" of what he managed to validate that purportedly reeked of illegalities and irregularities.
And like the questioned streetlight project, all 62 forthcoming graft cases show projects won by the mayor in biddings alleged by the municipal engineer as rigged.
"I am questioning the validity of my dismissal but I will not insist on going back to the office. It would be too dangerous for me now. I will just go ahead and file my complaint before the CSC," Pedregosa said.
The apparent discord between the two top Dingle officials stemmed from the participation of the mayor to biddings and transactions of the municipal government.
Pedregosa said he has since allowed fair play here when chair of the town's Bids and Awards Committee (BAC). He knows the mayor to be a major supplier cum contractor in the town even before the mayor's entry into politics. And upon Palabrica's victory, Engineer Pedregosa said it is open knowledge to all that just about all biddings and town purchases were awarded to Tri-B Marketing, the mayor's family business.
"It is very dangerous what he is doing....it is clear graft and see a lot of people are now dragged into it," he decried while adding how he has since been ordered to tender his resignation.
"In the fourteen years that I have been in government service, I have not been charged of anything and our performance in the previous administrations I have served – all above par....good thing I was able to secure documents to prove my charges," he added.
Pedregosa after several purported 'bouts' with the mayor over questioned dealings here was first ordered dismissed in November 16, 2008. The order was recalled though in November 24th with the mayor stating such was "not final and executory." December 3 Pedregosa submitted his Motion for Reconsideration then came December 9th, the denial of the reconsideration sought.
"I was once threatened by the mayor with a case. What case? I asked since I know that I have not violated anything. So I told him I will see him in Court. So yes, I will indeed see him in Court. The streetlight deal, it is just tip of the iceberg," Pedregosa ended.
A call was made to the Dingle Mayor's office for his side however TNT was told the mayor was unavailable due to a meeting with the department heads.