• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Bacolod City Legal Office (CLO) has ordered two employees of the Office of the Building Official (OBO) to respond to an extortion complaint against them.
The city Public Information Office said Jan. 23 that the CLO “is probing a complaint against two OBO personnel for extortion”, adding they allegedly “demanded P5,000 to expedite the OBO clearance approval on Jan. 11, 2024” during a mayor’s permit renewal inspection.
The two, whose names were not revealed pending result of the investigation, have been required to respond to the complaint and address the accusation against them within three days.
They already received the order to explain within three days, the city said.
Mayor Alfredo Benitez has stressed on several occasions that he has “zero tolerance for corruption, for abuse, and neglect of duty”.
“This administration is persistent in its policy of zero-tolerance for corruption, abuse of power, and willful neglect of duty,” Benitez said. “To attain this, we have started dismantling the old, traditional system of governance and have started to embrace the opportunities for change presented by digitalization.”
In his State of the City Address last year, the mayor said the OBO is among the first offices to adopt the Integrated Business Permits and Licensing System of the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
“Mas hapos na mag-apply sang building permit o certificate of occupancy sa OBO,” Benitez said. “By making bureaucracy simple, efficient, and convenient to every single Bacolodnon, we stay true to our promise of accountability of public office and we foster the public’s trust.”
The OBO also started efforts for “contactless processing” of building permit applications late last year in a bid to eliminate corruption, and ensure faster transaction and release of permits. | CGC
