• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Mayor Alfredo Benitez said this morning, Nov. 3, that he has ordered City Legal Officer (CLO), Atty. Romeo Carlos Ting Jr., to do an impartial investigation on alleged anomalous transactions at the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO).
Benitez said during the press briefing that he will also ask the Sangguniang Panlungsod to hold in abeyance its own investigation on allegations of corruption at BTAO, pending the result of the CLO probe.
Ting, who was with the mayor at the press conference, said he will submit the result of his investigation in 10 days, starting Nov. 3.
But Benitez said the CLO investigation “is not whimsical on my part. There were complaints and issues raised that require an impartial investigation; in the meantime, I think it’s better that we have another BTAO OIC (officer-in-charge).”
The mayor, in Memorandum No. 0168 dated Nov. 1, named former Negros Occidental Board Member Patrick Lacson, his consultant on traffic concerns, as BTAO OIC.
He said that while the issues and subsequent relief of Major Junji Liba as BTAO head started during an incident with Councilor Al Victor Espino late last month, the former also failed to answer various complaints forwarded to him.
“As early as couple of months ago, we have submitted three folders of complaints na wala nasabat ni (Liba). At the end of the day, it’s really about trust and confidence,” Benitez said.
For any public official, public trust should go beyond what is standard, he added. “We would like to portray that all public officials in Bacolod are above standards. “I’m asking everybody to step up and put their best foot forward to ensure that the public’s trust is beyond doubt.”
Lacson said his priority as BTAO OIC is efficiency and zero corruption.
The BTAO office has started transferring to Bazket BCD at Lacson Street, from the compound of the Bacolod City Police Office. | CGC
