• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The House committee on public accounts on Monday, Feb. 3, issued a show-cause order against Silay City Mayor Joedith Gallego for not attending its inquiry twice in a row as it dismissed his excuses as “unacceptable”.
Gallego was nowhere to be found during the resumption of the probe into the alleged irregularities on the city government’s implementation of three mega infrastructure projects worth P1.1 billion.
The mayor instead sent a letter to the committee, asking to be excused from the hearing as he cannot leave Silay City due to the imminent eruption of Mt. Kanlaon, wherein he is also preparing the evacuation centers for internally displaced persons, according to the chairperson, Abang Lingkod partylist Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano.
Dismissing the reasons as not valid and unacceptable, Paduano moved before the committee to issue a show-cause order against Gallego and for the mayor to explain why he should not be held for contempt.
The lawmaker said that Gallego can delegate somebody to take over his function as he may able to “fly in and fly out” after the hearing.
Silay City Legal Officer Janus Jarder was also absent when he was supposed to serve his detention penalties on Jan. 6 for lying and for being evasive in answering questions being asked by the committee members during the inquiry last month.
Vice Mayor Thomas Maynard Ledesma and several members of the Silay City Council as well some department heads attended the hearing.
If Gallego will still not attend the next inquiry, Paduano said “obviously, he is evading to answer questions from the committee members.”
On the plan to pursue a disbarment case against Jarder, who is also the chairman of city’s the Bids and Awards Committee, the legislator said the committee will seek the legal opinion of the House Legal Department on how to go about it.
Antipolo City Second District Rep. Romeo Acop noted that Jarder, being a lawyer, is considered an officer of the court.
He has to obey the legal procedures, said Acop, who moved to cite Jarder in contempt and for his immediate detention during the Dec. 18 inquiry.
However, Paduano asked the committee to delay the serving of detention to Jan. 6 instead.
During the resumption of the hearing, Councilor Darryl Hinolan, chairman of the Silay City Council committee on peace and order, told the committee members that Jarder attended the Christmas party of the city employees on Dec. 27.
Jarder, who did not report for duty at the Silay City Hall after being cited by the House body for contempt, was also issued a show-cause order by Gallego to explain why he failed to turn himself over to the House of Representatives to serve his detention punishment.
Lailyn Ortiz, regional director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government for Negros Island Region, who also attended the congressional inquiry, said that Jarder could be held liable for administrative charges for insubordination, among others. | GB
