BUTUAN City––A group of young militants demonstrated on the streets of this city as the nation marked the 27th anniversary of the Edsa Revolution last Monday, to denounce the corruption that allegedly took place in city hall when it auctioned off old heavy equipment and vehicles in 2011.
ANTI-GRAFT. Young protesters denounce the alleged corruption in Butuan City.
With streamers that read “Scrap na Kurap,” “Scrap d Kurap,” “Kausaban asa naman?”, “Kausaban sa Butuan: ang saad nga wala matuman,” the protesters took to the streets and openly decried the perceived anomalies in the bidding of city hall’s “unused and unserviceable materials” on April 26, 2011. The property auctioned off included several heavy equipment, vans, jeeps and other vehicles.
The alleged anomalies were exposed when a local radio station interviewed the person who supposedly won in the bidding for a Mitsubishi Lancer and KIA Vesta van, among others, that were soldfor P 292,300.
Ricardo Bolisay, owner of Keith Light and Heavy Equipment Trading located at Saint Joseph, Butuan, supposedly won in the bidding but he revealed that he did not know “Edgardo Cubillas” who allegedly signed the bid form on behalf of his company.
Emmanuel Vacalares, owner of ESV Trading based in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, also supposedly won the bidding for another set of city hall properties––heavy equipment and jeeps, among others––for some P1.473 million. But like Bolisay, he said his company did not authorize “Adolfo Blacano” to represent the firm in the public auction.
No investigation has been ordered by city hall despite the damning revelations and Mayor Ferdinand Amante is now being criticized for his seeming indifference.
Protesters said they suspected a cover-up in the so-called “scrap issue” even as they pointed out that the exposes were inconsistent with Amante’s “Kausaban Karon Na” slogan which his group capitalized on against the Plazas. *