DOE chief and mandaue market head told: Answer accusations of impropriety

CEBU, Philippines - Acting on a complaint filed before its office, the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas asked Department of Energy (DOE) 7 Director and the Mandaue City market administrator to file their reply on allegations of impropriety in the performance of their duty.

Assistant Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Virginia Santiago directed DOE Regional Director Engineer Antonio Labios and market administrator Mussoline Suliva to file their comments within 15 days from receipt of the letter.

In the complaint filed by Amado Gochoco, a member of the Consumers Rights for Economic Welfare (Crew), he asked the anti-graft office to investigate the two officials for misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service and oath of office.

Gochoco attached the Arangkada column of Leo Lastimosa published in The Freeman dated October 29, 2011.

In the said column entitled “Pusta sa Pikas,” Lastimosa said the Crew was tasked to scrutinize the accuracy of the weighing scales and calibrate the gasoline stations in Cebu City and Mandaue City.

Lastimosa said during the Crew’s first day of inspection in Carbon market everything was orderly. Many of the scales were found defective and the vendors were told to address this, Lastimosa wrote in Cebuano.

But Lastimosa said, problems started when the Crew started inspecting the gasoline stations in Mandaue City.

“Duha ka gasoline stations nagdumili pag-atiman nila. Si Direktor Antonio Labios niingon nga wa nila tugoti ang Crew pagsusi sa gasoline stations. Si Mussoline Suliva nikuwestiyon sa kapakyas sa Crew pagpakiglambigit sa iyang buhatan,” Lastimosa narrated. (Two gasoline stations refused to entertain them while Director Antonio Labios said they did not authorize the Crew to inspect the gasoline stations. Mussoline Suliva questioned the Crew’s failure to coordinate with his office),”

Lastimosa stressed that the Crew were just doing their jobs.

Suliva, however, said in an interview with The Freeman that although what the Crew did was right, it would have been more appropriate for them to coordinate with his office before making inspections.

“It’s better they coordinated our office before conducting an inspection in the market so that whoever tampered with their weighing scales can be arrested and fined,” he said in Cebuano.

What the Crew told them, Suliva added, was that they will be having an inspection in the slaughterhouse and not in the Mandaue City market.

“They told me they will be having an activity in slaughterhouse but I told them to coordinate with the management of slaughterhouse,” he said in Cebuano.

The Freeman tried to contact Lavios but he could not be reached. – (FREEMAN)