QC fights corruption at barangay level

When Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. turned over to the city’s 142 barangays their shares in real property tax collection a few years ago, doubts were raised whether the barangay captains could become effective fiscal managers and not be tempted to commit irregularities.

The mayor made the gambit in a bid to pass down to the barangay level the effective fiscal management he had implemented in transforming a financially distressed local government unit into the richest city in the country for the last four years.

When he assumed office in July 2001, Belmonte instituted several reforms to fight graft and corruption in the city’s bureaucracy, which targeted government workers moonlighting as fixers.

The mayor launched a crackdown on employees who issue fake receipts. Five employees and two ranking officials were eventually axed.

Today, the fight against graft and corruption is at the grassroot level.

Barangay officials have continued to prove that they deserve the trust and confidence accorded to them by Belmonte.

After having turned over some P1.5 billion in tax shares since October 2003, not a single case of graft and corruption has been filed against a single barangay official for mismanagement of funds.

Xyrus Lanot, president of the Quezon City Liga ng Barangay, said corruption at the barangay is next to impossible because of the safety nets that were placed to ensure that barangay funds are spent properly.

"Corruption will not prosper. You have to pass through seven barangay kagawads, the bids and awards committee, a post audit team, a special legislative committee and a corresponding resolution duly approved by the City Council," Lanot said.

Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, in a recent workshop-seminar held at City Hall, told barangay captains that almost P 1.2 trillion has been lost to corruption in the government during the last five years.

"This is how huge amount we are losing to corruption and it’s really time to eradicate it," Gutierrez said.

She said her office has committed itself to shepherd a convergence process leading to the formation of a comprehensive anti-corruption program involving various sectors of society, including local government units and the barangays.

During the seminar, Gutierrez and her team cited the vital role of the barangay captains in the fight against graft and corruption.