Cebu City exec, wife accused of anomaly

CEBU CITY — The head of City Hall’s business permit section, along with his wife, has been accused of pocketing payments by a KTV bar owner.

Santiago Algarme and his wife Lucrecia reportedly received P453,789 from Dr. Patricio Soco but allegedly did not turn over the entire amount to the city government.

The Algarmes have denied the allegations but the city attorney’s office is nevertheless investigating.

Members of the staff of Mayor Tomas Osmeña assigned to monitor tax collection are now gathering evidence against the couple.

Osmeña, upon assuming office in July, vowed not to give second chances to any City Hall employee found guilty of graft and corruption.

Soco, who owns Dream Place Fastfoods and KTV on Pelaez street and two similar establishments on V. Gullas street and at Foodstreet on Osmeña Boulevard, has accused Algarme of pocketing his payments.

There is now a move to relieve Algarme as head of the business permit section pending the outcome of the investigation.

Algarme described the move as unfair, saying the investigation is not yet over and that he and his wife are innocent of the charges.

Mrs. Algarme claimed Soco merely misled investigators into believing she received the amount he mentioned in his affidavit.

But in an interview, Mrs. Algarme said that sometime in 1993, or three years before she retired, Soco hired her to help facilitate his business and liquor permits.

In exchange, Soco reportedly promised her a P1,000 monthly honorarium but never fulfilled it, claiming his business was losing.

She refused to comment when asked if facilitating the permits for Soco did not violate the law.

Soco, however, denied hiring Mrs. Algarme to help him facilitate his business permits, saying it was she who volunteered her services.

Soco said that after he bought the bars in 1993, a friend introduced him to Mrs. Algarme. Since then, Mrs. Algarme allegedly always dropped by to demand money from Soco even if she failed to give him his permits.

But Algarme said those tasked to inspect business establishments are not his men but employees of the city treasurer’s office.

"It was highly impossible to influence the inspectors of the treasurer‘s office to refrain from imposing sanctions against Mr. Soco’s establishments," Algarme said.