Ex-Lipa mayor denies graft raps

MANILA, Philippines - Former Lipa City mayor Oscar Gozos has maintained that all his projects were aboveboard and cleared by the Commission on Audit (COA).

Brushing aside charges aired by his successor that “ghost projects” marked his administration, Gozos said the projects met all audit requirements, citing as proof the inspection reports “duly signed and noted” by government auditor Lucila Rosales. 

Gozos was reacting to the complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman by incumbent city engineer Roldan Lopez, accusing him and six other former city officials of anomalous purchases of construction supplies and materials.

As a rule, Gozos said all government transactions undergo a pre-audit inspection by the COA before final payment is made to prevent anomalous and irregular payments.

The COA inspection is meant to confirm compliance with the pertinent contract provisions, especially in regard to quantity and quality of deliveries, he said.

According to him, this procedure was diligently followed in all the questioned transactions, as confirmed by appropriate COA inspection reports covering the projects.

Gozos said the allegations were baseless claims by his political opponents to distract public attention from his successor’s disqualification case now pending with the Supreme Court (SC), referring to incumbent Mayor Meynardo Sabili.

The Commission on Elections disqualified Sabili for lack of residency, a decision he has appealed before the SC.