Progress of plaint vs. governor questioned

More than two months since the filing of a complaint on whether the Office of the Governor committed any violation for entering into contracts without review of the provincial board, the complainant, board member Gabriel Luis Quisumbing, wants to know its status.

Quisumbing, who is among the six board members who filed a complaint before the Ombudsman-Visayas against Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and members of the Bids and Awards Committee, wrote a letter to director Virginia Santiago last Friday inquiring about the status of the investigation.

Members of the Committee on Budget and Appropriations, of which Quisumbing is chairman, discovered these contracts during the initial hearings of the first supplemental budget.

The committee found out that an appropriation was intended for the janitorial and security services which means that contracts were already forged with the Province of Cebu by that time.

This surprised the board members since it is a common practice for contracts to be signed by the governor to have authority from the board.

The Office of the Governor said nothing was illegal considering that the item already has an appropriation in the annual budget which means it no longer needs review. - Ferliza C. Contratista