CEBU, Philippines - The mystery on who prepared the obligation request and the payment vouchers for the controversial P98.9 million Balili transaction was finally solved yesterday after the admission of a staff from the provincial treasurer’s office that she prepared the documents upon the order of the treasurer himself.
Although she found it “abnormal and irregular” Charity Saluntao admitted before the members of the ad hoc committee of the provincial board investigating the Balili transaction that she caused the preparations of the obligation requests and the payment vouchers.
Saluntao, an administrative aide assigned for the preparations of payrolls and vouchers at the provincial treasurer’s office, said she was ordered by provincial treasurer Roy Salubre.
According to Saluntao, there were documents that Emerciano Sabellano, staff of Provincial Board Member Juan Bolo, gave to Salubre before she was ordered to prepare the OBR and the vouchers.
Saluntao however could no longer recall the exact date and time when the documents were given by Sabellano.
Saluntao admitted that it was “not normal” for her and the provincial treasurer’s office to prepare the obligation request because it is supposed to be the requisitioning office, which the office of the governor, that will prepare it.
In fact, the OBR form is only signed by the requisitioning office and the budget office. Saluntao said that after preparing the documents she gave it to Salubre and did not know anymore what happened next.
Although she said it could be that these were brought to the cash division for the issuance of the check.
Saluntao said she did not know who prepared the check, but there are two people in the cash division, Yolanda Cabando and Sharon del Rosario, would could have prepared it.
After Saluntao’s appearance the ad hoc committee is already waiting for the sworn statements of Salubre, Provincial Assessor Anthony Sususco, Provincial Engineer Eulogio Pelayre and Budget Officer Emmie Gingoyon before they will decide to terminate their investigation.
The ad hoc committee is also asking copies of the affidavits that were already gathered by the review committee created by Governor Gwendolyn Garcia headed by the National Bureau of Investigation.
The provincial board’s ad hoc committee is looking into the transaction after it was found out that 20.2 hectares of the property was submerged or was part of timberland.
The ground survey of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources revealed that only 4.5 hectares of the property bought by Capitol is dry land.–Fred P. Languido/NLQ