CEBU CITY - This city's mayor, Alvin Garcia, welcomes any investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas into his regular golf-playing during office hours.
The mayor said the anti-graft agency can docket any issue it wants if it finds a reason to investigate.
Garcia's playing golf at least twice a week from noon to three in the afternoon was exposed by former mayor Tomas Osmeña, his erstwhile friend and ally who has now become his bitter critic and most serious political threat.
Osmeña said the golf games take the mayor away from his duties at City Hall.
Deputy Ombudsman Nicanor Cruz gave Virginia Santiago, director of the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas, the go-signal to start an investigation into Garcia's golf-playing.
Santiago said the decision to investigate Garcia arose from an opinion by the Civil Service Commission's local office that public officials should respect government time before engaging in personal matters.
The mayor himself has admitted playing golf every Tuesday and Thursday from noon until three o'clock, saying he does it for his health and that he has not violated anything since he is not bound by official time.
Garcia is confident any investigation will not prosper, saying there are a lot of government documents that say elected officials do not have to report to their offices at specific times.
"The investigation will be good because this will clear out the issue. It is very clear in the Revised Administrative Code and the Local Government Code that mayors don't have specific office hours because he is on call 24 hours a day," he said.
Vice Mayor Renato Osmeña, one of the mayor's golfing buddies, also sees nothing wrong with playing golf as long as it does not affect the performance of one's duties.
"But if by playing golf you are neglecting your duties, then that is an issue," he said.
But unlike Garcia, Osmeña said he plays golf only when his schedule permits and that he does not stick to a specific golfing schedule.
"I don't have a golf schedule. I only play when I can. Sometimes I even forego playing golf on weekends and holidays because of other engagements that are of the city's concern," he said.