Two councilors eye longer suspension for Malabon mayor

Opposition councilors who successfully petitioned the Sandiganbayan for the suspension of Malabon City Mayor Amado Vicencio on graft charges, yesterday vowed to keep the chief executive out of the city hall for as long as they can.

The minority bloc, led by Councilors Edilberto Torres and Chiqui Roque-Villaroel, claimed they can do it by unearthing more anomalies.

Vicencio is currently serving a 90-day preventive suspension order even as his lawyers questioned the directive before the Supreme Court.

Torres and Roque-Villaroel, who petitioned the case, vowed to expose all anomalies at city hall.

"Now that we have been given the opportunity, we might be able to unearth more irregularities. We hope the mayor’s suspension doesn’t end in 90 days," Torres said.

The opposition councilors said they hope that Vice Mayor Alan Yambao, now acting mayor, will help them consolidate the evidence gathered so far in connection with charges the suspended mayor faces before the anti-graft court. Yambao was a former ally of Vicencio until they parted ways after the 2001 elections due to political differences.

Yambao refused to comment on the possible extension of Vicencio’s suspension, saying only he will extend his cooperation as acting mayor to ferret out the truth.

Suspended with Vicencio were Ma. Lida Sarmiento, Pio Dadula, Councilor Lauro Borja and city treasurer Ernesto Pabustan. The respondents were members of the local pre-qualifications, bids, and awards committee (PBAC) headed by Vicencio.

They were charged for the awarding of a contract to an allegedly unqualified and unlicensed contractor-bidder in the now scrapped construction of the P122-million city hall building in Barangay Catmon.