Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia yesterday ordered two employees of the City Engineers Office placed under preventive suspension without pay for 30 days on recommendation of the City Legal Officer.

City Legal Officer Allan Zamora made the recommendations on the report of alleged irregularities in the implementation of the project in Maupay Creek, Brgy. 15, Bacolod City.

In his memorandum dated Nov. 22, Zamora recommended that engineer Joel Locsin and construction foreman Raymundo Dumdum be placed under preventive suspension without pay for 30 days during investigation of the case.

He also recommended that Bernardo Samonte Jr., Cashier II of the City Treasurer's Office, be relieved of his functions and re-assigned to other functions in the CTO.

Earlier, Leonardia had instructed Zamora to investigate the reported anomalies in the implementation of the project for the rehabilitation, dredging and declogging of Maupay Creek in Brgy. 15.

Initial findings revealed that among the names of the 15 individuals, supposed to perform work under the work order approved by the Mayor, was a certain Francisco Bajador, who was said to have died in Feb. 12, 2005.

It was also discovered that not all of the listed 15 individuals had worked on the project despite the fact that, according to the payroll, they received their salaries for July 1 to Aug. 31. Signatures of the 15 individuals that appeared in the payroll were also discovered to be forged.

It was also found out that the P56,000 reflected in the payroll of the workers was released by Bernardo Samonte Jr. to casual employee Marianne Bantigue.

Zamora said that by releasing the P56,000 to Bantigue, Samonte violated Memorandum 14 issued by the Mayor on July 14,2005.

In the memorandum, Leonardia had ordered that salaries and wages shall be paid directly to, and shall be personally received by the casual employees themselves. He also ordered that in the payment and receipt by the casual employees of their salaries and wages, no authority or special power of attorney shall be honored.

Zamora said he also issued a memorandum directing Assistant City Legal Officer Gliceria Caduhada and Bartolome Malde to conduct an investigation on the case and to submit their recommendations within 30 days. He said part of their investigation is to determine if Francisco Bajador, one of those listed in the payroll, is dead or still alive.

Zamora said that if the charges are proven, he may recommend the termination of the employees involved. He said they may also file criminal charges against them with the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.

He said the questions raised in the implementation of the project for the rehabilitation, dredging and declogging of the Maupay Creek project involve dishonesty, grave misconduct or neglect in the performance of duty.*CGS

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