BACOLOD City – Amid allegations of corruption within the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO), a new officer-in-charge (OIC) has been designated.
In Memorandum No. 016, issued on Nov. 1, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez appointed Executive Assistant I Patrick Lacson as new OIC of BTAO, effective immediately.
The memo states, “Any memorandum previously issued by the undersigned that is in conflict with this order is hereby revoked.”
Lacson replaces Police Major Junji Liba, the assistant chief of the Traffic Enforcement Unit of the Bacolod City Police Office.
In a media interview, Mayor Benitez said some allegations against BTAO include unwarranted cancellation of citation tickets and allowing trucks to enter the city during a ban period.
The City Legal Office will investigate the allegations, he said.
These issues came to light after Abner Salvallon, a job order casual assigned as the BTAO building guard, figured in a controversy. He claimed that Councilor Al Victor Espino threatened him with a gun.
Espino has denied Salvallon’s allegation and is, himself, contemplating legal action against the BTAO building guard.
In a separate development, Atty. Pacifico Maghari III will be resigning from his position as city administrator.
City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr. confirmed that Maghari had submitted his resignation letter.
Attempts to reach Maghari for comment were unsuccessful as of this writing./PN
