[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’GREASE MONEY | Job hire accused of asking money from city hall clients’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
[/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=’custom’ color=”]
Thursday, April 27, 2017
[/av_textblock]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
ILOILO City – Accused of demanding grease money from city hall clients, a job hire was fired from the City Assessor’s Office.
City Administrator Hernando Galvez terminated Maria Cristina Parreño’s contract yesterday, citing several complaints that the Iloilo City Complaint Center (ICCC) received against the employee.
Parreño was given the chance to answer the complaints but she refused.
“(This led) us to conclude that the charges imputed against her are true. The complaints are supported by receipts and pieces of ephemeral evidence,” said Galvez.
Parreño could not be reached for comment as of this writing.
She was hired under the City Assessor’s Office’s Maintenance RPT Project. Her contract was supposed to end on June 30, 2017 yet.
According to Galvez, the complainants accused Parreño of promising to speed up their city hall transactions if they give her money.
“Parreño’s act of receiving money in exchange for her promise to do something for and their behalf at city hall is clearly violative of the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007,” said Galvez.
The Act prohibits “fixing” in government transactions. It defines a “fixer” as “any individual, whether or not officially involved in the operation of a government office or agency, who has access to people working therein, and whether or not in collusion with them, facilitates speedy completion of transactions for pecuniary gain or any other advantage or consideration.”
The ICCC received four written and several phoned complaints against Parreño. One of the complaints, Jenever Nievares of Barangay Bagumbayan, Miag-ao, Iloilo, claimed that October last year Parreño offered to facilitate an aunt’s tax declaration for a house in Arevalo district.
For such service, Parreño asked P65,000 inclusive of the fees and taxes due to the city government, said Nievares.
If the complainant were to be believed, her aunt “advanced” P35,000 to Parreño and on Dec. 2, 2016 gave the job hire an additional P33,000.
Parreño issued a receipt but this did not reflect the actual amount received; what was indicated was P32, 533.32 only, said Nievares.
On the other hand, Luzilda Española of Barangay MacArthur, La Paz district complained that just this January Parreño offered to process her tax declaration but that she should give the job hire P2,000.
The payment transpired at a fast food chain near city hall, according to Española.
The complainant further alleged that on Parreño’s second demand, she gave P1,700.
Parreño also informed her that the City Engineer’s Office would conduct an inspection together with the City Assessor’s Office, said Española.
The complainant, however, discovered after a month that her papers could no longer be found at city hall.
According to Galvez, the city government has the right to terminate the services of a job hire for a cause.
“The act of violating the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007 has been further aggravated by the failure of the person complained of to make good of her promises and representation and to also return the money which she received from the hapless city government clients notwithstanding representations,” added Galvez.
The city administrator, however, did not say if the city government will prosecute Parreño.
Section 3 (Criminal Liability for Fixers) of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007 states: “Fixers shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment not exceeding six years or a fine of not less than P20,000 but not more than P200,000 or both fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.”/PN
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
