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Militants dare Palace to sack Ebdane over lamppost scandal

One of the complainants in the plunder case arising from government purchase of overpriced lampposts used during the ASEAN Summit last January has dared Malacañang to sack Defense Chief and former public works and highway secretary Hermogenes Ebdane regarding his involvement in the controversial lamppost scam.

While, the defense chief was not named in the plunder complaint filed by various civil society groups in Cebu, the militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should compel her defense chief to resign and face possible criminal and administrative charges that would be filed against Ebdane in the immediate future.

“Ebdane is the principal author of the lamppost scam. Malacañang must show him the way out of the Department of Public Works and Highways. If the government is sincere in its fight to eradicate corruption, it would recommend the Office of the Ombudsman to include Ebdane in the plunder complaint,” said Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

Hicap said, Pamalakaya and its local affiliate Pamana-Sugbo are working double time to convince the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas to amend the plunder complaint and include the former DPWH chief in the charge sheet which stemmed from the procurement of
P 365.8 million worth of overpriced lampposts, which were installed during the 12th ASEAN Summit of Leaders last January.

Hicap, also a nominee of the militant party list group Anakpawis, said while it welcome the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman in Cebu ordering the 120-day suspension of Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano and Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza and 17 other officials of DPWH Region VII, the decision is still complete, because Ebdane was not included among those who were axed in connection with the lamppost scam.

The Ombudsman also recommended the filing of criminal charges against Gampik Construction and Development Corp. and Fabmik Construction and Equipment Co., the contractors which installed the 2,310 lampposts.

Hicap, also a nominee of the party list group Anakpawis, said aside from approving the project, Ebdane as chief of the DPWH at that time, also approved the installation of 30 lampposts in a private beach resort in Lapu-Lapu City.

Anakpawis and Pamalakaya also urged the Commission on Audit (COA) to immediately conduct a thorough audit of the Road Users Tax fund collected by LTO after reports confirmed that the funds were used to pay for the overpriced lampposts constructed in time for the ASEAN Summit in Cebu last January.

Both groups said COA audit is necessary since a national probe on use of government funds for anomalous transactions and narrow and corrupt interests of the few is of great importance or paramount to public interest. “COA should come in and make an independent assessment on the sky is the limit abuse and irregular expenditure of public funds,” they said.

Hicap said the national government withdrew P 435 million to pay the overpriced lampposts from the P 816 million of the Motor Vehicle Users Charge Fund. He said P 365.8 million were spent to buy lampposts and streetlights, while the rest were spent to road asphalting, traffic surveillance cameras and other beautification projects. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 01:01 | link | comments |

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