BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – The Good Governance Committee here has announced it will be accepting complaints on potentially anomalous financial transactions under the Leonardia government starting today, 11 July 2022.
City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III said that the committee aims to chart a guide for the present administration to improve existing practices and to ensure that all future transactions are legally in order.
Ting said that their priority as of now is finishing the liquidation of cash transactions to track where government funds have been allotted in the past years.
Ting added that aside from their appeal to accommodate and forward complaints, the committee will also initiate investigations of anomalous transactions flagged by Commission on Audit (COA), review on-going projects, and examine existing contracts.
Informants who will come forward to the City Legal Office that serves as the Secretariat of the Committee will be protected by the government’s witness protection program and the information they will submit will reportedly be evaluated on a case-to-case basis.
Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo ‘Albee’ Benitez officially introduced the committee on July 1 through an executive order giving it the mandate to look into previous transactions of the city especially those involving its public funds to determine if allegations of graft and corruption have been committed by city government officials.
Standing on his promise to build a clean and transparent government, Benitez deemed the creation of the committee necessary to “restore the public’s trust and confidence in the local government.”
