Binauganan
market demolition: Whodunit, really?
CALL
it a classic case of whodunit.
So much have been said, so many stories
have been written regarding the controversial
demolition of the old public market in
Barangay Binauganan, Tarlac City.
But still, the light at the end of the
tunnel in this raging issue could not be seen,
and at the most, everything appears too
clouded, too hazy for laymen to discern what
the truth is behind all of these.
But first, the basics.
Unofficial conservative, again, conservative,
estimates have it that, more or less, a
whooping P3 million in people’s money was
lost in the issue.
The loss was in the form of structures
– roofs, steel structures and other
construction materials – that have been
dismantled from the market.
So far, no one at the City Hall can
officially explain where these structures
went. And
the most controversial issue here is:
Where did the money supposedly paid for
the dismantled structures go?
For the glaring truth is right there at
the City Treasurer’s Office – not a single
centavo supposedly generated from the
demolition of the market went to the
government’s coffers.
FLASHBACK
The
2-hectare property where the dismantled
structures stood was donated during the early
1970s to the government by Serafin David,
brother of the late former Mayor Lino David.
Originally, six hectares of land in
Binauganan were donated by the Davids to the
government, with 2 hectares intended for a
public market, while the four remaining
hectares were re-conveyed in 1987 in favor of
the original owner after the government failed
to erect a municipal building and a
slaughterhouse in the property.
The deed of donation for the property
stated that, should the government fail to use
the land for which this was donated for, it
will have to be returned to its original
owners.
Since the Binauganan market was
constructed, it was not occupied because most
of the vendors preferred to sell their wares
at the public market in the city proper, as
the village is about five kilometers away from
the business district.
During the term of former Mayor Gelacio
Manalang, negotiations with the Davids took
place for the use of the 2-hectare land where
the old market stood, for a hospital or sports
complex.
On January last year, an agreement was
reached between the city government and the
Davids, and on March 2001, a resolution was
adopted by the city council authorizing
Manalang to have the property re-conveyed.
However, the former mayor did not
immediately act on the plan due to the lack of
City Hall funds.
It was shortly after Mayor Genaro
Mendoza was elected into office last year when
the demolition of the old market took place,
apparently acting on the previous council’s
resolution.
THE
CONTROVERSY
It was between August and September
last year when the Binauganan market was
demolished, with its steel structures and
roofs now inexplicably missing.
Surprisingly, records at the office of
city engineer, Jose Dungca, showed that no
permit was issued for the market’s
demolition.
Moreover, there are no records at the
City Hall showing that the demolition and
acquisition of the dismantled structures by a
private group led by one Benjie Carreon and
Sebastian Cruz underwent a public auction, a
requirement set by law.
Carreon and Cruz, who are reportedly
engaged in the business of recycling scrap
construction materials, reportedly transacted
with ranking City Hall officials on behalf of
Jesus Nalupta – who happens to be the mayor
of Batac, Ilocos Norte – for the purchase of
the dismantled structures.
City Hall insiders have it that two
neophyte city councilors – a man and a woman
– brokered
the deal.
And it was also found that the disposal
of the dismantled properties was not appraised
by the Commission on Audit (COA) and the city
general services office (CGSO).
This, even as the mysteriously missing
government-owned structures remained to be
recorded in the city accountant office’s
book of accounts as still intact.
HARD
TRUTHS
Basically,
and technically speaking, any demolition of
government-owned structures is the sole
responsibility of the chief executive.
In the case of Tarlac City, it is
therefore the city mayor.
Thus, it is the responsibility of Mayor
Genaro Mendoza.
For it is the mayor who has been
mandated to oversee the city, and that
includes seeing to it that all public
properties are intact, unless of course he or
she decides to have these sold or relinquished
for justifiable reasons.
Definitely, selling or relinquishing
government properties should undergo legal
processes, and in the case of the Binauganan
market’s demolition, it must have a
demolition order duly signed by the city
engineer.
Before the dismantled public properties
are sold, these should first undergo an
appraisal by the CGSO, which should be
concurred with by the COA.
Then, there must be a public auction,
which also requires the official publication
of a notice in a duly accredited newspaper of
general circulation.
Quite curiously, all the supposed
stories that circulated regarding the
Binauganan market either camouflaged or
attempted to distance Mayor Mendoza from the
controversy.
All the stories had an unlikely target:
Vice Mayor Miguel Tañedo and the city
councilors.
Which, if analyzed more profoundly,
appeared to have been designed to use the Sangguniang
Panlungsod as a scapegoat of whoever is
responsible for the anomaly.
EPILOGUE
In one instance, when a member of the
city council has complained how the issue has
besieged their ranks, a ranking elected city
official dialed a number on his mobile phone
when the council member threatened to tell all
about the Binauganan market controversy.
The person at the other end of the line
happened to be this top city official’s
brother, who has been reported several times
of running City Hall affairs by “remote
control.”
The official told his brother to stop
all the anti-council publicity being launched
with regards to the Binauganan market issue.
