3-STAR SQUEALER: City Hall snitch blows whistle on mayor’s allies

By: Emme Rose Santiagudo

THE Iloilo City Hall whistleblower who used the three-star signature in his exposé letter surfaced again, this time revealing alleged corrupt practices of some of the employees working under the administration of Mayor Jerry Treñas.

The name Juan Dela Cruz became sensational at City Hall after he wrote and circulated a letter detailing the alleged defective weddings processed by the Local Civil Registrar’s Office (LCRO) under Romeo Caesar “Juncae” Manikan.

What made Dela Cruz’s letter more interesting are the three stars he used to sign the letter.

Treñas immediately ordered an investigation into Dela Cruz’s claim amid questions raised by Manikan and some City Hall observers.

As if to prove that he is not singling Manikan, Dela Cruz again circulated a letter addressed to Treñas dated Sept 1, 2019.

The letter was first sent to a local radio station.

(The next statements attributed to Dela Cruz were unedited, based on a copy of the letter secured by DG, thus the grammatical errors – editor).

In his letter, Dela Cruz appealed to the mayor to investigate some employees working at the City Hall. He mentioned two executive assistants and political allies of Treñas – Francis Te and Fernando Rico.

“Your EA Francis Te is a supplier of City Hall and does not follow the specs found in the PR. Ang request is A20 ang naga-abot sa mga opisina substandard kag ginahambal lang nga ‘indi magreklamo kay iya na ni Sir Te’,” he said.

Dela Cruz also accused Rico of engaging in anomalous transactions at the City Hall.

“Another EA of yours that has anomalous transactions in the City Hall is Fernando Rico. Rico is engaged in infrastructure construction using the license of MVG. In return, they just pay 3% for the use of the license and get 20% of the contract amount as SOP. What a shameful to you Level Up,” he stressed.

He also tagged City Budget Officer Nina Atinado as a “big-time money lender” to job hires.

“City Budget Officer Nina Atinado is a big-time money lender sa mga job hire whereby unethical and holds hostage all job hires under sa iya and pressures them to borrow from her, ang may nakaprenda ATM sa iya indi dali ma-terminate,” he said.

Without specifying the name, he also claimed that the City Assessor is also mired in heavy corruption.

“The City Assessor is also into heavy corruption by accepting bribes in exchange for lesser assessment fee for house improvement/repair or re-classification. Why don’t you begin with the Jaro Division? And why don’t you check reclassification of lots under the city from residential/industrial to commercial?” he furthered.

Dela Cruz also mentioned the previous administrator of the Iloilo City Community College who now works as a special assistant to the mayor, Matty Treñas.

“Also I know you are a great man and favor no one… this will come as a shock but investigate your cousin, Ms. Matty Treñas who is very corrupt and a money-making machine. Maty has a pending investigation according to the city council for many anomalous transactions in the City College as administrator with four teachers having complained for her. She also use the donations for the school for her personal use like travel abroad and buy new car that is why no record or donations or sponsors of school,” Dela Cruz claimed.

Dela Cruz also emphasized that the alleged corrupt practices of the said employees run counter to Treñas’ slogan of “Uswag” and “Level Up” where the mayor advocated for clean and good governance.

“They say they do this because you allow them and you benefit from them also. Mayor this is a slap on your face for ‘Uswag’ and level up for a clean government. They do not deserve our taxes nga i-sweldo sa ila as for now I will stop from there for you to give act on this. Mayor you should lead by example

They do not deserve you’re protection and support and should be made to answer for this corruptions, scandalous graft in your City Hall,” he concluded.

Whether Treñas will respond to the latest letter of Dela Cruz against some of his allies and employees remains a huge and interesting question.

Daily Guardian is still trying to get the side of the personalities named in the letter.

 

FIRST LETTER

This was not the first time that Dela Cruz sent a letter to Treñas.

Last July 1, 2019, Dela Cruz circulated a letter complaint addressed to the mayor on the alleged connivance of LCRO head Romeo Caesar “Juncae” Manikan with dismissed judge Ofelia Artuz, alongside other personalities to register unauthorized and unsolemnized marriages endorsed to the LCRO.

“All marriages solemnized by dismissed Judge Ofelia Artuz that were made ‘late registration’ from August 29, 2017 up to the present were not actually solemnized. Her associates in this Modus Operandi are JP of Branch 5, Lorenz of Branch 7 and Arnel, a bystander at the Hall of Justice. In the City Hall, they pay Manikan of the LCR to have the marriages registered,” he said in his letter complaint.

This was immediately responded by Treñas where he issued a show cause order against Juncae with regards to the alleged defective marriages registered at his office.

“Relative to the alleged fake and questionable certificates of marriage registered in your office, you are hereby ordered to show cause in writing within a period of three calendar days from receipt thereof, why no administrative disciplinary sanction be imposed against you for grave misconduct,” the order said.

Manikan responded to the show-cause order and reiterated that the letter complaint filed by Dela Cruz according to Manikan is “spurious, fictitious, and clearly manufactured ‘white paper’ masquerading as letter-complaint absurdly signed in the name of the colloquial term for the ordinary Filipino, ‘Juan Dela Cruz’ and mockingly signed with the patently false, fictitious, and ridiculously whimsical signature composed of ‘three stars and a sun’ clearly warrants no other logical, legal, and factual action.”

“No sane person in his right mind on a good day signs any paper that way and under such name unless the very clear intent is to make a mockery of the recipient thereof, or of the proceedings for which such paper is submitted for,” Manikan added.