• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Sagay City Sangguniang Panlungsod Finance committee is slated to conduct an inquiry into the unreleased P7.3 million health benefits for medical frontliners who had rendered service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vice Mayor Leo Rafael Cueva, the presiding officer, disclosed on Tuesday that City Treasurer Juvy Pinongan was invited to attend the inquiry today, to shed light on her failure to release the P7.3 million Health Emergency Allowance of Sagay City health personnel.
Cueva said he is hoping that Pinongan will attend the inquiry.
Mayor Narciso “Narwin” Javelosa Jr. disclosed on Monday that Pinongan is currently under investigation by the City Legal Office, in connection with the HEA complaints of doctors, nurses, and other health workers, which were brought to his attention through a formal letter.
In the meantime, Javelosa said he initially borrowed P7.3 million to pay for the HEA of the health personnel.
Pinongan was reported to have withdrawn the HEA funds, totalling P22 million, on August 16, which she started to distribute from the 19th to 22nd.
However, for still unknown reasons, she failed to distribute the remaining amount of P7.3 million, Javelosa said.
City Administrator Atty. Ryan Bonghanoy said the investigation of the Legal Office, which was ordered by Mayor Javelosa, is expected to be completed within this week, with the recommendations to serve as the basis for their next actions.
After his initial meeting with Pinongan, Bonghanoy said he was told by the City Treasurer that the reason why she was not able to distribute the P7.3 million is because she is still reconciling the figures.
He added that Pinongan further claimed that the vault where the P7.3 million is being kept, cannot be opened as she forgot the lock’s combination.
Javelosa, on the other hand, said he did not believe the claims of Pinongan, and following the incident, had the vault sealed, pending investigations.*
