Mayor Arturo Radaza VS. Efrain Pelaez

[LytSlpr]

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The person is innocent until proven guilty. It's very easy to accused a person but very hard to proved. Any person who has the money and resources can make any accusations without any proof.

i presume you are speaking for Radaza? have you had any transaction in LapuLapu City? if you've had, then you will be saying otherwise.

[pam]

walay ayo!!!

[AVriLRockZ!!!]

Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Radaza camp to critic: tax evader

CRITICS of Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza’s administration will soon see the officials fighting back.

Officials of the City Government plan to demolish buildings, revoke business permits and collect millions of unpaid taxes.

City Attorney Vincent Joseph Lim said yesterday that they already gave Efrain Pelaez Jr., president of Mactan Island Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI), and his members notices of their violations.

“And if they fail to act, we take legal options,” said Lim.

City Administrator Teodulo Ybañez called Pelaez a “tax evader.” He said the businessman’s foundation is not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Richard Sison, Radaza’s lawyer, said Pelaez’s move against Radaza is “blackmail, pure and simple.”

Sison thinks Pelaez’s group is trying to hide their skeletons by filing the complaint against the mayor first.

But Pelaez said Radaza and the city officials are not addressing the real issues, and raised unrelated issues instead.

“You can call me Satan but what is important is the message. And please answer the question that I am asking,” said Pelaez.

He had accused the City Government of overpricing in the purchase of 470 computers for public schools in 2005. He filed anti-graft complaint against Radaza and other officials.

The City reportedly paid the supplier, Kein Enterprises, P23,476,500 worth of personal computers.

Pelaez alleged the cheaper Celeron brand was delivered instead of the more expensive Pentium 4, the one specified in the contract.

With finality

On the City’s allegations against him, Pelaez said the SEC registration was already renewed and the tax evasion case was dismissed with finality.

He said the case was harassment and stemmed from a businessman who owed him a huge sum of money. He said the P18 million is the cost of a condo, not the tax due for payment.

The non-renewal of SEC registration was purely ministerial and administrative errors committed by his staff, he added.

His foundation has existed for 12 years now and earned recognition for school buildings they donated and scholars they sponsored.

Lapu-Lapu City officials, without Radaza, organized a press conference yesterday and showed reporters eight business establishments listed in their chart of violations.

Permits

Establishments due for demolition for lack of building permits are Coral Point Beach and Yacht Club in Barangay Punta Engaño; Marina Mall in Barangay Pusok; Mactan South Gate Mall in Barangay Basak and Island Souvenirs in Peza 1, Barangay Pusok.

All buildings are owned or being rented by Pelaez, except for Island Souvenirs.

Business permit due for revocation and for closure are Mactan Rock Industries in Barangay Suba Basbas; East Point Marina Properties and Coral Point Development Corp. in Barangay Punta Engaño.

Except for Mactan Rock, which is managed by Antonio Tompar, the rest of the establishments are owned and managed by Pelaez.

Crown Regency Hotel, owned by Richard and Rafael King, was also listed with violations but it is now under litigation.

From Pelaez alone, the City will collect P5,409,838 in business and realty taxes.

When asked about the background of the supplier Kein Enterprises, which is reportedly not a computer distributor, Lim said he has no knowledge about it and referred reporters to the technical working group.

Lim is the chairman of the bids and awards committee. He could not remember the price of each computer.

As for the delivery of the cheaper Celeron brand instead of Pentium 4, Lim’s assistant, lawyer Michael Dignos, said the law prevents them from specifying brands of items.

What was specified was “Intel processor 533 megahertz,” which was followed, he said.

Dignos also said the supplier complied with all requirements in the checklist and was qualified.

The Cebu City Treasurer’s Office 2005 and 2006 records revealed that Kein Enterprises has a capital investment of P30,000, with gross sales for 2004 and 2005 that did not reach P5 million per annum.

However, it was allowed to participate in the bidding for a contract with an approved budget of P25 million.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña is now checking Kein’s background and gross sales, since the firm is based in Cebu City. (OCP)

---SUnStar Cebu

[hacxcena]

i presume you are speaking for Radaza? have you had any transaction in LapuLapu City? if you've had, then you will be saying otherwise.

I'm not bro, I just think that we need to handle thing's fairly and in due process. We shouldn't instantly believe of what other people are saying. We Filipinos instantly believe things that we hear and read feed by the media. Anybody can accuse a person without any proof.

[LytSlpr]

I'm not bro, I just think that we need to handle thing's fairly and in due process. We shouldn't instantly believe of what other people are saying. We Filipinos instantly believe things that we hear and read feed by the media. Anybody can accuse a person without any proof.

Fortunately or Unfortunately, it was a first-hand experience and not just from some person or the media's account.

I presume the people posting here also had the same first-hand experience because of the LapuLapu LGU's rampant and flagrant corruption.

I'll give you an idea, tungod sa ka-grabe ka lantaran sa korupsyon sa mactan, one does not need to read it in newspapers or watch it on TV or hear it on radio because people in business from all other cities in Cebu have one way or the other had a transaction or 2 with LapuLapu LGU because of MEPZ & the resort hotels.

[brownprose]

What's really the score, mayor?
Chris Malazarte, The Freeman Sept. 29, 2007

It appears that Lapulapu City Mayor, Arturo Radaza wants to get even with Mactan Island Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) president Efrain Pelaez Jr. by demolishing his businesses in the area for allegedly not paying or underpaying local taxes. If he makes good of what he says, he will only put himself more trouble and invite more flak from the public.

Mayor Radaza must have forgotten that he is a public servant. And as such, it is more than just a requisite of his official duties to answer the issues raised before him but above all he has the moral and legal duty to provide clarification of the same to assure the general public that he is not using his office or influence to make money out of the contracts he entered in behalf of the city.

The issue at hand is very clear and simple. Why 49,000 pesos for a clone computer? All that he needs to do is answer "the whys" and not "the hows" of the purchase. Why each computer costs as high as that when you can even buy it for less than 20,000 pesos? Why each computer costs as high as that without even a discount? We all know that for larger-than-usual purchases, you get to have some kind of discount. Why thirty of the computers also ended up in public high schools of island-barangays that do not even have electricity?

I remember two years ago, you can even buy a laptop for like 35,000 bucks. It makes me wonder or it's so unthinkable why those clone desktops should cost higher than branded laptops!

But city administrator Teodulo Ybañez says, "The procurement went through the process and it's legal." It doesn't always follow that just because it went through the legal process means it is not anomalous or questionable. As I have said it is not how they were purchased – it's why they cost so much.

Besides, the public is not ignorant that many of our officials try to legitimize pricing or a transaction by getting their way through the nitty-gritty of the law? There's just thousands of ways to do that and trying to say it's legal is a silly way to defend an obvious overpricing. And by the way, being legal is not always moral or right.

Mayor Radaza also needs to sift the issues here -- an alleged tax cheater and an accused cheater who is on top of one of the biggest and most profitable cities in the province. Thus, this is all about the taxes that Pelaez allegedly owes to the city and the anomalous purchase. The former is a matter, which to my mind, is private or separate from the truth that is at present sought not only by the people of Lapulapu but the people of Cebu in general.

Pelaez' problem is his problem. The bigger problem is that the mayor has become a major problem and the public deserves to know not because he is not only a public person but because he is the public's problem! Now, how can you entrust the city's problem if the person taking charge of the problem adds up to the many problems the city already has? Whew, what a problem, indeed.

Albert Einstein said, "Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with the important." And can you trust someone who's afraid to tell the truth?

As it goes, Radaza seems to be avoiding the real issue here. One can ask if demolishing Pelaez' businesses would hide the reality of the scam in which is he is presently involved. Definitely not. To the public's mind, he's not only diverting the issue, he is trying to prove that he can get back to anyone who questions his leadership. You see, he could just easily sue Pelaez or send a demand letter or the most, close his business 'til he pays. But demolition you said? Any Tom, Dick or Harry would know why Radaza would rather choose the harsher side of things – and your guess is as good as mine.

And what's wrong when your leadership is questioned? Why can't you just prove them wrong, mayor?

Send emails to trade.forumph@gmail.com

[vipvip68]

Guilty!

baga-a ug nawng aning Radaza uy. He's just using his position to bully businesses. Kaluoy intawn sa mga tenants sa Marina Mall given notices nga ipa explain why dili i-revoke ilang permits.

Kung laban pa gihapon mo ni Radaza... ask this question... Why just now? Why karon pa man ni gipa labas nga mga violations? Obviously he's just harassing the businessmen who oppose him para hadlokon and dili na mu pursue sa ilang mga reklamo on his corruption.

These are the type of leaders nga dapat ipa assasinate kay dili na madala sa atong justice system.

[INFRACTION]

OT: Sus, mayor Radaza... pahayaga tawn nang dalan padung sa airport oi... perting tawn ngitngit ta!!!

[mahleeh]

TAGAM!!! C Efrain Pelaez!!! kng ganahan unta ni cla ma wa na c RADAZA, ila na unta ni gi tabangan last election para ma pildi, dapat support cla sa kontra, daghan gud ni cla mga businessman, nya karun ra cla mu atubang ni RADAZA nga dili na matarug bsag unsaun, naka gamot na ni. ako pa niya, iya nlang pa guba iya mga buildings ky wala na change ma pildi pa nya c RADAZA. humana ang election uy!! TAGAM !!!

[smiky]

Mayor Radaza , manoy ... iyo .. ingko ... intawon oi palihug ... if naa man gani unta moburot .. dili na presyo sa computer , kanang imong itlog siguro manoy ... liman ka .. wa gyud ka matagam sa ASEAN summit nga penalty? Sunod baya ana manoy di na bulsa nimo ang moburot , basiin unya imong itlog , ako pa nimo ... tug-an na lang , well piya-it must die ... then so be it .. sige lang u've served the corrupted government long enough , its people like you who should be jailed instead of these criminals that were imprisoned for no reason. Kaya manoy , mintras sayo ba .. nga di pa ka danlakon tungod kay moburot na imong itlog , pareha sa pagpaburot nimo sa presyo sa PC , hunong na intawon , mauwaw ka, di ka maluoy sa imong mga anak tawgon ug e tease sa imga tawo , imong papa dako itlog tungod sa pangurakot. hehehhe bitaw , be a gentleman enough , if you need to clear your name, do so there is always our justice system to help you.