MikeLigalig.com

By Rey Anthony Chiu
Philippine Information Agency

Building robust economy, sustaining a business friendly environment and addressing corruption can be both a government and civil society effort.

Jagna civil society and government pressed their rights as they blocked the assumption of a government agency official still saddled with a corruption case by denying his official reinstatement.

Jagna Mayor Exuperio Lloren said they padlocked the Land Transportation Jagna Extension Office to restrain reinstated registrar Leonardo Olayvar from assuming his new post.

Former LTO Jagna registrar Joel Maloloy-on also confirmed in a radio interview that the LTO office was padlocked and that the municipal hall authorities hold a key to the closed structure.

He also said this after Olayvar allegedly presented the town officials his assumption papers signed by LTO Secretary Reynaldo Berroya.

The office, the one leased by the Jagna Municipal government was accordingly padlocked as a sign of town protest on account of a Sangguniang Bayan Resolution of protest addressed to LTO regional officer Atty. Alex Leyson.

“As early as last week, the SB has crafted a resolution calling the LTO to block the Olayvar reinstatement but instead of acting on the resolution, the government transport agency has revved on the reinstatement by granting Olayvar his resumption papers,” Mayor Lloren said Tuesday.

Lloren shared that as early as last week, the Jagna SB has attempted to stop the movement at LTO with the possible transfer of Jagna LTO registrar Epimaco Caballero.

At the least, Olayvar has been accused of graft and corruption while occupying the Tagbilaran Field Office has earned criticism for alleged giving of undue advantage to a brother in a operating monopoly of fixers and accredited motor and car insurance agencies within the LTO compound.

Fearing that the official could taint the LTO image anew, the local officials and concerned citizens jammed the radio airlanes with texted messages to oppose the reinstatement.

The LTO has consistently figured in the top corrupt government agencies as shown in the Holy Name University social weather surveys. This, many ascribe to the incorrigible practices at the LTO local offices that has contributed to the negative perception.

While several quarters assumed the Olayvar assumption has the inner workings of a political protégé, Jagna Mayor Exuperio Lloren said he has personally advised the latter to restrain from occupying the seat in his town for reason of an unresolved case he has still to overcome.

During the same telephone interview, Mayor Lloren said the LTO has not remitted their lease as agreed to the town coffers. Olayvar’s unresolved case has also caused him to act on the pressure of stopping an irregularity from happening.

LTO reportedly has a system of a debilitating bureaucratic process that does not only guarantee undue delays but also presents opportunities for red tape in its unnecessary layers of approvals.

As the government is publicly saying it is putting up an anti-graft body similar to a Transparency Information Bureau, Boholanos have also aired concern that this may take a long while to get imbedded in the LTO.

Even before the government could formalize the process, Boholanos have used their will to prevent one potential case from blowing.

The creation the government anti-graft body is said to complement the Presidential Anti Graft Commission.

The government acknowledges that the problem of corruption needs to be addressed and is exerting all efforts to counter this, sources from Malacanang said.

The same sources bared that the recent 2007 SWS Business Survey on Corruption showed that although the scale of public sector corruption remains high, bribing for government contracts has declined particularly in Metro Manila.

It also showed satisfaction ratings for national and Local Government on their promotion of a good business climate.(July 7, 2007)


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