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By Sunday Post

What P30-million equipment are you talking about?           

Councilor Oscar Glovasa Friday disputed allegations that City Hall is planning to purchase P30-M worth of medical equipment.           

Glovasa, who chairs the committee on appropriations, responded to the allegation in his comments during the session last Friday of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.           

In its editorial last Sunday, the Bohol Chronicle also claimed that given the antecedent corruption issues lodged against City Hall “people cannot help but question whether the P30-Million project will be rammed to produce electoral campaign money coming out of public expenditures”.           

Glovasa, who is running for congressman in the May 10 polls, said the Chronicle editorial is contrary to actual events.           

 â€œThere is no truth to the claim that the city is planning to buy P30-M medical equipment,” he added.           

Glovasa dared the Chronicle editorial writer to look into the 2010 annual budget if he can find anything about the P30-M.           

He recalled that last November the city council passed a supplemental budget for the purchase of medical equipment in response to a request made by Dr.. Albert Jones, city health officer.           

 â€œThere is nothing in the budget for the purchase of a P30-M medical equipment and there is no recommendation from Dr. Jones,” he added..           

 At the same time, Glovasa said he was at loss on the allegation of the editorial that the 2010 budget was “railroaded”.           

 â€œHow can it be railroaded when the budget was not yet passed at the time the editorial came out?” Glovasa asked.           

The editorial asked if the item was discussed thoroughly in the budget deliberations, if the bidding is transparent and the beneficiaries of the equipment are homogeneous.           

Asked to comment further on the editorial after the session, Glovasa noted that the city annual budget amounting to P383,656,145 was approved en masse..           

 â€œEverybody was given the chance to ask all their questions. Before the budget was approved, the councilors were repeatedly asked if there were further questions,” he noted.           

Glovasa said that those who voted to approve the budget on mass motion were Vice Mayor Jose Antonio Veloso, Councilors Edgar Bompat, Edgar Kapirig, Leonides Borja, Danilo Bantugan, Rammy June Alturas, Nerio Zamora II, Anne Mariquit Oppus, Bebiano Inting and himself.           

 â€œI don’t know that this budget was railroaded when it was approved on mass motion,” Glovasa noted.           

Commenting on the issue, Tagbilaran Mayor Dan Lim said he is not surprised.           

 â€œThe Bohol Chronicle has been fabricating stories against my administration that it no longer surprises me,” Lim added.

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