CANDIJAY.-Newly-installed Mayor Christopher Tutor of this eastern town last week woke up to the reality of a municipal hall stripped of its bare essentials. He inherited the administration of former Mayor Sergio Amora, Jr. where the new mayor found to his dismay that such office essentials like computers, chairs, refrigerator, surveillance camera, etc. were gone. The new mayor was also greeted with the news that 31 out of 37 regular employees of the Local Government Unit of Candijay, Bohol affixed signatories to file a case against their former mayor. The legal action was conceived after Mayor Tutor announced during the special meeting called last July 1, 2013 at the Sangguniang Bayan Session Hall that they cannot claim their salaries for the month of June 2013 (whole month for the Municipal Health Office staff and half month for those from other offices) due to budget deficit incurred during the previous administration. The fund intended for personnel services along with the remittances for employees’ individual loan amortizations was alleged to have been diverted to other purposes during the election period. This allegation was strengthened when Paterno B. Nalugon, municipal treasurer, admitted that under pressure by his former boss, he was “forced” to pay a pile of vouchers.

Mayor Tutor disclosed during the meeting that he will also file charges of graft and corruption against the former mayor based on the Commission on Audit’s findings and the irregularities found through his own speculation. He likewise expressed his frustration upon his first day in service when the Office of the Municipal Mayor was almost bare. Most of the facilities specifically the computers, printer, refrigerator, chairs, television, video player, surveillance cameras and some other fixtures which were acquired by the municipality intended for the said office were nowhere to be found. Aside from such, some government properties in the other offices were also missing particularly the vehicles and some heavy equipment parts which if not lacking, replaced with worn-out parts. The Municipal Social Work Officer, Mrs. Lolita G. Castro, also said that the 27 sacks of rice for her office feeding program stocked at Mayor Amora’s warehouse were also gone. Mayor Tutor informed further that one unit generator of the Municipal Waterworks probably privately-used was retrieved by his men and some police officers from the side portion of Mayor Amora’s house. The transition team failed to turn over the COA Report for 2012 during the turn-over ceremony held last JUNE 26, 2013 to the dismay of then Mayor-elect Tutor. The incidedents made the newly assigned Municipal Local Government Officer, Ma. Luz L. Aranza, expressed during the same meeting that the result of the municipality’s performance rating was very contradictory to what is actually obtaining.. With it, she was hoping for everybody’s cooperation to level up the LGU’s situation. ( MPIO- Candijay)