The lone crusader against rampant corruption at City Hall has become a recipient of vicious radio attacks (but not over DYRD) forcing him to deliver another privilege speech, hitting anew the former city auditor for conniving with former City Hall officials in the alleged robbery of public funds in hundreds of millions of pesos. “Now she is trying to reach out to media, granting interviews when in the past she chose to keep her stead in the midst of mounting public outrage leveled against the former city mayor (Dan Lim), whom her husband is politically affiliated to,” said city lawmaker Alexander H. Lim, referring to former city auditor of the Commission on Audit (COA) Anecia “Aning” Maglajos, who has been accused of playing “blind, deaf, and dumb” over numerous anomalies at City Hall for the last nine years. The maverick councilor has tagged Maglajos as part of the conspiracy to hide “suspicious transactions” at City Hall which remained undetected by COA for nine years.

“Former City Auditor Anecia Maglajos seems to have a very different mindset regarding what we have exposed recently -- that while she is naturally under suspicion of hiding shady transactions of the previous administration, she now claims to have discovered the anomalous non-remittance of tax collections from business establishments here in our city. Quite preposterous, considering she has been playing blind, deaf and dumb before,” councilor Lim said in his speech. “It is interesting to hear directly from the former city auditor herself when she justifies her actions to the Ombudsman and even to her superiors in the Commission on Audit. With her actuations, former City Auditor Maglajos seems to be courting legal trouble,” he said. Lim warned Maglajos and her cohorts: “As I have said before, those who are in cahoots with the illegal transactions of the previous administration and still trying to cover-up their tracks, are risking themselves of being held administratively or criminally liable. I advise them to instead cooperate with us, in our ongoing investigations here in the Sanggunian.”

Saying he is “just a messenger and an instrument of bringing facts about the previous city administration to light,” councilor Lim has lamented that auditor Maglajos had been ranting against him in her defense against former City Mayor Dan Lim. “Presiding Officer, dear colleagues, in the interest of truth, fairness and justice. I stand before you to inform the people of Tagbilaran about the unprofessional action of this former city auditor. As I have been told, she apparently made an inference to my previous privilege speech, calling it ‘poorly researched’ and ‘lacking in facts and details,’” Lim said. He said that the data where Lim based his privilege speech are all accessible via the website of the COA and official records of the COA office. “Even a cursory scrutiny of the COA Audit Report would immediately bare the irregularities in financial management of the previous administration. Some P2.2 million in unremitted tax collections of businesses in the city, the improper handling of properties and equipment, the full payment of road projects worth millions of pesos despite being partially or not fully completed. There are so many items in that COA Report that if I mention everything here, I would risk the ire of my esteemed colleagues for delaying further the proceedings of this session,” Lim said.

The councilor also lamented that while what he is doing is for the promotion of honesty and transparency in government, he became a target of relentless radio attacks. “I was dismayed after I delivered my privilege speech during our regular session last week, I was the target of comments and tirades in our media outlets by some people who want to discredit our cause of crusading for transparency in our city government,” Lim said. “I believe that local governance draws strength and focus from transparency and accountability of its officials. But how can we assure this to the public when those who try to expose the truth are the ones being vilified and criticized?” he stressed. Feeling lonely in his crusade against corruption at City Hall, Lim said he believes the silent majority are behind him in “exposing the dark truths about the previous administration.” “I am almost alone in this august body, but I know that majority of Tagbilaranons are quietly supporting my cause, my principle of fighting for the right and assuming the responsibility of a vocal fiscalizer of this new city administration,” councilor Lim said.

“Ever since I embarked on this seemingly lonely crusade to uncover anomalies of the previous city administration, I have been forewarned that this fight that I am into right now will be very hard for me to win. They told me this is a fight against the well-entrenched conspirators, orchestrated by a power-greedy and still influential figure who once reined City Hall in recent years,” Lim added. Stressing that the “public deserves to know the truth,” Lim noted that his previous and future privilege speeches are bound to earn the ire of “city officials who do not like transparency and openness, but would rather prefer a government that keeps the public in the dark about its operations and transactions.”