AN EX-OFFICIO member of the Carcar City Council says an audio recording posted on Facebook allegedly of Carcar Mayor Patrick Barcenas discussing accepting a bribe with members of the City Council is authentic.
Anthony John Apura, Valladolid barangay captain and president of the city’s Association of Barangay Councils, told SunStar Cebu Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, that Mayor Barcenas’ voice was recorded when the latter allegedly barged into a council session on Sept. 13, 2022 (not Sept. 12, 2022 as earlier reported by SunStar).
An Ely Sasuman posted a more than nine-minute recording of the meeting on his Facebook account last Dec. 17, removing the video and retaining only the audio.
Barcenas denied Tuesday that it was his voice in the recording. He told SunStar he wanted the matter investigated and the persons behind the post charged.
However, Apura said Wednesday the recording was made on the day the council was planning to cancel the authority it had given the mayor to enter into a contract with a contractor for a livestock market project during its previous session.
Apura said the plan to cancel the mayor’s authority came after he and some of his colleagues heard that the mayor had called the accounting office to inform the office that a councilor would be picking up a check for P22 million, which was the mobilization fund for the P149 million project.
The Commission on Audit defines a mobilization fund as an advance payment not exceeding 15 percent of the contract price to be paid in accordance with a schedule to the contractor after signing of the contract, which shall be deducted from the progress payments.
Recess
In the middle of their session, Apura said, Barcenas suddenly arrived, forcing them to take a recess.
“Si mayor ang ni-request nga ipagawas lang sa una ang mga staff, unya ipabilin lang ang bise mayor ug mga konsehal. Nagsabot na diay sila vice nga moabot si mayor. So pag-abot sa mayor, si vice miingon nga recess sa ta kay niabot si mayor. Ana mao na nga gihunong sa ang session, gipagawas ang walay apil,” Apura told SunStar.
(The mayor requested that everyone leave except for the vice mayor and the councilors. Apparently, the vice mayor knew beforehand that the mayor would be paying a visit. So when the mayor showed up, the vice mayor immediately called a recess and all the staff were told to vacate the room.)
Apura said two councilors who were lawyers raised their hands to object.
“Wala man niya tagda. Mura’g naa to siyay gisulti nga siya lang sa kuno ang mag-estorya. Mao to ang recording video,” Apura said.
(He ignored them. I think he said something like he would be doing the talking. That was the video recording.)
Named us all
Apura said the recording uploaded on social media made it appear that the mayor and the members of the council had accepted the SOP (standard operating procedure), euphemism for a bribe, from the contractor of the project.
“Mao to ang recording ang video. Haskang boanga. Paghuman ato, perteng guola namo… Apil mi tanan. Kami man gud tong tanan ang gihinganlan niya (mayor). Unya kami naguol pag-ayo kay naa baya ta tarong nga negosyo. Perting paita naapektohan ang akong mga kauban lagi. Nanga-stress,” he said.
(That was the video recording. It’s crazy. After that, we were all so worried because the mayor named all of us. We all have legitimate businesses. My colleagues were all affected. They got stressed.)
Named in the recording were Carcar Vice Mayor Efren Quijano and nine of Carcar’s 10 councilors, plus Apura.
Only one of Carcar’s councilors was not mentioned.
The City Livestock Auction Market will be built across the Carcar Public Market in Barangay Poblacion 3.
According to the voice recording, the project will cost P149 million.
The voice in the recording discussed how much he and members of the council would receive from the contractor.
Instead of the “20 percent SOP” or P29.8 million, the contractor had allegedly asked if it could give just 10 percent, or P14.9 million.
“Ok ba mo niana og mao ni atoang madawat? … Ok mo? … Kamo na lay mag-igo diha kay mosugot tag sa dili, ug modawat mog sa dili, ako willing kong modawat niana kay akoa ma nang SOP,” the voice in the recording said.
(Are you okay with that amount? It’s up to you if you accept or not. As for me, I’m willing to receive since it is part of the SOP.)
Not involved
“Kami wala gyud mi labot ana, Sir. Wala mi ingon nga midawat. Wala mi ingon nga nangayo sad. Naigking lage mi nga niabot siya didto,” Apura told SunStar.
(We had nothing to do with that. We’re not saying that we accepted or that we asked. We were just surprised that the mayor suddenly showed up.)
Apura said he was surprised by Barcenas’ change of heart about the project since during the campaign period he said the mayor told the public he was not interested in pursuing it.
“Kay before election, dili siya ganahan ana. Gani iya nang gibat-bat sa angat nga election. Unya karon nga nakadungog siya sa P22 milyon, ganahan na pud siya ana. Mao to nga karon naganahan na pud siya ana,” he said.
(Before the election, he didn’t like the project. In fact, in the leadup to Election Day, he was still speaking against it. But then he changed his mind when he heard about the P22 million. So now he’s in favor of the project.)
When asked if he knew who was behind the recording, Apura said he had no idea.
NBI and lawyers
In a separate interview, City Councilor Harold Nacua, an ally of the mayor, said he would not issue a statement on the controversy.
He said the matter is already with the National Bureau of Investigation Central Visayas (NBI 7).
“It’s hard to comment, especially since the NBI is already looking into it,” he said in Cebuano, adding that the bureau has advised them to keep mum.
However, Nacua said they will pursue the filing of a case once the person who uploaded the video recording on social media is exposed.
“Amo gyud nang kuanon kay fabricated manang estoryaha. Amo gyud nang e kuan kay siya may na kuan kay mangiha man gyud mi ani,” he said.
(We will sue because the story is fabricated.)
According to the mayor’s ally, Barcenas sought the NBI 7’s assistance to address the allegations.
Nacua said the mayor’s lawyer also advised the mayor and him not to issue any statements since they already filed a complaint before the NBI 7.
“Maoy advice sa abugado nga dili lang sa una mi motubag (The lawyer advised us not to answer questions),” he said. (PJB)