Rules don’t apply to sports council: Elipe

By LITO RULONA
Correspondent /

THE general manager of the group running the operations of the government-owned Misamis Oriental Integrated Sports Complex on Wednesday asserted that he cannot be subjected to election laws and government audit but he welcomed a city council investigation into the finances of the Misamis Oriental Sports Council.

President Elipe, manager of the sports council, said he is open and willing to submit to an investigation by the city council amid allegations of corruption in what used to be known as the Don Gregorio Pelaez Sports Complex.

On Monday, Councilor Ian Mark Nacaya sought a city council investigation into allegations that revenues being collected by the sports council from people using the sports facilities and from lessees were being misspent.

Nacaya also cited the allegation that Elipe’s appointment as general manager last year was a violation of election laws because he was a candidate for a seat in the provincial board of Misamis Oriental that same year. Elipe lost in the 2016 elections.

The allegations were detailed in a letter of complaint by a group called “Concerned Sports Enthusiasts of Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental” or the “CDO-Misor Sports Enthusiasts” that was sent to the Civil Service Commission, Commission on Audit, and the Office of the Ombudsman.

Elipe noted that the complaint was unsigned and should not have been given much weight by Nacaya but “since it was already taken up by Nacaya, then this is already an issue.”

“For whatever reason that he (Nacaya) used it as his basis, siya ang nag-akusar nako… gihatagan na niya gibug-aton ang maong sulat bisan wala kini’y pirma,” said Elipe.

He said he took over as general manager on July 1, 2016, just two months after the elections.

But while election rules dictate that losing candidates cannot be appointed to hold public offices, Elipe said, the sports council is a private entity.

“Moisc is not a government institution. Our employees here are [contributing to] the Social Security System, not with GSIS, because we are operating like a private institution, independent from the city, province and the Deped,” he said.

Elipe admitted though that Moisc is operating a government-owned sports facility but maintained that they were not being paid by government.

He said he and previous general managers received no payment from the capitol, city hall or the Department of Education.

“Self-liquidating ang sports complex,” he said.

Elipe said Nacaya was wrong to ask the Commission on Audit to look into the sports complex’s finances and expenditures, saying the Commission has no jurisdiction over a private entity.

He claimed Moreno is being sent copies of the sports council’s monthly financial reports.

“Kung mao kana, apil lugar si Moreno kung adunay tinonto diri sa sulod,” Elipe said.

Elipe added: “Wala gani ko nagemit sa province, city pa kaha nga self-liquidating man ang Moisc. We are independent.”

Being a “private entity,” he said, his appointment cannot be a violation of election or civil service laws.

“Never was the Moisc subjected to the [civil service] laws,” he said.

He said he has nothing to do with the sports council’s setup that could be traced way back in 1975 when lawyer Reuben Canoy was the city’s mayor.

Elipe said Nacaya should question the framers of the sports council setup.

“Why question the Moisc organization nga ako na ang naglingkod? Dapat unta giunsa pagmugna og mo-atras siya niadtong 1975 because since then, there has been no difference in the management of the sports center,” Elipe said.

He said Nacaya should also seek an investigation into how the sports complex was managed when Mayor Oscar Moreno was governor of the province.

Elipe said the sports complex is co-chaired by Misamis Oriental’s governor, Cagayan de Oro’s mayor and the regional director of the education department.

“So, apil gihapon karon si Mayor Oscar Moreno akong boss,” he said.

Elipe was appointed to the position by his brother-in-law Gov. Yevgeny Vincente Emano, and the manager claimed that Moreno and the Deped regional director gave their consent.

He however said Moreno never attended a single meeting of the sports council but the mayor has always been represented by Oscar Cinco.

Elipe said Cinco used to be the sports complex’s general manager.

He said Nacaya should also call for an investigation into a capitol project that made the sports complex’s oval rubberized. He alleged that the project, which cost the government P30 million when Moreno was governor, turned out to be defective.