COA thumbs down request for papers; Guialani to file charges

By LITO RULONA
Correspondent

GOVERNMENT auditors here have denied the request of former Taglimao barangay chairman William Guialani for documents pertaining to eight city hall checks that showed Mayor Oscar Moreno as the payee. Guialani then threatened to sue the auditors.

The denial was made on the recommendation of Commission on Audit COA-Cagayan de Oro supervising auditor Adolfa Creayla.

Creayla recommended that Guialani’s request be denied given that the audit and observation memo, notice of suspension/disallowance and voucher/checks, documents/reports and other information requested are being used in an audit investigation by the Commission.

She also pointed out that the appropriation ordinance, and documents/reports were in city hall.

COA regional director Celso Vocal approved Creayla’s recommendation.

Guialani meanwhile threatened to file criminal and administrative charges before the Office of the Ombudsman against the COA officials unless they gave him copies of the documents pertaining to the controversial checks amounting to some P79 million.

“Kay dili nila mahatag ang mga dokumento nga akong gipangayo manubag sila niini,” he said.

Guialani said he requested copies of the documents because he planned to send this to the Office of the President that earlier ordered Mayor Moreno to answer the complaint pertaining to the controversial checks.

“Ang akong gireklamo, na dili kaya i-provide sa regional director sa COA ang documents, kay sa akong pagkabalo, kinahanglan sa 2015, kani siya available na ni nga mga documents, kay considered cleared naman kini na mga transactions. Kung cleared, asa man ni? I want them to release the documents because the public should know kung asa nipadulong ang kwarta, katungod kana sa katawhan na makahibalo,” he said.

Moreno’s lawyer Brian Dale Mordeno earlier said the funds being questioned by Guialani were used to provide Philhealth coverage to some 75 thousand people, and that the matter has already been explained to state auditors during an “exit conference.”