Raps readied vs GenSan mayor for overpricing

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — City Vice Mayor Rosalita Nuñez has announced that charges are now being prepared against the administration of General Santos City Mayor Lorelie Pacquiao for alleged overpricing of its food supplementary programs, some infrastructure projects and other procurements.

In a press conference hastily called by the Regional Communities Reforms Initiatives (RCRI), a local political party on Thursday, Nuñez along with former Gensan Mayor Ronnel Rivera and former Congresswoman Shirlyn Nograles bared that the city is now riddled with corruption.

Nuñez, in her speech, also disclosed that allegedly, at least 20 percent kickback is being asked contractors in exchange for projects. She even pointed out that a small-sized egg which can be bought at P5 each has reached P8.

The lady vice mayor was even more surprised upon learning that a sachet of powdered milk cost P15 but in supermarkets in the city it only cost P8 per sachet.

She further said that what is wrong is that there were 514,000 pieces of eggs and milk for the supplementary feeding program for day care children. “For the eggs alone, they can gain at least P1.5 million and for the milk, a whopping P3.5 million,” the vice mayor lamented.

“There are so many irregularities. I am not afraid because I have documents to prove,” Nuñez said.

For his part, former Mayor Rivera asked the public to be more vigilant and guard the coffers of the government. Rivera bared that people in the city are now disappointed with the present administration because of the many red flags and possible corruption.

He also noted that what makes him different against his predecessor was his competence in fiscal management and trouble shooting.

“We can proudly say that during my administration, we got the Seal of Good Local Governance and the Seal of Good Financial Housekeeping,” the former mayor clarified.

Asked about the future plans of the local party, Rivera declared that RCRI will become a formidable force come 2025 local and national elections.

Meanwhile, City Mayor Lorelie Pacquiao is yet to answer the issues being hurled against her administration.