THE City council passed a resolution on Monday asking the city legal office to file possible legal action against any person or entity in connection with the missing remnants of what used to be the Bugnay Commercial Complex on A.B. Fernandez Avenue in Dagupan City

This stemmed from a letter dated February 15, 2007 of City Legal Officer Geraldine Baniqued stating that contractor Roberto Sison, whose workers were seen tearing down the burned market, invoked his right to remain silent in connection with her official inquiry about the missing steel bars and trusses recovered from the burned area as earlier directed by the council.

Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez maintained that these fire remnants are owned by the city as stipulated in the agreement signed when the Magsaysay Park was turned over back to the city by the Bugnay Construction and Development Corporation (BCDC).

Unfortunately, not even a kilo of steel bars and trusses from the burned area accrued to the city, he said.

Baniqued’s inquiry into the matter was in connection with Resolution No. 5629-2007 of the city council that requested her to conduct an investigation as regards the whereabouts of the tons upon tons of steel bars and trusses recovered from the burned area which have gone mysteriously missing.

Sison was pinpointed by City Engineer Virginia Rosario as the one who was demolishing the burned structures as corroborated by certain workers hired by him to do the work.

Sison’s authority in demolishing the burned structure could no longer be traced as he invoked his right to remain silent, supposedly being a private citizen, as shown in a letter to Baniqued by his lawyer, Atty. Albino Gonzales.

The contractor was also invited by the city council to appear in its session in order to clarify certain issues regarding the missing construction materials recovered from the burned area but he merely ignored this.

Vice Mayor Fernandez admitted   the council is now in a quandary on how it can ever ascertain the truth about the missing steel bars and trusses in view of Sison’s invocation of his right to remain silent.

Before  being snubbed by Sison, the council was also ignored by Jaime de La Peña who was invited to clarify how come JLD Motor Works and Towing Service of Sta. Maria, San Jacinto got the authority to tow vehicles violating the “no parking” ordinance of the city, and collecting fines themselves from the owners of towed vehicles.

Instead of appearing before the council, De La Peña voluntarily terminated its services to the city, an obvious attempt to dodge the investigation.

This fueled speculations that De la Pena was a mere dummy of certain officials of the city who cornered   the bulk of the 80 percent share of JLD from towing fees.

On the missing steel bars and trusses, the council passed a resolution inquiring from Don Manolo Lim Uy of Nueva Ecija, president and chairman of the board of BCDC (Bugnay Construction and Development Corporation), owner of the burned Magsaysay Commercial Complex, if he has in his possession the missing construction materials recovered from their burned market.

Don Uy has yet to respond to the city council resolution.

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