Two Lim officials claim their signatures were forged
TRANSACTIONS OVER UNDELIVERED MOTORBOATS
TWO officials of the past Dagupan City administration claim their signatures on the documents covering the purchase of two wooden motorboats and paid in full in 2020 by the Dagupan City government were forged.
The two former officials are Bernard Cabison, Waste Management Division (WMD) head, and former General Service Officer Melchor Guiang, who both served under then Mayor Brian Lim. Cabison was retained as WMD head by Mayor Belen Fernandez.
The letters of the two to City Auditor Basa, both dated December 12, 2022, were subscribed and sworn to before Atty. Butch Cardinal Torio, Notary Public, were in response to the City’s Commission on Audit’s Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) dated November 05, 2022, seeking their explanation on the irregular transaction on the two still undelivered motorboats but already fully paid three years ago at P499,875 each or a total of P999,750.
In his letter, Cabison stated that he got a shock of his life when he saw his signature above his printed name on the Purchased Request as well as the Inspection and Acceptance documents. He denied having signed the document and said his signature was forged.
This was also the claim of former General Service Officer Guiang who stated in his own letter to Auditor Basa that both signatures above his name in the Inspection and Acceptance Report and Property Acknowledgement Receipt (PAR) “were not my signatures”.
Records showed that these motorboats were paid on December 7, 2020 as evidenced by Check No. 832114 to one Evangeline Doria, contractor from Golden Vision Construction Supply. The paid Disbursement Voucher of the same were signed by Eva Daroy and then City Treasurer Romelita Alcantara.
City Budget Officer Jessa Royupa certified the availability of fund for the purchase.
The two motorboats, acquired by the City Government from the Golden Vision Construction and Supply on November 10, 2020, were supposed to be assigned to WMD for hauling garbage from the island barangays to the mainland.
In his letter, Cabison declared that Golden Vision “is only a dummy contractor”, a fact attested by Mr. Lot Caballero, the person commissioned to manufacture the two wooden motorboats. He said that he never met anyone from Golden Vision.
Both Cabison and Guiang indicated they will file charges against those who forged their signatures and who benefited from the anomalous transaction.
Meanwhile, Guiang said the signatures on the Inspection and Acceptance Report and Property Acknowledgement Receipt, “were not my signatures” and he did not take part in the purchase of the two motorboats.
He said he, too, will file cases against those who conspired to forge his signatures on the documents once they are identified.
The two wooden motorboats were discovered missing in an inventory conducted by the GSO now headed by Camilo Cayabyab. This prompted Mayor Fernandez to ask COA to do a special audit on the two motorboats since there was no audit done on the irregular transaction in December 2020. (Leonardo Micua)
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