THE mystery of the missing steel bars and trusses retrieved from the burned private market owned by the Bugnay Construction and Development Corporation, which disappeared last year, may never be solved by the city council.

This as contractor Robert Sison, through his counsel Atty. Albino Gonzales, has invoked his right to remain silent following an invitation from the Sangguniang Panlungsod for him to appear before the council to shed light on the missing steel bars and trusses estimated to be worth millions of pesos

Sison was earlier pinpointed by City Engineer Virginia Rosario as well as the laborers who actually undertook the demolition as the one who was contracted to do the clearing operations in the 4,000-square meter burned area.

Rosario said she has no knowledge whatsoever with regards the demolition work or what was done with the tons of steel bars and trusses.

With Sison invoking his right not to speak, Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez, who is also the presiding officer of the city council, has tasked City Legal Officer Geraldine Baniqued to ascertain on what should be done next to get to the bottom of the issue.

Fernandez said Sison was invited by the council simply for clarification so it would know who authorized him to undertake the demolition and where the retrieved steel bars and trusses may have gone.

Fernandez maintained that the steel bars and trusses are supposed to be owned by the city after Bugnay surrendered the burned property it rented for 25 years under the Build-Operate-Transfer scheme.

Gonzales coursed through his letter to Baniqued who was earlier asked by the city council to conduct an inquiry as to what happened to the steel assets recovered from the burned Bugnay Market.

City Agriculture Officer Emma Molina has also stated that the compound of her office in Bonuan was not keeping any steel bars and trusses, in response to a letter of Fernandez last year inquiring about these.

Clearing operations of the burned market started in the early part of 2006 until September to give way to the construction of the P54-million Magsaysay Park Development project, which is supposed to have been won by Metro State Realty Corporation in an allegedly questionable public bidding.

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