A group called People's Coalition Against Crime and Corruption Group expressed frustration over the failure of mayor and vice mayor of Mataas na Kahoy town in Batangas to attend a congressional inquiry into various allegations the group raised against the two officials.
"They were invited precisely to explain the allegations on misuse of public funds and other irregularities in the town," said Antonio A. Alabata, the authorized representative of the coalition group.
"They should have attended the hearing. If they have nothing to conceal, I do not see any reason why they should evade the hearing," added Alabata.
Alabata himself had been invited in the same congressional hearing, which was conducted December 18, 2024, by the Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Cong. Joseph Stephen Paduano and other appropriate committee of the House of Representatives in aid of legislation.
Representatives Robert Raymond Estrella, Danilo Fernadez, Romeo Momo, Jose Arturo Garcia, and Roy Loyola authored the House Resolution 2102 to uphold transparency and accountability and to assess if amendments to procurement and auditing laws are needed to prevent future abuses.
The mandate of the committee is also to investigate and deliberate matters directly and principally relating to the examination and scrutiny of audit reports on the performance of all government agencies to determine their adherence to or compliance with the law.
A special fraud audit was also tasked by the committee to the Commission on Audit to set the investigation.
The congressional hearing became necessary after the people's coalition represented by Alabata filed a graft case against the mayor and vice mayor for alleged violation of provisions of Republic Act 3019.
In his affidavit complaint, Alabata cited various irregularities in the town's operations, including the cash deficit the town incurred in 2021 amounting to more than P5 million which he said affected the full settlement of the municipality's current liabilities totaling P47,141,799.11.
The complainant also cited the respondents' disbursements totaling P7,771,859.43 in response to the Corona virus disease response contained deficiencies and inconsistencies.
Instead of attending the hearing to air their side, Mayor Ilagan posted on their official Facebook page last December 18 denying the allegations against him.
The committee is expected to invite them again in the next hearing.
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