BAGUIO CITY – The Department of the Interior and Local government (DILG) recently warned local officials and employees not to deal with enterprising individuals who misrepresent themselves as close aides of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael Mike Sueno and collect from them monetary considerations in exchange for the immediate release of their pending requests with the agency. among other considerations.
In an advisory to all provincial governors, city, municipal mayors, DILG regional directors and other concerned officials and employees, Josephine C. Leysa, DILG Head Executive Assistant, informed local officials that there are some enterprising individuals who misrepresent themselves as an official or employee working or otherwise connected with the agency through short message service, email communication, letter, verbal or in any other form and name dropping any DILG official or employee, to solicit favour in the form of money and other considerations.
“All concerned are hereby advised to report to the Philippine National Police or appropriate authority any related incident as mentioned,” Leysa said.
It was learned that said individuals had been approaching several local chief executives in the different parts of the archipelago and informing them of their influence to facilitate the immediate release of the funds for projects or their pending requests for fire trucks and police cars, in exchange for a certain amount of money.
These individuals disappear after receiving money from those who believe in their modus operandi.
Leysa advised local officials, particularly the newly elected ones, not to entertain such individuals but to directly transact business with the municipal, provincial, city, regional and national offices of the agency to avoid being victimized by such individuals.
According to her, concerned DILG officials who are in charge of the release of funds and units of equipment being distributed to the different local governments are prohibited from collecting any monetary considerations in exchange for the speedy processing of requests and fixers claiming to facilitate the release of pending requests should not be entertained.
She underscored that it is the duty of officials and employees of the agency to work out the release of the requests of concerned local officials without anything in exchange for the grant of such requests, thus, any demand for monetary considerations for such releases should not be actually entertained in the first place.
At the same time, the DILG has not authorized any individual to transact with local officials regarding the processing of their requests as all the work is done within the respective offices and not outside.
By Dexter A. See
