Hole of Justice

By Peter G. Jimenea

Where is Ching?

Christoper Ching, an employee of the Iloilo City Treasurer’s Office (ICTO) has been missing since the first quarter of 2010. He disappeared just after the surprised audit conducted by COA at his office.

COA personnel audited the ICTO due to complaints of city hall employees about their delayed salaries. The result revealed that Ching has incurred a P2.3M shortage in his cash possession.

The compounding problem is that another P25M was discovered missing in the ICTO coffers. Ching disappeared after the audit leaving us groping in the dark for an answer why and how the shortage happened.

Soon rumors from the ICTO started to grind that the amount embezzled by him is not only P2.3M but P27.3M In short, the missing P25M was charged also to his account by ICTO officials.

But the rumors spreading at the old City Hall were disputed by complaining employees. They claimed the P25M is not missing. Somebody being closed to the king had been using the money for personal gains.

Evil they can only be. The P25M cash is used to buy the pending salaries of poor employees. Those in dire need of cash are forced to sell their pay slip to the city hall vultures at a discounted rate. This is what the earlier claim hinted at.

Yet, the undesirable underling being tapped by the mastermind to run this God forbidden business has also a stink in her closet. She is publicly known in the palace as the power-pilfering queen. PECO has her bad record.

But God is good. COA invaded the ICTO without prior notice. The surprise raid of COA resulted to the discovery not only of the P2.3M cash shortage of Ching but also of another missing P25M in the ICTO coffers!

If we take a careful look at the records of the city government, it can drive an honest city employee to the brink of insanity. It seems that top city hall officials had been affected by RA 3019 disease . Lowly ICTO employees are most sorely tempted to steal but don’t.

The deliberately delay of employees salaries has been going on for years, yet, then Mayor Jerry Trenas was so silent about it. Anyway, he has that right to remain silent. In fact, who would kill a duck that lays golden eggs?

I can only pity Ching for his acquiescence to the advice of ICTO crooks and his boss to hide to save face. He did not save himself by running away from responsibility. What he spared is the integrity of the mastermind. Now, his P2.3M shortage has instantly increased to P27.3M because of his stupidity.

He played an actor in a role he cannot fully understand. He failed to notice that it took eight-years for the suspect mastermind to master the OPM, an art of making money by using “other people’s mind.”

Had Ching stayed to tell the truth, he could have been exonerated from this unwanted mess. He forgot that vigilante prospiciunt jura -the law protects him who is watchful of his rights. (Salao vs. Salao, 70 SCRA 65).

What happened now to the P27.3M taxpayers’ money? We heard no case was filed against Ching. Well, God knows, culpa lata dolo a equiparatur – gross negligence is equivalent to malice or intentional wrong. But where is Ching?