A top official of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said it was TESDA secretary Augusto Boboy Syjuco who hand-carried the documents for the procurement of 1,582 unitw of Nokia 1100 cellular phones at a cost of P6.2 million in February 2005 and presented the signature of “Mayor Isabelo Maquino” so that the supplier could be paid.
“Who am I to question the veracity of the documents and the signature of Mayor Maquino as it was (former congressman) Syjuco who brought them to my desk for the release of the payment,” said Venancio Santidad III, Director, Procurement, Supplies and Property Management Service (PSPMS) of the DOTC, told two Iloilo radio stations.
Santidad said if there is anybody who should explain where the cellular phones went, it should be the project proponent, Rep. Judy Jalbuena Syjuco or her husband, TESDA chief Boboy Syjuco.
Despite the storm the controversy has generated, the Syjuco couple have been very silent about the issue, preferring to have their spokesperson, Alex Espino, to do the talking. However, local media shunned talking with Espino as he admitted he had no personal knowledge about the transaction.
The supplier of the cellular phones, Jonathan Ng, has also been avoiding the local media.
Archive for July, 2006
Boboy Syuco pinpointed as ‘brains’ of cellphone scam
Published July 14, 2006 Politics , Uncategorized 1 CommentRep. Judy Jalbuena Syjuco is being accused of “ghost delivery” and “forgery” in the supposed purchase of 1,582 Nokia 1100 cellular phones by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) in December 2004.
Documents released by the Commission on Audit (COA) show that the DOTC paid a total of P6,248,900 to a softdrinks distributor to supply these cellular phones “for use of Rep. Judy J. Syjuco”.
The transaction was exposed as “anomalous” after Sta. Barbara, Iloilo municipal mayor Isabelo Maquino complained that his signature was forged in the receipt for property and that he never received these articles.
The document purported to show that the cellular phone units were delivered to Sta. Barbara, Iloilo and received by Mayor Maquino.
Where are the cellular phones? That’s the question now being asked by the local media.
A little known distributor of Jaz Cola products, West Island Beverage Distributors, was the handpicked supplier of Rep. Syjuco.
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