A CITY government official said President Elipe should learn from his mistakes following his conviction for graft charges at the anti-graft court.
"It is important to learn the lesson that is, to never abuse the power given to you by the people. It is actually a learning not only for the city government employees but for all of us in public service to be sincere in our jobs," Cagayan de Oro City Administrator Teddy Sabuga-a said.
While wishing Elipe well for his future legal actions against the conviction, Sabuga-a said the former councilor should realize the negative impact of what he had done during his term.
"Sa iyang panahon (In his time), gilisod-lisod kita sa budget (we've had a hard time in getting budgets), gibabagan ang pagtukod sa 722 housing units para sa Sendong survivors (he blocked the approval of the 722 housing units for the Sendong survivors), gi zero ang budget sa PhilHealth (zeroed the budget in PhilHealth), sa atong mga development centers (in our development centers), pati sa mga (even our) senior citizens, babag sila tanan sa una (they are all against these), mao dapat na iyang lantawon ug ma-reflect (he should reflect on that) because what he did did not hurt us but it hurt the people," Sabuga-a said.
"Daghang tawo kaniadto ang nanghilak kay dili pa sila mabalayan kay walay approval sa city council (So many people cried because they cannot have their homes without the city council approval), untana ang serbisyo na atong ihatag is sincere kay public official man kita (we should always be sincere in our job because we are public official), it should always come first before our political motives," he added.
Elipe, in an earlier interview said the case was politically motivated, and that political detractors wanted him barred from holding public office.
Elipe and the Moreno administration where Sabuga-a works, are political opponents. Elipe and Sabuga-a have repeatedly butted heads before in previous budget hearings.
The anti-graft court fourth division has found Elipe and his sister, Pristine Quizon, guilty for graft and falsification of public document and sentenced the siblings with indeterminate penalty of imprisonment of six to 10 years with perpetual disqualification from holding any public office.
In the complaint filed by former City Administrator Dionnie Gersana, Quizon's date and time record (DTR) made it appear that she reported for work during in a period of time in 2013, but a travel record from the Bureau of Immigration showed that Quizon had been out of the country during these periods.
