Cebu City officials to seek Ombuds nod on uprooting of 668 lamp-posts

CEBU CITY, Oct. 7 (PNA) – Cebu City officials said they want the permission of the Office of the Ombudsman for the uprooting of the controversial “overpriced” lamp-posts which were installed without permits and have obstructed the city’s sidewalks.

Cebu City Building Official Josefa Ylanan said some of the lampposts were installed at the center of the sidewalk, which is a violation of the accessibility law.

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said the City intends to pull out some 668 lamp-posts that were installed in the city for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)summit in January last year.

”We are going to present to the Ombudsman our arguments, and our lawyers want to know if the lamp-posts have already been offered to the Sandiganbayan as evidence. We have to remember that the issue is overpricing, and not the delivery and installation, so we don’t see any problem with the removal,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez heads the task force created by the Cebu City Council to look into the procedures on how the city can remove the alleged overpriced lamp-posts.

The council had said the lighting facilities are “symbols of corruption” and should be removed from the city’s streets.