A SOFTDRINK company turned over P98,000 in cash to a businessman supposedly for a project of the Office of the Mayor at the Cebu City Zoo.
But three months after the first donation was made, the project still has not taken off.
The amount is intended for a canteen and souvenir shop at the zoo in Barangay Kalunasan, a project that the mayor said he does not know about and did not authorize.
Invoices from Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines, Inc. also showed that at least 418 cases of soft drinks were delivered to the zoo last April 15 and May 9, but personnel from the zoo said they did not receive the goods. Only chairs, tables and an umbrella were delivered two weeks ago.
Businessman Joni Chan, executive director of the United Multi-Sectoral Coordinating Council of Cebu City (UMC4), admitted he solicited the money from Pepsi for a project under a public-private partnership (PPP).
UMC4 is a volunteer group composed of downtown businessmen and vendors who are helping the administration of Mayor Michael Rama.
But in a phone interview yesterday, Rama said he is not aware of any donation or partnership with Pepsi, and he did not authorize anyone to solicit money or goods from private companies.
He said he would look into the matter and would talk to Chan about it.
“I don’t know anything about this. Dili sad ko mo-authorize og mga ingon ana. Kanang UMC4 volunteer group man na so naa tingali silay project but I am not involved in that. If this is being done then it has to be looked into and those involved should take responsibility,” Rama told Sun.Star Cebu.
Chan confirmed that he first received a P30,000 check from Pepsi last April 27, and another P20,000 was released last May. Last June 3, he again received P48,000 in cash.
He said the money is intact in his bank account, and he can return it to Pepsi anytime if the mayor asks him to do so.
“Kita nitabang ra man ta. It’s going to be a public-private partnership for a livelihood project in the zoo… It has not been implemented yet because the money was released in three tranches, and you know how contractors are. They don’t want to start a project if the full amount is not ready,” Chan said in Bisaya.
Partners
He said that as executive director of UMC4, one of his tasks is to get investors for PPPs. That is why he approached Pepsi and the International Pharmaceuticals Inc. for donations.
Chan clarified, though, that he did not receive 409 cases of softdrinks from Pepsi.
Although invoices from the company indicated that the Cebu City Zoo received the goods, he said these were actually delivered to a softdrinks distributor, who in turn released the cash to him.
“As a matter of internal policy, Pepsi does not release cash donations, so they arranged it in a way that Pepsi products would be delivered to the distributor and it’s the distributor who would release the cash,” he explained, as he declined naming the distributor.
Sun.Star Cebu called the Pepsi plant office in Minglanilla town but their phones were out of order.
This is not the first time confusion stemmed from Rama’s relationships with volunteer groups.
Last year, city officials and employees questioned the authority of a bakery owner, who volunteered to look after Plaza Sugbo across City Hall, to collect parking fees from those who park their vehicles in the plaza.
The mayor asked the businessman to stop collecting parking fees after learning about the employees’ complaints.
