THE Quezon City government has asked the Commission on Audit if it could use P8 million of its public funds to include a portion of a century-old cockpit arena in the redevelopment of the La Loma district.
In an interview, Pedro Rodriguez Jr., officer in charge of the City Planning and Development Office, said the physical improvement of a portion of the private cockpit is needed to be able to completely transform La Loma into a tourist destination.
Besides, the cockpit has historical value, Rodriguez said. It could have given birth to “Mang Tomas” delos Reyes”•a famed lechon roaster whose name has been used as a brand of a popular dipping sauce”•as early as in the 1900s, or “100 years ago, and not 67 years ago as believed,” he added.
“Much as we want to develop a part of the cockpit into a parking space and a monumental plaza, we still cannot do so. The problem is the Commission on Audit,” Rodriguez told the Manila Standard. “How can we spend money for [the development of] a private property?”
In a July 18 letter, Rosa dela Cruz, State Auditor V with the CoA, told Rodriguez that under Section 305(b) of Republic Act 760 or the Local Government Code and Section 4(2) of Presidential Decree 1445 or the State Audit Code of the Philippines, “government funds or property shall be spent or used for public purposes.”
“As explained in PD 1445, to constitute as public purpose, the benefit must be bestowed upon those who will enjoy it as members of the public, and not as individuals,” Dela Cruz added.
According to Rodriguez, the city government has already talked to the cockpit owner, a Mr. Guizon, who agreed to the inclusion of the cockpit arena’s property in the La Loma redevelopment.
“Initially, the purpose of such plan deviates with the provision of the above-cited Codes,” Dela Rosa’s letter read.
Rodriguez said CoA has given the city government a chance to justify the inclusion of a portion of the cockpit arena.
“For this office to evaluate further and properly determine the public welfare, present and future of the above-proposed plan, may we be informed on the purpose of agreement the city government may have entered into with the private property owner of the location where the proposed structures are to be built,” Dela Rosa said.
Rodriguez said the City Planning and Development Office’s lawyer, Mica Ayuyao, has been tasked to study provisions of the laws and justify the construction of a state-of-the art parking space and a monumental plaza for Lt. Jose Bugallon, a forgotten hero of the Battle of La Loma during the Philippine Revolution.