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THE PRICE of plywood that the Mandaue City government bought in 2004 was not much different than the price of plywood that City Hall bought this year to help the fire victims of barangay Umapad, according to City Administrator Briccio Joseph Boholst.
Boholst said that in its ongoing internal investigation of allegedly overpriced construction materials given to the fire victims, documents were found of the 2004 purchase.
Boholst said these documents showed that on June 10, 2004, then-mayor Thadeo Ouano approved the purchase of one-fourth-sized Marine Plywood for fire victims in of barangay Tipolo.
This plywood was priced at P395 per piece, the same as the plywood that the present administration purchased for the Umapad fire victims.
Boholst also said that another purchase on Nov. 4, 2004 showed that the same plywood was pegged at P405 per piece for another group of fire victims.
This, he said, was the same price of plywood that the councilors, most of whom are allied with Ouano, are now claiming to be overpriced.
But Councilor Victor Biaño, who is taking part in a separate investigation conducted by the opposition-led City Council, doubts the probe made by the city administrator.
Biaño accused Boholst of a cover-up.
?Are they investigating themselves? How can they can come up with credible results when they are virtually investigating themselves,? Biaño said.
Biaño said that the investigating body created by the council was not furnished with documents necessary for its investigation.
