Friday, October 26, 2007 Village exec faces raps on P150-T loss By Stephen Capillas
A BARANGAY official in Bayabas this city who remains missing for two weeks now is said to owe P150,000 in unpaid remittances to the barangay's coffers.
In a TV interview, the barangay officials of Bayabas claimed that Emmanuel Roy Paguta has yet to remit the P150,000 cash to their coffers, thus resulting in the non-payment of their honoraria and supplies.
Paguta whose whereabouts are still being determined by the Carmen police precinct was last seen near a school in that barangay.
When asked about the charges, Paguta's family denied that their father pocketed the money and alleged that the accusations are intended to undermine him.
They said their children already stopped schooling and they are now subsisting on "rice and chocolate" since they have no other source of income.
The family also claimed that they suspect that a big time politician is behind Paguta's disappearance.
They earlier said Paguta has no known enemies, though they admitted that they have been told he (Paguta) was being followed by unidentified men.
Carmen police precinct chief Emmanuel Jaraula said he read a text message supposedly sent to the treasurer's cell phone stating that he is supposed to meet someone.
Earlier, Vice-Mayor Vicente Emano said he met with Paguta's family who sought his assistance in locating the barangay treasurer's whereabouts.
Paguta's disappearance follows similar incidents involving trader Samson Hau who went missing last August. Hau was found dead in a remote barangay in Iligan City. Also, law student TamTam Edpan went missing and was found dead in Marawi City early this year.
