‘MCC Not a Government-Owned School’

Paulos Cañete, who is said to be the owner of the Mandaue City College (MCC), on Thursday morning clarified that his school is not a government-funded institution. He said even he himself and all its staff and workers are all private people.

“So the government has no right to include me in a lifestyle check,” Dr. Paulos Cañete said.

Cañete’s reaction was in response to the reported complaint filed his former worker, Emilio Bustillo, whom he appointed as dean of a college department.

Cañete challenged the Mandaue City government to prove that the MCC is a government-owned educational establishment.

During an interview, Cañete likewise challenged the Commission on Audit (COA) to show to the public that they have audited the amount the local government unit (LGU) of Mandaue has budgeted to MCC.

He even challenged the Office of the Ombudsman to immediately check his facilities, including the 13 service vehicles of his office and school which are included in the complainant.

Cañete, who has not received a copy yet of the complaints sheet, said he only knows the news from a local newspaper regarding the said complaint.

However, he said the Ombudsman will not act on the complaint because they have no basis to do so.

Lifestyle check is intended for government officials and employees whose properties to include lands, houses, vehicles,and all others are too much and remarkably suspicious especially if all these things are not specified at their yearly Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net (SALN).

But private persons like him are not required to file SALN because he is not receiving any single centavo from the government for his business, he said.

Cañete, who did not specifically mention the reasons behind why he terminated Bustillo, said he feels elated when his name was dragged to the issue as a “real government official.”

MCC was not recognized by Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes as a government-owned school institution, Cañete said.

He is confident that the Ombudsman will not act on Bustillo and party’s complaints.

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