ANGELES CITY – The city treasurer here has refused an interview with Punto on Monday to answer the reported failure of the city government to pay on time its statutory obligations.
City Treasurer Juliet Quinsaat denied this reporter an interview and her two secretaries said in the vernacular: “Get a clearance from the mayor’s office before you can interview the treasurer.”
“She (Quinsaat) is very tired because she just came from GenSan (General Santos City). She will talk to you when she has the time. She has so many things to do right now,” said the secretaries who were stationed just outside her office on the first floor of the city hall. They refused to give their names.
But City Administrator Ireneo “Bong” Alvaro said they had not issued an executive order or any written instruction banning the reporters from interviewing Quinsaat or other department heads.
“Maybe the treasurer is just nervous or something” he said.
Alvaro said they just don’t give away “some public documents right away for the protection of government.”
“They should formally make a request first before we give them. Besides, it’s quite expensive to have Xeroxed copies,” Alvaro said.
