The spokesman of Para?aque City Mayor Florencio Bernabe Jr. was fired for allegedly poking his nose into a P1.434-billion loan that the local government borrowed from Land Bank of the Philippines in the last quarter of 2008.

Ed Valen, public information officer, said in an e-mail circulated statement that he was gathering details on the loan, but only to answer accurately queries of members of the media.

He has reportedly not turned up in office since Jan. 1 this year.

The P1.434-billion loan from LBP, according to Councilor Rico Golez, sponsor of a Council Resolution authorizing Bernabe to hammer out the deal, is supposed to pay a P1.1-billion loan obtained from the Philippine National Bank (including P100 million in interests) during the last quarter of 2006, and P334 million to construct a Hall of Justice.

In his statement, Valen claimed that the PNB loan lacked a detailed list of expenditures except for the estimated P45-million new city jail and an edifice to house the police and fire department headquarters along Sucat road near Kaybuboy Bridge, which had remained unoccupied. Vito Barcelo