Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Tuesday reiterated her zero-tolerance policy against corruption following the arrest of an official of the Quezon City Engineering Office for alleged extortion.

Joel Avila was nabbed by the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) on March 23, 2024, for extorting from a businessman in exchange for the processing of permits and other documents for the latter’s pet food business.

QCPD report indicated that a businessman filed a complaint against Avila, who initially asked for P1.5 million for the processing of his business’ building permit, business permit, zoning, and certificate of exemption, for the warehouse of his pet food business.

The businessman deposited the said amount to the account of Avila’s wife, but the suspect again demanded P1.1 million on 22 October 2022.

The victim again gave in to the demand, but he received no document from the suspect, who stopped communicating with him.

To the victim’s surprise, the suspect reached out to him on 15 March 2024, and demanded P1.7 million from the City Council which will help them with the zoning reclassification for the issuance of Certificate of Exemption.

After the suspect lowered the amount to P700,000, the victim sought assistance from the QCPD operatives, who conducted an entrapment operation on 23 March at Army Navy Restaurant on Visayas Avenue.

The case has been referred to the Prosecutor's Office for proper disposition.

“We won’t tolerate these few bad eggs. We will make sure that they are punished to the full extent of the law to prove that we are serious in eradicating corruption,” Belmonte said.

The Mayor emphasized that corruption should not be normalized or allowed, especially among Quezon City Hall employees, as it erodes all the local government’s accomplishments.

Additionally, the mayor urged all Quezon City residents who have encountered or witnessed any occurrence of graft to report the incident through a dedicated link in the Quezon City E-services portal.

“Reports that are made through the QC E-services site will go straight to the top, and these will be handled with utmost confidentiality and urgency,” Belmonte noted.

In point-of-transaction offices within QC City Hall, posters will likewise be prominently displayed reminding Quezon City residents of the shared responsibility of all parties involved.

The local government has also put in place various online systems under the QC E-Services portal promoting zero contact processes in almost all transactions with the city.

This includes securing business and real property tax assessments and paying for the same, business and building permits, locational clearances, sanitary permits, health certificates, and occupational permits, among others.

“If we want to continue in our path as pioneers, the only way to do so is to work with uncompromising honesty, integrity, and fairness,” she concluded.