Suspension served for mayor, VM

CEBU, Philippines - Aloguinsan town councilors Mariolito Biton Jr. and Claudio Gacang formally assumed office Wednesday as acting mayor and vice mayor, respectively, following the suspension of Mayor Cynthia Moreno and her husband Vice Mayor Augustus Caesar Moreno for six months.

 Department of Interior and Local Government provincial director Gerome Gonzales confirmed serving the suspension order on Tuesday.

 But Gonzales did not know who administered the oath of office of Biton and Gacang.

 “What we did yesterday was formally inform them (Biton and Gacang) that they are acting mayor and acting vice mayor, respectively, by operation of law,” Gonzales told The Freeman.

 The Court of Appeals on November 24, 2014 had affirmed the decision of the anti-graft office suspending the Morenos for six months pending review of their administrative cases.  The CA denied the petition filed by the Morenos for the issuance of temporary restraining order of the suspension order issued by the Office of the Ombudsman against them.

 The Morenos received a copy of the CA resolution as early as December 3 last year but only got hold of the copy of the suspension last Wednesday from the office of the DILG.

DILG-7 regional director Ananias Villacorta said in a phone interview yesterday that the Morenos personally went to his office to obtain the copy of the suspension order.

 “Even before the receipt of the copy on March 24 directing me to serve the suspension order, they already came at the (regional) office since they wanted to end the process already, and also to avoid chaos in their government unit,” he said.

 The case stemmed from the complaint filed by a certain Danilo Margallo on the sale of two unserviceable dump trucks to Rufino Alpas Junk Shop for the amount of P150,000 without public auction in violation of the Commission on Audit rules.

The dump trucks were reportedly placed inside the garage owned by the Moreno family in violation of the Government Accounting and Auditing Manual.  In a phone interview with the media, Mayor Moreno confirmed the receipt of the suspension order, saying “It’s ok.”

  She was attending a forum of the Department of Budget and Management when she was informed by DILG personnel that the order would be served that day.

 “Ako na lang sila giingnan nga ako na lang anha sa ilang office kay wa ko sa Aloguinsan that time. Mao ra man gihapon, ma-implement ra man, so ako na lang giadto sa regional office,” she told reporters.  (FREEMAN)