Lanao del Sur mayor dismissed

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal and filing of graft charges against a town mayor in Lanao del Sur.

Balabagan Mayor Edna Ogka-Benito was meted the accessory penalties of cancellation of civil service eligibility, perpetual disqualification from holding public office and forfeiture of retirement benefits.  

The anti-graft court said Benito was found guilty of grave misconduct for failing to act on the application for leave and payment of back salaries of an employee in 2014.

The secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was tasked to enforce the suspension order.

The ombudsman said Section 3 (f) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act prohibits any public officer from ”neglecting or refusing to act without sufficient justification for a reasonable time after due demand or request has been made… for the purpose of obtaining directly or indirectly from any person interested in the matter some pecuniary, material benefit or advantage in favor of an interested party, or discriminating against another. ”

Isabela vice mayor suspended

Meanwhile, the Sandiganbayan ordered the suspension for 90 days of Roxas, Isabela Vice Mayor Servando Soriano.

In a decision dated Sept. 2, but released only yesterday, the anti-graft court granted the motion of ombudsman prosecutors to suspend Soriano, who was charged with graft and malversation of public funds over a P25-million grant to the Economic Development for Western Isabela and Northern Luzon Foundation Inc. (EDWINLFI) in 2006. 

EDWINLFI, a private non-government organization wherein Soriano served as a director, entered into a memorandum of agreement with the provincial government for its rice program.

Graft probers said there was no public bidding. They also cited deficiencies such as the lack of cost estimates and terms of reference.

Former Isabela governor Grace Padaca, provincial legal officer Johnas Lamonerae and Dionisio Pine, EDWINLFI manager for Isabela, werenamed respondents in the case.

Soriano, who was councilor at the time the alleged anomaly was committed, said he respects the Sandiganbayan decision.

He said his lawyer told him to expect the issuance of a suspension order.

Roxas Mayor Jonathan Calderon told The STAR they are waiting for the DILG to enforce Soriano’s suspension.?

‘Enforce suspension order’

The Sandiganbayan also ordered the enforcement of the suspension of a board member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Quezon and his secretary.

Fourth district board member Isaias Ubana II and Ma. Bernadette Nieva have yet to vacate their posts despite a a 14-page resolution signed by Associate Justice Roando Jurado on Aug. 17 ordering their suspension for 90 days.

The anti-graft court said Ubana’s motion for reconsideration was denied for lack of merit.

Ubana and Nieva were charged with graft over the alleged illegal procurement and “ghost” deliveries of glassware and kitchenware when Ubana was mayor of Lopez town in 2009.

Nieva faces separate complaints for malversation and falsification of public documents. – With Raymund Catindig, Michelle Zoleta