Ex-mayor fined over Yolanda housing aid

MANILA, Philippines — A former town mayor in Cebu has been found guilty of simple negligence in connection with the distribution of housing assistance to victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda.  

Augusto Corro of Daanbantayan was ordered to pay a fine equivalent to his salary for two months since he is no longer in service and could not be suspended.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Renato Benatiro, a resident of Barangay Tapilon, who was removed from the list of beneficiaries of the Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. 

Under the program, residents whose houses were totally destroyed by the typhoon receive P30,000 while those whose houses were damaged get P10,000.

The ombudsman said Corro disqualified Benatiro on the ground that his house was within an unsafe zone.

However, after four months, the local government said it had not yet determined the dangerous or unsafe areas. 

“If it is true that the municipality merely withheld the ESA...pending proper identification of danger or unsafe zones, the remarks appearing next to complainant’s name on the list as well as...the others should have been ‘for verification’ and not a categorical unqualified unsafe zone,” the ombudsman ruling stated.

The ombudsman said it found no probable cause to charge Corro with graft.

”While his acts may have been improper and careless, there was no manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence,” the court said.