Minglanilla residents sue town officials over ‘inaction’ on complaint

CEBU, Philippines - For allegedly not entertaining their letter within 15 days, residents of Minglanilla, Cebu filed a complaint against their mayor and vice-mayor before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.

However, based on an agreement between the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DOJ), Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Pelagio Apostol forwarded the matter to the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office for appropriate action.

In their complaint, Peter Simon Jardinico of Barangay Calajoan, and Auxilum Toling-Olayer and Julia Peliro of Barangay Tungkil, introduced themselves as members of the Local Poverty Reduction Action Team (LPRAT) and Civil Society Organization (CSO) of the town.

They said that in compliance with Section 5.1.2 of the DBM-DILG-DSWD-NAPC Joint Memorandum Circular 3, Series of 2012, they elected an LPRAT co-chairman and three representatives who would sign the Local Poverty Reduction Action Program (LPRAP).

The officers were Olayer as co-chairman, and Jardinico, Jayme Amazona and Leonita Nolasco as the three CSO representatives.

They said that during an LPRAP workshop last Feb. 7 at the town session hall facilitated by Lelani Lopez, a “clarificatory” discussion was made on the choice of project and the corresponding budget.

The complainants alleged that when discussion became heated, Lopez, a Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) officer assigned to oversee the workshop, scolded them.

“Lopez, who supposedly is a facilitator, dominated the process and impolitely scolded us in a loud voice and strongly banged the papers and ballpen that she is holding and challenged us not to finish the process,” read the complaint.

The complainants also alleged that there was falsification in the final LPRAP report on the choice of project and the corresponding budget.

“On Feb. 13, 2013, we met to discuss the final copy of the LPRAP. We observed that such final LPRAP (report) is contrary to the output the LPRAT had formulated during the workshop on Feb. 7, 2012,” they said.

They then submitted a letter to Mayor Eduardo Selma, citing irregularities in the LPRAP and that the signatories there were not the right persons designated during the CSO assembly held on Feb. 1.

Aside from Selma, they also furnished Vice Mayor Elanito Peña a copy of their letter-complaint.

However, Selma and Peña allegedly did not act on their letter despite the passage of 15 days, which they said constitute dereliction of duty based on government standard administrative procedures. —(FREEMAN)