Kalinga town mayor suspended for 1 year

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines  —  The Office of the Ombudsman has suspended for one year the mayor and two other local government officials of Rizal town in Kalinga for misuse of government funds.

Mayor Marcelo de la Cruz Jr., budget officer Delia Jacob and accountant Rodelia Busacay were found guilty of simple misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service, according to an ombudsman resolution promulgated on June 26. 

The Department of the Interior and Local Government was directed to implement the suspension order. 

The complaint for grave misconduct, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, dishonesty and grave abuse of authority filed against Vice Mayor Renato Vicente; Sangguniang Bayan members Cheradee Beligan, Samuel Valdez, Pablo Cadang, Benjamin Barroga and Reynaldo Cauresma, engineering assistant Noel Jambaro, treasurer Nancy Revocal, planning and development coordinator Cynthia Vicente and engineer and bids and awards committee chairperson Aurora Cuaresma were dismissed for lack of substantial evidence. 

The suspension stemmed from a resolution approved by the Rizal municipal council to revert the town’s unexpended budget for 2015 amounting to P14.5 million to the unappropriated savings and use it for the rehabilitation of various barangay streets and farm to market roads. 

However, the Commission on Audit said the resolution was passed without certification from the local finance committee and in the absence of an appropriation ordinance.