DILG suspends Nueva Ecija governor

Over issuance of quarry permits without environmental compliance

MANILA, Philippines — Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali has been suspended by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) after the Office of the Ombudsman found him guilty of issuing quarry permits without requiring environmental compliance certificates (ECC).

The provincial capitol received the order from the DILG central office on Monday.

The order was signed by DILG Undersecretary Hubert Gervacio, chief of staff of DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla.

Following the suspension, Remulla directed Umali’s younger brother, Vice Gov. Gil Raymond Umali, to be the temporary governor, while board member Eduardo Jose Joson was designated vice governor.

Umali filed a sick leave from Aug. 13 to 29, but the DILG rejected his request as the dates were already covered by the one-year suspension without pay imposed by the ombudsman in June.

State prosecutors said Umali issued 205 quarry permits without requiring the applicants to secure ECCs from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed in March 2024 by a certain Roberto Duldulao.

In a 29-page decision, the ombudsman found Umali guilty of grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

The ombudsman said Umali’s act resulted in the failure of the provincial government to achieve its revenue target from quarry tax collection.

Data from the Commission on Audit (COA) showed the province’s quarry tax collections were only P400,000 in 2022 and P1 million in 2023.

The amounts were a far cry from the collections of Nueva Ecija’s neighboring provinces, according to the 2023 COA report.

COA data showed that Pampanga reported P708.13 million in quarry collections; Zambales, P109.97 million; Tarlac, P21.96 million; Bataan, P13.38 million; Aurora, P10.67 million, and Bulacan, P7.75 million.