TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The governor here and the mayor of Rizal town, this province, have been suspended by the Ombudsman for six months and three months, respectively.
A high ranking national agency official from this city confirmed the governor will serve his suspension this time, instead of any other time. This should be advantageous to him as the impact will not be so fresh in voters’ minds come election time in 2019.
His suspension resulted in his having punched Mathew Matbagan, secretary to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, on the face and on other parts of his body in his (governor’s) office in front of other employees.
He was “found administratively liable for simple misconduct, abuse of authority, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the office” by the Office of the Ombudsman. The case was filed by several board members led by then Vice Governor Jessie Mangaoang who is now the Congressman of the lone district of Kalinga.
The case arose from a resolution regarding a health facility. The governor was allegedly offended by the phrase ‘directing the latter to restore the health services thereat’ (according to Matbagan it was the provincial hospital head who was being “directed”) which he took as insulting to his stature as governor. He then allegedly grabbed Matbagan by his shirt and repeatedly hit him until the governor’s security escorts went inside the office.
This is the same governor who was suspended for 30 days in 2012 for storming into the announcer’s both of the local radio station and then mauling broadcaster Jerome Tabanganay there. Luckily, the incident was taken by the “streaming camera” inside the radio station.
Vice-governor James Edduba will be the acting governor during the duration of the suspension.
As to Mayor Marcelo dela Cruz, Jr. of Rizal, he was suspended for 90 days or three months for simple misconduct in a case filed by members of the Sangguniang Bayan.
He allegedly authorized the disbursement of funds from the savings of the municipality in 2014 for the grant of cash gifts and incentives to municipal casual employees and barangay officials, barangay tanods, barangay health workers, day care workers and barangay nutrition scholars and that the use of savings and augmentation was authorized under the 2014 budget itself not by a separate ordinance, and the source of the funds was inadvertently recorded as personal services but was later corrected to become maintenance and other operating expenses.
In authorizing the disbursement, the decision says that mayor dela Cruz has transgressed Section 336 of Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code as he used the savings to augment an item in the approved 2014 municipal budget that is clearly not for the office of the mayor.** APP
