Ex-Antique gov accuses Ombudsman of tampering

ILOILO CITY — Former Antique governor Salvacion Zaldivar-Perez has accused Acting Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro of tampering with an Ombudsman resolution to make it appear that he was the approving authority.

In a letter to the Judicial Bar Council (JBC) to oppose Casimiro’s nomination as Ombudsman, Perez, through her legal counsel Eduardo Fortaleza, alleged that Casimiro deleted the name and signature of former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez in a resolution that ordered the suspension of the former governor for alleged graft acts.

Perez also alleged that Casimiro replaced Gutierrez’s name with his own as the approving authority and re-issued the resolution more than a year after the first resolution was issued by Gutierrez.

“Former Governor (Perez) deems the actions done by (Acting Ombudsman Casimiro) as tantamount to falsification of an official document and usurpation of the authority then exclusively lodged with the Ombudsman alone,” according to Fortaleza’s letter sent in behalf of Perez.

Casimiro’s spokesperson, lawyer Mary Rawnsle Lopez, denied the allegations. /INQUIRER